Loving Jesus Style

  Greetings From Peter 1 Peter 1:1-2 (ESV) Scripture: Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.   Devotion:           Reading these words of greeting one may not suspect that there is much here that could be used in a devotion. However, on closer inspection there is much here that one can comment on in a devotion.           We begin by looking at the name Peter. Peter’s birth name was Simon, however, Jesus renamed him Peter when he chose him to be a disciple and reaffirmed that name in Matthew 16:18 after Peter had confessed Jesus to be the Christ. Peter despite his flaws and failures eventually lived into the name Jesus had given him. We see him leading the other disciples at Pentecost and

  Teach Your Children Well Scripture: Deuteronomy 32:46 (ESV) He [Moses] said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. Devotion:           It is the start of a new school year. Children are going back to start a new school year. It will be a time when we all should pay attention to the needs of the children all around us. In Luke we see that Jesus had special place in his heart for children. “ 1 Now they [the people] were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. “ 16  But Jesus called them to him, saying, Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” (Luke 18:15-16 ESV)           In addition to teaching children about reading, writing, and arithmetic we should also teach them about Jesus. I, personally, have never forgotten what I lear

  Scripture: 1 Peter 2:9 (ESV) 9  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Devotion:           If someone from another planet came down and asked you to explain the Christian faith to them, could you do it? How far would you get? C.S. Lewis first proposed a scenario like this nearly 90 years ago. At the time he suspected that most Christians would not get very far. [1] I fear nearly a century later we are not in much better shape. It is up for debate whether the visitor would take with him or her anything of great value.           According to the Apostle Peter in our scripture today we Christians are a chosen race and a royal priesthood. Why in spite of all our privileges that being God’s own people brings are we unable to explain the basics of the faith? This is a fault that needs remedying. Because the scripture above

  The Tower of Babel Scripture Genesis 11:1-9 (ESV) 11  Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2  And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3  And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4  Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” 5  And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6  And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7  Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8  So the Lord dispersed them from

  Scripture: Matthew 5:10-12 (ESV) 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Devotion:           We will take the last two beatitudes together as they are closely related. In fact, verses 11 and 12 simply amplify and personalize verse 10. These verses all revolve around the believer being persecuted for doing what God requires or in or in other words being righteous and receiving a reward for doing so. The reward given in verse 10 is the same as that reward given in verse 3. The kingdom of heaven is promised both to the poor in spirit and those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.           It should be noted, however, that in order to receive a reward at all the persecu

 Compline Prayer Psalm 139:11-12 (NIV)       11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me           and the light become night around me,”        12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;           the night will shine like the day,           for darkness is as light to you.  Prayer Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who watch, or work, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep, Tend the sick, give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soon the suffering, comfort the afflicted, shield the joyous, And all for your love's sake, Amen

  Blessed are the Peacemakers (A prayer for Afghanistan)   Scripture: Matthew 5:9 (ESV)   9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.   Prayer:           Lord send forth peacemakers into your world. We ask that you protect the people of Afghanistan during this season. Be with those who call on your name during this troubled time. Protect and defend them, O Lord.     Show the people of Afghanistan your tender love and mercy. Protect them all. Help them to find their way to you. Shed your grace abroad in their nation. Bring them a peace that passes understanding.             Be with our soldiers, Lord. We pray for leaders of the military that they may have wisdom to do what is best for the peace of that nation. Protect our soldier’s and civilian’s lives. May your presence be felt by them as they seek to escape this situation.             Help us to be peacemakers here at home. Taking whatever is causing strife between people and turn

  Blessed are the Pure in Heart Scripture: Matthew 5:8 (ESV) 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Devotion:           Today’s scripture paints a vivid word picture. Jesus may have in mind here Psalm 24:3-4 (NRSV) 3       Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?                                                 And who shall stand in his holy place?                                4       Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,                                                 who do not lift up their souls to what is false,                                                   and do not swear deceitfully. The words “ Pure in heart should not be restricted to moral, still less sexual, purity; it denotes one who loves God with all his heart (Deut. 6:5), with an undivided loyalty, and whose inward nature corresponds with his outward profession. (cf. Isa. 29:13).” ‘ [1] “The “pure in heart” exhibit a single-minded devotion to God that stems from the inter

  Lord Have Mercy Scripture: Matthew 5:7 (ESV)           7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Devotion:           Today we deal with the topic of mercy. As the beatitude above suggests there is a reciprocal relationship between showing mercy and receiving mercy. In many places the scriptures set mercy in this context for example we have this in Psalm 18:25       25        With the merciful you show yourself merciful;       with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; (ESV)             So, what exactly is mercy? Mercy is “ to show kindness or concern for someone in serious need”. [1] The parable of the “Good Samaritan” is probably the best known Biblical example of what having mercy on someone looks like when put into practice. The Samaritan in the story shows exceptional amounts of mercy on the man who has been beaten and robbed. He cared for the man’s injuries, put him on his donkey and set him up at an inn so he could recover from his inj

  Let us begin our noontime prayer with Psalm 113:1-3 (NRSV)     1      Praise the LORD!      Praise, O servants of the LORD;      praise the name of the LORD.      2      Blessed be the name of the LORD      from this time on and forevermore.      3      From the rising of the sun to its setting      the name of the LORD is to be praised.  Let us pray Risen Savior at this hour you hung upon the cross stretching out your loving arms for our salvation Send forth your Holy Spirit into our hearts to lead us in paths of righteousness to comfort us in all our brokenness and lead us in the ways of truth; Thru Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

  O God make haste to help us Send your Holy Spirit to us without delay, Flood our souls with your grace. Let us proclaim your praise with our whole body, mind and soul. Set our love on fire for you and for our neighborhood Empower us with your presence, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit In the name of the triune God we ask this. Amen

  Hungering and Thirsting for Righteousness Scripture: Mathew 5:6 (ESV) 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Devotion:           Today we tackle another beatitude. This verse declares that the one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness will be both blessed and satisfied. What does it mean to hunger and thirst in this way, and how will that hunger, and thirst bring about righteousness. “ A person who is starving for righteousness, whether in one’s own life or in one’s environment, is not a happy person, if that person is focused on his or her immediate circumstances. Happiness comes from the assurance that all righteousness will someday be fulfilled. The believer will personally become perfected, never to sin again, and the kingdom will be purged of all unrighteousness.” [1] Thus we see that our hunger and thirst is based on a future hope of being perfected in the new heavens and the new earth when Jesus returns to make a

    Scripture: Matthew 5:5 (ESV) 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Devotion           Today’s scripture we find hard to accept in our 21 st century world. Our world system values those who take charge and run roughshod over people. The idea that a meek person (Meek meaning quiet, gentle, and submissive.) would inherit the earth seems ridiculous to the modern ear. Being meek, however, does not mean to lack assertiveness when the situation requires it.           Jesus is drawing on the Psalms for his teaching. Psalm 37:11 states “But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.” In fact, this teaching mentioned elsewhere in the Old and New Testaments as well. (See for example Isaiah 29:19, Romans 4:13, and Revelation 21:7)           It may seem to the Biblically informed reader that Jesus acts very unmeek at times. For example, the cleansing of the temple, and some of his encounters with the religious leaders of his day

  Mid afternoon Prayer Living Loving God By your power the hours of the day wear on, but there is still much we need to do Keep us under your watchful care and strengthen our weary bodies, may we not forget you. Help us to be aware of your presence and your love all around us at the close of this day. In the name of Christ Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit Amen

  Be Comforted Scripture: Matthew 5:4 (ESV) 4  Blessed are those who mourn , for they shall be comforted. Devotion:           Today’s scripture is straightforward. The Greek word for mourning used here is pentheo . This word refers to deep grief which shows itself in outward signs such as weeping. Mourning includes grief caused by both personal sin and loss and social evil and oppression. [1] t may seem paradoxical that those who experience such deep sorrow would be blessed or happy, however, it becomes more clear when one examines the second phrase just what Jesus was teaching here.           The second part of the beatitude tells us that those who mourn will be comforted. Parakaleo is the Greek verb here. It means here that the mourner will be consoled. This word is related to the Greek word used to describe the ministry of the Holy Spirit or paraclete . Part of the Holy Spirits ministry is to come along side those who mourn and bring soothing comfort to them. God will comf

  Blessed are the Poor in Spirit Scripture: Matthew 5:3 (ESV) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Devotion           Today we begin to look at the beatitudes in Matthew’s gospel. The beatitudes here and in Luke 6:17-23 are statements about the qualities that make for true happiness. The Greek word makarios has a meaning that conveys a deeper happiness than our English word happy.   “ Blessedness is, of course, an infinitely higher and better thing than mere happiness.” [1] There is no English word that can fully convey the meaning in the Greek. However, blessed is as close as we can come.           The saying continues with those who are the object of the blessing, namely the “the poor in spirit.” This is an idiom in the Greek. It is “pertaining to one who is humble with regard to his own capacities . “ [2] Here it does not necessarily mean some one who is financially poor, but rather to someone who is humble with regard to their own abiliti