Where You Go, I Will Go.

Ruth 1:1-18 (NRSV)

Ruth, one of the poor

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

Then she started to return with her daughters in law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters in law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters in law, "Go back each of you to your mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband." Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. They said to her, "No, we will return with you to your people." But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me." Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother in law, but Ruth clung to her.


So she said, "See, your sister in law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister in law." But Ruth said,
"Do not press me to leave you
or to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go;
where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die
there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus and so to me,
and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!"

When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

Blessed...

Fourth Sunday After Epiiphany
Matthew 5:1-12 (NRSV)

The teaching of Christ: Beatitudes

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

Never Be Moved

Psalm 15 (NRSV)

Abiding on God's holy hill

O Lord, who may abide in your tent?
Who may dwell on your holy hill?

Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right,
and speak the truth from their heart;
who do not slander with their tongue,
and do no evil to their friends,
nor take up a reproach against their neighbors;
in whose eyes the wicked are despised,
but who honor those who fear the Lord;
who stand by their oath even to their hurt;
who do not lend money at interest,
and do not take a bribe against the innocent.

Those who do these things shall never be moved.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

Double Honor

1 Timothy 5:17-24 (NRSV)

Good works are conspicuous

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching; for the scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain," and, "The laborer deserves to be paid." Never accept any accusation against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest also may stand in fear. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels, I warn you to keep these instructions without prejudice, doing nothing on the basis of partiality. Do not ordain anyone hastily, and do not participate in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.

No longer drink only water, but take a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

The sins of some people are conspicuous and precede them to judgment, while the sins of others follow them there.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

Have Unity of Spirit

1 Peter 3:8-12 (NRSV)

Repay evil with a blessing

Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called that you might inherit a blessing. For
"Those who desire life
and desire to see good days,
let them keep their tongues from evil
and their lips from speaking deceit;
let them turn away from evil and do good;
let them seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

The Way of Peace

Luke 1:67-79 (NRSV)

Christ, the light dawning

Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a mighty savior for us
in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and has remembered his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins.
By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace."

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

VICTORIOUS!

Judges 7:12-22 (NRSV)

God leads Gideon to victory

The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the east lay along the valley as thick as locusts; and their camels were without number, countless as the sand on the seashore. When Gideon arrived, there was a man telling a dream to his comrade; and he said, "I had a dream, and in it a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell; it turned upside down, and the tent collapsed." And his comrade answered, "This is no other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel; into his hand God has given Midian and all the army."

When Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped; and he returned to the camp of Israel, and said, "Get up; for the Lord has given the army of Midian into your hand." After he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and put trumpets into the hands of all of them, and empty jars, with torches inside the jars, he said to them, "Look at me, and do the same; when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets around the whole camp, and shout, 'For the Lord and for Gideon!'"

So Gideon and the hundred who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. So the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars, holding in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow; and they cried, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!" Every man stood in his place all around the camp, and all the men in camp ran; they cried out and fled. When they blew the three hundred trumpets, the Lord set every man's sword against his fellow and against all the army; and the army fled as far as Beth shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel meholah, by Tabbath.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

God Calls Gideon

SCRIPTURE

Judges 6:11-24 (NRSV)

God calls Gideon to lead the people

Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior." Gideon answered him, "But sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, 'Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' But now the Lord has cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian." Then the Lord turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you." He responded, "But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family." The Lord said to him, "But I will be with you, and you shall strike down the Midianites, every one of them." Then he said to him, "If now I have found favor with you, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. Do not depart from here until I come to you, and bring out my present, and set it before you." And he said, "I will stay until you return."

So Gideon went into his house and prepared a kid, and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour; the meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the oak and presented them. The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes; and the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. Then Gideon perceived that it was the angel of the Lord; and Gideon said, "Help me, Lord God! For I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face." But the Lord said to him, "Peace be to you; do not fear, you shall not die." Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it, The Lord is peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

Christ Revealed...

Third Sunday After Epiphany
Matthew 4:12-23 (NRSV)

Christ revealed as a prophet

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
"Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles
the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned."

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

Whom Shall I Fear?

SCRIPTURE

Psalm 27:1-6 (NRSV)

God is light and salvation

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

When evildoers assail me
to devour my flesh
my adversaries and foes
they shall stumble and fall.

Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me,
yet I will be confident.

One thing I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire in his temple.

For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will set me high on a rock.

Now my head is lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

Remember the poor...

Galatians 2:1-10 (NRSV)

Paul's authority in the growing church

Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. I went up in response to a revelation. Then I laid before them (though only in a private meeting with the acknowledged leaders) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure that I was not running, or had not run, in vain. But even Titus, who was with me, was not compelled to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. But because of false believers secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might enslave us we did not submit to them even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might always remain with you. And from those who were supposed to be acknowledged leaders (what they actually were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality) those leaders contributed nothing to me. On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter making him an apostle to the circumcised also worked through me in sending me to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who were acknowledged pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

Not A Human Source

SCRIPTURE

Galatians 1:11-24 (NRSV)

The divine origin of Paul's gospel

For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus.

Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days; but I did not see any other apostle except James the Lord's brother. In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie! Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, and I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea that are in Christ; they only heard it said, "The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy." And they glorified God because of me.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

Christ, the Bridegroom

SCRIPTURE

Matthew 9:14-17 (NRSV)

Christ, the bridegroom, the new wine

Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved."

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

Who Has Believed?

SCRIPTURE

Isaiah 53:1 -12 (NRSV)

The one like a lamb

Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him of no account.

Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people.
They made his grave with the wicked
and his tomb with the rich,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain.
When you make his life an offering for sin,
he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.

Out of his anguish he shall see light;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out himself to death,
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

The Passover Lamb

SCRIPTURE

Exodus 12:1-13, 21-28 (NRSV)
The passover lamb

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. ...


Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go, select lambs for your families, and slaughter the passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood in the basin. None of you shall go outside the door of your house until morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike down the Egyptians; when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over that door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down. You shall observe this rite as a perpetual ordinance for you and your children. When you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this observance. And when your children ask you, 'What do you mean by this observance?' you shall say, 'It is the passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.'" And the people bowed down and worshiped.

The Israelites went and did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

Behold! The Lamb of God!

SCRIPTURE

John 1: 29-42
The Lamb of God

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God."^*3031323334

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed^*). He brought Simon^* to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter^*). ^{36373839404142}

SERMON

Today is the Second Sunday after Epiphany. Ephipany is the season in the Christian Church when we celebrate all of the manifold ways in which God has chosen to reveal Christ to the nations. Just as the Wise Men followed the star to Bethlehem to behold the King of Kings, we too are invited to notice all of the wonderful ways that Love is revealed to us on a daily basis.

I love John’s declaration concerning Jesus as it appears in today’s Gospel Lesson. Can’t you just imagine him shouting, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Or perhaps it wasn’t a shout at all…Perhaps he could barely whisper as joy filled his heart to overflowing as he whispered, “I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

This side of the cross, I’m not sure we can truly imagine what it was like for our Jewish brothers and sisters to live in anticipation of the Messiah. They believed that the messiah would be born into the world, take away all of their sins, and usher in a new reign of Jewish rule and authority.

They had great hopes for the messiah. Many people lived and breathed for the messiah. They lived inside of the hope of advent, every single day—hoping, praying, waiting, and dreaming of a day when all would be made right in the world.

On the day that John declared, “Behold! The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world!” things must have changed in John’s life. He must have had a little more hope, a little more confidence, and little more joy.

See, this is the miracle of epiphany! Every single day Jesus is being revealed to God’s children! He is revealed to us in Word. He is revealed to us in sacrament! He is revealed to us in our every day interactions with one another as we walk in love—saying and doing the loving things that allow the Spirit of God to touch the heart of another.

Just as two of John’s disciples caught sight of Jesus and followed him, so should we. Just as Andrew brought his loved one to meet Jesus, so should we! And just as Simon Peter came running to see the messiah, so should we!

On tomorrow, we will commemorate the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King…

Although Rev. King is best known as a civil rights champion, he should also be remembered as a man who lived his entire life in service to others, speaking out against poverty, economic injustice, and violence. Wherever he saw suffering, he did what he could to help, no matter who it was that needed him or why they were in pain. Dr. King once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: “What are you doing for others?”

Tomorrow, we are called to acts of Love and Service on behalf of those in need. In the past some of us have packaged food for Kids Against Hunger. Others have swung hammers for Habitat for Humanity. And others have served food at Place of Hope.

On the eve of his death, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King stated, “God’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But, mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

John the Baptist caught a glimpse of this Promised Land when he declared, “Behold the Lamb of God!” Andrew and Simon Peter caught a glimpse of this Promised Land when they came running to meet Jesus. And we catch a glimpse of this Promised Land every single time we do God’s work with our hands bringing compassion, care, and cheer to those in need of God’s Love.

When I was a little girl, I remember the old folks in my church saying, “Whatever you need, God’s got it!” I thought that this was a very strange expression until I grew up and had my own very significant needs; It was then that I found out for myself that indeed, God’s got it!

(Today) Yesterday, I was braiding my daughter’s hair and mumbling under my breath as I did it. When she asked me who I was talking to, I giggled and said, “I’m praying chile.”

It may seem silly to ask the Holy Spirit to guide your fingers while you braid hair, but I’ve got to tell you it works!

No matter how big or small your problems may be at the start of 2011, my faith is big enough to encourage you that God’s got it!

Just as Andrew brought Simon to Jesus, it is my prayer that we will bring each other to the one who is able to meet all of our needs according to his riches in glory. And just as Jesus knew Simon Peter by name, God knows our names too. God knows our stories. God knows our needs. God knows our pains. And God has a good plan for our lives, not to harm us, but to give us a future and a hope!

Today, it is my prayer that each of us will experience an epiphany in our own lives that illuminates the presence of God in all of our circumstances. No matter how you may feel, you are never alone. God is with you. God will not leave you, nor forsake you. God will usher you into the Promised Land where you will be healthy, happy, holy, and whole, forever and ever amen.

Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world…

In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

Glad News of Deliverance

Psalm 40:1-11 (NRSV)

Doing the will of God

I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the desolate pit,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.

Happy are those who make
the Lord their trust,
who do not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after false gods.
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
they would be more than can be counted.

Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
but you have given me an open ear.

Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.
Then I said, "Here I am;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart."

I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
see, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
I have not hidden your saving help within my heart,
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.

Do not, O Lord, withhold
your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
keep me safe forever.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

A Most Precious Gift!

SCRIPTURE

Acts 1:1-5 (NRSV)
The promise of the Holy Spirit

In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

DEVOTION

I don't know about you, but I am constantly grateful for the gift of the Holy Spirit!

It is clear to me that I could do nothing without the Wisdom and Guidance of Spirit in my day to day life.

It is Spirit that teaches and reteaches me how to walk in Love. It is Spirit that instructs me how to use my hands to do God's work. It is Spirit that leads and guides me as I make decisions that impact me, my family and community. And it is Spirit that causes me to work for peace and goodwill in God's world until Jesus comes from Heaven.

I am very clear about the fact that any good that I do is because of the prompting and unction of the Holy Spirit.

Today, let us give thanks to God for the precious gift of the Holy Spirit and let us tap into God's Spirit to lead and direct our lives into the good.

Let us pray: Oh God, thank you for the gift of your Spirit, alive inside of me! Please forgive my sin and re-fill me daily with your Spirit so that I can walk in Love as I share the good news about your Son. I pray this in Jesus Name, Amen...

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

The Gospel: Walk in Love

Galatians 1:6-12 (NRSV)

Paul's calling through a revelation of Christ

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed!

Am I now seeking human approval, or God's approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

DEVOTION

Today, I am reminded of the importance of seeking the approval of Christ as we share the good news message!

Truly, we possess wonderful good news that is for all people!

Jesus lived, died, and rose again to express God's deep and abiding love for humanity. Jesus died on the cross to make atonement for our sin and to gift us with eternal life!

All of this is the best news ever and yet we often keep it to ourselves or share it in a way that makes it impossible for people to hear us.

My personal credo is, "Walk in Love." When I say this I mean that my goal is to say loving things and do loving actions.

As I attempt to share the gospel with others, I always pray that my words and actions are so loving that people WANT to follow me to the cross to meet Jesus.

My mother once told me, "Yolanda, you LOVE people to the cross! You don't beat them there!"

HA! This is good advise from a wise woman.

On this day, I'd like to invite each of us to examine our evangelism strategies. Let us make sure that our first goal in sharing the gospel is to share the LOVE of Christ with those in need of it!

After that, everything else will be simple!

Let us pray: Oh God, fill me up with you love and please help me to share that love with others. As I walk in love, I know that you will approve of my actions. For YOU are love. I pray all of this in Jesus' Name, Amen.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

You Are Chosen!

Matthew 12:15-21 (NRSV)

The words of Isaiah applied to Jesus

When Jesus became aware of this, he departed. Many crowds followed him, and he cured all of them, and he ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
"Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,
my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
He will not wrangle or cry aloud,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
He will not break a bruised reed
or quench a smoldering wick
until he brings justice to victory.

And in his name the Gentiles will hope."

DEVOTION

Today's scripture declares that God chose Jesus to declare good news and bring about ultimate justice, victory, and peace!

This side of the cross, we know that as Christians, we too are called to share good news and to be partners with God, as we work towards ultimate justice, victory, and peace.

It amazes me every single day that we are invited to be the hands, feet, and smile of Jesus in the world!

It tickles me that we get to share the love of God with others in tangible ways--feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, caring for the widows and orphans, bringing cheer to the depressed...etc.

I know that God could snap his fingers and all would be perfect in the world!

But, isn't it awesome that God invites us to be partners in ministry, as we utilize our free will to care for others?

Today, I invite you to think about the ways in which you have been chosen by God to love and serve others!

All of us possess spiritual gifts and talents meant to be shared by The Church to share the good news with others.

No matter how large or small, public or private your gift, you can use your hands, feet, or mouth to bless somebody!

You are chosen, child of God! May God bless your ministry to God's people...

Let us pray: Oh God, I am so humbled that you have blessed me to be a blessing to others! I know that I have often squandered this gift. Please forgive me and help me to use my gifts to share the good news that Jesus saves! I pray this in your dear son's Name, Amen.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

What Are You Saying?

1/11/11

SCRIPTURE

Jeremiah 1:4-10 (NRSV)

God calls Jeremiah

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations."
Then I said, "Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy." But the Lord said to me,
"Do not say, 'I am only a boy';
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you,
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
says the Lord."

Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,
"Now I have put my words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant."


DEVOTION

Today's scripture gives me great joy, because it is a wonderful reminder that each of us was created by God with a wonderful purpose.

I talk to people every single day who truly believe that they are nothing and nobody. Their self-esteem is low and they don't believe that they are any good to anybody.

But, today's good news is that God made each of us to serve the Kingdom of Love. Each of us has gifts and talents meant to be used to share the good news that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life!

None of us is worthless and all of us are deeply loved by our Creator!

Scripture teaches us that if we can control our tongues, we can be perfect in every other way; perhaps this is why God touched Jeremiah's mouth!

It is by our mouths that we speak life and it is by our mouths that we speak death...

Today, let me encourage you to use your words to lift up God and to build up yourself and others!

Friend, your self talk matters...What are you telling yourself today?


Oh God, thank you that you created me with a wonderful destiny in mind! Please help me to live into your promise for my life by trusting and obeying you as Spirit leads me to share the good news with others. I pray this in Jesus' Name, Amen.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta

Be Fruitul and Multiply!

SCRIPTURE

Genesis 35:1-15 (NRSV)
God calls and blesses Jacob

God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau." So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your clothes; then come, let us go up to Bethel, that I may make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone." So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak that was near Shechem.

As they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities all around them, so that no one pursued them. Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, and there he built an altar and called the place El bethel, because it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. And Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So it was called Allon bacuth.

God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan aram, and he blessed him. God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; no longer shall you be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name." So he was called Israel. God said to him, "I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall spring from you. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you." Then God went up from him at the place where he had spoken with him. Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured out a drink offering on it, and poured oil on it. So Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

DEVOTION

The word "Bethel" means place of worship.

I love today's scripture reading because it reminds us that we can make anywhere a place of worship if we are willing to listen to God's voice and believe God's promises.

God met Jacob/Israel outside, God may meet us inside. God met Jacob/Israel after great tribulation. God may meet us in trial or triumph! God met Jacob/Israel with awesome promises and God will meet us with the same!

I love to worship God! I love to get into God's presence. I love to remind myself that God is good (all the time)! And all the time (God is good)!

When we take on the posture of worship and praise, God's Spirit comes into our circumstances in a powerful way!

Today, let me invite you to praise God for what God is about to do!

You may not see it yet, but God is going to cause you to be fruitful and multiply. God is going to bless you and your seed. God is going to make awesome provision for your every need!

Let's praise Him in advance for the victory!

Let's pray: Oh God, how I love you! I thank and I praise you just because of who you are! Thank you for all of the wonderful ways that you make me fruitful in my daily life. Please forgive me for thinking that you've forgotten me. I know that you have a good plan for my life, not to harm me, but to give me a future and a hope. This is why I trust you so very much. Please come into my circumstances and turn things around. I pray all of this in Jesus' Name! Amen.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta