Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. We had hiked the Stony Man Trail the trail on our last trip through Shenandoah National Park and knew this would be a good one. It is a short hike to a rock outcrop that looks out over the valley below. The skies were mostly blue with just a few clouds in the early afternoon of this very windy day. When we got to the top I set up my camera on the tripod and got ready to take a shot of the vista in front of me when all at once a rainbow appeared. This were not the type of sky or weather in which you would expect see a rainbow. I stood there in total amazement to see something so beautiful and so unexpected.
As I walked back down the mountain I just couldn’t get over the amazing and unexpected view that I had just seen. And then came to my heart something even more amazing, the grace of God. Amazed! We sometimes use this word so much it looses its power, everything is amazing. I think we can do the same thing with the grace of God. This is especially true for those of us who have known the story of Jesus most of our lives. We need to be reminded again and again how amazing is the love of Christ, knowing that he sits on the heavenly throne where we can always find grace and mercy. Prayer Amazing God Bring us reminders of your grace this day and help us to never loose a sense of how amazing is Your love and grace. Amen
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And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. As I stood before these mountains I was filled with awe at their beauty and danger. Climbing these mountains requires special gear and training, something that I will never have to do.
As Jesus stood on the Mount of Olives and looked toward Jerusalem he saw a mountain that he would have to climb, one we call Calvary. True it was physically only a hill but it was a much more difficult mountain to climb than any mountain on earth. He didn’t need to climb it for he knew no sin. Yet he climbed Calvary - the mountain of our sin - for us. He endured all for us for the joy set before him. Prayer Lord Jesus We bow in awe of your sacrifice on the cross for us. Forgive our sin. Amen Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.” I have seen many mountains in my life but I was not prepared for the size of Mr. Rainer when I first saw it from the airplane. With an elevation of 14, 410 feet it can easily been seen from Seattle 60 miles away. And the closer we got to it the bigger it was. We stopped at the first pullout in Mt. Rainer National Park with a view of the mountain and I just stood there filled with awe and wonder.
We need experiences that fill us with awe and wonder, like the story of the crowd who were “amazed and gave praise to God” when they witnessed Jesus heal the paralyzed man. I have heard the story of Jesus as long as I can remember and sometimes I forget how truly amazing it is that the God who created Mt. Rainier loves and cares for me enough to send Jesus to give those who believe in him eternal life. Stop today and really look at Jesus. Let him fill you with awe and wonder and then praise God. Prayer Lord Jesus Break into our lives this day and fill us with the awe and wonder of your unfailing love. We praise you. Amen Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” While I was deciding on places to visit on our road trip through the Coteau des Prairies of South Dakota I discovered the Fort Sisseton Historic State Park. When we go on our road trips we try to stay off interstates so I search for state parks. I found this one and we put it on our itinerary. After the tour of the buildings and what remained of the fort I was drawn to all the big beautiful trees. I didn’t expect to find trees like this in the prairie but they there were - outlasting the military fort built to conquer. I found this beautiful large tree that stood out from the others. I stood in front of it and walked around it several times to try to decided on the best vantage point to capture its beauty.
Adam and Eve had this important tree in the garden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As they stood in front of it one day they were forced with a decision - whose view was best, theirs or God’s. They made the wrong decision and chose their own way. Each day we stand in front of our own tree. We must decide if we are going to follow our way or God’s way. There are times when we make the right decision and times when we make the wrong one. The story for Adam and Eve didn’t end with their wrong decision. You see, God still came looking for them. There were consequences for their wrong decision (read the rest of the story) but he never left them and through Jesus he made a way back to him. Even when we choose to follow our selfish desires and walk away from God, he doesn’t walk away from us. What will you choose when you stand in front of your tree today? Prayer Loving Father Remind us of your love for us as we stand in front of our own tree and decide how we will live this day. Thank you for always coming for us when we choose to leave you. Thank you for Jesus who made a way back to you. Amen Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. On the other side of this gate is a beautiful garden. In order to enter the garden you must lift the latch and open the gate. Jesus stands as a gate like the one into this garden. We must first look at his glory and love and see our unworthiness, our sin, and our need of him. When we do we lift the latch and through him our unrighteousness becomes righteousness. He has answered our need and become our salvation. Lift the latch and walk into the garden.
Prayer Righteous God We praise and thank you for the indescribable gift of grace that opens the gates of righteousness for us. Amen At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. The light was low in the sky and I saw the two chairs in the meadow of the garden. They seem to draw me to them; to just sit quietly in the garden and see the wonder of God’s world. Sometimes Jesus comes to us in loud and joyous worship experiences and sometimes he comes to us in the quietness of the morning light. In his book, A Violent Grace, Michael Card reminds us how Jesus first appeared to his disciples:
But have you ever noticed how quietly the grace of Easter arrived? No angelic choirs heralded Jesus’ return from the grave. No foreign dignitaries arrived bearing gifts. No voice thundered from heaven. The Resurrection unfolds entirely in a series of intimate conversations between Jesus and His followers. It’s all family business. As He did with Mary, Jesus rises for each of us and calls us by name. The promise is for everyone, but the experience of Easter is only for those who believe and have longed for His appearing. He calls our name. He knows us. He loves us. He gives us quiet mornings that speak deep in our hearts. Find a place to sit in quietness and open your heart. Prayer Lord Jesus Come to us again this day and speak peace and joy to our hearts. Amen When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” I took this image while we were camping on spring break one year. It had been a very unusual camping trip weather wise with a hail storm, tornado watch, lots of rainy, cloudy skies, and this day a half inch of snow. There was no one on the trail that morning so I walked to place I call the swamp. On this day, though it was filled with more water than I have ever seen. It was quiet and still which made for the reflections of the trees. I just stood there for awhile taking in this haunting image on this very unusual day.
The last Passover that the disciples ate with Jesus was also very unusual. They had eaten the Passover many times in their lives, this meal that always had the same pattern. But this time the meal didn’t go in the usual way. Jesus washed their feet; he told them he was leaving them and that this would be the last meal he would eat with them; he promised to make a home for them there; he prayed for them and for us; he took the symbols of the Passover and made them into the symbols of a new covenant. And then the most disturbing part of the meal was his news that one of them would betray him. Each one ask him and each other in sorrowful tones, “Is it I, Lord?” Someone how they each knew that it was possible for them to betray Jesus. And later that evening they did betray him as they all ran away and left him to face the temple guard alone. They were shaken and didn’t understand; for this was not the image they had of the Messiah. Like the disciples on this day we must also ask ourselves, “Is it I, Lord?” For we all at times betray Jesus - when we don’t keep his Word; when we fail to share his love with the world; when we think more about getting than giving. On this day, this Good Friday, take time to look for times you have betrayed Jesus. Then as hard as it is to do, look to him on the cross and know that He hung there for you. Hear him ask his Father to forgive those who hung him there. Hear him promise the thief on the other cross paradise. Hear him give his mother’s care to his disciple. And finally hear him cry with a loud voice, “It is finished!” Humbly bow and seek forgiveness and Jesus will pour out a grace that is amazing. Prayer Crucified Savior, On this day give us a fresh realization of the love that you have for us, that you demonstrated as you hung there are on the cross. Overwhelm our hearts with your amazing grace that we can never deserve. Give us the courage to share this love with the world and live a life that seeks to serve rather than be served. Amen And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. A baby - Jesus came as a baby to a first time mother - the creator of the world as a tiny baby. Jesus, fully human and fully God, Savior of the world. Sit in awe and wonder. Merry Christmas.
Prayer Lord Jesus We bow and worship you this day as the shepherds did when you were born. Amen Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Sometimes I feel like this log - worn and crooked and filled with knots. These are the times that I need to stop and remember God's grace. I need to let go of all the things that are making me feel so crooked. I need to prepare my heart to come before God’s throne of grace, knowing that here I will find mercy in his love. I need to admit that I need his help and quit trying to walk in my own strength. I need to open my heart to God’s healing hand so that he can make my knotted, crooked life beautiful.
Prayer Loving Father We bow before you with confidence and gratitude for your grace and mercy. Prepare our hearts to worship you. Amen Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load. Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor. Another yellow lady slipper - how would you compare it to the image of the lady slipper in the previous post. I am sure that if I ask any ten people which image was better each image would be selected by at least one person. Often after I put images on my computer I struggle trying to decide which one is the best. In the end I am not sure that it matters which one is best or even which one is better. The ultimate goal of my image is that I create something that people enjoy, images that make them appreciate the beauty of God’s world or think deeply about his word. Spending time comparing each image at the computer will sap my energy and passion that I had when I took the image.
Constant comparison does that in our lives. In our society it seems that we are always reducing things to numbers so we can tell which is best - highest number of 5 star reviews, number of likes, size of church membership, and on and on. It is such as easy sin to fall into, comparing ourselves with others. Paul warned the Galatians of the poison of comparing. Instead of comparison he advised the believers to test their own actions. The more we know our own heart the less likely we are to look down on others. The more we examine our own motives and the lives we create without comparing ourselves to others the more we are able to carry our own burdens and have the courage and strength to help shoulder the load of our brother’s burdens. Prayer Loving Lord Forgive our sin of comparing. Help us to see that you have created each one of us with unique gifts. Teach us to test our own actions without comparing ourselves to each other. Open our eyes to see ourselves the way you see each of us and give us the courage to stop comparing and start carrying each other’s burdens. Amen Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” It was lush and green, this path that I have walked on so many times, but it was different that day. The impending storm made the skies dark and the well known path ahead foreboding.
Jesus had walked into Jerusalem on this road many times before, but on this day it was different. It wasn’t an accident the way he came into Jerusalem; he had planned for the donkey to be available (Mark 11:1-6); he came in from the east, opposite from the procession of the Roman soldiers on their horses who came from the west for crowd control during the Passover. His followers and the crowds were rejoicing with loud Hosannas, but he knew what he was doing. He knew the road ahead was going to be dark for him and for his disciples. It wasn’t easy for him. His soul was troubled, but he knew that the whole purpose of his life had been this hour. He faced that hour for you and me. Prayer Living Christ, Make this day and week for us, a week to be amazed at your love. Fill us with wonder again at the story of a God who loves us so much that he sent you to take away our sin. Fill us with a joy at this love that our lives are daily changed by its truth. Amen For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:12-13, ESV We have had so much rain in the past month that water is dripping from everywhere. Along the side of the road on the way to the cove the water dripping over the rocks was turned to ice when the temperatures dropped to well below freezing. All the plants were covered, actually encased in ice. Nothing escaped. As the temperatures were gradually moving above freezing the ice was beginning to melt and form beautiful sculptures as clear as glass.
During Lent we see our lives covered in sin like these plants covered in ice. All of us are frozen in our iniquity. But Jesus's love melts the ice in our hearts and takes away our sin if we call on his name. Jesus is Lord of all. He gives his rich grace to all who call on him. Prayer Lord Jesus Show us our sin and melt the hardness of our hearts. Warm us with your amazing love when we call out to you. Amen Even though I walk through the darkest valley, The Lenten journey leads down a road through the dark valley of our sin. It won’t be easy, as it wasn’t easy for Jesus on his last journey to Jerusalem to face his death. We can only make this journey through the valley because Jesus walked it for us.
Prayer Great Shepherd Help us to look full on at our sin and then see the enormity of your sacrifice for us. Comfort us with your rod and staff and lead us into your amazing grace and love. Amen Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. The path to the falls was well marked - actually it was a boardwalk through the forest. There was no getting lost on this path and even though the woods were dark and deep we knew that when we got to the end there would be beautiful vista before us.
Jesus knew where he was going when he departed the mountain of transfiguration, the path was laid out before him. He knew what lay ahead. It was time to depart from the mountain for his final journey to Jerusalem to complete the task for which he had come. He knew he his path would go through darkness. And down the mountain he departed, for you and me. I invite you to depart on a journey to the cross during the season of Lent that begins this week. Spend more time with Christ thinking about what he accomplished for you and me on the cross. Bow your head to him, knowing that you have been made worthy by his sacrifice of love. Prayer Jesus Our Lord Bring us to a deeper knowledge of your love for us as we walk with you to the cross. Make this season of Lent a time of being with you on the mountain and then departing the mountain to serve you. Amen But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. You don’t need a caption under this image to know that it is a rose, even though there is no other rose like it in the world. Each variety of rose shares some of the same characteristics - petals, thorns, leaves - but each one is unique in how these characteristics show up. Christians are like this. We are each unique in who we are and how we come to Christ but we all have experienced the risen Christ in our lives. Still, we all search for our identity and an understanding of who we are in Christ - what is it that makes us a rose. Paul found that identity in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the words of Lewis Galloway from Feasting on the Word, Year C:
Just as Paul did not hide his past, stifle his personality, or suppress his anxieties, so Christians today can recognize that they are who they are by the grace of God. Each person’s struggles, pains, joys, accomplishments, and dreams are stories of the gospel that can light the way for others. We are each saved by the grace of God and it is by this grace that we understand who we are, who God made us to be. Only when you look at your life, your failures, your sin, your personality, from the perspective of Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection will you be able to say with Paul, “but by the grace of God I am what I am.” Because you have received much grace and have much to tell, work hard to share that grace and tell your story to others knowing that you can do this through the power of the grace of God. Prayer Lord Jesus Christ Help us to find our identity, our purpose, in you. Give us courage to tell our stories of grace to light the way for others. Amen He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” We can not find our way through Advent without walking through the message of John the Baptist. We must heed his call for repentance and apply it to our own lives. The path has been cleared but it is a winter path with no leaves on the trees, no green fields, and a cold sky. It takes courage to walk through a path of self-examination; to see your need; to repent; to accept the grace of Jesus’ gift for you. This is especially true in our society that worships self-sufficiency. We tend to look down on others who need help rather than admit our own need. But true repentance means that following Jesus makes a difference in our lives. We need to find ourselves in the people who asked John what to do after hearing his message of repentance and do what he told them.
Prayer Great God Teach us to walk through the paths of winter, to look at our lives and see where we have failed to follow you. Give us the courage to admit our sin and our weakness and accept your grace and mercy. Amen Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ Slowing the shutter speed in a photograph of a waterfall lets the viewer see something that can’t be seen with the normal eye. It slows time in a way and the result is silky smooth water. And so it is with waiting that seems to slow down the passing of time. Waiting gives us time to see things in new and different ways, things we would have never seen without slowing down and waiting.
Sunday will be the first Sunday of Advent, the first Sunday of the new church year. The season of Advent is a season of waiting. Waiting is hard, especially in our technology ‘speeded-up’ culture. We wait today for God’s promises still yet to be fulfilled as we rejoice over the fulfilled promise of the Messiah. Take time during this season to reflect on what the promise of a Messiah coming into our world means to you and what it requires of you. Take time to think about the grace of God and to seek forgiveness. Prayer Righteous God Teach us to wait on your perfect timing. Teach us to slow down and use our waiting to seek more of you, to be amazed not by glittering lights of the season but by your steadfast love and grace. Amen Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. To take an interesting picture you always have to consider the background. Sometimes you want the background to fade away and sometimes the background is the focus of the image. For example, without the mountains in the background this image would just be a picture of a dilapidated old gate. As with images, we need to think about what is in the background of our lives. For what is in that background impacts our own growth and our relationship with others. Timothy Keller in his book, The Prodigal Prophet, encourages us to make God’s grace the background music of our lives.
“Grace becomes, as it were, the background music of your life. If that is the song your heart sings much of the time, it changes you.” In this season of Thanksgiving, sing praise to God for his grace with all your heart and let that grace change your heart and fill your relationships with others. Prayer Father God Remind me today to be thankful for your grace. Make my background music always be a song of thanksgiving. Amen Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. No single image can capture the exact nature of what the photographer sees and feels when the shutter is pushed. If there is not enough light then you get a dark image. You can try to slow the shutter speed down to capture more light but any movement in the scene changes the way object appears, flowing water becomes smooth. If there is too much light then the camera just records only white light with no detail, places in the image where there is no color. Like the camera we can’t truly see all of God, so Jesus came, the exact imprint of the nature of God. When we look at Jesus we see the radiance of God’s glory. We see the amazing grace of our Savior.
Prayer Great God, Creator of All Things Thank you for sending Jesus to reveal your nature to us, to have relationship with us, to love us. Help us to sharpen our focus on him so we can lead others to see the radiance of your glory in Jesus Christ. Amen Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. You can’t see the garden without stepping through the open gate. The open gate invites all into the garden. These beginning verses of Luke are like this open gate written for Theophilus. It is a story of who Jesus is. It is a story that we are a part of and it is a story that we are to tell to others. So many times I have just skipped over these verses - it is just the beginning, not that important, but when I read this commentary written by James R. Luck from “Feasting on the Gospels--Luke, Volume 1: A Feasting on the Word Commentary” it made me think about these verses in a different way. I give you his words:
Even in the rites of baptism, whether young or old, whether sprinkled or immersed, we are doing nothing less than weaving the story of an individual into the fabric of all those who have gone before us. It is a story of adoption and naming and grace and love. This is our story. Our responsibility as congregational leaders is as simple as it is daunting: we are to help others live into our Christian stories, so that they might become part of the story; so that they might become a living, breathing sacrament of God’s grace. Maybe these words spoke to me so strongly because I have now watched three of my grandchildren be baptized and will watch another one be baptized very soon. Truly I have seen the story of grace of Jesus woven in my life and now to see it woven into the lives of my of children is blessing beyond blessing. Prayer Author of All Stories Help me weave the story of your love into not only my children and grandchildren but to all who need to “become a living, breathing sacrament of God’s grace.” Amen |
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Soli Deo Gloria,
1 Corinthians 10:31
© 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Karen Milligan
1 Corinthians 10:31
© 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Karen Milligan