Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It's a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.” The disciples were following Jesus request to move across the lake to the other side when the storm hit. Sudden storms were not unusual on the Sea of Galilee but it wasn’t the storm that terrified the disciples. It was seeing Jesus walk toward them on the water. Jesus responded to their fears immediately reminding, “Take courage! It is I.” Peter got out of the boat and walked toward Jesus until he looked away and down at the stormy waters. Jesus took Peter’s hand and they climbed into the boat. The disciples’ fear was replaced by worship. It was during that storm that his identity as the Son of God became just a little more clear to them.
These are fearful times. Storms rage around us. Jesus is the only one who can step into our boat and calm the storm even though he may come in unexpected ways. When we see the storms coming we need to trust him to bring us safely to shore. Then we will bow down and replace our fear with worship. Prayer Lord of the Storm Open our eyes to see you always walking toward us. Open our ears to hear your voice calling us to not be afraid. Increase our faith and fill us with awe as we worship you. Amen
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The unfolding of Your words gives light; As the light of late afternoon sun made the green leaves on the trees shine like gold, the light of God’s word shines light into our darkness. God’s word changes us as we take the time to unfold it. The poet of Psalm 119 had a passion for the wonders of God’s word as he crafted this long and intricate acrostic poem. He didn’t see knowing God’s word and following God’s law as a burden but as something he joyously longed for.
Prayer Loving God Awake in us a passion for your word. Make your word shine golden in our lives and light our darkness. Amen When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” When I see the sun rays shinning through the clouds I think of heaven. Like the sun, we know heaven is there but it is mysterious, unknown. One of the early sources for my understanding of heaven comes from the story of Jacob’s dream described in the song, “We are climbing Jacob’s Ladder.” I never really thought much about what it meant. I just knew that Jacob had this dream of a ladder going from earth to heaven with angels going back and forth. The pictures impressed on my memory from my childhood Sunday School class show winged beings dressed white.
Now as I read this story again I see that it was a pivotal time for Jacob and his understanding of who he was and his purpose. He describes his emotions of fear and amazement. Like Jacob we are often unaware of the presence of God in our lives. Then he breaks through the clouds and we see him. We experience the awesomeness of God and here at the Gate of Heaven we worship God and find our identity in him. Prayer Great God Break into our lives this day and bring us to the gate of Heaven. Show us your purpose for our lives. Amen We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Every morning that I can I go to Cherokee Dam to walk on the cross-country trails. On some mornings the sunlight drenches everything in golden light and the sky is filled with color. It makes everything feel fresh and new.
I have heard this phrase, “walk in the newness of life,” at just about every baptism I have watched. During my walk this morning this phrase kept playing in my ear. I think I have heard it so often that I sometimes forget what an amazing promise it is. The Greek word translated as newness is kainotēs. It speaks of a life that has a fresh quality. Jesus’s resurrection provides for us not just more life but a new kind of life. Our sins are buried with him. Our burden of sin and guilt is lifted. Like my morning walks, Jesus brings us a fresh, new life each day as we walk with him. Prayer Lord Jesus Thank you for new mornings and new life. Help us keep the wonder and excitement of the newness of life as we walk with you through our day. Amen Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! Color is a complicated concept. While even a 2 year old can correctly name a color, to understand how we see color is difficult. A simplified explanation tells us that color has three properties: hue, the shade, e.g. red or green; saturation, the strength of the color; and luminance, the brightness of the color. When I took this image with my camera it recorded all the properties of color. You see the image in black and white because I changed the color properties with my image editing software. My software allows me to change any one of the color properties of the image and when I do it changes the whole image. For example I can take a fall scene and increase the saturation of the yellows and reds to make the trees stand out. Or, as I did in this image, I can de-saturation an image so that the green of the grass and the pine needles and the brown of the tree trunk become shades of gray.
When we say that someone is color blind what we are saying is that the person doesn’t see all the properties of color. He or she only sees saturation and brightness but not hue. The image a color blind person sees is incomplete. In the same way we can be color blind when we look at our world. Just like the properties of color we all have properties though which we look at the world - our race, our economic status, our neighborhoods, our politics, and even our religious beliefs. We develop a kind of blindness, our vision is incomplete. The result of all of our color blindness is division and disunity. The church at Corinth was having such a problem with discord and division. Paul wrote to them to help them get over their color blindness, to develop a complete vision. He admonished them first to examine themselves to look to see what properties were missing. If we are going to live in unity with all, we will need to begin by examining the way the properties of our lives influence the image we see. We will need to listen to those people whose properties are different from ours. We will need to see where and how we are color blind. It won’t be easy and will most likely be painful. We don’t like to think of ourselves as racist or prejudice but when we look carefully we will find that we are. Our vision is incomplete and our image of the world is missing something. While we don’t have editing software that will allow us to easily change the properties that we are using to see each other, Paul writes to the Corinthians that we have something more powerful - “grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.” This is the only way we can began to remove the divisions and walk in unity with each other. Prayer God Of All People Examine our hearts and show us where the properties of our lives keep us from seeing the unjust way we and our culture treat others. Give us the courage to reach out to someone whose properties of life are different from ours. As we listen to each other give us wisdom to find ways to seek justice for all who have been oppressed so we can live in unity. Amen Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. I have always loved Queen Anne’s Lace so I was excited when I saw this group in the gardens. When I looked closer I saw this tiny purple flower growing in between all the Queen Anne’s Lace. I liked this one especially that seemed to be poking its head in the center. It would have been easy to overlook without looking closely with my macro lens.
In this passage of scripture there is one phrase that can be easily overlooked, “along with the women.” In our modern culture when men and women routinely pray together we just skip over this little phrase. But, in this time, the idea that women and men would pray together in one room was something that just wasn’t done. It was because of Jesus’s love and teachings that both male and female followers of Christ prayed together. From this small group of men and women the church began to spread the love of Jesus empowered by the Holy Spirit. In our country today we are divided: black/white, republican/democrat, liberal/conservative, rich/poor, wearing a mask/demanding our rights, and on and on. We seem to have lost the ability to think of anyone but ourselves, our side. We focus only on winning and end up hurting each other. We need to pray together again. We need to see things from the other side. We need to grow together like the Queen Anne’s Lace and the little purple flower. This will only be possible when we trust the Holy Spirit and allow him to convict us of our sin and show us how to walk in service to our fellow humans, especially those on the other side. Then, like the two flowers made more beautiful because they are together, we can find unity in Christ. Prayer Holy Spirit Give us a heart of love. Teach us to love our enemies. Give us wisdom to find ways to seek justice for those who have suffered injustice for so long. Give us courage to take one small step and reach out to someone on the other side, in the power of your love. Amen He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” After I go my first DSLR I had a lot to learn about aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. I remember the first time I learned that if you have a slow shutter speed when you take a picture of a waterfall the water will appear to be silky smooth in the image. I was amazed by this and I couldn’t wait to try it. My first couple of tries were terrible because I didn’t realize you had to have a way to keep the camera steady. I remember when I took this picture at one of my favorite places with my new tripod. This was the first time after many tries, I successfully had an image with smooth water and sharp detail. I have learned a lot in the eight years I have been taking images with my camera, yet I still have a lot to learn.
Even though the disciples had been with Jesus for three years, they, too, still had a lot to learn. The disciples knew the scriptures about a promised Messiah, yet Jesus was not the Messiah they had expected. He was still teaching them after his resurrection. He “opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures." He showed them how he fulfilled the Scripture's promises of a Messiah. They now had a new way of understanding the promised Messiah. I wonder what it was like to hear Jesus teach them that day. I believe that Jesus will open our minds to understanding the Scriptures today. The Bible is a beautiful book but it isn’t always easy to understand. We must spend time learning to read it and when we do we will see how Jesus fulfilled God’s plan to love and redeem us. Prayer Lord Jesus, Open our minds to understanding the Scriptures. Give us a desire to study them so that we can see you and become your witnesses. Amen When he [Jesus] had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. We started our third road trip last September on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Since we have driven on the parkway many times it was a good place to start our sightseeing. We would travel from the familiar to the unfamiliar, leaving the mountains where we live and traveling through New England to the coast of Maine. When we left that day we were filled with excitement of the beauty and adventure before us. Things we had read about and seen pictures of we were now going to see in person.
I wonder if the disciples felt like we did that day we began our adventure. Jesus had been with the disciples for 40 days teaching them and preparing them for the new journey ahead. As he prepared to leave them he took them to a place near Bethany. It was a familiar place, the place where he began his final entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. This time instead of leading them into Jerusalem he was leading them out into the world. Prayer Risen Christ Open our hearts to desire the adventure of following you. Lead us out from the familiar and comfortable to be witnesses of your grace and love to out world. Amen For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. This lighthouse stands at the entrance to the harbor in Duluth, Minnesota, shinning its light for the ships returning to port. It must feel good to the sailors to see it as they guide the large ships into the safety of home port; sometimes after enduring difficult waters. There have been times in my life when I have wandered away from Christ. Maybe I was too busy, worried about material things, or just focused on having things my way. I know that Christ stands like the lighthouse guarding my soul. In Christ I find the safety of home. He stands ready to forgive and welcome me into his protection.
Prayer Lord Jesus, Guardian Of Our Souls We entrust our souls to you. We thank you for accepting us and forgiving us when we have wandered away. Amen He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Most of the time Mount Washington in New Hampshire is covered in clouds. Even when the skies are clear below it is not unusual for there to be clouds and strong winds at the top of the mountain. On the first day we were in the White Mountains the skies looked clear, no rain in the forecast, so we decided that this was the day to try to get to the summit. We took the van ride to the top and were amazed at the clear skies. We could see for miles from the White Mountains to the mountains of Western Main. It was an amazing experience.
Luke tells us of a time when two followers of Jesus had an amazing experience of seeing clearly like our day on Mount Washington. Cleopas and his friend, followers of Jesus, had been in Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified. As they were walking the seven miles to Emmaus, discouraged and confused, they talked about all that had happened and the stories that Jesus was alive. Jesus joined them as they walked, but as Luke tells us, they are kept from seeing who he was. It must have been amazing to hear the scriptures that you have heard all your life explained in a new way; a way to see that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah of all the scriptures. It wasn’t until they invited him to eat with them and Jesus gave thanks, like he had many times before, that they knew it was Jesus. They could see clearly now. They couldn’t even wait until morning so they headed back to Jerusalem to tell the others what they had seen. Prayer Lord Jesus, Open our eyes this day. Give us a clear vision of you as we study the scriptures. Amen So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” I have many memories of visiting my grandparents in Gatlinburg and hearing stories of mountains. I remember going to the Ogle Cabin and hearing my grandmother tell me about visiting her cousins here when they still lived in this house. It is a familiar place and reminds me of important times. The mountains are to me a homeplace.
If we are fortunate, we have a homeplace, a place that brings memories of safety and security. Jesus lived most of his life in Galilee. He grew up there and spent most of his ministry with his disciples there. So after the resurrection he told the women to go tell his disciples to meet him in Galilee, the homeplace. He was no longer needed in the temple in Jerusalem for he had become the temple. Life was forever changed and he knew they needed a place to regroup so he sent them to Galilee. But going to Galilee was just the beginning. In the words of N. T. Wright in his book Lent for Everyone: Matthew, Year A: From the very start, the news that Jesus is risen contains a command: ‘Go!’ Go, first to Galilee; go back to where it began, back to your roots to meet the risen Jesus there and watch him transform everything, including your oldest memories. And, as you obey the command of the angel, Jesus himself may perhaps meet you in person (verse 9). Take hold of him. Worship him. This is his day, the Day of Days. Make it yours too. My grandparent’s home was destroyed in the fires of 2016, but I still go to the mountains. I still go to visit the Ogle cabin, which my mom always called Junglebrook; but now I go and find new places in the mountains that I haven’t been before. Each time I go there is something new to find, some new word from the Master spoken to me in the mountains. From the familiarity of our time with Jesus, meeting him first at home wherever that is, we go forward to worship and serve our Lord. Prayer Lord Jesus Help us find new places and new ways to serve you in the spaces of old places. In the security of your love which will never go away, we go forward. Amen But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” While scientists know many things about clouds there are still some things that are a mystery to them. I have spent some time learning about clouds in order to determine the possibility of a beautiful sunrise or sunset, but still the process is mysterious.
In the gospels and Acts we read the stories of the risen Christ. We see how his disciples struggled with understanding the mystery of resurrection. I wonder how long they stood there staring into the sky. They now must learn how to follow their Christ who was no longer physically with them. Like the disciples we too must walk into the mystery of following Christ. Jesus gives us a mission to be his witnesses and in unexpected ways he works out with each of us how we will accomplish his mission. Even though we do not know exactly how we accomplish our mission of being his witnesses we can walk with security as we follow him. One of my favorite hymns, Christ The Lord Is Risen Today by Charles Wesley, describes for me the mystery of following Christ. We take up our cross and follow Jesus through death into life, Alleluia! Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia! Following our exalted Head, Alleluia! Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia! Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia! Prayer Lord Christ, Our Exalted Head Keep these words on our hearts and in our minds throughout this day as we seek to follow you, “Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!” Amen View the post for February 27 for an explanation of my Lenten Project Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; Lord, hear my voice. You can still see the tree in the picture of the night sky. It doesn’t go away when the sun goes down. The interesting thing is that if you sit long enough in the night and watch it get dark you will see wonderful things. You have to wait and waiting isn’t easy but there is reward. Our lives can be like this and for many of us it is right now. We see the dark coming. We are crying out in the depths, whether those depths are the cause of something beyond our control or our sin. We have an assurance that our loving God is still there even in our darkest night. In him we find forgiveness. We can put our hope in the Lord and wait - for hope is an intensive form of waiting. While we wait we can serve him and he will show us how.
Prayer Lord God, We cry out for you in the darkness. We put our hope in you and wait. Show us one way we can serve you this day. Amen View the post for February 27 for an explanation of my Lenten Project The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. Ancient words to comfort and encourage with my special tree in the cove.
Since we hear Jesus speak the first verse of Psalm 22 from the cross, I wonder if, in his agony, he quoted these two Psalms to himself as he hung there. Prayer Lord God, Shepherd of My Soul Calm our hearts as we follow the paths you set before us this day. Amen View the post for February 27 for an explanation of my Lenten Project Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Standing out with its beautiful fall colors was this little tree growing between the rocks along the seashore of this sheltered cove. It can’t have been an easy place to grow with the salt water crashing on the rocks below and the tall evergreens that surround it. Yet it has endured and now it shares its beauty with all who drive by. You can’t help but notice it.
Paul wrote to the Romans to encourage them to stand and endure the hardships that they faced. He reminded them that because God’s love had been poured into their hearts their suffering would not be wasted. From their suffering would come endurance, from endurance character and from character would come hope. It wouldn’t be a surface hope easily worn away, but a deep hope based on dependence on Jesus. Today we face difficult times in our world. Only when we trust God to carry us through those times will our suffering produce endurance, endurance character, and character hope. It is this hope that runs deep in our lives that we can share with a fearful and hurting world. Prayer Lord Jesus Give us strength to endure the days ahead and show us ways to help those around us who are struggling in difficult times. Amen View the post for February 27 for an explanation of my Lenten Project Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; The branches of this strong, old, oak tree spread out and provide protection for the birds who nest here and the animals that take shelter under its branches in summer storms. We have a God who is our protector. He doesn’t promise that the storms won’t come, only that he will bear us through them under his loving care. We only need to accept his care and and trust his authority.
Prayer Lord Our Maker We bow before you grateful for your care. Teach us to rest under your loving arms. Amen Even now,' declares the LORD, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.' Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. The Blue Springs Lutheran Church in Mosheim, Tennessee no longer has a congregation. The building is watched over by a historical committee that recently succeeded in having the building added to the National Register of Historical Buildings. I happened to see it from the highway on the way to somewhere else, abandoned on the hill, no longer severing the purpose for which it was built.
Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. It is a time for us to "rend our hearts." In the ancient times, people would tear their garments as a sign of grief. Lent calls us to do more than just a quick, forgive-me-of-my-sins prayer, but take time to mourn and confess our sin. So that as we move through Lent we open our hearts again to what Jesus did for us on the cross. If we don't rend our heats and confess our sin, then our walk with Christ will become like this abandoned church - still standing, looked after by an historical committee, but no longer serving its purpose. Prayer O Great King, Grow my desire to follow you, with a deeper understanding of the price of my redemption. Show me the purpose you have for me and fill my heart with your love. Amen We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. I have come to understand sunrise as really more of a process than a single moment. It begins with a lightening of the darkness of night at the edge of the horizon. Each minute the light shines a little brighter until the sun finally appears on the horizon. Becoming a Christian is like this. We begin mostly in the dark with only a small light of understanding. As we grow in Christ the light becomes brighter lighting up the dark places in our hearts. We grow when we spend time in the reliable message of God’s word. Peter describe the process of growing in Christ as being like the morning star rising in our hearts. As we spend time in the light of the scriptures a light grows inside of us that we can then share.
Prayer Lord God Shine your light in the dark places of our hearts as we spend time in your word. Amen You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The chair sat there all alone, a picture of loneliness. I think we have all felt times when we were like that chair all alone. We feel left out, somehow like we don’t belong anywhere. We all want to belong. Paul wrote to the Corinthians who were having a belongingness problem. It had become so great that they were dividing themselves into groups based on who they followed. They needed to feel they belonged. They were wounded and alienated. I love these words by Roger J. Gench from the Feasting on the Word, Year A Commentary that explains Paul’s answer to the Corinthians and to us who need to belong:
How do you walk with wounds that are so deep and so alienating? The answer Paul gives is Christ and him crucified, who not only identifies with our loneliness, but who also carries our wounds, in order to show us the God who loves us. It is in Christ alone that we can learn we belong. By learning to live in Christ we grow into the discovery that we are loved. Now I look back on this picture of the chair and am grateful for the time God pointed it out to me on my early morning walk that day. I now see the tree that covers it an all the beauty that surrounds it, like God’s love surrounds me when I am lonely. Prayer Lord God Heal our wounds of loneliness as we grow in your love. Forgive the times our need to belong has divided us and hurt others. Help us to seek the lonely and bring them to your love. Amen Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, This boardwalk makes it possible to walk through swampy land to see a beautiful lake. It forms a boundary line that keeps you safe. Every so often there is a place to stop and sit and just consider the beauty before you. God’s law, like this boardwalk, provides boundary lines for us. When we follow God’s law we find his blessing in the beauty he provides along the way. His law keeps us safe while leading us to his beauty.
Prayer Lord God Open our eyes to find the boundary lines in your Word that we need to make decisions and walk blamelessly with you this day. 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