Thursday, November 27th, 2014
Psalm 80: 1-7, 17-19 (NLT)
19 Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies. Make your face shine down upon us.Only then will we be saved.
As we set out on our Advent journey, we join hearts and voices as we sing, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord!” God promised His salvation long ago; it is realized in Jesus Christ. As we live in the tension of “now” and “not yet,” we await Christ’s return at a time known only to the Father.
We wait in darkness. While the Light of the World shines through the dark that is around us and in us, we still reside in a world that knows dark times. This is my Father’s world, but, right now, this is a fallen, imperfect world. A dark world.
So we cry out to the Lord! We cry out in pain. In anger. We understand having times of sorrow; we have drunk tears, knowing more tears will fall. We pray with the Psalmist and with fellow travelers through the ages for we know there is only One response to the darkness: GOD’S response.
Only God can shine a divine Light. Only God can turn to us, leading us to salvation. If God does not act in this way then we will remain in darkness. We will not be saved.
Yet, in Christ, God’s face shines on us. God has smiled and smiles, still. We have hope because we are part of God’s smile; because we know that the day is coming when He will BEAM broadly for all eternity.
It is Advent! Prepare ye the way of the Lord!
How are you preparing for Christ? Where do you need God to shine His Light in your life?
Rev. Carol Taylor, Warren Plains UMC,
Warrenton, NC;
North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church
Friday, November 28th, 2014
Psalm 80: 1-7, 17-19 (CEB)
3Restore us, God! Make your face shine so that we can be saved!
Fall had not officially hit the calendar, that didn’t seem to matter to the clerk loading the store shelves with Christmas ornaments. Nor the customer who filled her shopping cart with ornaments almost as fast as they were shelved. The image immediately initiated a mental “to do” list of everything I would have to prepare for the holidays.
Many years ago, during the first holiday season after my divorce, it seemed my “to do” list had transformed into an uncontrollable monster. Balancing feelings of grief and anger while trying to maintain what would hopefully be a normal Christmas for my two young children began to overwhelm. I quickly lost the hope and joy of Christmas.
On Christmas Eve, as I drive the children home from the candlelight service, I was tired and thinking of getting the children to bed and the house ready for Santa’s visit. As we neared the house, while looking out the window at the starlit sky, my daughter quietly asked, “Mom, I wonder what Mary was thinking around this time the night before Jesus was born.”
Each year as the calendar hustles us into the season of Advent, I am reminded of my daughter’s question. What are my thoughts during the season of Advent, are they focused on a “to do” list or the anticipation of the birth of Jesus Christ and the hope it brings. Restore me, God!
On what or where are your thoughts focused during this season of Advent?
Rev. Valerie Harvard, Covington Mill UMC,
North Georgia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church
Saturday, November 29th, 2014
Matthew 24:15 - 31 (NIV)
28"Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather."
When an animal dies in the wild, vultures circle above their potential meal. The turkey vulture hovers relatively low to the ground, relying on its keen sense of smell to detect the scent of decay. The black vulture, however, does not have this discriminating sense. It circles far above its vulture cousins, waiting for one to descend. The black vulture then follows behind for a seat at the carrion feast. The black vulture does not scout its own meal; it depends on the turkey vulture to do that work.
Jesus noted that we can behave as vulture-followers. Rather than study His teaching, we depend on others to cull meaning, which we then follow.
And so, when the world seems out of kilter, when earthquake and tsunami strike, when wars and terrorism rage, when a movie based on a novel about the end of the present age opens, the cries predicting Jesus' return go out.
How easily we trust the vulture's scouting report. We should be informed by our own study. Jesus said that the time for his return will be pretty ordinary. There will be parties and wedding receptions in the midst of famine and earthquake and wars and rumor of war. Is this not the state of the world...from the beginning of time?
Our own study informs us that Jesus will return. We don't need to follow after vultures who predict dates or interpret signs. Rather, we should trust, be ready, and continue living as light in this world.
Pastor Anne Riegler, Amble UMC
West Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church
Sunday, November 30th, 2014
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.(NIV)
My children are not good at waiting. Waiting in line, waiting to be seated, waiting for their turn in the bathroom. And of course waiting on Christmas. It would be nice to think we outgrow our impatience, but I don’t think we really do. Some things change, like waiting on my birthday is not quite as much a big deal as it was forty years ago, but in many ways I am still not good at waiting…waiting in line, waiting to be seated, waiting on my turn in the bathroom, and of course waiting on Christmas.
Advent is a season of preparing, but it is also a season of waiting. Like the Christians that Paul wrote to in Corinth, we are waiting for the ultimate revealing of Jesus. Waiting for the bridegroom to return for his bride, which they thought would happen soon. So they waited. And so we also wait.
And while Christ has not yet been fully revealed, there is a daily unveiling of His presence among us even now. Perhaps when we are waiting, with hands busy serving others and eyes fixed on Jesus, we are seeing glimpses of Jesus’ revealing. And we wait with a knowledge that Jesus is always with us. We wait for the One who was here all along. And we wait to see Jesus as he truly is, so that we may see ourselves as we truly are,revealed through Him, through the lens of Divine Love.
And so we wait.
How am I waiting today for Jesus?
In what ways am I seeing Christ revealed today?
Michael Vaughn, Telford UMC, Telford, TN;
Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church
Monday, December 1st, 2014
Micah 4:1-5
“Many nations will say, Come, Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.”
My children are well travelled hikers. They have traversed the many mountain tops of the Green and Adirondack mountains in New England. I for one love the beauty of the mountains, but I have a fear of heights so each time I attempt to climb to the top with my children; ¾ of the way up I am suddenly overcome with fear and need to stop before reaching the summit. I always seem to say, “This time I will make it all the way up the mountain” but I seem to always fall short of reaching that glorious peak.
Many of us dream of the time when we can climb out of the dark valley days we sometime find ourselves in and join God on the mountain top. We are anxious to get to the top where God resides; where there’s no pain, poverty, hunger, disease or war. Sadly, somewhere along the ascent; some of us do everything in our human power to avoid meeting God face to face because we are fearful the Creator God will see our humanness.
Don’t we all have good intentions of getting closer to God?
What keeps you from reaching the summit?
Rev. Kerry T. Cameron, 4 PTs Rising United Methodist Parish, New England Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church
Tuesday, December 2nd, 2014
Psalm 76:5(CEB)
“Don’t remember the iniquities of past generations; let your compassion hurry to meet us because we’ve been
brought so low.”
Psalm 76 is a desperate cry for God to act against those who have destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. It was a time of great turmoil and danger for those left behind in the exile. God needs to act quickly or no one will be left to worship him.
We could say, “Thank God, that’s not our problem!” We do not face destruction, exile or ridicule in America. So we can safely dismiss this Psalm as reflecting a time long past.
But wait, the plight of Christians in western Iraq has become a concern for the American Church. Fervent prayers for their safety are being offered from pulpits across the nation. Face Book postings are painting a fearsome picture of the situation.
In the face of ultimate desperation, the Psalmist cries to God, “How long will you rage, Lord? Forever? Let your compassion hurry to meet us because we’ve been brought so low.”
Hope is all that is left, hope that God will remember his promise, “We are, after all, your people…” If God will act, the Psalmist promises that the rescued people will respond in faith: “We will give you thanks forever; we will proclaim your praises from one generation to the next.”
That promise is fulfilled in the birth of Jesus some 500 years later. There is hope, hope in Christ.
Where is your hope in times of trouble?
Pastor George Lawton, Retired Local Pastor Serving under Appointment, Lakeside UMC, Lakeside MI,
West Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2014
Psalm 79
8“Don’t remember the iniquities of past generations; let your compassion hurry to meet us because we’ve been brought so low.”(CEB)
In a moment of reflection, I closed my eyes. With the world silenced, I recalled those times in my life when I was praising God from the mountaintop. I recalled the joy of my wedding day, as I stood disbelieving that the woman at the end of the aisle had chosen me. I recalled the birth of my daughters and that wonderful sense of awe that only ten little toes and ten little fingers could create. In those mountaintop moments, I gave my love and trust to a God was that was visible.
I also recalled those painful moments when I was far from the mountaintop. I remember the darkness surrounding me in moments when I failed to be a husband or father I could be. I remembered the darkness when my wife’s routine visit turned into a cancer diagnosis. When I was in the muck of the valley, God was so much harder to see. My prayers became less about praise and thankfulness than about demanding answers.
In the shadow and darkness, my prayers became rawer. Knee deep in the muck, I wanted to know why us, or why me. Our hurt was not what we had agreed to. In those dark moments, my anger would rush like a tidal wave with demands for not only help but vengeance and retribution. I wanted God to fix things and fix them according to my heart, not God’s.
Psalm 79 is often called the ‘prayer from the pit’ as it recalls the anger and hurt of those moments when we find ourselves far from the mountaintop. It is raw and asks for vengeance. It also becomes our reminder that when we find ourselves in the valley that our God doesn’t expect prayers that are flowing with milk and honey. Instead, God longs for his place among the rawness. It’s not what I say, but my desire to reach out to God that matters most. Psalm 79 is our reminder that in those moments in the muck, it’s about giving a muddy place to God.
How has God worked in those moments when you
have found yourself in the pit?
What can we do to help ourselves see God precisely
in those moments before they arrive?
Pastor Scott Masters, Asbury Church, Chesterfield, NH;
New England Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church
Thursday, December 4th, 2014
1 Thessalonians 1:2-3
2We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.(NIV)
My pursuit of answering my calling to serve the Lord did not come upon my heart right away. Like many who decide to go to college in later years, I was living day-to-day married, mother of two, and working fulltime. God slowly nudged me from my old ways into seeing the daunting path ahead. God used the faith others who recognized that God was calling me.
There was an older woman in my church who had deep faith and a love for God without measure. I did not work very far from her home and she offered her house to me whenever I needed. I would go there often in between my school bus runs and do my school work. She would always say thank you for coming as if I had given her some great gift by sitting at her table and typing papers. She would look at me with a twinkle in her eyes and talk about my work in the future and serving God.
I saw the face of Christ in her, and through her faith I found faith in myself. When we take the time to invest and hold up our faith for others, there is hope in all thing possible through Christ Jesus.
Think about those times in your life when another's faith has given you hope in your faith.
Pastor Ginifir Giddinge, Good Shepherd UMC, Grey, ME,
New England Conference of the United Methodist Church
Friday, December 5th, 2014
Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13
Psalm 85:10 “Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness
and peace kiss each other…” (ESV)
God brings us together in love, loyalty, goodness, and peace which result in justice! Love came down at Christmas!
During this time at Advent, we tend to focus on Christ’s birth and all that goes with it.
We look around at the beautiful decorations and pick out the perfect tree. Our kitchens smell of sugar and spice and everything nice. We shop until we drop and then we wrap! Oh the beauty of the packages, the excitement of what’s inside! Christmas music fills the air.
Now that’s interesting! We get so busy focused on “things.” What about us? What is inside of us? Are our hearts filled with the same beauty as the decorations? While we are baking do we have love in our hearts? Are we truly at peace while we are shopping? Exactly what is our focus while we wrap the presents? While singing our favorite carols, do we even listen to the words; are we loyal to our Lord and Savior?
When we discover the truth of “His love” in the midst of “Christmas Chaos”, when we allow our lives to be filled with the Holy Spirit, when we focus on others through the eyes of Christ, we will truly learn this promise of God — Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss … and in such salvation, there is nothing left to protect.
Yes, love came down at Christmas. Allow Him to fill you with that same love.
Pastor Ruth Douglas, Jelloway UMC, Three Rivers District,
East Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church
Saturday, December 6th, 2014
Ezekiel 36:24-28
“28Then you will live in the land that I gave to your ancestors, you will be my people, and I will be your God.
I live in Northwest Oklahoma, in an area called the Cherokee Strip. In 1893 over 100,000 people waited at the border of this area for the opportunity to claim a plot of land. In the heat of mid-September, these people risked everything, including their lives, for a chance at a plot of land to call their own. It was land that would bring some security and opportunity.
I imagine it was the same in the days of Ezekiel. Only, the land meant more than security and opportunity. Land in Israel was the fulfillment of God’s promise and a symbol of hope for a people in exile. Sitting around the fire, at night, they could retell the story of Abraham and a land flowing with milk and honey. Mixed in were the stories of why they were no longer in the land. Ezekiel told of the time to come. It was hope and promise.
Today land does not have the same meaning for many in the United States. However, we continue to long for security and opportunity. And, through Jesus Christ we see the shadows of the fulfillment of God’s promise and hope for people in exile. We experience the cleansing water and a living heart. Finally, we remember that we are God’s people with the choice of who/what will be our God.