Category: First Steps

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First Steps – November 23, 2020

“Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.’” (John 4:10 NIV).

Lately I’ve been thinking of the Greek word, Dorea. Often translated Gift, it denotes a free gift, stressing its gratuitous character. In the New Testament, it is always used to describe a spiritual or a supernatural gift given by God. When God gives, it is not just the object that is given, but the character of the one giving the gift.

In the text, the woman is slow to realize the gift of God given, Christ, and what that gift could do for her. I wonder how often we are like the woman at the well, because we are slow to recognize the gifts that have been given to us. On a large-scale, the gift of Christ.  On a small-scale, all the little ways God has blessed us.

Therefore, make a daily list for the next 30 days of the gifts that have been given to you. It will not be long before your thoughts will encompass the gifts and the one behind giving the gifts. Be fair warned! This will change your heart, for your cup will overflow with gratitude.

This Week’s Readings:
  • Monday – 1 Corinthians 7
  • Tuesday – 1 Corinthians 8
  • Wednesday – 1 Corinthians 9
  • Thursday – 1 Corinthians 10
  • Friday – 1 Corinthians 11
Please Pray for:
  • Families in crisis.
  • Friends and family members battling illness.
  • Those seeking to find their way.
  • The St. Paul Church family and our ministries.
  • The United Methodist Church family.
  • Our leaders, our country, and our world.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6

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First Steps – November 16, 2020

1 Corinthians 3:5-6 says, “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”

Often when one thinks of their missional service, he/she thinks they have to do the work alone. One feeds and clothes the poor, another spreads the gospel, and still another one cares for the sick. What Paul reminds all is that God added to the work of Apollos and Paul or any person. Actually, the English version doesn’t fully express the thrust of the verse. It is more than a one-time past action. It is a continued action by God. A past action that continues and continues. The ripples never end.

In the text, God continually adds to the work of Apollos and the work of Paul so that it constantly grows. God does the same with us. Every good work, every gospel word spoken is added to by God and God continually adds and adds so that God’s Kingdom comes. The work of God never stops. I hope you take courage in everything you do in the name of God, regardless of how big or small, God will always add and add and add until it reaches its full effect. How great is His mercy for all—Thanks be to God!

This Week’s Readings:
  • Monday – 1 Corinthians 2
  • Tuesday – 1 Corinthians 3
  • Wednesday – 1 Corinthians 4
  • Thursday – 1 Corinthians 5
  • Friday – 1 Corinthians 6
Please Pray for:
  • Families in crisis.
  • Friends and family members battling illness.
  • Those seeking to find their way.
  • The St. Paul Church family and our ministries.
  • The United Methodist Church family.
  • Our leaders, our country, and our world.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6

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First Steps – November 9, 2020

“Everyone wants peace, but very few care for the things that produce it. God’s peace is with the humble and the gentle, and especially with the patient. If you will listen to God and act accordingly, you will enjoy much peace. Here is what to do. Care for nothing other than pleasing God. Do not judge others or meddle in things which do not concern you. Following this advice will spare you needless trouble. But remember that it is impossible to be entirely free of trouble and fatigue in this life… Peace can be found in offering your whole heart to God. Forget your own will, in great things and small things, thanking God equally for the pleasant and the unpleasant. Weigh everything in the same balance…”

These words were written in the 15th Century, yet they still ring true today. Peace is never the absence of struggle, but the knowledge that you belong to God. What assurance we have as a child of God. As God gives himself to us, we give ourselves to him. A bond of faith is formed, meaning that as we give ourselves to him, he gives us his peace.

Peace is internal, something on the inside, a calm resolve that sees one through the struggles of life. Remember – you belong to a God of peace.

This Week’s Readings:
  • Monday – Galatians 3
  • Tuesday – Galatians 4
  • Wednesday – Galatians 5
  • Thursday – Galatians 6
  • Friday – 1 Corinthians 1
Please Pray for:
  • Families in crisis.
  • Friends and family members battling illness.
  • Those seeking to find their way.
  • The St. Paul Church family and our ministries.
  • The United Methodist Church family.
  • Our leaders, our country, and our world.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6

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First Steps – November 2, 2020

My family has always loved Broadway plays. It is hard to count the number of hours we have spent watching different plays. They are a source of pleasure and fun for us. One of our favorites is Hamilton (imagine that, right?). One of my favorite scenes is George Washington’s swan song, One Last Time. In his song, he quotes Micah 4:4, “Everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid…” What is not in the song is the last part of the verse, “…for the Lord Almighty has spoken.”

Micah 4 is a beautiful uplifting chapter where the prophet paints a picture of a time when the Lord’s Temple is established on a mountain, and all people shall come to the mountain where they live in peace together. There are no more wars; only peace, unity, and harmony…where everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid.

Sometimes we forget this promise from God. Imagine such a day! A day where conflict will be no more, and people—with all our differences—live in peace and walk in the name of the Lord. Micah 4 is a hopeful reminder of what will be; therefore, don’t lose hope. As a follower of Christ, embrace the hope of what will be. Drink from the fountain of God’s grace knowing that it will eventually lead to a place of peace for all.

This Week’s Readings:
  • Monday – Mark 14
  • Tuesday – Mark 15
  • Wednesday – Mark 16
  • Thursday – Galatians 1
  • Friday – Galatians 2
Please Pray for:
  • Families in crisis.
  • Friends and family members battling illness.
  • Those seeking to find their way.
  • Teachers and students as they continue to transition.
  • The St. Paul Church family and our ministries.
  • The United Methodist Church family.
  • Our leaders, our country, and our world.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6

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First Steps – October 26, 2020

One of the greatest surprises of my life is that I ended up being a clergyperson. If asked as a child what I wanted to be when I grew up, I’m sure I would have listed fifty different professions other than that of the clergy. Perhaps an attorney, a banker, or a teacher; but definitely not a man of the cloth.

Life is definitely full of surprises, but one thing I’ve learned as a clergyperson is that the more I’m open to the spiritual world, the more I can never say ‘never’. If resurrection is true, and I believe it is, then from what appears to be dead, there can actually come life. Never really isn’t always ‘never’.

If you were to ask God, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” and listen honestly, you might be surprised about what can happen. Granted, it sounds scary; however, what is more frightening is a wasted life in which nothing was done because one never did what they were put here to do.

In Luke 9:62, Jesus spoke these sobering words, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Don’t waste what has been given to you. We all have a mission to live and a God to glorify.

This Week’s Readings:
  • Monday – Mark 9
  • Tuesday – Mark 10
  • Wednesday – Mark 11
  • Thursday – Mark 12
  • Friday – Mark 13
Please Pray for:
  • Families in crisis.
  • Friends and family members battling illness.
  • Those seeking to find their way.
  • Teachers and students as they continue to transition.
  • The St. Paul Church family and our ministries.
  • The United Methodist Church family.
  • Our leaders, our country, and our world.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6

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First Steps – October 19, 2020

I remember hearing a story of Mother Teresa that has always intrigued me. She was asked in an interview, “When you pray, what do you say to God?” Her response shocked the interviewer because she answered, “I don’t usually say much, but mainly listen.” The interviewer was silent for a few moments and then asked, “Okay, when you pray, what does God say to you?”  Mother Teresa answered, “Mainly He doesn’t say much but mostly listens.”  Finally, the interviewer said, “I don’t understand” to which Mother Teresa responded, “If you don’t understand, I can’t explain it to you.”

What do you believe about prayer? We often describe prayer as communication with God and God to us. Yet, in our other relationships, there are times where words are never spoken and communication occurs. For instance, there were many nights where my daughter would sit next to me on the sofa, and we might go a long time without uttering a single word. But, if you ask me if we communicated, I would wholeheartedly say, “Yes.” If you asked her, she would answer the same.

Don’t discount the importance of presence. Simply being in the presence of God can be enough.  The lesson is can we sit still long enough to communicate. Give it a try, it might surprise you.

This Week’s Readings:
  • Monday – Mark 4
  • Tuesday – Mark 5
  • Wednesday – Mark 6, Mark 7
  • Thursday – 1 Corinthians 13
  • Friday – Mark 8
Please Pray for:
  • Families in crisis.
  • Friends and family members battling illness.
  • Those seeking to find their way.
  • Teachers and students as they continue to transition.
  • The St. Paul Church family and our ministries.
  • The United Methodist Church family.
  • Our nation and our leaders.
  • The Covid-19 Pandemic.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6

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