Category: First Steps

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”…35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”… 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (Selected verses from Luke 1). Lately, my focus has been on Elizabeth.  God used her to be the source of confirmation of his work in Mary.  Imagine that—God’s work in you can be the source of confirmation of God’s work in another person.  Sometimes we underestimate God’s work in us and the ripple effect it has in God’s Kingdom.  This Christmas, imagine the level of Mary’s confusion.  I shudder to do so; yet Elizabeth was a comfort and proof that with God, all things are possible.  This Week’s Readings: *Monday – Ephesians 6 *Tuesday – Philippians 1 *Wednesday – Philippians 2 *Thursday – Philippians 3 *Friday – Philippians 4 Things to Pray About: -The violence and finding peace in our city, state, country, and in the world. -Pray for guidance, healing, protection, strength, courage, and faith. -Our unwillingly absent members. -Comfort those who are grieving and in distress. -Wisdom for our leaders as they navigate through uncertain times. -Family restoration through forgiveness. -Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC.

“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

Two weeks ago, I had an interesting 24 hours where I officiated a funeral service, said a blessing prayer for a birthday, and officiated a wedding. In those three events, I experienced the seasons of a typical life: celebration of birth, celebration of marriage, and celebration of a life lived. As I reflect on that day, I’m reminded of two quotes. One quote is a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer and the other is from Pat Conroy’s The Prince of Tides. First, the prayer of blessing for a person: Watch over thy child, O Lord, as his days increase; bless and guide him wherever he may be, keeping him unspotted from the world. Strengthen him when he stands; comfort him when discouraged or sorrowful; raise him up if he falls; and in his heart may thy peace which passeth understanding abide all the days of his life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Then, a quote: Teach them the quiet words of kindness, to live beyond themselves. Urge them toward excellence, drive them toward gentleness, pull them deep into yourself, put them upward toward [adulthood], but softly like an angel arranging clouds. Let your spirit move through them softly. As a parent, a husband, and a friend, I find comfort in both. For obvious reasons, I pray this prayer for the people around me. I want God to bless, guide, and care for them. Likewise, I want to influence people with kindness. I want my life to be a witness to God where others see Christ in me. What about you? As you think of your life, your influence, and your witness to others, I invite you to ponder these quotes and allow God’s Spirit to speak to you. This Week’s Readings: *Monday – Ephesians 1 *Tuesday – Ephesians 2 *Wednesday – Ephesians 3 *Thursday – Ephesians 4 *Friday – Ephesians 5 Things to Pray About: -The violence and finding peace in our city, state, country, and in the world. -Pray for guidance, healing, protection, strength, courage, and faith. -Our unwillingly absent members. -Comfort those who are grieving and in distress. -Wisdom for our leaders as they navigate through uncertain times. -Family restoration through forgiveness. -Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC.

“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

Aristotle defined different levels of friendship centered around the Greek word Phileo (Love). This type of love is based on an interpersonal association similar to brotherly or sisterly love. Naturally, Aristotle believed friendships can take three distinct forms based on this interpersonal love: A Transactional Form where the relationship between the two is based on the mutual benefit for both parties. Business partners would be a good example. A Mutual Pleasure Form where two parties share the same hobby or affinities (like a team). Both parties in the relationship receive pleasure from the shared interest. The link between the two persons is not genuine affection for each other as much as the joint affection in the shared interest.   He believed #1 and #2 are lesser friendships because it is more about what one receives. The relationship is more one-way than two-way; however, there was a preferred friendship.  A Primary Loving Form—non-sexual in nature with the bond of friendship that is created is independent of how useful one person is to the other.   This type of friendship is risky but most rewarding for to love someone is to be willing to let them influence you, to show new things to want and to value—things you would have never wanted or valued if it weren’t for them.  This type of friendship exists between individuals to whom the power to change another is given.  It can be dangerous because one can never be sure what will become as a result.  But in the end, these friends help one become who they are.  To love this way is to invite risk because of the potential betrayal of trust.  This type of love requires vulnerability.    The New Testament challenges one to love this way because of the levels of meaningful relationships and friendships that will result.  We need those types of friendships in our lives because it adds to who we are.  Look at how the New Testament describes this need:   Romans 12:10–Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Hebrews 13:1–Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 1 Peter 1:22–Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. This Week’s Readings: *Monday – Romans 12 *Tuesday – Romans 13 *Wednesday – Romans 14 *Thursday – Romans 15 *Friday – Romans 16 Things to Pray About: -The violence and finding peace in our city, state, country, and in the world. -Pray for guidance, healing, protection, strength, courage, and faith. -Our unwillingly absent members. -Comfort those who are grieving and in distress. -Wisdom for our leaders as they navigate through uncertain times. -Family restoration through forgiveness. -Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC.

“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

In this season of Advent, we wait. A waiting person is a patient person. This isn’t passivity. To wait, to be patient, is to live actively in the present and stay there, nurturing the moment the same way a mother nurtures a child. Impatient people expect the real thing to happen somewhere else, so they want to be elsewhere and in doing so they miss the promise of the present moment. If we are constantly looking elsewhere, we miss what God is doing right here, right now. Therefore, spend this week looking at all the ways God has already blessed you. Quite your soul to hear his voice today—right now. God is not something far off—He is close, whispering today the words of love. He is gently calling you to follow. We can’t see God now if we are always looking for God elsewhere. This Week’s Readings: *Monday – Romans 7 *Tuesday – Romans 8 *Wednesday – Romans 9 *Thursday – Romans 10 *Friday – Romans 11 Things to Pray About: -The violence and finding peace in our city, state, country, and in the world. -Pray for guidance, healing, protection, strength, courage, and faith. -Our unwillingly absent members. -Comfort those who are grieving and in distress. -Wisdom for our leaders as they navigate through uncertain times. -Family restoration through forgiveness. -Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC.

“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

As I prepare myself for Advent and the joy of Christmas, I must embrace waiting with patience.  As a child, waiting for Christmas was difficult.  After all, what child doesn’t want to leap to the fun of Christmas morning?  As an adult, waiting is still difficult, but not for gifts. Now, my struggle is waiting for the culmination of God’s Kingdom.  I understand the saints’ call to the throne of God, “How long?”  Waiting is difficult.   If you are like me and waiting is a struggle for you, draw strength from Henri Nouwen’s words: “I have found it very important in my own life to let go of my wishes and start hoping.  It was only when I was willing to let go of my wishes that something really new, something beyond my own expectations, could happen to me.  Just imagine what Mary was actually saying in the words, ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord.  Let what you have said be done to me’ (Luke 1:38).  She was saying, ‘I don’t know what this all means, but I trust that good things will happen.’  She trusted so deeply that her waiting was open to all possibilities.  And she did not want to control them.  She believed that when she listened carefully, she could trust what was going to happen.  To wait open-endedly is an enormously radical attitude toward life.  It is trusting that something will happen to us that is far beyond our own imaginings.  It is giving up control over our future and letting God define our life.  It is living with the conviction that God molds us according to God’s love and not according to our fear.  The spiritual life is a life in which we wait, actively present to the moment, expecting that new things will happen to us, new things that are far beyond our own imagination or prediction.  That, indeed, is a very radical stance in a world preoccupied with control” (The Path of Waiting).   This Week’s Readings: *Monday – Romans 2 *Tuesday – Romans 3 *Wednesday – Romans 4 *Thursday – Romans 5 *Friday – Romans 6 Things to Pray About: -The violence and finding peace in our city, state, country, and in the world. -Pray for guidance, healing, protection, strength, courage, and faith. -Our unwillingly absent members. -Comfort those who are grieving and in distress. -Wisdom for our leaders as they navigate through uncertain times. -Family restoration through forgiveness. -Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC.

“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

While digging through an old file looking for survey results on courage (which I did not find), I found something else interesting.  It was a quote from Mark Batterson:   Lions don’t lose sleep over the opinions of sheep.   Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death.  Set God-sized goals.  Pursue God-ordained passions.  Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention.  Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution.  Stop criticizing and start creating.  Stop playing it safe and start taking risks.  Expand your horizons.  Consider the lilacs.  Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can.  Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what is right with God.  Burn sinful bridges.  Laugh at yourself.  Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks.  Don’t try to be who you’re not.  Be yourself.  Quit holding out.  Quit holding back.  Quit running away.  If God is for us, who can be against us.  This Week’s Readings: *Monday – 1 Thessalonians 5 *Tuesday – 2 Thessalonians 1 *Wednesday – 2 Thessalonians 2 *Thursday – 2 Thessalonians 3 *Friday – Romans 1 Things to Pray About: -The violence and finding peace in our city, state, country, and in the world. -Pray for guidance, healing, protection, strength, courage, and faith. -Our unwillingly absent members. -Comfort those who are grieving and in distress. -Wisdom for our leaders as they navigate through uncertain times. -Family restoration through forgiveness. -Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC.

“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