Category: First Steps

This week’s readings:

• Monday – Acts 1
• Tuesday – Acts 2
• Wednesday – Acts 3
• Thursday – Acts 4
• Friday  – Acts 5

Please Pray for:

• Our ministers and their families.
• Those who are unwillingly absent.
• The United Methodist Church family.
• Our nation and our leaders.
• The World.
• The Lost.
• The lives of those touched by the Coronavirus.    

This week’s readings:

• Monday – 1 Peter 1
• Tuesday – 1 Peter 2
• Wednesday – 1 Peter 3
• Thursday – 1 Peter 4
• Friday  – 1 Peter 5

Please Pray for:

• Our ministers and their families.
• Those who are unwillingly absent.
• The United Methodist Church family.
• Our nation and our leaders.
• The World.
• The Lost.
• The lives of those touched by the Coronavirus.    

I read a recent article that described the psychological effects of laughter. Basically, laughter establishes a positive emotional climate, connects people, and increases blood flow. I’m sure you have heard the cliché, Laughter is the Best Medicine, perhaps now there are studies that prove it. Though written centuries ago, the Psalmist knew the power of laughter. In Psalm 126, laughter is linked to restoration, “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.”

Don’t be afraid to laugh! In times of difficulty and distancing, it is easy to focus on what is wrong, broken, and fearful. Yet, there are things around us that are joyful and need to be celebrated. Some of those things can fill our souls with laughter. As you begin this week, fix your eyes on what is joyful. They are still there, maybe harder to see than normal, but they still exist. Pursue laughter and allow that to restore your heart with hope. It will be like a burden released.

This week’s readings:
Monday – James 1
Tuesday – James 2
Wednesday – James 3
Thursday – James 4
Friday – James 5

Please Pray for:
Our ministers and their families.
Those who are unwillingly absent.
The United Methodist Church family.
Our nation and our leaders.
The World.
The Lost.
The lives of those touched by the Coronavirus.

Outside has taken on a new meaning for me. Over the last few weeks, I’ve tried to begin and end each day outside. Most of my mornings are spent listening to birds, watching the sun come up, and attempting to notice all that is going on around me. For instance, I hear a cacophony of sounds. Though not a symphony, it is still “sounds” nonetheless. Frankly, I long to hear them. Different birds chirping, a dog barking, a distance vehicle or two, and a few other sounds that are hard to identify. They remind me of a genesis—a beginning. In the evening, I do something similar. I want to see the stars, the moon, and listen to the sounds around me. Though completely different than the morning sounds, the evening melody is softer, more organic.

I do this because it reminds me of a natural rhythm. Something basic, fundamental to creation that all need to clutch in periods of great disruption. Everyone needs a cadence to the day particularly when the normal flow to life is in disorder. Those environmental-natural sounds and imagines help connect one to something larger and grander than the immediate.

Perhaps Psalm 8 was written in a time of disruption. I’m not sure one will ever know the stimulus the pushed the writer’s pen, but the words are definitely helpful when things seem out-of-control or confusing. These words are a connection to something larger. They are a springboard, urging the reader to see beyond the immediate to what lies behind it all: A God who creates, sustains, and restores.

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
Your glory is higher than the heavens.
You have taught children and infants
to tell of your strength,
silencing your enemies
and all who oppose you.
When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you set in place—
what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them?
Yet you made them only a little lower than God
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You gave them charge of everything you made,
putting all things under their authority—
the flocks and the herds
and all the wild animals,
the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that swims the ocean currents.
O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

This week’s readings:
Monday – Hebrews 12
Tuesday – Hebrews 13
Wednesday – 1 Peter
Thursday – 2 Peter
Friday – 1 John

Please Pray for:
Our ministers and their families.
Those who are unwillingly absent.
The United Methodist Church family.
Our nation and our leaders.
The World.
The Lost.
The lives of those touched by the Coronavirus.

If the goal of the Christian Life is faith maturation, then at some point, prayer has to be taken seriously. I’m not talking about a prayer of thanksgiving before a meal or a modest expression of “Thank you Lord” for the weather. Those simple prayers are needed and definitely have their place; but, the type of prayer I’m referring to is the silent reflective prayer where one descends into the depths of your heart. The unfortunate truth is we are aliens to ourselves and our first desire is to maintain that level of disconnect.

We run after many things that we think add value to our lives and in doing so we run from the opportunity to grow inwardly. Often, we long for time, in hopes that we can manufacture a spiritual life that shines as bright as the sun. Yet, we yield to the cares and demands of our world which consumes all our time and energy. At some point, we have to choose what is most important? What is temporary? What is eternal? How we handle that choice determines which path we take and ultimately what we become.

Prayer is the heart of the Christian life. It is essential to growing in grace. Try this: Sit alone in a quiet place. Don’t worry how long. Continually ask God to help your mind drift away from the daily cares of the world. Observe your breathing. Try to slow it down. Focus on a word, phrase, or portion of scripture and invite God’s Spirit to minister to you in this time of silence.

Give it time. Practice it daily. Eventually you will welcome this time spent with God. As God guides, stay with him. Don’t be afraid. Sometimes the work of the Holy Spirit is to reveal areas of growth. Sometimes, God wants to remove barriers that prevent us from becoming like Jesus. Trust in God and your time with Him. He won’t disappoint.

This week’s readings:
Monday – Hebrews 7
Tuesday – Hebrews 8
Wednesday – Hebrews 9
Thursday – Hebrews 10
Friday – Hebrews 11

Please Pray for:
Our ministers and their families.
Those who are unwillingly absent.
The United Methodist Church family.
Our nation and our leaders.
The World.
The Lost.
The lives of those touched by the Coronavirus.

Psalm 6
1 O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am pining away;
Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed.
3 And my soul is greatly dismayed;
But You, O Lord—how long?
4 Return, O Lord, rescue my soul;
Save me because of Your lovingkindness.
5 For there is no mention of You in death;
In Sheol who will give You thanks?
6 I am weary with my sighing;
Every night I make my bed swim,
I dissolve my couch with my tears.
7 My eye has wasted away with grief;
It has become old because of all my adversaries.
8 Depart from me, all you who do iniquity,
For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my supplication,
The Lord receives my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly dismayed;
They shall turn back, they will suddenly be ashamed.

I think Psalm 6 is an underrated Psalm. This is not one that is quoted often in sermons or Bible studies. Most believe this was to be sung or accompanied by music—maybe that is why it is lesser known. Nonetheless, I think it is a beautiful prayer of David. Definitely a prayer one should read from time to time.

It is a natural thing for someone to run to God when there is trouble. When in pain, comfort comes when one seeks and cries out to Him. It doesn’t matter if the pain is spiritual, emotional, or physical, when one cries out, God doesn’t ignore. God wants us to call out for His help in all types of trouble. Our prayers, born out of difficulty, become the greatest glory that one can give to God.

This week’s readings:
Monday – Hebrews 2
Tuesday – Hebrews 3
Wednesday – Hebrews 4
Thursday – Hebrews 5
Friday – Hebrews 6

Please Pray for:
Our ministers and their families.
Those who are unwillingly absent.
The United Methodist Church family.
Our nation and our leaders.
The World.
The Lost.
The lives of those touched by the Coronavirus.