Category: First Steps

Earlier this week, I had an opportunity to eat dinner with a friend. We ended up talking about his prayer life.  Desiring something more with God but not knowing what to do, I suggested that he start with some of the prayers of The Saints.  They, like us, were normal people who sought God in all things.  As you begin this year, begin it in prayer.

Perhaps on this first day of the year, we could begin with St. Anselm, an 11th Century Archbishop of Canterbury.  He prayed:

“O Lord my God, teach my heart this day where and how to see you, where and how to find you.  You have made me and remade me, and you have bestowed on me all the good things I possess, and still I do not know you.  I have not yet done that for which I was made.

Teach me to seek you, for I cannot seek you unless you teach me, or find you unless you show yourself to me.  Let me seek you in my desire, let me desire you in my seeking.  Let me find you by loving you, let me love you when I find you.” 

May God bless you as you seek after God,

This week’s reading:
Monday – Matthew 11-13
Tuesday – Matthew 14-16
Wednesday – Matthew 17-19
Thursday – Matthew 20-22
Friday – Mathew 23-25

Please Pray for:
Ukraine Children—St. Paul’s Winter Mission Trip
Safe travels for all who are traveling this holiday season
For 2018 and all those who will grow in Christ this year
St Paul’s upcoming Marriage Retreat

If you try to point something out to a dog, the dog will often look at your finger instead of that which you are pointing. This can be  frustrating, but it illustrates a natural mistake we all make from time to time.  It’s the mistake many people make when reading the Christmas story in Luke’s Gospel.  What do people know about Jesus’ birth? The manger—the crib, the most famous animal feeding-trough in all of history is what we know and remember.  It is on every Christmas card and the focus of every Christmas carol.

Tradition has Joseph and Mary knocking at an inn door, being told there was no room, but could lodge in a stable alongside animals.  Actually, in ancient inns the upper floors were for guests while the bottom floor was reserved for animals.  Mary and Joseph most likely were on the bottom floor where the animals were kept.  The scriptures don’t mention animals but we can assume they were there.  But the significance of the manger is not whether animals were present; no, the significance of the manger was to help the shepherds identify where the child being born was located.

Outside of Jesus’s family, the shepherds were the first ones told who Jesus was, the significance of his birth, and where they could find him.  Luke 2:12 says, “This will be the sign for you; you’ll find the baby wrapped up, and lying in a feeding-trough (manger).”  Odds are they would not have been able to find Jesus without that specific clue.  But thankfully they did!  One can only guess what their lives were like afterwards—to behold the King of Universe, the One to Redeem All.  On this Christmas, imagine you are there with the shepherds witnessing God’s breaking into the world with grace and truth.  Merry Christmas!!!

This week’s reading:
Monday – 2 Corinthians 7-10
Tuesday – 2 Corinthians 11-13
Wednesday – Matthew 1-4
Thursday – Matthew 5-7
Friday – Mathew 8-10

Please Pray for:
Ukraine Children—St. Paul’s Winter Mission Trip
Safe travels for all who are traveling this holiday season
For 2018 and all those who will grow in Christ this year
St Paul’s upcoming Marriage Retreat

God Bless,

I’m sure you have heard that a picture is worth a thousand words.  Though I’m not sure St. Francis was aware of that saying, he definitely understood the concept when he told his friars to preach the gospel and if needed, use words. There is something about an image, a picture, a scene that can encapsulate our imagination and span thousands of thoughts and reflections.  It is one of the reasons why we use symbols in worship.  A picture is worth a thousand words…perhaps it is worth a thousand sermons.

Recently a friend of mine emailed me a couple of pictures of our church while he ran at sunset.  From a few blocks away, he could see our steeple in the distance. For both of us, the pictures created the image of peace.  Knowing that the world runs at a non-stop pace, there is one place that beckons us to slow down, take in all the goodness around us, and to trust in the God who holds all of us in his hands.  I hope you will look for those pictures, those images, and those scenes that beckon us away for respite.  They are gifts from God.

This week’s reading:

Monday – 1 Corinthians 12
Tuesday – 1 Corinthians 13, 14
Wednesday – 1 Corinthians 15, 16
Thursday – 2 Corinthians 1, 2
Friday – 2 Corinthians 3-6

Please Pray for:

• The upcoming Ukraine Mission Trip.
• The many who dread this season because of the pain of brokenness, sadness, and grief.
• Everyone who will attend worship services at this time of the year—may they rest in the joy of God’s gift of salvation in Jesus Christ.