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First Steps – February 2, 2020

For nearly thirty-three years Jesus, the Good Shepherd, looked for lost sheep in difficult terrain. Is it possible for such a devoted shepherd to ignore a returning stray sheep? Would it matter where the sheep had been, the faithfulness of the sheep, or how long the sheep had been gone? Absolutely not. The Good Shepherd would look with pity, listen to its cries, evaluate the health of the sheep, place it on his shoulders and carry it back to the safety of the flock.  

I love the way the Book of Jude ends with a benediction:  “Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

This week, I invite you to consider The Good Shepherd who seeks and saves. Consider the depth, height, and length he travels so that anyone would know of his love and mercy. It doesn’t matter where you are today, how broken you might think you are, or how fragmented your relationships are; nothing is beyond the care of the Good Shepherd.  

 

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

 

Please Pray for:.
The St. Paul UMC family.
Those who are unwillingly absent.
Those who are grieving and depressed.
The United Methodist Church.
Our nation and our leaders.
The World.
The Lost.

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Birthday Celebration and Trivia

If you’re celebrating a January birthday, be our guest for Family Night Supper on January 29, 2020. We’ll celebrate your birthday in style and top it off with trivia. Reservations are not necessary but encouraged.

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First Steps – January 27, 2020

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of visiting Normandy, France.  It had long been a bucket list item for me.  I have always been a World War II buff and marveled at the heroism of the Allied Invasion of Normandy and the entire war for that matter.  However, walking on Utah and Omaha Beaches, seeing the topography, having an educated guide point out the historical steps and events was not just emotional but enlightening.

How humbling it was to see and then envision the efforts made to secure freedom in the face of tyranny.  While I was there, I thought about Romans 6:17-19:

So, since we’re out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we’re free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it’s your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you’ve let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you’ve started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!   I’m using this freedom language because it’s easy to picture. You can readily recall, can’t you, how at one time the more you did just what you felt like doing—not caring about others, not caring about God—the worse your life became and the less freedom you had? And how much different is it now as you live in God’s freedom, your lives healed and expansive in holiness?

Because we have freedom, in fullness of the word, we are to not take it for granted but to use it to love God and others.  We are not free to simply do what feels good but to make a difference in the lives of others.  We do this most effectively when we love others as ourselves.  Jesus sacrificed for us so that we could live for him.

This week’s reading:

  • Monday –  1 Thessalonians 5
  • Tuesday – 2 Thessalonians 1
  • Wednesday – 2 Thessalonians 2
  • Thursday – 2 Thessalonians 3
  • Friday – Romans 1

Please Pray for:.

  • The St. Paul UMC family.
  • Those who are unwillingly absent.
  • Those who are grieving and depressed.
  • The United Methodist Church.
  • Our nation and our leaders.
  • The World.
  • The Lost.

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