Daily Devotions

Our devotions this Lenten season have been written by members of Faith Lutheran Church.  Today’s devotion is by Daniel Grimmer.  Also, if you would like to join our staff in praying the liturgy for Responsive Prayer/Suffrages just click here.

When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, and then they pray toward this place, confess your name, and turn from their sin, because you punish them, then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk; and grant rain on your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance. If there is famine in the land, if there is plague, blight, mildew, locust, or caterpillar; if their enemy besieges them in any of their cities; whatever plague, whatever sickness there is; whatever prayer, whatever plea there is from any individual or from all your people Israel, all knowing the afflictions of their own hearts so that they stretch out their hands toward this house; then hear in heaven your dwelling place, forgive, act, and render to all whose hearts you know—according to all their ways, for only you know what is in every human heart— so that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our ancestors. 1 Kings 8:35-40

I have come back around from making mistakes in my life. God has put people in my life that have helped me grow. My principles used to be about what can I get out of people or what do I have to lie about next? Those principles have become more about what can I do for the next suffering person? For the broken imperfect person sitting next to me? My life today revolves around honesty, love, and bringing my spirit into my reality.

One thing that God has given me is my own destruction.  God has never had to punish me more than I already have done or will do in my life, and I think that others who have been destructive in their lives can relate. God can be there for me when I turn toward him, and ask for his love and his guidance as I go through my life. I ask what would be the next thing that I should do for him, so that I may better understand and practice his will.

Let us pray:  Thy will, not mine, be done; however I can best serve thee. Amen.

Our devotions this Lenten season have been written by members of Faith Lutheran Church.  Today’s devotion is by Randy and Robin Schawe.  Also, if you would like to join our staff in praying the liturgy for Responsive Prayer/Suffrages just click here.

You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:14-16

Jesus came to the earth to show us that God loves us. Often it seems we live in a very dark world.  For Robin and I, our faith and beliefs had always been held close to the vest and kept basically to ourselves and within our immediate family.  Watching Helen and Matthew grow up with their universes expanding almost daily and new influences impacting their lives, we realized that we, as parents, needed to become better examples of action taken rather than words spoken.

We all have our unique gifts and strengths. Jesus wants us to use these gifts for good.

It’s often difficult to recognize your specific gifts and once recognized even more difficult to make the first steps toward application and action.  Being a training facilitator, I was very good at stressing to employees that “awkward is good.” Once new practices/processes were put in place and practiced they become easier and easier until common place.  This concept resonated within us. We made the commitment to become better doers. Robin volunteered for the Day School Board and she soon found that she enjoyed that opportunity.

I became involved in the kids athletic ventures, coaching when needed, then jumping into opportunities of running concessions for their teams. Together, we became active participants in Faith Family Fun nights volunteering to help prepare the meals. We enjoyed those nights as we grew and expanded friendships among our fellow Church members. And most recently, when Helen started confirmation in 2011, I fully embraced “awkward is good” by volunteering to become a confirmation mentor.

We’ve both found that we have many more lights than we expected and it’s becoming easier to let them shine but we still have a long way to go. But the first and most difficult steps have been taken.

Let us pray:  Heavenly Father, help us to see and to recognize the many glorious gifts that you have given us.  Give us the strength and courage to use these gifts to help others, shining light on your good deeds, and glorifying your name.  Enable us to become beacons in our community, spreading the lights of Jesus’ teachings wherever we go.  In your name we pray, Amen.

Our devotions this Lenten season have been written by members of Faith Lutheran Church.  Today’s devotion is by Bill and Courtney Fast.  Also, if you would like to join our staff in praying the liturgy for Responsive Prayer/Suffrages just click here.

After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go.He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.  Luke 10:1-12

Jesus knew that the healing of sick people would make them receptive to the Gospel.  So many people work in health care or support various disease-related causes and still we feel like we’re not seeing enough progress.  How amazing would it be to instantly heal any physical or mental illness!

My mother was unresponsive in the ICU for weeks and suddenly, one day, she got better!  Of course many friends, relatives, and strangers had been praying for her but her Jewish surgeon, who had always been confident in his own ability, came to see her after her recovery.  He shook his head and said that he had been at a loss of what to do for her.  He was in Temple one day for a high holiday and not knowing what else he could do, he prayed. The next day she got better.

There is only so much we can do when we rely on our ability but when we ask God, there is nothing in this world he cannot help with.  And when we rely on Jesus we look forward to the Kingdom of God.

Let us pray:  Dear Lord,  please bless us with spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional health.  Amen.

Our devotions this Lenten season have been written by members of Faith Lutheran Church.  Today’s devotion is by Dylan Murphy.  Also, if you would like to join our staff in praying the liturgy for Responsive Prayer/Suffrages just click here.

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 

he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  Philippians 2:1-11

This passage begins with Paul stating that if Christ means anything to you, then resolve your differences and be joyous in Christ’s love with one another, and to do things for the benefit of others and not for personal gain. To show the Philippians how powerful unselfish behavior can be, he cites Jesus as an example. He cites Jesus, saying that because Jesus emptied himself and gave himself over to his Father’s plan for him, even to the point of accepting death on a cross (the equivalent of the electric chair in 1st century Palestine), that is why his name is exalted by God.

Now would be a good time to take into account Paul’s situation in life at the time of his writing this letter to the Philippians. Paul was in jail and was at risk of execution. So, when we take this into account we learn several things.

First, that Paul is willing to die for his Christian faith. Second, that he accepts this willingly and gives himself over to it. And third, that Paul could also serve as his own proof that caring for others more than for oneself is far more powerful than self interest. He is eventually freed and spared, so that he can continue to follow God’s plan for him, in spreading the word of God through signs, healings, baptisms, and conversions.

Let us pray:  Jesus, give me comfort that my loved ones who do not know you – will know you in the end when every knee bows to you. Amen.

Our devotions this Lenten season have been written by members of Faith Lutheran Church.  Today’s devotion is by Laura Michaud.  Also, if you would like to join our staff in praying the liturgy for Responsive Prayer/Suffrages just click here.

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law. But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.  Galatians 2:15-21

So, what happens when faith is nowhere to be found?  Are we lost, hopeless?  How do we get it back or do we?

The trauma and pain I have experienced over the past 2 years have led me to seriously question my faith.  I often (very often) wondered…Why me?  Why did God abandon me?  I thought I LOST my faith.

Stepping beyond the trauma and pain has taken a lot of faith.  Faith I did not realize I had – but it was there all the time.  I am now aware that my faith is challenged every day as I am still wading through profound grief, sadness, and pain.  But the mere fact that I am still standing and getting up every day, working, caring for two kids and trying to accept where I am in my spiritual life is a testament to faith – through grace.

Faith is also in the questioning!  You don’t question something you don’t believe in.  Faith is a GIFT – one that gets me through every moment of every day.

Let us pray:  God, thank you for the gift of faith and help me remember to call on you when all faith seems to be lost.  Amen.

Our devotions this Lenten season have been written by members of Faith Lutheran Church.  Today’s devotion is by John and Anita Lacy.  Also, if you would like to join our staff in praying the liturgy for Responsive Prayer/Suffrages just click here.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.  Romans 12:1-2

What a fortunate scripture to be assigned. This is one of my favorite chapters in the New Testament.  These verses are the lead-in to one of Paul’s discussion of spiritual gifts.

We have all wondered at one time or another, “Why I am I here?  What is the purpose of my life?”  Or, indeed, “What is the purpose of life, in general?”  The answer is, we are here to love God and to love one another and be of service to others.  In order to do this we have to contribute to and be a part of the overall community.  We each contribute in a different way.

In the womb, we were given spiritual gifts from God. Each person’s gifts are different.  After we are born, we acquire skills and talents and passions. Based on these gifts, skills, talents, and passions, we become

musicians, engineers, pastors, dentists, lawyers, plumbers, carpenters, teachers, farmers, etc., you name it.  We all have our calling.  We are to use these callings to the benefit of the overall community. Yet, in living our everyday life we are often conflicted and questioning and sometimes lose heart.  It is at these times that we especially need to hear these words from Paul.

In my work life I sometimes had questions as to whether what I was doing was meaningful, and I would get discouraged. But, invariably, something (or someone) would appear that would alleviate that discouragement.  On Christmas day of 1959, I was alone in a small metal building in Cameron, Louisiana– a very small community on the Gulf of Mexico coast. No businesses were open (including the town’s one cafe).  My job that day was to relay messages by radio to and from an operation that was taking place on a drilling rig about 100 miles offshore. I had not had one call all day, and I was feeling rather useless, alone (which I was), and very hungry!!  At almost exactly noon, I heard a helicopter land next to the building.

I went outside to see what was going on, and the chopper pilot handed me a huge turkey dinner with all the trimmings that had been prepared for me by the rig’s cook. The pilot got back in the chopper and returned to the rig.  I had not been forgotten and I was not alone.

Everyone needs their spirits lifted sometimes and that is what we are all here for.

With the Psalmist We Pray – Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Do not cast me from your presence nor take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Amen.

Our devotions this Lenten season have been written by members of Faith Lutheran Church.  Today’s devotion is by Marlaena Dobbins.  Also, if you would like to join our staff in praying the liturgy for Responsive Prayer/Suffrages just click here.

Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. I can testify that they have a zeal for God, but it is not enlightened. For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them. ” But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);  because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”   Romans 10:1-13

As a child my faith was not something of question. I was told that there was a man in the sky that would let me into heaven if I was good and a man in the ground that would punish me if I were bad. It seems that I was too scared that I would go to hell if I questioned my faith. I later learned that all that didn’t matter if I did not confess Jesus Christ as my Savior, which meant getting baptized.

My mama told me she never baptized me because my religion was something that should be decided on my own. I’m glad that she decided this. I got to experience being saved and witness how many people truly cared about me.

The weird thing is that I didn’t feel any different after I got baptized, yet there was a sense of knowing where I belonged. This was a big deal for me because in all of my life I never stayed in a place for more than two years, and knowing that I would always have a home that could never be taken away from me gave me a sense of satisfaction.

Something that I’ve learned through all of this is that it doesn’t matter how long it takes to get home, you’re always welcome . God will never deny you his love or exclude a soul from his grace. It does not matter your race, sexual orientation, total income, or past in order to be a part of God’s family.

Let us pray:  Jesus, we pray that everyone is shown your unconditional love.  And let people realize that we can not save ourselves. Amen.

Our devotions this Lenten season have been written by members of Faith Lutheran Church.  Today’s devotion is by Heather Leatherwood.  Also, if you would like to join our staff in praying the liturgy for Responsive Prayer/Suffrages just click here.

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.   Acts 9:1-9

I am a single mom.  This is the first time I have written these words down.

I hide this fact from clients, fellow church members, and even some friends and family because I fear judgment.  I fear that I will no longer fit in.

The need for belonging is a strong human desire.  People often join a church, not only because they want to honor God and praise Jesus, but because they want to belong.  To many, membership means they belong.  It also means that others do not belong.  Saul valued membership, and he felt he was doing God’s work by persecuting Christians. It wasn’t until Jesus blinded him that he came to understand that he was persecuting true followers of God, and in turn, persecuting Jesus himself.  He soon came to realize that discipleship was more valuable than membership; he spread word to the Jews, the group to which he formerly belonged, that Jesus was the Son of God.

Just as Jesus blinded Saul, I ask that you close your eyes to the pre-conceived notions of membership and belonging.  Open your mind and your hearts to accept those who don’t “belong,” and share what you have been taught.

Let us pray:  Lord, we thank you for showing us how to love and accept others. Guide us as we seek those who feel that they do not belong and as we share your word with them.  Amen.

Our devotions this Lenten season have been written by members of Faith Lutheran Church.  Today’s devotion is by Luetta Allen.  Also, if you would like to join our staff in praying the liturgy for Responsive Prayer/Suffrages just click here.

But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.  1 Timothy 6:11-16

Paul writes to Timothy with instruction and encouragement.  Note that he uses action verbs; flee, pursue, and a very vivid verb, fight. He is NOT advising that we get our name on a roster and then sit contentedly as members.  Are we called to be Christian members, or Christian disciples?  Disciples are students and followers.  They learn and they take action.  Paul tells us that we are to take action in our faith.  We are to fight the good fight.  What a powerful image.  We may get bruised, hurt, knocked down, but with the strength of our God and the encouragement of our fellow Christians, we keep getting up and coming back swinging.

We are to pursue many noble attributes including endurance, because we are to keep this command for how long?  We are to keep the command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ…our whole life.  A life with Christ is not passive, it is active.

We are not meek, we are his bold soldiers.

Let us pray:  Father God, give us the wisdom to know your will and the strength to follow you into action.  Make us brave enough to fight the good fight.  Help us to persevere to the end.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Our devotions this Lenten season have been written by members of Faith Lutheran Church.  Today’s devotion is by Cathy Doughty.  Also, if you would like to join our staff in praying the liturgy for Responsive Prayer/Suffrages just click here.

We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia; for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means, and even beyond their means, begging us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this ministry to the saints— and this, not merely as we expected; they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us, so that we might urge Titus that, as he had already made a beginning, so he should also complete this generous undertaking among you. Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.  2 Corinthians 8:1-7

This verse brings to mind another, in Luke 12:32, God says “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Think about how this will change your prayer as you learn to look upon God as the great all wisdom, all presence, and all power. Suppose that we had to remind God to put apples on apple trees, peaches on peach trees, or berries on berry bushes; or suppose that we had to remind God that we need or do not need so much rain or remind him every evening that it should become dark and the stars should come out and the moon.

God is doing all these things without our advice or petitions, and can we not trust him enough to know our needs without reminding him of them?

Let us pray:  God, Thank you for the assurance that you will provide for your disciples. Please help us to remember that we are called to move beyond that assurance to excel in all areas of our life. Help us to become committed disciples who serve you earnestly and give generously to help create your kingdom here on Earth. In this way, we can help care for your flock. Amen.