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Post by Jim Pate on Nov 27, 2015 8:14:21 GMT -5
Advent Season - 2015 As we enter the Advent Season, it's time for the Church to remember the real story of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, The Messiah, The Son of the Living God. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only son” (John 1:14, NIV) Here is a pdf of Billy Graham's Devotionals: billygraham.org/landingpages/advent/pdfs/adventbrochure.pdf |
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Post by Jim Pate on Dec 6, 2015 7:26:20 GMT -5
Second Sunday in Advent
I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength
and my might; he has become my salvation.
Isaiah 11:2
Something Hardly Noticeable
A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. - Isaiah 11:1-2
These words from last night's liturgy have stayed with me during the day. Our salvation comes from something small, tender, and vulnerable, something hardly noticeable. God, who is the Creator of the Universe, comes to us in smallness, weakness, and hiddenness.
I find this a hopeful message. Somehow, I keep expecting loud and impressive events to convince me and others of God's saving power; but over and over again I am reminded that spectacles, power plays, and big events are the ways of the world. Our temptation is to be distracted by them and made blind to the "shoot that shall sprout from the stump."
When I have no eyes for the small signs of God's presence - the smile of a baby, the carefree play of children, the words of encouragement and gestures of love offered by friends - I will always remain tempted to despair.
The small child of Bethlehem, the unknown young man of Nazareth, the rejected preacher, the naked man on the cross, he asks for my full attention. The work of our salvation takes place in the midst of a world that continues to shout, scream, and overwhelm us with its claims and promises. But the promise is hidden in the shoot that sprouts from the stump, a shoot that hardly anyone notices.
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Post by Jim Pate on Dec 13, 2015 6:55:07 GMT -5
Third Sunday in Advent
December 13, 2015
May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.
Psalm 126:5
The Peace That is Not of This World
Keep your eyes on the prince of peace, the one who doesn't cling to his divine power; the one who refuses to turn stones into bread, jump from great heights and rule with great power; the one who says, "Blessed are the poor, the gentle, those who mourn, and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and those who are persecuted in the cause of uprightness" (see Matt. 5:3-11); the one who touches the lame, the crippled, and the blind; the one who speaks words of forgiveness and encouragement; the one who dies alone, rejected and despised. Keep your eyes on him who becomes poor with the poor, weak with the weak, and who is rejected with the rejected. He is the source of all peace.
Where is this peace to be found? The answer is clear. In weakness. First of all, in our own weakness, in those places of our hearts where we feel most broken, most insecure, most in agony, most afraid. Why there? Because there, our familiar ways of controlling our world are being stripped away; there we are called to let go from doing much, thinking much, and relying on our self-sufficiency. Right there where we are weakest the peace which is not of this world is hidden.
In Adam's name I say to you, "Claim that peace that remains unknown to so many and make it your own. Because with that peace in your heart you will have new eyes to see and new ears to hear and gradually recognize that same peace in places you would have least expected."
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Post by Jim Pate on Dec 15, 2015 7:15:00 GMT -5
Prayer for an Advent Morning
Thank you, dear God in Heaven, for this day. What a gift you give us each day, with the blazing sunrise through a cloudy winter sky. It is hard getting up these dark mornings, Lord, and yet when I do, you gift us with a sight that we miss at other times of year. I stare out the window at the red and purple light, gloriously framed by the gold of the rising sun. Let me remember your words when I see it, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Let me watch your day unfold in silence, filled with a sense of your presence in my life.
I am filled with gratitude this day for such a treasure and could feel it and see it as a gift from you. Thank you for your love. Today, let me carry a sense of how much you love me to send me such a gift. Let that awareness of your love change the way I treat others today. Let me be more peaceful in the face of the irritations of the day. I ask your help to move through my errands and holiday preparations today with peace and a sense of your sunrise in my heart. Your glory fills my spirit and I want only to give thanks with my life this day.
Amen.
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Post by Jim Pate on Dec 19, 2015 4:51:43 GMT -5
Advent Prayer
Oh King of David, and sceptre of the house of Israel, who opens so that none can shut, and shuts so that none can open: Come, bring the prisoners out of the prison, those who are shut in darkness and the shadow of death.
Oh Dayspring, brightness of the light everlasting, sun everlasting: Come, enlighten those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.
Oh King of all nations, desire of all nations, cornerstone of the single church within which all may dwell: Come, save divided mankind, whom you have formed from clay.
Oh Emmanuel, our King and lawgiver, the salvation of all: Come, save us, Oh Lord our God.
Amen.
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Post by Jim Pate on Dec 20, 2015 8:25:49 GMT -5
Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Advent
I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever. - Psalm 89:1
The Christ Child is Within Us
I think that we have hardly thought through the immense implications of the mystery of the incarnation. Where is God? God is where we are weak, vulnerable, small and dependent. God is where the poor are, the hungry, the handicapped, the mentally ill, the elderly, the powerless. How can we come to know God when our focus is elsewhere, on success, influence, and power? I increasingly believe that our faithfulness will depend on our willingness to go where there is brokenness, loneliness, and human need.
If the church has a future it is a future with the poor in whatever form. Each one of us is seriously searching to live and grow in this belief, and by friendship we can support each other. I realize that the only way for us to stay well in the midst of the many "worlds" is to stay close to the small, vulnerable child that lives in our hearts and in every other human being. Often we do not know that the Christ child is within us. When we discover him we can truly rejoice.
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Post by Jim Pate on Dec 22, 2015 5:44:21 GMT -5
Advent Prayer:
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; So that, at the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal.
Amen.
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