brought Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Some suggest that these gifts anticipated
Jesus’ death, but maybe they also were used by Jesus to prepare for life. What gifts have others given you that have
allowed you to become the person you are today? Who gave you those gifts? Consider dropping a note of thanksgiving to one of those persons in the
coming week.
Category: Meanderings
Playing Through
1.1 Fill My Cup, Lord
shows how God can use brokenness for holy purposes. Take a few moments to think of Rahab the
prostitute, Judah visiting prostitutes, Ruth risking being a stranger and rejection
to and David doing great things for Israel and producing an heir to the thrown
(Solomon) with “Uriah’s wife” (Bathsheba). Take a few moments to think about your spiritual ancestors (Sunday
school teachers, bible study leaders, parents, preachers, etc.). Then offer God all of who you can become
through God’s grace.
Fill My Cup, Lord: A Journey with Jesus through Matthew’s Gospel
“Matthew writes this
Gospel in the early church period when the church is predominantly Jewish. Matthew frequently cites passages from the
Old Testament that are fulfilled in the coming of Jesus the Messiah, a
watershed event in the long tradition of ancient Judaism. Matthew’s intent is that those who read his
Gospel, whether Jews or Gentiles, will see themselves as participants in the
grand sweep of God’s purposes in history. The coming of Jesus, says Matthew, is the culmination of all our
waiting” (Gary Thomas, “Promises That Come True,” in The Spiritual Formation Bible (Grand Rapids; Zondervan:
1999) 1272).
You are invited to read
Matthew’s Gospel anticipating Jesus’ coming to you. Jesus was named by Joseph “Emmanuel – God is
with us” and he is still with us. Bring
your troubles, trials, tribulations; your praises, thanksgivings, and
celebrations to the One who promises to be with us always. Come and be filled with the power of Jesus’
presence so that you might be used to fulfill God’s purposes in history. Richard Blanchard, a United Methodist pastor,
said it this way in 1958:
Fill
my cup, Lord; I lift it up, Lord.
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul.
Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more;
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole.
May you cup be filled,
your thirsting soul quenched, your hungry heart fed, and may you be made whole
in Jesus Christ
Each week you will find
four readings. Use the journaling
questions to prompt your thinking. You
may also want to be led in your journaling by the acronym SOAP. In doing this you are invited to center of
one verse in the SCRIPTURE reading that catch’s your attention (write it
down). Then you should OBSERVE the verse
in its context (and make your notes about the journal). Then APPLY the lesson from God to your
life. Finally, PRAY to God to bring this
lesson to fruition in your life today.
The authors for this devotional journey also include Jay Bissette pastor of Bascom Chapel and Page Memorial UMCs, Doug Lain pastor of Salem UMC, and Gregg Presnall pastor of Vass and Cameron UMCs. Together we are part of a larger journey with the Wellspring Colleague Forum of the North Carolina Annual Conference.
O Have You Seen the Mufti Man?
Link: MSNBC – O Have You Seen the Mufti Man?.
Rabbi Gellman is new at Newsweek, offering commentary at the
intersection of religion and culture. We should pause to remember the
Holocaust and join with him in remembering the lessons learned from
another time. Read on …
There is only one lesson from the Holocaust I can bring myself to teach. There are a few other lessons I have learned. By Rabbi Marc Gellman
Newsweek Updated: 12:15 p.m. ET Feb. 3, 2005
3.2 – Assurance of Forgiveness – Isaiah 53:5
Memorize Isaiah 53:5
But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed (NRSV).
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed (NIV).
Reflect on Isaiah 53:5
- What does Isaiah say about the coming Messiah in the 53rd chapter.
- In what two actions do we participate in verse 5 that causes the Messiah to suffer?
- What two actions will come our way because the Messiah suffered for us?
- These are the words that begin Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of The Christ. If you have seen the movie, what grabbed your attention? your heart? What made no sense to you?
3.1 – Assurance of Forgiveness – Acts 10:43
Memorize Acts 10:43
All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name (NRSV).
All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name (NIV)
Reflect on Acts 10:43
- Again, look to the context of Acts 10:23-48 as you seek to understand the passage.
- Read Micah 5:2 , Zechariah 9:9, and Psalm 22:16 as you contemplate God's forgiveness for you.
- As you pay attention to your life and where you have fallen short of God's glorious purposes for you (see Romans 3:23), take a moment to lean into Jesus' everlasting arms and accept (again) the forgiveness offered to you.
2.4 – Assurance of Jesus – Hebrews 1:3
Memorize Hebrews 1:3
He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (NRSV).
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (NIV).
Reflect on Hebrews 1:3
- What three facts about Jesus do we discern in this passage?
- Look up 1 Peter 3:18 to find out how Jesus purifies us from our sins.
- Hebrews 1:3 and 1 Peter 3:18 are powerful words about Jesus' divinity. Check out the following to pay attention to Jesus' humanity (John 4:6, John 4:7, and John 11-35 – the Bible's shortest verse).
2.3 – Assurance of Jesus – Luke 24:39-40
Memorize Luke 24:39-40
Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." [And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet] (NRSV).
Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet (NIV).
Reflect on Luke 24:39-40
- Read Luke 24 in the NIV and in The MESSAGE.
- Who is Jesus conversing with in verses 39-40?
- Read Luke 22. What happens to Jesus' disciples?
- Read Luke 23. What happens to Jesus?
- What would it take to convince you that Jesus is alive?
2.2 – Assurance of Jesus – Matthew 1:21
"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins" (NIV).
"She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (NRSV).
Reflections on Matthew 1:21:
- Read Matthew 1:18-25. Who is the speaker? Who is the listener?
- This dream came to Joseph in the midst of wrestling with how to put off his marriage to Mary now that she was "with child." When have you wrestled through the night over a difficult decision? What decision tugs at you today? Are you ready to let Jesus keep you from following through on wrong intentions or save you from the destructive consequences?
- Within the context of the Roman Empire, Mary and Joseph, Nazareth and Bethlehem, are of no significance. If God chose to save through world beginning at a point of worldly insignificance, what does that mean for you? for our church? for the world?
2.1 – Assurance of Jesus – John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (NIV).
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (NRSV).
Reflections on John 14:6
- Read chapter 13 and chapter 14 in John's gospel to understand the broader stream of Jesus' message for us. Again, you may want to read these chapters from The Message.
- Jesus makes a bold claim here … I am the Truth, I am the Way, I am Life! Do you remember Jack Nicholson's character Colonel Jessup thundering in the movie A Few Good Men, "you can't handle the truth!"? Can you handle this truth? What would it mean for you to let Jesus be truth for you and not whatever other standard others might bring to you?
- The word "way" implies a journey. Where are you on the journey with Jesus? Can you trust him to show you the way?
- Life … abundant life … What are some paths that folks offer for abundant living? Why do they come up short?
- Take time to post a comment or question.
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