Week of February 3, 2008, Matthew 17: 1-7

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from Matthew, chapter 17, the beginning verses where Matthew describes Jesus’ as glowing like a dazzling white light:
1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.
3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4 Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters-- one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified.
7 But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid."

Dear Jesus, You remind us again in Your Word that You are God, powerful and brilliant with light. You give us a glimpse of Your glory in this biblical account, and You allow us to see what it will be like when we see You face to face in heaven, living in eternity.

Jesus, give us an eternal perspective when we deal with the tough issues that we face every day – the perspective that You are always with us helping and guiding for that is Your promise, the perspective that things are not always what they seem, the perspective that helps us enjoy each day as Your gift to us and that we need not be afraid as we face each day with joy and hope, the perspective that You are light and You have overcome the darkness – for each one of us, for all time.

Jesus, help us to listen, to listen to Your voice. And help us to worship You. Jesus, thanks that You bring life and light to our lives, hope and peace, and always the constant reminder that we have the joys and excitement of mountaintop experiences, but we need to get down into the valley and live our lives drawing others to You, with the promise that You are always with us. Amen.

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you His strength and His great peace. In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You may leave a message or prayer request by e-mailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.
May God, our Light and our Life, be with you now and always.

Week of January 27, 2008, Psalm 27, 1, 4-9

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is a psalm written by King David, Psalm 27, verse 1 and verses 4 to 9:
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?
4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.
6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.
7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior.

Dear Lord, You are my light and my salvation. You bring light into my life when around me sometimes there is darkness. Help me not to be fearful, for You Lord, are the stronghold of my life, and I have nothing to fear. Lord, You my Rock; You are my Strength.

Lord, like King David, my greatest desire is to dwell in Your house all the days of my life, that I may seek You, my Life and my Light, that I may realize Your beauty all around me, in Your creation, in people, the beauty of Your Word.

Lord, I call on You. I call on You to be merciful to me and to respond to me. Do not hide Your face from me. Do not turn Your servant away in anger, for You have been my Helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, for You are my God and my Savior. For my hearts says of You, “Seek His face!” And Your face, Lord, I seek. Your Word promises that You never abandon Your people. You do not turn away from Your children. Your Word says that when we draw near to You, You draw near to us. So I will seek You now and always – all of my life, forevermore.

Thanks for Your love, Your help, Your mercy, Your peace, Your presence always with us. Amen.

May the love of the Lord Jesus draw us to Himself;
May the power of the Lord Jesus strengthen us in His service;
May the joy of the Lord Jesus fill our souls;
May the fire of the Holy Spirit bring comfort, guidance and fervency;
And may the blessing of the almighty and most merciful God - Creator, Word and eternal Holy Spirit - be upon us and remain with us always.
In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You may leave a message or prayer request by e-mailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.
May God, our Hope and Help and Light be with you now and always.

Week of January 20, 2008, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from Paul’s First letter to the Corinthians, chapter 1, the first nine verses. Paul is again encouraging and reminding the Corinthians and us to be faithful, to be bold, to trust in God and the Spirit’s working in their and our lives:
1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ-- their Lord and ours:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.
5 For in him you have been enriched in every way-- in all your speaking and in all your knowledge--
6 because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.
7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
8 He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

Jesus, we call on You, to praise You, to thank You, to worship You. Help us to be holy, to live lives filled with grace and peace. Help us to be bold in proclaiming Your message of love and forgiveness, the Good News of salvation.

Help us to be strong and to be blameless throughout our lives, knowing that You are faithful, and You have called us into fellowship with You, and knowing that we are empowered by Your Spirit in all that we do.

Thanks Jesus, for Your love, Your peace, Your presence in our lives for You are truly Lord and Savior. Amen.

May the Lord bless you as you go on your way. May He go before you to show you the way. May He go behind you to encourage you. May He go beside you to guide and befriend you. May He always be above you to watch over you. And may He be within you to give you peace.
In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You may leave a message or prayer request by e-mailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.
May Jesus, our Savior and Lord, be with you now and always.

Week of January 13, 2008, Psalm 29

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is Psalm 29 – a great psalm describing the power and majesty of God:
1 Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.
3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD strikes with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the desert; the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"
10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
11 The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.

Dear Lord, thanks for Your power and majesty as shown in how You move in Your creation. As sheep know the shepherd’s voice, You remind us, Jesus, that we hear and respond to Your voice. Jesus, may You speak to us, and may we be open to Your voice – to Your direction in our lives, to Your guidance each day, to Your protection over us.

For Your voice is power and glory and strength and majesty. Your voice thunders over the waters. Your voice breaks the mighty cedars of Lebanon. Your voice causes excitement and joy and dancing.

We worship You, O Lord. In the splendor of Your holiness, in Your mighty temple we cry, “Glory!” You are King, enthroned in might in Your creation, and enthroned in our hearts. You bring strength to Your people. You bring peace.

Thanks Jesus, for Your presence with us, Your love showering over us, Your joy in our lives, Your peace which leads us to Your throne of glory. Amen.

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you His strength and His great peace. In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You may leave a comment or prayer request by e-mailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.
God be with you now and always.

Week of January 6, 2008, Matthew 2:1-12

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from the Gospel reading of Matthew, chapter 2, verses 1 to 12. It is the story of the Magi or wise men from lands far away who recognized the Messiah had been born and they came (how ever many there were is unclear) to worship the Christ Child:
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
2 and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.
5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:
6 "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Heavenly Father, so many supernatural events occurred during the time of Jesus’ birth – an angel appearing to Joseph, angels singing to shepherds proclaiming a birth, dreams that directed people to action, and Joseph being led to take the family to Egypt. Through it all, Father God, Your Son was protected to fulfill the promise to the people that a Savior was born – a Savior that would die for the sins of the world.

Just as You worked in the lives of the people at that time, You continue to work in our lives today – leading and guiding us as we look to You for all things.

Thanks, Jesus, for Your presence in our lives – Emmanuel, God with us, still continuing today. As the Magi came to worship You, let us spent time worshiping You each day. Amen.

May the love of the Lord Jesus draw us to Himself;
May the power of the Lord Jesus strengthen us in His service;
May the joy of the Lord Jesus fill our souls;
May the fire of the Holy Spirit bring comfort, guidance and fervency;
And may the blessing of the almighty and most merciful God - Creator, Word and eternal Holy Spirit - be upon us and remain with us always.
In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You may leave a message or a prayer request by e-mailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.
May you know that God, Emmanuel, is with us now and always.