Week of April 27, 2008, John 14:15-21

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from the Gospel of John, chapter 14, verses 15 to 21. This again is part of Jesus’ last words to His disciples the evening before He was crucified:
15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--
17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

Dear Jesus, thank You for life. Thank You for the promise of eternal life. Thank You for the gift of Your Spirit – the Spirit of truth, the Counselor who is with us forever.

Thank You for the promise that You never leave us as orphans, never leaving us or abandoning us. Thank You for the promise of loving each of us as we respond to Your love and live in Your ways, Your commands, Your truth.

Thank You, Jesus, that You show Yourself, You manifest Yourself to each of us in many ways – through Your creation, in the faces and eyes of Your followers, in people we meet each day. Thank You for making Your home with each of us as we love You and live in Your presence. 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 emailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.
May God be with you now and always.

Week of April 20, 2008, 1 Peter 2:2-10

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from the first lesson of Peter, chapter 2, verses 2 to 10:
2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
4 As you come to him, the living Stone-- rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him--
5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6 For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,"
8 and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message-- which is also what they were destined for.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Dear Jesus, thanks that You are a great God, a living Stone. While rejected two thousand years ago and put to death, You are the Capstone, the One we rely on, the One we trust, the One that if it was removed, we would all fall. Jesus,

You have called us to be a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to You, living stones – to declare Your praise and glory, for You have called us out of darkness into Your wonderful light.

Jesus, thanks for Your light in my life, Your mercy received and continue to receive, Your presence with me, with each of us each day. 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 a prayer request by e-mailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.
Thanks, and may you know that God is with you now and always.

Week of April 13, 2008, John 10:1-10

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verses 1 to 10, where Jesus reminds us that He is the Good Shepherd who guides us, protects us and brings us to a great revelation that He brings us abundant life – a life of spiritual blessings:
1 "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.
2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.
3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."
6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.
8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Dear Lord, we praise You, and we thank You that You are the Good Shepherd, the one who tends and cares for each of us. When we are lost, You help us find the way. When we don’t know the way, You are the gateway. When we hear so many voices around us, You call Your people and lead them out of the wilderness into the light, into green pasture.

Help me to hear Your voice, Jesus. Help me to call out to You in my need, and not follow the voice of a stranger. Save me, Jesus. Rescue me.

Thanks for bringing life to me – the life lived each day as a part of Your creation, the life to look forward to in eternity, the joy-filled life as I seek You, and get to know You more fully in Your word, the life that You desire each of us to have – a life to the full.

Thanks for Your presence, Your love, Your life in me, Your joy as I experience it, and as I share that joy and peace with others. 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 a prayer request by e-mailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.
May God be with you now and always.

Week of April 13, 2008, Luke 24:13-35

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is Luke, chapter 24, verses 13 to 35 – the passage of the two men on the road to Emmaus after Jesus' resurrection, and Jesus appears and explains the Scriptures to them:
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.
14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.
15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;
16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast.
18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"
19 "What things?" he asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.
20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him;
21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.
22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning
23 but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive.
24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."
25 He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?"
27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther.
29 But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.
31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
32 They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together
34 and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon."
35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

Dear Jesus – may their words be my words – “Stay with us” – explain Your Word clearly. Give us a holy perspective of how You have worked through history bringing about your Kingdom and our salvation.

Open my eyes, Lord, to see You more clearly, and help me to fall more deeply in love with You, and give me a love for Your Word, so that it burns within me. And may I also share Your Word to others, reminding each other of all You have done in each of our lives.

You are alive. You are real. You love us beyond comprehension. You care for each of us. Jesus, thanks for Your peace in the midst of turmoil, Your presence that slows me down to appreciate how You work in the lives of Your people. And thanks for Your love. 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.

You may leave a message or prayer request by e-mailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.
May God strengthn, encourage, comfort and guide us with His presence now and always.