Week of June 1, 2008, Psalm 34:1-5, 19-24

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from Psalm 31, the first five verses and the last six verses. A psalm by David, it describes how we are to keep God as our Rock and our Refuge:
1 In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness.
2 Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.
3 Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
4 Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.
19 How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you.
20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues.
21 Praise be to the LORD, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city.
22 In my alarm I said, "I am cut off from your sight!" Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help.
23 Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full.
24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.

Dear Lord, in You do I come for refuge. For You are my rock of refuge, a strong fortress who saves me. You rescue me, Lord, and lead and guide me. Redeem me, O Lord, for You are the God of truth, and I commit myself into Your hands.

You are good, Lord, and You show Your wonderful love to each of us as we cry out to You. Let me never be cut off from Your sight, Lord, when I cry to You for mercy and for Your help.

Thanks, Jesus, that when we do seek You, You always respond. You are only waiting for us to respond. Help us to be strong and confident in You, Lord, in the power of the cross, and always empowered by Your spirit as we spend time with You and listen for Your words of strength and courage and help and as we read and reflect on Your Word.

Thanks for Your wonderful love, Your power and strength in our situations of life, Your peace and Your presence with us always. 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 emailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.

May God, our Rock and our Refuge, be with you now and always.

Week of May 25, 2008, Matthew 6:24-34

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6, verses 24 to 34 – a passage about trusting in God for all things:
24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money [or material possessions].
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Dear Lord, thanks for Your words to trust in You for all things. It is not easy to live in this culture with it’s emphasis on stuff. Help me, Lord, to look beyond all the stuff and see You. Help me not to worry, for when I seek You above all else – seek Your kingdom – have a deeper understanding of You working in my life, I become more aware of Your abiding presence. May I never be afraid to call on You in time of need, and to always know that You will provide.

I know, Lord Jesus, that I am a sinner, and that You died for my sins, for the sins of the whole world. So help me to live in the holy reality that You love us so much, that as You care for the lilies of the field and the birds of the air, You care for us even more.

Thanks for Your love, Your presence with us, Your peace that comes when we place all things in Your care. Amen.

May the Lord shower you with His mercy; may the light of His presence be ever your guide; may He guard you and uphold you; may His Spirit be ever by your side. May He bless Your comings in and your goings out. When you sleep, may His angels watch over you; when you wake, may He fill you with His grace. May you love Him and serve Him all your days, and then in heaven to see His face forevermore.
In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You may leave a message or prayer request by emailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.

May God, our Provider be with you now and always.

Week of May 18, 2008, Psalm 8

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is Psalm 8 – a psalm about the glory and majesty of God, our Creator, and our place in the universe and in God’s eyes:
1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:
7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Dear Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth. Your glory is above all things, manifested in Your creation – the heavens and the earth. Even young children and infants sing Your praises, and thereby silence the evil one.

Dear God, as I consider Your creation, the evidence of Your working is so obvious. It is the work of Your fingers – the moon and stars that You have set in place – and then there is man.

With all You have created, You even thought of us – each one of us. You made humans only a little lower than the heavenly beings, and crowned these humans – us – with glory and honor – rulers over the works of Your hands – all flocks and herds, beasts of the field, birds of the air, fish of the sea.

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! Thank You for being such an awesome God – Creator of the heavens and the earth and all on the earth and in the heavens, and also creator of each one of us. And You know us intimately. Thanks for Your love and Your presence in our lives. 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 emailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.
May you know that God is with you now and always.

Week of May 11, 2008, Acts 2:1-21

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from Acts, chapter 2, verses 1 to 21. This is the account of the Pentecost experience with the disciples:
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
7 Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?
8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?
9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome
11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-- we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"
12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"
13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.
15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning!
16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'

Dear Lord, thank You for Your Spirit on Your disciples. As Your disciples experienced Your Spirit then, may that happen now. Fill me, Jesus, with Your Spirit. Give me all I need to understand Your love, Your grace and mercy, Your power and peace. Pour out Your Spirit on each of us fresh each day to serve in Your kingdom however You wish, with the gifts You give.

Thanks, Holy Spirit, for empowering me. I call on You, Lord. Thanks for 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 to you, guide you in your decisions, and fill you
with a fervent desire to serve better.
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 emailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.
May God, as evidenced by the Holy Spirit, be with us now and always.

Week of May 4, 2008, John 17:1-11

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from the Gospel of John, chapter 17, the first eleven verses. This chapter is one of Jesus in prayer – first for Himself, then the disciples, and finally for future believers. This passage includes the prayer for Himself and the first part of Jesus’ prayer for the disciples:
1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.
2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.
3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.
5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
6 "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.
7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.
8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.
10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.
11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name-- the name you gave me-- so that they may be one as we are one.

Jesus, thanks for the example of prayer that You show. Thanks for the lifestyle of prayer that You show. Thank You Jesus, that You lead us to the Father, for the relationship that You have with God the Father, and that You desire for each one of us – for You and for our heavenly Father.

Jesus, help me to grow in maturity of understanding regarding my relationship with You – seeking You, knowing You, walking with You daily. And help me to understand the meaning of Your words about eternal life – that eternal life is simply knowing You, the only true God, and You Jesus.

Jesus, thanks for Your protection, for the unity and harmony with fellow disciples that knowing You brings, for Your presence with us always. 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.

If you would like to leave a message or a prayer request, email me at: peacewm@tds.net.
May God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you now and always.