Week of May 30, 2010, Psalm 8

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is Psalm 8, a great psalm of praise, from the New Living Translation:
1 O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens.
2 You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, and to give you praise
silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.
3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you set in place—
4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them?
5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority—
7 the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals,
8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents.
9 O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

Dear God, Your majesty fills the whole earth. Your glory is higher than the heavens. Your glory is everywhere.

Even children and infants, and all who look to You for all things whatever age, tell of Your strength and power, and give You thanks and praise. For when we give You praise, all other things fall away and we begin to see You, Lord.

Lord God, when I see Your creation, when I take in the beauty and wonder of all that You have created, and then see human beings that You have created, and how special each of us is to You, Lord, I marvel at Your majesty. For You put us humans in charge of everything You have created, and given us humans authority over Your creation. Then we need to ask Your powerful help, Lord, and guidance and wisdom in being wise stewards of the earth, wise stewards of everything You have put under our care.

Lord God, give us wisdom, clothed in love and experiencing Your grace in our dealings with each other. Give us the gift of compassion, so that we can walk alongside with those who are suffering, and give us the gift of comfort so that we can be people who comfort and bring justice to situations. Dear Lord, we need You. We need Your help in all that we do.

Thanks, Lord, for Your presence, Your love, Your peace. 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 after by emailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.
May we be more and more aware of God’s presence and working in our lives each day. For Your name, O Lord, is majestic and fills the whole earth.

Week of May 23, 2010, Acts 2:1-21

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from Acts, chapter 2, verses 1 to 21 – the Pentecost experience:
1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
5Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia 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!" 12Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"
13Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."
14Then 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. 15These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16No, 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.
18Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
19I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'

Dear God, Your Word comes powerfully to us in this message. You describe the power of Your Spirit in the midst of Your people. You empower the early disciples to go out to all the peoples.

Lord God, as You filled the disciples with the Holy Spirit in this New Testament account, fill us also. Fill us with Your Spirit each day, molding us, teaching us, empowering us, to reach out to others, with Your Spirit guiding, bringing enthusiasm to all that we do, directed to serve and encourage others.

Lord, remind each of us, that Pentecost experiences continue to happen all the time. Help us to be aware of Your Spirit working in our own lives and in the lives around us.

God the Father, Jesus our Redeemer, Holy Spirit our Empowerer, thanks for Your presence with us always as You lead and guide and encourage. 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 we be more and more aware of God’s presence and working in our lives each day.

Week of May 16, 2010, John 17:20-26

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from the Gospel of John, chapter 17, verses 20 to 26. It is a part of the conversation Jesus had with his disciples the night before he was crucified and died. And this particular section is Jesus’ prayer to his Father, where he also prays for us when he says “for those who will believe in me.” The words are profound and reflective and are understood with time spent on our part pondering those words. This passage is from the Message Bible:
20-23I'm praying not only for them but also for those who will believe in me because of them and their witness about me. The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind— just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. The same glory you gave me, I gave them, so they'll be as unified and together as we are— I in them and you in me. Then they'll be mature in this oneness, and give the godless world evidence that you've sent me and loved them in the same way you've loved me.
24-26Father, I want those you gave me to be with me, right where I am, so they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me, having loved me long before there ever was a world. Righteous Father, the world has never known you, but I have known you, and these disciples know that you sent me on this mission. I have made your very being known to them— who you are and what you do— and continue to make it known, so that your love for me might be in them exactly as I am in them.

Jesus, thank You for showing to us the intimacy that You have with Your Father. Thank You for praying for all the people that have come after that time. Your prayers then include us today. Thank You for reminding us about the unity that You have prayed for, for the maturity in oneness for the Church. Thank You, Jesus, for the ministry in mission that You bring to us, the mission to others about who You are, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and what You have done.

Thank You for inviting us into the relationship of a transcendent God and a personal God, God who is in heaven and God who is in each of us.

Thanks, Jesus, for Your love that surrounds us, Your peace that comes to us, 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 to you, guide you in your decisions, and fill you
with a fervent desire to serve Him 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 you be more and more aware of God’s presence as you live each day.

Week of May 9, 2010, John 14:23-27

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from the Gospel of John, chapter 14, here using verses 23 to 27. Jesus is speaking to his disciples for the last time, the night before he is crucified.
23Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25"All this I have spoken while still with you. 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Heavenly Father, again we praise and thank You. We come before You with thanksgiving for Your Son, Jesus, who died on the cross for each of us, who was raised in power and glory.

Jesus, help us to love You more fully, to respond to Your love, to obey Your teachings. We welcome You into our hearts, abiding with us, making Your home with each of us.

Holy Spirit, be our Counselor, be our Teacher, and remind us of the power and promises of the Words of Jesus to the disciples, the Words of Jesus to each one of us.

We thank You, Jesus, for the peace that You give each of us, the promise of Your abiding presence with us that eases our anxiousness and takes away our fears. Thanks for Your love, Your joy, Your strength through each day of our lives. 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 Him 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 you be more and more aware of God’s presence as you live each day.