Week of February 27, 2011, Matthew 6:24-34

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6, verses 24-34, where Jesus calls us to a higher lifestyle – seeking God’s kingdom above all else, and the rest will take care of itself. Jesus says:
24 ‘No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
25 ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” 32For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34 ‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Jesus, You remind us that whatever is our passion, whatever takes up our time – that is our god. Help me, Jesus to look to You above all else. Help me not to worry about all the cares of this life that I think are so important – what I should eat, what I should wear, what needs to be done next. Jesus, You remind us that just as You care for the birds of the air, so You care and watch over us.

Thank You, Jesus, that You call us to Yourself – to grow in Your likeness, to be obedient to Your call, to be faithful in well-doing, to always follow You, Your Word, Your path, empowered and helped by Your Spirit. And Your promise to each of us, Lord, is that as we look to You, as we seek first Your kingdom, worries and cares of this world are lessened and put into perspective, and a joy for life, a joy of loving, a joy of serving are the result.

Thanks, Jesus, for Your love, Your help, Your care for each of us, and Your presence with us always. 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 emailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.
May you know God’s presence with you more and more each day.

Week of February 20, 2011, Psalm 119:33-40

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from Psalm 119, a great psalm describing the writer’s love for God’s principles of living and God’s word, verses 33-40. The writer finds many ways of saying Word – but they all refer to living our lives according to God’s teachings:

33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes, and I will observe it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.
35 Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.
36 Turn my heart to your decrees, and not to selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; give me life in your ways.
38 Confirm to your servant your promise, which is for those who fear you.
39 Turn away the disgrace that I dread, for your ordinances are good.
40 See, I have longed for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life.


Dear God, thank You for Your Word. Thanks for Your Word that teaches, brings understanding, leads me, gives life, and confirms Your promise of life with You. Help me, Lord, to fall more and more in love with You, to fall more in love with Your Word. Help me to carve out time in my day to read Your Word, to listen to Your voice in that Word, to take it with me in my world, and to always be aware that You are with me wherever I go.

Your statues, laws, commandments, decrees, ordinances, precepts – Your teaching and principles of love, grace, mercy, peace, kindness, respect, - they all give me life. They all fill me with hope.

Jesus, may I always realize Your Word directs me to You, to Your light, to new life, to new beginnings. May Your Word come alive in my life and lead me to service to others. Thanks, Jesus, for Your presence with me 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 we be more and more aware of God’s presence and working in our lives each day.

Week of February 13, 2011, 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church, chapter 3, verses 1 to 9 – where Paul tells the congregation to move beyond the basics, quit their infighting, and do mission, using the gifts that God has given each of us:

1And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, 3for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? 4For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul’, and another, ‘I belong to Apollos’, are you not merely human?
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. 6I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labour of each. 9For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Dear Lord, thank You for showing us the way, the way to You, and the way to service. Thank You, Jesus, that we look to You for all things. Help us to grow spiritually, developing a closer relationship with You, as we read Your word, as we worship, as we pray, as we share Your love with others.

And remind us too, Lord, that You give everyone gifts in ministry – some of planting seeds of faith, some of modeling lifestyles, some of watering and nurturing, some of encouraging and affirming, some in all kinds of leadership. But You remind us, Jesus, that we are all Your servants, working together, in Your Kingdom, building relationships of care and help. And You remind us also, Lord, that You are the One who gives the growth; we are all moved – each of us in our own way – by Your Spirit in our midst.

Thanks, Jesus, for Your strength, and help, and hope, Your overwhelming love and mercy, Your peace and 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 us comfort, guide us in our decisions, and fill us
with a fervent desire to serve God 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 February 6, 2011, 1 Corinthians 2:1-16

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from the first of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the first 16 verses of chapter 2 – it’s about God’s Word, and having the mind of Christ.
2When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. 2For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. 4My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
6 Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. 7But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him’—
10these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. 12Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. 13And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual.
14 Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are discerned spiritually. 15Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny.
16 ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?’
But we have the mind of Christ.

Dear Lord, may my life proclaim Your life within me. May I live each day walking with You, Jesus, knowing that Your great love for each of us profoundly affects me, and affects every step I take. Jesus, help me to know You. May Your word come alive as I read about You. May I be a witness of Your love by example and by sharing my words with others – how You have been such a great part of my life, and what You, Jesus, have done in my life.

Remind me always, Lord, the hope that You have called to each of us – the hope of the resurrection, the hope and assurance of eternal life – the reminder that we can’t even begin to imagine what You have prepared for those who love You.

Jesus, thanks for Your Spirit in our lives – and gifts that You give as they are needed in Your Church - the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of joy and peace and love. And Jesus, that as we study Your Word, You instruct us, You counsel us, You comfort us, You direct us. And help us to understand what it means to have the mind of Christ – to begin to see the world from Your perspective, to be servants to our neighbor, to be helpful to others in whatever part of the world, to know and share Your unconditional and overwhelming love.

Jesus, thanks for Your peace and Your presence. 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 have more and more the mind of Christ, and may we be always aware of God’s presence and God’s Spirit working in our lives each day.