Growing the Faith of the People
Did you know you can easily READ THE BIBLE IN A YEAR?!! If you’d like to follow Shane’s First Steps digital letter, published each Monday, just look for it on social media or call to be added to the list of recipients. You can START TODAY! In a year, you’ll have read the WHOLE BIBLE!! WOW!!
| It was said that Alexander the Great had a completely artificial pedigree constructed from his lineage. On one side of his lineage, he âtracedâ his origin back to Achilles and Andromache; on the other side, he âtracedâ his lineage back to Perseus and Hercules. Perhaps he did this to strengthen his claim as world conqueror or to find some level of personal meaning.  The quest for personal meaning is frequently the reason people pursue genealogies. Everyone longs to belong to something or someone. There is something about belonging that gives purpose and meaning. This is not lost on the Bible. The central theme in both testaments is Godâs love for human beings to belong to him. I donât know if you have read John 1 lately, but there are two interesting verses that I hope you will meditate on:  âYet to all who did receive him [Christ], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of Godâchildren born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husbandâs will, but born of God. â(Vrs 12,13).  Do you know you are a child of God? Spiritually speaking, this is your genealogy, your lineage. The key is, do you know it? Do you live it? I hope you do.    This Week’s Readings: * Monday – Acts 6 * Tuesday – Acts 7 * Wednesday- Acts 8 * Thursday – Acts 9 * Friday- Acts 10 Prayer Requests: * Continued Growth Inside and Outside the Walls of St. Paul UMC. * Strengthen our Country and Leaders, here and abroad. * Heal those who are sick and protect those who are not. * Give our leaders extra wisdom as they navigate this pandemic and economic uncertainty. * Help those seeking to find their way. |
| âDonât worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.â – Philippians 4:6 |
| William Tyndale translated the Bible into English during the 16th Century. He believed every person could read and understand the scriptures if they had it written in their language. Eventually, he gave his life for his beliefs. In one of his sermons, he said: âLove is not the cause of forgiveness. Forgiveness causes love. The more we are forgiven, the more we loveâŚbut when the gospel of Christ demonstrates how God loves us first, forgives us, and has mercy on us then we love again. As the saying goes, âSummer is near because the tree blossom.â The blossoms do not bring summer. Summer brings the blossoms.â Reflecting on his sermon, I realize the order of things. Often, we think we are to generate love for others as if we have a vat of love that we simply draw from for our relationships. Unfortunately, I donât think that vat existsâit would be nice if it did. However, when we are loved firstâthe New Testament describes this love in the form of Godâs forgivenessâthen our heart changes to the point that love naturally flows out of that change. If it is difficult to love others, spend time focusing on forgiveness. Allow God to love first, receive his love through his Spirit. Donât worry about the relationship with others until you fully receive Godâs love. Then, every other relationship will take care of itself. This Week’s Readings: * Monday – Luke 21 * Tuesday – Luke 22 * Wednesday- Luke 23 * Thursday – Luke 24 * Friday- Acts 1 Prayer Requests: * Continued Blessings in the New Year 2022! * Strengthen the St. Paul United Methodist Church family. * Heal those who are sick and protect those who are not. * Give our leaders extra wisdom as they navigate this pandemic and economic uncertainty. * Help those seeking to find their way. |
| âDonât worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.â – Philippians 4:6 |
| âWhen nothing whereon to lean remains, when strongholds crumble to dust; when nothing is sure but that God still reigns, that is just the time to trust. âTis better to walk by faith than sight, in this path of yours and mine; and the pitch-black night, when thereâs no outer light is the time for faith to shineâ (LB Cowman). There are countless people in the Bible who illustrate this unyielding trust in God: Abraham, Asa, Paulâto name a few. I like Cowmanâs imagery that behind it all, there can be a trust in God to see one through whatever comes. How unfortunate it is when one thinks that faith is what remains after all other doors have been opened, only to find dead ends. No, faith is what sees one through in all circumstances, through every door. It is the eyes by which one sees. The fact that it remains after all attempts at life are exhausted is to miss the boat of what God desires and does through the Spirit. I like the way Jesus expressed it in Mark 8, âFor whoever wants to save his/her life will lose it, but whoever loses his/her life for my sake and for the gospel will save it. What does it profit a man/woman to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his/her soul.â One doesnât need to wait till all options are depleted to trust. Trust in the beginning and allow that to guide. This Week’s Readings: * Monday – Luke 16 * Tuesday – Luke 17 * Wednesday- Luke 18 * Thursday – Luke 19 * Friday- Luke 20 Prayer Requests: * Continued Blessings in the New Year 2022! * Strengthen the St. Paul United Methodist Church family. * Heal those who are sick and protect those who are not. * Give our leaders extra wisdom as they navigate this pandemic and economic uncertainty. * Help those seeking to find their way. |
| âDonât worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.â – Philippians 4:6 |
| Complete this sentence: This year I want to beâŚ.. How we answer this question says a great deal about what we will do throughout this year. Here are some possible answers: I want to be a better friend. I want to be the one that brings my family closer together. I want to be more faithful. I want to be more loving. I want to be more forgiving. I want to be a peacemaker. I want to be a better witness. Answers will vary and we might have more than one answer to the question. Regardless, if we donât know what we want to be, then the odds are we will never be more than what we are right now. This week, consider with me what you want to be. Ask God to give you a vision, a glimpse of what can be. Then begin on the path of becoming.  This Week’s Readings: * Monday – Luke 11 * Tuesday – Luke 12 * Wednesday- Luke 13 * Thursday – Luke 14 * Friday- Luke 15 Prayer Requests: * Continued Blessings in the New Year!!! * Strengthen the St. Paul United Methodist Church family. * Heal those who are sick and protect those who are not. * Give our leaders extra wisdom as they navigate this pandemic and economic uncertainty. * Help those seeking to find their way. |
| âDonât worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.â – Philippians 4:6 |
| A few days just before Christmas, I spent a few hours in a hospital. My dad has cancer and periodically I take him for his cancer treatments. On his most recent visit, something interesting happened. While sitting in the waiting room, the TV was on and was loud enough to be heard over people talking. There was a hospital worker telling a story describing his experience of living and working through a hospital merger. Another worker was describing working at a hospital during 9/11 and the fear associated with that day. Directly to my right, a husband and wife were arguing about medicines taken and who was coming to their Christmas dinner. Yet, there were these two women (a cancer patient waiting for her treatment and her daughter) that were listening to the Bible read from a phone app. I actually thought I was witnessing a modern-day parableâin a world of chaos where noise abounds for everyone and everywhere, one can still hear the Word of God. It is never as loud as the surrounding voices, but it has the ability to penetrate the ear when one is ready to hear. I could clearly hear the Bible being read, though I was closer to the TV and the other people were extremely loud. Sometimes I think God is speaking all the time, and we are simply not willing to listen. Isaiah 30:27 says, âYour own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, âThis is the way you should go,â whether to the right or to the left.â We long for His voice in shouts like fireworks, hoping it would drown out all other sounds. Perhaps God speaks all the time in whispers for the purpose of closeness and intimacy with him. This week, listen intently. Look deliberately for the one speaking in whispers. There we can find the lover of our souls. Â This Week’s Readings: * Monday – Luke 6 * Tuesday – Luke 7 * Wednesday- Luke 8 * Thursday – Luke 9 * Friday- Luke 10 Prayer Requests: * A Happy New Year for all!!! * Strengthen the St. Paul United Methodist Church family. * Heal those who are sick and protect those who are not. * Give our leaders extra wisdom as they navigate this pandemic and economic uncertainty. * Those seeking to find their way. |
| âDonât worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.â – Philippians 4:6 |