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First Steps – November 8, 2021


Psalm 19:7-14
Ā 
The law of theĀ LordĀ is perfect, refreshing the soul.Ā The statutes of theĀ LordĀ are trustworthy,Ā making wise the simple.Ā 8Ā The precepts of theĀ LordĀ are right,Ā giving joyĀ to the heart. The commands of theĀ LordĀ are radiant, giving light to the eyes.Ā 9Ā The fear of theĀ LordĀ is pure,Ā enduring forever.Ā  The decrees of theĀ LordĀ are firm,Ā and all of them are righteous. 10Ā They are more precious than gold,Ā than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey,Ā than honey from the honeycomb.11Ā By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.12Ā But who can discern their own errors?Ā Forgive my hidden faults.13Ā Keep your servant also from willful sins;Ā may they not rule over me.Ā  Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.14Ā May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heartĀ be pleasingĀ in your sight, Lord, my RockĀ and my Redeemer.


Most people when they think of Psalm 19, think of verse 14 (above italics). Many people have prayed that verse for themselves. I know I have done it plenty of times. But what is interesting to me is that the psalmistā€™s meditation of his (or her) heart is to be influenced by the Law of the Lord. The goal is to be so familiar with the Torah (Law-Commandments) that it naturally flows out of the psalmistā€™s behavior. Meditation is an inward journey so that it affects the meditator first and foremost.

In todayā€™s climate, this is a must for the Christian. Because of the division, lack of trust, and cancel culture that exists, there is a higher premium on personal conduct for Christians. This means in the face of disagreement and argument, the follower of Christ must maintain an identity that is anchored in Christ. When others around lose their heads, tempers, and act out unfairly, the God-lover doesnā€™t have to respond in a similar kind. Most canā€™t do that without a Christ-form identity that resists the temptation to act in a manner unfitting for the Kingdom of God.

Yes, we want the meditations of our hearts to be pleasing in the sight of God, but that canā€™t happen without meditating on His Word. One leads to the other. This week focus on your inside, your heart. Allow the Word of the Lord to remake you into the image of Christ.




This Week’s Readings:
ā€¢ Monday – Matthew 26 | Matthew 27
ā€¢ Tuesday – 1 Thessalonians 1 | 1 Thessalonians 2 | 1 Thessalonians 3
ā€¢ Wednesday- 2 Thessalonians 1 | 2 Thessalonians 2 | 2 Thessalonians 3
ā€¢ Thursday – Romans 1 | Romans 2 | Romans 3 | Romans 4
ā€¢ Friday- Romans 5 | Romans 6 | Romans 7 | Romans 8


Please Pray for:
ā€¢ An end to the Covid Crisis.
ā€¢ Our children as they cope with world issues.
ā€¢ All ministry events inside and outside the walls of St. Paul.
ā€¢ Families in crisis.
ā€¢ Loved ones battling illness.
ā€¢ Those seeking to find their way.
ā€¢ The St. Paul Church family.
ā€¢ The United Methodist Church family.
ā€¢ Our leaders, our country, and our world.
ā€œDonā€™t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.ā€ – Philippians 4:6


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First Steps – November 1, 2021


1-2 Please, God, no more yelling, no more trips to the woodshed.
Treat me nice for a change; Iā€™m so starved for affection.
2-3 Canā€™t you see Iā€™m black-and-blue, beaten up badly in bones and soul?
God, how long will it take for you to let up?
4-5 Break in, God, and break up this fight; if you love me at all, get me out of here. Iā€™m no good to you dead, am I? I canā€™t sing in your choir if Iā€™m buried in some tomb!
6-7 Iā€™m tired of all thisā€”so tired. My bed has been floating forty days and nights on the flood of my tears. My mattress is soaked, soggy with tears. The sockets of my eyes are black holes; nearly blind, I squint and grope. (Psalm 6:1-7, The Message).

In this passage, David speaks to God as though he is talking to someone who is unaware of his situation or suffering. It seems as if David thinks God is not taking care of him and knows nothing of his problems. But no matter how deep the despair, the eyes of faith can find plenty of goodness in God. The storm may not cease at once. Therefore, cast your anchor of faith, allow it to stand firm, and know that God will surely preserve and keep the ship from destruction (Paraphrased from John Knoxā€™s notes on Psalm 6).

The same David who wrote Psalm 6 also wrote, ā€œweeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morningā€ (Psalm 30:5).  When in the storm, hold on until the joy comes!





This Week’s Readings:
ā€¢ Monday – Matthew 11 | Matthew 12 | Matthew 13
ā€¢ Tuesday – Matthew 14 | Matthew 15 | Matthew 16
ā€¢ Wednesday- Matthew 17 | Matthew 18 | Matthew 19
ā€¢ Thursday – Matthew 20 | Mathew 21 | Matthew 22
ā€¢ Friday- Matthew 23 | Matthew 24 | Matthew 25


Please Pray for:
ā€¢ An end to the Covid Crisis.
ā€¢ Our children as they cope with world issues.
ā€¢ All ministry events inside and outside the walls of St. Paul.
ā€¢ Families in crisis.
ā€¢ Loved ones battling illness.
ā€¢ Those seeking to find their way.
ā€¢ The St. Paul Church family.
ā€¢ The United Methodist Church family.
ā€¢ Our leaders, our country, and our world.
ā€œDonā€™t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.ā€ – Philippians 4:6


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First Steps – October 25, 2021

A good friend of mine recently shared with me a Centering Prayer based on the acronym RAIN. Centering Prayer is similar to meditation where oneā€™s focus is inward asking God to join in a personā€™s reflections and inner journey. The focus is not on the outside but the inside that is most important. Frankly, I really like this prayer and have been using it over the last month.

Give this a try – Sit quietly for a few moments. Focus on your breathing, slow it down if possible. Then ask God to help you:

R: Recognizeā€”Consciously acknowledge your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

A: Allowā€”Allow what you recognized to simply be there, without trying to fix or avoid it.

I: Investigateā€”Ask yourself, ā€œWhat wants the most attention and how am I experiencing this?ā€

N: Nurtureā€”Release judgment, criticism, and shame.

In a world of information overload, strife, and conflict, this method of prayer can be very helpful. If this method of prayer is new to you, try it a number of timesā€”the key is to not get in a hurry and stay as long as needed.


 

This Week’s Readings:
-Monday – 2 Corinthians 7 | 2 Corinthians 8 | 2 Corinthians 9 | 2 Corinthians 10
-Tuesday – 2 Corinthians 11 | 2 Corinthians 12 |2 Corinthians 13
-Wednesday- Matthew 1 | Matthew 2 | Matthew 3 | Matthew 4
-Thursday – Mathew 5 | Matthew 6 | Matthew 7
-Friday- Matthew 8 | Matthew 9 | Matthew 10

Please pray for:
-An end to the Covid Crisis. 
-Our children as they cope with world issues.
-All ministry events inside and outside the walls of St. Paul.
-Families in crisis.
-Loved ones battling illness.
-Those seeking to find their way.
-The St. Paul Church family. 
-The United Methodist Church family.
-Our leaders, our country, and our world. 
ā€œDonā€™t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.ā€ – Philippians 4:6


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First Steps – October 18, 2021

While at a recent seminar, I heard a poem titled Fire, by Judy Brown.

What makes a fire burn is space between the logs, a breathing space. Ā Too much of a good thing, too many logs packed in too tight can douse the flames almost as surely as a pail of water would. Ā So building fires requires attention to the spaces in between, as much as to the wood.

When we are able to build open spaces in the same way we have learned to pile on the logs, then we can come to see how it is fuel, and absence of the fuel together, that makes fires possible.

We only need to lay a log lightly from time to time. Ā A fire grows simply because the space is there, with openings in which the flame that knows just how it wants to burn can easily find its way.

As the person read this poem, I immediately thought of relationshipsā€”martial relationships. Ā Due to my profession, I am exposed to many marital relationships. Ā Most of the time, when marriages struggle, they have forgotten that each person needs space to grow as individuals and as a couple. Ā Maturation is expected, even required for the continual health of the relationship. Ā This means change will always occurā€”which is not a bad thing. Ā I wish young couples understood this early in their relationship.Ā 

Normally, the material or skills to move the relationship back to wholeness and fulfillment is already there, laden. Ā What is needed is an awareness that people are constantly in process. Ā Oaths and commitments arenā€™t, ā€œI will be everything in every situation.ā€ Ā It is, ā€œas I grow and become, I pledge that to you.ā€ Ā 

Ā Blessings,


Ā 

This Week’s Readings:
Monday – 1 Corinthians 12
Tuesday – 1 Corinthians 13 | 1 Corinthians 14
Wednesday- 1 Corinthians 15 | 1 Corinthians 16
Thursday – 2 Corinthians 1 | 2 Corinthians 2
Friday- 2 Corinthians 3 | 2 Corinthians 4 | 2 Corinthians 5 | 2 Corinthians 6


Please pray for:
An end to the Covid Crisis.Ā 
Our children as they cope with world issues.
All ministry events inside and outside the walls of St. Paul.
Families in crisis.
Loved ones battling illness.
Those seeking to find their way.
The St. Paul Church family.Ā 
The United Methodist Church family.
Our leaders, our country, and our world.Ā 



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First Steps – October 11, 2021

While A friend of mine shared with me this prayer. He didnā€™t know the origin or author, but Iā€™m glad he shared it with me. I have called it “A Prayer for a Quiet Heart in a World of Chaos.” Over the last few mornings, this has been my centering prayer for the day.

A Prayer for a Quiet Heart in a World of Chaos
by Author Unknown

Slow me down Lord
Ease the pounding of my heart
By the quieting of my mind
With a vision of the eternal reach of time.

Give me amidst the confusion of my day
The calmness of the everlasting hills
Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles
With the soothing music of the singing streams
That live in my memory.

Help me to know 
The magical restoring power of sleep
Teach me the art
Of taking minute vacations
Of slowing down to look at a flower
To chat with a friend
To pat a dog
To read a few lines from a good book.

Remind me each day of the fable
Of the hare and the tortoise
That I may know that the race
Is not always to be swift
That there is more to life 
Than measuring speed.

Let me look upward
Into the branches of the towering oak
And know that it grew great and strong
Because it grew slowly and well.

Slow me down Lord
And inspire me to send my roots
Deep into the soil
Of lifeā€™s enduring values
That I may grow towards the starts
Of my enduring destiny. 

 
Blessings,
 

 

This Week’s Readings:
  • Monday – Galatians 5 | Galatians 6
  • Tuesday – 1 Corinthians 1 | 1 Corinthians 2 | 1 Corinthians 3
  • Wednesday- 1 Corinthians 4 | 1 Corinthians 5 | 1 Corinthians 6
  • Thursday – 1 Corinthians 7 | 1 Corinthians 8
  • Friday- 1 Corinthians 9 | 1 Corinthians 10 | 1 Corinthians 11
 
Please Pray for:
  • An end to the Covid Crisis.
  • Our children as they cope with world issues.
  • All upcoming ministry events inside and outside the walls of St. Paul.
  • Families in crisis.
  • Loved ones battling illness.
  • Those seeking to find their way.
  • The St. Paul Church family. 
  • The United Methodist Church family.
  • Our leaders, our country, and our world. 

ā€œDonā€™t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.ā€ – Philippians 4:6 

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First Steps – October 4, 2021

While driving my car the other day, I did something that I seldom ever do. I nearly ran out of gas. Normally, Iā€™m the type of person who fills the tank when it reaches a certain level, where there are about 40 miles left before empty. I have a friend that doesnā€™t even think about filling the tank until it is less than 5 miles remaining. Frankly, that would drive me crazy.

However, while filling my tank, I wondered if people do the same with their faith. Do we wait until there is nothing left before we seek to fill it up again? Followers of Christ live with a ā€œreceiving and giving,ā€ ā€œinflow and outflowā€ type of rhythm. This means that there will be times where we give – which can empty the tank, but we are to fill it again with the sabbath, prayer, and personal study. When we donā€™t fill the tank up again, we are more prone to moral mistakes and faulty judgments.

In Mark 6, Jesus sent out the 12 Apostles (verses 7-12). They returned and reported to Jesus, and he immediately led them to a place of solitude (verses 30-31). How interesting that after giving themselves in ministry, Jesus wanted them to retreat to be restored.

So, as for our “gas tanks,” we donā€™t have to wait until we are bone dry to be filled.

 

This Week’s Readings:
  • Monday – Mark 11 | Mark 12
  • Tuesday -Mark 13 | Mark 14
  • Wednesday- Mark 15 | Mark 16
  • Thursday – Galatians 1 | Galatians 2
  • Friday- Galatians 3 | Galatians 4
Please Pray for:
  • An end to the Covid Crisis.
  • Our children as they cope with world issues.
  • All upcoming ministry events inside and outside the walls of St. Paul.
  • Families in crisis.
  • Loved ones battling illness.
  • Those seeking to find their way.
  • The St. Paul Church family. 
  • The United Methodist Church family.
  • Our leaders, our country, and our world. 

ā€œDonā€™t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.ā€ – Philippians 4:6 

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