The daily devotional published Monday-Friday by Medford UMC. Click on the devotional title to read that day’s post.
What is it that God wants from us? This is the question that Israel asks when the prophet Micah points out their failure to uphold their end of the covenant that God made with Israel. God has been faithful to Israel, but they have fallen away from loving God.
My hot temper has gotten me into trouble more than once. It’s hard to let someone say something untrue or mean and just get away with it! I’m realizing it takes a lot more courage to step back than it takes to fight back.
What did Paul mean when he wrote to the Romans “Love each other like the members of your family.” Loving the members of your immediate family can be a challenge sometimes. The grievances against our brothers or sisters may be traced to sibling rivalry, or they may run much deeper
It is overwhelming to think about how much forgiveness God has given to humankind! Think about our day to day – how many times do we screw up, so we need forgiveness or how many times do we need to forgive those in our lives? Let’s just think about yesterday – who did you forgive and who needed to grant you forgiveness? Every day there is one or many times that we need to forgive or need to be forgiven – small slights or giant mistakes.
It took courage to dare to be extraordinary for God in Jesus time just, as it is so for us today.
As I think about what Jesus’ childhood must have been like, I can’t help but think about how much pressure both Mary and Joseph must have felt in knowing they were given the awesome responsibility of nurturing and raising Jesus, God’s Son. Talk about the need for daily courage and strength!
We don’t have to be super spiritual people. We just need a mustard seed of faith.
I am not super gifted in the art of looking at the bright side. For whatever reason, my mind always goes to “What’s the worst that can happen?” as opposed to the positive “How might this work in my favor?” I wish I were more inclined to the latter, but it just doesn’t come as naturally for me.
When we chose to rely on God and put the needs of others before our own, we create a caring community. Caring followers of Jesus are at the heart of every faith community. It takes courage to choose to give up time in our very busy schedules, to care for people in need.
Jesus is always beckoning us to come toward him – to trust him – to brave the storm and participate in a miracle. But life is rough and scary, and dangerous. It’s easy to lose your nerve and your faith to waver.
The phrase that jumps out to me immediately as I reflect on “Courage” is “Be Strong!” (vs.2:4). Haggai is the tenth book in the minor prophets and isn’t preached on very often so I’m pleased to look more deeply into it for today’s devotional. Haggai’s prophetic words were given to the Judean community returning from the diaspora
Peace – we all want it, but it certainly feels elusive in our own little spaces and throughout the world. Peace can be elusive even within us as we can be anxious about so many things day to day. When I was thinking about peace within myself, I thought about the song “Peace Like a River.” The song says…
Together we can turn the nation’s largest weekend of football into the largest weekend of giving. Youth group members will be collecting monetary donations at each service this Sunday and will then send the donation to the Turning Point United Methodist Food Pantry in Trenton. Your generosity will be very much appreciated. The link below will take you to our PushPay system. You can select “Give One Time” then use the Fund Selector to choose “Souper Bowl of Caring.”
PEDAL for PROMISE – SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2019: Medford United Methodist is fielding a team for the Urban Promise fundraiser “Pedal for Promise.” This year the ride begins and ends at Valenzano Winery in Shamong. You can register to ride, make a donation to the team or register as a spectator to enjoy the party and cheer on our team.
Go to urbanpromiseusa.org/pedal for more information about the event, to donate, or to register as an individual. OR you can go directly to the TEAM MEDFORD UMC page at www.crowdrise.com/team-medford-umc.
Questions or need help? Speak with Pastor Kathleen, Wayne Richards, or Heidi and Mike Polhemus
