James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
It sounds so simple, doesn't it? Submit yourself to God. Resist the devil. Resist evil. Sure. No problem. Check that off my list for the day.
Of course it isn't simple. It's hard work. It's constant work. It takes constant reminders. That's why we talk about the disciplines of faith, the life of faith, walking in the path of faithfulness. It isn't simple, but know today that I'm praying for you that you'd submit yourself to God. And I hope you'll pray for me too.
Let this be your prayer and motto for today: "Lead me, guide me along the way. Lead me, O Lord, lead me."
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Join us for worship at 5 pm on Saturday and 9 am on Sunday. Comment on this and other messages at http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com and find more information on all of our ministries at http://www.allsaintspalatine.org
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
ASLC Devotions -- Wednesday
Psalm 68:5 Father of orphans and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
Your palms are sweating. Your breath catches. You look around and all it seems that you see are cold and unfeeling eyes. Nobody seems to notice you. Nobody seems to notice the trouble you feel inside. If they do notice, you imagine you see them licking their chops, ready to chew you up and spit you out.
Maybe it's your first job interview in years. Maybe it's that meeting with the corporate vice president you is about to announce who's been downsized. Maybe you're meeting with the banker. Or facing the ACT test. Whatever the specifics, we all know what it feels like to feel like we're alone. It feels, bodily. You can feel the alone-ness and the threat throughout your body. We all know the feeling of terror and fear that comes from facing life-changing or life-ending problems by ourselves.
"Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation." Those who seem alone are never alone. Thanks be to God.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Join us for Holden Evening Prayer this evening at the home of Dutch and Carole Graesser. 7 pm at 18 Willow Bay in South Barrington.
is God in his holy habitation.
Your palms are sweating. Your breath catches. You look around and all it seems that you see are cold and unfeeling eyes. Nobody seems to notice you. Nobody seems to notice the trouble you feel inside. If they do notice, you imagine you see them licking their chops, ready to chew you up and spit you out.
Maybe it's your first job interview in years. Maybe it's that meeting with the corporate vice president you is about to announce who's been downsized. Maybe you're meeting with the banker. Or facing the ACT test. Whatever the specifics, we all know what it feels like to feel like we're alone. It feels, bodily. You can feel the alone-ness and the threat throughout your body. We all know the feeling of terror and fear that comes from facing life-changing or life-ending problems by ourselves.
"Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation." Those who seem alone are never alone. Thanks be to God.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Join us for Holden Evening Prayer this evening at the home of Dutch and Carole Graesser. 7 pm at 18 Willow Bay in South Barrington.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
ASLC Devotions -- Tuesday
Psalm 104:9 You set a boundary that the waters may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.
In the ancient world the natural world was seen as divine. All of nature and parts of nature. The sun was worshiped. The moon was worshiped. The rivers were worshiped. Most of these things were worshiped because they were scary and threatening. The belief was that we worship them so they won't hurt us. Offer sacrifices to the ocean god to keep the ocean from killing us. Makes sense really.
The genius of our faith heritage is that we worship one God, one God who loves us and cares for us. Our one God is so powerful that God can hold back all the other things that once were thought of as scary gods. God holds back the waters so they can't hurt us again.
Now, we don't worry so much about the water and the sun and the moon. But we worry about the oil spills and the terrorists, we worry about hunger and mortgage payments. If God can hold back the waters, then surely God can hold back your scary things as well.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Join us for Holden Evening Prayer tomorrow evening at the home of Dutch and Carole Graesser. 7 pm at 18 Willow Bay in South Barrington.
so that they might not again cover the earth.
In the ancient world the natural world was seen as divine. All of nature and parts of nature. The sun was worshiped. The moon was worshiped. The rivers were worshiped. Most of these things were worshiped because they were scary and threatening. The belief was that we worship them so they won't hurt us. Offer sacrifices to the ocean god to keep the ocean from killing us. Makes sense really.
The genius of our faith heritage is that we worship one God, one God who loves us and cares for us. Our one God is so powerful that God can hold back all the other things that once were thought of as scary gods. God holds back the waters so they can't hurt us again.
Now, we don't worry so much about the water and the sun and the moon. But we worry about the oil spills and the terrorists, we worry about hunger and mortgage payments. If God can hold back the waters, then surely God can hold back your scary things as well.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Join us for Holden Evening Prayer tomorrow evening at the home of Dutch and Carole Graesser. 7 pm at 18 Willow Bay in South Barrington.
Friday, June 4, 2010
ASLC Devotions -- Friday
Acts 26:9-10
9 ‘Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.* 10And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death.
Paul's confession continues as he defends himself to King Agrippa. While yesterday and today's readings aren't consecutive, the message behind Paul's discourse is consistent. Again and again he tells people that he himself pursued and condemned the people who spoke the very message that he is now preaching.
It's difficult to change our tune, so to speak, to admit that we were wrong or to adopt a new way of thinking or believing. Perhaps one of the hardest things about it is that we can't just proclaim our new faith or belief once, but we witness to everyone who knew us. When's the last time you had to admit you were wrong? We can joke about never being wrong in the first place, so never having to admit or confess our wrongs, but when we're honest, we all have times when we must admit that we're wrong, and that we've changed our ways.
Peace,
Pastor Jenn
9 ‘Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.* 10And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death.
Paul's confession continues as he defends himself to King Agrippa. While yesterday and today's readings aren't consecutive, the message behind Paul's discourse is consistent. Again and again he tells people that he himself pursued and condemned the people who spoke the very message that he is now preaching.
It's difficult to change our tune, so to speak, to admit that we were wrong or to adopt a new way of thinking or believing. Perhaps one of the hardest things about it is that we can't just proclaim our new faith or belief once, but we witness to everyone who knew us. When's the last time you had to admit you were wrong? We can joke about never being wrong in the first place, so never having to admit or confess our wrongs, but when we're honest, we all have times when we must admit that we're wrong, and that we've changed our ways.
Peace,
Pastor Jenn
Thursday, June 3, 2010
ASLC Devotions -- Thursday
Acts 22:19-21
19And I said, “Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20And while the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by, approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him.” 21Then he said to me, “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.”
When Paul was still Saul, he actively persecuted those who believed in Jesus. We say that and it sort of makes it sound pretty -- he persecuted them doesn't always convey exactly what he did. But by his own testimony he held the coats of those who stoned Stephen, which isn't very pretty at all.
Saul's conversion is a powerful story -- a story that highlights redemption for anyone who thinks that they're "too bad" to follow Jesus. Even the one who held the coats of stone-throwers and who cheered them on is hand-picked to do God's work.
Peace,
Pastor Jenn
19And I said, “Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20And while the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by, approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him.” 21Then he said to me, “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.”
When Paul was still Saul, he actively persecuted those who believed in Jesus. We say that and it sort of makes it sound pretty -- he persecuted them doesn't always convey exactly what he did. But by his own testimony he held the coats of those who stoned Stephen, which isn't very pretty at all.
Saul's conversion is a powerful story -- a story that highlights redemption for anyone who thinks that they're "too bad" to follow Jesus. Even the one who held the coats of stone-throwers and who cheered them on is hand-picked to do God's work.
Peace,
Pastor Jenn
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
ASLC Devotions -- Wednesday
Psalm 124:6-8
6Blessed be the Lord,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth.
7We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped.
8Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
The psalms are full of examples of ways in which the psalmist turns to the Lord -- not only in times of praise and thanksgiving, but also times of lament and frustration. But over and over again the psalmist affirms that when we need help, our help is in the Lord -- the one who made heaven and earth.
I love the psalms for many reasons, one of which is the way that both danger and help are clearly spelled out. The psalmist doesn't mince words when it comes to the dangers -- real or perceived -- that are felt. There's a reason the psalmist is crying for help. And yet, the trust shown in the Lord is powerful and inspirational. How can we turn to the Lord today, we who have escaped like a bird?
Peace,
Pastor Jenn
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
ASLC Devotions-- Tuesday
Proverbs 8:6-7
Wisdom says,
6Hear, for I will speak noble things,
and from my lips will come what is right;
7for my mouth will utter truth;
wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
We spend a lot of time in our lives trying to figure out what God wants us to do -- trying to hear God speak to us. Proverbs tells us through the voice of Wisdom that the voice will be noble and utter truth. Discerning God's voice from among all the other voices of the world can be difficult, but determining first that the voice should be noble and truthful is helpful.
My prayer, always, is that our own voices are ones of nobility and truth -- not wickedness -- so that we can better listen for what God is saying.
Peace,
Pastor Jenn
Wisdom says,
6Hear, for I will speak noble things,
and from my lips will come what is right;
7for my mouth will utter truth;
wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
We spend a lot of time in our lives trying to figure out what God wants us to do -- trying to hear God speak to us. Proverbs tells us through the voice of Wisdom that the voice will be noble and utter truth. Discerning God's voice from among all the other voices of the world can be difficult, but determining first that the voice should be noble and truthful is helpful.
My prayer, always, is that our own voices are ones of nobility and truth -- not wickedness -- so that we can better listen for what God is saying.
Peace,
Pastor Jenn
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