ASLC Devotions - Friday

Psalm 27:13-14
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!
Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yea, wait for the Lord!

Illness or an injury can really shake a person's confidence.  As I write this Lenten devotion I am recovering from knee replacement and find I have the same emotions and feelings as David in Psalm 27.  I too am thankful for the level paths not covered with ice and snow, for the few steps leading into buildings, and for close parking spaces with easy accesses.  I am impatient with my healing and progress with therapy, and want everything to go faster with minimal pain.  My prayers are those of David's for strength, courage, and most of all patience. As David, I want a quick fix and immediate answers to my prayers. I am fearful of slow and negative responses or even possible set-backs. Like David I know God acts in His own time and His own way.  God is my hope, my comfort, and through Him I remain strong.  I will wait for the Lord!

I encourage you to read Psalm 27 (along with 23, 62, 63, 71, and 131) if you ever find yourself in need of God's healing strength, encouragement, and love. Psalm 27 was just what the doctor ordered to aid in my recovery.
Thanks be to God! 

Sandy Drucker

Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for a full calendar and join us this weekend for the Fourth Sunday in Lent (remember to "spring ahead" with your clock Saturday night). Worship is at 8:30 and 11 and Education Hour is at 9:45.

ASLC Devotions - Thursday

James 5:7

Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.

“I want it now!” “You deserve it now!”  How many times have you heard those sentiments uttered?  Our society tends to want things immediately, results instantaneously.  Ads on TV and radio encourage and enflame us with the words, “You deserve (fill in the blank – house, car, clothing, toy, etc.) now. Why wait?”  Technology brings us information ever faster. Ah, but “patience is a virtue” and “good things come to those who wait”; however, it is something not easily achieved in our modern, fast-paced life.

The farmer planting seed, watering, and picking it at maturity understands the importance of patience.  The growth from seed to mature crop doesn’t happen overnight; and, picking an unripe crop only yields bitter, hard fruit. With patience, the succulent, delicious fruit awaits at the end of the growing season.

In spring, I delight in seeing the first shoots emerge in my garden - rebirth. I think it is the same during Lent, waiting for the Resurrection. It is also the same with waiting for the coming of the Lord. We are impatient to be relieved of the trials and tribulations of this world, knowing that the new life yet to come is glorious. With patience, however, we can each say, “I am ready, finally! – to wait.”

Lori Quinn

Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for a full calendar and join us this weekend for the Fourth Sunday in Lent (remember to "spring ahead" with your clock Saturday night). Worship is at 8:30 and 11 and Education Hour is at 9:45.

ASLC Devotions - Wednesday

Psalm 40:2-3
He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.

I lived for almost 3 years in an emotionally abusive relationship. One of my friends called it torture when I opened up about it. Looking back I don't know how I survived. I get angry at what I put up with and agree that it was torture.  The real struggle (in my eyes) began when the threat of physical abuse came into play. I told him in no uncertain terms if that ever happened he would be out of there and I stuck true to my word when that day arrived. God gave me a rock of strength and courage that day to get through it all safely.

I sang a song of true freedom when the ordeal was over and the joy in me awakened that lay sleep for so long. Even though I had to face raising a child on my own I knew I could trust in God to help me through this journey and he has kept his promise. He is with me always, good times and bad.  Thanks be to God!

Janet Lowe

Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for a full calendar and join us Wednesday (TONIGHT!) for midweek Lenten worship. Dinner is served at 6:15 and worship (Holden Evening Prayer) is at 7 pm. This week's faith-sharer is college freshman Brittany Mata.

ASLC Devotions - Tuesday

1 Corinthians 13:7

It [LOVE] bears all things, believes all things,

   Hopes all things, endures all things.

The entire passage of 1Corinthians 13: 4-7 speaks very powerfully and directly to what LOVE is, to know and feel love.  Yet, at times in my life I have found that the first few verses are so very difficult to live by.  I feel that I am a loving person although I am not always patient with those that I love the deepest and yes, sometimes I do insist on doing things my way and I do hold on to resentments a bit too long. 

All of the things I have spoken of here are not what the bible says LOVE is about.  Then I think, “but wait ….”, it is in verse 7 that tells me that because of the LOVE that God is and has for me and how he wants me to LOVE others as he has loved me, that I know this LOVE that “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things” will continue to stir inside me.  This LOVE will guide me to be that loving person that I want to be and that God desires for all of us to be.  Even in my humanness of being envious, boastful, rude and arrogant, God will never give up on me.  He will always be there to LOVE me and if I am listening, I will feel a little nudge and know to correct my wrong and try to move in a new direction.  Because LOVE endures, LOVE wins!

Ann Lynch

Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for a full calendar and join us Wednesday for midweek Lenten worship. Dinner is served at 6:15 and worship (Holden Evening Prayer) is at 7 pm. This week's faith-sharer is college freshman Brittany Mata.

ASLC Devotions - Monday

Galatians 5:22-24

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

I don’t know about you, but I enjoy a really great piece of fruit. I tend to spend a lot of time looking over all the types of fruit at the grocers. I look for the types of fruit I like and then check to see if they are almost ripe or starting to go bad before making my choices.

When Paul is taking about the fruit of the Sprit, he is talking about some really great fruit. If I had to pick just one of the examples Paul provided I think I would be hard pressed to decide.

Through Jesus, we are all capable of producing great fruit. We have been given the good seed from Jesus; all we have to do is nurture it, keep harmful things away from it and we will have the fruit of the Sprit. Now that sounds like a really great piece of fruit to me.

Joe Quinn

Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for a full calendar and join us Wednesday for midweek Lenten worship. Dinner is served at 6:15 and worship (Holden Evening Prayer) is at 7 pm. This week's faith-sharer is college freshman Brittany Mata.

ASLC Devotions - Saturday

Mark 14:38
Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Training and practice are how we grow strong, physically and spiritually. But HOW do we train to keep temptation from overcoming us??????  “Keep awake and pray,” Jesus instructs the disciples. Does “keep awake” mean to be alert, watchful, on guard, or literally not to sleep (I’m out of the game if I can’t sleep)?  And pray?  Once a week, once a day, an hour, a minute???  And pray WHAT? I like specific directions.

I searched World Wide Web for other people’s ideas on the verse.  After page 14 on Google, I can summarize with:  We need to be alert for temptations and pray for God’s help to overcome them.  We need to trust that God will carry us through.  That’s the hard part; we need to practice trusting completely in God.   

You know the old saying: “God won’t give you what He can’t take you through.”

Adrienne Bolbot

Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for a full calendar and join us this weekend for the Third Sunday in Lent. Worship is at 8:30 and 11 and Education Hour is at 9:45.

ASLC Devotions - Friday

Matthew 16:26
What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

So is anyone else reminded of Scrooge in Dickens’s A Christmas Carol?  Surely old Ebenezer had gained the whole world - he had money, he had power that made people fear him- Bob Cratchit was afraid to stand up and ask for more coal to warm his cold fingers.  The arc of the story of Scrooge from being a cold, miserly, misanthrope to his redemption to kindness and selflessness seems to ring true with this reading from Matthew.  Ebenezer had gained the whole world at the expense of his soul and he had done so willingly.  Fortunately he also listened to the Spirit in the form of those three ghosts and woke up to hear and follow.

There are many things we can all invest our time and efforts in but the cost can be very high.  The more we focus on attaining them at the expense of watching for the call to stewardship and discipleship, the more we can find ourselves separated from God and God’s creation.  The cost of discipleship is that we are called to listen for the will of God in our lives and then follow.  May we all, like Ebenezer wake up to that message of kindness and selflessness.  Jesus leads, We follow, and for that we gain the Kingdom!

Jeffrey Witt

Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for a full calendar and join us this weekend for the Second Sunday in Lent. Worship is at 8:30 and 11 and Education Hour is at 9:45.