posted Sep 16, 2011 2:19 PM by Rachel Rhody
"You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence." - Acts 2:28
Do
you ever have days in which everything seems to go your way. Days in
which you can seem to do no wrong, and that you receive everything you
want or desire.
Well, maybe not everything, but you catch my drift... For me, more often than not, these days are filled with a strong feeling of connection to God. Days when I actually feel the presence of God... Days when it feels like the Holy Spirit is filling me up with unlimited energy and focus... Days when it feels like I am living the life that God has given me to live... I love those days. May
God be with you today. May your heart be filled with the gladness of
the Lord. May you be blessed and be a blessing to others. |
posted Sep 9, 2011 11:13 AM by Rachel Rhody
"Welcome
those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over
opinions. Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only
vegetables. Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those
who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has
welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It
is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be
upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand. Some judge one day to
be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all
be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day,
observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the
Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain
in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God. We
do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live,
we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether
we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ
died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the
living. Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why
do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the
judgment seat of God. For it is written, "As I live, says the Lord,
every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God."
So then, each of us will be accountable to God. - Romans 14:1-12 I think that no one likes "being judged", do they? But we all, at times, do fall into the trap of judging others. How does that happen? How do we end up doing the exact thing to others that we hate having been done to us? I
think it happens because we are human. We want to feel good and
confident about ourselves, and sometimes that desire comes at the cost
of hurting others. "At least I don't dress like her..." "I just don't understand why he can't turn his life into something meaningful..." We don't intend to judge others. We don't want to and don't like to...sometimes it just happens. But what does the judgment we levy on others say about us? I mean, what my be happening in our life that is hurting us so much that the only we see we can stop it is by hurting another? As
Christian folks, I think we are called to something higher than that.
I think we are called to a life that is about building one another up
rather than tearing one another down. How can we build someone up if we are sitting in judgment over them? I
also believe that we are called to live a life in which judgment
should be left in the hands of God. I mean, no one can be better than
God, right? May God bless you and keep you this day.
|
posted Aug 5, 2011 10:40 AM by Rachel Rhody
"Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror." - Psalm 6:2 It seems like, more now than any other time in my life, I know and love a large number of people who are ill or are suffering. For this morning's dEvotion, I would simply like to ask you to take a moment to pray for all those you know that are suffering. "Dear
heavenly Father, you intend my body to be a temple of Thy Holy Spirit.
May it be Your gracious will that I enjoy Your healing power, that I may
seek You, serve You, enjoy You and depend on You, through the physical
life You have given me and shared with me, in Jesus Christ my Lord.
Amen." - Martin Luther's Prayer for Healing
P.S.
After much reflection and prayer, I have decided to forgo the rest of
the series on the churches in Revelation. Look forward to hearing about
Jesus walking on the water on Sunday! |
posted Jul 22, 2011 8:34 AM by Rachel Rhody
"To the leader: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.
Give ear to my words, O Lord; give heed to my sighing. Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray.
O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.
For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil will not sojourn with you. The boastful will not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord
abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful.
But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house, I will bow down towards your holy temple
in awe of you. Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me.
For there is no truth in their mouths;
their hearts are destruction; their throats are open graves; they flatter with their tongues. Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of their many transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them, so that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover them with favor as with a shield."
- Psalm 5
Words..words...words...
They can give life...and they can take life away.
How are you honoring God and bringing life in the world today with your words?
Peace, Pastor Dan |
posted Jul 20, 2011 7:59 AM by Rachel Rhody
"But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him."
- Psalm 4:3
Good Morning!
Busy signals...busy signals. I greatly dislike busy signals.
But
here is the thing. There are no busy signals when God is involved. We
don't have to wait our turn in line to talk to God. We don't need to try
again or call back later. We don't ever have to feel like we are not a
priority,
God is always available to us when we need to talk to God.
So, take advantage of that. Take time to talk to God today.
Peace, Pastor Dan |
posted Jul 20, 2011 7:57 AM by Rachel Rhody
"I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the
Lord sustains me. I am not afraid of tens of thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around."
- Psalm 3:5-6
Good Morning!
"Now
I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if I die
before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen."
I
had a childhood friend who would pray this prayer every night before he
went to bed. No matter if he was sleeping over at my house, at a Boy
Scout campout, or at a school lock-in, he would pray this prayer.
I
never asked him why. I never asked him if he prayed this prayer out of a
sense of family tradition...or if he prayed the prayer as a way to
ensure that God understood his beliefs.
I simply never asked. (I guess I shouldn't be too hard on myself for this...I was only a kid!)
I
don't know about you, but I find the words of this Psalm very
comforting. This idea that day in and day out, in our waking hours or
our sleeping hours, God is there with us and sustains our life. No
matter what obstacles we face or difficult people we encounter, God is
there in the midst of it all.
Comforting
words for us to hear on this grey and gloomy day. May God continue to
sustain you during the course of your day, and may you be blessed!
Peace, Pastor Dan |
posted Jul 6, 2011 8:49 AM by Dan Doering
"Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and his anointed, saying, 'Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us.'
He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
'I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.'
I will tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, 'You are my son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.'
Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, with trembling kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way; for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Happy are all who take refuge in him." - Psalm 2
Over the weekend, I thought a great deal about the current government shutdown in Minnesota.
I think about all those who lost their jobs last Friday. I think about those who have received assistance who are no longer able to do so. I think about those who were getting help to cover daycare costs and no are not receiving that help and are unable to work. I think about those who were receiving services from countless agencies that are closed.
I think about those who are suffering and wondering what is really happening to them.
The last verse of Psalm two says "happy are all who take refuge in him". What if we thought about this in a different way? What if we followed it this way...
"Happy are those who provide refuge in the Lord's name."
Think about it for a second. If you and I step up to the plate and help out a friend, neighbor, or stranger that is affected by trials right now, aren't they experiencing the love of Christ. Aren't they taking refuge in God?
May we continue to hold all peoples affected by the government shutdown in our state, and may we continue to ask God to use us to help bring an end to suffering around the world.
Peace,
Pastor Dan
|
posted May 10, 2011 12:10 PM by Rachel Rhody
[
updated May 10, 2011 12:11 PM
]
"Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me" - Matthew 10:40
When
was the last time you truly felt welcomed when you arrived somewhere
new? What was it that made you feel welcomed? Was it a warm
greeting? Was it the environment? Was it an intangible thing that
you simply cannot put your finger on?
What does it mean to make
folks feel welcomed? What does it mean for us to make Jesus welcome in
every aspect of our lives? How are we all doing with that?
May you blessed today with the warm feeling of being welcomed, and may you have the opportunity to welcome someone today.
Peace,
Pastor Dan |
posted May 4, 2011 6:37 AM by Dan Doering
posted May 2, 2011 5:06 PM by Dan Doering
Good Evening - As you know, there has been a string of severe
storms all across the nation during the past few months. Lutheran
Disaster Response is one organization that is doing recovery and relief
work in the affected areas. To find out more about the work of LDR and
how you might be a part of their effort, just click on this link. |
|
