Devotional Life

39 Items

Listen to Your Soul

by Steve

In the movie Gladiator, the dying emperor Marcus Aurelius, asks Maximus, Marcus: “Why are we here?”  Maximus: “For the glory of Rome” Marcus: “What is Rome, Maximus?” Maximus: “I have seen much of the world, and it is cold, and dark. Rome is the light.” Marcus: “Yet you have never been there!” Maximus believed in […]

The Moral Bucket List

by Steve

This is a must read by David Brooks The Moral Bucket List It occurred to me that there were two sets of virtues, the résumé virtues and the eulogy virtues. The résumé virtues are the skills you bring to the marketplace. The eulogy virtues are the ones that are talked about at your funeral — […]

21 Days of Christmas – LOVE

by Steve

“For right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13 (Message)  Christmas is Love  I don’t suspect too many people are surprised by this one, but I do think we’ve taken […]

21 Days of Christmas – Newtown

by Steve

“When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was […]

21 Days of Christmas – Anticipation

by Steve

“the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.   To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:26-27  Christmas is Anticipation.  Have you ever tried to keep a secret, perhaps a […]

21 Days of Christmas – Ponder

by Steve

All mankind will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done. Psalm 64:9  Christmas is Ponder While it is important, even critical, to slow down during Christmas, it should be used to gain understanding of the why and wherefore of everything that is happening. It should be a time when we […]

21 Days of Christmas – Disturbing

by Steve

“When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.”  Matthew 2:3  Christmas is disturbing.    One of the great challenges that come with having power and control is of course maintaining it. It seem like we all know that deep down inside us all there is a frightened child hiding behind […]

21 Days of Christmas – Rejoice

by Steve

Christmas is Rejoicing. And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” Luke 1:46-47 Think Cheering. Think Celebration. Think Party. Well that’s what Tony Campolo imagines Christmas will be like in his book  The Kingdom of God is a Party!. Not a formal dinner party but a spontaneous, expression […]

21 Days of Christmas – Direction

by Steve

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.” Psalm 143:8  I love the fact that God did not send the Magi on some wild goose chase. Look at Matthew 2:2, […]

21 Days of Christmas – Surprise!

by Steve

Remember that Christ says, “When I come, it will surprise you like a thief! But God will bless you, if you are awake and ready.” Revelations 16:15 Christmas is Surprise. Let me explain. The word appears in Luke’s account of that first Christmas. “And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them…” Surprise! Didn’t […]

21 Days of Christmas – Family

by Steve

“This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 3:6 Christmas is Family. On that first night two very important people were present for the birth of the Messiah. Mary, His mother, and Joseph, the man […]

21 Days of Christmas – Giving

by Steve

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 Christmas is Giving. Most Christmas cards have it all wrong. The Magi probably weren’t there that first […]

Discover Christmas, Again

by Steve

Christmas. How have we managed to make it so difficult? We have turned the most amazing time of the year into a maze of commercial enterprise, contradictory influences, and confused priorities. The season of celebration has become the most stressful time of the year for so many. Over the next couple of weeks I want […]

Finding My True Country

by Steve

“I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others to do the same.” C.S. […]

The Spirit of Thanksgiving

by Steve

thanksgiving is a special time for me and my family. It connects us in a spiritual way and speaks to us of a deeper reality than the Pilgrims, turkey or cherry pie can even begin to capture.     I suspect if we only looked at Thanksgiving as a feast of mega proportion and fuel for […]

Deus Vobiscum

by Steve

Charles Rich III, [1966 – 2012]   The events of the last several days have rocked our world and changed our lives. No one here will ever be the same nor should we pretend that we ever can.  Life has a strange way of reminding us what deep down in side we know to be […]

Storm Warnings! What to do in a Crisis

by Steve

Crisis! 1. A crucial or decisive point or situation; a turning point. An emotionally stressful or traumatic change in a person’s life.  A crisis constitutes any circumstance or situation which cannot be resolved by customary problem-solving abilities. It require a new way of thinking, being and doing. It changes the world as you knew it […]

2 Simple Requests of God

by Steve

O God, I beg two favors from you; Let me have them before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Where is the LORD?” And if […]

Look for the Signs

by Steve

“The atheist can’t find God for the same reason that a thief can’t find a policeman.” Unknown     “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7 There is an old story about unrealistic expectations that goes something like this. During a […]

Sacred Monday

by Steve

    We dread Monday Mornings. It’s the end of the weekend, the end of “our time” and the beginning of “their time”. Mondays remind us that our life is in a rut, days filled with meaningless work, going no where in particular. We’re bored, restless, and aimless. We don’t like where we are or […]

3 Steps to Lasting Friendships

by Steve

‘Life’s not about the people who act true to your face. It’s about the people who remain true behind your back.” – Unknown    Sometimes it helps to have someone nearby, praying, loving, caring, even hurting with you. Someone who walks into your life when everyone else walks out. In my life that someone has […]

Is Violence Senseless?

by Steve

Is Violence Senseless?     Once again I’ve been jolted back to reality by the horrific news coming out of Colorado. What started out for many as a simple night at the movies with friends, family or sweethearts turned into a nightmare when evil came out of the shadows and reminded us that we are not […]

A Brief History of Us

by Steve

A BRIEF HISTORY What follows is an attempt to give the reader a flavor of the sumptuous meal that is offered by the United Methodist Church for those willing to sit at the Table of Fellowship. I’m offering this in response to the many confused looks I’ve received from visitors and members alike who enjoy […]

Intentional Discipleship: United Methodist

by Steve

For the next three weeks we are going to talk John Wesley’s Three Simple Rules for developing a life as an intentional Christian. But first we must consider the context of Wesley’s passion and how his rules relate to our own time and circumstances.  It all begins at a time of great political, economic and […]

Outta the Blue

by Steve

“Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got […]

The Space Between

by Steve

In his excellent book, Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives, Richard Swenson, M.D. describes margin like this: Margin is the space between our load and our limits. It is the amount allowed beyond that which is needed. It is something held in reserve for contingencies or unanticipated situations. Margin is the […]

From Here to There

by Steve

Soccer isn’t a diversion from life. Soccer is flow, finesse, focus and fair-play.  Life in 90 minutes or less.       For the last couple of years I’ve been more intentional about getting outside the church instead of looking at the world through stained glass window and polished brass. If you haven’t gathered my now, most of […]

Mind Games

by Steve

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”  Mark 12:29-31 (NIV)    With the development of the Internet comes all kinds of fun tools to become more intentional about healthy living. That means stretching our perspective, our muscles, our compassion […]

Are Your Ready for Community

by Steve

“To make the improving of our own character our central aim is hardly the highest kind of goodness. True goodness forgets itself and goes out to do the right thing for no other reason than that it is right.” Lesslie Newbigin   Though we are rooted in the here and now, we are always looking […]

The Mysterium Tremendum

by Steve

“The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore”   Vincent van Gogh A wealthy family  used to take a month’s vacation every summer to the coast of Maine. The mother had an ritual at the beach she practiced each year […]

3 Things the Good Shepherd Does

by Steve

Jesus told this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls […]

This I Believe

by Steve

This I Believe I believe I need a shepherd. Because I am sometimes timid and other times overconfident, because I often don’t know the best path yet pretend I do, because I rush into dead ends or lead others into hazardous places, because my brightest ideas are seamed with darkness, because the things I crave […]

Hungry People

by Steve

    Have you ever felt hungry, yet nothing sounded good to you. You have a craving that needs to be satisfied, but don’t know for what. Have you ever tried everything and yet nothing completely. We really can’t live on appetizers alone, at some point we need to bite down. “The point of having […]

When Life and Beliefs Collide

by Steve

  “The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God. Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life, blindfold, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what […]

3 Things Christians Believe

by Steve

  3 Things you need to Know Before (and After) You Become a Christian! 1) Life offers a choice. “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You […]

Good Friday?

by Steve

An innocent man is condemned by his community, abandoned by his friends, betrayed by a close associate, scourged until the flesh is just barely covering his bones, hung on a piece of wood in public to slowly suffocate, and is mocked, beaten and ridculed in the process. And we call this a “Good Friday”? Are […]

Footprints: Staying Power

by Steve

  Do You Have Staying Power? When the cheering stops, when the Hallelujahs turn to jeers, when the music is silenced, will you still be standing or will  you have already turned to run? Here is the first stanza of a Rudyard Kipling’s poem “IF” “If you can keep your head when all about you  […]

Footprints: Well Intentioned

by Steve

  “The kingdom of heaven is not for the well meaning but for the desperate.”  — James Denney “Peter replied, “Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life. We’ve already committed ourselves, confident that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:68 We live in a world […]

Footprints: Setting Goals

by Steve

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build […]