Tag: love

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Lent Day 31: “Remain in My Love”

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PREPARE

Find a place and time to be alone with God. Ask Jesus to help you love as he does and to keep you connected to him, your source of life.

READ

John 15:1-17

REFLECT AND PRAY

1) Think of what a grapevine looks like. Obviously, if a branch is detached from the trunk, it will die and not bear fruit. It’s just the same with us and Jesus. In order to be truly alive and bear fruit (Galatians 5:22-23), we need to remain in him and his love by keeping his commandments. (What are his commandments? Read verses 12 and 17 to be reminded.) However, just like with branches, sometimes He needs to clean us and take away what is not good. Ask God to remove whatever is not allowing you to bear fruit.

2) To remain in Jesus we must learn to love like he does; his love is the kind described in 1st Corinthians 13:4-8. The only way to bear fruit is to love. Without love, we are nothing, even if we apparently do good deeds and have amazing ministries (1st Corinthians 13:13). Today, as you pray, ask God to increase your love for others.

OBEY

Ask God how you can truly love someone this week. How can you love the way that Jesus loves us, in a sacrificial manner? Maybe it looks like buying lunch for a homeless person; maybe it looks like taking out someone you don’t really like at work for coffee; maybe it looks like helping your spouse or roommate with their chores when you are already exhausted; maybe it looks like spending time with a friend who is going through a hard time. In sum, do unto others what you would have them do unto you (Matthew 7:12).

– Abraham Aldama

 

“Leap of Faith” is a devotional series on the Gospel of John for the Lent season. All readings are available on the Vineyard One NYC app, along with additional resources for Bible reading, worship, and prayer (IPhone app here; Google Play app here).

 

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Lent Day 18: Review

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PREPARE

Today is a day to review your journey with Jesus over the past week. Ask Jesus to be with you as you do so. Let the Holy Spirit guide your thoughts, emotions, and memories.

OPTION 1

Look over the week’s devotionals and/or your journal entries (Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17). What stands out to you?  How has Jesus been present to you this week? Where do you sense Jesus inviting your attention so that you may go deeper with him?

OPTION 2

If looking over the entire week feels too overwhelming, reflect on one or more of these themes from the week’s devotionals:

1) Jesus gives abundantly to those he loves. What has been your greatest need or desire this week? How has your conversation with Jesus about this gone?

2) Jesus asks only for our belief. In what ways, big or small, have you given him your belief this week? Is there anything holding you back from offering Jesus the gift of yourself?

3) When Jesus brings his truth, we are set free. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to light some of the lies you have believed about yourself or about God. Ask Jesus to replace those lies with his truth and freedom.

OBEY
Take a moment to bask in the incredible love that Jesus has for you.  Ask him to give you the ability to choose him freely and completely in response to his love.

 

“Leap of Faith” is a devotional series on the Gospel of John for the Lent season. All readings are available on the Vineyard One NYC app, along with additional resources for Bible reading, worship, and prayer (IPhone app here; Google Play app here).

 

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Jesus Sees Your Heart

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Summer in the Psalms is a sermon and written reflection series from the weekly Psalm and associated readings in the Revised Common Lectionary.

Guest Writer: Mercy Perez

Read

Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28

Reflect

In this passage, Jesus responds to the religious leaders who criticize Jesus and his disciples for not washing their hands before eating, in violation of religious law. He tells them that it is not what goes into the mouth that’s the problem; rather “it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a person” (11).

Through that statement and through the parable that follows, Jesus explains that what comes out of your mouth – what you say –  reflects your internal attitude: “And that’s what contaminates a person in God’s sight. Out of the heart come evil thoughts” (v. 18-19, CEB). Jesus reads the evil intentions of the religious leaders in their words. That’s why he calls them “blind.”

Soon after Jesus travels to another region. A woman who heard about his healings found him there. She may have had some trepidation in approaching Jesus because she was a Canaanite and was not sure how she might be received. Canaanites were the people the Israelites fought against when they entered into the Promised Land; they were also known as worshipers of the Sun God. However, the woman did not let her differences or her fear stop her from seeking Jesus. Her daughter was suffering from demon possession and she desperately longed for her to be healed.

When this woman saw Jesus she called out to him. She acknowledged him as the descendant of David, the promised Messiah. Jesus at first did not answer. Perhaps he was testing her, or perhaps he was testing his disciples, who were urging him to send her away. When Jesus did answer, it was to call out her difference: “I have been sent only to the lost sheep, the people of Israel” (v. 26 CEB). Jesus’ words probably confirmed the woman’s fears of being excluded, yet she was not deterred. She knelt before Jesus and asked again for his help.

Jesus looked into the woman’s heart and saw the opposite of what he saw in the religious leaders. He saw the love, desperation, courage, and humility that motivated her words and actions. He saw that she truly believed who he was, and in his ability to heal. His differences from the woman did not stop him from meeting her need and healing her daughter.

Jesus’ purpose on earth was to bring all who believed in him close to God, regardless of their background. Psalm 67 also shows God’s inclusive love for all of us.

Let God grant us grace and bless us;

   let God make his face shine on us,

Let all the people thank you and celebrate.

He judges the nations fairly

God blesses us—our God blesses us!

Respond

Ask Jesus to look into your heart to see your greatest need – perhaps one you aren’t even aware of – and to meet it as only he can.

Then, spend a few minutes in gratitude for God’s unconditional love. Ask God to make you a receptacle of his love. As it flows from your heart into your words and actions, you too will be a source of our Father’s Love.

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Love That Goes Beyond Justice

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Summer in the Psalms is a sermon and written reflection series from the Revised Common Lectionary.

Read

Psalm 67

Genesis 45:1-15

Reflect

Psalm 67 tells us that one of God’s central concerns is justice is for the whole earth. In the New Testament, Jesus’ ministry and life demonstrate that love goes further than justice, bringing reconciliation and restoration to those are far from God or in conflict with each other.

In Genesis 45:1-15, Joseph is finally reconciled to the brothers that sold him into slavery. He spent years as a slave, then in prison, before God brought him to a position of power in Egypt and used him to prepare Egypt and the surrounding countries for many years of famine.

When Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers, it’s a tense and dramatic scene. Joseph cries copiously on all his brothers. The story doesn’t tell us what his brothers did, but they probably felt a combination of shock, horror, shame, relief that Joseph was alive after all these years, and abject fear at how he might take his revenge.

How does this story illustrate God’s love that goes beyond justice? Joseph, far from punishing his brothers as they deserved, chooses to see God’s hand in what happened. He forgives them and points them towards the larger purpose: God’s plan to save the people of Israel from famine. Joseph shows his brothers love they didn’t expect and certainly didn’t earn.

God also showed love to Joseph in unexpected ways. God had told Joseph in dreams, a long time ago, that he would rule over his brothers and father. But Joseph must have been afraid that his father (who had to be extremely old at this point) had already died; earlier in the story, he asks his brothers repeatedly whether their father is still alive. Joseph also had no clue that he had a younger brother. All of his other brothers were half-brothers – sons of different mothers; Benjamin was the son of both Joseph’s mother and father. God gave Joseph the incredible gift of being able to save his father and his entire family from famine and added the bonus of a brother whose existence he had never suspected.

Respond

Have you broken faith with God or with another person? Ask Jesus to forgive you and bring reconciliation to your relationships.

Remember you are a child of God, greatly loved by Him (1 John 3:1). Ask God to make you newly aware of how much He cares for you, plans for your future, and blesses you in ways you could not have earned or imagined.

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Flawed People, God’s Perfect Plan

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Summer in the Psalms is a sermon and written reflection series from my church. It is based on the Psalm and linked readings for the week from the Revised Common Lectionary.

Guest writer: Mimi Otani @ crazy4jazz.com

Read

Genesis 29:15-28

Reflect

Genesis is filled with many disturbing and controversial passages. This passage is one of them because of its portrayal of Jacob’s marriage to two sisters, one attractive and one seemingly less so.

Some translations and interpretations say Leah’s “tender eyes” were due to her tender heart (perhaps she spent time crying or praying, making her eyes red and swollen), or that they were blue, which would have been a sign of weakness, or that she had a squint or was cross-eyed; others suggest that her eyes were beautiful, but perhaps her only beauty.

Either way, the order of the sentences suggests that Jacob weighs one sister against the other and chooses the one he finds more physically beautiful. There’s no suggestion that he falls in love with Rachel for any reason other than her appearance. Jacob’s superficial attraction makes him an easy target for Laban, who takes advantage of Jacob’s susceptibility and tricks him into another seven years of labor.

Although I am not a big fan of Jacob, I give him a lot of credit, because even after seven years, Rachel was still desirable to him, and he was willing to work for another seven years to marry her. What woman would not long for such an expression of love?

Looking at the bigger picture, we can see that God uses both women to fulfill the promise that He made to Abraham: that He would make Israel a great nation. The sons of Rachel and Leah become the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel. Rachel, who was initially chosen by Jacob for shallow reasons, is shown his faithful love, the kind of love God has for all His people. Leah, the unloved wife, ultimately is more honored than her sister. She becomes the mother of Judah, the line that gives birth to Jesus. And Jacob, through all his work and struggles and character flaws, is key to God’s fulfillment of His everlasting covenant with Israel and with all His people through Jesus. Through Jesus, we are called children of God and enjoy an inheritance that is more than the land of Canaan.

Respond

Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is the LORD our God (Psalm 105:5-7)

God does not sugar coat His story – He is not afraid of revealing human weaknesses and follies in His Word. Stories like Jacob’s help us to learn from our weaknesses: to realize why we all need Jesus to carry our burdens and why we depend on his grace.

Think of a time in your life when God has rescued you from your own weakness and foolishness, bringing good things to you or other people in spite of everything. Give Him thanks for His wonderful works and the faithfulness of His promises.

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God’s Seeds of Life and Hope

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Summer in the Psalms is a series from the Revised Common Lectionary. Sunday sermons and written reflections are based on the Psalm and additional passages for each week.

Guest writer: Mercy Perez

Read

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Reflect

I made the decision to follow Jesus at the age of sixteen. I was at a youth conference when the invitation was extended and I accepted. I was young and had the notion that if I became a Christian my life would be problem free.

A few years into my walk as a believer, that notion was shattered. I realized that, believer or not, I was not exempt from the harshness that surrounded me. I was not exempt from the consequences of my poor decisions, nor from the consequences of others’ poor judgments and decisions.

But Jesus had sowed the good seed in me: the message of hope and life that flourished and deepened my desire to continue to follow him. That hope sown in me served as a lifeline when doubt, fear, discouragement and disappointments grew like weeds threatening to destroy me.

When I was at my weakest I heard the Holy Spirit whisper to me, telling me how much I was loved and that no matter what assailed me or where I turned, God would always be there.

Respond

Reread Psalm 139 for a reminder that no matter where you go, God is always guiding and holding you. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you receive and meditate on God’s love. Let the experience of being loved by God wash away any anxiety or feelings of being overwhelmed.

Thank God for having fearfully and wonderfully knit you together in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:14) and for being with you every day since.

 

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Love, According to a First-Grader (and some Minions)

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At our church retreat last week, my six-year old discovered an – shall we say – appreciation for her class teacher. “Mom,” she whispered. “I got my first crush!”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, on my teacher!”

“Your teacher? What’s his name?”

“Ben.”

We have some conversation about the admirable qualities of nice, funny Ben before moving onto other subjects.

The next day:

“Mom, guess what? I told Ben I had a crush on him, and he said he has a crush on me, too!”

“Wow, that’s great! So does this mean he’s your boyfriend now?”

“No, Mom, I can’t have a boyfriend! I have a husband!”

The tone of her voice tells me she is questioning my mental capacity.

“Oh, really, who? You said you wanted to marry G [a boy from her pre-Kindergarten class]. Did that happen without me noticing?”

“NO, Mom! Jack! Jack is my husband.”

“Oh, right. I forgot about Jack.”

Jack is her imaginary husband of about six months. He started out as a fiancé, and almost instantaneously moved up to permanent status. When she told me about their marriage, she also told me emphatically that he’s an adult, not a kid, and I refrained from commenting on yet another barrier to the legality and longevity of their union.

When Jack first became a part of our lives, she had long, rapid-fire conversations with him on an old Blackberry in Public, an imaginary language first invented by her older brother when he was three or four. (I think he must have heard the phrase “speaking in public” and misapplied it in a manner that actually makes total sense.) Public has no discernible rules, grammatical structure, or consistency, but sometimes sounds like Minion language, if the Minions were only slaughtering Spanish and perhaps Portuguese, and not also French, Mandarin, and a grab bag of other languages.

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I’m not sure who the wronged party is in this situation: Jack or Ben. The husband or the crush? But I am relieved my daughter at least understands that adultery is not an option.

So, this morning, as we’re snuggling in bed, we revisit the subject of Ben, for the benefit of her older sister, who wasn’t at the retreat with us. “Why do you like Ben again? Is it because he’s nice and funny?” 

“No! It’s because he has big arm muscles!”

She shows me how big with her own arms. Somehow, she has become a shallower person at six years and one week than she was at six.

“But he’s not your boyfriend. Because of Jack.”

“Jack?”

“Your husband?”

“Jack isn’t my husband! He’s my friend.”

“I thought he was your husband. Remember? First he was your fiancé?”

“Oh, right. But now he’s only my friend.”

“Why? Is it so Ben can be your boyfriend?”

“No! Ben can’t be my boyfriend. He’s married.”

Pause.

“Can I be married to both of them?”

“No, you can’t!”

Pause.

“I can’t keep one a secret and not tell anyone?”

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So much for the morals of a six-year old.

 

 

 

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God’s Unrestrained Love

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Day 18 of my 30-day writing challenge / Summer in the Psalms

Guest writer: Mimi Otani

This post from my church’s summer sermon and reflection series links Psalm 13 and Genesis 22:1-14, two lectionary readings from Sunday, July 2, 2017.

Reflect

God himself calls Abraham a righteous man (Genesis 15:1 – 6). Nevertheless, God commands him to slaughter his own son, Issac. Yet Abraham does not ask questions, but simply prepares to sacrifice Isaac.

Ultimately, God did not require Abraham to complete the sacrifice of his only son. He allowed Abraham to demonstrate faith through his willingness alone. Issac’s sacrifice foreshadows the sacrifice of Jesus, for Isaac was Abraham’s son and Jesus is God’s Son. However, God did not spare his only, beloved Son, sending Jesus to die in atonement for the sin of all humanity.

It would be outrageous for us to sacrifice our children as a token of faith in God or in exchange for someone else’s life. Humans are limited by God’s physical laws, by time and space; and our love also has boundaries and limitations. But God’s love is unrestrained and he shows it in ways that are beyond our ability to fathom.

What can we learn from Abraham? We, too, can place our faith in the boundless love of God, even when things don’t seem to make sense or while we’re waiting for God to act. As David sang in Psalm 13:5, we can choose to trust in God’s steadfast love and rejoice in his outrageous gift of salvation.

Respond

Listen to “Stand in Awe,” a song about God’s atoning love for us through Jesus.

Take some time to stand in awe before the Father who loves you more than you can fathom. Give your adoration to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

 

Note: Mimi Otani’s nonprofit, Crazy4Jazz, brings live jazz shows and other art performances to residents of nursing homes, hospices, hospitals and other institutions while also providing performing opportunities and modest compensation to New York City’s artists.