Arise! Shine!

Isaiah 60

Arise, shine;

for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Arise! Shine! 

For your light has come. 

O Lord, in Jesus Christ we see the light-

the light of life, 

the light of hope, 

the light of peace, 

the light of forgiveness, 

the light that shines in the darkness

and the darkness does not understand it,

the darkness does not overcome it,

the darkness will not overcome it, 

the darkness CANNOT overcome it. 

And the Light calls to us, 

Invites us, 

Beckons us, 

Implores us, 

Shouts to us, 

COMMANDS us - - 

arise.  shine.  your light has come. 

Arise. Shine Your light has come. 

Arise! Shine! Your light has come!

ARISE! SHINE! YOUR LIGHT HAS COME! 

What are you waiting for... 

God forgives

Luke 24:1-12

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.  But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

(Read the whole story here: Luke 22:31-24:12)

Think on your a sin.

Think on it.

Pause and feel its weight in your heart, your life, your hand.

The Bible Point we explore today is that God has the power to forgive. We shout, “HOLD ON!”

In Jesus Christ, we see the depth of God’s love.  God was willing to give himself for our sake.  Taking on condemnation. Taking up the cross.  Dying for our sake.  Rising from the dead defeating sin and evil for our sake.

Because of God’s great love for us, Jesus takes the weight of our sin and sets us free. Freed from sin. Free to serve. Free to forgive.  Free to love God and love others.

Loving Lord,

thank you

for taking our sins

upon yourself.

Thank you

for your self-giving

sacrificial love.

Help us live out your love in our lives.

Help us share your love with others, especially young others.

Help us grow in our relationship with you.

Through Christ our Lord,

Amen.

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This week Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church is celebrating God's power through Vacation Bible School. These devotional thoughts follow our daily theme.

God Heals

2 Kings 5:10-14

Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.” But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, “I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?” He turned and went away in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.

(Read the whole story here: 2 Kings 5)

Today we will be discovering the Bible Point: God has the power to heal. We shout: HOLD ON!

We all facing challenges! Today, as we learn about God’s power to heal, I want you to think specifically about God’s power to overcome challenges. Healing isn’t always physical—it can also be emotional or spiritual. Take a minute to write down some challenges that you are facing right now.

In today’s Bible story, we see how God healed Naaman’s leprosy. Throughout the day, remember to pray for God’s healing in your life. Remember—whatever challenges we face, God has the power to heal.

Lord,
please be with us today.
As we face the challenges of life,
may we turn to your amazing power.
Heal us and hold us.
Thank you for healing
our bodies, our minds, and our hearts.
Thank you for loving us so much.
Amen.

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This week Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church is celebrating God's power through Vacation Bible School. These devotional thoughts follow our daily theme.

God Comforts

1 Kings 19:9-15, 18

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”

He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” Then the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus... I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

(Read more of the story here: I Kings 19)


Today we will be exploring the Bible Point:
God has the power to comfort.
And we shout HOLD ON!

Comfort and power
don’t seem to go together,
but with God they do!
Elijah learned that firsthand.


First God comforted him by sending an angel to give him nourishment for the journey ahead. Then God spoke to Elijah in an amazing way—not through a mighty windstorm or an earthquake or a fire but through a gentle whisper (or sheer silence).

God knew exactly what Elijah needed, and God used his power to comfort Elijah. We all need comfort.

Remember a time when you felt God’s comfort.
What are some things that bring you comfort in life?


We all need comfort.
Some are hurting.
We need a hug,
a listening ear,
or a friendly hello.
Sometimes it is hard
for us to express that need.

Today, let’s be open to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Open to the most wonderful comfort of all—God’s love!

Loving God,
you know the needs
of each of us.
Help us to be sensitive today
showing your love and comfort.
Help us understand that
you are the perfect Comforter
in all situations.
And help us share your comfort with others.
Amen.

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This week Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church is celebrating God's power through Vacation Bible School. These devotional thoughts follow our daily theme.

God Provides

1 Kings 17:1-7

Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” The word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Go from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the wadi, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” So he went and did according to the word of the Lord; he went and lived by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the wadi. But after a while the wadi dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

(The story continues telling about God providing for Elijah. Read more here: I Kings 17)

Today 

we will explore the powerful Bible Point:
God has the power to provide.
When we hear today’s point, we shout “HOLD ON!”

Think of a time God provided for you or your family.

God provides for us in so many ways.
And often those ways are surprising.
God has the power to provide! 

HOLD ON!

“God will generously provide all you need.” 2 Corinthians 9:8

God is generous in providing for all of us!
We remember a time God provided for the prophet Elijah.
The Lord provided safety, rest, food, and water for Elijah.

God is providing 

for the children, youth, and adults 

through our church, right now!

Today pay attention 

to the ways God is at work 

right in our midst, 

providing moments for us

to connect in to God and to others 

in powerful and simple ways.

Dear God,
thank you
for providing for us
in generous and amazing ways.
Thank you
for being with us.
Today help us discover
your love at work
among us through Jesus Christ.
Amen.

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This week Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church is celebrating God's power through Vacation Bible School. These devotional thoughts follow our daily theme.

Sent Out

WORD
Acts 1:8

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

REFLECT
By the gift of the Holy Spirit, God gives us power to witness to his amazing love. We are witnesses. We tell what we have seen, what we have heard, what we know about God’s love. Christ calls us to share that news with our closest friends, our family, our church, our community, the down cast, the outcast, and to the ends of the earth. You hold the Good News someone needs to hear, see, touch. Will you answer Christ’s call to share the Amazing News of his love for the whole world?


SHARE
What has been your favorite part of Bladen Mission Project?

What are some ways you can share the love of God you have experienced?

Who do you need to tell about God’s love for them?


PRAYER
Come, Holy Spirit,
send us
to our famly,
our friends,
our church,
our community,
our world.
Help us share
Your love
in our words and acts of love
for others.
Amen.



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The devotional thoughts this week come from BLADEN MISSION PROJECT 2015. I invite you to pray and reflect with us this week.

BLADEN MISSION PROJECT 2015
June 14-18, 2015, youth and adults from a variety of churches around Bladen County are uniting to serve Christ in our county. We will be worshiping, serving, caring and growing in our faith in Jesus Christ.

Lost and Found

WORD
Luke 15:1:7

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

REFLECT
An empty feeling. A little nervous. A little scared. The realization that I have NO IDEA WHERE I AM!! I am LOST. Lost. Thank God for GPS. I quickly type in where I wanted to go. GPS gave me a way out. My young son used to call that machine on my dashboard, “G-P-S-U-S”. It saves you when you are lost! Jesus is the same way. When we have lost our way, when we have no idea where we are and how we got here, J-E-S-U-S is with us giving us direction and getting back on the path of God’s love.

SHARE
Remember a time when you were lost. Remember how it felt.

Who found you?

Share how it felt to be found.

PRAYER
Amazing Grace,
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost
But now I am found
Once was blind
But now I see!
Amen.



________

The devotional thoughts this week come from BLADEN MISSION PROJECT 2015. I invite you to pray and reflect with us this week.

BLADEN MISSION PROJECT 2015
June 14-18, 2015, youth and adults from a variety of churches around Bladen County are uniting to serve Christ in our county. We will be worshiping, serving, caring and growing in our faith in Jesus Christ.

Point to Jesus

WORD
John 1:29-37

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus

REFLECT
John the Baptist pointed to Jesus “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John did not point to himself, his own abilities. John didn’t brag about how good he was, or what he was doing for God’s sake. John pointed away from himself. John pointed others, even his friends, to Jesus. His life was an arrow pointing people to Jesus Christ.


SHARE
Think about it: What does your life point others toward?


What are some ways we can point others to Jesus?


PRAYER
Lord Jesus,
help me be like John
pointing not at how good I am,
but how amazing you are!
Amen.



________

The devotional thoughts this week come from BLADEN MISSION PROJECT 2015. I invite you to pray and reflect with us this week.

BLADEN MISSION PROJECT 2015
June 14-18, 2015, youth and adults from a variety of churches around Bladen County are uniting to serve Christ in our county. We will be worshiping, serving, caring and growing in our faith in Jesus Christ.

Set an Example!

WORD
I Timothy 4:12
"Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young,
but set an example for the believers
in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity."

REFLECT
No matter how young or old you are, God chooses to use you. What are you waiting for?! Today is the day. Don’t put your faith on the shelf until you are “old enough” you are old enough right now. Take the faith you have, and live it out. Show the church, show the world what Christ looks like in your life in the way you talk, in the way you act, in the way you love, in the way you believe, and in the way make pure choices. Now is the time. Don’t wait!

SHARE
What are some ways you can “set an example” for others in your speech?

What are some ways you can show your faith in your conduct?

What are some ways you can witness to your faith in how you love?


PRAYER
Dear God,
Give us the courage
to live out our faith
in front of our friends,
our family, the church,
and our neighbors.
Amen.



________

The devotional thoughts this week come from BLADEN MISSION PROJECT 2015. I invite you to pray and reflect with us this week.

BLADEN MISSION PROJECT 2015
June 14-18, 2015, youth and adults from a variety of churches around Bladen County are uniting to serve Christ in our county. We will be worshiping, serving, caring and growing in our faith in Jesus Christ.

Gifts of the Spirit

WORD
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (The Message)

God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:
wise counsel,
clear understanding,
simple trust,
healing the sick,
miraculous acts,
proclamation,
distinguishing between spirits,
tongues,
interpretation of tongues.
All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when

REFLECT
Notice how many different gifts the Spirit of God gives to God’s people. See the list above. Note: this list is not a complete list but rather a sample of what the Spirit does. Think about the things you admire in other people: how they listen to others, how they help out when needed, their athletic ability, their courage, they way they reach out to people who are different from them…

The Spirit of God gives each of us good abilities to strength the faith of others.

SHARE
What are some gifts you would add to the list of gifts from God’s Spirit?

What are some abilities you will use this week as part of Bladen Mission Project?

PRAYER
Holy Spirit,
Thank you for giving
each of us strengths and abilities
to help share your love
with others.
Help us use our gifts
for your glory
and the good of our neighbors.
Through Christ our Lord,
Your greatest gift to the world.
Amen!




________

The devotional thoughts this week come from BLADEN MISSION PROJECT 2015. I invite you to pray and reflect with us this week.

BLADEN MISSION PROJECT 2015
June 14-18, 2015, youth and adults from a variety of churches around Bladen County are uniting to serve Christ in our county. We will be worshiping, serving, caring and growing in our faith in Jesus Christ.

Small Faith to Sustaining Hope

Mark 4:30-32

He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

Lord Jesus,

take my small faith

plant it in fertile soil

help it grow strong

so that when others

need a safe place,

a resting place,

a place to make a home,

a place to raise their young,

may they find strength 

in the branches of my faith

that they may rest,

find refuge,

lean on me,

learn from me,

teach the faith to their children.

Take the church's small faith

nourish it,

fertilize it,

grow it,

so that our branches 

will be strong providing 

shade from the heat of life,

rest along the journey,

place to make a nest - a home,

room to raise young,

berries to nourish those who come to us,

hope to sustain the faithful.

Lord,

take our small faith

make us a mighty shrub

for the sake of others.

Amen.

Learn more here:
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/size-mustard-bush-100618.html

Surprising Kingdom Growth

Mark 4:26-29

He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Lord Jesus,
the kingdom of God grows,
and we, like the farmer,
do not know how.

Like a seed planted,
your kingdom grows underground
where we cannot see it
transforming,
shaping,
becoming.

Then without warning
the seedling bursts
out of the ground
lifting its head to the sun.


Your kingdom is similar,
growing deep within
transforming,
shaping,
becoming.

then when we least expect it,
your faith in us bursts forth
reaching out to others
pointing them to the Son.

May we be
the harvest of faith:
fruitful, abundant, nutritious.

May it be so
in my life today.
Amen.

Working on Marriage

1 Corinthians 13:1-7

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Lord,

the love Paul describes 

is HARD WORK!

I was so naive to think 

the movies showed

what love is.

Seems to me,

the movies miss

the whole point.

They show only 

what someone called,

"the tingles"

that feeling 

when someone flirts with you.

Love,

the love of a successful marriage,

is daily, routine, hard work.

It is scrub the toilets ordinary.

It is holding her hair when she's sick.

It is sitting prayerful beside the hospital bed.

It is making hard decisions together the best you know how.

It is managing money well.

It is learning how best to DO, "I love you."

It is oil changes and clean clothes.

It is stealing time to be intimate.

It is flowers and dinner.

It is calling when you'll be late.

It is coming home early to surprise her.

It is a quick text saying, "I'm thinking about you."

It is a small thoughtful gift.

Love is honoring the other.

It is knowing his biggest weakness 

and NOT turning it against him!

It is knowing her best strength

and celebrating it with her!

It is a love that 

says, "I do!" and does.

"I will!" and follows through.

Lord,

your kind of Love

is HARD WORK.

It is a love that gives.

It is a love that sacrifices.

It is a love that is humble.

It makes promises and keeps them.

Thank you, Jesus,

for showing us how to love.

Help us 

live up to our covenant promises

doing the hard work 

that is true love. 

Amen.


______________________

Monday, June 8, 2015 marks my 13th wedding anniversary with my wife, Alle. I am grateful for the gift she is to me. God speaks to me through her love, her patience, her frustrations, and her encouragement.

A body for God's glory

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.

Creating God,
my body is a gift from you.
Help me care for it
like a precious gift.
Make me mindful of the fuel I put in this body.
Help me exercise, stretch, and rest my body.

Remind me that my body
is the temple of your Holy Spirit,
a place where you choose to dwell.
Use my body, as your body
to touch, heal, bless, embrace, and honor others.

My body,
your body,
created by your hands,
made in your image,
to enjoy and use
for your glory.

Amen.

For Your best and highest good

I Samuel 8:4-20

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, “You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to govern us.” Samuel prayed to the LORD, 7and the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. Now then, listen to their voice; only — you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

So Samuel reported all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the LORD will not answer you in that day.”

But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, “No! but we are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

Sometimes, Lord,

you give us 

exactly what we ask for.

When your people asked for a king,

you knew the heavy price, the burden

that would place on the people,

but they wanted it anyway.

So you granted their request.

The story of the kings of Israel

is filled with ups and downs.

Some were faithful to you;

many were not.

You were ALWAYS faithful

to your covenant.

Lord,

help us ask for good things.

Guide us in what would be best.

I am grateful

to the one older saint of the church

who shared the advice:

when we pray for ourselves and others,

to pray for your"best and highest good".

Lord,

I pray for your best today

for me,

for my family,

for those in my care,

for your church,

for your hurting world.

Lord,

I pray for your best and highest good.

Amen.