Prayer for Inner Freedom

Lord,
what most often stops me
from achieving freedom
is my tendency to be caught up
in fears and expectations
about what I ought or should be.

My usual automatic responses
tie me down and inhibit me
from exploring new areas of growth.

I ask and pray for a greater sense
of inner freedom and that
I might reach the fresh and challenging
possibilities that You, O God,
want me to realize.

Amen.



____
The above adapted from sacredspace.ie

Saturday Devotional

Review highlights of the day, creating a word-picture of what you have experienced. 

Ask:

 What is one image that stuck with you today? (something you saw)

 What is something you heard from stage that made you think?

 How easy or hard is it to put pieces back together?

Think about the creation of a Mosaic. 

What all does it take to make a masterpiece truly come together?

Colossians 3:12-17 (The Message):

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for
you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered,
content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and
completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear
love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other.
None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the
Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in
your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing
your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be
done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the
way.

What would you share about this week with others? 

What are some ways will you do that? 

What may have changed in you this week that you want to continue?

Thank you, God, 

for the blessings and 

challenges of this week together.

Amen.

Friday Devotional

Review highlights of the day, creating a word-picture of what you have experienced.
Ask:
 What is one image that stuck with you today? (something you saw)
 What is something you heard from stage that made you think?
 How does it feel to see or talk about things that are broken?

Think about the fragments of a Mosaic. Consider that each broken piece has a story to tell.

Romans 8:31-38 (The Message)

So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t
hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing
himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t
gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with
one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for
us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment
sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between
us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred,
not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the
worst sins listed in Scripture:
They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.
None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—
nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low,
thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love
because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

In the face of sin and brokenness, there is nothing that can separate us from God’s love. Earlier in Romans 8, Paul goes so far as to say that even in the worst of situations, God can and is working for good in all things.

Brokenness is never the final answer.

Close by naming some of the instances of brokenness,
asking God to re-create, redeem, and renew them for good.

Thursday's Devo

Review highlights of the day, creating a word-picture of what you have experienced.
Ask:
 What is one image that stuck with you today? (something you saw)
 What is something you heard from stage that made you think?
 How does it feel to hear you are created and loved by God?

What are some things it means for a work of art, to be called a “living” thing?

Isaiah 43:1-3a, 5-7 (The Message)

But now, GOD’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob,
the One who got you started, Israel:
“Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine.
When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you.
When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end—
Because I am GOD, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. . . .
“So don’t be afraid: I’m with you. I’ll round up all your scattered children,
pull them in from east and west. I’ll send orders north and south: ‘Send them back.
Return my sons from distant lands, my daughters from faraway places.
I want them back, every last one who bears my name, every man, woman, and child
Whom I created for my glory, yes, personally formed and made each one.’”

What are some times/ways you feel God’s presence with you?

Remember that no matter what, God is with them.

Thank you God
for creating and claiming us in love.

Close by saying:
"You are a beloved child of God!
Sealed by the Holy Spirit!
Claimed as Christ's own forever, and
nothing anyone can ever say or do
can change that."

Middle School Youth and Prayer

Lord,
This week
again I am privileged
to travel with Middle School students
to a youth conference.
Many people might not use the word
privilege in the same sentence with Middle School,
but I certainly do!

For 4 days,
I get to walk alongside
6th - 8th grader students
thinking about faith,
wrestling with Bible stories,
experiencing the depth of God's love,
singing our hearts out,
and playing HARD.
I love it!

This has become an annual pilgrimage for me.
The Montreat Middle School Conference is my favorite by far.

Over the next few days
we will gather in the evenings
for devotion and prayers.
Lord,
I take this time seriously
as we wonder aloud
grow in faith
and pray to you!
Thank you for this privilege.

________

Wednesday night Devo

Review highlights of the day, creating a word-picture of what you have experienced. 

Ask:

 What made you smile today?

 What are you most excited about for this conference?

 What are you most nervous about for this conference?

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.

What might we bring to the conference this week to make the mosaic of your back-home group, their small groups, and the conference as whole really come to life?

Ask for God’s guidance and blessing on each of the individuals in your group, that you
might come together to be a living mosaic with others this week.

Close by saying
“God, each person in this group is uniquely and wonderfully made by you!"