Your COMPASS for the Journey on the PATH of Discipleship: March 20-26, 2011
Posted by Isaac Butterworth | Filed under Discipleship, Lent, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation
During Lent and the first few days of Eastertide, Your COMPASS will cite portions of the 2011 LENTEN DEVOTIONS, a guide published by the Worship and Music Committee of First Presbyterian Church, Wichita Falls, Texas.
Saturday, March 26, 2011 ANGER
Compass:
Proverbs 29:22 ‘An angry person causes trouble.’
An angry person causes trouble;
a person with a quick temper sins a lot.
Map:
Anger. It’s a peculiar yet predictable emotion. It begins as a drop of water. An irritant. A frustration. Nothing big, just an aggravation…. Drops of water. Drip. Drip. Drip. Yet, get enough of these seemingly innocent drops of anger and before long you’ve got a bucket full of rage. Walking revenge. Blind bitterness….
Journey:
Now, is that any way to live? What good has hatred ever brought? What hope has anger ever created? What problems have ever been resolved by revenge? ~ Max Lucado
Tomorrow: AN INVITATION TO WORSHIP GOD
Friday, March 25, 2011 LEARNING TO PRAY
Compass:
Luke 11:1 ‘…One of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray.”‘
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
Map:
Prayer is not a normal part of the life of the natural man. We hear it said that a person’s life will suffer if he doesn’t pray, but I question that. What will suffer is the life of God in him…. ~ Oswald Chambers
Journey:
To say that ‘prayer changes things’ is not as close to the truth as saying, ‘Prayer changes me and then I change things.’
Tomorrow: ANGER
Thursday, March 24, 2011 A TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Compass:
Ecclesiastes 3:1 ‘…a time for everything….’
‘There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.’
Map:
There is a time in your life when you must learn to let go: of loved ones, of possessions, of control. In order to let go of something that is precious to you, you need to rest in God’s Presence.
Journey:
You can feel secure, even in the midst of cataclysmic changes, through awareness of His continual Presence. The One who never leaves you is the same One who never changes.
~ Sarah Young
Tomorrow: LEARNING TO PRAY
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 BREAD AMONG THE MULTITUDES
Compass:
Mark 6:32-44 ‘They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat.’
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take eight months of a man’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.
Map :
Jesus ‘assured [his disciples] that the crowds did not need to leave because they needed food. He was confident in the resources of God and in his ability to draw upon the storehouse of love in whatever form was required…. Gospel hospitality begins by realizing that we have access to something people want and need. ~ Gerrit S. Dawson
Journey:
…The real miracle…that day was not…what Jesus did to a small lunch, but what he did to redefine and enlarge his disciples’ own capacity to be hosts to the hungry in the kingdom of God. ~ Mark Price
Tomorrow: A TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 DISCIPLINED SPEECH
Compass:
Ephesians 4:29 ‘Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths….’
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Map:
Have you ever experienced regret for speaking a quick harsh word? Those accusing, berating, belittling words just tumble out of the mouth….
Journey:
Prayer: Our God and Father, help us…. We speak without thinking…. Forgive us and set our feet on the right path. Give us the wisdom to think before we speak.
Tomorrow: BREAD AMONG THE MULTITUDES
Monday, March 21, 2011 A PRAYER FOR ALL
Compass:
1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 ‘We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.’
2 We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. 3 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Map:
Dr. John Barker (1926-2009), a Presbyterian elder and a veteran of World War II, taught zoology and served as Vice President at Radford College and later served as President of Marshall University (1971-1974) and as President of Midwestern State University (1974-1980). One of the many prayers he wrote contains the following petition for the leaders of our church:
Journey:
A Prayer for All (excerpt): We cannot glance in any direction without seeing the fruit of their labors and love. …Continue to give them strength, compassion and vision as they work on our behalf.
Tomorrow: DISCIPLINED SPEECH
Sunday, March 20, 2011 SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT
Compass:
Psalm 133 ‘How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!’
1 How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.
3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.
Map:
In our reading today, we are reminded of the benefits of harmonious relationships. ‘Good’ and ‘pleasant’ describe what we wish for all areas of our lives.
Journey:
Prayer: O God, forgive us when we fail to live in harmony with our brothers and sisters.
Photo Credit: View from Rastaholm by Per Ola Wiberg
