Acts 2:2 “And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.”

My son told me his friend said God cannot live in our hearts or we would be fat.  Then he asked me if that was true.

When I try to explain God to people who are concrete thinkers it can be a challenge.  We are so accustomed to using our five senses that it seems strange to think about any other sense.

I use the wind as an example of something we cannot see but we know exists.  We hear it, we feel it, we see what it does but we cannot see the wind.  God is like that.  We hear him, we feel him, he moves in and through us so his existence is evident but we cannot see him. 

The next time I see this young boy who thinks God does not exist (I have heard this from both of my kids) I think I will talk with him about the wind.  Maybe it will not change his mind, but it will give him something to consider.  In the meantime, I pray for all those who do not see, do not hear and do not know.

“...there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house...”

Lord,

I have known you so long it is hard for me to imagine that you are not real.  I witness the miracles you work in the world and in people’s hearts even today.  Help me live as an example, drawing people in, so they too may hear, feel and know you as I do.  You are I am.  Hallelujah!  Amen.

Luke 10:41 “But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;’”

I am also known as distracto-girl.

I get so wrapped up in the things I need to get done and my agenda for the day that I easily become worried and distracted like Martha.  I know this for many reasons.  One tell-tale sign is that both of my children knew the word agenda and what it meant by the time they were two.  People thought it was cute to hear my toddlers saying “what is on your agenda” and I liked that they used the word properly but maybe they should not have known it quite so well...

Yesterday was busy enough without my help.  I knew we were going to run an errand that would take a few hours but I had to cram a few more errands into the morning first.  We were running late for the remainder of the day.  Why do I do this?  I am like Martha.

Today I clear the agenda.  I will do my best, with God’s help, to sit still and listen.  I want to hear the bird song, feel the breeze on my face and enjoy the moments of the day.  I want to sit at the Lord’s feet and listen.

Lord,

Help me let go.  Take my hands and hold them in yours until they stay still.  Take my heart and quiet it, take my mind and calm it.  Help me do only what you ask and nothing more today.  Help me sit and listen.  I ask this in your holy name, Amen.

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 “And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.”

Some people are easy to love and some, not so much.

The Lord does not call us to love only those who are easy to love but to love all as he loves us.  Ah, this can be hard.

I give my petty cans of food to the homeless, I donate to the church food bank and I donate clothes and toys to be sold at thrift stores.  How tidy and clean for me.

Even closer to home, I let my hurt feelings drive a wedge between my kids and myself or my spouse and me.  I put my needs before theirs and yet I claim to be a disciple of Christ?  I need a do-over.

I sit and remember the love of Christ.  I think of how he lived and died in love.  I will strive to live like this a little more each day and in doing that I will be strengthened by him.  He will grow my heart and soul in holiness so that by the time I come to him or he comes to us, I will be blameless in the love of Christ.  I hope fast to this promise in Christ today.

Lord,

Please forgive my selfish ways.  Heal the wounds that keep me down so that I can move freely in your holy love.  Give me strength to move into the world with your love flowing through me.  I ask this in your name, for your glory.  Amen.

John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches.  Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”

It has been a crazy spring for weather in Colorado.  I live east of Denver and we have had torrential rains, numerous hail storms and a few tornadoes.

It has been a daily task to pick up the leaves that have been knocked off of the trees, check the garden for damaged plants and, for some people, pick up severed tree limbs and branches.

These branches were healthy and flourishing in the springtime until some powerful wind swept through and tore them from the tree trunk.  There is nothing that can be done with them once that happens.  Now they are chopped up into little pieces and discarded.

This is what Jesus says happens if we are not abiding in him.  We flourish and grow well when we abide in him but if we let go or are pulled away, we are no longer fruitful.

I do not want to be like a broken tree branch lying on the ground, useless and dying.  I choose to abide in Christ so I can bear much fruit in his kingdom, as he calls us to.  Ingrain yourself with him, we will grow together!

Lord,

What a beautiful vision it is to see us as an extension of you.  Help us grow ever more in you so that we never become severed for any reason.  Help us be fruitful branches of you spreading Love, peace, joy and more to a world of storm damaged branches.  I praise your holy name.  Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-15 “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.”

There are times I read Paul’s letters and I struggle with his words or what he is saying – this passage is not one of those.  It is a beautiful prayer; I only wish I had room on this page to list the remaining verses.  I encourage you to look this passage up and read through verse 20.

What is it that causes you to bow your knees before the Father?  When do you choose to come to him in prayer?  My church is holding special prayer services over the next couple of weeks to seek direction from God in the next steps we need to take.  This is a beautiful and unusual step in my little Presbyterian church and I am so glad someone stepped up and make a plan from the nudging of the Spirit because I received that nudge and didn't do a thing about it.

I soak in the words of Paul today.  “Be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit...grounded in love... power to comprehend...breadth and length and height and depth...filled with the fullness of God.”  Amen!

Lord,

Forgive my stubborn streak.  I thank you for the ears and hearts that listened and did what you asked.  Move the hearts of many to come to you in prayer, I know the power of prayer is much more than I can imagine.  Thank you for Paul’s prayer and the balm I received from it today.  All glory, honor and praise to you, Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Nehemiah 8:10 “Then he said to them, 'Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’”

The people were weeping because they had just heard and understood the law as interpreted by the priest.  I can understand this.  They likely felt a heaviness on their hearts like I sometimes do when I think of how I have misinterpreted something.

Lately I have had a familiar hymn about the joy of the Lord running through my mind.  I have thought more about the words and how I interpreted them when I was growing up and how I see them now.

Is the joy of the Lord his joy in me or my joy in him?  Does the thought of making him rejoice in me give me strength?  Absolutely!  Does rejoicing in him give me strength to do as he asks?  Indeed!

There are two sides to the quote “the joy of the Lord is my strength” but whichever side I focus on it remains that I am strengthened by joy – his joy in me and my joy in him.

Go forth and celebrate in strength and joy!

Lord,

Your joy is my strength.  When I am weak I feel your love pouring into me and I am renewed.  I feel the joy you have in me and I rejoice in you.  Thank you for your everlasting love and peace, thank you for joy.  Help me share these gifts with those people I see today.  Amen.

 Deuteronomy 10:21 "He is your praise; he is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things that your own eyes have seen."

The Israelites had seen some pretty great and awesome things with their own eyes, for sure.

When God came to rescue them they saw plagues and pestilence put on the Egyptians.  In the desert they saw a pillar of smoke and a blaze of fire to guide them.  They were given manna from heaven and water from a rock.  They saw the glory of the Lord shining in Moses.

What have I seen?  What great and awesome things has God done for me?

He has given me a family and friends of faith that strengthen me and help me stay on true on the journey of my faith – he is my pillar and my fire that guide me.  He has sent protection and destruction to the things that kept me in chains – he is my deliverer.  He has provided nourishment for my body and soul, even in the midst of spiritual desert.  He is my provider.

He is my praise and he is my God for he has done great and awesome things – do you see what he has done for you?

Lord,

Thank you for all you have done and all you have given me, your wayward child.  Just as the Israelites, I wander, complain, moan and fall apart.  You pick me up, dry my tears, and love me back into your presence.  Thank you for deliverance, redemption and grace.  Through these I am able to come and praise you, my praise and my God.  Amen.