Life begins and ends with us having control over nothing but our breath. In between we get so caught up with the illusion of control, we often forget to breathe.
A THOUGHT ABOUT BREATH
prayer
WEEKEND COFFEE SHARE FROM THE VICARAGE
If we were sharing coffee today at the Vicarage, you would be drinking a strong generic French Roast from Market Basket. It is strong because I put an extra scoop (to two) in the basket. We would also be sharing any number of pastries from our kitchen: Coffee cake, Apple Fritters, Donuts, Turnovers. The congregation is keeping us well stocked during this season of my mother’s hospice.
Brenda, Joe, Kristine and I have worked hard this week to take care of Mom and Sevy.
Amanda,Melanie, James and the girls were vacationing in Pennsylvania.
I would share with you that it was a good week. I got a lot of work done from home. I even got to take some time on Thursday night to pray at the worship room.
Well everyone is back home safely now. Brenda, Mom and I are watching Dr. Dolittle (well Mom is sleeping peacefully through Dr. Dolittle) while the kids are playing Everdell in the other room.
Next week, starting tomorrow, promises to be busy. So today is rest up day and get ready day. What is your day like?
SABBATH THOUGHTS ON HOPE
Today I am preparing my heart for what passes as Sabbath these days. That will be tomorrow; So today I am making a list of thoughts I will be meditating on as I pass through my times of prayer on the morrow.
MY SABBATH THOUGHTS THIS WEEK
HERE ARE THE THOUGHTS I WILL BE MEDITATING ON THIS WEEK DURING MY SABBATH
Preparing our Homes Pt. 1
Our congregation spent a month in prayer to come up with what we are calling the congregational sentence. It reads…
“Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“
During these next weeks these seven prepare statements will be broken down into twenty-one brief devotionals the congregation is praying into.
Today we begin talking about Preparing our facility ( structures, infrastructures and plans)
WHAT ARE WE PREPARING FOR?
This next step of preparation seems to be intensely practical and external. We are being asked by God to prepare our facility…our building(s). We are seeking to prepare our hearts, to make internal changes that will help us to be spiritually and emotionally ready for what is to come. This preparation is different. We are being asked to prepare our church building and our personal homes. For what?
- FOR GREATER USE- I don’t know all of what we will be approached for, but I do believe our community is going to need our building for public uses. We need to make sure our building is ready for increased usage
- FOR HOSPITALITY- This goes for both our homes and for our church building. The Scripture over and over calls us to show kindness and hospitality toward fellow believers and to strangers. We must prepare to have open doors.
- FOR SACRED DUTY- I guess this goes back to more of a mental and spiritual preparation, but we must never forget what God has given us a building and homes for. We have what we have so that we may share the good news, the story of Jesus Christ. We must always look for the God connection as we prepare our facility for use, hospitality and sacred duty.
- What does God really want to use our building and our homes for?
The Watches Of the Night
Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
who minister by night in the house of the Lord.
2Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and praise the Lord.
3May the Lord bless you from Zion,
he who is the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 134
Mom’s health is now at a place where someone is with her in her room or the next room 24/7. As I write, Brenda and I are working remotely with our ministries from the table just outside Mom’s room while she watches Jessica Fletcher from her hospital bed. She has just had her morning meds and is slowly falling back to sleep, which she does a lot these days.
I generally have the night watch. I sleep really well in the recliner at the foot of Mom’s bed (an ability no one else in my family shares).
Mom is usually up at least one time in the night if not twice. This has radically changed my sleep schedule and that has blessed me greatly. One of the things I have always wanted to implement in my prayer life was the Benedictine rhythm of prayer: Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline.
I have managed to implement the sessions but not in their proper time slots…that is… not until this season of life.
Mom’s nighttime schedule has made it very easy to get up and pray for Matins and Lauds. I have to say, spreading out the hours of prayer into more evenly spaced sessions has made the prayer-life balance so much richer. Life flows out of prayer, then life flows back into prayer. One of my hopes is that I will be able to establish this rhythm permanently and naturally into my life.
GETTING READY…WITH PEACE
Today is my sabbath. I will be spending some time thinking about the subject of inner peace. Here are some of the meditational thoughts I will be dwelling on.
Steadfast Sons
Our church is comprised of small groups of people we call Doing Life Together Groups. Each group is encouraged to
STUDY THE BIBLE TOGETHER/ TO PRAY TOGETHER/ TO FELLOWSHIP AND BUILD DEEP RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH OTHER/ AND TO MEET NEEDS IN THE CHURCH AND IN THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER.
One of our “DLT” groups is a group of men called The Steadfast Sons. This year they chose to minister to the greater community of men in our church though and event called “BE A GODLY MAN”.
About 40 men from 8 different DLT groups showed up for breakfast lunch and five breakout sessions
Andy Ross and Stephen Sandoval were our co facilitators in Doing Life Together for the day.
Here are some of my take aways from the day.
BOYS CANNOT CONFER MANHOOD ON THEMSELVES. MEN NEED TO CONFER MANHOOD ON THE NEXT GENERATION OF MEN.
WORRY IS ANTI-PRAYER.
JESUS NEVER OFFERED US A COMFORTABLE LIFE. THERE WILL BE CHALLENGE AND PAIN.
YOUR PROBLEMS ARE NOT OTHER PEOPLE. TROUBLE IS ALWAYS CENTERED IN THE SPIRIT REALM FIRST AND FOREMOST.
MEN MUST CONTINUALLY “GOSPEL” THEMSELVES ACCORDING TO EPHESIANS 6.
THERE ARE NO CHUBBY BREASTPLATES IN THE ARMOR OF GOD. THE ARMOR MAKES US FIT AND ENCOURAGES US TO STAND IN THAT FITNESS.
THE ARMOR SHOULD MAKE US FILL THE WORLD AROUND US WITH PEACE.
THE ARMOR OF GOD IS MOST EFFECTIVE WHEN LINKED WITH A BAND OF BROTHERS.
PRAY THE WORD NOT JUST THE NEED.
Our men had a great day of fellowship together. I was greatly blessed by all the relationship building I saw going on.
In our final sessions I got a few more thoughts to think about.
STRONG MEN ARE SABBATH MEN. ADAM RESTED FOR WORK NOT FROM IT. REST IS FOUND IN JESUS NOT IN “REST”.
GOD LONGS FOR US TO BE IN RHYTHM NOT NECESSARILY IN BALANCE.
GOD HAS CALLED US TO PERSEVERE.
GOD HAS CALLED US TO HUMILITY AND SUBMISSION
GOD HAS CALLED US TO SERVE.
It was a great day of worship, spiritual reminders and challenges, fun, and fellowship.
THANK YOU ANDY AND STEPHEN!
A SONG OVER THE VICARAGE
We are facing great challenges here at The Vicarage. “We are pressed on every side”, as Paul the Apostle said, but we are not crushed!
Music helps me to hold on to my faith perspective during seasons of hardship. Here is one of the songs I am currently listening to to bolster my faith.
DOES MUSIC HELP YOU TO FOCUS? OF SO WHAT SONGS ARE HELPING YOU THESE DAYS?
PREPARING COMPASSION PT. 2
“Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“
OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT FEW MONTHS I WILL BE REPOSTING THESE DEVOTI0NAL THOUGHTS I WROTE DURING OUR CHURCH’S 21 DAYS OF FASTING AND PRAYER. TODAY WE CONTINUE TO…
PREPARE OUR SOULS TO PRACTICE AND FEEL COMPASSION.
WHAT CAN I DO TO BUILD THE HEART OF COMPASSION?
In Matthew 9 the Bible says, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
A heart of compassion starts with God moving on that heart to see things the way He sees them. When we see a need that is the beginning of God moving on our hearts to build compassion. The recognition of the need is the first step.
When we begin to pray for God to send someone to meet the need we further align ourselves with His plan, because I promise you He wants to help.
I love that Jesus told the disciples to start praying for God to send someone to help and then as God He sent them into the very harvest field they were praying about…
Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. Mat. 10:1, 5-8
When we learn we are the answer to our own prayers for help for others and then become willing enough to actually do something rather than make excuses we will have gained a heart of compassion.
