Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Monday, March 1

By Mrs. Gladys Phillips, March 12, 1978

Prayer

Read Matthew 6:9-13; 6:7-8, Mark 1:35, Luke 18:1; 6:12, Matthew 7:7-8; 7:11; 6:6

Dr. Frank Laubach called prayer “The mightiest force in the world,” yet it is said to be the most neglected practice among Christians. One has but to study the life of Jesus to learn what importance He placed on prayer. It was a constant practice in His life, and He commanded His followers to pray. He taught His disciples that prayer was to be the means by which they were to release the resources and energies of God. Pentecost was an awesome example of prayer power.

Bishop Cushman asks, “What does all this mean if not that Jesus taught, and Pentecost illuminated, His message that prayer is and has always been the greatest need of the church and of the world?”

The framers of our Constitution solved a serious problem after pausing to ask God’s direction. In World War II massive prayer brought a miracle from God that saved the troops at Dunkirk.

All of us have had prayers answered individually, and recently God sent a miracle of healing in my own life in response to a small prayer group uniting in earnest intercession for me and prayers of others.

Prayer is not only a need for us each day, it is also a means of service available to everyone – the well, the sick, the lonely, the shut-ins, the elderly, the younger. One of our church vows is to pray for our church. It is a duty and a privilege for every member.

With prayer so great a need, why do people neglect to pray?

Prayer

Gracious Lord, Thank you for the privilege of prayer. Help Christians everywhere not to neglect it. Amen. 

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Saturday, February 27

By Gene Flinter, April 2, 2017

The Companion

Read: John 14:15-17 NIV 

 “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

Our world is in turmoil. However, with the assistance of Christ and the Holy Spirit in opening our hearts and minds, we may visualize a healed planet.

Find a quiet place, sit or stand, take some deep breaths and then perform the following visualization:

Visualize our church and its staff and members in an embracing silver light and then filter in a golden light. Hold for a minute or so… Expand the same sequence to the residents of our state, country and world (continent by continent)… Then, embrace our planet in the silver/golden light with its oceans, forests, jungles and deserts. Include the sea and mammal life that also inhabits the earth.

Prayer

Come Holy Spirit, kindle our hearts and minds with a heavenly fire, so that we may open them to renew the face and health of our world. Inspire us to avoid anger and judgment to all persons that we may encounter. Instead, let us embrace them with love and kindness. With Jesus, the hierarchy of angels and the Father and Mother of the world, we request your blessings throughout our lives. Amen. 

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Thursday, February 25

By Dr. Allison R. Ensor, April 7, 1977

Young Goodman Brown

Read: Romans 12:21

      “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

One of my favorite nineteenth-century short stories is Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown.” Set in or near Salem, Massachusetts about 1692, it is a story of a naïve young man who journeys into the forest for what he believes will be a one-time-only encounter with evil, after which he intends to cling to the skirts of his wife (“aptly named” Faith) and follow her to heaven.  Things do not, however, work out as planned: Brown meets a Satanic figure in the forest who guides him to a “wild witch meeting” attended – or so Brown believes – by all the good people of the community, even the minister and his own wife. As a result, Brown’s faith in mankind is lost; he comes to look upon everyone in his village as a hypocrite in league with the devil, and he is never happy again.

I believe that it was Brown’s own involvement in evil which led him to think that everyone else was as guilty as he, and that as Hawthorne says elsewhere, “Such loss of faith is ever one of the saddest results of sin.” Brown was mistaken to have believed that he was the first of his family ever to do anything evil, but he was equally mistaken to think that, as Satan tells his assembled worshippers, “Evil is the nature of mankind.” I take it that Hawthorne’s point is that we should recognize the evil that exists around us but having recognized it we should not become obsessed with it or overcome by it. It is an inevitable part of an imperfect world, but it need not ruin our lives or make us unduly pessimistic about our fellow mortals.

Prayer

Father, help us to resist the temptation to give way to despair when we encounter evil or when we find ourselves and others failing to measure up to the best that we might be. Help us to know that the world has not really been given to the devil but that it is still under your control and that there is much good left in it. Amen.

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Tuesday, February 23

By Jim Lees, March 19, 2017

Everyday Temptations

Read: Psalm 46:10

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

Lent is a moment in our calendar each year, set aside by persons in our distant past. They were reaching out to God, no doubt seeking help, to find a way to remind us of the magnitude of the gift we all received in the sacrifice of Jesus. This 40-day time was and is an exciting solution now and through the ages. A period when we can really prepare for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection, a time to spread the news. Those who first set aside the time for Lent were right in their desire and in their choice. Now it is our time.

This 40-day period of Lent has been modified from time to time. Recommended fasting on special days, of making Sundays not count during this period, of recalling our baptism, of calling to mind the gift so freely given. It is a truly joyful time to share with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We now realize we are speaking with God when we pray. We realize we can call out to Him. He is listening to us. We are in his presence. God cares for you and me. In this very special time of Lent, we can reach out and be thrilled by being in God’s presence.

Prayer

Dear Lord, how wonderful to know you and be in your care. To feel your touch in everything around me. For the gift of life, the beauty of this day, the love of my family, and our church. Above all, thank you for your Son. Amen.

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Sunday, February 21, Evening

By Judy Vest, March 17, 2019

Forty Days and Forty Nights

Read Matthew 4:2

“After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.”

Researching words to use when writing this devotion to honor our Lord during Lent, I revisited some facts I have certainly read and heard before but did not immediately recall. Have you ever wondered why the time span of Lent is forty days? That is the number of days and nights Jesus wandered in the wilderness. On the ark Noah and family watched the rain pour down for forty days and nights. In Deuteronomy references are made of Moses fasting for forty days on two different occasions.

What I do know is, following His baptism, Jesus went into the wilderness and fasted for forty days and forty nights. He was alone with only wild animals in the area for companionship. Exposed to the elements, Jesus was surely hot, cold, dusty, dirty, hungry and thirsty. Being alone in such a barren place with wild animals, in the dark, becoming hungry and thirsty, is way more than I can fathom. Not only did Jesus willingly go into this place for the sure suffering He would experience, it got worse; along came Satan to tempt and taunt Him. Jesus was suffering from the ordeal, weak in body, but He stood his ground with the devil and won the victory.

We have known of this battle since childhood; we have heard it preached from the pulpit. We know it happened but do we really comprehend and think it through? Do we reflect on this story during Lent? Yes, I believe we do as we humble ourselves and make our plans to deny self by choosing to give up something during Lent. We may be led to fast, give up a habit, or set aside money to do good for someone other than ourselves. Considering what Jesus has done for us I can not see anything we do for Him being much of a burden. He gave all and then arose from the dead to assure each of us eternal life with Him.

Prayer

“O God our deliverer, you led your people of old through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide now the people of your church, that following our Savior, we may walk through the wilderness of this world toward the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.” Amen. (Prayer taken from The Lutheran Book of Worship, reprinted in UM Hymnal)

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