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Genesis 12:1-4a
Mohandas Gandhi once said, "Prayer is not an old woman's idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action." Gandhi was trying to make the point that to be a person of prayer is not to indulge in something that is just for women, which is an action men considered to be "sissy." Prayer is something all religious people need to be engaged in for our own spiritual development, and it creates within us a summons to action.
Abram was a devout man of prayer, and for that reason God could say to him, "You will be a blessing." If we desire to be God's blessing to others, then we must be men and women of prayer.
Ron L.
Genesis 12:1-4a
"I will bless you so that you will be a blessing." Are you blessed with special talents? Do you have a loving family with financial resources? Do you make friends easily? Do you have a talent for comforting others, or making people laugh? Are you a skilled worker? None of these are things that we can ever deserve; they are genuinely gifts given to us by grace. What do you do when given a gracious gift -- a gift more generous than you can ever hope to return? Many of us probably refuse such gifts. We don't want to be indebted to another. Our pride gets in the way. But these gifts -- the gifts of body, mind, and spirit -- are gifts that we cannot refuse. Instead of pushing them away -- saying "I'm not worthy!" -- we are forced to accept them. And invest them.
Leah T.
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
Sometimes I wish I could have been there in the room with Thomas Edison when he heard the first recorded sounds on his phonograph, or with the Wright brothers when the Wright Flyer first lifted off the North Carolina soil. As much as I would like to witness these historic events, even more so I would like to witness what happened in the minutes prior to them. What were these innovators feeling? How were they acting? What did they say? In those moments, they had no way of knowing for certain that their machines would work. The Wright Flyer could have just rolled on the ground, or could have lifted off and then crashed. The phonograph could have just played back static instead of sound. There were no guarantees, and yet Edison and the Wrights still made the attempt. That, to me, is an awesome picture of faith. These men trusted in the process and the research that had led them to those initial trials, and then they took a leap of faith.
Abraham, as described here in Romans, is not all that different from these inventors. However, instead of trusting in research or in trial and error, he clung to a promise of God by faith. God had promised him descendents, even in his old age, and Abraham trusted God and acted in faith, knowing that God would bring that promise to fruition. Another awesome picture of faith.
Craig K.
John 3:1-17
When the sixteenth-century explorer Ferdinand Magellan came to the shores of South America, his crew reported an unusual experience. It seems the South American natives literally could not see the explorer's ship. When the crew came ashore, in smaller boats, the natives acknowledged the visitors and interacted with them; but even when the crewmen pointed out their ship anchored offshore, villagers still could not see it. According to the legend, the village shaman finally was able to see the ship by looking out to sea and imagining what the ship would look like. Once the shaman could see the ship, he pointed it out to the villagers, who slowly began to see the European vessels. There are times when we, too, cannot see things that are. Like the villagers, our expectations and customs get in our way.
Leah T.
John 3:1-17
Mother Teresa once said, "Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier."
Nicodemus came to Jesus at night because, as a Pharisee, he was afraid of being seen. Nicodemus also came anxious, confused, and with many questions. Jesus could have been harsh to Nicodemus about the hypocrisy of being a Pharisee. Jesus could have been judgmental of Nicodemus for as a Pharisee he should have understood what it means to be "born from above." Instead Jesus was respectful, patient, and kind. We can be sure that Nicodemus went away calmer than he came. And if we can read between the lines in scripture, Nicodemus became a Christian.
Many people will come to us in the still of the night with the same disposition as Nicodemus. If we are kind and merciful, they will leave better and happier.
Ron L.
Mohandas Gandhi once said, "Prayer is not an old woman's idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action." Gandhi was trying to make the point that to be a person of prayer is not to indulge in something that is just for women, which is an action men considered to be "sissy." Prayer is something all religious people need to be engaged in for our own spiritual development, and it creates within us a summons to action.
Abram was a devout man of prayer, and for that reason God could say to him, "You will be a blessing." If we desire to be God's blessing to others, then we must be men and women of prayer.
Ron L.
Genesis 12:1-4a
"I will bless you so that you will be a blessing." Are you blessed with special talents? Do you have a loving family with financial resources? Do you make friends easily? Do you have a talent for comforting others, or making people laugh? Are you a skilled worker? None of these are things that we can ever deserve; they are genuinely gifts given to us by grace. What do you do when given a gracious gift -- a gift more generous than you can ever hope to return? Many of us probably refuse such gifts. We don't want to be indebted to another. Our pride gets in the way. But these gifts -- the gifts of body, mind, and spirit -- are gifts that we cannot refuse. Instead of pushing them away -- saying "I'm not worthy!" -- we are forced to accept them. And invest them.
Leah T.
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
Sometimes I wish I could have been there in the room with Thomas Edison when he heard the first recorded sounds on his phonograph, or with the Wright brothers when the Wright Flyer first lifted off the North Carolina soil. As much as I would like to witness these historic events, even more so I would like to witness what happened in the minutes prior to them. What were these innovators feeling? How were they acting? What did they say? In those moments, they had no way of knowing for certain that their machines would work. The Wright Flyer could have just rolled on the ground, or could have lifted off and then crashed. The phonograph could have just played back static instead of sound. There were no guarantees, and yet Edison and the Wrights still made the attempt. That, to me, is an awesome picture of faith. These men trusted in the process and the research that had led them to those initial trials, and then they took a leap of faith.
Abraham, as described here in Romans, is not all that different from these inventors. However, instead of trusting in research or in trial and error, he clung to a promise of God by faith. God had promised him descendents, even in his old age, and Abraham trusted God and acted in faith, knowing that God would bring that promise to fruition. Another awesome picture of faith.
Craig K.
John 3:1-17
When the sixteenth-century explorer Ferdinand Magellan came to the shores of South America, his crew reported an unusual experience. It seems the South American natives literally could not see the explorer's ship. When the crew came ashore, in smaller boats, the natives acknowledged the visitors and interacted with them; but even when the crewmen pointed out their ship anchored offshore, villagers still could not see it. According to the legend, the village shaman finally was able to see the ship by looking out to sea and imagining what the ship would look like. Once the shaman could see the ship, he pointed it out to the villagers, who slowly began to see the European vessels. There are times when we, too, cannot see things that are. Like the villagers, our expectations and customs get in our way.
Leah T.
John 3:1-17
Mother Teresa once said, "Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier."
Nicodemus came to Jesus at night because, as a Pharisee, he was afraid of being seen. Nicodemus also came anxious, confused, and with many questions. Jesus could have been harsh to Nicodemus about the hypocrisy of being a Pharisee. Jesus could have been judgmental of Nicodemus for as a Pharisee he should have understood what it means to be "born from above." Instead Jesus was respectful, patient, and kind. We can be sure that Nicodemus went away calmer than he came. And if we can read between the lines in scripture, Nicodemus became a Christian.
Many people will come to us in the still of the night with the same disposition as Nicodemus. If we are kind and merciful, they will leave better and happier.
Ron L.
