Tag: Apostle John

Acts 1:8: To the Ends of the Earth
Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Acts 1:8

To the Ends of the Earth

You will receive the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon you, and you will be my witnesses, even to the ends of the earth, alleluia.

The Apostle John has told us all that we need to know about Jesus.

The Apostle John has written to us, God’s little children, to remind us that we are well loved.

The Apostle John experienced the power of the Spirit and he passes all of this on to us.

How do choose to receive this Word? How do we choose to witness God’s love? How do we choose to pass along the story of God’s overwhelming love for us?

Let us spend a bit of time today with the first Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, and let us consider how we enact God’s Spirit not in overt, grandiose ways, but in the smallest, the most mundane and the most ordinary acts of our lives.

And let us pray: Holy and generous God, we come to you as both weed and wheat. Help us to be patient with ourselves and one another. We find ourselves before you struggling with the real and ideal in our lives. Show us how to reconcile our nights and days of grief and joy. We ask for wisdom as we work to understand your Word and how we are to testify in our own right the amazing story of your love. Teach us how we are to know you among all the false gods in our lives. We make liars of ourselves too often and too easily. Give us the energy, patience and strength to walk in faith with you as we experience victory over all that draws us away from you. And grant us the power of your Spirit so that we might witness authentically, even to the ends of the earth. We ask this in Jesus’ name and in union with the Holy Spirit. Amen.

This post was written on Pentecost Sunday 2014 and is posted today as a conclusion to our reflections on John’s first letter.

Image from: http://www.daughtersofwisdom.org.uk/19-may-pentecost-sunday/
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June 9, 2021

Apostle John, God’s love, weeds among the wheat, witness
1 John 5:14-15: A Prayer for Confidence
Tuesday, June 8, 2021

1 John 5:14-15

A Prayer for Confidence

Now that we have taken in this first letter to us from the Apostle John, let us raise our prayer together as we ask for confidence in ourselves and in God’s love for us.

As we reflect on Chapter I: For those days when we have forgotten that God is light that overcomes all darkness, we pray: Wonderful God, remind us that there is no dark place or time that you cannot touch. For those nights when we long to connect to others, we pray: Generous God, remind us that we find you in our relationships with others.

As we reflect on Chapter 2: For those times when we believe that your universe is a duality of either or, we pray: Patient God, teach us that you are both real and ideal. For those moments when we take sides in hostile camps, we pray: Persistent God, teach us how we are both human and divine.

As we reflect on Chapter 3: For those places in which we cannot discern the weeds from the wheat, we pray: Wise God, show us how our reliance on you means that we leave life’s winnowing in your hands. For those spaces in which we forget how to act as your true children, we pray: Timeless God, show us that we already have eternal life.

As we reflect on Chapter 4: For those people who bring strife into our lives, we pray: Powerful God, guide us as we test false spirits and stumble toward you. For ourselves as we struggle to foster peace rather than conflict, we pray: Wonderful God, guide us in our efforts to speak always in your language of love and to act always in your spirit.

As we reflect on Chapter 5: For the liars we make of ourselves, we pray: Compassionate God, remind us that we are always truthful when we live in you. For the speakers of truth among us, we pray: Holy God, remind us that all is possible when we live for you.

We remind ourselves of your apostle’s words: “We have this confidence in Christ, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in regards to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked him for is ours”.

And so we pray: Good and Gentle Christ, we ask all of this in your name. Amen.

As we continue to fully take in all that John has related to us we might be amazed to understand that God loves us always. So let us spend time today with this thought . . . We have this confidence in Christ, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in regards to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked him for is ours . . .

Enter the word confidence into the blog search bar and consider how willing we are to trust and confide in God.

Image from: http://www.quotationbest.com/confidence.html
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June 8, 2021

Apostle John, divinity and humanity, false spirits, God is light, God is truth and mercy and love, weeds among the wheat
Psalm 19:2-4: Day and Night
Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Psalm 19:2-4

Day and Night

The heavens proclaim the glory of God

And the firmament shows forth the work of God’s hands.

Day unto day takes up the story

And night unto night makes know the message.

No speech, no word, no voice is heard

Yet their span extends through all the earth,

Their words to the utmost bounds of the world.

This spring we have reflected on the importance of preaching God’s Word with every small and great act in our lives. We have pondered the Lesson of the Fig Tree and the worth of even the smallest of sparrows. We have spent time examining our experience of Christ and we have compared the ideal with the real. Today we arrive at understanding that each day and each night are filled with God’s grace even when we cannot see or feel it. We have arrived at believing that just as the firmament extols God’s goodness . . . so must we. No speech is necessary. No word need be uttered. We have only to spend each waking moment doing God’s work. We have only to put our slumber into God’s trustworthy hands for it is in this way that we enter into God’s eternal goodness.

Is this what the Apostle John has seen and heard? Is this the goodness we seek? Is this the gift we have already been freely given?

Tomorrow, a prayer for our days and nights.

Visit the scripture link above and read the versions of this citation that have been pre-selected. Choose another version and ponder how the firmament speaks without words.

Image from: https://soundcloud.com/handbook/sunrise
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May 25, 2021

Apostle John, darkness, God’s goodness, God’s grace, the fig tree, trust God
1 John 2: Ideal and Real – Part IV
Monday, May 24, 2021

1 John 2

Ideal and Real – Part IV: The New Commandment

Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you but an old commandment that you had from the beginning.

We look for new inspiration. We believe that if we had one more resource all would be well. We look to off-load our worries when all we need do is put them in God’s hands.

The old commandment is the word that you have heard. And yet I do write a new commandment to you, which holds true in him and among you, for the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.

All will be well if we can just get a raise. Everything will be fine if we can just someone to do what we want. We believe we will have no more worries if we can just arrange life as we want it while all the while abundant gifts are given us daily.

Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall.

Our work environment would improve if cranky and controlling co-workers would go elsewhere. Family get-togethers would be so much better but for that person with whom we struggle. Our worship community would be perfect if only the cranky believers would worship somewhere else . . . and all the while Christ walks among us. All the while the Spirit abides and calls us. All the while we are children of the same creator who asks us to live in peaceful unity.

This is the new commandment the Apostle John relays to us. This is the new commandment Christ brings to us. This is the new commandment that unites the real and ideal.

Tomorrow, uniting day and night in prayer.

Image from: http://www.all-wallpapers.net/wallpaper/sunset-sunrise-clouds-landscapes-sun/
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May 24, 2021

Apostle John, Children of God, darkness versus light, Spirit, unity

Tag: Apostle John

Acts 1:8: To the Ends of the Earth

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1 John 5:14-15: A Prayer for Confidence

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Psalm 19:2-4: Day and Night

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1 John 2: Ideal and Real – Part IV

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