Daily Devotions and Podcasts
Prayer: Lord, help me to see You in every part of my day, even in the places I least expect. Open my eyes to Your presence in the ordinary and the extraordinary moments of life. Amen.
The Cathedral of Hope Devotion Ministry began as an answer to Progressive Christians who wanted to start their days with a little insight, observation, or wisdom about the Christian faith from their own point of view. Conservative internet devotions were abundant, but there was not much out there for liberal thinkers. The need was clear.
Being a large church, we had a generous amount of writing talent available and also a large number of congregants with theological training who were not on the pulpit. In the early days of the ministry, most of the writing was done by the clergy, but gradually the majority of the writers emerged from those lay volunteers.
That dynamic is still in place as new authors are always joining in to keep the ideas fresh. It’s a fitting structure for any center of progressive thought. This particular Body of Christ has many voices and each one has a unique and important story to tell.
SCRIPTURE John 15:12 (NIV) My command is this: love each other as I have loved you. ļ»æ WORDS OF HOPE It’s almost a New Year and time to get back to the basics. Jesus talked about love many times. He lived his life, coming from a place of love and he died for all of us, because he loved. In this scripture, he is saying, I command you to love each other like that! I admit, I am a bit daunted when I face this challenge. As I see it, that leaves no room for me to pick and choose which, among his children, we will love. It leaves no room for us to mete out little bits of love. This is full out, love, as we have never loved before. We cannot count the cost. We cannot just love with our hearts. We have to love with our whole beings. That's a bit overwhelming, but God has provided the miracle of the Holy Spirit to make up for our human weakness. There is no limit to what God can do through us if we let ourselves be challenged beyond limits. I know that I have seen God transform lives, and give hope where there was no hope. I believe God can use committed people who trust him, to create change in our families, our communities and our world. It can happen if we love as Jesus Loves. PRAYER Beloved God, God of Amazing Love, I read your word, and I feel excited and challenged. I feel small when I consider what big things are needed. But I know you, God. I know you will make me brave when I am afraid. I know you will put people in my path who need your love. Help me to do what is needed rather than what I think I can do. Help me to love bigger than I know how to love. Help me to love as you love. I give myself to you. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Carole Anne Sarah
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Words of Hope Podcast
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SCRIPTURE John 15:12 (NIV) My command is this: love each other as I have loved you. ļ»æ WORDS OF HOPE It’s almost a New Year and time to get back to the basics. Jesus talked about love many times. He lived his life, coming from a place of love and he died for all of us, because he loved. In this scripture, he is saying, I command you to love each other like that! I admit, I am a bit daunted when I face this challenge. As I see it, that leaves no room for me to pick and choose which, among his children, we will love. It leaves no room for us to mete out little bits of love. This is full out, love, as we have never loved before. We cannot count the cost. We cannot just love with our hearts. We have to love with our whole beings. That's a bit overwhelming, but God has provided the miracle of the Holy Spirit to make up for our human weakness. There is no limit to what God can do through us if we let ourselves be challenged beyond limits. I know that I have seen God transform lives, and give hope where there was no hope. I believe God can use committed people who trust him, to create change in our families, our communities and our world. It can happen if we love as Jesus Loves. PRAYER Beloved God, God of Amazing Love, I read your word, and I feel excited and challenged. I feel small when I consider what big things are needed. But I know you, God. I know you will make me brave when I am afraid. I know you will put people in my path who need your love. Help me to do what is needed rather than what I think I can do. Help me to love bigger than I know how to love. Help me to love as you love. I give myself to you. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Carole Anne Sarah
SCRIPTURE ļ»æ Acts1.8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. WORDS OF HOPE Anticipating the beginning of the year, we begin to think about the type of spiritual fuel we will need to empower our daily life with others. When we read today’s Scripture, we stop at the divine gas station and get our tank full for the new day's opportunities. But, before we head out from the station, we may need some advice about current traffic conditions or problems... get some help to travel the route. Consider this prayer: "Christ Jesus, may I go forth next year to be and to do your divine will in all the opportunities you give me each day." In the days the Greek Scriptures were written, servants were foolhardy to go out into the daily marketplace and expect to accomplish their master’s request if they were not accompanied by a recognition or authorization from the master for whom they worked. Similarly, we cannot expect to do God's business without the divine living presence with us. It's that simple! If we don't recognize the need to live our active lives with God's constant presence, we venture forth on our own and without that divine loving presence. Now, the real problem is not one in which God chooses not to work with and through us; rather, it is our constant need to recognize that we must have the living presence of God to facilitate our life actions! For that reason, we need to pray each day and be very mindful that we seek God's presence to be expressed in all that we do. God is very willing to go with us, but we cannot ignore the divine presence’s help. It's so easy to get caught up in the moment's actions, thinking that we have it all figured out, and forget about God's always-present help for the situation. Each day, we need to think about our self in the plural - we together – act and speak with others. And the "we together" must always be God and us! PRAYER Christ Jesus, may we TOGETHER go forth this day to be and to do your divine will. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Donald (Luke) Day Order of St. Francis and St. Clare
SCRIPTURE ļ»æ Acts 6. 8-15 Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and others of those from Cilicia and Asia, stood up and argued with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. Then they secretly instigated some men to say, ‘We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.’ They stirred up the people as well as the elders and the scribes; then they suddenly confronted him, seized him, and brought him before the council. They set up false witnesses who said, ‘This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed on to us.’ And all who sat in the council looked intently at him, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. WORDS OF HOPE December 26 is an interesting day in the church and secular calendar. It is Saint Stephen's day in Western Christianity (December 27 in the Eastern orthodox.) It is the day which Stephen, one of the first chosen leaders of the disciples was martyred. In the passage immediately before the one above, Stephen has been chosen as one of seven to help with the distribution of food among all the disciples. Stephen is described as a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. Essentially the seven were chosen because the Apostles were not able to handle the duties of the day today and also preach the gospel. In the United Kingdom and many parts of the former British empire, today is Boxing day. Is the day on which servants and tradesmen were given a Christmas box containing a little money, a small gift, perhaps some food leftover from the Christmas table. This seems to be an appropriate thing to do on the second day of Christmas, (the 12 days of Christmas last until January 6 with the arrival of the Magi). The first day of Christmas is the great gift of the birth of Christ, the second day, is a day to recognize and give something to those who perhaps have less than we do. Or at least two people who work very hard so that we have more than they do. Just as Stephen became a servant, (a waiter at the table, as the previous passage says), so we have many of those who serve. Boxing Day gives substance to that recognition. Today is also Thank You Note Day. It is intended for handwritten thank you notes to be produced and to be sent. With email and text messaging and various electronic means of greeting ‘cards’ we have perhaps lost some of the simple joy that comes from receiving a handwritten note in the mail placed on our front door. I personally admit I'm a sucker for this. Since I was a small child, I have loved going out to the mailbox to see what has arrived. I don't know if I got the same sort of serotonin boost that they claim people get when their phone dings, but I suspect that's exactly what happened. I am old enough that within a week of having received a Christmas present, my mother made me sit down and write thank you notes. This is something that I fear we are losing in our society. And I will bluntly state that this is a bad thing. So today as a devotion I ask you to sit and make a list of people who are giving you something not just for Christmas but throughout the entire year. Sit down and write them a thank you note. You may be thanking them for a physical gift; or you may be thanking them for a job well done; support or love or friendship. These too are valuable gifts. If you can, send it through the Postal Service or deliver it yourself. And in all of that, don't forget to thank the God who brought those people into your life. Don't forget to thank the God who sent Jesus to show you a way to God. And try with great devotion, prayer, and meditation to make your thanks more than an obligatory action (like many of mine that my mother made me do) that is a true heartfelt thanks for things, small and large that have been done for you in your life this last year. PRAYER God of gifts, God of life, God of all, thank you for this world and all that is in it, and all the people with whom we interact each day. Help us to see that of God in every person so that we may be thankful for their presence. Bring to us the thankfulness that we need for our friends and our enemies that we may all come together in peace. DEVOTION AUTHOR Weber Baker Order of Saint Francis and Saint Clare
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