Daily Devotions and Podcasts

SCRIPTURE Isaiah 11. 1-4 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. WORDS OF HOPE  Lord God, quiet my mind and help me to be more mindful of your presence and purpose in my life. In the days of the Lenten Season, we will be contemplating the Messiah. These will be times of reflection and the wonders of the perfect plans of the Eternal God in relationship with humankind. With Earth' s creation and the unfolding of the human experience, God saw great beauty and expanding potential for our loving relationship with the Holy One. The creative act endowed humanity with freedom of choice. Some individuals generally chose a lifestyle pattern which was compatible with divine hopes; while many more individuals ignored the opportunity to walk in the ways of God. Over many generations, disobedience and evil ways were chosen most often. From the descendants of the righteous man, Abraham, God chose to demonstrate the Divine's nature and purpose toward humanity. However, even those Israelites often failed to live according to God's desires. Even with the threat of increasing disregard for God’s will, the creation was not to be abandoned by God. Creation would be redeemed. And from the family of Jesse, King David's father, arose One who would restore humankind's relationship with God. Though often sung during Advent, listen to the words of this 16th-century German hymn: "Lo, how a Rose e'er blooming from tenderest stem hath sprung, of Jesse's lineage coming as saints of old have sung. It came a flower bright, amid the cold of winter, when half spent was the night. This flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air, dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere. True human but very God, from sin and death he saves and lightens our every load." PRAYER In the Lenten Season, as I walk the road toward sacrifice and resurrection, may I be more aware of your redeeming love. Prepare me to be more ready to share your love with others in my life. Be it ever so. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Donald (Luke) Day Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

READING “Today we can leave the governance of the universe to God.” - Martin Luther WORDS OF HOPE  Have you ever noticed how many times you are asked a question that begins with “What are you doing….?” What are you doing this weekend? What are you doing tonight? What are you doing for spring break? What are you doing after church? What are you doing for dinner? What are you doing for Lent? What are you doing to make the world a better place? What are we doing? I don’t consider myself to have a Type A personality, but I do live each day with a somewhat lengthy To-Do list. The funny thing about my list is that I don’t write down the absolute “have-tos” for the day like feed the dogs, teach my classes, take my medication, I write down all the things that take up time but don’t really have to be done today. And then I judge my day and myself by how successful I was at accomplishing all the things on that list. The reality is that no ill will come to me or anyone else if I fall short of checking every single thing off that list today. And yet, I feel like not doing it all diminishes my “goodness”. I am certain that I am not alone in these feelings. When my youngest daughter was a toddler, bedtime consisted of me singing the song “Seek Ye First,” by Karen Lafferty, many many times. The text is based on various passages from the Gospel of Matthew. Seek ye first the kingdom of God And His righteousness, And all these things shall be added unto you. Allelu, Alleluia! Ask, and it shall be given unto you; Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and the door shall be opened unto you. Allelu, Alleluia! Man shall not live by bread alone, But by every word That proceeds from the mouth of God. Allelu, Alleluia! In those days of parenting a small child, singing these words with her were often just another thing to cross off my to-do list. Get the baby to sleep so I could get all of the other things done that were still left on my daily list. Looking back now, thirty-three years later, I realize that the times spent singing this song over and over with my daughter were God speaking to me through the voice of a little child, a small voice pleading with me to “seek-y” first the kingdom of God, a message that both she and God knew that I needed to hear. How different might our days be if we more carefully curated our to-do lists and made the top item to seek first the kingdom of God? How might our relationship with God be strengthened if when we are asked what we are doing, we respond by saying, “sitting quietly in the presence of God?” How different might we feel if we left governance of the universe to God? PRAYER “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) Be still and know that I am. Be still and know. Be still. Be. DEVOTION AUTHOR Kris Baker Order of St. Francis and St. Clare