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Heschel’s Wonder-5/10/21

The Ability to Answer

We do not refuse to pray. We merely feel that our tongues are tied, our minds inert, our inner vision dim, when we are about to enter the door that leads to prayer. We do not refuse to pray; we abstain from it. We ring the hollow bell of selfishness rather than absorb the stillness that surrounds the world, hovering over all the restlessness and fear of life – the secret stillness that precedes our birth and succeeds our death.

Quest for God: Studies in Prayer and Symbolism

Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan -05/10/21

Faith: Covenant Relationships in Action

Faith, the context for healing,

Becomes a catalyst for well-being

Amid the divine gaze,

Remaking dry bones,

Reshaping paralyzed limbs,

Restoring ill health.

Faith: a process, a power, a presence of God,

Energizes our tired minds,

Regulates our hearts,

Renews our tired bodies,

Excites our broken spirits,

Makes us whole.

Faith serves as a divine lens,

Showing us the density of pain;

Helping us to rebel to that which needs to change:

Shielding us from hopelessness,

Reminding us of the sacredness,

Which made, sustains, and keeps us.

The Undivided Soul

A Sense of Self-05/10/21

THURMAN’S CORNER – 5/10/21

A Sense of Self

In the presence of human need, we may detach ourselves, on the ground that it is no concern of ours or that we do not wish to become involved or that we are too sensitive to expose ourselves to much that is distasteful… It must never be forgotten that we cannot escape a certain basic attachment in terms of responsibility for our world and the things that are done in it. This is an intimate part of the price we pay for being alive. Social responsibility does not provide for complete detachment, despite the fact that the point of direct participation in social sin may be several steps removed from my point of operation.

From his book “Deep Is The Hunger”

For Week of May 10, 2021

WEEKLY PRAYER GUIDE

“Prayers of Confession”

The prayer of confession is an invitation to speak deep and honest words about our condition before God. Such honesty is not always easy, so the urging of the Holy Spirit is needed to dig deep within in order to survey our hearts and speak our truth. As we enter this space of humble submission we are met by the amazing grace of God. We can, therefore, think of the prayer of confession not as an obligation but as a gift of grace.

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord,

and of your steadfast love,

for they have been from of old.

Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;

According to your steadfast love remember me,

For your goodness’ sake, O Lord!

Good and upright is the Lord;

Therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

For your name’s sake, O Lord,

Pardon my guilt, for it is great.

Turn to me and be gracious to me,

For I am lonely and afflicted.

Relieve the troubles of my heart,

And bring me out of my distress.

Consider my affliction and my trouble,

And forgive all my sins.

Psalm 25:6-8, 11, 16-18

This week write your own prayers of confession and meditate on God’s word:

Psalm 51

1 John 1:8-2:2

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The Hope of Forgiveness

WEEKLY DEVOTION – May 10, 2021

“The Hope of Forgiveness”

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

One of the most helpful and encouraging portions of scripture is found in 1 John 1:9. It is a promise of new beginnings and second chances. It serves as an invitation to wholeness and healing. In the broken world in which we live we need to run to the sources of living waters. This promise of God is one such source and becomes a resource when we need to practice forgiveness and commit to the difficult work of reconciliation.

Sin is a devastating reality in our human experience. We are not perfect, nor do we live perfect lives. And the beauty of God’s promise to forgive makes up the critical difference. Because we can change, and we can experience authentic transformation. There is hope for each one of us as believers and as people of good will. We only need to confess and be honest with ourselves and honest before God. God forgives, restores, and can God change our character. We only need to come to the places of spiritual renewal.

In addition to the promise of forgiveness is the promise of change. There is hope when we understand the deep promise of this passage. The process of purification by the gracious hand of God will mean real possibilities of doing better and being better. Here we find the foundation of spiritual maturation.

Dear Lord, forgive me of my many sins, cleanse me and make me whole, For Christ’s sake. Amen

Dumas Alexander Harshaw, Jr.

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Focus on the Word

WEEKLY DEVOTION – May 02, 2021

“Focus on the Word”

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Colossians 3:16

In the whirlwind of opinions, debates, and ideologies it is easy to get sidetracked and confused. We need to constantly monitor what we hear, what comes to us uninvited and even what our eyes behold. We need a filter in this world of social media in order protect our minds, our hearts and especially our spirits.

The answer is in allowing the Word of God and the message of Jesus Christ to enter our interior realm with authority and priority. We must listen, meditate and surrender to the message of God’s love through Christ and his promise of life with purpose and meaning.

In addition, to personal access to the Word of God for growth, protection, and truth, we are enhanced when we share with others the message of liberation, forgiveness and reconciliation. The result of this spiritual discipline and daily practice is enriching Spirit filled worship. And then our lives will be filled with gratitude and thanksgiving all year long.

Lord, help me to focus upon the riches of your Word for my needs as I share in community with other believers through worship and praise. Amen

Dumas Alexander Harshaw, Jr.

For Week of May 03, 2021

WEEKLY PRAYER GUIDE

May 03, 2021

Augustine of Hippo was a dominant spiritual guide in the church of North Africa during a time of political turbulence and pervasive religious division. He preached to many and wrote expansively on the meaning of the Christian faith and life. He fought many detractors and left a treasure chest of edifying, instructive and inspirational works. His Confessions have helped to shape Christian thought across the centuries and remains a vital source of contemplation and prayer. This week we will pray our prayers along with Augustine as a guide for deep reflection.

God’s Immensity

(3) Do heaven and hell therefore contain you, since you fill them? Or do you fill them, and does there yet remain something further, since they do not contain you? Where then do you diffuse what remains of you after heaven and hell have been filled? Or do you who contain all things have no need to be contained by anything further, since you fill all the things you fill by containing them? The vessels that are filled by you do not restrict you, for even if they are shattered, you are not poured forth, when you are poured upon us, you are not cast down, but you raise us up; you are not scattered about, but you gather us up. You fill all things, and you fill them all with your entire self. But since all things cannot contain you in your entirety, do they then contain a part of you, and do all things simultaneously contain the same part? Or do single things contain single parts, greater things containing greater parts and smaller things smaller parts? Is one part of you greater, therefore, and another smaller? Or are you entire in all places, and does no one thing contain you in your entirety?

Heschel’s Wonder-5/02/21

Preface

We have lost the power to pray because we have lost the sense of His reality. All we do is done through symbols. We live for tools, we think in signs. What we do is for the sake of something else. It is therefore important that we pay attention to the role and meaning of symbols. God is of no importance unless He is of supreme importance.

Quest for God: Studies in Prayer and Symbolism

Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan -05/02/21

Faith: Covenant Relationships in Action

Love is powerful. Love helps us transcend, grow, and actualize fully the capacity of what it means to be human and to be in community in the world. This movement is sometimes fraught with resistance from those who want things to remain the same. Other times this covenantal love is a move to joyful action, made visible in thousands of random acts of kindness done by thousands of people each day, not for the sake of national or international acclaim, but because people care. So often we hear phrases of doom and gloom about the current status of the world. The actions of God and humanity taken in tot rebuke that assumption.

The Undivided Soul

A Sense of Self-05/02/21

THURMAN’S CORNER – 5/02/21

A Sense of Self

Perhaps it is true that a goal that is in reach is not worth achieving. We find our true stature when we see ourselves in relation to a goal that can never be reached, to an end that can never be satisfied.

From his book “Deep Is The Hunger”

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