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"Running in Faith" is an electronic devotional guide written by members of Abiding Presence Lutheran Church. Each week, writers use their personal interpretation of scripture to write an inspirational message they hope will help readers take their Sunday faith into weekday lives. Your comments are appreciated and, when related to a particular devotion, passed to the writer. We hope you will share these devotions with friends and coworkers. We are always happy to add new names to our e-mail list. Please contact us if you wish your name to be added. |
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Devotion for the week of February 6, 2000 St. Paul writes, One of the questions that Christians must always ask themselves is, "How then must I live?" How -- in light of what Jesus has done for me on the cross -- should I live my life? St. Paul describes the evangelical answer to this question in 1 Corinthians 9. His logic, however, is not what we would expect, because one cannot put the new wine of the gospel in the old wineskins of our former logic on life. The logic is: You should live in whatever way helps others gain ears to hear the good news that you have already heard. If dressing in one way inhibits them developing those ears but dressing in another ways helps them develop ears, then do the one rather than the other. The same can be said for diet, lifestyle, and so on. St. Paul says, "I do it [whatever helps others hear the good news] all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings."
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Devotion for the week of February 13, 2000 "I will give you a new heart When I was in High School I had come home one day to find my Mother quite distraught. Mom had explained to me that a very dear friend of the family that had moved to California was going to be the recipient of a Heart Transplant. Many years have past and its still difficult for me to fathom such a thing even in today's technologies, and yet human heart transplants are quite common. But you know, everybody alive today needs a heart transplant because we were all born with a sinful nature. We have a problem with our hearts. The prophet Jeremiah said "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure" (17:9). We have no hope of curing the sinful heart by our own efforts. The deceitful human heart manifests itself in our everyday relationships from time to time. We all exist with a diseased heart and desperately need a transplant. Fortunately, God promised to give us a new heart and a new spirit. The writer June Hunt describes it best:
The operation is simple. It's painless. It's free. All you must do is accept it. It's a wonderful gift.
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Devotion for the week of February 20, 2000 "I will give you a new heart This week's devotional lets you solve a mystery and provides a sweet reward. You, in this case, can be one person, a family, a few members of your family or, possibly, you and one or more of your friends. You decide what works best for you. You must set aside a little time each day to solve the mystery. You will need your Bible to identify the unknown "other things" and thus be able to "earn" the reward. The readings will expose you to some unfamiliar Bible texts and provide you with the way to solve the mystery of identifying the "other things." Start your readings on Sunday and continue throughout the week. By Saturday, you will know what the "other things" are and can use them in the kitchen to claim the reward.
Mix all the "other things" together and pour into a greased/floured loaf pan. Bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a toothpick (inserted in the center) comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in pan and then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling. Enjoy! Dear Lord, teach us that both the reward of reading your Word |
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Devotion for the week of February 27, 2000 "Unless the Lord builds the house, "If you want to hear God laugh, make plans." That was the motto on the "stickie" that my boss gave me some time ago. I certainly did not plan to begin the new year with a trip to the hospital! The doctor discovered some blockage in two arteries of my heart and sent me across the street to Hahnemann Hospital to have angioplasty and stint insertion the next day. I certainly was not the typical candidate for such diagnosis and procedure, but there I was. During this time, I learned that I, who has always been the caretaker, was now the one in need of care. I learned that I could sit back and let others do for me for a change. I even learned to let someone else or the answering machine pick up the telephone when it rang. We all make plans for our lives. We get so busy carrying out the plans that we forget to include God's will in our plans. When the plans do not work out, we often blame God. Instead, it might be better if we asked God what needs to be done, and then listen for the answer. Listen! That's the key word. It reminds me of the story of Mary and Martha. I've always thought Mary should have helped Martha, and then they could both have listened to Jesus. Maybe, though, Martha could have planned a more simple meal. Maybe Jesus and his friends would have been just as happy with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches instead of a seven course meal with fancy trimmings. (Bread and jelly are, of course, just another form of bread and wine, the meal that Jesus gave to us.) Then Martha could have spent more time listening. Remember what you were taught in Kindergarten to do before crossing the street? Stop - Look - and Listen. Stop what you are doing, look to God, and listen for his answer. Lent begins March 8. A time to reflect and repent. Repent means to "turn around" or "turn back". It is a time to turn back to God, and let God lead you. Review the plans you have made. Is this what God has planned for you? Or is this what you have planned for God? Even the best of intentions can be thwarted if done for the wrong reason. The noblest effort is doomed to failure if motives are self serving. If our plans are too grandiose, we may need to simplify our goals. If we walk in the path of God, with God as our guide, we will succeed.
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| Year 2000 Index | |
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