"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.

Devotion for the week of May 1, 2000
Submitted by Nancy E.

Some readers may remember an earlier devotion I wrote on this topic. It never fails ..... getting away from the rigors and stress of everyday life always provide a spiritual event for me. It is my hope that sharing some of my travel ministries with you will provide a religious affect for you too.

In March, my husband Jack and I traveled to Germany. Our home base was Leipzig. The theme for this trip centered on J.S. Bach as this is a year that celebrates both the 315th year of his birth and the 250th year of his death. We planned a week to visit places that served as important milestones in his life. Leipzig was especially important to Bach; he spent 27 years there as city music director, organist, choir master, and composer. Among other activities, we visited (and heard musical services) in both St. Thomas and St. Nicholas -- the two churches Bach served that still remain in Leipzig.

St. Nicholas (Nikolaikirche) was the place for one of those miracles that happens in our own life time -- one of those that needs to be remembered. In the early eighties, Monday evening prayers-for-peace services began in Nikolaikirche. By September 1989, different objectives of the "grass roots groups" consisting of Christians and Non-Christians who attended the peace services resulted in a situation where it was not always easy to maintain a clerical atmosphere during the meetings. Still, together attendees explored the topicality of the Bible's message -- especially Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. A leaflet available in the church, written by Rev. C. Fuher, explains what happened. Reading that leaflet was especially meaningful to me. I share some of what was in the leaflet with you.

"Nikolaikirche -- open to all" became reality in autumn 1989 and surprised us all. It united people from the whole of the former GDR -- those who wanted to leave the country and those who were curious; regime critics and Stasi (State Security Police) personnel; church staff and SED members; Christians and Non-Christians -- beneath the outspread arms of the crucified and resurrected Jesus Christ.

In view of the political reality between 1949 and 1989, this defies all imagination. It became reality exactly 450 years after the introduction of the Reformation in Leipzig and 176 years after the Battle of Nations in Leipzig. Again, it was Leipzig leading the way once more.

From May 8, 1989, the entrance streets to the Nikolaikirche were blocked by the police. (Nancy note: The church is located in the middle of what we would call a downtown area.) Later, these same entrance streets as well as motorway exits from the city were subject to large-scale checks or even closed during the prayers-for-peace period. Authorities exerted great pressure on us to cancel the peace prayers or at least to transfer them to the city limits. Monday after Monday there were arrests or "temporary detentions" in connection with the peace prayers. Even so, the number of visitors flocking to the church continued to grow to a point where the 2,000 seats were no longer sufficient. Then came the all-deciding day -- October 9, 1989. What a day that was!

There was a hideous show of force by soldiers, industrial militia police and plainclothes officers. But the opening scene had taken place two days before on October 7, the 40th anniversary of the GDR, which was entered in GDR history as Remembrance Day. On this day, for 10 long hours, uniformed police battered defenseless people who made no attempt to fight back and took them away in trucks. Hundreds of them were locked up in stables in Markkleeberg. In due course, an article was published in the press saying that it was high time to put an end to what they called "counterrevolution, if necessary by armed forces". That was what the situation was like on October 9, 1989.

Moreover, some 1,000 SED party members had been ordered to go to Nikolaikirche for the Monday night prayer service. Six hundred of them had already filled up the church nave by 2:00 P.M. They had a job to perform like the numerous Stasi personnel who were on hand regularly at the peace prayers. What had not been considered was the fact that these people were exposed to the word, the gospel and its impact! I always appreciate that the Stasi members heard the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount every Monday. Where else would they hear these? These Stasi members heard Jesus Christ's gospel which they didn't know, in a church they could not do anything with. They heard from Jesus who said,

Thus, the prayers for peace took place in unbelievable calm and concentration. Shortly before the end of each service, before the blessing was given, appeals by Kurt Masur, chief conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra (Nancy Note: world-known musician), and others who supported our call for nonviolence, were read aloud. The solidarity between church and art, music and the gospel was of importance in the threatening situation of those days.

On October 9, 1989, the prayers for peace ended -- as always -- with the blessing and urgent call for nonviolence. More than 2,000 people leaving the church were welcomed by ten thousand waiting outside with candles in their hands -- an unforgettable moment. Two hands are necessary to carry a candle and to protect it from extinguishing so that you cannot carry stones or clubs at the same time. The miracle occurred. Jesus' spirit of nonviolence seized the masses and became a material, peaceful power. Troops, military brigade groups and the police were drawn in, became engaged in conversations, then withdrew. It was an evening in the spirit of our Lord Jesus for there were no winners and no defeated, nobody triumphed over the other, nobody lost face. There was just a tremendous feeling of relief.

This nonviolent movement only lasted a few weeks. But it caused the party and ideological dictatorship to collapse.

"He dethrones the mighty ones and enthrones the weak ones." "You will succeed, not by military powers or by your own strength, but by my spirit," says the Lord. This is what we experienced.

There were thousands in the churches.....hundreds of thousands in the streets around the city center during these few weeks........but, not a single shattered shop window. This was the incredible experience of the power of nonviolence.

Horst Sindermann, who was a member of the Central Committee of the GDR, said before his death -- "We had planned everything. We were prepared for everything. But not for candles and prayers."

The prayers for peace services still continue. Nikolaikirche remains what it was: a house of Jesus, a house of hope, a place and a source for a new beginning.

Dear Lord, continue to guide Nikolaikirche in their prayers for peace. Support them in their current initiative for the unemployed. Let us learn from their powerful demonstration that nonviolence is the way to peace. Amen.

Devotion for the week of May 8, 2000
Submitted by Amy M.

"So [Jesus] told them this parable: 'Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after that one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices.'"
     Luke 15:3-5

I am using a devotion book that I like, and since it is especially nice, I thought I would share it with the rest of the devotion-readers, rather than writing my own. It is from Martin Luther's Sermons.

"There is scarcely any more precious illustration in the whole Gospel than when the Lord Christ compares himself to a shepherd carrying back to the flock, on his shoulders, the sheep which was lost. He is still carrying to this day.

"Therefore the sum of the Gospel is this: the kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of grace and mercy, in which there is never anything but carrying. Christ bears our griefs and infirmities. He takes our sins upon himself and is patient when we fall. We always rest on his shoulders, and he never tires of carrying us, which should be the greatest comfort to us when we are tempted to sin."

It might seem a bit short, but it means a lot to me, and I wanted to share it with all of you.

Lord, thank you for never getting tired of us and all our quirks and big ideas and stubborn behaviors. Thank you for going out to fetch us, again and again, and for taking the final risk of bearing the Cross for our sake. Help us to carry the weak, and know just how to minister the Word to each person according to their needs. In your name, Amen.

Devotion for the week of May 15, 2000
Submitted by Pastor Tracie B.

We know love by this, that Jesus laid down his life for us --
and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
1 John 3:16

During the season of Easter, all of our readings appointed for the second lesson on Sundays have been from the First Letter of John. This book is not very lengthy in the New Testament, but it does contain some passages that loom large in our Christian lives. The one above was read in church this past Sunday. This was the first line of the reading. And it seems to me to lay the foundation for our faith lives.

For in this short sentence, we are given assurance and challenge. In that order. We are shown first what love is for us, Jesus laying down his life. This is the center, the core of who we are as Christians -- beloved by God through Jesus. This happens first, before anything else. We are loved and we know that love is Jesus' greatest act of unselfishness. One of our communion prayers puts it this way -- With a love stronger than death, he gave his life for us. This is what allows us to hear and do the second part of the sentence.

Knowing that we are loved and knowing by whom we are loved, we are called on to follow in Christ's footsteps and lay down our lives for others. That is, we are to put the needs of others ahead of our own. We are to look out to the world around us and tend the wounds of a broken world. We are to look to our children, our parents, the stranger, the neighbor and give of ourselves. Sounds like an impossible task on some days. Just imagine if we all lived up to this calling -- giving of ourselves for the sake of others. I can hardly picture what the world would be like. Each looking out for the other. Each giving up selfish wants for the sake of the other. Each loving the other the way Christ loves us. Here we are, back to Christ again.

For that is where we see this love demonstrated. That is where we rest secure when we don't live up to our calling as Christ's followers. That is where we get the energy to even go out and try to live for others. That is where we have life.

Thank you God that you have sent us Jesus. Thank you for showing us your love through Jesus' death and resurrection. Thank you for calling us your children and challenging us to live lives of service and love for others. Thank you for being there when we fail. Thank you for holding us in your arms when we lack courage to reach out. Thank you for giving us brothers and sisters in the faith who show us how to love and live in you. Thank you God for giving us Jesus. Thank you for showing us your love through Jesus. Amen.

Devotion for the week of May 22, 2000
Submitted by Wesley S.

"Then Philip began to speak [to the Ethiopian eunuch], and starting with this Scripture [Isaiah], he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus"
     Acts 8:35

There is a story about a debate on Christianity between an atheist and a priest. The debate was set for 90 minutes. The atheist spoke first and went for 85 minutes denigrating religion and criticizing Christianity specifically. When he finished, he turned smugly to the priest and said, "Sorry, you've only got five minutes left to speak." The priest got up and, because it was the Easter season, he said, "Christ is risen, Allelujah!" When the crowd responded, "He is risen indeed, Allelujah," the priest said to the atheist, "That's all the time I need; I've said everything I need to: Christ is risen."

The first lessons in the lectionary this Easter season are from the book of Acts which recounts the stories of the apostles going throughout the regions of the Roman Empire and spreading Christianity. Each time there is a geographical shift in Acts, Luke the author, adds this summary: "And the word of the Lord grew and prevailed." This is how Luke accounts for the spread of Christianity. He attributed it to nothing more and nothing less than proclaiming the message that because Jesus is risen from the dead we can have the assurance of God's forgiveness and love. Two thousand years later nothing more needs be said about the gospel than, "He is risen, Allelujah."

God of our risen Savior, we thank you for the power that raised Jesus from the dead and the power that sent the disciples into all the world. Empower us to stand up and proclaim to others that Jesus is risen and brings us new life. Amen.

Devotion for the week of May 29, 2000
Submitted by Lynn W.

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure in a hidden field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it."
     Matthew 13:44-45

How picturesque! Jesus spoke about the kingdom of heaven through these parables! For us, followers of Christ, do we find great joy in our spiritual journey to purchase the kingdom of heaven with all that we have? Do we even think of it as a treasure, like a pearl of great value?

I always took the kingdom of heaven for granted because I am a Christian and I believe that is my destiny as one of God's children. I started to think more about this concept when I began receiving a newsletter named, "Pearl of Great Price" from a Catholic parish. First, I thought where was that in the Bible? I have shared the verse with my friends so that they could grasp what Jesus said and how will they respond? For me, my response is not to take the kingdom of heaven for granted, but to grasp on to the true riches with joy instead of our earthly treasures that will not last forever. Our busy lives take us away from such joy but press onward for Jesus leads us each day on our journey toward the kingdom of heaven. It is like finding and purchasing one pearl of great value. Are you willing to grasp it?

Lord, Stir us on our spiritual journey that we may be able to grasp for joy the kingdom of heaven, like the pearl of great value. Each day be with us, so that we may know Your joy in our daily life. Keep us focus on Your will so that we share what you graciously have already given us -- your son Jesus.