"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 January 7, 2002
Submitted by Michael S.

"And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord.'"
     St. Luke, 2:10-11

"And when they had come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, frankincense and myrrh."
     St. Matthew, 11

I was raised in another tradition that celebrated the fantastic gift that God gave us in his son, Jesus the Christ. I am always mindful of the elegance of the simple gift in the birth of a child. It is the visible promise of the grace of Christ the Savior that we celebrate at Christmas time. That is what Christmas meant to me as a child. The gifting of the wise men on Twelfth Night for me was that offering of grace extended to all peoples and nations promised to Abraham and all his descendants. The two holidays represent to me the two parts of giving: the blessedness in receiving grace and then the blessedness of sharing that grace in giving to others.

"O Lord our God, maker of all things. Through Your goodness You have blessed us with these gifts. With them we offer ourselves to Your service and dedicate our lives to the care and redemption of all that You have made, for the sake of Him who gave Himself for us, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen"

Devotion for the week of January 14, 2002
Submitted by Debbie B.

"He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.' He said to them, 'When you pray, say: Father hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.'"
     Philippians Luke 11:1-4

"Lord, teach us to pray!"

Jesus was always taking time to pray. His disciples saw this and they knew that it was good and they asked Jesus to teach them to pray also. Jesus gave his disciples this special prayer, we call it the Lord's Prayer.

Sometimes when I pray the Lord's Prayer, I do not treat it as a special prayer at all. It just becomes another task before I start or end a busy day. This is not how Jesus intended for his prayer to be said and this is not how my soul wants to pray it. Martin Luther says that ". . .the flesh and the devil always impede and obstruct prayer." When I find that my prayer ceases to come from my heart and that my soul is not a part of it, what can I do? More prayer! In Luther's book, "A Simple Way to Pray," he says that ". . when I feel that I have become cool and joyless in prayer . . . . I take my little Psalter, hurry to my room ... " More prayer! When your prayer becomes just another task, who better to help you then your Father in Heaven.

Prayer:
Lord, teach us to pray. Amen

Devotion for the week of January 21, 2002
Submitted by Pastor Dan W.

"There is no fear in love,
but perfect love casts out fear."
1 John 4:18

This scripture verse was a favorite of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Its meaning and impact still challenges those of us who live each day on the threshold of either fear or courage when we meet those who are different in some way than we are. It was fear, unfortunately, that seized the pilot who detained an impeccably credentialed Secret Service agent on Christmas Day who happened to be of Arab descent. It is fear that makes a person of lighter skin to grab the wallet at first sight of a darker-skinned, young male walking the streets of Trenton. It is fear that encourages us to look out for the educational well-being of my own children within the school district without a larger concern for all students. It is fear that encourages us to advocate our own narrow tastes in musical and artistic expression while putting down other styles as "jungle music."

The perfect love talked about in the epistle comes from and as Christ Jesus who shatters the barriers and shields that we throw up for ourselves. On some days, it seems, I can live with little evidence of the barriers and sense the evidence of Christ's prior work more clearly. On other days, the old Adam dwells deep within me telling me to play it safe, don't upset the apple cart of prejudiced convention. I am sustained in courage primarily by the scriptural words, but also by the living examples of people like Martin Luther King, Jr., and my own father, who had his own bouts with the terrorist tactics of the Ku Klux Klan. But I also know that my own journey requires my own unique response to the forces of fear and hatred.

Let us pray. . . . Father of all mercies, forgive us for not seeing your image in the face of all our neighbors. Christ of all new possibilities, enable us to see beyond the barriers of our fearful hearts. Spirit of all renewed communities, inspire us to enjoy the kaleidoscope of diversity throughout the Church and world. Amen

Devotion for the week of January 28, 2002
Submitted by Pastor Tracie B.

Looking over the readings for the coming Sunday (February 3), I noticed that the Beatitudes are part of the Gospel passage. The following prayer/devotion is based on the Beatitudes and helps me to center on their meaning in our world today. This is from a book called "Seasons of the Heart" by Macrina Wiederker.