"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 October 5, 2003
Submitted by Helen L.

"Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for I delight in it."
Psalm 119:35

A parishioner in a novel I read recently said that the following was his favorite prayer. "Dear God, help me be the person my dog thinks I am."

Those of you who have pets, know what that means. My dog thinks I'm faithful, kind, and wise. And that's not bad. What else I am, is of no concern to him. He just expects me to be a nice person. And for the right reasons. And so do I.

However, I and the fictitious parishioner, search for the answers beyond that simple outline. How to be faithful, kind and wise in the community of our lives? How to meet our expectations and fulfill the obligations of being a Christian? That is where the work begins.

I'm convinced that if we keep ourselves open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, take the time to ask for God's direction and to listen, each day will reveal the divine will as we deal with the ordinary events in our lives. As simple as that model may be, the journey begins there. I can't judge my own progress but I can rest in God's love and trust along the way.

Dear God, help me be the person you intend me to be. Amen

Devotion for the week of October12, 2003
Submitted by Donna S.

Scripture Readings:
Mark 1:35:
"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."
     Mark 1:35:

"Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea,
and a large crowd from Galilee followed..."
     Mark 3:7:

Last Monday, three cherished friends-in-Christ, and I, withdrew on our annual Yom Kippur post-season pilgrimage to the sea. It was a bittersweet journey for us ... a conceding to summer's end, and to cold weather on its way. Bundled in blankets, accompanied only by seagulls and occasional daredevil surfers, we caught up on each other's lives, swapped stories of grandchildren, and laughed until our sides and cheeks ached.

This year, a single monarch butterfly darted in and out among us for several hours. This beautiful, persistent creature, so long a symbol of resurrection and hope, caused me to reflect on the significance of our gathering on Yom Kippur each September. Unlike our Jewish friends, this day excluded traditional fasting, but it did mark, for us, a day to be "at-one-with" God and each other ... to reflect and to be grateful for the many blessings of the past year, for those events which had transformed our lives and our faith, and to look forward with renewed friendship and hope to all that God had in store for us in the year to come.

At breakfast, that morning, before heading out, one friend blessed our waffles, and us, with a reading about the need for community in our quest for healing and wholeness. That set the tone for the day and the theme for our gathering. I contrasted my yearning for solitary walks, or fishing in the surf, with treasured memories of toddlers romping in the sand, and family members and friends frolicking on the beach.

I recognize the private times are necessary and worthy of my yearnings. They create in me a prayerful heart. But, it truly is encounter in community that enhances and gives grist to the internal musings of my times alone. Jesus modeled that we need both ... solitude and community ... that one enriches the other. And so, to my long term, dear friends, who draw me into community with them, and include me in their journey to the sea each Yom Kippur, I say, "Thank you, I love you, and L'Shana Tova!"

Devotion for the week of October 20, 2003
Submitted by Vicar Mary M.

"Whoever wishes to be first among you
must be slave of all"
Mark 10:44

I have a little story to share with you, silly but true. When I was a little girl, I would lie on my bed, kick my feet up in the air, hold my legs with my hands, and s-t-r-e-t-c-h my feet toward the ceiling. Then, I would pretend I was walking on the ceiling. It looked so different up there ... a lot less crowded, for one thing. I would put the ceiling fan on low, (high would be disastrous!), and imagine lots of food circling around like a giant automatic lazy-Susan. I liked Upside-down World, but due to my weary legs, I could never stay there for long.

In the gospel of Mark, Jesus keeps turning the world upside-down. One day it is surprising, shocking news about healing and forgiveness, and the Son of Man's authority on earth to forgive sins and heal bodies. Another day, Jesus rocks the boat and the disciples by calming even the wind and the waves. Jesus is always doing upside-down things like welcoming the least and blessing little children.

God in Christ Jesus turns upside down the whole flipping universe in his death on a cross and resurrection from the dead. "Whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all." Flip-flop, there we go again. We like to be takers, consumers, users, and gobblers, and yet, we are to be servants ... to give of ourselves and our lives to our brothers and sisters and to God.

But Upside-down World is hard, and my legs are tired. The good news is my legs aren't just my legs, but are connected to the body of Christ. My strength for life in the Upside-down World comes from the nourishment of the body of Christ, the community of the baptized and the body and blood of Jesus the Christ.

Lord God, deeply rooted here on dusty earth, help me to serve you by serving others. My feet firmly planted in the heavens, help me to remember I am called and claimed by You, the Living God. Amen

Devotion for the week of October 27, 2003
Submitted by Pastor Dick H.

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his mercy endures forever."
Psalm 107:1

Autumn is a time to give thanks. A plentiful harvest is gathered from the seeds that were sown. Trees turn into spectacular shades of reds and yellows. The days are shorter; the evenings are longer; and, the nights are cooler. In the fall, school begins anew; and, following the slower pace of summertime, we buckle down to work. Congregational life, too, picks up -- classes resume, worship attendance increases and meetings convene.

God is good; his mercy is everlasting. From him all blessings flow. It is indeed right and proper, therefore, to give him thanks and praise ... "for harvest of sown fields, fruits of the orchard, hay from the mown fields, blossom and wood" (Lutheran Book of Worship, Hymn 409);

For the stunning beauty of the earth -- the marvelous colors of wooded hills and highways, the wonder of changing seasons and the majestic order of day and night;

For school, meaningful work and purposeful play, common hopes and hardships, opportunities to learn, grow and change;

For the Church, the weekly assembly gathered around word and sacrament -- the word that is the bread of life, the bath of baptism that cleanses and renews, the bread and wine that satisfies the hungry heart and quenches the thirst of parched lips -- reformers of the church like Martin Luther, renewers of society like Martin Luther King, Jr., steadfast synodical bishops like Roy Riley, diligent congregational pastors like Dan Whitener and faithful servants of Christ Jesus like the people of Abiding Presence;

For life itself, the journey from cradle to grave that challenges us, the good gift of food that feeds us, the wonderful gift of drink that sustains us, the miracle of medicine that turns sickness into health, the gift of death that grants deliverance from pain and suffering and the blessing of childbirth that brings new life;

For marriage and family, the gift of love and surprise of forgiveness, burdens shared and joys celebrated, tears shed and hearts uplifted;

For children, their endless energy and innate curiosity, their creative play, startling frankness and sudden sympathies;

For the young, their high hopes and noble aspirations, their irreverence toward hypocrisy and haughtiness, their impatience with worn-out ways, their search for freedom and quest for maturity;

For growing up and growing older, wisdom deepened by experience, rest in leisure, meaning in volunteering, hope in the resurrection of the body and blessed assurance of life everlasting.

"Almighty God, gracious, merciful and abounding in steadfast love, for your generous goodness and all your benefits to us, we thank and praise you; for the sake of him who offered himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen"