Archives: Watchword

A bit of scripture, short meditations and stories, prayers, news and maybe a touch of humor.

The Life…

WATCHWORD:

Are you seeking great things for yourself? Don’t do it! I will bring great disaster upon all these people; but I will give you your life as a reward wherever you go. I, the Lord, have spoken!  Jeremiah 45:5

28 And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:28-33

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 Continue reading

The Truth…

WATCHWORD:

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. John 3:1-5

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6

Continue reading

The Way…

WATCHWORD:

1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. John 14:1-9 Continue reading

Sunday Is Mother’s Day

WATCHWORD:

This Sunday is dedicated to all mothers, you are a blessing in so many lives.

 1-3 It seemed like a dream, too good to be true,
when God returned Zion’s exiles.
We laughed, we sang,
we couldn’t believe our good fortune.
We were the talk of the nations!
 “God was wonderful to them!”
God was wonderful to us;
we are one happy people.
Psalm 126:1-3 Continue reading

Who’s Planning Your Day?

WATCHWORD:

 

22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”
25 The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.
26 So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.”

 Lamentations 3:22-26 Continue reading

Ordinary Times

WATCHWORD:

35 Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. 36 Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them. John 12:35-36

Give to the Lord the glory that is due His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.  Psalm 29:2 Continue reading

Blessings

WATCHWORD:

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turned his face toward you and give you peace. Numbers 6:22-27

 

Meditation:

Blessings

Throughout the pages of the Bible there are multiple blessings which are part of prayers and prophecies. These blessings are often associated with protection, help, and happiness. The blessings that come through scripture are meant to protect us, to guide us to the path of righteousness, and to give us hope. These blessings we, as children of God, can claim and apply according to the guidance given by our Lord.

In Paul’s letter to the Philippians we find this blessing: “May God supply every need of yours according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

Paul is telling us that God promises that as we follow our Lord, we will be blessed. And when is says, “God will supply all your needs”, the Almighty is likely to have a different picture of what we need, rather than what we want.

In the book of James we have this blessing:  “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”  James 1:17

This is a beautiful sentence, somewhat musical in nature. Multiple gifts are implied here, one gift is the act of sharing the bounty you have received, while the second gift is a character trait or the mindset of generosity. The last phrase is saying to us that our giving is not based on our gain or judgments made, but given, freely and with joy.

In the book of Luke we have this familiar blessing: “Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put in your lap. For with the measure to use it will be measured back to you.”  Luke 6:38

This blessing it’s part of Jesus continuing to explain how followers should treat those who oppose them. The instruction is actually to let go of the instinct to judge other people and their actions and what they say and to forgive others. They should love those who oppose them, bless them and pray for them. This is often a difficult task for us because too often we are hurt by others actions and words, and to follow Jesus runs counter to our human instincts. Regardless. Jesus tells us to forgive or give anyway, and don’t expect anything in return. Being a Christian is not an easy path.

Many of the blessings touch us where we live and give us a sense of His presence, His graces, and, in turn, His Peace. I believe that we all have our favorite blessing found within scripture. I favor Philippians 4:7 – And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. It’s that peace of God that is at the heart of what we seek each moment of our lives, and the truth is that it dwells within us. So be it.

 

Prayer:

Lord God, we praise your name! We are so grateful that you have put your name on us through Christ Jesus. Through your gift of the Holy Spirit, our seal in Christ, we look to you and desire to be a people after your heart. Protect us from pride, deceit, and lies that seek to destroy our faith and trust in you. We are grateful that you are with us, Lord, and know that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. Amen.

 

Together or Apart

WATCHWORD:

9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Continue reading

Glob of Clay?

WATCHWORD:

Yet, Lord, you are our father. We are the clay, you are the Potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8.

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. Psalm 27:8

 

Meditation:

A Glob of Clay?

I recently turned a certain age, plus one. I considered my life: I’m a scholarly sort, I have a PhD, after all. I have been a teacher, a college administrator, counselor, an author. I’m pretty hot stuff. I have aged, like fine wine.

Then another voice, “Oh, yes, you are hot stuff, a hot glob of clay, my child. Nothing more nothing less, just what I created you to be. I’m the Potter, you are My clay. Before you were even born, I designed you. Every event, every difficulty, every accomplishment, was arranged to form you into who you are, standing there before Me. And it was through love that every element of your forming was put in place. Sure, you are ‘hot stuff’, My hot stuff! Do something with that pride…put it in my garden with the rest of the fertilizer.

Over some of those ‘certain years’, as you put it, your will and My will flowed together smoothly. You thought you were in full control of your life and that was because our wills were in harmony. And then there were those times when you wandered off, and I just smiled for I knew that you had drifted away against My will and against My purposes, and you would return when you feel that distance, that separation, and you would stop, and would seek My Face.

Can you relate to that dialogue? That’s my story, but it’s your story, as well. Once we have surrendered our lives to the Lord, occasionally we draw back, and in the drawing we find ourselves separated from the Almighty, lost. We want to be in charge of our lives, in fact, we brag about that to others. Yet, down deep we know that God is truly in charge. Yes, He is the Potter to this life we know, that at its core, simply a glob of spiritual clay. But, we are His Clay, and that makes all the difference. True?

 

One Life To Live:

This is the only life I have, this is this is one in my head, the one that travels along the surface of my body singing the low-voltage song of the ego, the one that feels like a ball between my ears sometimes and other times feels absolutely galactic, the life that my feet carry around like two blind scholars working together on a troublesome manuscript.

This is the only life I have, and I am standing dead in the center of it like a man doing a rope trek in a rodeo, passing the lasso over his body, smiling inside a twirling of ovals and eclipses.

This is the only life I have and I never step out of it except to follow a character down the alleys of a novel or when love makes me want to remove my clothes and ssle classical records off a cliff.

Otherwise you can always find me within this group of myself, the rope flying around me, moving up to encircle my head like an equator or a halo or a zero.

—Billy Collins

Prayer:

Look, Lord, on an empty vessel that needs to be filled. In faith I am weak—strengthen me. In love I am cold—warm me and make me fervent so that my love may go out to my neighbour. I doubt and am unable to trust you completely. Lord, strengthen my faith and trust in you. You are all the treasure I possess. I am poor, you are rich, and you came to have mercy on the poor. I am a sinner, you are goodness. From you I can receive goodness, but I can give you nothing. Therefore I shall stay with you.

—Martin Luther

 

Were You There?

WATCHWORD:

12 Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “Men of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why look at us as though we by our own power and godliness had made this man walk? 13 For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and of all our ancestors who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. I refer to the Jesus whom you rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s determination to release him. 14 You didn’t want him freed—this holy, righteous one. Instead you demanded the release of a murderer. 15 You killed the author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And John and I are witnesses of this fact, for after you killed him we saw him alive!  Acts 3:12-15

 

Meditation:

Were You There?

Witness statements are critical to any important event. As we read the gospel accounts of Jesus passion, we can almost hear these eyewitness reports.

Caiaphas: “it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.” John 18:14

Judas: “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”  Matthew 27:4

Peter:  “I do not know the man,” followed by bitter weeping.  Matthew 26:75

Pontius Pilate:  “I am innocent of this man’s blood.”  Matthew 27:24

The crowd:  “His blood is on us and on our children!: Matthew 27:25

The Centurion:  “Truly this was the Son of God!”  Matthew 27:54

These witnesses were there, were you? Like Peter and Judas, we have denied and betrayed our Lord and savior Jesus. Like Caiaphas and Pilate, we have prioritized our own welfare. By grace, it is Jesus’s blood on us and our children that gives forgiveness and eternal life. So be it.

 

Closing Prayer:

I was there, too, Lord, as you suffered and died for me. Have mercy and forgive my sins, precious Heavenly Father. In Jesus name.  Amen.

 

(NOTE: This devotional was written by Eileen Ritter of Byron Center, MI, for A Season of Grace, lenten devotionals for seniors.)

 

Because He Lives

WATCHWORD:

“Dear Theophilus, in the first volume of this book I wrote on everything that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he said good-bye to the apostles, the ones he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. After his death, he presented himself alive to them in many different settings over a period of forty days. In face-to-face meetings, he talked to them about things concerning the kingdom of God. As they met and ate meals together, he told them that they were on no account to leave Jerusalem but “must wait for what the Father promised: the promise you heard from me. John baptized in water; you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. And soon.” Acts 1:1-5 The Message Continue reading