Good morning!

 
I am modifying a message I have shared several times over the last several years as I think it is just as meaningful for each of us today especially in light of current events here in Minnesota.
 
I sit here writing this devotional as a follower of Jesus, as a volunteer, as a friend, as a weekly intrusion in your life on Fridays, as a husband, as a grandfather, as a father and as a father-in-law, as a son and as a son-in-law.

Most important to me is that I sit here writing this as a child of God the Father.
 
This is important for me, because God the Father provides us with deep and unconditional love. Love we should aspire to and in fact are called to in Luke 10:27 – “He (Jesus) answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
 
So I sit here writing – as someone who cares and in some cases a friend – brimming over in love – for each of you, who are such a treasure to me. For many of you bring life and light into my life.
 
Here is my message for today for each of you – my prayer is that you hear this well and find value in this message.
 
One of my favorite pieces of the Gospel is where Jesus washes the feet of the disciples – you can find this in John 13:1-17.
 
Before the Last Supper, Jesus pours water in a basin and goes around the table washing each disciple’s feet. This washing of feet was an enormous act of humility, service and love.
 
In His ministry Jesus showed us how to love many times, but this may have been one of the more tangible demonstrations of love you might find. Jesus loved and respected His disciples so much that he was willing to kneel in service to them, putting them ahead of Himself.
 
So, I would give this advice to you as you navigate this world (while in anticipation of eternity with Christ) – demonstrate your love often, hopefully every day, by “washing each other’s feet”, which means living in service and respect towards others. Be humble enough to kneel in service to the others. (See Philippians 2:1-8)
 
Doing this will be a true expression of your love and respect for others – here at home in America or anywhere else in the world.
 
I leave you with this prayer - an expression of the love I have for you each of you:
 
The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace. Amen.
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we go into this weekend is that we remember to “wash the feet of others” in service to those around us, sharing the gift of grace through faith in Christ Jesus that we received and shining that light of Christ’s love into the world. Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick

Good morning!

As I write this, I find myself reflecting on how swiftly a week can pass -  it flew by and how I was challenged by some unique and rare issues. It is easy in these circumstances to be drawn away from our relationship in Jesus Christ.
 
As I prayed about it this distraction this morning, this question popped into my head:

What does it mean to glorify God?
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We often pray, closing our prayers with “through Jesus Christ for God’s glory…”. I know I do this and I have heard others use it this way and often have heard others in ministry state something like  – "...we will do this always giving God the glory…"
 
You likely have heard sermons or read reflections or devotionals on glorifying God or living your life to glorify God. But what does that mean? Have you ever wondered?
 
John Piper, who is known to many for his ministry DesiringGod.org, defines it this way:

• “Glorifying” means feeling and thinking and acting in ways that reflect his greatness, that make much of God, that give evidence of the supreme greatness of all his attributes and the all-satisfying beauty of his manifold perfections.

 
I think that is an awesome definition. Some things to consider, if we embrace them in our hearts and remember them as we live our faith, these thoughts would help us glorify God:

• Remembering God knit us together in the womb, knew us before our birth and savoring the depth of what that means (Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Job 10:11 You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews. Isaiah 64:8 But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.)
• He made us in His image – and in doing so have the opportunity in Christ to reflect that image back to the world (Genesis 1:27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.)
• God gave us all a purpose (His purpose for each of us) and the gifts and talents we have, it is because of Him we are able to contribute to this world in little and big ways (gifts of the spirit - 1 Corinthians 12:4-27; Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.)
• He loves us so much He wants to be reconciled with us and to spend eternity with us (Romans 5:11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.)

 
Obstacles to glorifying God might include for example – 1) letting daily work and personal distraction take our eyes off of Jesus Christ; or 2) that we do not spend time thinking about His greatness; his perfection.

​Do you ever think you make God too small or let the worries of the world distract you from Him? For me the answer is yes and I have to remind myself of all the things listed above and more importantly that God (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) spoke creation into existence – not just earth but the entire universe – you can find a video on YouTube (here is a video that might stir your understanding of how big God’s creation is - How Great Is Our God - Louie Giglio).
 
So why should we glorify God? Because without Him we are nothing, we would not exist. So going back to John Piper’s definition – “means feeling and thinking and acting in ways that reflect His greatness” – using this definition are we glorifying God?
 
I think you can make the case each of us does glorify God:

• In choosing to set our lives (surrendering) down for Christ;
• In picking up our cross daily, trusting in the strength our of Savior Christ Jesus to live in Him each day;
• In choosing to embrace His calling on our life;
• By praying daily knowing He is the ultimate source of all goodness, love, compassion, righteousness, and justice;
• In being thankful and grateful to Him regardless of our circumstances…

 
These things reflect the fact that we are indeed His children, conceived, purposed, gifted, imaged in and by Him.
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we enter this weekend is that we remember that our purpose as God’s children, is to glorifying Him in how we live in this world and that we make a choice to act out the purpose in something we do this weekend that gives Him the glory – in service to another; in prayer; somehow! Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick



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Good morning!

I saw this several years ago. It resonated with me deeply. Personally, I need more than 5 minutes with Jesus to get my day started, but that is not the point…spending time first thing with Jesus is the point – how can I walk with Him during the day if I don’t invite Him to be with me? Every day? Towards the end of this reflection you will find some scripture that strongly supports the idea of praying first thing in the morning – even Jesus Christ prayed to God, the Father, early in the morning…if we need an example that is a good one.
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Start Your Day With the Lord by Sheila Walsh
(from 5 Minutes with Jesus-A Good Way to Start a Day)
I don’t trust hotel wake-up calls. Whether you will actually receive one when you ask seems to depend on the state of mind of the person entering your request. If he’s just broken up with his girlfriend, for example, and her name happens to be Sheila, I’m either getting a call in the middle of the night or none at all. So I set my own alarm on my phone. I actually set two. The first is when it would be good to get up, and the second is when I’d jolly well better get up.

I’m just not a morning person, so I like to ease into a day slowly. I used to crawl out of bed, check that our son was up and in the shower, turn on the television to the morning news, and make myself a cup of coffee. It’s not a bad way to start the day, but I’ve found a much better way.

I realized that if the first thing I pay attention to is what’s happening in our world, those images and words impact my view of the rest of the day. But if the Word of God is the first thing I give my heart and mind to, I see everything as under the control of my all-good, all-powerful, and all-loving heavenly Father. It’s hardly surprising that this new start to my day has had a huge impact on my life.

The moment I awake, I say Psalm 143:8 (NIV) to myself. I repeat the verse several times. It’s become a great way to start a day: Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, My love will fall and fail, but God’s love never will.

The psalmist is very intentional here: trusting God is an act of the will. Show me the way I should go, I pray, “Show me, Father, which way I should go today.” for to you I entrust my life. I say, “My life is Yours, Lord, and I trust You with everything.” Then I pray these simple words: “Good morning, Lord! I don’t know where You are going today, but wherever You’re going, I’m comin’ with You!” A good way to start the day every single day is to declare the Word of God and thank Him for it.

Five Minutes in the Word
What does the Bible say about beginning your morning with prayer and with the Lord? Read these key scriptures:

• Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. – Psalm 143:8 NIV
• The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. – Lamentations 3:22–23 ESV
• Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. – Psalm 30:5
• It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening. – Psalm 92:2
• 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 NIV

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Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we go into this weekend, is that going forward this year, each of us remembers daily to put You, Jesus Christ, front and center by spending time early in the day in prayer, letting the Holy Spirit help us share in our human ways what is on our hearts, with God the Father. Amen.

Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick
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