Change

You are our God— please let us come home. ~ Jeremiah 31:18 (CEV)

Take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you. ~ Esphesians 4:23 (MSG)

KEY IDEA:

Return to God and he will make the changes in you that need to be made.

PRAYER:

Lord, I'm grateful that you are a God who believes in change. Even though I'm a loser of a person who ignores the good and strays toward the wrong, you continue to work on me. You are making me into a new prson -- your new person. Contnue on. Don't give up on me. Deep inside I want change. Amen.

Feasting

The 15th Sunday after Pentecost 

The poor will eat and be full, and all who worship you will be thankful and live in hope. ~ Psalm 22:26 (CEV)

Jesus replied: I am the bread that gives life! No one who comes to me will ever be hungry. No one who has faith in me will ever be thirsty. ~ John 6:35 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:

Jesus himself is the food that sustains our lives.

PRAYER:

Generous God, thank you for sustaining our lives through the gift of your Son Jesus. We do not follow him closely enough -- even though we are eager to acknowledge him as the bread of life. We make lots of uhealthy diet choices. Teach me how to eat well so that I might more fully live in hope. My goal is to invite others to join me at the great feast you are laying out for us. Amen.

Foreigners

Don’t mistreat foreigners. You were foreigners in Egypt, and you know what it is like. ~ Exodus 23:9 (CEV)

That night, Joseph got up and took his wife and the child to Egypt... ~ Matthew 2:14 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:

Jesus was a refugee and so we treat all displaced people as though we were treating him.

PRAYER:

Thank you, Jesus, for your kindness toward displaced people. We are all subject to displacement and some of our families have been forced to move. I confess, though, that sometimes I have trouble treating people who are different from me with respect. I worry about their influence and their secret agendas to change us. Save me from my fear and help me to grow in my love for foreigners. Because of Jesus, I'm going to treat all with dignity -- whether they deserve it or not. Amen.

Responsiveness

Then God called out, “Samuel, Samuel!”

Samuel answered, “Yes? I’m here.” ~ 1 Samuel 3:4 (MSG)

A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men. ~ Mark 1:19-20 (NLT)

KEY IDEA:

We are at our best when we immediately respond to the call of God.

PRAYER:

Lord, thank you for calling people like me -- weak people, broken people, young people, old people, distracted people... You call us to follow you and act on your agenda for your world. Sometimes, though, I fill my life with so much noise that I don't really hear you. Maybe I even do that so that I don't have to respond to your call and I can continue on with a "normal" life. Help me to be receptive to your interruptions. I'm going to reduce the noise and open my ears so that I can quickly respond to your voice. Amen.