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Breaking Bread Together

9/28/2022

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Wednesday’s Word
by Dorette Saunders
 

 
It’s not unusual that we find fellowship in sharing a meal. There is something about eating together that often allows us to drop our guard and enjoy unfettered companionship. The meal gives both host and guest reason to feel honored. One is honored that they were invited; the other is honored that the invitation was accepted.
 
In what is often considered “The Last Supper,” Jesus welcomes his 12 disciples to the table. In the midst of the meal, Jesus washes their feet (John 13:3-5). It was unheard of that the host would wash the feet of the guests—that was a task assigned to the servants. And yet, in an uncanny reversal of roles, Jesus, the host, throws the door wide open and invites each of them, including Judas, the betrayer, and Simon Peter, the denier, to experience how love serves.
 
Jesus’ actions show love holds no record of past, present or future wrongs, and that Jesus is the one who calls us to the feast regardless of what we think of ourselves, or how others view us.
 
Jesus—our Servant-Savior, Soul-Satisfier seeks our presence at the table. He calls us into unity—and community with himself and each other. Earlier, he had prayed to the Father in this way:
 
“I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us….” (John 17:20,21, CEV).
 
 
This oneness with Jesus the Bread of Life, humbles us. And so we approach the table as Jesus calls:
 
You with the checkered past and still uncertain future. Come! If you’ve been told before that you don’t quite belong. Come! You who question where God is when evil tramples justice. Come!
 
No one can turn up their noses here. Each of us has a blood-bought seat. Each has been redeemed---even if we have not yet acknowledged the Redeemer. There are no better seats available nor areas where Christ’s glory does not rest. The feast, it is for one—for all, made holy by the very presence of the Lord.
 
 
 
And when we have feasted, Jesus tells us that we should repeat the feast, often, as a way of remembering him. The bread, Christ’s body broken for us. The cup, Christ’s blood, poured out for the remission of our sins. Repeat it, for we become unfilled walking the rough, dusty roads of a world darkened by sin. Repeat it for nothing satisfies our soul’s deep hunger, or our thirst. Repeat it, for it is indeed good for us to break bread together.
 
PRAYER: Lord, we meet you at the table to be revived by your body and your blood. Refresh our spirits through the power of the Holy Spirit. Make us one, even as you and the Father are one. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. 
                                                         ©M©dytations 2022


 
 
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"Trapped by Stuff"

9/28/2022

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Wednesday’s Word
by Dorette Saunders
 

Sometimes, without meaning to, we end up being trapped by stuff. More clothes than we can wear. More food than we can eat. More rooms than we can live in. Perhaps we don’t recognize how foolish this all is until we read, and laugh, about someone having a house with ten bedrooms and eight baths. “How ridiculous,” we scoff, but the truth is, in comparable ways, we are no better.
 
 
The Bible warns us about making stuff our god. About being so engrossed in amassing things that we forget to thank God who “blesses us with everything we need to enjoy life” (1 Timothy 6:17, CEV). And, in our distraction, we forget to share our blessings with those around us.
 
 
The apostle Paul, in his training of his protégé Timothy, teaches him that those who make riches their goal “fall into all sorts of temptations and traps. They are caught by foolish and harmful desires that drag them down and destroy them” (v.9).
 
 
Is having possessions wrong? Of course, not. But when those possessions “have” us and blind our eyes to the wonders of God, to the needs of others, and to neglecting that which is important to God, then those earthly riches become problematic.
 
In a world that is fueled by consumerism, it is little wonder that we become like frenzied hamsters on a wheel, trying to earn (or even swindle) more, and juggle tons of stuff to either keep up with the Joneses or to become the Joneses ourselves. The Bible warns that we need to be content with what we have since “we didn't bring anything into this world, and we won’t take anything with us when we leave” (v.7).
 
 
It’s a sobering thought. Take a moment to reflect on it.
Everything we have is God’s. We are merely stewards of our King. It is not our money, but his. How we use and manage it should reflect God’s will and be aligned with God’s Word. How different our lives would be if we would commit our financial plans to God. How different our churches would be if we harnessed our time, talent, and resources in ways that honor God!
 
 
The Bible is not lax in its counsel on how we can be corrupted by greed. “The love of money causes all kinds of trouble. Some people want money so much they have given up their faith and caused themselves a lot of pain” (v. 10).
 
Do you have a healthy relationship with money or does it control you? How about the stuff that you own? How attached are you to it? Are you always seeking more?
 
If you struggled with answering the questions, consider this. How should we respond in a world where we are groomed to claw our way to the top, or told that the “one with the most toys wins”?
 
The apostle Paul gave Timothy a clear directive.
“… you belong to God…. Try your best to please God and to be like him. Be faithful, loving, dependable, and gentle. Fight a good fight for the faith and claim eternal life” (vv. 11, 12).
 
Our response is to be content. To recognize God as our source. To choose to live out our faith so that our lives on this earth will be pleasing to God and a testimony to those around us.
 
PRAYER: God, stuff often gets in the way of us serving you wholeheartedly. Break our addiction to things and the temporary pleasure they bring us. Help us to fix our eyes and our hearts on lasting treasure, and our eternal home. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. 
 
                                                               ©M©dytations 2022
 
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The King and the Cross

9/14/2022

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​Wednesday’s Word
By Dorette Saunders
 
Pomp and circumstance. Love and sadness. These may be a few of the words that swirl around in our heads as we watch thousands of mourners gather to pay their final respects to Queen Elizabeth II, and to hail the new king, Charles III.
 
 
Yet, not all kings crave pomp and circumstance. More than 2,000 years ago, a King left his home in heaven to undertake a mission that no one else could accomplish.  That King was Jesus Christ.  The mission was totally fueled by love. Jesus would give his life for our sins in order to reconcile us back to God.
 
The Scriptures tell us:
 
Christ was truly God.
But he did not try to remain
    equal with God.


Instead he gave up everything
    and became a slave,
when he became

    like one of us.
Christ was humble.
He obeyed God and even died

    on a cross.
                    (Philippians 2:6-8, CEV).
 
 
Imagine a king with no pomp and circumstance. No human fanfare. Imagine a king with absolute authority, yet submitting himself to humility. Imagine a king who was totally committed to God, and who demonstrated his love by his unconditional obedience. Imagine a king…on a cross.
 
 
The cross was a Roman symbol of torture and shame.  It warned insurrectionists and those who railed against the Roman Empire what fate they could expect.  But to us, as Christians, the cross is a symbol of victory. A symbol of life overcoming death.
 
 
It is in the cross of Jesus that we find salvation, that we find hope, and that we find joy. Jesus proclaimed that if he were “lifted up” he would draw humankind to himself (John 12:32).  His elevation was not what one would expect for a king. He would be lifted up on a cross and crucified. How could that be considered victory? The cross is indeed a paradox. An instrument of death becomes an instrument that signals new life for the believer.
 
The Scriptures tell us:
“The message about the cross doesn't make any sense to lost people. But for those of us who are being saved, it is God's power at work” (1 Corinthians 1:18, CEV).
It also tells us that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Why would Christ, the King, do that?  Because he loved us dearly.
The cross reminds us that God’s love for us is neither cheap nor easy.  It came with a price, and a long, hard road to Calvary. The cross represents Christ’s power and passion. And, it reminds us that our Lord wants us to be like him. Jesus tells us:
“If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24, CEV).
It is this emptying of ourselves that allows us to be filled with God’s Holy Spirit and thus become a true disciple. May each of us heed Jesus’ words and willingly follow him wherever he leads.
 
 
PRAYER: Lord, your cross is a symbol of our faith and we are not ashamed to be identified with you. Give us each day the strength to take up our cross and follow you. Help us to love as you love, and to forgive, even as you have forgiven us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.                                        
                        
                                               ©M©dytations 2022
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Grace - At the Table

9/7/2022

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Wednesday’s Word
by Dorette Saunders
 

Jesus is often referred to as “a friend of sinners.” Perhaps that is not the title we would use as we think about our Lord. Yet, it is a very apt moniker for a rabbi who broke the social norms of his day to show the oppressed and those ostracized by society what love and grace love truly look like.
 
 
Luke recounts a scene (15:1-10) where Jesus is accosted by the scribes and Pharisees for his overly friendly behavior toward “those people.” You know them, the ones that don’t fit. The ones that elicit gossip at the mention of their names.  In Jesus day, it was the tax collectors and others of ill repute—sinners!  Aren’t we glad we are not like them…but wait, we are like them.   In fact, for some of us who have not yet found Jesus, we are them. Here’s what Jesus’ religious church leaders said grumbling:
 
“This man is friendly with sinners. He even eats with them” (v.2, CEV).
 
 
Do you detect the disdain in their tone? Yet, by their very words, the scribes and Pharisees were highlighting the reason Jesus came to earth. He came to rescue sinners; to show them love; to fellowship with them and season the time he spent with them, with grace.
 
Jesus came to forge a relationship with us, not to bring us a religion. Jesus comes to us right where we are. While the rest of the world tells us that we’re nobody, Jesus is saying you’re important enough for me to sit down and eat with you and offer grace.  Not the kind that says thanks for the food, but the kind that sees beyond our faults, and chooses to love us anyway.
 
 
Sometimes in our reading of the Scriptures it is helpful to pause and inject ourselves in the narrative.  Where do we see ourselves?  Are we people who believe that those whose sins are conspicuous are not deserving of God’s love?  Or are we those who, recognizing our own sin, seek out Jesus because his love is so overwhelming, so unconditional, and so uncondemning that we long to know him in a more personal way?
 
 
In this passage of Scripture Jesus tells a parable about people who having lost something precious to them, rejoice heartily when they find it. And, lest we miss its meaning, Jesus tells us that “In the same way there is more happiness in heaven because of one sinner who turns to God than over 99 good people who don't need to” (v.7).
 
Imagine heaven being happier than it already is! All because someone came to know Jesus as Savior. It’s more than a good reason to share the gospel.
The Bible tells us that grace is greater than our sin. And we are reminded that sin separates us from the love of God. We are lost without God. And it is Jesus who is the way back to God the Father. Jesus tells us: “I am the way, the truth, and the life!” …. “Without me, no one can go to the Father” (John 14:6, CEV).
He also tells us:
“The Son of Man came to look for and to save people who are lost” (Luke 19:10, CEV).
 
As we take time to examine the Scriptures and the words of Jesus, we find that God’s grace is indeed sufficient for our needs (2 Corinthians 12:9). Jesus continues to give us a loving invitation to allow him to be Lord of our lives, to show us grace no matter where we fall on life’s spectrum. He gives us a personal “God-with-us” moment, a moment of grace beyond anything we will ever experience. How will you respond?
 
PRAYER: Lord, your grace is certainly sufficient for all our need. Thank you for being a “friend of sinners.” We bless your name that we are saved by grace. Teach us not to squander so divine a gift, but to accept it humbly. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.                                        
                        
                                                              ©M©dytations 2022
 
 


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    Moirajo is a minister, social worker, wife, mother, writer and animal lover. That's just for starters. Join the story, there's so much we can share together! 

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