Day 25: Wednesday, March 29, 2017, #Lent Devotion

Posted on Mar 29, 2017 in BLOG, Devotions | Tags: ,

Day 25: Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Rev. Sela Finau
 
Planters
 
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3:6-10 (NRSV) I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Devotion: I’ve heard it said that a life of faith is a life of seed planting, and most of the time, the planter is not around to see the seeds bear fruits. Pause on that for a moment. I thought of how it was never my intention or goal to go into seminary and ministry. But one thing led to another and I ended up in seminary, still with no plans of going into ministry, but with the aspiration to learn about the history of Christianity and my faith origin. It was in seminary that I began to realize that I didn’t end up in the classroom by serendipity and that I wasn’t just there to get an education or to fulfill my inquisitive mind. Rather, God was calling me into ministry, a seed that was planted years ago, and had taken roots in my family tree.

Many of my family members had been and continue to be in ministry, in the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga (Methodist), either working as pastors, educators, or administrators for the church. Church in Tonga is very influential on pretty much everything, from politics to its way of life. My grandparents were ministers in the church and my great-grandparents and great great-grandparents were placed into exile when Christianity first arrived in Tonga because they chose to follow the new religion and Christianity had not yet been accepted as the country’s official religion.

The seeds that my parents and family instilled in my life growing up years ago are bearing fruits. While I wish that they were alive today, I’m grateful for their seed planting. Likewise, we’re doing the same in others’ lives, planting seeds. Maybe we’ll be around to see it bear fruit or maybe we won’t. But God pushes us forward to plant anyways and not be so eager to see the results. May we be reminded that planting seeds requires time to grow. This Lenten season, may you continue to grow in your faith, and may you continue to plant seeds in someone else’s as we remember our Lord who calls us to be planters.

Prayer: Creator God, Thank you for the seeds that you have planted in people’s lives. Thank you for making it grow. Amen

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Day 24: Tuesday, March 28, 2017, #Lent Devotion

Posted on Mar 28, 2017 in BLOG, Devotions | Tags: ,

Day 24: Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Belinda Moss
 
Grow in Joy
 
Scripture: Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)  “….This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Devotion: Daily I try to have joy. We cannot turn joy on like an electric light switch but we can prepare ourselves by being willing to receive it. Joy does not mean to have fun but is an inner spiritual quality that overcomes despair, pain, and defeat. In 1996 my joy was dashed to the ground when we lost our little boy to cancer. I remember praying to God asking that His spirit of joy fill me so that I could continue to live and enjoy each day. Through the love of God, my church family, the community, and the prayer warriors I was able to find true joy in Christ Jesus. I was able to look beyond my grief and face each new day knowing God would help me through. My miracle came in the form of the people that surrounded us with their love and compassion. What you do for others really does make a difference.

Prayer: Gracious Lord may we find strength and trust in your word. Lead us into your joy. Use me to touch someone else’s life today.
 
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Day 23: Monday, March 27, 2017, #Lent Devotion

Posted on Mar 27, 2017 in BLOG, Devotions |

Week 5 Lenten Devotionals

Day 23: Monday, March 27, 2017
Rev. Sela Finau
What Does God Require?
Scripture:
Micah 6:6-8 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Devotion:

One of my favorite memorized passages comes from the prophet, Micah, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” It speaks to me on so many levels. Serving God and God’s people can be difficult and sometimes discouraging. Life often present many challenges more times than we know what to do with it. Yet, this passage reminds me that we can never do enough for God through sacrifices, burnt offering, calves, rams, rivers of oil, and human sacrifices. These things are not required of us. What God requires is for us to simply do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with God. As God is just, we as God’s people are also called to be just and fair. As God is merciful and offers kindness, we as God’s people are also called to be merciful and show kindness. As God is humble, we as God’s people are also called to humble ourselves as we walk with God.

As we continue in our journey in Lent, may we be reminded of these words from the prophet Micah, to do justice, to offer kindness, and to be humble people of God.

Prayer:
Holy God, thank you for your words as spoken through your prophet Micah. May we continue to grow in your likeness, to do justice, to offer kindness, and to walk humbly with you as our God. Amen
 
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Sunday, March 26, 2017

Posted on Mar 26, 2017 in BLOG, Devotions |

Sunday, March 26, 2017
 
Prayer
 
Almighty ever living God, you are always more ready to hear than we are to pray, and to give more than we desire or deserve, pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those things for which our prayer dares not ask. Amen
 
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Day 22: Saturday, March 25, 2017, #Lent Devotion

Posted on Mar 25, 2017 in BLOG, Devotions |

Day 22: Saturday, March 25, 2017
Rev. Sela Finau

Who Is My Neighbor?

Scripture: Psalm 133:1 (NIV) How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!

Devotional: Let’s have some real talk, “Who is my neighbor?” While the question may be a rhetorical one, some of us really want to know who our neighbors are. Are we talking about those people who live on our street? Are we talking about people who live in our neighborhood? Are we talking about people in our community? Are we talking about people in our city?
 
Growing up in the islands, I thought of neighbors as those people who lived across the street or next door and maybe the people in our surrounding areas. As neighbors, we knew that we could count on each other if we ran out of small things to needing something more serious, like being there in tough times and beyond.
 
Today, defining “neighbor” has become an individual thing and not quite so easy to define at times. Through technology, we have changed our definition of “neighbor.” We can now consider someone who lives in another state or another country our neighbors. When a natural disaster occurs or we see hungry children and families around the globe, we realize that we are part of a much bigger neighborhood. We are indeed a global family with global neighbors. Thankfully we have a global God as well.
 
During this season of Lent, expand your definition of “neighbor.” Is God calling you to be a neighbor to someone in your own community, in another state, or across the world? Maybe it’s all of the above.

Prayer: Gracious God, help us to be good neighbors not only to those in our immediate surroundings but also those who are far away. Help us to open our eyes, mind, and heart to those neighbors we may otherwise miss. Amen

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