SEARCHLIGHT

 JUNE 01, 2022 John 20:11-16 11Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). Genesis 2:8-15 8Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye a

 MAY 31, 2022 MARK 6:3 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Each Advent/Christmas season, we celebrate Jesus’ incarnation by remembering, rereading, and retelling the story of that first Christmas morning. The next time we fix our eyes on the baby in the manger, I wonder if we ought to take notice of the other manger people. We tend to focus on Jesus, of course, Mary and Shepherds, but what about Joseph? He is often the forgotten figure of the nativity. It occurred to me recently that Joseph represents the home that Jesus was born into. I wonder if there is something for us to notice in this home that Joseph provides that implies some significance, maybe even some foundation for Jesus’ future work. For example, the life of a carpenter during the time of Jesus was quite mobile. Most carpenters traveled from construction site to construction site, along with ot

 MAY 30, 2022   Colossians 1:15-16 15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. Genesis 1:1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ____ Today’s passages make clear that Jesus, along with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, were present at the creation of the world. Likewise, “all things” were created through Christ. In other words, Jesus is the Creator God we read about in Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created.” It is an interesting thing that before God tells us He is love, before He tells us He is holy, before He tells us He is Savior, God wants us to know that He is a creative, productive, work

 MAY 27, 2022 Job 2:11-13 Now when three of Job’s friends heard of all the misfortune that had come upon him, they set out each one from his own place: Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuh, and Zophar from Naamath. They met and journeyed together to give him sympathy and comfort. But when, at a distance, they lifted up their eyes and did not recognize him, they began to weep aloud; they tore their cloaks and threw dust into the air over their heads. Then they sat down upon the ground with him seven days and seven nights, but none of them spoke a word to him; for they saw how great was his suffering. More mass shootings, we are all left with the questions Why? How can this keep happening? Where have we failed? Yet, for me, I am struggling to answer the question, "How should I respond?" as a Jesus follower. I am sure you are struggling as well for a response. What I do know is there are no words that are sufficient in the tragedies and trauma of Buffalo, New York, and now at a

 MAY 26, 2022 Ephesians 4:1-13 4 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” 9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equ

 MAY 25, 2022 John 17 17 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. Jesus Prays for His Disciples 6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those

 MAY 24, 2022 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye c

 MAY 23, 2022 John 17:20-21 “I do not pray for these (those with Him in the Upper Room) alone (or, only), but also for those who will (future tense) believe (or, have faith in, trust, be persuaded) in Me through their word; (what) that they all may be one, (to what extent) as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, (why) that the world may believe (or, have faith in, trust, be persuaded) that You sent Me” . Psalm 133:1 How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! How Big Is Your Tent? That is the question we will wrestle with this week. Based on the Bible readings above UNITY is an important biblical theme in both the Old and New Testament. Since that is the case, I believe as follows of Jesus we need to embrace unity and understand Unity and make every effort with God’s help to pursue Unity. Why Unity? Well Jesus answers that plainly don’t you think? Look above at John 17:20-21 and the why becomes clear “that the wo

  MAY 20, 2022 COLOSSIANS 1:15 - 17 15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Let's begin with a song today.  Let's conclude this series of devotionals with some take away thoughts. We have been saying that God speaks through creation, reveals who he is through creation, and that through creation we have the revelation of God's presence with us always. Here are some of the "take aways" that strike me from our reflections. GOD Takes Care of His Creation Matthew's gospel reminds us that if God takes care of the birds and flowers, how much more assured should we be that he will take care of each of us, His children? “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,

 MAY 19, 2022 Nehemiah 9:6 6 You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. I suppose by this time in the week you know our thoughts have been to declare that: Every part of creation, from the smallest of insects to the mountains in all their grandeur, proclaims the unspoken glory of God. Every living creature, rock, grain of sand, and mountain stream was created for a specific purpose. In the lilies of the field and the birds of the air, we discover God’s faithfulness and provision (Matthew 6:28-30). And with every gust of wind we are beckoned to live our lives as people of the Spirit (John 3:8). Job 12:7-10 says, “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declar

 MAY 18, 2022 ROMANS 1:20 “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” The more I grow in the understanding of who God is, the more I am drawn toward a deeper level of intimacy with God, I find that there has grown in me an adoration, appreciation and love for God’s creation. Romans 1:20 states that God’s “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” Nature is meant to declare to us the “invisible attributes” of God. And Scripture is clear that God is at work in his creation—maintaining and facilitating all that happens in the world. Psalm 147:8-9, 15-18 tells us, He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry…