Summer Devotions 2016

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1 Summer Devotions 2016 Handiwork: Created to Serve For we are God s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. Ephesians 2:10 This year s devotions have been prepared by D. Scott Miller, a long-term youth worker presently serving at St. John in Columbia, MD. He regularly writes for the blog

2 Sunday For we are God s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. Ephesians 2:10 We are the work of the Creator. Examine your own fingerprint for just a second. It is just one sign of many that you are a unique creation of God. Your own personality, your own sense of humor, your own gifts and talents - - each of these contribute to you being a special and distinctive creation of God. When we join in the work of the Creator, we collaborate through our good works. God is still very much actively involved in the world and, in part, God s involvement in the world plays out through us. Our own good works are just a small contribution to the Lord s plans. This is the reason we have been made. We have been made to make a difference. A difference will be made this week. Look for that difference in you, in the lives of your new neighbors this week, and in the building of the Kingdom of God this week and for all time. We are meant to consideration as our way of life. 1. What are some of your characteristics that help to make you a special and distinctive creation of God? How do you imagine that they will come into play this week? 2. What do you imagine will be your own unique contributions throughout this week? How would you define your own accomplishments this week in your interaction with other ASP participants; with the neighbors we will serve; and in your prayer and service with the Lord? Creator God, we are Your handiwork. We have been made in Christ Jesus for good works such as our service this week. Be with us. Send forth Your Spirit to guide us, protects us, and strengthen us through this week. We ask this through Christ our Lord. AMEN.

3 Monday Jesus came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father. Ephesians 2:17-18 You might not have imagined it when you departed for Appalachia Service Project, but you are preaching peace. You, too, have come from far off and now are preaching peace to all who are near. Perhaps you are not preaching peace with your words, maybe you are doing so through your actions. By repairing a kitchen floor, you may be providing peace of mind to a homeowner as they continue to live in their house. By reconstructing an entry to a home to make it handicap accessible, you may be providing peace in the struggle just to get home. Even cleaning the exterior of a house may broker peace between neighbors. You are preaching peace. But, you are also providing hope. Hope can be found in the lessening of burden, in the generosity and cooperation by another when one feels all alone, in a listening ear or a gentle smile. Peace and hope go together. Without a little peace it is hard to hope. With much hope, it is easier to strive for peace. You might not consider yourself to be an agent of hope or peace, but this week you are. It has been suggested that the one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life. This week, commit yourself to peace. Commit to hope. Commit to living differently. Seek access to our God through all of it. 1. How might you have already experienced peace being preached through actions so far? 2. How will you choose to live differently this week? Creator God, may our acts of service throughout this week provide peace and hope. Help us to live differently and grow closer to you throughout this experience. We ask this through Christ our Lord. AMEN.

4 Tuesday In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:22 As we are doing construction among our neighbors in Appalachia, we are also being built. The muscles in our body are growing and building. That probably explains the aches and pains as you woke up this morning. But, our heart is growing stronger. With each sight we see, with each story we hear, with each set of eyes we make contact, we are growing in compassion and care for our neighbors. We are being built together. We all knew one another from back home sorta. But we are growing together as a community, as a new family here in Appalachia. Already, we have gathered a shared memory, a funny story or an insider way of speaking with one another, and maybe even a shared sorrow. We might not know much about the remainder of this week, but we do know that we will share it together. In this building and togetherness, God can be found. As we are where two or more are gathered in the Lord s name, we are beginning to recognize that Christ dwells among us and within us. The Spirit of God is a powerful force and we are just beginning to re-recognize that within ourselves and within our community. We as individuals are each uniquely God s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works. But, we as a community and as a dwelling place for the Lord are also God s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works. 1. In what ways do you feel as if you are being built throughout this week? 2. How have we already grown together as a community? 3. How have you recognized the handiwork of the Spirit dwelling within our community so far? Creator God, our community is Your handiwork. Together we have been built in Christ Jesus for good works such as our service this week. Be with us. Send Your Spirit to dwell among us throughout this week. We ask this through Christ our Lord. AMEN.

5 Wednesday You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God. Ephesians 2:19 Have you yet to call the place where you are staying at night Home? If so, you are no longer a sojourner - one who has come to stay in a place for just a short while. A stranger or a sojourner can come and visit, see the sights, maybe even help out for a little bit. A stranger or sojourner does not have to accept any obligations for what occurs in a place they can easily refer to as a distant there. You are no longer a stranger or a sojourner You are home. You are a citizen of the community. You recognize faces, you know names, you have heard stories and can retell them now. You are here. You are home. You are a citizen of this place at this time, and therefore, you have responsibility. You might very well leave this place by week s end, but you will be carrying a piece of this place in the home of your heart forever. You have responsibility. Your responsibility is not one that you have alone. You share it with those who live in the communities you serve. It is a responsibility you share with those you have traveled with, as well as all those who have travelled to Appalachia before you. It is a responsibility you share with all the holy ones and members of the household of God. Here is the value of being Church sharing in responsibility for our neighbors, our brothers and sisters in faith. The Church is not a there, but it is home. 1. What are the qualities of your experience that help you to identify this place and time as home? 2. How have you lived up to your responsibilities as a fellow citizen, as a member of God s household? Creator God, please bring peace into this home. May all those who live here or serve here come to know Your grace and your Love. Grant this through Christ our Lord. AMEN.

6 Thursday It is not from works, so no one may boast Ephesians 2:9 It s OK. You can be pretty proud of all that you have accomplished. Each work crew has been checking off all the tasks, all the chores, all the repairs and rebuilds. Atop of that are all the sweat, all the grime and dirt, all the uncomfortable conditions. There is much to talk about and to claim - - just don t boast. Boasting implies a personal accomplishment. Boasting suggests laying claim to something that you have done as if it is yours and yours alone. This moment in which you are now should not just become the seeds of stories told for college applications and dinner party conversation. If that is all there is, you just might have missed something along the way during your works. First, the works did not come just from you alone. Maybe it felt that way sometimes. You are the one sweating. You are the one with the exhausted and weary muscles at day s end. Yet, it is the same you who is very much God s handiwork. This moment is not just about you and you alone. It originated in God s vision of you and who you are to be. You are created in Christ Jesus. The faith of your family and friends and colleagues along this journey, the Spirit of God within your experience of community, the responsibilities we feel as citizens and members of your household all go into these good works that we may have contributed over these past days. There is so much more for us to boast about than a quiet and simple act of service, hopefully performed. 1. What might have been the times when we have placed ourselves and our consideration before God? 2. Has your experience so far been more of an experience of accomplishment for yourself or for collaborating with the Lord? 3. Where does prayer fit into this experience for you? Creator God, all praise and honor and glory are Yours. Help us to remain humble servants seeking to do only that which is your will. Send your Spirit to lead us and guide us along the way. We ask this through Christ our Lord. AMEN.

7 Friday As we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and our savior Jesus Christ who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good. Titus 2:13-14 In our devotional time this week, we started with hope. As we return to that theme today, it is now changed. It is anticipated that you may understand that change. After days away, doing something different in a different place with different people, you might be transformed if only just a little. If that is true, then we might further consider how our hope might have changed as well. The Scriptures discuss divine appearances. Throughout this week, have you had a God-sighting? Have you seen the glory of God in the beauty of God s creation in the mountains and hollers? Was it found in the strength, perseverance, generosity, or grace of another in difficult circumstances? In your quiet moments, have you heard the Lord whispering into your imagination or consciousness? If so, have they impacted your hope? Is your hope now not just a hope for you, but a divinely inspired hope a blessed hope? In the letter to Titus, Paul identifies that blessed hope as the person of Jesus Christ. Yes, you have given. Yes, you have contributed greatly on the small patch of this vast mountainous region and, yes, you have made a difference. But, Jesus sacrifice was so very much more and it transformed a world. And the Lord is seeking you, hoping and claiming you as His own. 1. Looking back on your hopes from the beginning of the week, where are your hopes now? 2. What differences have any God-sightings made for you this week? 3. What do you believe is the blessed hope for you upon your return at week s end? Creator God, all praise and honor and glory are Yours. Send forth your Spirit to speak to us and guide us so that we might seek to bring about the Reign of God and do your will. We ask this through our blessed hope, Christ our Lord. AMEN.

8 Saturday Be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God s way in righteousness and holiness of truth. Ephesians 4:23-24 It is difficult at the week s end to feel renewed. Maybe after you have had a long nap in your own bed, a long shower, a familiar meal, and wearing some fresh and clean clothes. If not after all that, then maybe after you wash, rinse, and repeat all over again. But, the encouragement here is towards renewal of the spirit of your mind. And the call is to put on a new self. Again, we find ourselves considering change and transformation. Yes, we are created. But, is God done with us now? Or are experiences like this a possible method where God is still creating us, transforming us, encouraging us to grow and change? If we are to be created in God s way, what do you believe is being asked of your mind, spirit, and attitude? What might your new self be like and look like? How will others recognize this change? Will you be living differently with a new peace and a new hope? Righteousness and truth sometimes get wielded like judgmental hammers against others. In being righteous, we are asked to make morally right decisions for our lives. In seeking holy truth, we are asked to hear and then discern many opinions and not to just remain closed within our own truths. If we live righteous lives built upon divine truths, others will recognize that and seek to know more. When others ask, What happened to you?, perhaps you might tell them of your time at Appalachia Service Project. 1. What do you believe is being asked of your mind, spirit, and attitude? 2. How is God still creating you today? 3. What happened to you? Creator God, all praise and honor and glory are Yours. We offer our appreciation and thanks for all that we have been given over this past week (Silently reflect of the many gifts you have received. We are a blessed people). AMEN.