March 17, 2025

Acts 7:30-34
Forty years later an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush in the wilderness near Mount Sinai.

Enthralled by the site, Moses approached to get a closer look and he heard the Lord‘s voice:  ‘I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Trembling with fear, Moses didn’t dare to investigate any further. The Lord continued, ‘Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have clearly seen the oppression of my people that they have experienced in Egypt and I have heard their groaning. I have come down to rescue them. Come, I am sending you to Egypt.’

---

Lord,
you know the pain and heartache
of oppression.

You remind us:
you are the God of our ancestors.
Just like you didn’t forget them,
you have not forgotten us.

Like the flame of a bush that burned,
but was not consumed in our hearts,
continue to burn away our fear
and replace it with the joy of the Lord,
who is our strength.

Help us to get closer to you,
like Moses did to the burning bush,
so that the light of your presence will guide our way.

Every conversation with you
is holy ground!

We are so grateful
that you are a God who hears us,
knows us, loves us,
and comes to see about us.
For this we are grateful.

Bless the name of the Lord!

Amen. 

March 16, 2025

Psalm 18:1-3
I love you, Lord my strength. The Lord is my solid rock, my fortress, my rescuer. My God is my rock. I take refuge in him…. He's my shield, my salvation’s strength, my place of safety. Because he is praiseworthy, I cried out to the Lord, and I was saved from my enemies.

---

Lord God,
we thank you so much
that you hear us when we call.

That you are our solid rock!

That you protect us!

That you put a wall of protection around us,
a hedge around us.
You are the rock on which we stand.

That even when the winds and the waves come,
we are standing on your solid rock!

Thank you for being my strength,
when I can't carry myself.
You carry me.

Lord, we love you so much.
You are so good to us.
Even when we can't hear you,
we know that you hear us.

Thank you for being everything we need
all the times that we need it.

We give you thanks
and we give you praise
for being our God and our salvation.

I love you, Lord,
and I give thanks in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

March 15, 2025

Numbers 13: 17- 24
When Moses sent them out to explore the land of Canaan, he said to them, “Go up there into the arid southern plain and into the mountains. You must inspect the land. What is it like? Are the people who live it strong or weak, few or many? Is the land in which they live good or bad? Are the towns in which they live camps or fortresses? Is the land rich or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous and bring back the land’s fruit.” It was the season of the first ripe grapes.

They went up and explored the land from the Zen desert to Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. They went up into the arid, southern plain and entered Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai,  the descendants of the Anakites lived.  (Hebron was built seven years before Tanis in Egypt.)  Then they entered the Cluster ravine, cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and carried it on a pole between them. They also took pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Cluster ravine because of the cluster of grapes that the Israelites cut down from there.

---

Please send us out, O Lord!

Let us explore new surroundings,
new opportunities
and new people!

Give us new adventures
so we can come back
and tell of the bounty of your blessings!

You have given us
clusters of family and friends,
clusters of abundance and richness,
clusters of joy and laughter.

Thank you for going before us and preparing our way.
There is absolutely no place we can go from your Presence!
Hallelujah!

No matter what land and opportunities
lie before us,
you are already there.

Grant us 40 days of exploration:
of reading, studying,
meditating, praying,
and being of service
to our sisters and brothers.

Help us to be cluster people —
always bringing back
the bounty of your generosity in our lives.

Thank you for your amazing love.
Amen.

March 14, 2025

Psalm 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation. Should I fear anyone?  The Lord is a fortress protecting my life.  Should I be frightened of anything? 

---

Perfect Love,
cast out fear!

God is love,
external, eternal,
internal, omnipotent,
extravagant,
LOVE!

Where there is love,
there is light and life!

A fortress,
strong, and tall,
and towering to the heavens,
with the breath of God being my shelter.

How can I be afraid
when the power who rules both heaven and earth
is my shield?

In you, O Lord,
I place all my fears and trepidations,
insecurities,
and even my heart’s desires.  

Be my rescue!
Be my guide!
I love you, Lord,
more than life itself.  

Amen.

March 13, 2025

Joel 2:12-14
Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your hearts,
With fasting, with weeping, and with sorrow; tear your hearts and not your clothing.

Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate,
Very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive.

Who knows whether he will have a change of heart and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God?

---

God, we are so very sorry
that we have strayed away from you
and from your Word.
But we come now
with weeping and with fasting
and with great humility asking for forgiveness.

God, there are times that we have fasted
and our behavior has not changed.
We have called on you
but we have had our fingers crossed behind our backs
knowing that what we were saying,
we really didn’t mean!

Sometimes we call the words of prayer
because it is something we are supposed to do;
not something that we really feel in our hearts.

So today, O God,
we want to empty ourselves
of all things that are not of you.
And we want to pray to you with pure hearts.

You are a great God!
You are full of compassion and mercy
and you love us
more than we could ever love ourselves.

Give us a changed heart
so that we will be able to help others
along the way in their journey.

Give us changed hearts
so that the world would be a better place
because we have put down wickedness,
and we have put down evil 
and our hearts are pure
not only toward you
but toward our brothers and sisters.

God,
when we tear our clothes but not our heart,
we have done nothing!

Tear our hearts wide open
and let all things that should not be there spill out!

But then, God,
when you put our hearts back together,
fill it and stuff it with LOVE!

And when we love
we know that love covers a multitude of sins.

With all that we are,
and all that we have,
and all that we will ever be,
we give it all to you,
because we LOVE you
And we thank you!

Blessed be your Name, O God.

Amen.

March 12, 2025

Ecclesiastes 3:16
I saw something else under the sun: in the place of justice, there was wickedness; and in the place of what was right, there was wickedness again!

I thought to myself, God will judge both righteous and wicked people, because there’s a time for every matter and every deed.

I also thought, where human beings are concerned, God tests them to show them that they are but animals because human beings and animals share the same fate.

One dies just like the other—both have the same life-breath. Humans are no better off than animals because everything is pointless. All go to the same place; all are from the dust; all return to the dust.

---

O God,
we thank you
that there is nothing new under the sun,
things that have been continue to be.

We thank you,
O Lord God,
that you are the judge
of both the righteous and the wicked.

We know
that there is nothing that happens in the spirit realm,
in the physical realm, in the emotional realm
that you are not fully aware of.

And even though sometimes
we think that we are so much—
that we are everything to all people.
We even think more highly of ourselves than we ought.  

But this scripture reminds us
that we are just like the animals.
We, too, die the same death
and we have the same fate.

Help us to live
making a positive difference in the lives of others
so that when we die, you will say to us,
"Well done, good and faithful servant!”

As we prepare to return to the place of dust,
let us not live wicked and evil lives,
but let us live lives of joy,
and compassion for others
that we might make a difference for the Kingdom
and that you would be pleased. 
Lord, we bless you today.
We give you thanks today
because you are good
and you are righteous
and you are just.

We thank you and we praise you
in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

March 11, 2025

Genesis 2:5-8
Before any wild plants appeared on the earth, and before any field crops grew, because the LORD God hadn’t yet sent rain on the earth and there was still no human being to farm the fertile land, though a stream rose from the earth and watered all of the fertile land—the LORD God formed the human from the topsoil of the fertile land and blew life’s breath into his nostrils. The human came to life. The LORD God planted a garden in Eden in the east and put there the human he had formed. 

---

God we thank you that we matter!

That our lives matter.

That we are valued by you!

You are the God of the entire universe.

Yet, yet, yet, you took the time to stop
and scoop up fertile soil and form your creation.

And then you breathed the breath of life,
the breath of God into our nostrils!

We matter, because you said so…

We matter and we are loved
and we are valued
because you took the time to nurture us
and care for us
and walk with us and to be with us.

So, no matter what happens,
O God, we are not afraid
because we walk
with the God of the universe!

Thank you for another day’s journey today.
And we pray in faith and thanksgiving
in the name of your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

March 10, 2025

Luke 4:1-13
Jesus returned from the Jordan River full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. There he was tempted for forty days by the devil. He ate nothing during those days and afterward Jesus was starving. The devil said to him, “Since you are God’s Son, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”Jesus replied, “It’s written, People won’t live only by bread.” 

Next the devil led him to a high place and showed him in a single instant all the kingdoms of the world. The devil said, “I will give you this whole domain and the glory of all these kingdoms. It’s been entrusted to me and I can give it to anyone I want. Therefore, if you will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It’s written, You will worship the Lord your God and serve only him.”

The devil brought him into Jerusalem and stood him at the highest point of the temple. He said to him, “Since you are God’s Son, throw yourself down from here; for it’s written: He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you  and they will take you up in their hands so that you won’t hit your foot on a stone.” Jesus answered, “It’s been said, Don’t test the Lord your God.” 

After finishing every temptation, the devil departed from him until the next opportunity.

---

O merciful God, lead us not into temptation!

Protect us from the devices of the evil one.

Let the power of your glorious Spirit
always cover us and protect us and keep us!

We trust you
and we pray in faith and thanksgiving,
in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen!

March 9, 2025

Job 42:5-6
And it says:
My ears had heard about you, but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore, I relent and find comfort in dust and ashes.

---

O God, we’ve all heard about you!

We’ve heard about how you spoke
and things came into being!
We heard about you defeated your enemies!
We heard how you spoke to the prophets of old.

The Bible is replete
with all kinds of incidences
of where you spoke and something happened.
So, we’ve heard about you.

But there comes a time
where we have to know you
for ourselves!
Grandmama can tell us,
mama can tell us, dad can tell us,
the preacher can tell us.
But we have got to know you for ourselves.

And so Job says, “I relent and find comfort in dust and ashes.”
That to which we shall return.

We can go in peace,
because now we have heard about you for ourselves.

We know that you have answered us
in our time of need and distress.

We know how you have filled us
to overflowing in our hearts
when life was so overwhelming.

We have seen
what you have done for our families;
those who were way, way away from you
in addictions, and in behaviors
that were not pleasing to you.
And though we prayed for ten years,
and twenty years and thirty years,
O God, you heard us and brought them back.
And we say thank you!

We can now go to our graves in rest!
Back to dust and to ashes.

We have seen the healing of nations,
we have seen the healing of individuals,
we have seen the healing of churches and communities.

We have seen
how you have come and stood among us
following tornados and hurricanes,
and floods and fires.
And how you have given inspiration and hope,
and sometimes even joy in the midst of our challenges.
You have done that!

So we can go to our graves,
dust and ashes
knowing that there is a God
and that there is no one like him.

And so today we pause, to say “Thank You!”

For allowing our ears to hear
and our eyes to see
and our hearts to understand.

Bless us this day!
Speak to the ears that listen for a word;
whether from a friend or a neighbor,
or someone is a store…
or whether you whisper quietly
as we lay down on our beds.

Speak, O God, for your people are listening
to hear a word that only you can give.

And we pray in the Name of Him
who rose from the grave, Jesus Christ!

Amen.

March 8, 2025

Genesis 3:19
By the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the fertile land, since from it you are taken. You are soil; to the soil you will return.

---

Gracious God,
we thank you
that you scooped up
something as common as dirt.
As rich as the soil.
With nutrients and minerals and life.
You scooped it up
and you made man
from the soil of the earth.

God, you.
You breathe life into a physical body
to make it a spiritual body.
And then the woman from the rib
you gave him as a companion.
So from his dirt, she became dirt.
All humanity, all living creatures, are dirt.

Our soil.
And from that soil, all of us will return.
On our tombstones
we see a date of birth.
And a date of death.

But hallelujah!
That dash between those dates
are the days and the hours
that you have worked in us.
And through us,
before we return to our resting place.

Thank you for speaking to us and through us.
And thank you for using us.
And thank you for allowing us
to be able to pour out of our well
the blessings that you have given us so abundantly.

We remember
during this Lenten season
that in a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye,
we will vanish
like the petals of a flower
being blown by the wind.
But even in that time,
we will rest with you.

We thank you for the gift of your presence.
We thank you for the holiness of your name.
We thank you
for your righteousness and your justice.
That we can make an impact in the world.

In our dash,
before we return to the soil
from which we have come.

Thank you for the inspiration
to be able to move forward in life,
and that we will share your word
and your goodness
and tell the story of just how good you are.

Thank you for this day.
Bless us as we go,
That we might indeed be a blessing
to the people of God.
And we pray in thanksgiving and faith
in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

March 7, 2025

Psalm 121:1-2
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

---

May you awaken today
to the tender Presence of the Almighty
gently nudging you awake.

 May you find the wisdom and strength,
discernment and creative genius
to do the tasks ahead of you today.

May you always look to the hills
knowing ALL your help
comes from Him
who is able to keep you from falling.

May you find yourselves
saturated in His goodness and mercy
so much that your cup overflows to others
who will be blessed by your presence...the Holy Spirit in you.

May the Lord God watch over your coming and going;
your sitting down and getting up;
your vehicles, home, cabinets and refrigerator.
May the Lord bless you in all things
and overshadow you with His great favor.

May grace and joy,
peace and hope
always surround you.

May the awesome Presence
of our Almighty God
be a shade over you
and a safety net
and clear path
beneath you.

May you find yourself
the head and not the tail.

May health and strength
always be your cloak.

May these blessings follow you always
as you bask in the glory
of His Presence daily!

Amen!  Love you to LIFE…

March 6, 2025

Romans 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

---

Dear friends—

May the power, grace, love,
joy, abundant health,
strength, peace,
and awesome presence of the Almighty
overwhelm you
in this new year
and in this Lenten season.

May you each walk in blessed favor,
knowing you are more than a conqueror
through him who called you
out of darkness into his marvelous light.

You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

Yes, you can trust God.
No matter the circumstances or situation,
our God, through His Son Jesus Christ,
has promised never to leave us or forsake us,
and he never has.

Walk in the light of his glorious presence
until the storms of your life become still in Jesus’ name.

May his love surround you
and always be a canopy of his abiding presence within you.

And may you always know that God loves you,
with love and thanksgiving to God
for the gift of you.

Amen.

March 5, 2025

1 Samuel 3: 10-11

Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” Then the Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle.”

---

O God,
our Father, our Creator, our Sustainer….
You are who we need
every single day.

Even though Lent is a period of 40 days
when we prepare our hearts for the celebration of Easter,
during this time
our hope and our prayer
is that our hearts and our spirit
would be one with you.

That we would be able to hear more clearly.
That we would be able to see things
with our spiritual eyes. 

That our hearts would be open
to the nudging of the Spirit.  

O God,
help us to move distractions
out of our way
so that we can spend quality time,
alone with you.  

Fuel our hearts each and every day
with your Spirit.  

Speak to us
that we might hear a word
from the very throne room of heaven

Forgive us of our sins
which we have committed
by thoughts, by words, and by deeds.

Help us to grow closer to you
day by day.

Help us to throw off
the shackles of the world.
And put on us
a cloak of kindness and compassion
and love and gentleness
and patience and goodness.

Help us
to think on those things
that are true and honest
and honorable and pure,
so that we might be each day
more like you.

We come in faith and thanksgiving,
asking you to walk with us
not only for the next 40 days of Lent,
but every day of our lives.
Hear us, O God.

When we pray, may our prayers
reach the throne room of heaven.

You turn your ear from heaven
and hear every whimper, every moan,
every groan, every scream,
and even the silence of pain and anguish
and grief and distress.

Come to our rescue,
and we will always,
in all ways and all times,
give you thanks
because you are our rescuer.

Thank you, Jesus.
We pray in your strong and powerful name. 



Amen.