faithrunner

Occasionally, as Legacy Church , we set aside days of prayer for different reasons. As we enter the season of Advent and complete our series SENT , we invite you to join us to take today t o prepare your heart for the Coming of the Christ Child at Christmas . May the Holy Spirit speak clearly to you today through these meditations. Morning Devotional: Worship To worship something is to give it a place of honor or importance. Worship = worth (of value, importance) + -ship (position). Human beings are geared to worship: the star athlete, the talented musician, the charismatic personality, the successful business leader, the creative author, the generous philanthropist, the intelligent theorist. When humans fail to impress us, we can always turn to money, power, lust, success, acceptance, love, adoration. Sometimes we even worship the reflection in the mirror. The question, then, is not “Will you worship?” but rather, “Who or what will be the object of your worship...

Our reading for Ash Wednesday, February 22, is Luke 5:1-11 . Read the passage of Jesus' calling of the first disciples. Morning Meditation Jesus , a carpenter, told Simon Peter , a fisherman, where and how to fish! (v. 4) Peter's response was one of trust. (v. 5) What has Jesus asked you through his Word and/or Spirit that could make you answer, "I'm the expert here, how could what you tell me be true?" What has Jesus asked you to do that did not make sense to you, but like Peter you were willing to be obedient to what he called you to do?   Meditate on the events of the passage and fast completely or partially from your morning meal.   Noon Meditation The carpenter's advice to the seasoned fisherman worked! They amount of fish caught almost sank two boats. (v. 6-7) Peter confessed after the huge catch, “ Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man! ” (v. 8) He realized Jesus was more than a carpenter, more than a man he had met before and ...

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is traditionally the first day of Lent , usually forty weekdays of fasting and the Sundays prior to Easter Sunday . If you have not been around church much, you know the season more by the excesses of Mardi Gras , or, Fat Tuesday , the last binge before the Lenten fast. Spiritual bulimia at its worst. We do not observe Lent as Legacy Church , but we are aware of those seasons of the Big C Church that aid us in our spiritual growth. Lent is one of those seasons because it is designed to prepare our hearts for Holy Week ,  Jesus' suffering and death, and Easter , Jesus' resurrection, through the spiritual practice of fasting . Usually, one chooses something in his or her life to abstain from in order to identify with the suffering of Jesus. Last year , for example, I chose to eat Gluten-free in order to identify with a friend and those who must adjust their diets because of celiac disease. It was a hassle, but each choice reminded me of my ...

Below is a simple plan of reading and meditation to prepare you for the Celebration of the Resurrection in the morning. Morning: Read Exodus 12:1-13 This is the institution of the Passover meal that commemorates God’s deliverance of Israel from bondage in Egypt. The Jewish people observe this meal in the form of the Seder meal once a year according to the instructions in Scripture. As you read this passage notice the purpose of the lamb, its shed blood, and the importance of the unleavened bread. Noon: Read Matthew 26:17-30 Jesus gathered his twelve closest disciples to observe the Passover meal which was part of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:17-20) Jesus identified the unleavened bread, which represented the absence of sin, with his body. He also identified himself with a cup of blessing as the blood sacrifice of the Passover lamb. As you read the Bible, find your place in the story as you recline with the disciples at the table. Afternoon: Read Matthew 27:11-66 Re...

Fasting is the ancient practice of not eating in order to discipline your body so you can make room in your soul to commune with God . It must be, as Richard Foster writes, " God-initiated and God-ordained ." The spiritual practice of fasting is NOT designed for weight loss or health reasons , although there are physical benefits for doing it. But the primary purpose of fasting is to deny our physical appetite(s) in order to feed our spiritual hunger and thirst for God with the Spirit and Word . During a time of fasting we mourn our spiritual condition or the condition of others, confess our sins , and seek God in prayer (See Nehemiah 1:4-11 ). This is why the practice is "God-initiated." In our relationship with God, we see our lives and the lives of others from his perspective, and he calls us to confession and prayer. Jesus expected that his followers would fast . In his kingdom-inaugurating message we know as the Sermon on the Mount, he addressed the subject b...

This Wednesday, I have invited Legacy to practice a day of prayer and fasting as we enter the Christmas season. I do this because I need to have my head and heart on straight as the "Buy me! Buy me!" Sirens of consumerism begin to call my name. I am also asking the church to join me in this day of focused worship because we begin our Christmas series this Sunday, called, "Enter The Prince of Peace." When Jesus came as God incarnate, he came into a world of poverty and hunger, war and injustice, religious insiders and outcasts, prejudice and hatred. We will invite that same Prince of Peace into our world, which struggles with the same issues some 2,000 years later. We begin this Sunday with "Enter the Prince of Peace: poverty and hunger." We will conclude Wednesday with a prayer service at the church in the Discovery Room (east hallway of the Legacy Center). The purpose of a day like this is to substitute physical appetites and distractions in order to ...