26  Gail Hiney

"Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you. I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I." Psalm 61: 1-2 (Women's Devotional Bible 2.)

When I was 50 years old, I was still not ready to lose my mother. I spent a long October night-sitting by her hospital bed as her life was slipping away. I was tired, sad and anxious. In the middle of the night I walked to the big windows on the side of the room. The night seemed so still, but beautiful stars lit up the sky. I saw a doctor and nurses caring for the patient in the wing across from the window. A feeling of calmness, peace and love seemed to surround me and I no longer felt alone. I felt sure that it was the presence of God. My mother died peacefully the next day.

Prayer:Dear God, thank you for helping me at a very difficult time in my life. Please help me to rely on you more every day when even small problems seem to magnify in my mind. I know that I will always need your help and love to get me through life's challenges. Amen.

Treva Rosseau and Mark Gulden

Remember the Sabbath

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.  Exodus 20:8-10.

Of all the commandments, ordinances, and strong suggestions for holy living that are contained in the scriptures, I find the Fourth Commandment the hardest to keep. Perhaps it is my hard-driving American culture that bars me, insisting that I must do better, go farther, and acquire more to be a happy, productive individual.

Or perhaps it is because my line of work is in the Church, and therefore, I skirt the Sabbath issue by justifying the seven-day-a-week work schedule (it’s service for God, right?) It could be that my pride requires me to prove that my chronic illness does not have the better of me, and so I must press on with tireless energy. The psychological possibilities are endless.

Yet all are only excuses, because no matter how I explain my refusal to rest, I cannot deny that I am blatantly ignoring God’s command. He says, “Six days you shall do your work, but the seventh day you shall rest and keep the Sabbath...that you may be refreshed.” (Ex 23:12) The point of the command is not the legalistic observation of a certain day of the week, but rather the interruption of one’s life in order to be refreshed.

God wants us to step back, re-prioritize, and recharge our hearts and bodies with His energy. The Fourth Commandment is a gift He is extending to us, not a rule. Are you accepting that gift?

Pray with me: Lord, help me to accept the gift of rest. Clear away all excuses from my mind, and give me the strength to turn my face away from the world and toward You. I thank you for restoring my body, my mind, and my spirit with the love You are always extending to me. May I remember to pause and seek Your face. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

Judy Lentz 

JOY DOWN IN MY HEART

Luke 10: 17  The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in 

your name”.

The lyrics of one of my favorite child Bible songs are written this way

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart, Where?

Down in my heart!  Where?  Down in my heart!

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. 

Down in my heart to stay.

I’ve got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus, Down in my heart, Where?

Down in my heart!  Where?  Down in my heart!

I’ve got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus, down in my heart.

Down in my heart to stay.

I think I first heard this song at church camp when I was a young girl.  It’s melody and lyrics often pop into my mind, from time to time.  Joy is one of those emotions that we feel at those special times in our lives when we are happiest.  But what song do we sing when we are sad, lonely or afraid?  What does it take to be reminded that once Jesus is in our hearts, we are promised his unconditional love, his abiding faith and guidance in every situation. 

We just have to ask for whatever help we need.  Keeping our faith alive and well and growing is what He asks of us.  Once He is in our heart, He is there to stay unless we decide otherwise.  He gives us the power to flip the sadness coin and turn it back into the joy that He wants for you and me.  How blessed we are to have Him so deeply embedded in our hearts.  That depth of faith sustains us through any storm.  Don’t ever let it go away!!

Prayer:  Our Heavenly Father cast away my fears and doubts that occasionally creep into my mind.  Help me to know that the joy I feel for you and the love I have for Jesus deep in my heart is there just as you are.  Thank you for your unconditional love.  Remind me that your love will sustain me through any storm and help me experience the feeling of joy down in my heart to stay.  In the precious name of Jesus.  Amen

Mark Mizer 

Acts

One of my favorite books in the New Testament is Acts. Although not used often as a reading in worship it has special meaning to me.

At one time it was thought Acts was written by the Apostle Paul. However, I think more likely it was written by several authors. We find in Acts both Disciples and Apostles, those, such as Peter who struggled with forming a church of our Christ, and Paul, who never met Christ in the flesh but had quite an encounter and conversion on the road to Damascus, when he served as a Pharisee persecuting Christ's followers.

For me, Acts serves as a linchpin between the Gospels and the Epistles; the Gospels serving as the stories of Jesus Christ in the flesh as a human, witnessing his death and Resurrection, and the Epistles of Paul who became the ultimate Evangelist, spreading the Word of Christ through much of the then civilized world. Without Paul, it is possible we Gentiles would have never known about Jesus Christ.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank you for the Disciples and the Apostles who gave their lives in your service to bring your words of light and life to us all. Amen.

Ann Mizer 

God will pour out His Spirit

“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”   Acts 2:17

This verse is Peter speaking and he is actually referencing the Old Testament book of Joel – connecting to the history of God’s people.  What are prophesies?   What does it mean to pour out God’s Spirit?  Much to ponder in this verse – references to sons and daughter, young men and old men – seems to be fairly inclusive of many people. 

The Spirit of God is part of the Triune God and is that mystical connection that we have with God.  When we feel God with us, know that he is there and sense knowledge that seems beyond our own understanding.   The young men have visions of what can be (the future) and old men have memories of what they hoped for and sought after (dreams that may have been fulfilled or may have only been hoped for).

Regardless, we know that God will pour out His Spirit on ALL people – something that is comforting and assuring.

Dear God, may we look for your Spirit, dream dreams and know that you will be there for us.  Amen

Roy Behling  

GOD'S PROMPTING

Jesus said: "Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, my servant will also be. My Father will honor whoever serves Me." - John 12:26 (NIV)

Having been a Presbyterian elder for 49 years and having served perhaps half of those years as an active ruling elder on Session, I have had numerous occasions when I was asked to share my faith journey and /or statement of faith and my experience of accepting Christ as Lord and Savior. I have also heard the faith journey of hundreds of applicants for church membership or ordination. Many of these talked

about dramatic experiences in their personal journeys; tears, laughter, strong renewal of faith, hope for the future and above all an immediate transformation in their lives.

I can honestly say that my experience was not as vivid or dramatic. I grew up in the church. My parents were very active in the church. From the time I was a toddler to this very day, I loved going to Sunday School, Youth Fellowship and church. From the time I sang "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so" it was a process of growing in the faith and feeling God's call in my life. He continues to call and I continue to serve. I feel blessed to obey God's call. May you have a similar experience.

Dear Lord, I am grateful for the prompting of the Holy Spirit in my life and the many blessings You bestow on me as I follow You. In the name of our Lord and Savior, Amen.

Mark Mizer

These are the statutes and ordinances which you shall be careful to do in the land which the Lord, the God of your Fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live upon the earth. (Deuteronomy 12:1  RSV)

There are four basic tenets of the Presbyterian Faith:

1) We are saved through grace alone. We can do nothing to earn this grace. It is a gift from God manifest in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross and through his resurrection.

2) We are a priesthood of believers. All of us are capable and have a responsibility to proclaim the word of God to others.

3)The Bible is our authority or 'sola scriptura'. We believe the Bible alone is our foundation of belief. All the catechisms, confessions and creeds are based on the Bible.

And, the fourth is probably the most difficult to grasp and understand. 'God alone is our Lord of conscience.'  To me, this is the essence of what it means to be Presbyterian, aside from our polity. This tenet can be viewed in different ways by different people with varying biases.

Historically, the Presbyterian church, as a denomination, and unlike other denominations takes no stand on some of the more controversial social issues of our times: abortion, homosexuality and capital punishment and the numerous issues that go with these. The Presbyterian Church, USA position is: as a denomination there is no position.  This does not mean there aren't very vocal and active advocates for both sides. Far from it.

Presbyterians have been advocates of all manner of social issues for many years. For example, Presbyterians were some of the more outspoken advocates of abolition before the Civil War. Our Confessions advocate certain beliefs from the Scots Confession to a Brief Statement of Faith. But, our confessions are not part of our Book of Order. They are separate, quite intentionally.

This can be vexing to many people because they either want someone to tell them what to believe or they want to use a rigid doctrine to have something solid to hang onto for comfort and consistency.

But, the Presbyterian tradition is a little more demanding of our mindful attention to our faith, how we live our faith, how we accept others who do not agree with us and how we accept people into our church family who are 'different'.

In my opinion, if we as a denomination are to proclaim certain behaviors to be abhorrent or sinful we may use that doctrine to exclude certain people from our church family and as a result back ourselves into an inescapable corner. To proclaim certain behaviors as sinful and not acceptable in our circle would be to say we as individuals in the church do NOT sin, or,  we say our sins are different and thus less offensive than others. But, isn't sin still sin regardless? We come to this church not to proclaim our holiness or to feel good about ourselves. We come first to worship and glorify our Almighty God, and  to truly give thanks to Him, asking Him to forgive our sins of commission and omission, and, to ask Him to suffer our needs, desires and dreams. Who are we to have the power of judgement over others?  Let's leave that to God.

To me this is the essence of John Calvin. We as individuals have the freedom to seek God's will for our lives. But, for us to seek God's will for others based on our individual experiences and prejudices appears to be a non-starter.  That we have prejudges and biases is inescapable and undeniable. Calvin understood this and asks all believers and even doubters to study the Bible and to educate ourselves and pray for God inspired enlightenment. I refer to this as an objective faith or at least a rational faith where we do not allow our biases to guide our behavior in how we treat and accept others into our communion.  So may it be.

Prayer:   O God, our God, inspire us to continually seek your way and your path in leading others to be part of your communion, to be part of your family in Christ. Gird us, strengthen us, fortify us to do the things we need to do to, first,  to worship you, always, and to represent the people of Sharon Church  in a way that pleases you. We pray this in the name of your most Holy Son, our Christ,  Jesus. Amen.