Welcome to the JCPC Daily Reflections Blog. Reflections are daily devotionals authored by JCPC pastors, staff and members and provide insight, guidance and comfort to help you make it through each day. If you’d like to receive Reflections each day via email, provide your email address.
As many along the Gulf Coast have been experiencing hurricane Ida, I am getting updates from many friends. When natural disasters like this hit, we are filled with questions.
I would invite you to take a moment today to listen for God. The words of Psalm 46 often come to mind in times like these.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Be still and know that I am God. -Psalm 46
After reading this scripture, I would invite you to find an image from this week’s storm that serves as a reminder to you of the message of Psalm 46. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Take time to lift up in prayer those in along the gulf coast that have already been affected by the storm and those that will experience effects over the coming days, weeks and months.
Prayer for Today
Gracious God, you are our comfort and strength in times of sudden disaster, crisis, or chaos. Surround us now with your grace and peace through storm or earthquake, fire or flood. By your Spirit, lift up those who have fallen, sustain those who work to rescue or rebuild, and fill us with the hope of your new creation; through Jesus Christ, our rock and redeemer. Amen.
JCPC elder commissioners to the recent Presbytery meeting shared about the new initiative - “7 Marks of a Vital Congregation."
July operating revenue totaled $79,261. July operating expenses were $89,405. Year to date operating revenue totaled $592,796. Year to date operating expenses were $576,910. This is a positive difference of $15,886.
The Session approved the recommendations of the Health Team which included requiring masks for all indoor activities. There is also an in-depth discussion of whether anyone singing in worship should wear a mask, including the upcoming Timothy Miller concert. After much discussion, it was decided that everyone singing in worship indoors must wear a mask for now.
Third quarter financial support of JCPC missions will be sent to our mission partners, as well as one half of the JCPC per capita commitment to the ongoing work of Presbytery.
$15,000 had been raised toward the retaining wall Sprinter Campaign.
Roy Davey has been hired as the new JCPC bookkeeper affective August 17th.
Video conferencing technology has been purchased to facilitate hybrid meetings.
The Blood Drive was successful with 15 donors.
The Preschool is considering moving the start of preschool back one week due to new COVID-19 considerations.
The Connecting Ministry Team is investigating a “digital directory” for church members. There will be a survey inviting input from the congregation about this.
Gray is serving on the board of CanCare. There is a search for a part-time Executive Director and partnership churches are being asked to help fund CanCare in 2022.
Prayer for Today
Gracious God, we thank you that we can come together as brothers and sisters in Christ and do your work in our church, our community, and around the world. Bless the efforts of our ministry teams as we seek to serve you and share the love of Christ. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus our Lord and savior. Amen.
“Then a voice came from the throne, saying: ‘Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!’”
-Revelation 19:5
In order to live-stream the Timothy Miller concert this Sunday in the Great Hall at 10:00 a.m., we had to pay for an additional license so that the composers and arrangers of the music he will sing would get paid their royalties. This new license allows us to live-stream music outside of worship services, but it also covers some music for worship that we have been unable to use in our online services thus far. One of those is the opening hymn for this week, Morning Has Broken.
The tune, familiar to many of you and written by Scottish composer Mary M. Macdonald, is based off of a Scottish folk tune, and the words were written by English author Eleanor Farjeon. Farjeon was asked to write text for a hymn that offered praise to God each and every day. The first stanza is full of imagery from nature:
Morning has broken like the first morning;
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird.
Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning!
Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word!
The chirp of cicadas is a common sound around the world in summer, but the Japanese are hyper aware of this and other seasonal markers. Before I moved to Japan almost a decade ago, I never really noticed that characteristic and often ear-piercing sound, but now the sound of the newly-emerged cicadas screaming their little hearts out instantly instills a sense of summer nostalgia in me.
But I’m not sure I’ve ever praised God for all those little cicadas! I often find myself overlooking the immense abundance of praiseworthy things in my life because of my busy schedule. Maybe you are the same way. We often talk about taking time to “smell the roses”, but how many of us actually do that, literally or figuratively? When was the last time you “pressed pause” and said a small prayer of thanksgiving for something small and minor, yet quite miraculous? In all of the expansive galaxy, we’ve only ever found life on our home - planet earth. Something as simple as the noisy vibrations of a cicada’s wings are a rare miracle that God has given us a chance to experience. Take some time and praise God for something ordinary in your life today.
Prayer for Today
God of unending blessings, thank you for this life and all the beauty around us. Help us to calm our minds from time to time so that we may praise you for anything and everything. Glory to you, God of all creation. Amen.
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
-John 13:34-35
Saturdays are slow, when we can take one away from the busyness of our typical weekends. That’s usually my day to get the boys up and going. Last Saturday, I hollered up for the teenager to join the land of the living after a late night for marching band at the football game. Sleepily, he wandered downstairs to his favorite person in the house... the fluffy cat next to me. He leaned over the back of the couch and rested his hand on her head and his face on her body, burying his face in her long white fur. His toddler brother came racing over, stood on his tiptoes, and did exactly the same from the opposite side. The cat seemed to enjoy the warmth and didn’t stir. Our toddler would giggle and grin, stand straight up to look at his brother, and then copy it once more, gently resting his face on the cat’s side.
It’s been said that kids do what we do, not what we say. I think we sometimes let ourselves off the hook when we don’t have our own kids or they’re grown. But there’s almost always some child watching us and seeking to learn by imitating, experimenting, especially when it comes to how we interact with others, with animals, with those smaller, weaker, or in need of care and compassion. The way we model love and compassion, tenderness and gentleness, far more so than what rules or expectations we communicate in speech, is what children, or new believers, will emulate.
Adults are fond of joking about how children and teenagers have selective hearing or tune out what we try to tell them, but far less often do we talk about how much they copy our actions. This week, be mindful of the things you do as others may observe you and see if it communicates the same lessons your words do. What we do, and how we treat others is always a teaching moment, even, or especially, when we don’t mean for it to be. And if you have time, stoop low, cuddle someone fluffy, and delight in God’s creatures, great and small.
Prayer for Today
Lord, make my actions consistent with the love I seek to show with my words, and an example for those who see me. Amen.
This week I'm on vacation with my family at St. George Island in Florida. This is the first family vacation we've had at the beach since the pandemic hit in March of 2020. This will also be the first time that our adult children will be able to join us, as well. I am looking forward to this time, and hopefully we'll be able to dodge the hurricanes.
We have been coming to St. George since our kids were young. We like it because it is quiet and filled mainly with beach homes. There are a few restaurants, a supermarket or two, and a couple of hotels -- but the rest are homes and white sand. From the very first time we went there, we would rent bicycles for the week. I can still remember when our kids were small enough to be pulled along behind our bikes. Most days we just hang out on the beach, rest, read, walk, eat shrimp fresh out of the gulf from the night before, and decide which day trips along that part of the Panhandle we will take this year.
We are heading back Saturday in order to be there Sunday for the “Welcome Back” Concert with Timothy Miller at 10:00 a.m. in the Great Hall. I am looking forward to this very much. In my conversations with Timothy, I have discovered he's a really interesting guy. His father was a preacher. He attended Morehouse where he is now on the music faculty, and we found out we know some of the same folks in the music world.
I have asked him to sing “God Bless America” during the 10:00 a.m. concert, which he has agreed to do. As we have said, many of you will know Timothy from the Sunday Braves’ baseball games when he sings “God Bless America” during the seventh inning stretch. However, he is creating a wide range of music for our enjoyment. He will also be singing during the 11:00 a.m. service before he heads to the Braves game that afternoon. So, invite your friends, and if you cannot make it, we plan to simulcast the concert online at 10:00 a.m. Just go to the JCPC website to find the link. See you Sunday!
Prayer for Today
Thank you, God, for the beauty of nature, the rest we can find when we need renewal, and the gift of music to soothe our souls. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Do you have a favorite insect? I wondered about this after reading a story from an author I enjoy, Rachel Macy Stafford. She shared about a time when her daughter asked her this question. Her daughter said, “You can’t choose butterfly, everyone chooses that”. As they continued their conversation Rachel learned that her daughter’s favorite insect was a firefly. As they considered that for a little while, Rachel noticed with her daughter what a beautiful choice that was, as fireflies shine from within.
You may know some people who seem to have that light within. Maybe they aren’t noticed for the big or obvious things, but as you get to know them you realize they have a deep, unique light within them. I would encourage all of us to consider ourselves as fireflies as Jesus reminds us in Matthew 5.
“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16, The Message)
Notice the light of Christ in those around you. Don’t wait for someone to hand them an award or a give them a certificate to make their talents and gifts “official.” That day may never come. So say it now. Consider someone who opens up and shares the light of Christ. Tell them what you notice and encourage the ways they are sharing their light with the world.
I see your light. I see it when you…
Prayer for Today
Creator God, thank you for the gift of light all around us and deep inside of us. Open us up to share it today and notice it in those we encounter. In Christ’s Name, Amen.
This past week I had the honor of being invited to Gene Langenbach’s Interment at the Georgia National Cemetery for Veterans in Canton. The presentation of the flag, its unfurling and refolding, the presentation to the family, representatives of the cemetery, the Air Force, and the honor guard, all presenting different gifts to the family, as their respect for the service of a veteran; it was, as always, moving. The honor guard fired rifles; kind of caught me off guard, even though I knew it was coming. Something about today’s world….
Finally, the playing of Taps, in a slow, methodical, honorable way. Just a fitting conclusion to the ceremony, for someone who spent a career protecting our Nation and its freedoms.
This service reminded me of the freedoms that men like Gene protected; the freedom of speech, the freedom to bear arms, and the freedom of religion. How many men/women have died protecting those freedoms? How many have been injured protecting those freedoms? There is a distinctness about how the USA has vigorously protected our country and our country’s privileges that is unique, and it is why we stand alone in the world as the one great nation willing to fight for ourselves and to fight for other nations to preserve those rights.
Most media blasts today focus on the challenges to our freedom of speech and certainly the right to bear arms. Less media time is given to the freedom of religion, until someone decides to invade a church, synagogue, or other place of worship, for hurtful purposes. We must be reminded that religion is a right in our Nation. We have the freedom to worship in the manner that we and/or our community wish to worship. God (whichever God you worship) is a most important part of one’s life, as he sustains us when times are difficult, and he lifts us up. He makes us stronger to deal with challenges. This is a freedom that is in danger today, and we must protect with the same vigor and resoluteness, as all our freedoms as men and women in service to our country protect them.
As it is stated in scripture, Psalm 95:1-6
Let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
Prayer for Today
Lord, we are blessed to be in this country, which affords us with so many special privileges, including our freedom to worship you. Give us the strength to protect this freedom, so that all people of our country can choose if and how to praise you. Amen.
Something that sounded like firecrackers roused Joanne from sleep. Glass shattered. Wishing she didn’t live alone, she got up to see what was going on. The dark streets were empty and the house seemed to be okay—then she saw the broken mirror.
Investigators found a bullet only a half-inch from the gas line. If it had struck the line, she probably wouldn’t have made it out alive. Later they discovered it was a stray bullet from nearby apartments, but Joanne was afraid to be at home. She prayed for peace, and once the glass was cleaned up, her heart calmed.
Psalm 121 is a reminder for us to look to God in times of trouble. Here, we see that we can have peace and calm because our “help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (v. 2). The God who created the universe helps and watches over us (v. 3)—even while we sleep—but He Himself never sleeps (v. 4). He watches over us day and night (v. 6), “both now and forevermore” (v. 8).
No matter what kind of situations we find ourselves in, God sees. And He’s waiting for us to turn to Him. When we do, our circumstances may not always change, but He’s promised His peace in the midst of it all.
Prayer for Today
Loving God, thank You for Your peace. Please continue to calm my heart in the areas of my life that feel chaotic. Amen.
Be complete, therefore, as your heavenly Father is complete.
-Matthew 5:48
One of the things I love most about our friends, the Trautweins and everyone at Will to Live, is that they put a heavy emphasis on saying, “I love you.” It’s something we do a lot in our family. We even have other ways we say it. My wife and I do three quick hand squeezes, for each other and for the boys. And I often do the classic I Love You sign language gesture. To which, our oldest boys reply with a peace sign... aka... I love you TOO. And now, our toddler is learning.
This week, as our toddler watched cartoons from his crib, he giggled and clapped in delight. He shouted his version of affection, “I YOU!” (Love is a tricky word for an 18-month old) I made the sign with my hand. And for the first time, he attempted, using two hands, to form one hand into the same symbol, trying to emulate me. It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t complete. But he was trying. And one day, he will get there.
In our passage, the Greek word is téleioi. It’s often translated as “perfect,” and in other places in the New Testament, as “mature.” But it can be argued a better translation here is “complete.” When we do as Christ did, when we love as Christ loved, we are doing what we can to be more perfect, more complete. We are closer to Christ when we do as Christ did, even when it doesn’t quite look the same, even as we exercise those muscles in unpracticed or unskilled ways, learning to say or show, “I love you.” We can get discouraged when our childlike attempts don’t look much like Christ. But when we are brave and curious and try something new to show God our love, we can trust God is smiling and saying, “I love you too.”
Prayer for Today
Lord, I love you. Help me to try my best to love others like you showed us. Amen.
At this past Monday evening's session meeting, Chris Irwin, one of our elders, shared an inspiring devotional. She alluded to a question we often ask in the face of tragedy: why doesn't God do something about this? It's a fair question to ask, especially when we become aware of events in places like Afghanistan and Haiti. Why doesn't God do something about this?
I believe that God does have the power to do something about evil and suffering in our world. In fact, the whole story of the Bible is about how God responds to the sin and the brokenness in the world with love. God sends Jesus to give his life for the world God loves in order to usher in God's Kingdom -- God's way of doing things to make it all right. I believe that the Kingdom of God began on the cross and is continuing to work its way out throughout history. But we are not there yet. Obviously, there is still evil and suffering -- so, why doesn't God do something about this?
As Chris Irwin shared with us on Monday evening, one of the primary ways God does something about the sin and suffering in our world is through us. God calls us to do something about this. And while no one can do everything, everyone can do something. When it comes to Afghanistan, I was reading the cover story in Christianity Today magazine which told of all of the Christian workers who are not leaving that country and who are there simply to serve and care for those in need. You can read more about it here: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/september/afghanistan-aid-humanitarian-civil-society-hospitality.html
So, pray for those who are suffering, do what you can to make a difference, and give out of the financial resources with which God has blessed you. Be a part of what God is doing in our world today.
Prayer for Today
Gracious God, we pray for those suffering in Afghanistan and Haiti. Bring order where there is chaos, shelter where those are homeless, safety where lives are threatened, and use us to make a difference as followers of Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
