Our 10^th annual Prayer Vigil is scheduled at the end of the month. Our Ash Wednesday will be held on the evening of February 26 and the Prayer Vigil will be held on Friday, February 28 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. and Saturday, February 29 from 9:00 a.m-4:00 p.m. If you have participated in the past you will recognize that we have changed the format. This year we will still be praying, but the time frame has moved away from a 24 hour prayer vigil.

I'm excited about the vigil this year in that we are including the large prayer labyrinth in the Great Hall. Many of you have shared with us the deep experiences you have walking the labyrinth so we wanted to include it in this year's vigil. We will also be hosting prayer in the sanctuary for those of you who prefer this sacred space for your prayers. Each Sunday in February you will find index cards in the worship bulletin on which to write your prayer requests. Alice Ann Nilsen will compile the cards and create a list of prayers for you with which to prayer during the prayer vigil. I imagine you will also be praying prayers dear to your heart. Walking or sitting mark your calendars to participate in the 10^th annual prayer vigil.

When I pray it can either be sitting or walking, but what both have in common is who and what I hold dear in my heart through prayer. My oldest sister lives in Indiana and her grandchildren live in Arkansas and Colorado so she yearns more physical time with them. She posted this picture on Facebook this week and I want to share it with you. It touched my heart and speaks to the heart of prayer.

Prayer for Today

Keep us mindful, O Lord, of the ones we hold dear. Remind us that they are as close to us in prayer when they are far away because each resides in our hearts. Amen.

Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone.  -Proverbs 23:5

The mischievous artist Banksy pulled off another practical joke. His painting Girl with Balloon sold for one million pounds at Sotheby's auction house in London. Moments after the auctioneer yelled "Sold," an alarm sounded and the painting slipped halfway through a shredder mounted inside the bottom of the frame. Banksy tweeted a picture of bidders gasping at his ruined masterpiece, with the caption, "Going, going, gone."

Banksy relished pulling one over on the wealthy, but he need not have bothered. Wealth itself has plenty of pranks up its sleeve. God says, Do not wear yourself out to get rich . . . . Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. 

-Proverbs 23:4-5

Few things are less secure than money. We work hard to earn it, yet there are many ways to lose it. Investments go sour, inflation erodes, bills come, thieves steal, and fire and flood destroy. Even if we manage to keep our money, the time we have to spend it continually flies. Blink, and your life is going, going, gone.

What to do? God tells us a few verses later: always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off  (vv. 17-18). Invest your life in Jesus; He alone will keep you forever.

Prayer for Today

God, help me to give my insecurities to You and to trust in Your goodness and faithfulness. Amen.

Everything the Lord has made should praise him in all the places he rules. My whole being, praise the Lord.

-Psalm 103:22

If you have not yet seen the Netflix special, Two Popes, make some time. The depth of the story and faith of the men it portrays and is challenging, moving, and inspiring. There are so many small conversations from the film that I've been thinking about for weeks now. In one, Cardinal Bergoglio (to be Pope Francis later), tells Pope Benedict a story. Bergoglio says as a young man, he asked an older priest if it was permissible to smoke while praying. The priests says of course not. Bergoglio asks the follow up... May I pray while I'm smoking? Pope Benedict chuckles, and Bergoglio says, "Perhaps we don't always ask the right question."

I think that's a point worth considering, especially in the context of prayer and worship, perhaps even more so in the western world and America. How often do we seek to make our prayer and worship more comfortable? Can I have a padded pew? My favorite pew? Can we skip singing new hymns? Only hymns? Only praise songs? Timpani, but not snares? Guitar but not electric? A specific time slot? Different day of the week? I'm as guilty as anyone. I'd love to have my coffee with me in worship. I have preferences for certain songs, styles of preaching. But what I like about what Bergoglio says is that it's not so much if we like the answer to our question but whether we are asking the right question. What if instead of asking if I could have my coffee in worship or more acoustic guitar or a comfier seat... what if I were to ask myself... when I go for coffee with friends, could I ask them what I can pray for them, and then we pray together? What if when I play my guitar, I pray? What if when I sit in my comfiest seat at home, I think of all my blessings and close my eyes and thank God?

This week, when you think of questions, preferences, statements that focus on your needs or desires, think of a new way to frame them. Get creative, especially about prayer and worship. Imagine a new question, a new perspective. Imagine inviting God into your life in new ways and new places. Invite God to your commute, your meals, your quality time with loved ones, your morning routine. And then share that with someone. Definitely share it with me. I'll be curious what you find.

Prayer for Today

Lord, help me to ask new questions and invite you into more of my life. Amen.

Yesterday, Brian and I were coming back from lunch. We parked behind the church offices and were walking toward the sidewalk by the playgrounds behind the church. There was a woman standing there on the sidewalk leaning against the playground fence. She appeared to be waiting for a ride. I couldn't help but notice her breathing apparatus, wondering if that is why she was waiting for a ride -- because it would be hard for her to walk to a car.

As we approached her, we both spoke and she cheerfully replied. After we had walked a few steps past her, she called out to us and said, "You know you're saving a lot of lives here, and we appreciate it." It was at that point that I realized she probably attended one of our many 12-step meetings that take place on our JCPC campus every week. You're saving a lot of lives. I remarked to Brian, "Now that's not something you hear every day." And yet that is why we are here. That is why Johns Creek Presbyterian Church exists -- to save lives. In our New Testament, the Greek words for "to save" and "to heal" come from the same root word.

This Sunday we will be looking at a story from Luke's gospel in which Jesus is healing the sick inside of a house. Because there are so many people, a man who has been paralyzed for life and who is brought by his friends to be healed by Jesus cannot get into the house where Jesus was healing. So, his friends take him up on the roof of the house, cut a hole in the roof, and lower the man down on his mat so that Jesus might heal him. Jesus notices the faith of the man's friends who brought him and lowered him into the room. But the first thing Jesus says to the man is this, "Friend, your sins are forgiven" - which is the language of salvation. Only then does Jesus then tell the man to "get up" and he is healed.

I am grateful that God is still in the business of healing and saving -- especially in a place like JCPC!

Prayer for Today

Gracious God, we thank you for sending Jesus into the world to save sinners like each one of us. We also thank you for sending Jesus to bring healing and wholeness to each one of us. What a friend we have in Jesus! Help us to bring our friends to Jesus -- the Friend of sinners. Amen.

This past week my life has been eventful, filled with challenges and celebrations. As I take some time to reflect this morning, I am reminded of the importance of friendships in the body of Christ. In our friendships, we find comfort in times of grief, we share joy in moments of celebration and we provide support in the challenges of each day.

"I've told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I'm no longer calling you servants because servants don't understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I've named you friends because I've let you in on everything I've heard from the Father." John 15:12-15

Jesus Christ sought out friendships on his journey here on earth. He reminds us of the importance of these bonds in times of joy and sorrow. Take some time to lift up in prayer those that have been your support through challenges, shared in your joy, and provided comfort in your grief.

As you go through your day, be challenged by Christ's command to love one another as He loved us.

Prayer for Today

Gracious God, Open our eyes to the friendships we have in lives. Help us to turn to you as our example for how we can care for one another. In Christ's Name, Amen.

We are in the middle of a sermon series entitled Get Up that Gray is preaching. Joseph is instructed by an angel to get up and go to Egypt in order to escape the violence of Herod and when the threat had passed to get up and return home. Jesus commands an invalid at the pools of Bethesda to get up and enter into a strange new ambulatory world.

Both of these stores have me thinking of the dynamic of out of the box thinking. You have probably heard or used this phrase, out of the box thinking on numerous occasions. Typically, it is referring to doing something different, radical and entering into a paradigm shift. The gospels are a prime example of out of the box thinking and living!

I came upon the illustration below that illustrates what out of the box thinking and doing might look like when following Jesus.

I especially like following Jesus includes taking naps in boats. At our JCPC 25^th anniversary our Presbytery Executive, Rev. Aisha Brooks-Lytle and I were talking about a theology of rest and now I have the perfect excuse to get a boat...or maybe I'll work at taking a nap. Following Jesus should have its perks!

Prayer for Today

Loving God, help us have the mind of Christ so that we will think outside of the box and experience your grace on the road less traveled. Amen.

I have made you and I will carry you.

-Isaiah 46:4

Sometimes when my Labrador retriever wants attention, he'll take something of mine and parade it in front of me. One morning as I was writing at the desk with my back turned, Max snatched my wallet and ran off. But realizing I hadn't seen him do it, he returned and nudged me with his nose-wallet in mouth, eyes dancing, tail wagging, taunting me to play.

Max's antics made me laugh, but they also reminded me of my limitations when it comes to being attentive to others. So often I've intended to spend time with family or friends, but other things occupy my time and awareness; and before I know it the day slips away and love is left undone.

How comforting to know that our heavenly Father is so great that He's able to attend to each of us in the most intimate ways-even sustaining every breath in our lungs for as long as we live. He promises His people, Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you.  -Isaiah 46:4

God always has time for us. He understands every detail of our circumstances-no matter how complex or difficult-and is there whenever we call on Him in prayer. We never have to wait in line for our Savior's unlimited love.

Prayer for Today

You always have time for me, Jesus. Please help me to live every moment for You!  Amen.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

-Psalm 32:8

"Let not your heart be troubled," His tender word I hear,

And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;

Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;

His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;

His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

His Eye is on the Sparrow 

(Civilla Durfee Martin)

Recently, I shared coffee with a church member who told me about a visit with one of our aging church members in a care facility. This woman had told her how much she loves when her husband tells her he loves her. She said, "he closes one eye, and I know he's just looking at me." It reminded me of those words from the hymn, based on Matthew 6:26 or any of the scriptures about God keeping an eye on us (such as Psalm 32:8). I had always wondered why God would be characterized as keeping only one eye on me and not more. Not that I presume God has two eyes, but there are other scriptures about God's eyes. I think I finally get it. There's something about being singled out by a wink or a parent or family member volunteering to keep an eye on us. There's a focus, there's a reassurance, there's love.

As a lifeguard, I spent years in a chair or on pool decks, scanning back and forth, both eyes wide open, watching everyone. Although I watched all the kids and parents, I never felt as attuned as some mothers and fathers who almost seemed to be paying no attention at all as they chatted with a friend or focused on another kid. And yet, time and time again, a kid I thought only I was watching would be caught mid-air or yelled at in the middle of breaking the rules by a parent I didn't think was even watching. They didn't have both eyes on their kid. They had a watchful, loving eye on all they did. They were safer with one parental eye than my trained pair of lifeguard peepers. And I think the difference was that relationship. The difference was their parent knew them well enough to know what they would do next. The difference was love.

God knows us better than anyone. God loves us. God keeps a watchful eye on us, even when the rest of the world has both eyes on us, seemingly all the time. And when we are doing what we shouldn't, we hear God call out to us. And when we think no one is watching or cares, God closed one eye, looks right over with a little smile, and says, "I love you." And we know that's just for us.

Prayer for Today

Lord, when I close my eyes, help me to see you with your wink and smile, and know I am loved. Amen.

Last Monday evening we had our monthly Called Session Meeting. This meeting included our elders-elect who will be ordained and installed this coming Sunday. The elders-elect brought a new energy to our meeting. This is the time of year when we are seeking to finalize our ministry and mission budget for the new year. 2019 was a good year for JCPC when it comes to giving. You may remember that our giving income was ahead of our mission and ministry expenses throughout most of the year. This was due, in part, to generous gifts of about $80,000 by some of our members, who gave above and beyond their normal pledge to make the 2019 mission and ministry budget a reality.

However, our 2020 ministry and mission needs are greater than the pledges we have received. So, our session is wrestling with how to address those needs. Our Ministry Teams are in the process of looking at their requested budgets for 2020 to see where reductions can be made. Our session is also exploring ways to increase our income to close the gap. In the coming weeks, the congregation will be hearing more about this need through both a church-wide letter and an announcement in a worship service by some of our elders.

When our Session met this past Monday, what impressed me most in the meeting was not only the energy, but the interest and the ideas shared by our elders, both old and new, about how we might move forward and make this work. Over the years my experience in churches has been that budget discussions can be very difficult. And while the challenge is there for us this year, I am grateful for the way our elders have struggled well and come together to address this challenge.

Please keep our elders and our staff in your prayers in the coming days. Please be praying that God would open our minds, our hearts, and maybe even our checkbooks, so that we might come together and do everything that God wants us to do in 2020. If we are open to the leading of God's Spirit, I believe we can discern the way forward that God wants us to follow.

Prayer for Today

Generous and loving God, thank you for being with us, especially in the challenging times of life. We are grateful for all that you have done in the life of Johns Creek Presbyterian Church for the last 25 years. Guide us as we move forward in the coming days so that we might press on and do what you want us to do. Help us to be good and generous stewards of all that you have given to us. In the strong name of Jesus the Christ, we pray. Amen.

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, This is the way; walk in it.

-Isaiah 30:21

In life we certainly encounter crossroads or challenges and might be unsure about what path to choose. There have been times in my life where things were settled and comfortable then I started noticing God's nudging me to move in a direction. It often takes me a while to catch on to the change. I am a creature of habit and routine.

Over the past two decades, I have experienced three big moves. I moved to college, over six hours from home. Then after college moved to Aiken, SC for my first job and then moved to the Johns Creek area over eight years ago. Each time, I have moved to the new place only knowing a handful of people at the start. With each move, I have grown in my knowledge, understanding of myself, and found a community to grow with me. For an introvert, this has not always been easy and has taken lots of time to establish deep relationships.

I have been considering this passage from Isaiah as a part of my devotional time today and reflecting on how and where I heard God's voice each time. When you have been discerning God's direction for your life, in what ways has God communicated with you?

Did you feel brave when traveling in a new direction?
Annie F. Downs shared this and it resonated with me, "I never felt brave. But day after day, I just did the next thing, took the next step, said the next yes. And God built a life for me... that I could not have dreamed up... I may not have felt brave, but I was taking brave steps in obedience to God."

How can you take a brave step in obedience to God today? As I study the Old Testament prophets with our Senior Adult Bible Study, I am gaining a greater understanding of the prophets calling to take brave steps in obedience to God and share God's message with those they were encountering.

Prayer for Today

Gracious God, 

Guide us as we seek obedience and open us up to be brave in our words and actions. Thank you for the gift you provide in the prophets old and new to challenge us. In Christ's Name, Amen.