The Essentials of Life

Read It: Isaiah 55:1-5 (NRSV)

Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.  2Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?  Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.  3Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live.  I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.  4See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.  5See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.

Learn It:

Food and water are the most basic elements that we need to live. Without them we will die after just a few days. Isaiah is telling us that we should spend our money on the things that will satisfy our needs, those things that are essential to survival. If you don't have enough money for simple things that ensure your survival then why do you buy so many things that aren't necessary? Isaiah then moves on from the analogy of food and water to that of God. Just as food and water are the essentials of life so is a relationship with God. God has already given you the free gift through the covenant made through David and the ancestors.There is no need to earn or buy this gift from anyone or anything. Don't try to spend your money on something that God has already bestowed upon you.

Share It:

Share with each other what you think the essentials are for your life? Do you need food, water, shelter...tv, computers, refrigerator..etc. What are essential for a healthy life and what are things that you think would be nice to have as extras? What are the essential parts of your faith and what do you think you need to 'survive' all the things that life will throw at you? Take out a piece of paper and list on one side essentials for life and on the other side wants for life. Write down all your families thoughts and see what you all agree upon and what thngs you disagree upon and talk about why you each think it should be on the one side or the other.

Live It:

Take this week to live off the essentials of your faith. Do the things that you think are essential to having a strong faith (reading the Bible, prayer, etc). When you are done with the essentials each day then add on the 'extra' things of regular day life (tv, music, games, etc). See how the essentials might help or influence the rest of your week and the rest of your activities. Enjoy!

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Power of the Spirit

Read It:  Romans 8:26-28 (NRSV)

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.  28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

Learn It:

The Spirit is a wonderful part of the Trinity.  Sometimes I think we don't often talk about the workings and the importance of the Spirit enough.  Yet this passage tells us the important work the Spirit does on our behalf and in our midst.  When life gets too hard and we are unable for one reason or another to tell God what it is that is really bothering us or upsetting us or distressing us...it is the Spirit that knows that pain in our lives and intercedes on our behalf.  It is the Spirit that takes over when we are too busy or too preoccupied to tell God what is really on our hearts and minds.  When our sighs are so deep that we don't have even a word to say the Spirit tells God what is going on so that God may search our heart to know how to make our situation work toward something good.  That is just one of the many wonderful things the Spirit does for us in our lives.

Share It:

Have you ever been so upset at something or soemone (whether angry or sad) and you just had no idea how to put it into words?  What was that situation and what made it so hard to talk about?  Do you think there is ever a conversation you couldn't have with God?  What kinds of things would you be hesitant to tell God?  Why?  Share these thoughts and others that come up as you discuss this with your family.

Live It:

This week while you are out and about in your life try to focus on the difficutl situations that you encounter and if you don't have a word to offer up to God then I simply encourage you to just say the name "God" and then take in a deep breath and sigh.  Let that big sigh be the letting go or the release of the situation.  Let the Spirit take it over from there so that the Spirit can intercede on your behalf. 

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Intended to Be

Read It: Romans 8:18-25 (NRSV)

¹⁸I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. ¹⁹For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; ²⁰for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²²We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; ²³and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Learn It:

I wonder if when we look at creation we see it waiting to burst with joy.  When we look at the beauty of what God has created can we see the goodness that is in it and see what it is all mean to be?  This feeling that creation has and even we have in ourselves is the Spirit working in and through us.  Paul tells us that all of creation and even our bodies are eager to return to the closeness of God that we once shared long ago.  Basically we are waiting for the day, whether we know it or not, when all of creation can return to the way it was before the fall.  In all the waiting that we do consciously or unconsciously we live with hope.  Hope is what keeps us going from day to day knowing that we have been saved and knowing that there will be a day when all it comes to happen.

Share It:

Are there things that you notice from day to day or every so often that make you realize just how much life is bursting out all around us?  What are those things you notice and would you say that is life finding a way to go back to the way God intended it to be?  Why or why not?  In what ways does your life reflect a way that is eager for creation to return to the way it should be?  If the world were to return that way what do you suppose it would look like, sound like, feel like, be like?  If creation were as it should be describe how you would imagine it being.

Live It:

Take this week to enjoy creation and see the ways that it bursts with life.  It may not be perfect but life always seems to find a way to show itself even in the darkest of times.  Find those times of joy and light...of hope and share them with someone so that they too can see the joy of creation reaching its potential and its intended purpose.  

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Respond to the Light

Read It: Psalm 119:105-112 (NRSV)

    105      Your word is a lamp to my feet 
    and a light to my path. 
    106      I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, 
    to observe your righteous ordinances. 
    107      I am severely afflicted; 
    give me life, O LORD, according to your word. 
    108      Accept my offerings of praise, O LORD, 
    and teach me your ordinances. 
    109      I hold my life in my hand continually, 
    but I do not forget your law. 
    110      The wicked have laid a snare for me, 
    but I do not stray from your precepts. 
    111      Your decrees are my heritage forever; 
    they are the joy of my heart. 
    112      I incline my heart to perform your statutes 
    forever, to the end. 

Learn It:

While camping this week I used a lantern a lot.  I know that it doesn't get dark here in Washington until late at night but when it did get dark I needed the lantern to anywhere.  The whole idea of a lantern being used to as a metaphor is a wonderful way to express God's presence in our lives.  We can see the actions that God does to show us the path that has been set for us.  The Psalmist points out that he needs to confirm the path and to respond to that light and that promise.  It is also a reminder that following the path of God is not easy.  Verse 10 points out that there will be events or people that will try to make you stray from the path but it is up to us to choose to follow the path and the promises that God has laid out for us.  This is also a wonderful way to show that God does things in our lives for us and we respond to that light by following the path and the ways that God has laid out for us.  It is a response to what God has done and continues to do for us.

Share It:

I know it doesn't get dark outside until late but consider going outside with your family and bring flashlight or lantern/lamp during this time.  What are times when it is easy to see the path that God has laid out before you?  When are there times when it is hard to see that path?   What ways does this idea of God's path or plan being like a lamp fit for you?  How can you respond to the path that God has laid out for you and to give thanks to God for all he has done and does in your life?  Share this and other thoughts that come up during your time together.

Live It:

During this week spend some time trying to see the path God has placed for you and the ways God has done so in the past.  Take some time to try to find a way to 'respond' to that path, that love and grace that God has given to you and gives you all the time.  Respond to God for all that God has already done.

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Why did I do that?

Read It:  Romans 7:15,24-25a (NLT)

15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.  

24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Learn It:

Just like last weeks devotion we find another wonderful text that really speaks to who we are as people.  That is probably what is so powerful about Paul as a writer, speaker, and servant of Christ...he knows what it is like to be someone who has messed up and done things that he shouldn't have done.  Paul was one of the main persecutors of Christianity from the beginning and now he is the main teller of the faith.  Even still, he doesn't always do the right thing and he admits his own failings so that he can show the Romans that people aren't perfect but it is God who is perfect and God through Jesus Christ that frees us from our lives that are dominated by sin.

Share It:

This week I am going to put a little pressure on the parents.  I would like the parents to share with their families times when they've done things they shouldn't have done.  What were things in your youth or young adulthood that you did when you knew you shouldn't have?  Share with your family to show that we all do our best but sometimes we slip up.  The rest of the family...as kids there are plenty of times when you don't always do as your told.  Share a time when you did that and felt terrible afterward.  This is a time not to judge or criticize but simply to hear the stories of how none of us are perfect, but in our imperfection God loves us still!

Live It:

This week when you realize you did something maybe you shouldn't have done take a moment and think about why you did it and then reflect on this verse.  Also if you encounter or learn about something that someone did and shouldn't have remind yourself...none of us are perfect...but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try!

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