Shamu

Guiding Prayer For Our Season of Fasting: 

Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom,the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Myself in Truth

Holy Father, challenge me to live in constant communion with you, spending my days living for you and living in you.

Nurtured and Nurturing 

Jesus Christ, Son of God, turn our families and relationships into glowing beacons of your hope, love, and grace to the world around us.

The Gathered

Holy Spirit, may our community of faith grow in your Spirit so that we might grow out of the walls of our church and into our community.

Challenge

This entire week, challenge yourself to meet someone new, talk to someone you haven’t ever talked to, share the love of Christ with someone you would not normally spend time with.

But you, Israel, my servant,

    Jacob, whom I have chosen,

    the offspring of Abraham, my friend;

⁹ 

you whom I took from the ends of the earth,

    and called from its farthest corners,

saying to you, “You are my servant,

    I have chosen you and not cast you off”;

¹⁰ 

do not fear, for I am with you,

    do not be afraid, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you,

    I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

-Isaiah 41:8-10

When I was a small child, only about 5 years old, my parents took us on the vacation of a lifetime.  They had been saving for years to take my older brother, younger sister, and me to Florida to visit Walt Disney World and SeaWorld.  This was back in the days before mass resort complexes, water parks, and untold amounts of theme parks dotted the landscape of Orlando.

We had spent several days at Disney World and departed to enjoy a day or two at SeaWorld.  Now, whether you've ever been to SeaWorld or not, you probably know that the main thing everyone goes to see is Shamu the killer whale.  I was so excited to get to sit and watch that whale perform all it's fun tricks for the trainers.

It was a packed house for the show.  As it concluded, everyone stood and began to depart the arena.  Now, as a child, I was really bad about getting stuck in my own little world or caught just staring at some particular person or happening around me.  I'm not sure which of these was the case that day.  What I do remember was looking up as I stood on the walkway outside the show and quickly realizing my family was no longer around me.

You can only begin to imagine the fear which quickly gripped my five year old self as I stood terrified among total strangers that I would never see my family again.  Thankfully, only a few moments later I spotted my mother frantically searching the crowd for her lost son.  It was a happy reunion and there were no more instances like it the rest of our trip.

In those few moments of isolation all those years ago, I experienced a fear and loneliness I've yet to feel since.  When you are alone, truly alone, with no hope and only your thoughts and your fears, there is little in life that can feel more scary or terrifying.  Many in our world today live in this fear and isolation every day.

As the people of God, we are reminded by the prophet Isaiah that no matter how alone we may feel, no matter how isolated we may be, our God is always with us.  

As encouraging as this is for us as believers, think about how discouraging life can be for those who do not know Christ, who do not know there is a God that longs desperately to always be with them?  May we be the ones to take the light of Christ into the darkness of their lives.  

May God's richest blessings and the presence of His peace be with you all today.

-Pastor Patrick