Nigeria

EYN Devotions March 8-14, 2015

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DAILY LINK WITH GOD 2015EYN Devotions graphic
A Daily Devotional Guide from the
EYN (Church of the Brethren in Nigeria)

EYN leaders in Nigeria believe prayer is one of the most important ways to support the Nigerian people and the Church.  These daily devotions were written by EYN members and published by the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria. Reading them daily is a powerful way we can be in solidarity and connect with our brothers and sisters caught in this crisis.  EYN’s daily devotional for 2015 will be posted a week at a time on this blog, appearing mid-week for the following week. More information about the crisis can be found at www.nigeriacrisis.org.

Click on this link for the EYN Devotion Blog Mar 8-14 2015

Devotional

Simply profound

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2015 COVER

Psalm 19

Question:
How is your faith story taking shape? What is there for you to say about your experience of God?


Prayer:
Help me focus on what I know about your goodness, God. Where I have questions, help me trust you. When I can no longer see my way, make me rely on you. When I feel that I’ve arrived on my own, remind me that you are with me. When I’m ready to take all the credit, take the attention for yourself. I want the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart to be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.

 

~ Jonathan Shively, Executive Director, Congregational Life Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lent Devotional written by Craig H. Smith, district executive for the Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren and ordained minister. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Craig’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Devotional

Out with joy

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2015 COVER


Psalm 105:37-45

Question:
What wilderness are you stuck in right now? What might it look like for God to bring you out of that wilderness? What form will your gratitude take?

 

Prayer:
There are broken parts of my life, God. I am separated from others and from you because of my own sin. Forgive me. Guide me to a place of healing and restoration. Release joy from me like water freed from the rock in the desert. I remember and give you praise. Amen.

 

~ Jonathan Shively, Executive Director, Congregational Life Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lent Devotional written by Craig H. Smith, district executive for the Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren and ordained minister. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Craig’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Devotional

Hearts rejoicing

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2015 COVER

Psalm 105:3-6

Question:
How does remembering how God has worked in your life elicit joy for you? What expressions of joy will others recognize in you today?


Prayer:
God, give me your strength. Inhabit my remembering. Warm my heart. Receive my joy. Amen.

 

~ Jonathan Shively, Executive Director, Congregational Life Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lent Devotional written by Craig H. Smith, district executive for the Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren and ordained minister. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Craig’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Devotional

Sing to God

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2015 COVER

Psalm 105:1-2

Question:
What is your song today? With whom and to whom are you singing?


Prayer:
Take my voice, God, and make me sing. My song today is full of (doubt, joy, sorrow, expectation….). Receive my singing as an expression of my thanks for your wonderful works. Amen.

 

~ Jonathan Shively, Executive Director, Congregational Life Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lent Devotional written by Craig H. Smith, district executive for the Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren and ordained minister. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Craig’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Devotional

Unwavering

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2015 COVER


Romans 4:13-25

Question:
What experiences in your life have eroded your trust of God? How might the conviction of Abraham and the promises of God help you trust God more confidently?


Prayer:
Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. Bring healing to those places where trust has been broken in my life. Help me distinguish between the limitations to grace that we have in our families, with friends, and among colleagues, and the steady grace that you extend to me. Thank you for being the ultimate promise-keeper. Amen.

 

~ Jonathan Shively, Executive Director, Congregational Life Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lent Devotional written by Craig H. Smith, district executive for the Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren and ordained minister. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Craig’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Devotional

Future generations

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2015 COVER

Psalm 22:23-31

Question:
Lord, our God, life is full of challenges and burdens. Strengthen our trust in you, for we know through our community of faith that you are faithful and trustworthy. Help our unbelief in times of doubt.


Prayer:
When have you told the next generations how God has been there for you?

 

~ David Doudt, member of the Church of the Brethren Spiritual Directors Network

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lent Devotional written by Craig H. Smith, district executive for the Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren and ordained minister. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Craig’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Nigeria

EYN Devotions March 1-7, 2015

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DAILY LINK WITH GOD 2015EYN Devotions graphic
A Daily Devotional Guide from the
EYN (Church of the Brethren in Nigeria)

EYN leaders in Nigeria believe prayer is one of the most important ways to support the Nigerian people and the Church.  These daily devotions were written by EYN members and published by the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria. Reading them daily is a powerful way we can be in solidarity and connect with our brothers and sisters caught in this crisis.  EYN’s daily devotional for 2015 will be posted a week at a time on this blog, appearing mid-week for the following week. More information about the crisis can be found at www.nigeriacrisis.org.

Click on this link for the EYN Devotion Blog Mar 1-7 2015

eBrethren

Love for all creation

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Unit 308 prepares to love all of God's creation at Brethren Volunteer Service orientation. Photo by Brethren Volunteer Service staff

Unit 308 prepares to love all of God’s creation at
Brethren Volunteer Service orientation.
Photo by Brethren Volunteer Service staff

A reflection by Emily Tyler

Vitality. Intergenerational. Intercultural. Transformation. Hope.

These are some of the buzz words that came up during our staff gathering last week. These words surrounded our discussion of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN) and the current situation in our church. While comparing our time together in discussion and reflection with Psalm 36, I could not help but notice the parallel.

“The God-rebel… has no regard for God.… When he’s loose on the streets, nobody’s safe. He plays with fire and doesn’t care who gets burned. / God’s love is meteoric, his loyalty astronomic, his purpose titanic, his verdicts oceanic. Yet in his largeness, nothing gets lost; not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks” (Psalm 36:1-6, The Message).

There is a stark contrast here: the terror and destruction in our world and God’s meteoric, all-surpassing love. It’s a lot to take in.

What I find interesting about these verses is the largeness of God’s love—spanning from meteoric to oceanic, and everything in between—and letting no person or animal slip through the cracks. This is professed directly after such evil is described. The enormity of God’s love even covers those who do evil.

In our culture, we are taught that life is a reward that we earn—through doing the right deeds, buying the right things, hanging out with the right people. Psalm 36 suggests otherwise. God’s astronomical love is a gift. It’s just given to us. But this gift of life and of God’s love is sometimes experienced along with great resistance, just as Psalm 36 shares.

It seems natural to pray for our own. We pray for the Chibok girls, our EYN sisters and brothers, and our Muslim sisters and brothers with whom we collaborate. We pray for our families, our church leaders, and those with whom we share in ministry.

But do we pray for Boko Haram? Pray for their mothers and fathers? Do we pray for our enemies and those who mean us harm? They, too, are part of God’s creation. I believe this is an expression of God’s love. Loving even those who “play with fire and don’t care who gets burned.”

As we struggled and engaged in conversation last week, I was filled with great hope. Just as our EYN sisters and brothers move forward through their current struggle, so also do we press on, seeking to express God’s love to all of creation.

Emily Tyler is coordinator of Workcamps and Brethren Volunteer Service Recruitment. Support this and many other ministries of the Church of the Brethren that share God’s love at www.brethren.org/give .

(Read this issue of eBrethren)

Devotional

Forsaken?

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2015 COVER

Psalm 22:1-22

Prayer:
Compassionate God, we ask all the “Why?” questions and receive little consolation. But when we pause to look back over previous months or years, we can see you were there with us. We just were unaware of your presence. Open our hearts to receive your compassion.

Practice:
Sit quietly, be alert, and be aware of your surroundings. Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks.

~ David Doudt, member of the Church of the Brethren Spiritual Directors Network

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lent Devotional written by Craig H. Smith, district executive for the Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren and ordained minister. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Craig’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.