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River of the Spirit

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River of the Spirit

(Devotion by Graeme Harrison)

Prayer: Lyrics of  “THE RIVER IS HERE”

ANDY PARK

1.Down the mountain

the river flows

And it brings refreshing

Wherever it goes,

Through the valleys

and over the fields,

The river is rushing

And the river is here.


CHORUS

The river of God

sets our feet a dancing

the river of God

fills our hearts with cheer.

The river of God

Fills our mouth with laughter

And we rejoice for the river is here!


2.The river of God

Is teeming with life,

And all who touch it

Can be revived

And those who linger

On the river’s shore

Will come back thirsting

For more of the Lord.


CHORUS

3. Up to the mountain

We love to go

To find the presence of the Lord.

Along the banks

of the river we run,

We dance with laughter

giving praise to the Son.

Copyright 1994 Mercy Publishing via Alpha and Omega Dist. P/L

Used by permission under CCLI license no. 113082 (Praise and Worship song 761)


Read:

John 8:37-39. Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.

37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

 (John 8:37-39 NIV)


Thought for the Day:

What do you like about rivers?

What qualities do rivers have?

Spend some time wondering what Jesus is trying to tell you by using this image.

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Sacred Space is inspired by the spirituality of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, a sixteenth-century Basque native, whose insights into God’s working with the human heart have been of great assistance to countless people over the centuries and are found more helpful than ever today.

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You, Me, Christmas and the Internet

The following devotional is attributed to Kelly Woods. Kelly (she/her) is better known by some as PastoralHare. She works for the Uniting Church by resourcing communities and engaging the younger generations across the VicTas Synod.

This year the Revised Common Lectionary has us exploring the Christmas story found in the Gospel of Luke, particularly looking at Luke 2:1-14, verses 8-14 which go something like this:

8 The Shepherds were not at Jesus’ birth as they were away in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 Because they were unable to be onsite with Mary and Joseph, the Lord sent a message via an angel. Like a glitch in the night sky, a figure materialised before them, and the glory of the Lord radiated like waves of energy around them. The Shepherds were terrified by these radical methods of communication. 10 The angel figure then spoke to them saying, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news—even in this unconventional way—and it will cause great joy for all the people.11 In the town of David a Saviour has been born, and he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 You must travel to go find him, and you will recognise him by this sign: a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 There was another flicker in the sky, as if the surround-sound system kicked in, and suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising, tweeting, and posting about God, sharing, 14 “Glory to God who transcends all time, and peace to those in the physical realms with whom God’ favour rests.”

Luke 1:8-14 PH Translation*

This version may seem a tad different to what you have read before, however, the Christmas story and the digital world are surprisingly more connected than we may think.

You see, just like the author of Luke documented the events of Jesus’ birth within the larger narrative of scripture, our lives are also unique stories within a larger divine narrative. How we connect with each other, what we post and share across digital forums and communities document the events of our own lives.

Acknowledging our own agency is the first step in understanding the role we play in the grand scheme of the digital world, as these interactions are not just about us as individuals—they are part of the bigger story.

The second step to consider is how you are to use your agency within the digital landscape, and the Christmas story found in the Gospel of Luke can also help us with this.

The author of Luke tells us about how an angel appeared to share the good news of Jesus’ birth, and how it should bring about great joy for all people. The angel was accompanied by a throng of heavenly hosts proclaiming God’s glory, and how the peace of God is also possible on earth as it is in heaven. Perhaps this should cause us to ask whether we are living our life in such a way that we are contributing to this joy and peace for all people? Are our digital interactions documenting words, actions, and expressions of joy, encouragement, and hope to others? Are we able to see our digital platforms as part of the throng of heavenly hosts?

Another learning we can glean from the Lucan story is in the depiction of Jesus’ birth in a manger. That the Saviour of the world came to find rest in a humble manger can help us to seek out this same humility in the digital world. Despite the array of possible ways God could have chosen to enter the world, we find the Messiah to be wrapped in cloths as a baby—vulnerable and dependent on others.

Despite the array of possible ways we can interact in the digital world, are we choosing our interactions to be clothed in humility, open to learning, respectful of others, and seeking authentic community that cultivates genuine interdependent connections?

Along with a sense of authentic connection between each other, are we taking the opportunity to seek God’s presence in the digital world? Like how an angelic figure can materialise out of nothing, are we open to God speaking to us in radical, unconventional ways, too? The angelic presence spoken of in this Christmas story reminds us that God repeatedly transcends all matters of time and space. Are we on the lookout for this divine presence in our digital interactions?

The points above are just a handful of ways the Christmas story continues to speak into our current lives, by offering us lessons into the digital world. No matter how personal our algorithms get, our digital interactions are never only about us; we are connected like a web of threads woven into a divine digital tapestry.

And don’t forget that the Christmas story not only tells us of the day Jesus’ entered the world, but it can help guide us in understanding who we are and why we matter in the interconnected digital realms, too.

*PastoralHare.com Translation 2024

Posted with permission by Kelly Woods PastoralHare.com

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Faith and Doubt

Faith and Doubt

Devotion by Graeme Harrison)

PRAYER:

I place my hands in yours Lord

I place my hands in yours.

I place my will in yours Lord

I place my will in yours

I place my thoughts in yours Lord

I place my thoughts in yours

I place my days in yours Lord

I place my days in yours

I place my heart in yours Lord

I place my heart in yours

I place my life in yours Lord

I place my life in yours

Amen.

David Adam in The Book of a Thousand Prayers

Read:

Luke 1:5-20. Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.

5In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

8Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

18Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

19The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

(Luke 1:5-20 NIV)

Thought for the Day:

What a strange scene. An angel appears and Zechariah knows it is an angel judging by his reaction. The angel brings astonishing good news that he and his wife are to have a miraculous birth in old age. And Zechariah asks the miraculous angel standing right in front of him in plain sight, how he can be sure?

And yet is Zechariah so different from us. His problem was the clash of world views that was taking place in his life. Life experience and social norms say that old people can’t have babies whereas God was assuring him that when God is involved other alternatives open up in life. Does that not sound like your experience and mine? Isn’t it true that God asks us to do abnormal things like loving the ‘unlovable’, and sharing Good News that changes lives. Don’t we believe in a loving personal God when the world appears as secular?

And yet sometimes, when we are called to defy the norms of society by Christ do we not hesitate and say “How can I be sure?”

Doubt and hesitation are not dealt with by denial and suppression but by accepting the feelings and bringing them before God. Sitting with God and praying with the father of so long ago, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief”.

Epilogue. God gave Zechariah the proof he asked for; miraculous muteness. Strangely his silence communicated God’s message to the community better than his spoken words.

Photo by Tachina Lee on Unsplash

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