Tag: Christian Emphasis

Day 12 :: Living Stone of LOVE

Join us for the 12 Day YMCA Devotion Series – LIVING STONES: LEAD, CARE AND SERVE LIKE JESUS

How can we be ‘like Living Stones’ used by God to strengthen the presence of Christ where we lead?

Recently, 24 YMCA leaders with the OnPrinciple program visited 12 places throughout the Holy Land where Jesus taught about how to live and lead in God’s kingdom.

From this experience comes 12 spiritual leadership principles – or Living Stones – (inspired by 1Peter 2:4-5) that Christ-followers can embody as we are being built up to lead, care and serve everyone, like Jesus.

by Tim Hallman, Christian Emphasis Director with the YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne

“It’s so dark and loud, I can’t believe how intense and crowded it is up here” I whispered to myself as a few of my friends squeezed through the dense throng with me in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher at the end of the Via Dolorosa.

We were in the Old City of Jerusalem trying to see the eleventh and twelfth stations of the cross, where Christ is depicted as being nailed to the cross and then dying on it.

Standing there in the dim candlelight and swirling incense, I wondered what it would have been like for the Lord’s beloved disciples and family as they tried to see him on the cross.

Bewildered? Terrified? Heart-broken? Wondering: “How could this happen?” “Why did this happen?”

We’ve all had our own moments of dark grief, loud confusion, and intense fear; there is no escaping suffering in this world, it is all around us in spirit, mind, and body.

Kierkegaard comments that when we suffer patiently this is not specifically Christian, freely choosing to suffer, though, is.

Jesus willing and freely chose to suffer and die on the cross – it is both our salvation from sin and an example to us on how to sacrificially lead and love.

Especially as Christian leaders, we imitate Christ Jesus when we follow his example of practical compassion to those who are suffering and thirsty for loving help – organizing and inspiring from start to finish.

The work that God gave Jesus to do was triumphantly completed on the cross, and our Lord was faithful to the finish, which included suffering at the hands of those he loved and was sent to save.

When Christians lead with sacrificial love, when we choose to suffer from others, we are allowed to share in word and deed the Good News of Christ Jesus and what he finished on the cross.

What is the sacrificial work God has given you to finish in your community, with your friends and family, in your congregation or workplace?

What has Christ been calling you to finish, to complete, to bring to an end for those in your midst who need a drink of hope and forgiveness?

May the suffering and compassionate Jesus be an example to you in spirit, mind, and body to finish what you started, sustaining you as living stones sacrificially leading, loving, and serving where he has sent you.

“Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”

A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”

With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

Gospel according to John, 19.28-30 NIV

This YMCA devotion series brought to you by onPrinciple – click here to learn more about it – a new leadership development program to strengthen the presence of Christ in the YMCA

Click here for the entire devotion series as a downloadable PDF booklet.

Click here to access entire devotion series on YouVersion

Day Four :: Beauty is Forgiveness / World YMCA Week of Prayer 2021

For almost a 120 years the World YMCA has been calling its members and leaders to a week of prayer, along side the World YWCA, and this year the theme is: Beauty from Brokenness

“Although we may be easily broken, the light of Christ within us can heal brokenness and burst through, reaching out to those around us.”

Join us for a week of prayer in your heart at noon each day this week!

Today we focus on the beauty of forgiveness. Yet, forgiveness is one of the most challenging things to do for many people. It is difficult for most people to seek forgiveness. In many cases, it is also hard for many to forgive.

“The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?”

He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”

‭‭John‬ ‭21:17‬ ‭

Forgiving does not mean completely forgetting the wrongdoings of the offender.

There must be justice for the crime committed against the offended, the sinned-against.

The contemporary criminal justice system metes out justice by establishing the guilt of the offender and punishing the offender according to the provisions of the law.

This is retributive justice. Yet, it is not a guarantee that forgiveness takes place.

In restorative justice, a dialogical approach takes place in an attempt to restore the dignity and the relationships between the offended, the offenders, and the community that the crime has afflicted. In the restorative justice system, there is a high probability of forgiveness and healing.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Why do we need to seek forgiveness and forgive those who have offended us?

What is your response to Jesus if he will ask you now, “Do you love me?” Would you want Jesus to ask you the same question three times?

What would it take you to forgive someone who betrays your trust and violates your personhood?

How can we use our freedom to love and forgive amid a world beset with sinfulness and brokenness?

How can we love the unlovable – rapist, murderers, oppressors, colonizers, land grabbers, and the oppressive social structures, etc.?

PRAYER OF BLESSING

God of Beauty and Holiness;
You have created a wonderful universe.
You have fashioned the amazing Earth and the delightful creatures in it. We bless you and praise you for creating us, human beings, in your image. And yet, somehow, in our arrogance
We forget our creatureliness.
We behave as if we are the creator of this Earth.
We forget to reflect in our lives your divine image.
We destroy the Earth because of greed.
We destroy our lives and our fellow earthlings.
We nurse our hurts and find it so difficult to forgive.
We nurture our proclivity for vengeance.
We delight in violence, conflicts, and wars.
We refuse to build communities of peace.
We are broken vessels; we wallow in our self-pity and brokenness.
For all our weaknesses, failures, and ugliness we brought into this world, Help us forgive ourselves, and forgive us, O God.
Help us become instruments of your blessing of forgiveness.
Dear God, as we leave this place,
Bless us with uneasiness with our complacency,
Bless us with courage and steadfastness
That we may strive to restore the beauty of our relationship with each other And with the Earth.
Amen.

Please share any thoughts, insights or recorded actions that come as a result of
today’s devotion on social media using the hashtag: #WWOP21
Team: Muriel Orevillo-Montenegro, Philippines/Hong Kong; Jacob Palm, USA; Joanna Tan, Singapore; Ololade Aregun, Nigeria; Salem Gin, Nigeria

If you are on Instagram, I highly recommend you follow @ymcairelandchaplaincy – they post inspiring content and are participating in the World Week of Prayer with daily posts and videos.

Click here to view on Instagram
Click here or on pic to view and download

Day 11 :: Living Stone of PEACE

Join us for the 12 Day YMCA Devotion Series – LIVING STONES: LEAD, CARE AND SERVE LIKE JESUS

How can we be ‘like Living Stones’ used by God to strengthen the presence of Christ where we lead?

Recently, 24 YMCA leaders with the OnPrinciple program visited 12 places throughout the Holy Land where Jesus taught about how to live and lead in God’s kingdom.

From this experience comes 12 spiritual leadership principles – or Living Stones – (inspired by 1Peter 2:4-5) that Christ-followers can embody as we are being built up to lead, care and serve everyone, like Jesus.

by Norris Lineweaver, Board Secretary with Friends of the Jerusalem International YMCA

Forgiveness is the work of returning dignity to those from which it was taken.

Jesus, for example, did not encourage his disciples to seek revenge against local authorities for the atrocities committed toward him.

Instead, upon his being raised from the dead, the first words of Jesus were a blessing of shalom; then he declared a mission of forgiveness for his followers.

Located just outside the old city walls of Jerusalem, The Garden Tomb is considered by many to be a possible location for the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus.

Whenever I visit the beautiful Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, it’s like entering a sacred space for peaceful prayer and meditation – not only for me but also for Christians from around the world.

One of the most important reminders for me from reflecting at the Garden Tomb on the Easter story is the power of forgiveness and reconciliation for peace in the example demonstrated by the resurrected Christ Jesus our Lord.

Near the Damascus Gate and standing in the shadow of Skull Hill, this beautiful garden is a powerful symbol of Christ’s peace in the face of adversity, violence, and death.

Current examples are demonstrating everyday work of Christian peace near The Garden Tomb. 

As CEO of the East Jerusalem YMCA, my dear friend Peter Nasir is the third generation of his Christian family to lead peace initiatives of the Y in occupied Palestine.

Peter’s grandfather Labib and his father Kamil demonstrated through leadership succession a consistent language of reconciliation for peace and forgiveness while holding authorities rightfully accountable for civil injustice and violence.

From their very beginning, YMCA operations in Palestine have focused on everyday works of peace through vocational training for young people.

Skilled hands build sustainable economies as a foundation for both progress and peace.

Engaging both Christian and Muslim leaders and youth working together reduces internal conflict and prejudices.

Resilient leaders find renewed strength from encouraging forgiveness in the face of adversity to resurrect peace.

What do these examples of peace mean for you in your everyday life?

If the living stones of The Garden Tomb could speak they might ask where in your life is a sacred space for contemplation to encourage everyday acts of peace and forgiveness?

May you respond to Christ’s call to build up everyday works of peace and forgiveness where you are sent to play, work and live.

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

After he said this, he showed them his hands and side.

The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.””

Gospel according to John, 20.19-23 NIV

This YMCA devotion series brought to you by onPrinciple – click here to learn more about it – a new leadership development program to strengthen the presence of Christ in the YMCA

Click here for the entire devotion series as a downloadable PDF booklet.

Click here to access entire devotion series on YouVersion