Devotional Blog

Congratulations Class of 2020!

5/28/2020

One of the challenges of the pandemic has been the inability to celebrate milestones in the traditional fashion. The class of 2020 has had some special heartaches as they have had to forgo traditional celebrations such as prom and graduation speeches and walking across the stage to receive a diploma. There have been some great online celebrations, but still for many there is a bit of a heartache for what was long anticipated. So, this week we lift up our graduates and all that they have accomplished. It is the end of a semester of hard work and dedication as well as the end of one chapter of life and the beginning of another. All this amid the special challenges of adversity. But this is important—they have met this unique challenge with innovation and perseverance. Congratulations! We applaud your dedication and hard work!
I wonder if this might become one of the most innovative classes of all time. In any case, we must learn to be thankful for the accomplishments, let go of disappointments, and celebrate the future as we open our lives to God leading us in new directions and new possibilities. Wherever your life leads, use your gifts and talents to serve God and others. Know that whatever you do, you can have an impact on the lives of others. Always live out your faith in whatever work you find yourself and take time to share the love of Christ. This week I share a word from the Apostle Paul that always challenges and inspires me:

(verse of the week)
Never let the fire in your heart go out. Keep it alive. Serve the Lord. (Romans 12:11)

(prayer of the week)
Lord, we pray a special blessing on our graduates. Bless this time of celebration and bless their future as you lead them into new avenues of life and service. Help us to celebrate the milestones of life even amid adversity and help us to be open to the new chapters of life with energy and enthusiasm. May all we do serve others and give honor and glory to you, through Christ Our Lord, amen.

Blessings--Pastor TJ

(quote of the week)
Christ has no body now on earth but yours;
No hands but yours;
No feet but yours;
Yours are the eyes through which to look out Christ’s compassion to the world; Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; Yours are the hands with which He is to bless now--St Teresa of Avila

Listen to recent sermons by Dr. TJ Jenney at YouTube &
http://inspiresundaymessages.blogspot.com/
Check the latest leadership blog by Dr. TJ http://www.drtj.us/

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Renew

5/21/2020

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I have never longed quite for spring as I have this year. The pandemic kept many of us home, and the weather kept us inside. It was so great when the weather finally became warm enough to enjoy the outdoors and be reminded of the promise of spring. Spring gives us pause of the beauty of budding trees and blossoming flowers. We hear again the singing of birds and enjoy the summer sun. Were it not for winter perhaps we would always take these great miracles for granted. Our faith is that way, too. Were it not for adversity, we would forget the miracle of God’s infinite love and grace. Take a moment and remember God’s great love for you. Lean into God’s strength. Take some time to renew your faith and yourself. Whatever else may come and go, know that God’s compassion never fails. God’s love is new every morning. Let your heart say again, “Great is your faithfulness!”

(verse of the week)
For this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for God’s compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3.21-24

(prayer of the week)
Lord, like the prophet, let our hearts rejoice and say, “Your compassions never fail. Your love is new every morning. Great is your faithfulness!” Fill my life with your forgiveness and grace. Fill my heart to overflowing with faith, hope, peace, joy and, most of all, love, that others may be touched by your grace in my life, through Christ Our Lord, amen.

(quote of the week)
I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong—Abraham Lincoln

Listen to recent sermons by Dr. TJ Jenney at YouTube &
http://inspiresundaymessages.blogspot.com/
Check the latest leadership blog by Dr. TJ http://www.drtj.us

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Battles

5/14/2020

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Many of us feel burdened and more than a little wearied of the present global struggle with the pandemic. Whether we are at home struggling with social distancing and isolation or on the front lines serving food to the under-resourced or a medical professional serving those who are struggling with illness or have a loved one struggling with the illness itself, we feel the impact of the long struggle. But battles and burdens are as much a part of the rhythm of life as are joys and celebrations. Sometimes the road ahead seems difficult. Sometimes the challenges and obstacles seem overwhelming. But God will see us through. Joshua faced overwhelming challenges as he led the people into intense opposition and daunting challenges; yet Joshua remained calm. Faith fortified him. Hope inspired him. If the road ahead seems difficult and the challenges you are facing threaten to overwhelm you, take a moment and look up to God. Whisper a prayer and listen to the still small voice of faith in your heart. God is there. God is leading you. God will be faithful. Take heart! Rekindle your faith. God will see you through! Listen to these words of encouragement the Lord spoke to Joshua:

(verse of the week)
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1.9)

(prayer of the week)
Lord, the challenges and adversity of life sometimes seem discouraging, but help me to lift my eyes to you, where comes my strength. Strengthen me. Lift my heart. Renew my spirit. May I face the challenges and adversity of life with faith and trust in you, that I may stand strong, through your power and to your glory, amen.

Friends, we are all in this together and God will see us through. Blessings and prayers—Pastor TJ

(quote of the week)
Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm –Abraham Lincoln

Listen to recent sermons by Dr. TJ Jenney at YouTube &
http://inspiresundaymessages.blogspot.com/
Check the latest leadership blog by Dr. TJ http://www.drtj.us

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Peace

5/7/2020

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As most of us are learning to navigate the current pandemic and even wondering what a new normal will eventually look like for us, we may find our lives with a whole new level of stress and anxiety. Most of us have faced some troubles and anxieties at different points in our lives. So too did the disciples. They were anxious and troubled that Jesus was facing threats and they too would face many formidable obstacles in life. Jesus took time to listen to their troubled hearts. And Jesus took time to quiet their fears and anxieties with this most powerful promise that come what may, God's Spirit would be with us and give us guidance and peace. Jesus even refers to God's Spirit as the Counselor, or the Paraclete, which literally means "the one called alongside" who will encourage and help us. Today know that you are not alone. Whatever you are facing today, take a moment and hear the comforting words of our Lord:

(verse of the week)
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14.26, 27)

(prayer of the week)
Loving Lord, in the midst of troubles that feel like waves breaking over us and anxieties that sometimes feel like stormy winds blowing us on the seas, let us find the true peace that only you offer even as you banished the storm and calmed the seas for the disciples. Help us to be at peace knowing you are our Counselor, and your Spirit will enfold us in peace and hope. Help us embrace your peace and share it with others, through Christ Our Lord, amen.

Blessings –Pastor TJ

(quote of the week)
Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility--Augustine

Listen to recent sermons by Dr. TJ Jenney at YouTube &
http://inspiresundaymessages.blogspot.com/
Check the latest leadership blog by Dr. TJ http://www.drtj.us

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Waiting

4/30/2020

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Many of us are spending a lot more time waiting in these days when we are under stay at home guidelines due to the pandemic or even waiting in lines separated by six-foot strips for safety at the grocery store. Waiting is not easy for most of us. Our spiritual world is full of waiting as well, whether we are waiting for prayers to be answered for healing of a loved one who is sick or for protection of a loved one who is serving on the front lines in the medical field or service sector. Or perhaps like so many, you are just praying for this all to be over and for us to go back to normal, whatever that new normal will look like. Do you feel anxious or frustrated your prayer seems to go unanswered? Don’t lose heart. Just because you do not yet see the answer to your prayers, does not mean God does not hear you. Wait! The Lord is working. Waiting time is not wasting time. Waiting time is time for God to mold us and strengthen us and deepen our relationship with Him. God is at work. Trust God! God will see you through. God is at work even though you might not be able to see it. Hear again these encouraging words of the psalmist, David, who many times in his life experienced prolong periods of waiting on God’s plan and purpose:

(verse of the week)
I would have lost heart unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait on the Lord; be of good courage,
And He will strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord. Psalm 27.13,14 (NKJV)

(Prayer of the week)
Loving Good Shepherd, lead me beside the quiet waters, and help me to find the green pastures of quiet rest. Let me lean into your love and grace. Restore my soul. Renew my mind. May I feel your arms of love around me. As I rest in you and you restore my soul, help me to learn to reflect your love that others may see your image in me and I may be a blessing to them. Amen.

Hang in there! We will all get through this together! –Pastor TJ

(quote of the week)
Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm—Abraham Lincoln

Listen to recent sermons by Dr. TJ Jenney at YouTube &
http://inspiresundaymessages.blogspot.com/
Check the latest leadership blog by Dr. TJ http://www.drtj.us

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Earth Day

4/22/2020

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We recently celebrated Earth Day, when we appreciate our world and all its benefits and also reflect on how we care for it. In Genesis “the book of beginnings” chapter two God placed people in the garden to work it and take care of it. We are literally commissioned by God to steward the earth like a gardener or farmer would their garden or field of crops. It is never ours, it is only entrusted to us, to use wisely and appreciate. As we navigate the current pandemic and a large portion of our population stay at home, an unexpected blessing has been not only to see better due to less pollution and cleaner air, but also to be able to see wildlife emerge in unexpected places bringing a smile to many. Why not use some or your time to relax and take a deep breath and look around at the beauty of creation. How are you doing with God’s commission to steward our world? It is full of bounty and blessing, for us to enjoy, but we are also to be stewards of creation for our Creator.

(verse of the week)
The earth is the LORD’S, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
for He founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the waters. (Psalm 24.1,2)

(Prayer of the week)
Almighty and Loving God, thank you for the blessing of the universe and all that you created and the special blessing of our world. Help me to be the steward of all that you have blessed us with, and may I also steward each day of my life giving back to you by the way I use my gifts and talents. May your Holy Spirit fill me and make me a new creation empowered by your grace and love. Fill me with your love, and may others see your love in all I do, and give you thanks. Amen.

Blessings –Pastor TJ

(quote of the week)
“The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out,
Like shining from shook foil. . .
Oh, morning at the brown brink eastward springs--
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast
And with ah! Bright wings—Gerald Manley Hopkins, “God’s Grandeur”

Listen to recent sermons by Dr. TJ Jenney at YouTube &
http://inspiresundaymessages.blogspot.com/
Check the latest leadership blog by Dr. TJ http://www.drtj.us

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He Walks With Us

4/16/2020

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For many of us living amid the present pandemic has been a time to slow down even though it might not have been voluntary. Many have taken their own emotional and spiritual pulse and found it quickening even as life has slowed down. There are increased anxieties as we view complex issues involving our physical and financial health as well as our emotional and relational well-being. For many Easter was a moment amid all of this that heightened our awareness of how different these times are as we celebrated Easter at home rather than church. Easter was also a moment to lean into the Divine as we celebrated the resurrection of Christ and the God who has the power to bring new life in any and every situation. The resurrection reminds us that God can bring triumph from tragedy and hope where all seems lost. Even though Easter is celebrated once a year, we are reminded that for the Christ-follower every day can be an Easter moment as we walk with the Risen Lord.
I love the story of the two disciples walking on the Road to Emmaus weighed down by fears and anxieties and yet hoping against hope that the rumor was true of the Risen Lord. But in an unexpected moment, Jesus crossed their path and was walking with them as a stranger who shared words of hope and brought new insight to scripture and divine presence in what was once an ordinary meal. They later shared that experience with others saying, “Were not our hearts strangely warmed!”
This Sunday we will share a Special Emmaus Road Home Communion, and we invite you to set aside some bread and juice or wine as we worship online and invite the Risen Lord into our homes and families praying that our hearts would indeed be “strangely warmed” with new hope and that we may share this hope with others.
Friends, we are not on this journey alone, the Risen Lord is present with us and together we will get through this.

(verse of the week)
““Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road,” (Luke 24:32 NRSV)

(prayer of the week)
Lord, help me to feel your presence walk with me on this journey of life and may I feel my heart burning anew with your love and may I share that hope and love with others, amen.

(quote of the week)
We find everywhere in this world the traces of a revealed God and a hidden God; revealed enough to strengthen our faith, concealed enough to try our faith--Philip Schaff

Listen to recent sermons by Dr. TJ Jenney at http://inspiresundaymessages.blogspot.com/
& YouTube
Check the latest leadership blog by Dr. TJ http://www.drtj.us

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Holy Week at Home

4/8/2020

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This week is Holy Week, which is the holiest week of the year for those of the Christian faith, but it is a Holy Week like no others as most of us are staying at home while others are serving those sick from COVID-19 at the front lines or through serving others. I am reminded that this is the week that Jesus rode into Jerusalem celebrated as a king but coming as a servant to take upon himself all our sin and suffering, sorrow and shame and to bring triumph where there seemed only tragedy. He was willing to serve and to give his life that others might live. But I am also reminded that this Sunday is Easter Sunday when we celebrate the resurrection. It is a day that turned the ultimate tragedy into the greatest triumph. We know that God is still present with us in our suffering and adversity and that God continues the Easter miracle through bringing grace in suffering, hope in despair, love in loneliness, peace amid the storm, and hope eternal through the promise of new life and eternal life to come. As most of us are at home this Easter, let us remember that the same Jesus who appeared to the disciples in the Upper Room, can be present with us in our Living Room or Family Room this Easter. When Thomas missed the first moment, Jesus appeared again to reassure him with the same message. Let us continue to love and serve knowing that Our God is a God of love and hope. Let us remember these words that Jesus spoke in the Upper Room and let them echo in our Family Room:

(scripture of the week)
“Peace be with you!” (John 20:21& 26)

(prayer of the week)
Lord, may I journey with you this Holy Week and catch a fresh glimpse of your grace and love as well as your presence with me and others in our homes and as we serve others, amen.

Have a Blessed Holy Week—Pastor TJ

(quote of the week)
I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else—C.S. Lewis

Listen to recent sermons by Dr. TJ Jenney at http://inspiresundaymessages.blogspot.com/
& YouTube
Check the latest leadership blog by Dr. TJ http://www.drtj.us

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Voice of Hope

4/1/2020

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Like so many these days, I often find myself checking the news on COVID-19 and our global response several times a day. Sometimes it can be a bit stressful and at times even discouraging. But I also like when I see a person who is a seasoned expert who can also be a voice of hope in this current pandemic. In my Sunday message this past Sunday I mentioned one of the voices of hope to me that rings through the ages is the Apostle Paul who was a seasoned veteran of the faith who was writing a letter to Timothy, the young man he had mentored in faith and ministry. Paul is himself facing difficult times as he is in prison waiting possible execution, but he also knows that the younger Timothy is leading a church that is facing significant challenge and adversity. So even amid his own difficulty Paul pens a letter of hope found in 2 Timothy. Whether we are young or old, now is a great time to be a voice of hope. Hope is like a candle that shines brightest in the darkest night. Our world, our communities and even our families are struggling now with some of the realities of the night of sickness and suffering and isolation. So, I encourage you to put a candle in your window or put up some Christmas lights as a symbol of hope. But also be a voice of hope to someone today and in the days ahead. The Apostle Paul does not sugarcoat the realities of persecution but he speaks these great words to Timothy that ring down through the ages to us:

(scripture of the week)
“for God did not give us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:6–7)

(prayer of the week)
Lord, calm the fears in my own heart with your peace and presence and help me to be a voice of hope in our world today, amen.

(quote of the week)
“Always look for the helpers. There will always be helpers”-- Fred Rogers “Mister Rogers”

Listen to recent sermons by Dr. TJ Jenney at http://inspiresundaymessages.blogspot.com/ & YouTube
Check the latest leadership blog by Dr. TJ http://www.drtj.us

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Socially Distanced-Spiritually Connected

3/25/2020

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Like so many of you, I have been practicing “social distancing” when going to the grocery store, talking with people, and even during our online only worship service with the core of people who were onsite to provide so many with an uplifting time of worship. We know it is good for preventing the spread of COVID-19 and we want to protect our families, friends and neighbors. But it is a great time to highlight that in this time of social distancing, spiritual connection is all the more important. This past Sunday I shared a whole new perspective on Jesus touching someone from a distance when he healed the Centurion’s servant from a distance (Luke 7:1-10). The story took on new meaning as we respond to the current pandemic. Jesus still touches people form a distance even if we are separated and need to worship virtually. Jesus still touches us when we pray and read God’s Word. Another great spiritual truth is that we can be touched from a distance and we can touch others from a distance by staying spiritually connected. Within the scripture itself the Centurion and the religious leaders all touched others from a distance to help the man who lay sick confined to his home. It is not just sickness that distances us, many times people have grown apart from God or each other by busy schedules and distracted minds. In this time when we stay at home, it’s a great time to reconnect with those in our family as well as our faith.
As I listened to the addresses of both Gov. Cuomo of New York and Gov. Holcomb of Indiana this past week, I realized that despite some political differences between the two both highlighted the truth that in this time of social distancing, spiritual connection is all the more important. I invite us all to continue to practice responsible social distancing, but also to reconnect with faith and family as we practice the vital practice of spiritual connection.
For the scripture of the week, I chose part of the letter that Jeremiah wrote to the young people who had been taken away in the Babylonian captivity. Though he was a great distance away, Jeremiah encouraged them with a letter that became a source of faith and strength for Daniel and others as they faced great adversity, and it still rings though the pages of history as a great source of comfort and strength. As you read the scripture, I hope you will find comfort and strength, and also think of who you might encourage from a distance.

(scripture of the week)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 29:11–14, NIV11-GK)

(prayer of the week)
Lord in these times of social distancing when so many of us are feeling disconnected, help us to rediscover spiritual connection to our family and friends as well as you, Our Rock and Our Redeemer, amen.

(quote of the week)
There are good ships and wood ships,
Ships that sail the sea,
But the best ships are friendships,
And may they always be! --Irish Proverb

Listen to recent sermons by Dr. TJ Jenney at http://inspiresundaymessages.blogspot.com/
YouTube
Check the latest leadership blog by Dr. TJ http://www.drtj.us

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Congratulations Class of 2020!

Renew

Battles

Peace

Waiting

Earth Day

He Walks With Us

Holy Week at Home

Voice of Hope

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