Category Archives: Daily Bread Devotional

Transitions
Velma Ruch

And again, I say unto you, Sue for peace, not only the people that have smitten you, but also to all people; and lift up an ensign of peace, and make a proclamation for peace unto the ends of the earth; -Doctrine and Covenants 102:11a-b

From Finding Home: The Hospitality of God, Graceland University Press, 2006, pp. 32-33

Life is full of transitions. They come to us at any age. Perhaps one of the most challenging is the separation of the young person from home, from family, to make his or her way in the world. For Jesus, many had been part of that preparation but particularly Mary and Joseph who were, as all parents, concerned about the physical and spiritual nourishment of their children.

The success of any young person who makes the journey from home to vocation is largely dependent on how both child and parent have cooperated in recognition of the unique needs of each. Regardless of the situation, nourishment of individuality is a God-given responsibility. Yet it must not be done at the cost of effective family and community relationship.

“Attending” to one another, caring and loving, sharing in pains and joys, forgiving and growing in understanding is the road to both successful relationship and abundant life. Still there is a need for a love beyond ourselves, for a Parent who embraces and holds us when all else seems to fail.

Advent is a good time for us to consider and examine the major transitions in our lives from childhood to youth, from youth to adult, from middle age to old age, and on to eternity. Each one of us makes choices that God uses to fulfill the covenant of salvation. We need to ask ourselves: How can I cooperate with God’s purposes for my life? Do I have any unique qualities that God might use to fulfill that purpose? What further growth do I need to make? What are the spiritual resources that will help me at this time in my life?

Prayer Phrase

“Trust what is being born” (Stephen M. Veazey, Words of Counsel, 2019).

Spiritual Practice

Deepen your breathing as you enter a few moments of silent presence to God. Pay attention first to your own life as you gently ask and notice, “What is most alive in me right now? What is being born in me?” After a few moments of silent listening, ask these questions of your community, the church, and the world. Notice how the Spirit is revealing new life and possibility as you prayerfully ask these questions over time.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Continued Rebirth of the Christ Within
Andy Horner of Centennial, CO, USA

May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God…. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. -Romans 15:5-7, 13

Our family faced several challenges leading up to and during the birth of our son, Gabe. This included visits to a fertility doctor (although treatment turned out not to be necessary), preparing our older children for a new addition to the family, career changes for both Jana and me, a move from Colorado to New Jersey, finding a new doctor with less than three months remaining in the pregnancy, an emergency delivery when Gabe went into distress, and post-partum complications that almost took Jana’s life.

Some of these were planned for, some were not. And perhaps we should have rethought the cross-country move that separated the family for a few weeks near the end of the pregnancy. For me, though, the biggest surprise was when Gabe was born. He was small, just five pounds four ounces. I laid my finger by his arm and they were the same length. He seemed to me like a little doll, except with incredibly realistic fingers and toes. As the youngest child in my birth family and a stepdad in my chosen family, I had never lived in a house with a baby before. I hadn’t understood what I was in for.

Now, over two decades later, Gabe has grown into a delightfully clever person. He is a gifted artist and has a strong sense of social justice. He challenges me to be accountable.

As we anticipate the birth of Jesus during this Advent season, we will try to prepare the best we can, but we really don’t understand what we’re in for. We are not just preparing for the birth of a baby. The real celebration we are preparing for is the continued rebirth of the Christ within us. This Christ leads us to unexpected situations where we may feel off-balance. This Christ challenges us to be accountable. This Christ turns our world upside-down.

Prayer Phrase

“Trust what is being born” (Stephen M. Veazey, Words of Counsel, 2019).

Spiritual Practice

Deepen your breathing as you enter a few moments of silent presence to God. Pay attention first to your own life as you gently ask and notice, “What is most alive in me right now? What is being born in me?” After a few moments of silent listening, ask these questions of your community, the church, and the world. Notice how the Spirit is revealing new life and possibility as you prayerfully ask these questions over time.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Continued Rebirth of the Christ Within
Andy Horner of Centennial, CO, USA

May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God…. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. -Romans 15:5-7, 13

Our family faced several challenges leading up to and during the birth of our son, Gabe. This included visits to a fertility doctor (although treatment turned out not to be necessary), preparing our older children for a new addition to the family, career changes for both Jana and me, a move from Colorado to New Jersey, finding a new doctor with less than three months remaining in the pregnancy, an emergency delivery when Gabe went into distress, and post-partum complications that almost took Jana’s life.

Some of these were planned for, some were not. And perhaps we should have rethought the cross-country move that separated the family for a few weeks near the end of the pregnancy. For me, though, the biggest surprise was when Gabe was born. He was small, just five pounds four ounces. I laid my finger by his arm and they were the same length. He seemed to me like a little doll, except with incredibly realistic fingers and toes. As the youngest child in my birth family and a stepdad in my chosen family, I had never lived in a house with a baby before. I hadn’t understood what I was in for.

Now, over two decades later, Gabe has grown into a delightfully clever person. He is a gifted artist and has a strong sense of social justice. He challenges me to be accountable.

As we anticipate the birth of Jesus during this Advent season, we will try to prepare the best we can, but we really don’t understand what we’re in for. We are not just preparing for the birth of a baby. The real celebration we are preparing for is the continued rebirth of the Christ within us. This Christ leads us to unexpected situations where we may feel off-balance. This Christ challenges us to be accountable. This Christ turns our world upside-down.

Prayer Phrase

“Trust what is being born” (Stephen M. Veazey, Words of Counsel, 2019).

Spiritual Practice

Deepen your breathing as you enter a few moments of silent presence to God. Pay attention first to your own life as you gently ask and notice, “What is most alive in me right now? What is being born in me?” After a few moments of silent listening, ask these questions of your community, the church, and the world. Notice how the Spirit is revealing new life and possibility as you prayerfully ask these questions over time.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Live in Peace
Andrew Bolton, World Church Peace and Justice Team

The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. -Isaiah 11:6

The first time I saw the church seal was at the Springe congregation near Hannover, Germany. Perhaps that is when I first learned frieden, the German word for peace, inscribed below the lion, child, and lamb of the church seal. I was 21 years old and doing a practical year at a tree and shrub nursery. I was also searching for a Christian fellowship that was more meaningful. I was introduced to Community of Christ through a student, John Menzies, on a boat crossing the North Sea from England to Germany.

My father was a British soldier for seven years in World War II and suffered horrific experiences. So it felt risky for me to be working in Germany. But that first Sunday morning I understood the significance of the church seal immediately. The German church members embodied the message of the church seal. They were amazingly loving to me even though I was British and socially awkward. They also were excited about peace and justice. I remember John was passionate about the environment. Uffa was interested in racial justice, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Civil Rights Movement in the USA. Helmut was facing the German draft and very unsure what he should do. The Vietnam War was still ongoing. The song “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing in Perfect Harmony” was popular.

Since then the church seal has continued to grow on me and bless me. It is “visual theology” for us. I have also studied the passage that inspired it, Isaiah 11:1-10. It is when the Messiah, Jesus, comes into our hearts that peace on earth can happen. It is when we demonstrate Christ’s peace together that the world will see hope and a different, better way. Advent! The Prince of Peace is coming! Be ready!

Prayer Phrase

“Trust what is being born” (Stephen M. Veazey, Words of Counsel, 2019).

Spiritual Practice

Deepen your breathing as you enter a few moments of silent presence to God. Pay attention first to your own life as you gently ask and notice, “What is most alive in me right now? What is being born in me?” After a few moments of silent listening, ask these questions of your community, the church, and the world. Notice how the Spirit is revealing new life and possibility as you prayerfully ask these questions over time.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

A Season to Rejoice
Deb Crowley of Urbandale, IA, USA

For the mountains may depart
    and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
    and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,
    says the LORD, who has compassion on you. -Isaiah 54:10

Standing in a tree pose to strengthen balance is challenging. Wobbling on one leg, the instinct is to look down at your foot or arms in an effort to remain stable. Instead the teacher instructs us to look into the mirror at a distance to help steady the pose.

The room is lined with mirrors in front and in back of the class. Looking straight ahead does improve balance, but what strikes me most is the view in the mirror. With about 20 senior citizens in the class on any given day the mirror reflects hundreds of us!

It reminds me of the scripture from Doctrine and Covenants 161 which instructs us to “Lift up your eyes and fix them on the place beyond the horizon to which you are sent.” What a view when the focus travels beyond our own being, those surrounding us, or our own spheres where we spend our time and energy. As we look beyond the horizon, we discover a whole world of people just like us, loved by God individually and collectively. The focus beyond “me” is enlightening and energizing and brings life balance.

The scripture continues, “Claim your unique and sacred place within the circle of those who call upon the name of Jesus Christ. Be faithful to the spirit of the Restoration, mindful that it is a spirit of adventure, openness, and searching.”

Our congregation has intentionally begun reaching beyond our comfort zone, beyond the pews! As we engage in the lives of people receiving services and give time and effort to delivering food; preparing bags for delivery; filling first aid boxes; helping at the mobile food pantry; crocheting plastic bag mats; contributing food, toilet paper, and other needed items, it becomes more than giving away “stuff” or time. We are increasing interaction with neighbors around the church and on the food delivery routes for the homeless. For a moment in time souls God loves so deeply become more than faces in a mirror. George, Art, Gail, Mary, and others become real to us and bring blessing to our lives and community.

This is a reason to rejoice! God, let us continue to look beyond the horizon and “walk proudly and with a quickened step. Be a joyful people. Laugh and play and sing, embodying the hope and freedom of the gospel.”

Prayer Phrase

“Trust what is being born” (Stephen M. Veazey, Words of Counsel, 2019).

Spiritual Practice

Deepen your breathing as you enter a few moments of silent presence to God. Pay attention first to your own life as you gently ask and notice, “What is most alive in me right now? What is being born in me?” After a few moments of silent listening, ask these questions of your community, the church, and the world. Notice how the Spirit is revealing new life and possibility as you prayerfully ask these questions over time.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Prayer for Advent
Velma Ruch

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
    “May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls,
    and security within your towers.”
For the sake of my relatives and friends
    I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
    I will seek your good. -Psalm 122:6-9

From Finding Home: The Hospitality of God, Graceland University Press, 2006, pp. 14-15

Gracious God,
We come to this Advent season knowing we have been here before with all of the longings, the hopes, the needs that have marked our lives since we were small children. We come having seen some of these longings satisfied, other longings revised for a better vision, some of them lost or discarded, or some crucial ones that still may be unfulfilled. These unfulfilled longings bring us with intensified yearning to this particular season. We know how important it is because the quality of our longings determines the quality of our lives.

Open our eyes, O God, that we may see whatever glimpse of truth you have for us. Help us in these days of preparation for your coming to truly search our hearts under your guidance to become aware of those obstacles that stand in the way of our discipleship. Grant us grace in the inmost parts of our lives. Intensify our hunger for righteousness and your ever-loving presence. If necessary, intensify the pain of our longing, our recognition of a self-inflicted absence of your presence so your healing touch that often brings with it pain before joy may have its way with us. Enlarge our hearts. Illumine our understanding, and allow us to truly feel the joy of your coming.

O God, in this season of Advent, we pray your blessing upon all people, many of whom are suffering, all of whom are struggling to meet the challenges that each day brings. Where hope has been lost, may the star of your coming be illumined for them. Where hearing has been dulled and neutrality replaced vision, may they once again hear the song of the angels: “Glory to God and peace on earth for today is born in Bethlehem a Savior which is Christ the Lord.” May each one recognize that there is a better way than we are now living and that your coming assures us that we can find that way. We commit ourselves once again to the journey that simultaneously leads us home and fulfills our longing for home. In your name we pray. Amen.

Prayer Phrase

“Trust what is being born” (Stephen M. Veazey, Words of Counsel, 2019).

Spiritual Practice

Deepen your breathing as you enter a few moments of silent presence to God. Pay attention first to your own life as you gently ask and notice, “What is most alive in me right now? What is being born in me?” After a few moments of silent listening, ask these questions of your community, the church, and the world. Notice how the Spirit is revealing new life and possibility as you prayerfully ask these questions over time.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Trust What Is Being Born
Katie Harmon-McLaughlin of Independence, MO, USA

Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation,   neither shall they learn war any more. -Isaiah 2:3-4

In the online Spiritual Formation Series Spirituality Along the Edges, Linda shared a powerful testimony about being formed in the church but longing for a different way of gathering that was more relational, spiritual, and mission-focused. She shared with depth about the strong desire to be the hands and feet of Jesus with other young families in her community. Following this longing, she risked creating a new spiritual community-Beyond the Horizon. It has been a continual journey of discernment, and their intentional but informal gatherings sound like a taste of the kin-dom of God.

As they deepened in Christ-centered relationship together, a way of living mission emerged, and they now spend twice as much time forming community with their neighbors who lack permanent housing than in their own small group experience. The relationships have become so deep, real, and mutually transformative that Linda and her husband chose to spend their anniversary dinner sharing with the men in the transitional living shelter who have become like family. The Spirit is coming alive in a group of young families choosing to risk new ways of gathering together.

Yoga ended as it always does-with an invitation to enter silence and return to the rhythm of our breath. Our yoga instructor, a woman in her early 30s, connected our practice to nonviolence and compassion. She led us through a meditation of self-compassion and compassion for others that brought me to tears of gratitude, joy, and presence. I looked curiously around the room at a growing number of spiritual seekers who are looking for ways to explore their spiritual lives and feel a sense of belonging. Though many would probably not be in church on Sunday morning, I had a strong sense that this, too, was holy encounter. I prayed silently, “God, what do you want me to notice about how you are present here?” The Spirit is coming alive in people who are gathering outside of the church to find meaning and connection.

A perfect autumn night prompted us to start a fire in the backyard. The inviting aroma of the campfire brought our neighbor into our backyard where he stayed for nearly an hour as we shared conversation together. The Spirit is coming alive as we grow in relationship with our neighbors.

This is the pulsing heart of Advent-just when we cannot imagine what will happen next, we remember that incarnation is eternal, continuous, and happening right now. Sometimes I spend so much time worrying about what will happen to the church that I forget to see where Christ’s love and presence are coming to birth all around me. The Spirit is coming alive everywhere I can see! Do you sense it? This Advent, what does it look like in your life and community to trust what is being born?

Prayer Phrase

“Trust what is being born” (Stephen M. Veazey, Words of Counsel, 2019).

Spiritual Practice

Deepen your breathing as you enter a few moments of silent presence to God. Pay attention first to your own life as you gently ask and notice, “What is most alive in me right now? What is being born in me?” After a few moments of silent listening, ask these questions of your community, the church, and the world. Notice how the Spirit is revealing new life and possibility as you prayerfully ask these questions over time.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Work for Peace
William Smith of Independence, MO, USA

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. -John 14:27

I’m a poet, and I also love to read. In the mornings, I wake up early. When it’s early there’s just a feeling of peace. But then I have to face the day, and I do. I’m ready for whatever happens.

But peace isn’t just quiet. Peace is euphoria. Peace is rest. Peace is nonviolence. The definition of peace in the dictionary is “harmony in personal relations.” Peace is friendship. In bigger terms peace is also no fighting or war.

There’s a song in one of my favorite musicals called “Wait for It.” But sometimes you can’t just wait for it. If you want peace, you need to work for peace. If you want nonviolence, then you yourself have to work on it. You can try not to fight with your best friend or sibling or colleague just because they say something you disagree with. You can spread smiles around. Or to take it farther still, you could become an activist, going to parades or pride marches.
And me? I do my very best to not get into fights with other boys who tease me. I smile and make new friends. I write my poetry. And I stand up for transgender rights.
If you want peace, you need to work for it. You can’t just wait for it. Whether small or big, do what you can for peace.
Peace is quiet, euphoria, nonviolence, harmony, friendship, and not fighting.

Paz. Paix. Frieden. Peace.

Prayer Phrase

“Trust what is being born” (Stephen M. Veazey, Words of Counsel, 2019).

Spiritual Practice

Deepen your breathing as you enter a few moments of silent presence to God. Pay attention first to your own life as you gently ask and notice, “What is most alive in me right now? What is being born in me?” After a few moments of silent listening, ask these questions of your community, the church, and the world. Notice how the Spirit is revealing new life and possibility as you prayerfully ask these questions over time.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

On the Road Again
Bruce Lindgren of Independence, MO, USA

They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. -Revelation 7:16-17

In preparing for an upcoming trip, I’ve been reminded of a quotation from Mark Twain, who was an enthusiastic traveler himself:

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one\’s lifetime.

I don’t know that Mark Twain was a particularly religious person, but I have found that developing “broad, wholesome, charitable views of [people] and things” is at the heart of the Christian gospel. One of the first challenges faced by the earliest church was the question of whether or not Gentiles should be baptized.

The Apostle Peter, a fisherman and Palestinian Jew, was not a particularly cosmopolitan person. It was on a trip he took to Caesarea, a Roman administrative town built by King Herod the Great, when he had his vision of the unclean animals on a sheet and heard a voice say, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane” (Acts 10:15). Peter’s understanding of who might be included in the blessings of the gospel was greatly expanded.

It may be no accident that Peter was traveling to a town that was much more Greek and Roman than the Galilean fishing villages he had grown up in. Business was conducted in a “foreign” language, and people from all over the world were walking the streets. The trip erased much of Peter’s “prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness,” and the future of the church expanded greatly.

Closing ourselves off into ghettos, where all of the people are a lot like us, leads to a difficult and violent future. New experiences with new people can transform us into more compassionate, more hospitable people. Closing our wagons into a circle can sometimes feel like a wise precaution, but it may not serve the larger call that we receive through the gospel Jesus brought us.

Prayer Phrase

My ordinary life is a sacred place.

Spiritual Practice

Sacramental Living

“…our everyday ordinary lives are also sacred places, or put another way, the sacred place of our living. As dwellers within the Sacredness of Creation, there is potential to be aware and appreciate the holy within the ordinary. You may remember times when it felt like you were seeing the world through God’s eyes. That’s a good description for what it means to live sacramentally-to sense divine Spirit amid daily activities.” -Jane M. Gardner, “Sacramental Living,” September/October 2019 Herald, p. 5

How are you invited to live sacramentally today?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Return
Grace Andrews of Independence, MO, USA

Quickly, bring out a robe-the best one-and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it and let us eat and celebrate. -Luke 15:22-23

Rembrandt visualized a “picture” in his head from the scripture in Luke 15 and painted The Return of the Prodigal Son. He saw himself in this painting-an arrogant, proud, insensitive, pleasure-driven young prodigal. Many years later two wives had died as well as five of his six children, leaving him alone without property or possessions. At life’s end, he was still drawn to this story in Luke. So he recreated the famous scene one last time; this time painting himself into it, as he imagined-the loving father.

There are two central characters in this painting-a nearly blind old man wearing a rich red cloak, holding his son with deep compassion. The boy’s tunic is torn, one shoe is off, and he is very dirty. The old man’s hands are on the boy’s shoulders. It is a picture of the most tender embrace from a loving, forgiving father and a repentant son. Many feel the painting should have been called The Loving Father.

The father in this story loves so completely, never asking anything in return. He gives the rebellious younger son and the resentful elder son unconditional, forgiving love. I stand in awe at the place where Rembrandt brings me, a troubled child who kneels at the feet of a bent-over father-a place of blessing. Whether the younger or elder son (or daughter), we are all called to become like the Father. As I walk the Worshiper’s Path in the Temple in Independence, Missouri, I often stop and really look at the beautiful etching of the Prodigal.

Author Henri Nouwen writes: “I kneel before the Father, put my ear against his chest and listen to the heartbeat of God.” I look at my own aging hands and realize they have been given to me to stretch out toward those who suffer. Though I willingly grasp opportunities to offer blessings that emerge from the immensity of God’s love and grace, there is still so much more I can do.

Driving down one of our city streets one day, my eyes were drawn to a man slumped over a fence who appeared discouraged and dejected. A woman sat on the sidewalk with a large bundle-it was likely all she had. I wanted to stop and put my arms around each of them and offer hope, but it was not possible as I moved in heavy traffic. For me, they represented those we see every day. They’re all around us. Who will become a blessing to them if we don’t?

Prayer Phrase

My ordinary life is a sacred place.

Spiritual Practice

Sacramental Living

“…our everyday ordinary lives are also sacred places, or put another way, the sacred place of our living. As dwellers within the Sacredness of Creation, there is potential to be aware and appreciate the holy within the ordinary. You may remember times when it felt like you were seeing the world through God’s eyes. That’s a good description for what it means to live sacramentally-to sense divine Spirit amid daily activities.” -Jane M. Gardner, “Sacramental Living,” September/October 2019 Herald, p. 5

How are you invited to live sacramentally today?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.