Lenten Devotional

Saturday, April 11, 2009

2009-04-11T12:39:00.000-07:00

Psalm 143

¹ O LORD, hear my prayer,
listen to my cry for mercy;
in your faithfulness and righteousness
come to my relief.

² Do not bring your servant into judgment,
for no one living is righteous before you.

³ The enemy pursues me,
he crushes me to the ground;
he makes me dwell in darkness
like those long dead.

⁴ So my spirit grows faint within me;
my heart within me is dismayed.

⁵ I remember the days of long ago;
I meditate on all your works
and consider what your hands have done.

⁶ I spread out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
Selah

⁷ Answer me quickly, O LORD;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.

⁸ Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.

⁹ Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD,
for I hide myself in you.

¹⁰ Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.

¹¹ For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life;
in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.

¹² In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;
destroy all my foes,
for I am your servant.

Reflection

This year, like all other years, I sat down to faithfully watch the Academy Awards. I love critiquing what everyone is wearing, and I was really excited to watch the rumored performance of Beyonce set to air in the middle of the awards. However, this year I was mesmerized as the Kodac Theater was transformed from a glitzy hall to a humble church affirming the cries of a young screenwriter. Dustin Lance Black won an Oscar this year for his authorship of the screenplay "Milk" written about the gay political activist Harvey Milk. This is an excerpt from his acceptance speech:

"When I was 13 years old, my beautiful mother and my father moved me from a conservative Mormon home in San Antonio, Texas to California, and I heard the story of Harvey Milk. And it gave me hope. It gave me the hope to live my life. It gave me the hope one day I could live my life openly as who I am and then maybe even I could even fall in love and one day get married. I want to thank my mom, who has always loved me for who I am even when there was pressure not to. But most of all, if Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he'd want me to say to all of the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are less than by their churches, by the government or by their families, that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights federally, across this great nation of ours. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you God, for giving us Harvey Milk".

The author of Psalm 143 cries tears of pain and wants for God. Dustin Lance Black also knows the pain of a wanting spirit and proclaimed the words of Psalm 143 "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love", from the Oscar podium in his own prophetic Oscar-winning words. "You are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you."

Rejoice today. God loves you.

Written by a PC Senior.

Today please pray for Spectrum.

Good Friday

2009-04-10T00:04:00.000-07:00

Friday April 10, 2009

Scripture
Psalm 22

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?

2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.

3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel. [a]

4 In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.

5 They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.

7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:

8 "He trusts in the LORD;
let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him."

9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother's breast.

10 From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother's womb you have been my God.

11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.

12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

13 Roaring lions tearing their prey
open their mouths wide against me.

14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted away within me.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me [b] in the dust of death.

16 Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced [c] my hands and my feet.

17 I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.

18 They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.

19 But you, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.

20 Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.

21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save [d] me from the horns of the wild oxen.

22 I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.

23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

24 For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.

25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you [e] will I fulfill my vows.

26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,

28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.

29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.

30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.

31 They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn—
for he has done it.

It is so great to know that God is not like humankind! With man, we can mess up once and be put out forever.

With God, we can mess up over and over and He is still there with loving, forgiving, and open arms. In this Psalm, the writer talks about the Lord not keeping record of sins, but having forgiveness. Because of this, the Lord is to be feared. This is not fear as in "OH MAN I AM SCARED OF GOD!" but a fear that is reverencing the authority and the power of God. It is having respect for the fact that no matter what we do, say or don't do and say, God is always there loving and forgiving.

In the next part the writer talks about putting hope in the Lord. What better place to put hope than in the Lord? God will never leave or forsake us. God will do what He says He will do. God will honor the cries of His children. God will... God will... God is steadfast, faithful, and just.

Thanks be to God for all the things that He has done, is doing, and will do.

Written by a PC Senior.

Today please pray for all the first year faculty and staff.

Maundy Thursday

2009-04-09T00:04:00.000-07:00

Thursday April 9, 2009

Scripture
Mark 14:12-25
¹²On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus' disciples asked him, "Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"

¹³So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. ¹⁴Say to the owner of the house he enters, 'The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' ¹⁵He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there."

¹⁶The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

¹⁷When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. ¹⁸While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me."

¹⁹They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, "Surely not I?"

²⁰"It is one of the Twelve," he replied, "one who dips bread into the bowl with me. ²¹The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."

²²While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body."

²³Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it.

²⁴"This is my blood of the^a]">[a] covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. ²⁵"I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God."

In American society, a day like Maundy Thursday is not something we put a ton of focus on because it is kind of a downer. It is a stark contrast to the warm fuzzy feelings we get when we all pile into church on Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday. That is why I think it is so crucial. What makes the power of the joy of Easter stronger except actually being sad right before it so that it can be truly appreciated for the wonder that it is.
The spring of my Senior year in High School, on Maundy Thursday, I received a phone call late in the morning and my Mom told me that my grandmother had passed away. This, being my first real brush with death in my family, was a life changing moment for me.
I feel like I have a good understanding of what the friends and family of Jesus were feeling. Emptiness.
When we were in town for the funeral, we stayed in my Grandmother's house. It was a little odd and my mom shut the door to my Grandmother's bedroom because it helped the feelings of emptiness not to overcome me.
I imagine that the disciples had very similar feelings when they noticed all the things that Jesus was missing. They felt his absence in everyday things, just as you do when you lose someone you love.
Emptiness. That is what filled me as I sat in the church on this sad Thursday. The lights go out and there is soft singing from the choir. I don't know what they were singing, but it sounded like crying to me. Crying due to the death of the one person who not only did we all grow to love and honor, but the one who we were told was going to set us free and be our connection and our link to God and God's redeeming grace.
You cant just skip through Holy Week just because we all know the end of the story. You have to feel the pain. You have to feel the guilt and shame for what our people allowed to happen to Christ.
Only then can you possibly feel a fraction of the joy when he rises from the dead on Easter Sunday.

Written by a PC Junior.

Today please pray for the library staff.

Wednesday

2009-04-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

Wednesday April 8, 2009

Scripture
Psalm 27

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh, [a]
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.

3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.

4 One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.

5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.

6 Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.

7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.

8 My heart says of you, "Seek his [b] face!"
Your face, LORD, I will seek.

9 Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.

10 Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.

11 Teach me your way, O LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.

12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.

13 I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.

14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

What does the Lord require of us? To do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God. But what do we require of the Lord?

When do you pray, and what do you pray for? If you are like most of us, you pray for the things that are important to you: health, food, material wellness, an A on a chemistry test, etc. While we should never underestimate the power of prayer, this Psalm gives us a message about what is the most important thing we should ask of our God.

v.4 “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek God in the temple.”

The psalmist does not pray for money, romantic love, possessions, a job, or a passing grade. He prays to live for and with God. In this manner, our first priority should be to dwell in the house of the Lord, and the rest will be provided. The Psalmist mentions his enemies and obstacles, but he is not afraid. He does not ask God to strike down his enemies, because he has faith that

v. 5 “in the day of trouble God will keep me safe in God’s dwelling;
God will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. “

We are called to have purity of heart, singleness of purpose. God gave us wonderful and beautiful things on the earth, and God wants us to enjoy them, but our first priority must be seeking the righteousness of the Lord.

In this season of Lent, let us “gaze upon the beauty of the Lord” and seek God in our everyday lives.

Written by a PC Sophomore

Today please pray for the office of academic affairs.

Tuesday

2009-04-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

Tuesday April 7, 2009

Open this devotion in a prayer and praying to the Lord to open your heart and mind to the words you are reading and let the Holy Spirit speak to you through the scripture. In reading this passage, read it in prayer. Pray through the scripture by praying God’s words to the Lord.

Scripture

Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 (NIV)

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust."

If you make the Most High your dwelling—

even the LORD, who is my refuge-

then no harm will befall you,

no disaster will come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways;

they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;

you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call upon me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life will I satisfy him

and show him my salvation."

Each new day brings new fear. We fear war, crime, poverty, sickness, hunger, death. There is so much to be afraid of. This psalm claims the promise of the Almighty, trusting in God as a refuge and a fortress, and denying fear the power to prevail. Fear is a harmful and deceitful force. Fear causes us to pull back and limits our ability to be who God calls us to be. Fear can even keep us from God. But we are always invited into the shelter of God’s shadow. May that shelter be a refuge for you as you journey toward Jesus.

This reflection was written by a PC Senior.

Today please pray for Religious Student Organizations.

Monday, April 6, 2009

2009-04-06T01:00:00.001-07:00

Scripture

Mark 11:12-25Jesus Clears the Temple 12The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if ithad any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves,because it was not the season for figs. 14Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heardhim say it. 15On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves ,16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written:   "'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'[a]? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'[b]" 18The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. 19When evening came, they[c] went out of the city. The Withered Fig Tree 20In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!" 22"Have[d] faith in God," Jesus answered. 23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

Reflection

What is the meaning of the curse? At first glance, one might think Jesus is merely upset with an actual tree that failed to feed Him when He was hungry. But the fig tree and its fruit play a much larger role. They are symbols of the nation of Israel and its faith. In Jeremiah 24, the people of Israel are compared to figs, both good and rotten. When Jesus cursed the fig tree, He symbolically placed acurse on Israel. The reason for the curse is straight forward. The fig tree (Israel) failed to bear fruit (faith) even though its leaves indicate it was in season (the appointed time for the coming of theMessiah). Due to its lack of fruit, the fig tree withered. Likewise, Israel's lack of faith when presented with her Messiah led to her eventual destruction.What is Good Fruit? Jesus cursed the fig tree because of its refusal to bear fruit, and inso doing, He makes it clear that He expects His followers to bear fruit as well. And not just any kind of fruit, but specifically good fruit.If Jesus expects us to bear good fruit, it's essential to know what constitutes good fruit in the first place. What is good fruit? And how do we bear it? Paul defines "good fruit" in his letters to the Galatians and the Philippians:"But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."

Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)"May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation – those good things that are produced in your life by Jesus Christ – for this will bring much glory and praise to God."

Philippians 1:11 (NLT) Good fruit should never be confused with the world's definition of good works. Good fruit is born in the heart and blossoms outward into the world. Its only motive is Jesus Christ. But good works as defined by the world can have many motives, sometimes even evil motives. Yet, no matter how justified we feel in our own eyes, God will always measure our inner motives, never our outward deeds. Placing our trustand faith in Jesus Christ will inevitably produce the good fruits Paul mentioned in his letter to the Galatians. And when we exhibit these good fruits, the world will witness through our lives the glory that is Jesus Christ.-Britt Gillette

Written by a PC Senior

Today, please pray for Special Olympics

Sunday April 5, 2009

2009-04-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

What is Palm Sunday?
Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates the
entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in the days before his crucifixion.
John 12:12-19 describes this day.
“The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that
Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went
out to meet him, shouting, ‘Hosanna!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord!’ ‘Blessed is the King of Israel!’ Jesus found a
young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, ‘Do not be afraid, O
Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming seated on a donkey’s colt.’
At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus
was glorified did they realize that these things had been written
about him and that they had done these things to him. Now the crowd
that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him
from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they
had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet
him. So the Pharisees said to one another, ‘See, this is getting us
nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!’”
The crowds who gathered had doubtlessly seen and heard Jesus in
Galilee, and they welcomed the opportunity to proclaim him as the

Messiah. They used palm branches in celebration of victory.
The people felt the power of Christ and knew his presence, but soon
after, they crucified him. Paul calls us to stand up for what we
believe in 1 Timothy 6:12-16. After we acknowledge and feel the love
of Christ, where do we go from there?
After we feel God’s presence what do we do? Paul gives us insight on
how to live out our Christian walk after being touched by the hand of
God and recognized Christ as our savior.

1 Timothy 6:12-16
“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to
which you were called when you made your good confession in the
presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to
everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius
Pilate made the good confession,
(this confession is when Jesus tells Pilot “the reason I was born and
came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side
of truth listens to me” John 18:38)
I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the
appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his
own time- God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord
of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light,
whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever.
Amen.”

Jesus charges us to be consistent in our walk with the Lord and to
fight the GOOD fight of the FAITH. We are to always stand up for our
beliefs even if it is in the face of death or the face of someone you
love who might disagree. He charges us to make our confession of the
Lord “in the presence of MANY witnesses” not just the few who believe
the same things we do. He calls us to make the GOOD confession that
we should be proclaiming everyday: “Christ was born and came into the
world to testify to the truth.” We should proclaim his truth from the
mountain tops! We should never be ashamed, under any circumstances,
to tell anyone exactly what Jesus told Pilot: “[his] kingdom is not of
this world. If it were, [his] servants would [have] fought to prevent
[his] arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now [his] kingdom is from
another place” (John 18: 36). Do you proclaim his truth until he
comes again? Are you afraid of persecution? Are you living proof
that Christ was our Lord or do you praise him on Palm Sunday and then
turn your back on him the next?

Written by a PC Junior

Today, please pray for
The office of admissions

Saturday April 4, 2009

2009-04-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

Scripture
2 Corinthians 4:13-18
13It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same
spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know
that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise
us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is
for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more
people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting
away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light
and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far
outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on
what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is
eternal.

Reflection
Everyone suffers through trials and tribulations throughout life.
Christ himself suffered and was crucified. He was, however,
resurrected and given new life. This assurance of our salvation and
new life through Jesus’ resurrection gives us a faith and confidence
that can get us through anything. The suffering that we endure
everyday is not permanent. It is something that we can overcome
through faith and prayer.
This bit of scripture kind of reminds me of the David LaMotte song
“Hard Earned Smile”:
“If faces tell stories, and I think they do
There have been some hard chapters in the story of you
There's some dark and some lonely in the lines 'round your eyes
A thousand nights' tears, promises and lies
So we sit at the diner and talk until dawn
Lay it all on the table 'til the coffee's all gone
All the hard people you've known and you've been
Wounded and healed and opened again
And you said it best when you played your guitar
"From where you come isn't what you are"
I can hear the song ringing out over the miles
And there's nothing so true as the hope in a hard earned smile
We all have our trials and our lessons to learn
If your dreams are on fire then your heart might get burned
But to choose to be strong and have courage to heal
Lends truth to your song and the hope that I feel
And you said it best when you played your guitar
"From where you come isn't what you are"
I can hear the song ringing out over the miles
And there's nothing so true as the hope in a hard earned smile”

Written by a PC Sophomore

Today, please pray for
Dr. Griffith and the administrative staff

Friday, April 3, 2009

2009-04-02T21:49:00.000-07:00

Scripture

Isaiah 50:4-9 (New International Version)
4 The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.
5 The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears,
and I have not been rebellious;
I have not drawn back.
6 I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.
7 Because the Sovereign LORD helps me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,
and I know I will not be put to shame.
8 He who vindicates me is near.
Who then will bring charges against me?
Let us face each other!
Who is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
9 It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me.
Who is he that will condemn me?

Reflection

God is bigger than you and I. God is bigger than injustice and hate, cruelty and gossip, greed and loneliness. We believe in the God of creation, of peace, and of promise. Daily I am reminded, as I wake morning after morning, of God’s sovereignty. I am ever reminded of God’s call to live in community by the word and to care for creation as a righteous act.

With God, what should I be afraid of?

Written by a PC Senior.
Today please pray for Special Olympics.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

2009-04-02T07:04:00.000-07:00

Scripture

Psalm 27: 13
I believe I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living

Reflection

I am not really a morning person, although in my adult life as an educator I have forced myself to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to face my 8 o’clock classes, when, in truth, I’d rather be still tuckedup in bed, or at least cocooned in a blanket on the sofa watching theToday Show, and nursing a cup of coffee. Now all of that is strange, because, as an infant and toddler, I rarely slept for more than a few hours at a time, if my mom’s accounts are to be believed. Apparently I did not fret, fuss or cry upon awakening, but I did expect to be entertained (or to entertain), to be played with, or to be listened to. I suspect that those of you who know me will attest that that part, at least, has not changed significantly over the years! By the time the teenage years rolled around, my “she’s-not–a-morning-person” persona was reasonably well-developed. Emerging silent and petulant of a morning, often having been wakened several times already, I was typically greeted by my father, feigning amazement and saying, “She’s in the land of the living!”At the time, I did not reflect, deeply or otherwise, upon the potential significance of this greeting. And even had I done so, it’s unlikely that I’d have made any connection with Psalm 27 or the lifeof faith. Indeed, truth be told, it was not until I was asked to reada selection of scriptures with a view to submitting a Lenten blog, that I thought about that old morning greeting at all, except with the mild annoyance I felt way back then upon hearing it, and with a smile about the dad who left the land of the living almost 30 years ago. As I’ve aged, I’ve learned to be more reflective about life and faith. Even so, an awareness of the goodness of the Lord has not always been a present reality, whereas the urge to “snooze” through life often has. Perhaps I need to be reminded on a daily basis that I am, by God's grace, “in the land of the living”, and very much blessedthrough the Lord’s goodness. Maybe I need to be more awake and aware,believing and seeing the goodness of the Lord, even in those times when it appears to be deeply hidden by darkness or absent altogether. I am reminded, as I reflect, of some words from Ephesians, "Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."(Eph.5:14) So perhaps this Lenten season I will give up……….. slumbering. I will take my place in the land of the living, and see God’s goodness in new, enlivening and enlightening ways.

Written by a PC Faculty
Today, please pray for Honor Council

Wednesday April 1, 2009

2009-04-01T06:41:00.000-07:00

Scripture

Ex. 7: 8-24
8 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 9 "When Pharaoh says to you,
'Perform a miracle,' then say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it
down before Pharaoh,' and it will become a snake."
10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD
commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his
officials, and it became a snake. 11 Pharaoh then summoned wise men
and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by
their secret arts: 12 Each one threw down his staff and it became a
snake. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Yet Pharaoh's
heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD
had said.
The Plague of Blood
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is unyielding; he
refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he
goes out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and
take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. 16 Then say
to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you:
Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert. But until
now you have not listened. 17 This is what the LORD says: By this you
will know that I am the LORD : With the staff that is in my hand I
will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.
18 The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the
Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.' "
19 The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Take your staff and stretch
out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals,
over the ponds and all the reservoirs'-and they will turn to blood.
Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in the wooden buckets and
stone jars."
20 Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded. He raised his
staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the
water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood. 21 The
fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians
could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.
22 But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret
arts, and Pharaoh's heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses
and Aaron, just as the LORD had said. 23 Instead, he turned and went
into his palace, and did not take even this to heart. 24 And all the
Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could
not drink the water of the river.

Reflection

Yesterday, I received an E-mail from someone very close to me. This
person wrote a couple of paragraphs saying how tough life was right
now, everything from struggling in school to losing several friends.
This person is in a very low point in his life, and I was supposed to
tell him everything was going to be ok. Wow, that’s a hard call. My
whole life people have told me everything would be alright in the end.
Some days would be tough and others would be great, but right now,
that’s not really what my friend wanted to hear I don’t think.
I responded to the E-mail immediately after reading it. I said that I
knew things were tough right now, but it will get better. Great, what
a cliché, I thought. I almost sent it, but then I figured that this
person didn’t e-mail me only to have me say what everyone else would
probably say. He wanted real answers and real opinions. I then thought
about how I would feel in this situation. I am a firm believer in the
statement “everything happens for a reason”, so I retyped the E-mail
and said just that. I told him that what he was going through really
did stink. I told him that I wish I could take some of the weight off
his shoulders for him because I know how hard life is for him right
now, but then I said he wouldn’t be in this situation if he couldn’t
handle it. Now, here’s the tricky part. This person is having a dry
spell with his Faith right now, so when it would have been easier and
less wordy to say, “God wouldn’t put you through something that He
didn’t think you could handle”, I tried to word my opinion so that it
was just a generic piece of advice.
After I got home, I began to read through the verses to decide to
which I wanted to respond for the Lenten Devotional. I quickly
realized after reading Exodus 7: 8-24 that this person, and I think we
all are at times, is like Moses when God tells him to go and tell
Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Moses is afraid of the task ahead,
and God even tells him that he will fail several times before Pharaoh
lets the Israelites free. From the start Moses knows he will fail
before he succeeds, some odds. Moses asks God several times why God
has chosen him to do this job because Moses has a speech problem and
is not confident speaking to people much less high, powerful rulers. I
believe God chose Moses because God believed in Moses and knew he was
the perfect person for this task. Like Moses, my friend is facing some
difficult tasks in his life right now, but God would never abandon him
when the times are tough. God believes in my friend just like God
believed in Moses.
Though my friend may not see God’s work in his life right now, I can,
and I am a firm believer in retrospective Faith. I might have just
made that up, but I think so many times we look back over our lives
and see where God was at work even when we thought our worlds were
ending when we were in the moment. Right now, all I can do is continue
to pray for my friend and be a shoulder on which to cry. Hopefully one
day, my friend will see that this low point in his life was just the
unsuccessful attempts to free the Israelites, and when he finally is
able to free the people, he will see that these tough times were just
stepping stones to the great things that lay ahead of him in life.

Written by a PC Junior

Today, please pray for
Intermural Sports Teams

Tuesday

2009-03-31T10:19:00.000-07:00

Tuesday
March 31, 2009

Scripture

”Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all”.

Psalm 34:19

The LORD Delivers. Psalm 34:19, Painting With Light II. Mixed media on canvas. Copyright © 2009 by Mark Lawrence.

I find this painting to describe what I feel when I read the verses of this Psalm, please take time to reflect on this painting after you read the Psalm and think and feel the emotion that it brings you.

Written by a PC Junior

Please pray for:
PC Choir and Music Ensembles

Monday March 30, 2009

2009-03-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Monday
March 30, 2009

Scripture
Mark 9: 38-41
“Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.”

Reflection
Let us be united;
Let us speak in harmony;
Let our minds apprehend alike.
Common be our prayer,
Common be the end of our assembly;
Common be our resolution;
Common be our deliberations.
Alike be our feelings;
Unified be our hearts;
Common be our intentions;
Perfect be our unity.

The Lenten season is a universal time where Christians all over the world reflect and fully realize the reason for our Savior’s death. It is a time that we as the Church are unified and no matter what denomination, the Lenten season is celebrated by all. This time of year is an equalizer. The scripture discusses a young man who is performing a miracle in the name of Jesus. However, the disciples, being selfish and a little conceited, tell the man to stop. Due to his disaffiliation from the disciples, the young man was told not to perform any miracles in the name of Christ. Only the disciples could do that, so they thought. Jesus tells his followers that anyone who does anything in his name will not be punished. WE as the body and church of God should not imitate the disciple’s behavior. We are all one in the spirit. No matter what race, gender, sexual orientation, size, or age, we all have one common goal. We are called to build the kingdom of God, show love to our fellow neighbors, and show grace to all in the world. People do not have to be like us to follow Jesus with us. In one of the most ancient books of prayer, the Rig Veda, a prayer is written that all should keep in their hearts.

Even this simple prayer of the Hindu faith can collimate the meaning of this time of year. Just as the Lenten season unites us, so should the words of our Savior bring us even closer together.

Written by a PC Junior

Please pray for:
Greek Life

2009-03-28T19:53:00.000-07:00

March 29th, 2009

Scripture
Psalm 119:9-16

9 How can young people keep their way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you;
do not let me stray from your commandments.
11 I treasure your word in my heart,
so that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your statutes.
13 With my lips I declare
all the ordinances of your mouth.
14 I delight in the way of your decrees
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts,
and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.

Reflection:
As the psalmist puts forward: how are we as young people to honor our Lord? Then comes a litany of things we will do. How does this fit in our context? Its hard to check this list every day to make sure were keeping up. However, if we allow this verse to become a way of life, an approach to the way we live, then it becomes a whole less binding and perhaps a little freeing. We are sent forth into ministry in our baptism, and we proclaim and accept the gift of grace offered by our God through Jesus. So delight in the teachings of the gospel and seek them in the work that God has give you.

Written by a PC Senior

Pray for:
PC Choir

Saturday March 28, 2009

2009-03-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday

March 28, 2009

Scripture

Psalm 31

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹ In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.

² Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.

³ Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

⁴ Free me from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.

⁵ Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

⁶ I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
I trust in the LORD.

⁷ I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for you saw my affliction
and knew the anguish of my soul.

⁸ You have not handed me over to the enemy
but have set my feet in a spacious place.

⁹ Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and my body with grief.

¹⁰ My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction, ^[^a^]
and my bones grow weak.

¹¹ Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbors;
I am a dread to my friends—
those who see me on the street flee from me.

¹² I am forgotten by them as though I were dead;
I have become like broken pottery.

¹³ For I hear the slander of many;
there is terror on every side;
they conspire against me
and plot to take my life.

¹⁴ But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God."

¹⁵ My times are in your hands;
deliver me from my enemies
and from those who pursue me.

¹⁶ Let your face shine on your servant;
save me in your unfailing love.

¹⁷ Let me not be put to shame, O LORD,
for I have cried out to you;
but let the wicked be put to shame
and lie silent in the grave. ^[^b^]

¹⁸ Let their lying lips be silenced,
for with pride and contempt
they speak arrogantly against the righteous.

¹⁹ How great is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you,
which you bestow in the sight of men
on those who take refuge in you.

²⁰ In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from the intrigues of men;
in your dwelling you keep them safe
from accusing tongues.

²¹ Praise be to the LORD,
for he showed his wonderful love to me
when I was in a besieged city.

²² In my alarm I said,
"I am cut off from your sight!"
Yet you heard my cry for mercy
when I called to you for help.

²³ Love the LORD, all his saints!
The LORD preserves the faithful,
but the proud he pays back in full.

²⁴ Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the LORD.

Reflection

We have all faced some type of hardship at some point in our lives. Some times in our lives we tend to hide, avoid, or even run from something that is troubling us in our lives. Instead these verses remind us how important it is to pray, and cry out to the Lord when we are going through any suffering. God is there for us even when it seems he is the most distant in our lives due to what we are experiencing in life. Prayer reconnects us with Christ because he knows our pain and sufferings. Prayer reminds us God is always there for us. He is willing to listen no matter what we are going through. David cries out to the Lord for help, which we should do more often in our lives.

Through this scripture we are reminded when we are going through a difficult time we need to stop what we are doing and to seek refuge in God above. Christ is the only one that can set us free from whatever we are dealing with. If we seek God then he will give us the strength we need to face our sufferings. He will set us free from our pain by granting us the courage to make it through. Even though it might not seem like it, the times we are our at our weakest are the times we tend to be the closest to God.

We must ask for guidance. It is important to put out trust in him because he will pull us out of our difficult times. When we face the troubles around us in this world, we tend to get side tracked of the ultimate truth which leads us to look elsewhere for our strength. But David reminds us that we must not look towards anything except the ultimate truth, which is found in Christ’s love.

At times we might feel broken, but that is what Christ’s love is here for. He is here for us during our sufferings to piece us back together again to make us whole and a new. Even if it seems like the world around us is against us and there is no one else we can turn to, God is always here for us. His love for us never changes. He hears our calls for mercy when we cry out but we have to be willing to cry out to him. Our faith assures us that God is always there for us by reminding us what he has done for us in our past he will do for us in our present by pulling us through our hardships, and will continue to do for us in the future. As Christians, we are never alone. God always is with us and protects us in all we do by empowering us to have the strength we need to make it through the day.

We as Christians must put our hope in the Lord for the future that has yet to come. Hope is what will shine through the clouds on a cloudy day to help us make it through. And it is our faith that will lead us to defeat of our suffering. God will give us the courage to make it through anything. We are reminded of this also in 1^st Corinthians 10:13, which reminds us God will NEVER let us be pushed past our limits, and will pull us out of our sufferings!!

PRAYER: God grant me the strength and the wisdom to fully rely on you no matter what I am going through. Help me realize you will help me get through anything even when it seems impossible to go on. When I am struggling help remind me you will never leave me, and love me no matter what. I thank you for helping me out of my sufferings and always being here for me no matter what. Help me find the courage to make it through the days when I’m struggling the most. Thank you for your mercy. Amen.

Written by a PC Junior

Please pray for:

Spectrum Alliance

Friday March 27, 2009

2009-03-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Friday

March 27, 2009

Scripture

Mark 9:2-13 (New International Version)

The Transfiguration

²After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. ³His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. ⁴And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

⁵Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." ⁶(He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

⁷Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!"

⁸Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

⁹As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what "rising from the dead" meant.

¹¹And they asked him, "Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?"

¹²Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? ¹³But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him."

1 Corinthians 12:27- 13:3

1 Corinthians 12:27-13:3 (New International Version)

²⁷Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. ²⁸And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. ²⁹Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues^a]">[a]? Do all interpret? ³¹But eagerly desire^b]">[b] the greater gifts.
And now I will show you the most excellent way.

1 Corinthians 13

¹If I speak in the tongues^c]">[c] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^d]">[d] but have not love, I gain nothing.

Reflection

Mark 9:2-13
Did Jesus know what was going to happen when he reached the top of the
mountain? Did Jesus know that there was to be this strange, amazing
other-worldly moment, a vision of something special and holy and
precious?

Assuming Jesus did know all this was to happen what are we to make of
his decision only to share the experience with three of the twelve
disciples?

There are a few occasions throughout the Gospels when the three who
climbed with Jesus that day formed some sort of inner circle with Jesus,
but it didn't always seem to have done them too much good - Peter, James
and John were just as prone to frustrate Jesus or abandon him at the
point of his greatest need. Didn't all three of them fall fast asleep
that night in the Garden of Gethsemane as Jesus faced the agony of what
was about to happen?

Sometimes we imagine that if only we had some sort of really, really
amazing spiritual experience we would end up as more faithful
Christians, but the example of the three who witnessed the
Transfiguration tells us otherwise. For us to be faithful means looking
for, anticipating, expecting to meet God even in the mundane things of
everyday living. It is not the means or manner of the revelation that
counts for most, what really matters is how we are changed and renewed
by journeying through life with Christ and all whom Christ loves.

1 Corinthians 12:27- 13:3
Where do you receive your motivation?
As people we can discover motivation in many different places - the
encouragement of other people; the expectations of loved ones; our own
standards; the rules and regulations that govern our behavior; the
desire to make a positive contribution in the life of another person;
the intrinsic values of what we believe to be right and good and true.

The words and thoughts of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 remind us that the
greatest motivation, the motivation that ought to be first and foremost
in our minds if we are to follow after the example of Jesus Christ, is
the motivation of love.

When love is not our motivation, even if what we are doing is a good
thing, even if it is the right thing, it will be less than complete,
tarnished by some aspect of self-interest. It is not enough, Paul says,
to speak about God, to teach about God, to give away our possession...
unless we do this in love, with love, for love.

Love needs to be our motivation, because love is the essential nature
and being of the God we know in Jesus Christ.

Written by a PC Staff

Please pray for:

Academic Clubs

Wednesday March 25, 2009

2009-03-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

Wednesday

March 25, 2009
Scripture

1 Corinthians 12: 5 – 7
There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

Reflection
Last year while watching the Tarheels play in March Madness, I learned of the death of Eve Carson. The players were wearing a black patch with Eve’s name on their game jersey. The coaches were wearing a “carolina blue” ribbon on their lapels. The game commentators briefly described that Eve as a popular student leader, who was kidnapped, forced to withdraw money from an ATM machine, murdered and discarded in the middle of a major intersection of Chapel Hill.
A few weeks later while reading my alumni magazine I learned more about Eve, a second semester senior, and President of the Student Government Association. On the day of her murder, thousands of students, faculty and staff gathered on the mall outside of the administrative building for a time of consolation and remembrance. Later, after students returned from spring break, a memorial service hosted in the Dean Dome was attended by over 10,000 people. People spoke for hours about Eve’s energy, enthusiasm and love of working on behalf of students and the university. It was obvious that she had made a indelible mark on a major institution in a short period of time.
In reading more about Eve, I discovered a reference to this picture of her on the web site “why do you do what you do” www.wdydwyd.com. This picture was taken and posted two days before her death.
It is a fitting tribute to a person who strongly believed that her calling was to serve her community. I encourage you to visit the website and read more about her vision and the legacy she left her friends, the students and the alumni of UNC.
While I am unsure of Eve’s faith, I discovered she valued doing everything she could to positively influence the world in which she lived. Indeed, “there are different kids of service … but the same God works all of them in all men (1 Corinthians 12 5&6, NIV.)” I pray that all of us are similarly inspired and will have her courage and commitment to apply our faith and or values into action on a day-to-day basis. Amen.

Written by a PC Staff

Please pray for:
The Clinton and Thornwell Communities

Tuesday March 24, 2009

2009-03-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

Tuesday

March 24, 2009

Scripture

Mark 7:24-30 (New International Version)

The Faith of a Syrophoenician Woman
24Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre.[a] He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil[b] spirit came and fell at his feet. 26The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

27"First let the children eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."

28"Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."

29Then he told her, "For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter."

30She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Reflection

This is a passage that makes people uncomfortable. It doesn't fit clearly into our "high and mighty" image of Jesus, wearing a stark white robe and surrounded by a golden glow. It shows the real Jesus, a Jesus who got tired, frustrated, and even had misunderstandings just like we do.
The Syrophoenician woman was a Gentile, a non-Jew, and she was repeatedly told that Jesus's message was not for her. Regardless of what everyone said (even what JESUS said, in this passage), the woman knew in her heart that God had sent Jesus for her too. The passage says Jesus was hiding in a house, but the woman found him. Imagine the obstacles she must have come through before she was could reach Jesus to "beg" him to heal her child. Imagine her strength. There may have been crowds or even disciples trying to keep this woman from bothering Jesus, but she knew the truth. She had faith that Jesus could and would heal her daughter, and she was not going to take no for an answer. Jesus realizes her faith, and through this strong woman, he sees that his salvation is for ALL people, not just the Jews. God worked through this Gentile woman.
Imagine if we had the faith and the strength of this Syrophoenician woman. Imagine if we would include those people the church has deemed "dogs," the people for whom the church exists. As you go through the day, be inspired by the faith of the Syrophoenician woman and do not be afraid to challenge the "status quo" to fulfill what you know is God's will for the world.

Written by a PC Sophomore

Please pray for:

Radio Station and Newspaper staffs

2009-03-22T21:37:00.001-07:00

Monday
March 23, 2009

Scripture

Genesis 49:29-33

29 Then he gave them these instructions: "I am about to be gathered to

my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron

the Hittite, 30 the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in

Canaan, which Abraham bought as a burial place from Ephron the

Hittite, along with the field. 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah

were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I

buried Leah. 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites. [o] "

33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew

his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his

people.

Reflection
Have you ever looked directly into the sun? It is said that if you
stare at the sun during a solar eclipse you can go blind. I’m not
sure if you really go completely blind, but even when you look at the
sun on a normal day it can impair your vision. You turn your eyes
from it and everything seems to be in this strange dark purple kind of
haze. Everything is out of focus and its hard to see anything.

What about when you are in a dark room for a long time and someone
turns on the lights without telling you. Your eyes get adjusted to
the darkness so that you can see vague figures and shapes. Eventually
it can even seem pretty normal. But then someone turns on a bright
light and everything turns bright white and you become blind in a
different sort of way.

Sometimes the ways that God speaks to us can seem just like that kind
of light. God can either say something so incredibly different than
what we are used to hearing that we are blinded by it. To use a pun,
it blind-sides us - like the light cutting through the darkness. Or
perhaps we receive some vision of what God wants us to do, a taste of
what might be our calling. Then, in that case, everything else around
us can seem to be dimmer and frustrating.
I think of the story of Abraham. He was promised land, prosperity,
and children but it took a long time from the point where he was first
promised those things. I know that Abraham was frustrated with
waiting for God to come through on the other end of the deal. He was
tired of waiting for God to provide the things that he saw as a bright
light compared to what he had then. So Abraham took action into his
own hands and he bore Ishmael through a concubine. However, that was
not the plan or the promise that God had made with Abraham.

In this time of Lent, we may try to abstain from something as a way of
recognizing the sovereignty of God and as an act of worship in
listening for God’s voice in some new way. Sometimes, if God gives us
the vision to see what our calling truly is, it can seem like we are
surrounded by darkness when compared with the light of that vision.
But, we must not despair, because God is not slow in keeping promises.
God calls out to us in the darkness to give us hope, and God shines a
glimmer of what is in store for us so that we can persevere through
times that seem dark and troubled.

Today, pray that God will show you a small portion of what is in store
for you. Then pray that God gives you the strength and patience to
wait for it in its own due time. We can wait for the promise that God
has given, or we can rush and miss out on the fullness of the gifts
that God has for all of the children of faith.

Written by a PC Senior

Today Please Pray For:
Student Managers of Springs Campus Center

2009-03-22T06:51:00.000-07:00

Sunday
March 22, 2009

Scripture

Genesis 48:17-19 (ESV)

“When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of

Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his faither’s hand to move it

from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said to his father,

‘Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your

right hand on his head.’ But his father refused and said, ‘I know, my

son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be

great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and

his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.’”

Reflection

Joseph didn’t reach his position in Egypt by traditional means, but it
is obvious by this passage that tradition was important to him.
Tradition dictated that the elder son receive the greater inheritance,
or blessing. However, God had other plans, as Isaac informed Jacob
through the act of blessing the younger.
Traditions are very important. They establish meaningful connections
among a group of people – family, church, college, business,
government. They remind us of who we are, where we come from, how much
we’ve grown. Yet, often, traditions become something we “just do”
without meaning or thought. Jesus honored the tradition of the
Passover Supper, even as he prepared to make the sacrifice of a
lifetime. This was especially meaningful, as the tradition
foreshadowed the sacrifice.
At this season of the year, many church members practice the tradition
of giving up, or sacrificing, something for Lent. For the 40 days
leading up to Easter, this serves as a reminder of the sacrifice Jesus
made for us. As a result, people give up the radio, TV, video games,
coffee, desserts, chocolate. But is this truly done as a remembrance,
or just as something they’ve always done? When the desire to eat that
chocolate bar hits, do people use that time to thank Christ for his
sacrifice and consider the meaning, or do they just try to hang on for
“x” more days to be able to eat it again?
Whether this is your practice or not, I hope you will use this special
season to reflect on the traditions you have. Some traditions may have
changed as you matured in your life or faith. You may have begun new
traditions or lost traditions as you’ve faced challenges or added new
connections to your life. May your reflections guide you to honor
those traditions with a renewed sense of how special they are.
And may you honor Christ’s sacrifice this Easter with a renewed sense
of reverence and awe in the power of God that raised Christ from the
dead - the same power that led Isaac to bless Manassah over Ephraim in
anticipation of the blessing yet to come.

Written by a PC Staff

Today Please Pray For:
Students studying abroad

2009-03-21T06:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday
March 21, 2009

Scripture

Psalm 130

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;

2 O Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive

to my cry for mercy.

3 If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,

O Lord, who could stand?

4 But with you there is forgiveness;

therefore you are feared.

5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,

and in his word I put my hope.

6 My soul waits for the Lord

more than watchmen wait for the morning,

more than watchmen wait for the morning.

7 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,

for with the LORD is unfailing love

and with him is full redemption.

8 He himself will redeem Israel

from all their sins.

Reflection

Life is hard. Whether you've been at it for twenty years or ninety,
there are times when it feels impossible to just take the next step
forward. However, while we sit and despair, there is hope; there is
help. The psalmist cries out to his Lord from these depths in hopes
of mercy, forgiveness, and redemption.
Lost in the sins of this world, he cannot find a way out.
Remember that these sins are not always the things we would be scolded
for as children. The worry and anxiety that we devote so much of
ourselves to can be just as destructive. Remember to relax in the
peace of God's redemption. Remember his unfailing love. Remember to
ask for his help and to give this help to others. Tomorrow may not
seem so bad, after all.
What oxygen is to the lungs, such is hope to the meaning of life.
-Emil Brunner, Swiss theologian (1889-1966)

Written by a PC Junior

Today Please Pray For:
PC Freshmen

2009-03-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

Friday

March 20, 2009

Scripture

1 Corinthians 9:16-27

16Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. 18What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.

19Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Reflection

The context for this passage is Paul's rights as an
apostle. Paul willingly gives up his rights for the gospel
of Christ. He preaches free of charge so as to win all
types of people to the Lord- "I have become all things to
all people."

Paul doesn't give up his identity, his authenticity, but follows Christ as one who exercises self-control like an athlete in training. This passage makes me wonder about all the professional/paid Christians in church and para-church organizations. Paul would say this is right- "those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel"- but I wonder if the church is in part of our culture would be greater if more paid Christians worked outside the church and preached/lived the gospel for free?! Maybe everyone should be a commissioned lay pastor!

Written by a PC Staff

Today Please Pray For:
Student Teachers and Off-Campus Interns

2009-03-19T06:50:00.000-07:00

Thursday

March 19, 2009

Scripture

Psalm 102:12-17

But you, O LORD, sit enthroned forever;

your renown endures through all generations.

You will arise and have compassion on Zion,

for it is time to show favor to her;

the appointed time has come.

For her stones are dear to your servants;

her very dust moves them to pity.

The nations will fear the name of the LORD,

all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.

For the LORD will rebuild Zion

and appear in his glory.

He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;

he will not despise their plea.

Reflection
The hundred-second Psalm is the lament of a person afflicted with
some sort of disease. The Psalmist begins by describing his physical
pain – “My bones burn like glowing embers “(v.3) – as well as his deep
loneliness – “I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. I
lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof”(v.6-7). This is
a person who feels near to death, who fears that God has forsaken him
(v.10-11).
The Psalmist interrupts his lament, though, with this song of
praise starting at verse 12. He sings of God’s everlasting, ever
compassionate nature. He sings of how God hears the praise of God’s
people always and will answer those prayers in time. The psalmist
writes for “a future generation, that a people not yet created may
praise the LORD” (v.18). The psalmist speaks with a conviction that
God is present and faithful in every time and every place, from times
past into times not yet conceived.
I think that during the Lenten season we can often feel
afflicted. For college students, the time of Lent corresponds to the
busy, sometimes chaotic heart of spring semester. It can be a time of
late nights writing dozens of pages for paper after paper or studying
for hours to get ready for midterms. And of course in any season we
may face other trials, both personal and those in the world around us.
But let us remember in these forty days of Lent and in every day that
as we move through crises personal, academic, relational, national, or
global, we can safely and securely rely on a God who is always
present, always faithful, and always moved with compassion, now and
forever.

Written by a PC Senior

Today Please Pray For:
PC Theatre department

Wednesday March 18

2009-03-18T05:47:00.000-07:00

Wednesday
March 18, 2009

Scripture
Psalm 51:1-6

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts [a] ;
you teach [b] me wisdom in the inmost place.

Reflection
We should confess our sins before the Lord in prayer. It is important to not only to confess our sins, but we should also repent- fight against them and run from them. Live by the Spirit so we don’t indulge in the desires of our flesh. When one is convicted of their sin and confesses it to the Lord it is important to realize the grace we have in Christ Jesus. We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) We deserved hell as the punishment of our sin. But while we were still sinners Christ died for us taken on all the sin and penalty we deserved so we could be made right with God! It is only through Jesus Christ that we can be made righteous before the Lord and enter into a personal relationship with him. We can now have eternal life by turning from our sin in commitment and trust to Jesus Christ our Lord. We need to give the Lord control of our lives. When one has a relationship with the Lord their sins are blotted out and thrown as far as the east is to the west. I pray that you share in his resurrection and find power and hope in it!
"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." Philippians 3:10

Written by a PC Senior

Today Please Pray For:
Project Life (bone marrow donation drive)

Tuesday March 17, 2009

2009-03-17T11:26:00.000-07:00

Tuesday

March 17, 2009

Scripture

Mark 6:6b-7

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. ⁷Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil^[a] spirits.

Reflection

Jesus sends the disciples out to do some tough work in these verses, but he sends them out with some pretty good advice. First off, he sends them out in Noah-style, two by two. Jesus knows the significance of having a support system in whatever form of ministry is in your bath be it on Wall Street or mains street. It reminds me of a book I read when I was younger called “Everything I Needed to Know I learned in Kindergarten.” This book gave advice to the grownups of the world in a very practical kindergarten set fashion. The author tells that when we go out into the world we should “Have a buddy, hold hands and look both ways.” This is the advice that Jesus seemed to want his disciples then to hear and I think it is important for us to hear today. Go in to the world but take a friend because the world can be a tough place.

Dear God,

Bless us with good friends and mentors to be a support system for us as we follow your call for us in our lives.

Written by a PC Junior

Today Please Pray For:

The Student Government Organization

Monday March.16.2009

2009-03-16T08:56:00.000-07:00

1 Corinthians 7.25-31

5Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. ²⁶Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are. ²⁷Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife. ²⁸But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.

²⁹What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; ³⁰those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; ³¹those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.

On first reading, this passage gives me great comfort. I don’t have to worry about getting married after six decades of singleness. Paul tells me to remain as I am, and that is a comfort.

I wish it were that easy. However, I realize that Paul is writing to the Corinthians in the full expectations that the end times were at hand. Certainly, if Christ is returning soon, there is no need to complicate the lives we are already living.

I wish it were that easy. Paul’s statements, however, still carry weight, even as we wait for the Second Coming. During Lent we are called to remember how counter-cultural our faith truly is, or perhaps should be. Those things in our world that cause mourning and rejoicing do not have that effect upon us in our community of hope. That hope and the remembrance of all that God has already done for us mean that we see the world through different lenses. The world is indeed turned upside down. We buy but should never count our possessions. We may have to deal with the world in which we find ourselves, but we see those dealings as temporary and superficial.

To be free from the world’s expectations is the great gift of liberation offered to us by the cross. But we can only know it in our lives if we practice it. And we practice this freedom not through Lenten denials, but by the embracing of a life-long life style of freedom through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.

Dear Lord, thank you for this great gift. Help us to appreciate its freedom.

Written by a PC Faculty

Please Pray for:

Sodexo Food Services

2009-03-15T06:44:00.000-07:00

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Scripture
Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD. [a] Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.

Reflection
In our everyday lives a college students, it’s sometimes hard to find the time to “praise the Lord” on an everyday basis. In Psalm 150, there are many ways expressed on how we can “praise the Lord.” There are many small ways that we, as college students, can praise the Lord. These can include thanking God for the small things through out our day, helping a person by opening the door for someone who has a lot in their hands, or just by telling someone that they look nice. There are many ways to praise the Lord and they should be incorporated into our everyday lives.
Written by a PC Sophomore

Today Please Pray For:
The Office of Career Services

2009-03-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday March 14, 2009

Scripture
Psalm 143:5-6
I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on your works and consider what your hands have done. I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.

Reflection
In the whole of Psalm 143, we see David crying out to God in prayer for help. The first thing that he does here is to remember what God has already done for him. Sin is so persuasive in our lives that it can cause us to doubt the God who has already provided for us in such abundance. There are so many things in our life that are vying for our hearts that we often look away from God in an attempt to satisfy our desires on our own. The Psalmist shows us here that, even in his great time of trouble, he knows that it is ultimately God alone who can be his comfort. David opens up his hands that were so tightly clasped onto his own desires and offers those things up to the Lord. It is the letting go of these desires that allows him to truly thirst for God. Just as we must continue to drink water to quench our bodily thirst, we see in the Psalms that we must continually turn from our desires and thirst for the living God who gives life through his Son. This is a thirst that does not come naturally to the flesh and therefore we must echo verse eight and pray for God to “let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love.” It is God alone who can truly satisfy our desires. We must remember to continually humble ourselves before him with open hands that no longer hold on to our desires, but take up his desires and drink of the living water that is promised in Christ. This is not easy but this is the call that God has made to all people: “Come all who are thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:37-38).

Written by a PC Senior

Today Please Pray For:
Stirlings, Campus tour guides

2009-03-13T06:38:00.000-07:00

Friday, March 13, 2009

Scripture

Genesis 45: 1-7

1 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, "Have everyone leave my presence!" So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh's household heard about it.
3 Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still living?" But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.

4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

Reflection

These verses remind me of a story. It’s an ancient Chinese story that I first heard from a wonderful children’s book called “Zen Shorts:”

One day a farmer’s horse broke free from the plow and before the farmer could stop it the horse had run away into the nearby mountains.

“What bad luck,” his neighbors said. “How unfortunate.”

“Maybe,” was the farmer’s reply.

The next day the farmer awoke to find that his horse had returned and was waiting patiently outside the barn. What’s more, a wild horse had followed the farmer’s horse and was also waiting patiently outside the farmer’s barn.

The neighbor’s eyed the new horse with envy.

“How lucky you are to have doubled your live stock.”

“Maybe,” was all the farmer had to say.

Later that day, the farmer’s son set about the task of breaking in the new horse. But the horse was indeed very wild and the son struggled to stay on her back. She bucked wildly and the son flew through the air landing w/ a crash and breaking his leg.

“What misfortune, neighbor!” the other villagers told the farmer.

“Well…” thought the farmer. “Maybe.”

Two days later, the farmer’s village was visited by representatives from the nation’s army. They had come to gather up all the young men to fight in battle on the frontlines of an ongoing war. But when they arrived at the farmer’s house they saw that he was too old and that his son was injured and unable to march. They passed on to the next farm.

“Wow,” sighed the neighbors. “Truly, you are the luckiest farmer in our village.”

“Maybe….”

Joseph was kidnapped by his own brother’s and sold into slavery. He was accused of rape and thrown into prison for years. Then, because he made use of a gift God has given to him, he skyrocketed to fame and fortune. But more importantly he protected thousands of people from starvation. Both the Egyptian population and the Israelite population were saved from painful deaths because earlier Joseph had been sold into slavery.

And then what happened? A new king came to power in Egypt. A man who was not part of Joseph’s social circle, and pretty soon the whole Israeli population is enslaved.

Unfortunate?

Maybe.

The most important part of this story is Joseph’s attitude. It’s all about attitude. Joseph sees his betrayers and his kidnappers for the 1st time in years and he rejoices in their presence. Joseph is able to totally forgive his aggressors because Joseph was one of those shining Old Testament examples of a man who trusts in God completely. He’s a man who believes that there is a divine reason for everything and that God will use every situation for holy purposes. But those purposes are not easily discerned. That’s faith. Joseph has faith in God and higher purposes.

Of course, this is practical in our own lives. We all experience suffering and hardship and pain. We all get stressed out about our overdue work or our malfunctioning technology. And it’s right to do what we can to overcome our own hardships and to help those around us overcome theirs. But it’s important that we never feel to sorry for ourselves. We can’t afford to mistake our situation at the moment for the resting place of the rest of our lives. God has a lot in store for us and our lives are dynamic, constantly changing from day to day and year to year. Along the way the road will rise and fall. When it falls, it’s often hard to imagine another rise. But it’s important to have faith in the road. If we follow the call of God than we can rest easy knowing that life doesn’t stand still and that we are known, loved, and used by God.

Written by a PC Junior

Today Please Pray For:

PC Juniors

2009-03-12T06:36:00.000-07:00

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Scripture

1 Corinthians 6:19

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

Reflection

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the Spirit of God’s gift to you?

As I was reading this line today, my mind instantly leapt to Maya Angelou’s 1978 poem “Phenomenal Woman.” In this poem (see the text below), the female narrator acknowledges that she does not fit the mold of beauty put forth by mainstream media. She is “not cute,” she admits, nor “built to suit a fashion model’s size.” And yet she is phenomenal—a woman filled with “cool”-ness, “fire,” “joy,” “inner mystery,” and, most importantly, pride. Though she does not say it outright, her body is clearly a temple, the outward manifestation of an inward holiness and a strong sense of self. This narrator is most likely a full-figured woman in size, as she references the “span of [her] hips,” but she is also a full figure of a woman, a woman that cannot be ignored because of what she possesses inside as well as out and who is proud of who she is even if she may not be “perfect” (whatever “perfect” really means).

Our culture demands a great deal from women these days, does it not? We are bombarded by images of size 2 models, of women with flawless skin and make-up…and, well, flawless lives. We are expected to whip ourselves into shape—work out daily, eat right, act right—to keep ourselves in line with such standards. Industries devote themselves to our “care.” For a small fortune, we can pay to get things “fixed.” But will that really make our bodies into better temples of the Holy Spirit? (Well, such changes may bring more worship our way, but from whom, for what reasons, and in what way?!) There is nothing wrong with making one’s self a healthier self—eating better or losing weight or getting exercise for health’s sake. But when those goals turn more towards a destruction of self and away from a genuine building of self, then the temple crumbles…and we are left with only ruins.

Phenomenal Woman

By Maya Angelou (1978)

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size

But when I start to tell them

They think I'm telling lies.

I say,

It's in the reach of my arms

The span of my hips,

The stride of my step,

The curl of my lips.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.

I say,

It's the fire in my eyes

And the flash of my teeth,

The swing of my waist,

And the joy in my feet.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Men themselves have wondered

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can't touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them,

They say they still can't see.

I say

It's in the arch of my back,

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Now you understand

Just why my head's not bowed.

I don't shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.

When you see me passing

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It's in the click of my heels,

The bend of my hair,

The palm of my hand,

The need of my care,

'Cause I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Written by a PC Faculty

Today Please Pray For:

Student Volunteer Services

2009-03-11T11:42:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Scripture

1 Corinthians 6: 7-11

7The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers. 9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Reflection

First Corinthians, in my mind, is always associated with love, probably because of how well-known 1 Corinthians 13 is. In 1 Corinthians 6: 7-11, we are reminded that God loves us, and we are to love those around us. It is not our place to judge. In a world (and a very small school) where gossip is common and we frequently talk about the actions of our friends and neighbors in a way that implies our purity, it is important to remember that even we, even believers in Christ, have been wrong doers. Therefore, we do not have room to speak poorly of one who may be acting as a wrongdoer at the moment. We have all been there, and there is no guarantee that we will not go back to such a place of wrongdoing. The NRSV says,

"Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Fornicators, idolators, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers- none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11

This tells us, then, that we should reach out to those who are "wrongdoers" rather than excluding them for their actions. We should encourage them to be cleansed. None of us are pure, but we can all be clean. We can stay clean and love one another, become a larger, more improved body, and reach out to those in need. Perhaps "wrongdoers" are simply asking for help in a twisted way. Maybe they are not committing these actions for pleasure, but because they do not know how else to find what they need. Let us open our hearts to them and love them for who they are, hoping that they too will become clean in the name of the Lord, our loving God.

Written by a PC Junior

Today Please Pray For:

Champs, an afterschool program for Laurens County kids

2009-03-10T21:43:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Psalm 34
1 I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.
2 My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

Reflection
On a regular basis we are surrounded by chaos and struggles. Often times our days are overwhelming and the weeks are never ending. Through life’s disappointments and hardships we find ourselves wondering and questioning the presence of God. Where is he? Why do I feel alone when I need him? Questions swirl in our heads and leave us confused. If we reflect on God’s word we can find comfort and reassurance in our times of need. Many passages of the Bible emphasize God’s constant support. Psalms 34:15 says “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry”. This verse is followed up by Psalms 34:18: “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit”.
God is aware of our daily struggles and is there to save us from our dilemmas. He is listening for our call, but we must remember, through daily prayer, reading and reflection to call out for him. We must seek God each day if we want his help and guidance. “I sought the LORD, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalms 34:4). “When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears, and rescues them from all their troubles” (Psalms 34:17). If we call out to God and seek him, he will provide.
We sometimes forget to reach for God when we have problems. That is the state of man and it is no different today than when Jesus walked the earth. Even the disciples often forgot to reach out to God. Jesus was there to pick them up, remind them of God’s presence and teach right through the night before he was crucified. Even with personal instruction, Jesus’ crucifixion left the disciples feeling lost, confused, and abandoned. However, just as Psalms 34 explains, the disciples were not alone. Jesus rose from the dead and met the disciples in Galilee to restore their faith in the power of God. Imagine the comfort, joy and relief they experienced when the Lord was among them again.
We don’t have the option of a physical Jesus among us to remind us of God’s loving hand and guidance. However, our reflection on Jesus’ death and resurrection, our awareness of the Holy Spirit among us, can provide us comfort. The resurrection is the embodiment of God’s promise in Psalms 34. Jesus is our rock and shield. He is unfailing in his love. It is important during this Lenten season to remember that God never forsakes us.
Even during our darkest hours the LORD your God and his son are ever present. “Seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened unto you”. (Luke 11:9)

Written by a PC Sophomore

Today Please Pray For:
PC Sophomores

2009-03-09T17:37:00.000-07:00

^{Monday, March 9, 2009

Mark 3:7-19}

⁷Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. ⁸When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. ⁹Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. ¹⁰For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. ¹¹Whenever the evil^a]">[a]spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." ¹²But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was.
¹³Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴He appointed twelve—designating them apostles^b]">[b]—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵and to have authority to drive out demons. ¹⁶These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter ¹⁷ James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); ¹⁸Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot ¹⁹and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Prayer

Creator God, God of work and rest, God of crowds and individuals, You bring us together in Christian community and you send us out with good news. Help us to know when to retreat with a few close friends and when to go out into the world. Grant us peace as we work as your disciples, like your apostles did before us. Grant us patience to be still and listen for your call. Set us free from doubt so that we may be renewed and grounded in this Lenten season. We love you. We want to serve you. Teach us how. Amen.

Written by a PC Senior.

Today please pray for all the students contemplating life after college.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

2009-03-08T10:15:00.002-07:00

March 8, 2009

Romans 6:6-11

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Reflection

When reading these few verses, I think about how once I turned to Christ in my mess and in my sin, He made me completely and totally new in Him. The old me was killed with Christ, along with all the sins I had committed, still commit, and have yet to commit. By realizing I was lost, God created and changed me from the inside out. The sin that once controlled me and enticed me was put under a new power - the power of Christ.

In The Message Bible, a part of these verses are translated "Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you...you are dead to sin and alive to God". How incredible! God has killed the part of me that was controlled by sin and made me alive to Him and in Him. Sin will always be a battle because we are human. But the choice to sin is now in our power. My body will constantly fight with my spirt to commit sin and go against God. It is not wrong to struggle with sin, even Christ was tempted. For that very reason, we are encouraged that when we died with Christ, our physical bodies were counted as less important than our spiritual bodies because our spiritual bodies will live forever with Christ! "so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin..." So in this freedom Christ has given us from sin, we can rejoice in Christ's death - which set us free from the debt of our sin - and in Christ's resurrection - which empowers us with eternal life to be shared with Him.

Written by a PC Sophomore

Today Please Pray For:

The Office of Residence Life

Saturday, March 7, 2009

2009-03-08T10:15:00.001-07:00

March 7, 2009

1^st Corinthians 4: 1-7, 7-8. The Message.

^7-8For who do you know that really knows you, knows your heart? And even if they did, is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn't everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what's the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need. You already have more access to God than you can handle. Without bringing either Apollos or me into it, you're sitting on top of the world—at least God's world—and we're right there, sitting alongside you!

Reflection

This reading really struck me, particularly verses 7-8. Here Paul talks about how, as humans, we are naturally competitive and constantly compare ourselves with others. He is quick to point out to us that God has provided everything we will ever need so we shouldn’t be comparing ourselves with others. We should be content in the fact that we are God’s children and his love for us is both unfailing and everlasting. I think that we get so caught up in our own competitiveness with others that we forget this important fact. In Ryan Calhoun’s song Who We Are, it says, “at the end of the day, all we have is who we are.” This quote is true in that we should be confidant in our identity as children of God, and because this is who we are, we should live our lives in a way that glorifies him more than ourselves. The season of Lent is a wonderful time to start this new beginning of showing his love through our actions and the way we live or lives. By doing this we will grow both more in our Christian walk and more and more into the people the Lord wants us to be.

Written by a PC Sophomore

Today Please Pray For:

The Office of Student Life

2009-03-06T06:59:00.000-08:00

Friday
March 6, 2009

Psalm 22

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel. [a]
4 In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
8 "He trusts in the LORD;
let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him."
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother's breast.
10 From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother's womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions tearing their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted away within me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me [b] in the dust of death.
16 Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced [c] my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.
19 But you, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save [d] me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you [e] will I fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn—
for he has done it.

Reflection

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?” 1

God isn’t listening. He’s not answering; not your prayers, not your pleas. He isn’t talking; not one word. Why isn’t He there? Why isn’t He giving you guidance? Why is He so far away?

“Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. Many bulls encircle me…they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;” 11-14

You’re screaming: I’m tired. I’m overwhelmed. I’m stressed. I’m broken. But there is no help. God, where are you?

“For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him.” 24

Stop. Slow down. Is God really that far? Is He really leaving you to the bulls and lions? Was it really that God was forsaking you? Was He really not listening to your cries, fear, and distress?

Or was it you? Were you screaming and not listening, not allowing yourself to hear what He has to say? Or were you looking for the answers, only you were looking in all of the wrong places? Is there a chance that what He is saying, doing, and providing for you isn’t what you want it to be?

“Posterity will serve him…and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.” 30-31

Be still. Listen and look. Open your eyes; take a new, refreshed perspective. He’s there. In places you don’t expect to see Him. Doing things you didn’t realize He was doing. But you have to stop and truly look and listen. He’s there. He hears you, He cries with you, He holds you close, He rejoices with you. You just have to let Him.

Written by a PC Junior

Today Please Pray For:
The Baseball and Softball Teams

2009-03-05T07:36:00.000-08:00

Thursday

March 5, 2009

Mark 2:1-12

1A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

6Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7"Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

8Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? 9Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? 10But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, 11"I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 12He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

Reflection

So here we are again in the Lenten season, promising to give things up, and always struggling to complete the daunting task. During this season I will admit, I typically fail to follow through with those Lenten promises, but when reading Mark 2:1-12 I am always reassured as Jesus forgives both my sins and my paralysis, causing me to again do God’s will in my life. I recently read this prayer pattern from an Anglican group that I believe speaks so plainly, striking right at the heart, urging us to get back up, and follow God’s call again. I urge you to read each line of scripture and then prayer and meditate on the response in bold. I hope that it will inspire you as it did me, to get up off my mat, and WALK!

And again he entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that he was in the house. (Mark 2:1)
Jesus, let it be heard that you are in our homes!

Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And he preached the word to them. (Mark 2:2)
Jesus, we pray that your word will be preached to us week by week throughout this diocese.

Then they came to him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. (Mark 2:3)
Father, we pray that every parish in this diocese will be a place where people are drawn to Jesus for healing.

And when they could not come near him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where he was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. (Mark 2:4)
Holy Spirit, give us that same persistence in prayer that these four men had in bringing their sick friend to Jesus.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” (Mark 2:5)
Thank you, Jesus; I was paralyzed by sin and you forgave me. Thank you.

And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:6-7)
Lord, set us free from grumbling, murmuring, and complaining.

But immediately, when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, he said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?” (Mark 2:8 )
O LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; you understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, and laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it. (Psalm 139:1-6)

“Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”–he said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” (Mark 2:9-11)
Holy Spirit, help all of us in this diocese know and proclaim that Jesus has the power to forgive sins.

Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mark 2:12)
Jesus, visit us with your mighty deeds. Set us free from the paralysis of “politeness” that keeps us from sharing the good news of salvation. Thank you.

A word received: Pray for God’s children to be drawn back into the fold. Pray for each of us to get up off our mats and WALK, fulfilling God’s will by spreading the Good News!

Written by a PC Senior

Today Please Pray For:

Celtic Cross

2009-03-04T07:42:00.001-08:00

Wednesday

March 4, 2009

Psalm 51

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.

5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts [a] ;
you teach [b] me wisdom in the inmost place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.

14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

17 The sacrifices of God are [c] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.

18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Reflection

Of today's lectionary texts, I found Psalm 51 to be the most applicable to my life during this Lenten season. Though written by David as a "Prayer of Cleansing and Pardon" after his affair with Bathsheba, it struck me as strikingly applicable to my life. After weeks of all-nighters in the library… and at the fraternity houses… it's time for a serious reality check. I need a "right spirit within me." I need God to "wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin."

We often think of Lent as a time to prepare and contemplate; often we do this by giving up things we are "addicted" to, like eating candy, swearing, or watching TV. Instead of giving up soft drinks again this year, maybe seeking an honest relationship with God would benefit me more than a caffeine withdrawal. God desires "truth in the inward being." Saying to God every morning, "Restore in me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit."

No matter how we choose to set aside our time for contemplation during Lent, it is only with God's help that we can reach our goals. Whether it's giving up something or working toward better habits or attitudes, we must do it in a "right spirit."

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me." Amen.

Written by a PC Sophomore

Today Please Pray For:

Women’s and Men’s Tennis Team

2009-03-03T06:22:00.000-08:00

Tuesday
March 3, 2009

1Corinthians 1:20-21
“Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.”

Reflection
Light is a particle and a wave; it acts like a ball being thrown around and a sound in the air. It has energy but no mass. It can collide with electrons and move them, just like billiard balls. I'm telling you all this to say that light is not fully understood yet. The even more amazing part is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. It says that if you are trying to locate where an electron is, like in a big room, if you shine light on it the light will actually move it from where it was and send it moving in a new direction. So we can either precisely measure an electron’s momentum or we can precisely measure the electrons location, but not both at the same time. I believe that this is a good representation of God's wisdom compared to our wisdom. God's wisdom is all around us. Scientists are trying to take flashlights and shine them into the darkness, but as soon as they do they lose information about what their looking for. We will never be able to understand everything and put it into neat equations that make us feel good. Part of the wisdom of God is that it humbles us. We continually search for the complete truth of what God is, but God only gives it to us in little pieces. God reveals a lot about Himself in the Bible, but they are very conflicting traits. God is angry, just, loving, forgiving, powerful, and all-knowing. Usually, for me I experience just one of those traits of God. I can understand how He can be loving, but to understand how He is angry at the same time is hard. The light we are trying to shine on God only reveals a small amount of what He is for a split second. We will keep turning that light on and off, on and off, to try and understand what is in the darkness. In the end, our flashlight batteries will run out and sitting in the darkness God will reveal to us whatever He wants. Some days we just need to turn off the lights!

Written by a PC Junior

Today Please Pray For:
The Thornwell Big Brother/Big Sister Program

2009-03-02T08:42:00.000-08:00

Monday
March 2, 2009

1 Corinthians 1:1-19 (NIV)
1Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
2To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:
3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
4I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge— 6because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. 7Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
Divisions in the Church
10I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas[a]"; still another, "I follow Christ."
13Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into[b] the name of Paul? 14I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. 16(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Christ the Wisdom and Power of God
18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written:
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."[c]

Reflection

Prayer…
Heavenly Father, Help me understand your words and its purpose in my life. I pray that you will be in my thoughts in this time with you and throughout the days to come.
Reflections...
Still, today we are a generation constantly being reminded of and being labeled by the denomination we are involved it and as a result building walls and divisions.
Take time you write in a journal or on a sheet of paper your thoughts about the scripture you just read. What was significant? Could you relate this topic to your life? If so, how? How do you think God is calling you to life your life.
Take it to the world...
In the next weeks take some time to go to a church or campus ministry you do not normally go to and one that is not of the denomination you associate with. Afterwords, take time to notice similarities. What do you have in Common? What is at the root of ALL types and forms of worship?
Prayer…
Heavenly father, I thank you for time I have to worship and reflect upon your words. I pray that you will use me and my life to your glory. Lord, give me the strength and knowledge to do your will. Help me and others to understand that you are at the root of my happiness. Help me not to make divisions and judge others. You are the only judge, lord.
Amen

Written by a PC Senior

Today Please Pray For:
PC Seniors

2009-02-28T22:14:00.000-08:00

Sunday
March 1, 2009

Hebrews 2:17-18.
17For this reason he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Reflection
Growing up, I remember several times when my brother and I would play out in the yard, and we would hear mama say, “Time for dinner!” We would always come in with some sort of bruise and sometimes with a gash or sting. I can just see Mary calling outside, “Jesus stop playing and get cleaned up for dinner.” I think in this way and many more ways, Jesus was just like my brother, myself, and perhaps you as well.
Often quoted as the shortest verse in the bible, John tells us that “Jesus wept” when he was in mourning for Lazarus. We often forget that he wept because he loved Lazarus, just like you and I might love our best friends. This weeping Jesus was the word made flesh, both fully human and fully divine. He knows what we feel when temptation is heavy on our hearts. He experienced every bit of suffering so that we can turn to him in our suffering.
In this Lenten season, we are awaiting and preparing our hearts for the resurrection of our saviour. Our comfort comes in and through Jesus’ life, knowing that our God became man to suffer in temptation and “help those who are being tempted”.

Father we pray this day in thanksgiving for your almighty mercy and faithfulness to your people. Spirit, help us to find comfort in our suffering, and call upon your name when we are tempted or in need. Be with us as we prepare our hearts for your glorious resurrection in communion with others. Help us answer your call to show the face of Christ as we are with those suffering in this time. For it is in your son’s holy name we pray. Amen

Written by a PC Senior

Today Please Pray For:
The women’s and men’s lacrosse teams

2009-02-28T22:04:00.000-08:00

Saturday
February 28, 2009

Psalm 43
“1Vindicate me, O God,
And plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
Rescue me from deceitful and wicked men.
2You are my God my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
Oppressed by the enemy?
3Send forth your light and your truth,
Let them guide me;
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
To the place where you dwell.
4Then will I go to the altar of God,
To God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.
5Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
For I will yet praise him,
My Savior and my God.

Reflection
First Pray and ask the Lord to prepare your heart for meeting with him. Tell the Lord that you really want to hear from him, and settle your hearts for him.
Psalm 42 and 43 were meant to be together, but were separated because of strophes. I would suggest reading Psalm 42, which starts the second book of the Psalms. Read this to truly understand how badly the temple musicians and assistants (the sons of Korah) were thirsting for God.
When you first read through Psalm 43 observe the passage, note anything that you can really relate to or anything that just jumps out at you and you feel like the Lord is trying to show you or tell you. These verses will help you to understand that our only hope is in God.
Also, pick out words that you are not sure what they mean and look them up in a Bible Dictionary. This will help you to understand the scripture better. Look at commentaries, study bibles, and ask other Christians.
Now confess your sins to God through prayer. Use God’s word in Psalm 43 to pray to him and confess that in times of discouragement we do not turn to God and that our only hope is not in God because we get too caught up in our worldly desires. Pray thoroughly through Psalm 43. God really loves it when you pray his word to him! Thank God for his promise to be with us at all times and to help us through this life he has made new through his son Jesus Christ!

Written by a PC Senior

Today Please Pray For:
The Multicultral Student Union

Friday, February 27, 2009

2009-02-27T05:29:00.000-08:00

Friday

February 27, 2009

John 17: 9-19

⁹I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. ¹¹I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. ¹²While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. ¹³"I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. ¹⁴I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷Sanctify^[^a^] them by the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Reflection...

Jesus is praying this prayer publicly in front of his disciples. It is a prayer of understanding and encouragement, addressing some of the concerns that have preoccupied their lives. Jesus prays for himself as well. He is asking God to resurrect him from the dead, not to save his own life, but to glorify God's name, and save the people of the world from the power of evil. This is a very universal prayer. Jesus reveals his understanding of God's plan, and the vital role he will play.

Reflect on Jesus' prayer. What does this mean during the season of Lent to you? Jesus' love for the world and love for God goes beyond any love and dedication the world has ever seen. During the reflection and solemnity of Lent, take time to remember that Love. Your life and salvation are made possible by it.

Written by a PC Sophmore

Today Please Pray For:

The Women’s and Men’s Basketball Teams

2009-02-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

Thursday

February 26, 2009

Psalm 27

¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

² When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh, ^[a]
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.

³ Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.

⁴ One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.

⁵ For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.

⁶ Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.

⁷ Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.

⁸ My heart says of you, "Seek his ^[b] face!"
Your face, LORD, I will seek.

⁹ Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.

¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.

¹¹ Teach me your way, O LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.

¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.

¹³ I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

Many times we call on God to save us and protect us from the things in our lives that attack. It always seems that THIS time I need to be saved from a test or JUST THIS ONCE get me to the airport on time. I was running the other day and thinking about how I needed God to deliver me one more time and that throughout my life I had only really wanted a few things. I convinced myself that I am a “good” person as I was running. I brush my teeth and say my prayers and make sure to help the elderly cross the street. Why is God picking on me this time? Am I just the fly that a masochistic God is pulling the wings off of? Of course not

This sort of posturing and self-pity is just a feeble homage to the martyr of Saint Me. Everyone deals with the daily inconveniences, everyone has to hit hard parts in life. David tells us in Psalm 27 verse 3 “When an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.” David had seen trouble and had literally slept with an enemy army sleeping a mile away. Yet David saw even that as glory to God. We cannot live in the fear of being conquered. David goes on to say in verse 5, “For He [God] will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble.” When the real trouble comes, THAT is the time that we will know God’s presence. He is with us just as He was with David so when we see the enemy encampments of school or social pressures there is nothing to fear.

In this season of Lent, I encourage you to face these small issues that seem insurmountable with courage and remember 2^nd Timothy 1:7

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

I would also like to leave you with my favorite verse and one that I have been leaning on for some time now:

“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Written by a PC Junior

Today Please Pray For:

RAs

Wednesday February 25, 2009

2009-02-25T06:54:00.000-08:00

Ash Wednesday

Meditation:
Ash Wednesday leads us into the penitential season of Lent. We remember that we mortal people are nothing but dust, remembering that in the beginning of time, God took a handful of dust, breathed into it, and then there was life; the first person. The intimate nearness of God is made visible in these ashes we receive today. These ashes are also a frightening reminder of all those ways in which we are separated or estranged from the light; all those ways we know as sin which disconnect us from God.
Ashes remind us of our connectedness and our disconnectedness to and from God. They remind us just how close or how far away God sometimes seems to be.
This Ash Wednesday worship is a time to repent, to return to God, to reconnect, to put ourselves and all our life in the Light of the One who promises eternal life so that every day, not just today, people will be able to see the crosses on our foreheads. They will see them in everything we say and everything we do will proclaim the good news of God in Christ. - Rev. Kirk Alan Kubicek

A prayer of confession:
Gathered in this place,
with our sin and our unrighteousness,
with the injustice of the world,
and a lack of love in our hearts,
we turn to you, O God.
We long for a promise that will not fade.
We yearn for a forgiveness that will cleanse and redeem.
We look for a way that will lead us to life.
Dust is all we are, but you are more, much more.
Your mercy, your grace, your love are so much more,
more than we deserve, more than we can measure.
Hear our prayers, O God.
Hear us, redeem us, restore us,
for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Compiled by a PC Staff

Please pray for:
campus services including maintenance and housekeeping staffs

Introduction to Lenten Devotional

2009-02-04T15:47:00.000-08:00

Lent

One of the special times on the Christian calendar is Lent- a period of forty days plus six Sundays- this year beginning on Ash Wednesday, Feb 25. Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "lencten" which means springtime. Lent is a time to take to take a closer look at your relationships- with God, others, and yourself. The church uses the color purple for times of worship.
Lent is a time of contemplation- praying, reading, and reflecting. Lent is a time of preperation- getting ready to remember Jesus' death and resurrection. Lent is a time of renewal- as the Earth is renewed with spring rains and flowers, so our spirits are renewed by the Holy Spirit.
Often times you will hear someone talk about giving something up for Lent...
What if, instead of giving up chocolate or beer, we gave up our favorite TV show or spent less time on Facebook?
What if instead of focusing on ourselves, we prayed specifically for one person and became an answer to our prayer?
The day before Lent begins is "Mardi Gras" (Fat Tuesday) of Shrove Day (when church folks confessed their sins and were forgiven). Some people have pancakesto use up butter and eggs in preparation for times of fasting and specialprayer during Lent.