Devotionals are short essays written by GSLC members and staff that explore the ways the Holy Spirit works within our every day lives. There are several ways we invite you to use these devotionals:

Make them a part of a prayer practice - read a devotion and consider the ways that Christ has worked similarly in your life or works in unexpected ways.
Make them a part of a journaling practice - read a devotion and journal about what the Holy Spirit is stirring in you as you reflect on the essay.
Use them as a reminder that God works in all things, the bad and the good.

With over 400 available devotions, you can use these daily, weekly, or monthly. It's up to you! We just hope that by reading these inspiring stories provided by Good Shepherd's flock you are able to better see where Jesus is present in all things! Thank you to all of our members that have provided devotionals throughout the past couple of years!

Event date: 4/28/2020

Mark Buelsing / Tuesday, April 28, 2020

/ Categories: Publications, Daily Devotions

Daily Devotion

Since Ohio’s call to shelter in place in mid-March, Steve and I have spent most Saturday evenings watching a movie together, enjoying a snack or two. Sometimes it has been an old favorite that we have seen before and other times it has been something just released. You might say it has become a quarantine ritual. This past Saturday, Steve and I watched the movie, The Two Popes, which was released in 2019. For Steve, it was his first time to see it and for me it was my second time.

I highly recommend this quiet yet powerful movie which pulls back the curtain and lets viewers see the relationship between the two popes and their call and their desire to serve God, the church and the people of God in the world.

This movie highlights for me how Pope Francis continues to challenge Christians to be courageous, go out with our faith engaged and meet people every day. He believed as Christians we should create a “culture of encounter”. To encounter people is to do as Jesus said in the parable found in Matthew 25 but especially verses 34-37. To encounter people is to do as the Quaker, George Fox suggests, “Walk joyfully on the earth and respond to that of God in every human being.” To encounter people is to serve them. I think Pope Francis would say to encounter people is to really see their situation, and then respond to it by looking them in the eye and touching them on the hand as we serve.

Then as I listened to Pastor Alice’s sermon on Sunday where she spoke about encountering Jesus at the UDF, all of these thoughts coalesced for me. Someone much wiser than me said, “We do not think ourselves into a new way of living, we live/act ourselves into a new way of thinking.” When we truly encounter people in their circumstances we are changed and our hearts are open to them.

For me, right now because of the times we live in, we seem to be given the chance to encounter people, experience the God in them and have our hearts opened wide once again.

So I am wondering, in this time of sheltering in place, how are you encountering Jesus in the other and how has this opened your heart?

Print

13373 Rate this article:

No rating

Name:	Please enter a name.
Email:	Please enter an email address. Please enter a valid email address.

Comment:	Please enter comment.
I agree	This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data. You must read and accept this rules.

Daily Devotion