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Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4: 4-7) Reflection Have you ever known the kind of person who, when faced with the trials of Job, will smile and say “But God is good. I have so much to be thankful for.” It is difficult for most of us to muster this positive attitude. Although we live in such luxury compared to most of the world, we daily lament our annoyances. We have to wait in line, that toy is out of stock at Amazon. Traffic is bad and our doctor’s appointment got changed AGAIN. In today’s scripture Paul tells us not to worry, but to make our requests known to God. He says we should pray with thanksgiving. He doesn’t say that God will answer every prayer, but that His peace will guard our hearts and minds. Perhaps it is the simple yet profound act of cultivating a spirit of thanksgiving that can bring us God’s peace. If we can focus on the good then we too can find joy in the midst of our trials. What are you thankful for today? --Erin Hayes Prayer God of all blessings, help us to see the many gifts that you have given to us and to come to you with a grateful heart. Amen. Our devotions are based on this Sunday’s Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). The RCL is a three-year cycle of readings telling the story of our Christian faith and corresponding to the season church calendar. On any given Sunday, we are hearing and praying and examining the same Scripture with millions of Christians around the world. In our current Year C, the Old Testament readings progress through the Prophets and have the theme of the day that it is connected to the Gospel reading. The Psalm, a song the congregation sings in response to the Old Testament reading, most often corresponds to the theme of the Hebrew Lessons and/or that of the Gospel Lesson. The lesson from the Epistles or from Acts typifies the church’s focus on the meaning of Christ for today. The Gospel lesson is connected to the season of the Church Year. This year, our gospel readings are from Luke, who writes that Jesus is the universal Savior and the perfect Son of Man. In the current season of Advent, we long for Christ’s coming: Christ coming as a baby; Christ coming again; Christ in our lives today.
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