First United Methodist Church of Rocky Ford

09/15/2025

Hey everyone,
Today is a new day and I spent much of the day in meditation and prayer. Wow! what a revelation the day was. I am still struggling with the murder of a true person of faith in Charlie Kirk but I did connect with my Lord and Savior today and he fed me a verse. I am going to share it with you now as my verse of the day.

Verse of the Day: You will know the truth and the truth will set you free. - John 8:32

Devotional: We don't always understand what is going on around us and from time to time we get slapped up side the head with reality. This was one of those weeks. I watched Charlie Kirk being assassinated the other day in horror. A couple of days earlier, I saw a video of the young Ukrainian refugee being stabbed to death on a commuter train in Charlotte with no one on that train stepping up to help her. Then, 10 minutes after Charlie was killed there was a news blurb on the school shooting in Evergreen. I was devastated. I questioned my faith and I had to beg for help.

My prayers were answered when God sent me this verse. The verse is only 11 words long but the lesson was huge.
I have been a Christian all of my life and I grew up in relationship with Jesus Christ and God except for a few years of rejection of my faith. But, this week my faith was shaken. I sat here and questioned my faith, my call, and my commitment. But God called out to me today.

When I read that verse, I thought back over all of my life and I was able to see glimpses of all the lives I have touched over the years. Some were joyous, some were painful, some were cut short and some have become enduring relationships. It was then that I realized my work wasn't done. There are more lives to be touched. There is more faith to be shared. There is more work to do.

I spent my week rededicating myself to Jesus Christ and my commitment to living and preaching the BIBLICAL truth, and looking at what tomorrow looks like because the truth is what we make it and the outcome is out of our hands. Only God knows what the future looks like and the only piece we have control over is ourselves, our faith, and our attitude! Last week I talked about picking up our cross and following Christ to Calvary. TODAY IS THAT DAY! It is time for us to do what God has called us to and open our hearts and souls to allow him the to give us the strength to continue down the narrow path to the kingdom.

Prayer Thought: Gracious and loving God,
I ask today to give us the strength age grace to hold up our faith and continue to lead us down the path you have set before both as Christian believers and American citizens. We know you are our strength, our power, and our grace. Lift up all who have suffered unbelievable loss this and allow us to show grace, peace, and hope to all of these families,
Amen

09/11/2025

Verse of the Day 9/11/2025: I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. - Psalm 121:1-2

Devotional: Yesterday was a horrific day for the family of Charlie Kirk as well as the families of all of the victims of the Evergreen shooting. Today we remember the terrible events of 9/11. Looking back I remember being stranded in Detroit on a business trip and I remember the pain and suffering of the people who lost family and friends in the carnage. In addition, I remember tanks and soldiers on the streets of Detroit and Dearborn Heights in fear of an Arab insurrection in the area.
I also remember people coming together to pull together semi-truck loads of necessities to send to ground zero. The point I am trying to make is that in every critical event, horrible event that happens we see the good and bad sides of humanity.
I think today's verse is important for us as we try to understand these tragedies. Nothing I can say or do can help answer the questions that I know we all have, I can't even wrap my own head around these incidences of senseless violence. However, I spend more and more time in prayer asking the LORD to help me understand what is happening in our world today. So my best advice is to "Lift your eyes to the hills. From where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the creator of heaven and earth." Through Christ we will find understanding! NEVER FORGET! Not only Pearl Harbor and 9/11 but all of the tragedies we face as human beings and help us find the way forward, together.

Prayer thought for this day:
Gracious God,
Today we ask that you lift us all up and help us find ways to remember all whose lives have been cut short by political, religious, and all other senseless violence. Help us come together from all backgrounds and see a way forward. I put my faith and trust in you, O LORD, and I know you are my hope and my strength.
Amen

09/10/2025

Verse for the Day 9/10/2025: The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. - Psalm 34:18

I asked in my last post for prayers for the victims and families of those folks in Utah and Evergreen earlier today as well as others whose lives have been shattered lately. Pray for these folks, pray for one another, and pray for our nation which is under siege by evil forces. I found Psalm 34:18 to be comforting and I hope that it is helpful to you all as well. We are living in challenging times but it is evermore important that we maintain our faith and we continue to look heavenward for support it this time of need. When Jesus struggled he prayed, when he felt alone he prayed. As disciples of Christ we would do well to heed and follow Christ's example.

Prayer thought:
Gracious God, We come before you today humbled by the circumstances we are faced with today with the shootings in Orem Utah and Evergreen, Colorado. We ask that you lift up the victims and their families and let them know they are not alone in their grief but also lift up all the other families grieving after all of the violence in the recent days.
Lord, we also ask that you lift us up as brothers and sisters in Christ and help us keep our faith, help us better understand the root causes of the brokenness of the world we live in today, and most of all give us the strength to continue being your hands and feet in our communities and your world. Amen

09/10/2025

We need prayers for Charlie Kirk and his family as well as the families of the two students shot at Evergreen HS also today. Pray for strength, pray for hope, pray for grace, and pray for peace. This violence has to stop.
We live in a country that has more freedoms than any other nation in the world. Two of the most important of these freedoms are the freedom of speech and freedom. What has happened to dialogue and our ability to hear both sides of an argument and if not come to an agreement, at least be able agree to disagree.
This country has become so divided that evil has infiltrated every part of our everyday lives. Many have turned their backs on their faith and our society is truly broken.
My prayers today are for the victims and families of all who are struggling with grief and mourning of all of the victims of random violence over the past few weeks.

09/02/2025

Our Verse of the Day for September 2, 2025
Hebrews 11:1: Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Daily Devotion:
First, let me apologize for not getting the first post up yesterday like I promised but when Sandy and I got home yesterday I took a spill, and was hurting for most of the day. I am better now so don’t worry about me and I am back on track today.
I have spoken a lot lately about faith and how we sometimes can have that faith shaken by many different influences such as the events in the world around us or our very own life circumstances. Sometimes it comes in the form of denial. Other times it can creep in through hints of unbelief. The truth is that this is normal but we can overcome our weakness.
Webster’s Dictionary defines faith in various ways but I like the Hebrews version better. Max Lucado expands on this by saying “Faith is the belief that God is real and that God is good…It is a choice to believe that the one who made it all hasn’t left it all and that He still sends light into the shadows in response to gestures of faith.”
As I said earlier, Sandy and I went to the Labor Day Lift-off Sunday afternoon for the balloon glow on Sunday evening and the Lift-off Monday morning and I saw the perfect illustration for this phenomenon while I was shooting photos. I happened to be facing west into the sunset and the sun was sinking behind Pike’s Peak. When I was focused on the balloons the photo was very dark and not very appealing (I likened this shot to a lack of faith). Then I changed the way I framed the photo to include the light from the sun fading behind the mountain and the whole picture changed. The balloons got brighter, the rays of the sun became visible and the picture was beautiful (this shot made me think of Christ as the light in the darkness of the world).
I guess what I am trying to say is that our faith can be seen as a matter of perspective. How and what we focus on is where we put our faith! When we focus on the darkness our faith dims. When we focus on the Light (Jesus) our faith burns brightly. How we view ourselves and the world determines our level of faith. In addition, our perspective also influences how well we relate to God and one another. When our faith starts to wane we need to remember that Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that He never leaves us on our own, as long as we continue to seek him!
Prayer Focus:
Those who feel alone and broken. Those who have had their faith shaken, and all people of faith that need to refocus on God’s truth.
Gracious and loving God,
Help us see your Light throughout the ups and downs of everyday life. Help us be encouraged through your Word and your promises and guide us down the path to your kingdom.
Amen.

08/22/2025

It is my intention to begin posting daily thoughts, verses, and pics again on September 1. Please join me as I get back into my daily walk with the Word and creation. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

01/08/2025

01/05/2025

I felt bad cancelling worship for our two congregations this morning but I was not comfortable having folks make the drive to either church with the sheet of ice under the new fallen snow. I know it looks beautiful this morning with the snow and the frosted trees but the roads are treacherous at best. However, I felt called to share with you all this Epiphany morning.
Please pray with me:
Gracious and loving God we give You thanks for the blessing of your peace and strength when things don't go the way we plan. With all that has happened the past few weeks and days we know that nothing fits in the little box with ribbons and bows we want our lives to be. We ask today that You hear our prayers for hope and peace this week as we continue to worship and serve You in all we do. We pray this in the name of your Son Jesus who taught us to pray the Lord's Prayer. Amen

With the storm and all the tragedy that has surrounded us over the past few weeks and days, this morning I found a couple of verses to give us a better understanding of change and often the need to pivot and follow a new path. Regardless of how we handle all of the different changes going on in our lives we can feel secure in one thing that always remains constant.

"In a world of unrelenting changes, I am the One who never changes. 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.' Find in me the stability for which you have yearned."

"I created a perfectly ordered world: one that reflects my perfection. Now, however, the world is under the bo***ge of sin and evil. Every person on this planet faces gaping jaws of uncertainty. The only antidote to this poisonous threat is drawing closer to Me. In my presence you can face uncertainty with perfect peace."

Revelation 22:13; John 16:33