Tag Archives: faith

By Faith–Love Wins

Lent

March 26, 2023

Scripture Reading: John 11:1-45

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. –John 11:28-45

How much do we still expect the Lord to prove that he is who he says he is? In Luke 4, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 Do not put the Lord your God to the test. This is in the story of Jesus’s wilderness quest, where the devil presented Jesus with three temptations.  The final one essentially asked Jesus to prove that he was the Son of God by throwing himself off the mountainside and seeing if God would send angels to save him. From the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus knew by faith his calling and accepted the challenges of his assignment, perhaps not the details but the possible consequences of achieving his mission.

Hebrews 11:1-3 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.

We are called to continue that mission and vision to this day, and it is, by faith, that we will accomplish God’s vision of a world ruled by love.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we let the world’s challenges try to redirect our mission. Grant us the courage that faith requires. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Faith

Ordinary Time

February 17, 2022

Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 15:35-38

But someone will ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?’ Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.

I once was sitting beside a good friend at the funeral of another friend’s father. My friend was born for triple X clothing. She was attractive and wore her size well. The service had been too long while the presiding minister preached modern day hell, fire, and damnation. He suddenly slammed his hand down on the pulpit and declared that the man in the casket below him would one day rise out of that casket and his soul and body would be reunited. My triple X friend whispered just loud enough for me and the friend on the other side to hear, “But I wanted a new one.” I do not think I ever forgave her for making me laugh out loud at a funeral. I quickly turned it into a cough.

I remembered this event when I read that Paul called the people fools who inquired what kind of body they would have when they are raised from the dead. Faith is a difficult thing for some to fathom. They want absolutes and guarantees. Hebrews 11:1 states it well, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. We certainly hope to spend eternity with God, but we must attend to our serving the Lord here on earth today and trust eternity to God.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for being tolerant of our human foibles as we grow in wisdom and strength in your service.  Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Faith’s Bottomline

Lent

February 26, 2021

Scripture Reading: Romans 4:13-25

Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become ‘the father of many nations’, according to what was said, ‘So numerous shall your descendants be.’ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith ‘was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ Now the words, ‘it was reckoned to him’, were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification. –Romans 4:18-25

The word reckon means to find the bottom line*. This scripture is saying that Abraham’s faith was the bottom line of his righteousness.  Doing right, doing justice is often measured by how well we obey laws or treat others equitably. Paul is challenging us to see the source of our actions. Our trust in God enables everything we are or do. Our faith defines who we are. The drawing of that bottom line occurred when God’s image was implanted in us at our creation. Thus, we came equipped with the ability to have faith. Abraham chose to live his faith. We must decide what is our bottom line, too.

Remembering this truth is essential when so many people feel lost in the mainstream of life.  I watched the videos of angry, even hate-filled people storm our nation’s Capital on January 6, wondering what happened to them to make them so lost in that chaos. How have we as Christ-followers failed our neighbors who feel disenfranchised? Are we storing God’s love in silos of worldviews that limit the spread of God’s Kingdom to all people? Have we lost our bottom line as we substitute worldly idols for faith in the one true living God? Have we lost our connection to righteousness and justice?

Now is the time to reclaim our source of righteousness and let it flow out of us to enable faith as a bottom line for all people.

Prayer: Christ, your death on the cross was the ultimate sign of your love for all people. Empower our faith through your love to reckon our righteousness.  Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/3049.htm

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Grace and Faith

Kingdom Building

October 6, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 17:5-10

‘Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, “Come here at once and take your place at the table”? Would you not rather say to him, “Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink”? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!”’ –Luke 17:7-10

Besides running our farm my dad pumped oil wells as a side job and was a custom hay bailer, all dirty jobs. Combine them and the grim gets worse. Hay bailing is summer work so add hot Oklahoma summers to that formula. Dad and my brother worked together most of the time, but it was not unusual for a neighbor or a neighbor’s son to work with them when the demands of the job required it. Our big meal of the day was dinner at noon. My mother, sister, and I spent most of the morning preparing that meal which required gardening, gathering eggs, feeding chickens, and milking cows. Part of the ritual when the men came in from the field was pumping buckets of water from the old hand pump that still worked in front of our house for the guys to clean up and cool down as much as possible before they came inside to eat. There was no order of privilege at the table as described in the scripture above.

Luke is describing reality in first century Judean and Galilee where slavery was still present even for the small farmer. This scripture is a continuation of a discussion on grace, God’s grace which cannot be earned. The scripture also continues the discourse on faith which is also described as a gift.

Christ’s call to us is not of this world where privilege exist, and worth is based on the standards of the culture in which one finds themselves. Christ’s call, the call to base all measures of value on love comes packed with the gifts of faith and grace to sustain us. We need nothing else. If we are called to bale hay, we do it the very best way we can. If we are called to gather eggs, we try never to drop any. If we are called to do justice and show mercy, we do them using the gifts of faith and grace freely provided for us. When we recognize that we are no better and no worse than anyone else, we can truly begin to love like Jesus.

Prayer: Thank you for the gifts of faith and grace, Lord. Help us to live lives worthy of your love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Faith and Wholeness

Kingdom Building

October 5, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 17:5-10

The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you. –Luke 17:5-6

I think Jesus is saying either we have faith, or we do not. The problem with faith is not whether we can proclaim it; that is easy enough. The problem with faith is whether we can live it. How do we separate the ways of the world from the ways of faith and follow where faith guides us?

Faith (4102/pistis) is always a gift from God, and never something that can be produced by people*. Just as love is not something we can earn; faith is a gift from God granted to all. Our challenge is to accept this awesome gift. The world “awe” perhaps has lost some of its potency over the years, but its meaning spans the dichotomy of   terrific, extraordinary and dreadful, awful. Tears came to my eyes a few days ago when I watched a three-year-old immigrant from Central America be reunited with his father after being separated from his dad at the border. It took some weeks for the confusion that caused the separation to be cleared. Finally, they were reunited, and the little boy pushed away and turned his head from his father screaming. His trust system had been violated and it took some time for trust to be re-established. Love eventually won. My guess, he will be sensitive to his father’s normal absences for some time to come. When we experience trust as a negative, it impacts our future abilities to trust others and to have faith in God.  While none of us can ever be perfect we need to work at perfecting both faith and love.

Learning and growing in faith with God transcends human experience. God’s gift of faith is always available. Trusting in God can heal souls damaged by the failures of humans.

There is a balm in Gilead
to make the wounded whole,
there is a balm in Gilead
to heal the sin-sick soul**.

Prayer: God of Love, we live in a world that seems to be growing more and more distrustful. Heal our sin-sick souls. Make us whole; make us one. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/4102.htm

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Redemption

Kingdom Building

September 5, 2019

Scripture Reading: Philemon 1:1-21

To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the church in your house:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith towards the Lord Jesus. I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ. I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.

So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. –Philemon 1:1-7, 17-21

Diplomat is not the first title that comes to my mind when I think of Paul, but it applies in his letter to Philemon about Philemon’s runaway slave Onesimus. What is included in Paul’s letter is all we know about these two characters and we do not know the final outcome. Some scholars*, think Onesimus was a thief not a slave who stole from Philemon. He could have been both.

I think the complimentary things Paul writes about Philemon are true. It is rare though that we share these kinds of observations with others. We often take them for granted. Paul, however, is crossing a lot of cultural barriers asking for exceptional understanding and flagrant disregard for cultural norms. No underground railroad here, Paul is returning a slave to his owner with two possible outcomes Philemon returns him to Paul to help Paul in his ministry. Paul even offers to pay him for Onesimus. Or Philemon takes Onesimus back into his home as a brother rather than a slave. Paul had a lot of faith in Philemon by trusting him in making a choice.

I do not know how common it was for runaway slaves to come home in the first century. I am more acquainted with the outcomes of slaves in the early history of the USA who ran away, were caught, and most often punished even killed to set an example for the other slaves. Face saving among the elite is very important.

The thing that stands out to me in this story is the evidence of faith Paul had in Philemon and Onesimus; and the faith Onesimus had in Philemon. I believe such faith was only possible because all three men had faith in God. In our world where we do not know who to believe or trust this is a very challenging example. Can our faith in God rebuild our faith in one another as we learn to love one another rather than distrust each other?

While we do not know what the outcome of this request was, tradition reports that a man named Onesimus was consecrated a bishop by the Apostles and accepted the episcopal throne in Ephesus following Timothy. Perhaps Paul’s faith in a redeemed slave or thief were worth the efforts to save him. I wonder how many Onesimus’ are languishing in our criminal justice system now?

Prayer: Lord, grant us the courage to have faith in our brothers and sisters in Christ who are ready to turn their lives around and make them count for good. Amen.

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onesimus

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Living by Faith

Kingdom Building

August 8, 2019

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. –Hebrews 11:1-3

Think about the last thing you did on faith. Some of us may readily identify a long list; others, I fear, will not think of anything. We live in a world where faith, hope, and love seem in short supply right now. Yet, we follow a God who created the world with a long-termed vision of what it might become, would become, and invited each of us to build it with God through faith in things hoped for powered by love.

We probably do not think about it but much of the ordinary things we do is by faith. I drove 3,000 miles on my genealogy tour this summer on faith that my car would run, that gas stations existed where I was going, that my credit care would be accepted. I would have been upset or stunned if any of that did not happen. If we can have such faith in the transitory ordinary things of life, what holds us back from resting our faith in God that God’s kingdom will come, and God’s will be done? We people of faith can be gloom and doomers running around like Chicken Little crying the sky is falling. Chicken Little assumes the sky is falling when an acorn falls on his head. He runs and gathers friends along the way who get just as hysterical as Chicken Little until they run into Foxey Loxey who guides them to his den and they are never seen again.

The sky is not falling, God is with us in everything we do, and God is greater than all the Foxey Loxeys of the world. We need to work at building our faith in God to also be our ordinary and come together as one to build God’s kingdom of love out.

Prayer: Lord, strengthen our drooping hands and our weak knees** toward our work in your kingdom coming. Amen.

*https://www.worldstory.net/en/stories/chicken_little.html
**Derived from Hebrews 12:12

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Faith and Works

Eastertide

May 30, 2019

Scripture Reading: Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

‘See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work.
‘It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’
The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’
And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift. —Revelation 22:12, 16-17

The older I get the more I realize I want the Bible to say what I want it to say. I was raised by the world’s greatest egalitarian, my mother, who instilled within me early that there was no one on this earth I was better than and there was no one better than me. God loves all God’s children at the same level as individuals. The surgeon who removed the tumor is no more important to the success of the surgery than the staff who sanitized the operating room. And then I read Revelation 22:22 where Jesus promises to repay according to everyone’s work. Faith and Works have challenged each other for centuries in Christian thought and practice. I think the truth lies in their interdependence.

Ephesians 2:8–9 reads, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast.

So what do we make of the above scripture from Revelation on rewards based on work? It seems to be stating what we say today: Christ models for us that when someone does something good for another, we need to pay it forward. Jesus received his reward and he wants to share it with everyone and he wants to repay it according to everyone’s work. Now what does that mean? If we accept the pay it forward idea, when Jesus shares his reward with us, we are to share that gift with others and that gift is somehow tied to our vocation or avocation in life. We are gifted by Jesus in ways that encourage or enable the outcomes of our labor.

Galatians 5:22-23 describes the fruits of the Spirit, which are among Christ’s gifts to us. They are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. All are important in our building relationships with one another and with all others. Such gifts enable the oneness that is so very important to the actualization of the Kingdom of God. They are gifts of grace that embellish our works.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for compelling us to greater works still as our faith calls us to do all we can to be one with each other in a world ruled by love Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Doubt

Jesus’ Ministry
February 7, 2019

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.
–1 Corinthians 15:1-2

Being hoodwinked, deceived, tricked, duped, outwitted, fooled, or whatever we want to call it is one of the most humiliating things that can happen to us. We like to think we are smarter than that.  The whole resurrection story was most likely dismissed by many. Loving one another and sharing with one another in a world ruled by greed and corruption was at least naive. At times we have all experienced doubt as I am sure the first Christ followers did. Paul for some reason felt the need to profess again to the people at Corinth the truth of God’s gift to the world in Jesus Christ the Resurrected Lord, Our Savior. We need to hear it again also.

We have road construction going on all over Oklahoma City. The places being repaired move from week to week, so one never knows when they are going to find themselves in a traffic slowdown or a detour to nowhere. I was driving this morning in a dense fog in a section of town where I rarely travel when I arrived at an active road repair project with large machines operating next to the strip of road on which I could drive that had had its top layer removed and was thus uneven. I guess my experience being raised in the country driving on unpaved roads still comes in handy. I was not rushing to get anywhere so I just took my time and worked my way through the mess. Our faith meets these same type challenges as we journey through life. Paul’s words remind us that we are never alone.

When darkness seems to hide His face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil 

On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand*

Prayer: Forgive me when my doubt flares up. Help it be a season of faith growth for me. Amen.

 

*Second verse and chorus of The Solid Rock by Charles Hall see at https://www.google.com/search?ei=4AlaXP-BHpas0PEP-6uu8AQ&q=on+christ+the+solid+rock+i+stand+lyrics&oq=on+christ+the+solid+rock+i+stand+lyrics&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0j0i67j0l2j0i67j0i22i30l5.12885.19168..19387…0.0..0.239.2296.0j14j1……0….1..gws-wiz…….0i71j35i39j0i20i263.oQ_gZrd2edQ

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Blind Trust

Living in the Spirit
May 21, 2018

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.’ –Isaiah 6:1-3

Is this an example of blind trust? When the Seraphs covered their faces did they cover their eyes? Bats, I understand, come equipped with something akin to radar; I do not know about Seraphs.  Getting up in the pitch black of the night after a storm has knocked out not only my house lights but the street lights as well is a nerving, to say the least, although I am well acquainted with the positioning of the furniture as I feel for walls and dresser to find my way. I usually keep a battery-operated lamp within arm’s reach for that very reason. We city dwellers are used to artificial light and do not particularly like turning onto a street that lacks public lighting. A big yard light on a pole in our circle drive was one of the electrical appliances installed when electricity became available to our farm when I was a child. It made a lot of difference.

God is all the light we need. Faith is the trust that God will always be our radar as we make our journey through life. We do not know what the future holds. We cannot account for the consequences of the actions of all whose purposes may or may not be for the betterment of others including our own at times. When greed and lust for power get in the way of God’s plans for our world, God routes us around and sometimes through the debris left behind encouraging our continuous work toward instigating the Kingdom of God on earth. God’s love is greater than all evil powers. On that certainty, we can soar.

.Prayer: In the dark times of our experiences guide and direct us and bring us into your glory. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.