Tag Archives: God’s way

It’s a God Thing

Ordinary Time

February 5, 2023

Scripture Reading: Matthew 17:1-9
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!’ When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’ And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, ‘Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’

I picked up a phrase from a co-worker many years ago that I still use today to explain the unexplainable, It’s a God thing. What is now called The Transfiguration was just such a God thing. Something happened on that high mountain that marked the beginning of the end of Jesus’s life on earth and the beginning of a life ruled by grace and faith, still guided in part by ancient rules of living, still ruled by God’s love and mercy with the added role model of Jesus’s life and teachings to show us how to live in God’s love both receiving it and being a conduit of it to others. A better and growing relationship with the Spirit of God further enables this way of being.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your grace, for giving us a role model to follow, and for your Spirit’s constant presence. 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.

Discerning God’s Way

Lent
February 21, 2018

Scripture Reading: Psalm 25:1-10

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust;
   do not let me be put to shame;
   do not let my enemies exult over me.
Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;
   let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. 

Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
   teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
   for you are the God of my salvation;
   for you I wait all day long. –Psalm 25:1-5

I was somewhat relieved to hear about the Special Counsel, investigating Russian interference in our elections, indicting several Russian entities. Accused of creating popular media posts, they disparaged all sides trying to foment discord among our citizens. We do a good job of that ourselves without outside help. Throughout the 2016 campaign, people forwarded me the most outrageous reports. I could not understand why my friends gave these reports any credibility. Now I wonder if they sent them to me at all. I never responded to any of them. I quit reading them once I recognized their headings while I searched for ways to keep from getting them without unfriending my friends.

I am also not sure the wantonly treacherous are capable of feeling shame. What I am sure is that we should pass all information we receive through a truth smell test like smelling milk before we used it to make sure it is fit to consume. If the information surpasses common sense, it is time to throw it out.

The problems is deeper than a con. Why are we so afraid? Why do we feel so vulnerable? Part of the problem is our faith institutions are caught up in the discord. We do not agree with each other and rather than practicing discernment we apply winner-take-all-politics in our faith practices.  We need to heed the Psalmist call to show us the way not to project our ways onto God.

Prayer:
Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
   teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
   for you are the God of my salvation;
   for you I wait all day long. 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.

Mired by Greed

miredLiving in the Spirit
September 17, 2016

Scripture Reading: Luke 16:1-13

‘Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? –Luke 16:10-11

You are probably sick of me saying it, but I do believe that greed, which includes lust for power, is the major sin of our times and perhaps all times. We like to ignore that truth. We like to think we are immune from such a grievous sin. We talk about eliminating racism and misogyny. We express remorse at our failure to welcome the stranger. We do not go back to their root cause. Jesus is quoted as saying: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21) First Timothy 6:10 further describes the nature of greed: For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. The so-called prosperity gospel gives credence to 1 Timothy.

How do we mesh our culture with God’s or do we? Is the question better phrased how do we make God’s way our culture? I think most of us had hoped that that is what we have been doing for most of our lives. Is it time to take another look? Is it time to hang God’s plumb line* of justice next to our lives and measure how skewed we are from it? Is it time that we let go of our limited perceptions of the narrow way of God and seek with all our hearts to follow the example of Jesus?

Prayer: God of Justice and Mercy, lift us from the mire of greed, wash it from our being, and lead us down the path you have carved before us. Amen

*See Amos 7

**Art Credit <!– HTML Credit Code for Can Stock Photo–>
<a href=”http://www.canstockphoto.com”>(c) Can Stock Photo</a>

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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Finding a Candle to Light

confusing-stret-signLiving in the Spirit
July 27, 2016

Scripture Reading: Psalm 107:1-9, 49

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   for his steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
   those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
   from the east and from the west,
   from the north and from the south.  

he led them by a straight way,
   until they reached an inhabited town.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind.
For he satisfies the thirsty,
   and the hungry he fills with good things. —Psalm 107:1-3, 7-9

Several years ago, I attended a work related meeting in downtown Tulsa a few weeks before Advent. My church’s order for Advent candles resulted in receiving the wrong candles. After some major searching, we found a small store in Tulsa that had the candles we needed, and I agreed to purchase them on my trip. My day was pretty packed, and the little store appeared to be located just a few blocks from the office building where my meeting was. Thus, I determined the best time to get the candles was a quick trip on the lunch break. What I did not realize was that there was no easy way to get to the little store only five or so blocks away. Roads closed for repairs, one-way streets, and my lack of local knowledge resulted in my driving around in a growing state of anxiety for probably 45 minutes before I located the store, purchased the candles, and returned to my meeting on time. Yes, I did stop twice and ask for directions. I had no lunch, but I had the right candles. A brisk round trip walk of ten blocks would have given me a straight path to the store and back with enough time for lunch. It did not even enter my mind.

The Lord’s way is the righteous way that always is the better way, and we must be intentional about following it. Becoming familiar with the Lord’s way lays the foundation for its incorporation into our everyday lives where it becomes our first thought, not an afterthought. Maintaining an open line of communication with God assures us that God has our back when we step out in faith following the Lord’s way. And It’s OK to ask for directions when we seem to lose our way.

Prayer: Lord, help me to change my habits of living to make your way my preference for life. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Lead Me, Lord

YMCALiving in the Spirit
June 22, 2016

Scripture Reading: Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20

Your way was through the sea,
   your path, through the mighty waters;
   yet your footprints were unseen.
You led your people like a flock
   by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
—Psalm 77:19-20

We are called to follow Christ’s way which is God’s way and apparently according to this Psalm it is a path through the sea. A raging sea is dangerous; a placid sea provides life nurturing peace. The sea is very akin to life with both challenges and joys.

When I read this scripture for today, I flashed back to the conversation I had with the first orthopedic surgeon that examined my sick and damaged knees. I was walking four miles a day for exercise at the time and he said that had to stop. He recommended swimming, noting that I could do more work with less effort because the water supported me. So I switched to swimming every morning before I went to work. At the Y where I swam, the lanes were marked by a wide stripe the length of the pool with a cross on the wall at either end. I do not think the Y had painted the pool to support my daily meditation, but it did. My 30-minute swim always targeted at those crosses prepared me for my day. I continued that for several years until April 19, 1995 when the Oklahoma City bombing, not only destroyed the federal building, but also my Y, just two hours after I had completed my laps for that day. God was and is continuing to be ever present with the people of this city and all those impacted by the bombing and, yes, we once again have a new and improved downtown Y with crosses at the end of each lap.

We live in troubling times and we need to hold tightly to the assurance that following God’s way is our best hope for an abundant life of love. God’s love supports us in everything we encounter in life as we follow God’s path.

Prayer:
Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness,
Make thy way plain before my face.
For it is thou, Lord, thou, Lord, only,
that makest me dwell in safety*. Amen.

*Lead Me, Lord words based on Psalms 5:8; 4:8, Music by Samuel S. Wesley.

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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

That Which Divides Us

DiscernmentEastertide
April 18, 2016

Scripture Reading: Acts 11:1-18

Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?’ Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, ‘I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” –Acts 11:1-7

One of the greatest tasks we have as persons of faith is melding together each day what is essential in our relationship with God and what is not. It is possible in my understanding of God that what is a priority for me may not be as important to another simply because of who I am and who they are. I am blessed by music another may be blessed more by the reading of the word. My skills at service are more in administration than in one on one contact. It does not mean that I only want music in worship or that I am not blessed by sharing one on one. It does mean that every community of faith rides the wave of shared talents and traits deepening the oneness we share individually and collectively with God.

Problems arise when our discernment of the sacred (that which is set aside for God) is what God discerns as sacred and thus must apply to all. The movie Fiddler on a Roof dealt with this very subject. Teyve, the father in the story, must deal with one daughter who breaks the tradition of the family and wants to marry for love rather than the person chosen by the matchmaker, another daughter who chooses a relationship with one of the rebels challenging the Russians, and finally the third daughter who actually ask for her father’s blessings to marry a Russian rather than a Jew. The story asked the age old questions how much is too much compromise. I think it also raises the issue of understanding God’s role in discerning issues of what is sacred.

We live in a society that is divided by the issue of who decides what is sacred. The result is an unwillingness to compromise on many things. It seems we are leaving God out of the discernment process altogether. Just as with Peter in welcoming the gentiles or Teyve in opening his mind to moving away from long held traditions, we must seek guidance from God in the justice, mercy, and humility of our understandings to find God’s way together.

Prayer: Lord, open our hearts and minds to your leading. Nudge us forward as you did Peter to step out in faith in sharing 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Plumb Line of Righteousness

plumblineLent
March 15, 2016

Scripture Reading: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

Open to me the gates of righteousness,
   that I may enter through them
   and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord;
   the righteous shall enter through it. –Psalm 118:19-20

I stretched out the piece of purple felt, smoothed it down, and set a wooden piece at the end that had a back and two sides but not a front and definitely no gate. As I started the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem during Holy Week, I said, “This is the temple” and place my hand on the wooden piece and started to roll out the beige felt that represented the path Jesus would take. One of the students said, “That cannot be the temple. It doesn’t have a gate.” He was right, of course, and I quickly said, “Well let’s pretend it has a gate for our story today.” He nodded OK and our story continued.

The student was right in another way. We do have to open ourselves to the righteousness of God. It does not come naturally. Self-righteousness does not require a guideline of any kind except what feels good to us. The plumb line, Amos describes in chapter seven, indicates that God’s way acts as a tool against which we can compare our ways to determine, if we are aligned with God’s way. Jesus came as an example for us all. He is our plumb line and though it may be a little worn that phrase, “What would Jesus do?” has substance.

Lent is an appropriate time to seek God’s ways in the life of Jesus and test them against our own ways. Do we love like Jesus?

Prayer: Lord, pour forth your spirit upon us during this time of Lent to prepare us for walking in your way, your truth, and your life. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Trusting God

Yoked with ChristLiving in the Spirit
November 6, 2015

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 9:24-28

For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. –Hebrews 9:24-28

If We view sin as separation from God then for Christ to remove our sin, his sacrifice of himself somehow, miraculously even, reconnects us to God forever. Scriptures exist to help us understand this. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5) Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:29) For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. (John 3:16)

The difficult truth is we can be connected to God or another person and not be engaged with them. I love the imagery of being yoked with Christ. Two animals yoked together are capable of pulling more than the sum of what they can pull separately. Two animals pulling against each other creates chaos, resulting in neither attaining their full capacity of work.

The way of God leads to a kingdom of mercy and justice for all. When we pull together toward that end the resulting synergy makes for better progress. When we pull against Christ and each other, we postpone the fruition of the kingdom. The hard part is investing our trust together in God to show us the right path and not letting our own definitions of mercy and justice stall our progress. Of course, that has been the problem since the beginning chapters of Genesis. Are we able to start toward the kingdom by finding the few things on which we can agree and doing them together and through that process begin to see and understand the depth and breadth of God’s mercy and justice?

Prayer: Lord, help us take small but meaningful steps together with one another and with you toward realizing the fulfillment of your kingdom. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Walking in God’s Way

twoways-600x369Living in the Spirit
August 11, 2015

Scripture Reading: I Kings 3:3-14 

O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?’  

It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. God said to him, ‘Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you. If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life.’ –1 Kings 3:7a-14

Solomon’s prayer is one we all could pray as we wrestle with discerning between good and evil for the difference is often a fine grey line. The United States is in the midst of such discernment regarding the Iranian nuclear agreement. Can a negotiated peace ever work between peoples that share no trust? My first thought was that we have short memories, because I can remember when we were in accord with the Shah of Iran, never mind we may have been the reason for his being in power. If we look back to our faith history we might also remember that Cyrus, the King of Persia, was led by God to return the people of Judah to Jerusalem to rebuild God’s house. (2 Chronicles 36.17-23) Do we not believe that God can still work with leaders of other countries and even other faiths toward God’s purpose of peace?

We, like Solomon, are called to walk in God’s way. The way of shalom weaves throughout the history of the peoples of God. Yes, we will change Presidents in 2016 and, yes, the Iranians will change leadership at some point down the line. The history of God’s people clearly illustrates the ebb and flow of our trusting God. Routinely though we have the stories in that history where the people did choose to walk in God’s way and God blessed them for it.

Prayer: Lord, help us to walk in your way today and trust that you will take care of our tomorrows. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.