Living in the Spirit
October 25, 2020
Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:34-46
Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: ‘What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,
‘Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet'”?
If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?’ No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions. –Matthew 41-46
Jesus said in Matthew 10:16, ‘See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. He practiced what he preached. He also instructed us in Matthew 5:37 to Let your word be “Yes, Yes” or “No, No”; anything more than this comes from the evil one. (Matthew 5:37)
We live in a world where words are twisted to self-interest. Yet, we are called not to practice that way of being and not to be taken in by it. We are being fed a lot of gibberish leading up to the November election. I practice muting my TV when ads come on sponsored by patriotic sounding organizations who will not share their sponsors. I check the facts of those candidates who say they support the advertisement because those ads, too, are, at times, questionable. And I do not share any information that is not provided by a trusted source. Foreign hackers are not always discernable and are not trusted sources.
These times demand a constant communion with God, close consultation with the teachings of Jesus, and regular discernment through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We are the conduits of God’s love in the world today, and our fulfilling that calling is critical.
Prayer:
O love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee.
I give thee back the life I owe, that in thine oceans depths its flow.
May richer fuller be*. Amen.
*First verse of the hymn O Love That Will Not Let Me Go, by George Matheson, See at https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/432
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.