Author Archives: WOJ@deborahsdescendants.com

Recovering

Living in the Spirit

November 12, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 21:5-19

When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.’

They asked him, ‘Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?’ And he said, ‘Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and, “The time is near!” Do not go after them.

‘When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.’ Then he said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. –Luke 21:5-11

Luke was believed to be written around the time that the temple in Jerusalem was desecrated and destroyed. The book’s message was surely impacted by that event.

 A few days ago, a level-four tornado struck causing major damage in Idabel, a town in southeast Oklahoma. On the day after the tornado, I watched a reporter standing in front of a church that was now a pile of scrap wood interspersed with broken pieces of stained glass. Two days later the same reporter stood in front of people setting up folding chairs in the yard with debris in the background that had not yet been removed. They were preparing for worship. This church did not have the long history of the temple in Jerusalem, but for its members it contains similar memories of weddings and funerals, making lifelong friends, and watching children grow in spirit and truth, adults too. Such events remind us that bad things do happen to good people. However, they also remind us of what is important in life and that loving God and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves can never be destroyed and will prevail as we restore our buildings while sharing our love as we work to build the Beloved Community.

Prayer: Lord, we pray for all the people caught in climatic disasters, the ravages of war, and the violence of discrimination. Show us the ways we can share our love with them in meaningful ways including advocacy. 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.

Doing a New Thing

Living in the Spirit

November 11, 2022

Scripture Reading:

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.

N. T. Wright has written extensively on the impact of worldview on our faith practices. You might want to check his work out. Going against cultural norms is hard. I find myself intellectually, even spiritually, agreeing about the changes in our society that are needed for all to prosper well. At the same time, it is hard to divorce myself from the “way we have always done it.” My mother was open to change, however, when she was in her nineties, I remember her saying she liked the newer songs being sung at church but wished they would occasionally sing some of the old ones. I also remember a program in the Star Trek series where one of the staff actually cooked a meal for the others because all they had ever known about food preparation was to order a machine to produce their meals.

Paul, in Thessalonians, is attempting to help these new Christ’s followers in the move from their old worldview to a new one.  We face similar challenges as our world progresses and we learn to move out of our exclusive communities into the Beloved Community Christ foretold as a constant. Isaiah 43:18-19 put it this way:
Do not remember the former things,
   or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
   now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
   and rivers in the desert.

We would not have the Bible if God did not intend for us to learn from God’s followers in history. The Bible offers us the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and their successes. There is nothing wrong with making a pie from scratch in celebration of a family’s history. There also is nothing wrong with driving by the fast-food window to pick up dinner for the evening because it grants more time for the family to eat together.

People are still people. We work in different ways; our idols are unique to us; our neighborhood is the world and becoming the universe, not our clan; women are no longer simply incubators; and all people are made in the image of God, not just the ones that are the same color or gender as us. Paul sums up his point in this way: Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.

Prayer: Lord, help us use all the tools you provide us to determine what is right.  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.

Enabling Others

Living in the Spirit

November 10, 2022

Scripture Reading:
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.

The Greek word for idleness as used above is   atáktōs – properly, disorderly (“breaking rank”); insubordinate to God’s Word and hence fruitless (unproductive) – because lacking proper order (discipline)*

The 80/20 Rule (also known as the Pareto Principle) means that 20 percent of something is responsible for 80 percent of the results (i.e., 20 percent of the workforce provides 80 percent of production) **.

In building the Beloved Community, we all must do our part, and that does not always happen. I have spent the last several months trying to discern why people in Oklahoma do not vote. We have one of the worst voting records in the nation. The only thing I could discern is that many people do not feel like they matter. The issues that are important to them may be given lip service in campaign ads but are barely or rarely actualized. For example, I am looking forward to seeing what actions are implemented that successfully reduce worldwide inflation and who is responsible for making that happen.

Do we do the same thing within our faith fellowships?  Through our actions do we send messages to people that their work in the church does not matter or is not good enough? I have found myself completing a task in the church because it needed to be done, but I certainly was not the most prepared or qualified person to do it. Part of being in the 20% worker bee group includes enabling and nurturing those in the 80% group to contribute their skills and talents in meaningful ways.

In the above scripture, Paul comes across as rather coarse in the above scripture, but he is trying to encourage all to use their talents and skills to the furtherance of building that Beloved Community.

Prayer: Lord, give us the skills to lead others to share their skills. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/814.htm

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

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.

A New Song

Living in the Spirit

November 9, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 98
O sing to the Lord a new song,
   for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
   have gained him victory.
The Lord has made known his victory;
   he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
   to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
   the victory of our God.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
   break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
   with the lyre and the sound of melody.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
   make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
   the world and those who live in it.
Let the floods clap their hands;
   let the hills sing together for joy
at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming
   to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
   and the peoples with equity.

What a wonderful scripture for the day after the election. I do not know about you, but I am ready for a new song. Or perhaps I am longing for this very old psalm that assures us that God is the God of joy, beauty, music, and nature. God is love. We seem to have lost sight of that over the tension of the problems in our world today. As we prepare to turn the page on our choices of who will represent us in our government and start working together, we must let go of our divisiveness and work together to build God’s beloved world community.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for ordering chaos when you created the earth and for ordering the chaos we bring on ourselves as we meet the challenges of the world head-on.  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.

Elections Matter

Living in the Spirit

November 8, 2022

Scripture Reading: Malachi 4:1-2a
See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

I am writing this the day before the mid-term election looking forward to the end of all those awful anonymous campaign ads. I do think if someone pays for any part of a campaign ad, they should be required to list their name among the contributors. I am not sure I want the arrogant and all evildoers to be stubble, but I do wish they would have an encounter with the sun of righteousness so they may see more clearly and follow more nearly the far better way of the Kingdom of God. I guess we all might want to consider that as we transition from campaigns to making our government work for the well-being of all the people living in our nation and our nation’s impact on the world. Election Day is not an ending; it is a new beginning.

Prayer: Lord, make us a blessing to our neighbors near and far as a nation. Open our eyes to our shortcomings as we search for the common ground for the Common Good. We pray for all the newly elected public servants and those returning. 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.

The Lord’s Hands and Feet

Living in the Spirit

Living in the Spirit

November 7, 2022

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 65:17-25
For I am about to create new heavens
   and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
   or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
   in what I am creating;
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,
   and its people as a delight.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
   and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,
   or the cry of distress.
No more shall there be in it
   an infant that lives but a few days,
   or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;
for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,
   and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them;
   they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit;
   they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
   and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain,
   or bear children for calamity;
for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord—
   and their descendants as well.
Before they call I will answer,
   while they are yet speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
   the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
   but the serpent—its food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy
   on all my holy mountain,
says the Lord.

We are the hands and feet of the Lord. Our goal is to develop the beautiful community God envisions today in everything we do. I truly think the Lord would love to return and find that we had gotten our act together and saved the Lord a lot of work on creating that new heaven and new earth maybe even just invite The Lord to join us all in a wonderful Sabbath.

Prayer: Lord, makes us doers of the Word and not just wait on you to come and clean up our messes. 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.

Culture Changes; God Does Not

Living in the Spirit

November 6, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 20:27-38

Jesus said to them, ‘Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die any more, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.’ –Luke 20:34-38

One of the primary reasons for marriage at the beginning of civilization was to raise workers for the field and the housework. I grew up on a farm and jokingly attest to being put in charge of chickens when I was five years old. I fed and watered them each day, gathered the eggs, and opened the building in which they roosted in the morning so they could be, now popular, range-fed chickens. I also counted them making sure they were all there when I closed the door each evening. I at least knew how to count to the number of chickens we had by the time I started school. I started my work at an early age because my older sister was afraid of chickens and thus graduated to milking cows. I have never understood her fear because cows are a lot bigger than chickens. Chickens do peck people. My mother, sister, and I also worked in the garden and canned fruits and vegetables for the coming system. My brother was driving a tracker and sledding hay bales with my dad.

That is not to say that we did not love one another, and we took good care of each other. It was just the way things were in rural Oklahoma immediately following World War II. Making sure one’s brothers had heirs was just the way things were in Abraham’s time. Culture changes, industrial revolutions happen, and technology now abounds. God enabled our progress and was and is with us as we traverse the changes that result. God was then and still is love, and we are still called to love God and our neighbors as ourselves. That is true of our life now and our life into eternity. We can believe different outcomes and even have spirited arguments about them. What we can never do is change God’s love or our calling to love God and others.

Prayer: Lord, center us on love ruling all aspects of our lives. 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.

Doers of the Word

Living in the Spirit

November 5, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 20:27-38

Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, ‘Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.’ –Luke 20:27-33

Have you ever noticed how easily faith groups can get caught up with the most trivial things, often a real distraction to our basic mission? I remember when I was a child, we had people who left our church over a dispute about replacing the rickety chairs behind the communion table. The argument was over whether we get new wooden or holstered chairs. The dispute above is between Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection and Jesus who did. Immediately time and talent are refocused on a divisive issue that makes no difference in the long run. The irony is that if there is no resurrection, one who believes that will never know if they were right.

The real issue in most of these debates is a deep need to be right about God, and that is a good thing. Problems arise when we ascribe our all too human judgments regarding our relationship with God. In that regard, we invest much time in what we believe and less time in how we serve God and reflect God’s love to others.  I enjoy a good conversation on what the scriptures mean. We can grow in our ability to love like Jesus in such studies, but they will always only give us a glimpse of an omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent being who has our best interest and the best interest of all people.

Matthew 7:24–27

‘Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!’ (Matthew 7:24-27)

James 1:22–25

But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing. (James 1:22–25)

Prayer: Lord, open our eyes that we may see glimpses of truth thou hast for us. Place in our hands the wonderful key that shall unclasp and set us free *. Amen.

*Derived from the hymn Open our Eyes That I may See by Claire H. Scott, see at https://hymnary.org/text/open_my_eyes_that_i_may_see

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.

What is Truth

Living in the Spirit

November 4, 2022

Scripture Reading: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17

But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word. –2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

Pilate’s response to Jesus “What is truth?” in his trial (John 18:38) is the question of the day in our society. Many people seem to believe if they say something it is true.

In ancient Greek culture, [the word for tuth] 225 (alḗtheia) was synonymous for “reality” as the opposite of illusion, i.e., fact*.

I found it interesting that Merriam-Webster does not use the word fact in its definition of truth and spends more time describing something in alignment.

1: something that is true: ultimate truth: reality —usually used with the

2: the quality or state of being accurate (as in alignment or adjustment) —used in the phrases in true and out of true**.

I understand alignment regarding building tools or hanging a picture. I live in an older house with a crawl space foundation. I bought two tall bookcases and set them up next to a wall in my living room. They made a perfect V shape because my floor was not flat. You cannot see it with your naked eye, but it was self-evident when the bookcases skewed in opposing directions. Small pieces of wood were slipped under the slopping sides until the tops of the bookcases were even.

I think Paul is trying to tell the people of Thessalonica that they need to make sure that they are following the foundation described by Paul and not be attracted by skewed ideas that stray from the foundation established by Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Lord, help us seek the facts and sources of information when we are making decisions about how to follow you more nearly. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/225.htm

**https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/true

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.

Being a Sanctuary for Others

Living in the Spirit

November 3, 2022

Scripture Reading:

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17

As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you? –2 Thessalonians 2:1-5

I have been aware of cults since I was a child from Jim Jones’ People’s Temple to QAnon today. I worked with a person several years ago who did not come to work one morning without notice. We found out later that she had traveled to a designated place for the Rapture and did not find it necessary to file for vacation time to be away. In her mind the world as we knew it would no longer exist.

When we look at the work of Jesus, we see authentic events with very real people being guided in loving themselves and loving one another—no mass suicides and no perverted sexual behavior, and no cabal of Satanic cannibalism. When I consider such cults, I think of the song title, Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places*. While the song addresses looking for a life partner, I think we all have an innate need to know God, our creator, and live in fellowship with God. Part of our calling is to share our experience of God with others so that they can know there is more to life than negative patterns of behavior. I am sorry to say that I have observed people who moved further away from God because of misguided, judgmental experiences pressed on them in childhood that turned them off from seeking a relationship with God. Jesus never crammed God down anyone’s throat and neither should we. Jesus lived his love and so should we.

Prayer: Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living
Sanctuary for You

It is you, Lord who came to save
The heart and soul of every man.
It is you Lord who knows my weakness,
Who gives me strength, with thine own hand*. Amen.

*Chorus and the first verse of Lord, Prepare Me to be a Sanctuary by John Thompson, Randy Scruggs

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.