Author Archives: WOJ@deborahsdescendants.com

All are Made in the Image of God

Living in the Spirit

July 1, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16

See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised—only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh. May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! As for those who will follow this rule—peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.—Galatians 6:11-16

Why do people seem to think their way of worshipping God is the only way or the right way? If God created each of us as individuals, doesn’t it just make sense that there would be as many ways of celebrating God in our lives, demonstrating God in our lives as there are people? Indeed, we cluster with people like us, but we can and must be open to the unique nature of others who love God and more importantly are loved by God just as much as each of us is.

Why do we feel called to police the lives of others, to even impose our belief systems on them within our civil governance in a land that prides itself on the separation of church and state?  We are called to share the love of God with others. I have been helped by others who suggested ways of being a better me and hope that I have helped others in the same way. In the final analysis, however, we are responsible for establishing and building our relationship with God, examining ourselves to better sync with God. We never know when a person with whom we are interacting will give us the very thing that helps us take a closer walk with God and hopefully we serve that role for others.

Prayer: Lord, help us realize our relationship with you opens the doors to loving others without judging them. 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.

Living in the Compassionate Community

Living in the Spirit

June 30, 2022

Scripture Reading: Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16

My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads.

Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher.

Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith. –Galatians 6:1-10

Paul starts this scripture with the admonition that if we detect a transgression in others who have received the Spirit, we should gently address it with them. The remainder of the scripture basically tells us that we are responsible for our actions and that we are responsible for examining ourselves and staying in sync with God. We do indeed reap what we sow. Since Paul addresses these teachings to people who have received the Spirit, I think the unspoken precursor to this is that we are called to introduce others to the love of God. We are not called to condemn anyone.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me when I stray from following your way. Help me turn around and regain being in sync with you in all that I do or say. 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.

Rediscovering God

Living in the Spirit

June 29, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 66:1-9

Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
   sing the glory of his name;
   give to him glorious praise.
Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds!
   Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.
All the earth worships you;
   they sing praises to you,
   sing praises to your name.’

Come and see what God has done:
   he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.
He turned the sea into dry land;
   they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him,
   who rules by his might forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
   let the rebellious not exalt themselves.

Bless our God, O peoples,
   let the sound of his praise be heard,
who has kept us among the living,
   and has not let our feet slip.

God is with us yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I am enraged by political ads that seem to indicate that God has withdrawn and unless they win God won’t be back. We are the ones who have turned our faces to other gods. We are the ones who worship money and power. We are the ones who judge God’s created beings by our created sense of worth rather than God’s.

This is a great time for all of us to take stock of ourselves and determine if we are being led astray by the idols of our day. It is time to let them go and turn around and see that God still reigns and can make all things right if we are willing to become a part of God’s Beloved Community.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for getting caught up in the temptations of our world. Show us the better way and guide us in becoming a part of it. 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.

Vote

Living in the Spirit

June 28, 2022

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 66:10-14

Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
   all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
   all you who mourn over her—
that you may nurse and be satisfied
   from her consoling breast;
that you may drink deeply with delight
   from her glorious bosom.

For thus says the Lord:
I will extend prosperity to her like a river,
   and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm,
   and dandled on her knees.
As a mother comforts her child,
   so I will comfort you;
   you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
   your bodies shall flourish like the grass;
and it shall be known that the hand of the Lord is with his servants,
   and his indignation is against his enemies.

I voted early last week so all the fierce campaign ads interrupting my TV watching are of little use to me until the primaries are over. I tend to ignore any ad that does not report who paid for it. They are usually the nastiest, but I must say some of the actual candidates are stretching my patients. So, I am sure that environment open my eyes to recognizing what the first phrase in the above scripture is addressing

Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
   all you who love her;

Do we all love our country or, in the case of this scripture, city? Isaiah wrote his book probably around 740 to 700 BCE in the Kingdom of Judah. In 733 BCE, Jerusalem becomes a vassal (feudal lord) of the Neo-Assyrian Empire*. While we can learn much from the wisdom of our faith ancestors, their way of living was far removed from ours. People, however, are people whether in 733 BCE or 2022 CE. We adapt and change, taking steps forward and backward, in whatever situation we might find ourselves. We have developed over these thousands of years to the extent that we as individuals in a democracy have the right to vote for our leaders. I cannot imagine how the residents of Jerusalem in 733 BCE might understand that, although the residents of Ukraine right now might have a better feel for how they felt. We must not take our rights for granted. We must take the time to review the candidates for the area in which we vote. Try to sort out the truth from half-truths and pure fiction. We must not be driven solely by hot button issues that have little or no impact on most people. We must look for candidates that have all their constituents’ interests at heart, not just their chosen few who support the candidate’s ideas that do not take into account all the people they represent.

Prayer: Lord, guide us in our choices as we vote for people who care about a compassionate world. Amen.

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

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.

Discernment

Living in the Spirit

June 27, 2022

Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 5:1-14

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favour with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, ‘If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’ So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. And the king of Aram said, ‘Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.’

He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments. He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, ‘When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy.’ When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, ‘Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.’

But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, ‘Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.’ So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.’ But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, ‘I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?’ He turned and went away in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, ‘Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, “Wash, and be clean”?’ So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.

And a little child shall lead them*. I worry at times about how divisiveness in our society is impacting children. I now realize, having been exposed as a child to theology that did not match the Jesus that loved me. I became very skeptical as an adult. I eventually recognized that was a good thing. We all need to explore and understand the breadth and depth of God’s love and mercy for all people. And we need to funnel our life choices through that understanding.  To do that we must study, pray/meditate, and live our love.

Prayer: Lord, grant us to skills to find you through the muck and mire of our divide and conquer world. Amen.

*Derived from Isaiah 11:6

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.

Moving Forward

Living in the Spirit

June 26, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 9:51-62

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’ –Luke 9:56-62

Jesus is saying our commitment to God must be all or nothing if we long for what he called the Kingdom of God, what is now being described as the Compassionate Community or the Beloved Community. The time for our commitment to working toward the full formation of the Kingdom of God is now. The principalities and powers of evil are enfolding us with hatred, bigotry, greed, and lust for power that will be our undoing as individuals and as a nation if we do not turn away from it. They are doing their best to divide and conquer, and it is working. No wonder they do not want us to study history, the failure of great empires would look way too much like our world today.  Government corruption, over-expansion of military spending, and economic troubles where the rich got richer, and the number of poor increased all describe empires before they fell.

Constantine’s takeover of Christianity and redefining its tenets to advance his cause may well have been the final blow to Rome’s decline. Christianity is now a credential for candidates for office, but the Christianity being fostered does not seem to be based on Jesus’s definition of the most important commandants when he answered the question, ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matthew 22:36-40)

We do serve a living Savior who indeed is in the world today* ready and longing to help us in our work. He is asking us to put our hands to the plow and implement the beloved world community he envisions for us rather than allowing those principalities and powers to rule. We never work alone when we are doing God’s work.

Prayer: Lord, grant us the courage and the wisdom to foster a world ruled by love.  Amen.

*Derived from the hymn, He Lives by Alfred Henry Ackley  See at https://www.hymnal.net/fr/hymn/h/503/8

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.

Intentional Love

Living in the Spirit

June 25, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 9:51-62

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village. –Luke 9:51-56

While Jesus seemed to be very spontaneous, he was always intentional, or perhaps his autobiographers only recorded his intentional acts. Jews and Samaritans did not like each other. In fact, most Jews when they traveled north took the route around Samaria to avoid Samaritans. The fact that he traveled through Samara at all was unusual. It probably was not unusual that they did not welcome him. I think Luke is telling us that Jesus knew he had a purpose to complete that was not going to be pleasant but was necessary for you and me and all God’s children everywhere even if it required facing, not just rejection, but ultimately death on a cross.

Our world is in crisis from a pandemic with a mind of its own to a war of pure greed. I just heard on the news that Putin’s not allowing Ukraine’s grain to be shipped out of port will probably cause a deadly famine in Africa and food shortages across the world. Our nation is being attacked by divide and conquer tactics resulting in stagnation in our government.

We, too, must become intentional in our work to create a compassionate community, where we work at loving our neighbor and loving ourselves intentionally until we get it right in the eyes of God.

Prayer: Lord, open our lives to be intentional as we work for a compassionate world. 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.

Fruit of the Spirit

Living in the Spirit

June 24, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Galatians 5:1, 13-25

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. –Galatians 5:16-25

What struck me as I read through the above scripture was that at times, I spend more time in the works of the flesh mode than in the fruit of the Spirit. Probably, like most of you who read this, I do not dwell on the first six which are the most common sins of the flesh nor on envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like that. I am stuck in the middle trying to interact with people with whom I totally disagree and who totally disagree with me. Dissensions and factions exist in my life. I invest a lot in wrestling with God to straighten out my attitude so I can approach people without anger or quarrels. Such negative responses rarely help.

The King James Version of the Bible translates the word Greek word makrothumia as longsuffering.  NRSV quoted above uses the word patience. While the word patience is much nicer to hear, I think longsuffering describes my attitude better. However, the scripture describes the gift of the Spirit, as all those attributes rolled into one big gift. So, if I have love, I must also have the capacity for patience—longsuffering. We must welcome all the gifts as they become necessary in our lives. A train is not a train with just one car. It must be linked together to fulfill its purpose. Any empty cars between the engine and the caboose, are present and prepared for use when needed as are all the components of the gift of the Spirit.

Prayer: Lord, help me improve my skills using all of your gifts. 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.

Freedom to do Right

Living in the Spirit

June 23, 2022

Scripture Reading: Galatians 5:1, 13-25

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. –Galatians 5:1, 13-15

I saw a post on social media the other day that said something to the effect that freedom is not permission to do whatever you want. It frees you to do what is right. I wondered if that observation was based on the above scripture.

I am already sick of the political ads both those sponsored by the candidate and the horrible ones that are sponsored by craftily named organizations that do not reveal who is paying for them or what their ulterior motive is. The USA was, indeed, founded on the principle of governance of the people, by the people, and for the people. It was established with checks and balances to help guarantee that we do what is right. Those checks and balances do not always work, but we the people are the final source of protecting our freedom to do what is right not what is expedient for the wealthy and powerful. Here are some rules I follow during these seasons of political ads:

  • If a group does not identify its financial source, not just the patriotic name of the group but the names of those sending the checks, I ignore them.
  • Incumbents can run on their record; you may want to check it out to see if you share their stances.  Go to https://www.congress.gov/ to view federal incumbents’ voting records and see what they support and what they do not. For state incumbents see http://www.oklegislature.gov/AdvancedSearchForm.aspx.
  • Non-incumbents often have a webpage where they outline their legislative priorities.
  • Do your homework. Do not be fooled by candidates running on hot-button issues which often represent a very small part, if any, of elected officials’ responsibilities and may even be out of their jurisdiction.

Discerning what is right for all God’s people is a great challenge in our world. Marcus Borg wrote a book several years ago entitled Reading the Bible Again For the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously But Not Literally. The title itself is good advice. This might be a good time to read the Bible again for the first time. Learning from the challenges and the mistakes of our ancestors in faith could be helpful. While the culture may be different; people are not.  I was impressed by Greg Jacob’s testimony in the January 6th hearings. He was Mike Pence’s legal advisor and followed him to the basement of the capitol escaping the mob that was coming and threatening to hang Mike Pence. While Pence and Jabob waited in the basement, Jacob read his Bible and found similarities in Daniel 6, the story of Daniel in the lion’s den to Pence’s situation.

Prayer: Lord, we live in difficult times. Teach us your lessons so that we might express our freedom to do 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.

What are our Idols?

Living in the Spirit

June 22, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 16

Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord;
   I have no good apart from you.’

As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble,
   in whom is all my delight.

Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows;
   their drink-offerings of blood I will not pour out
   or take their names upon my lips.

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
   you hold my lot.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
   I have a goodly heritage.

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
   in the night also my heart instructs me.
I keep the Lord always before me;
   because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices
   my body also rests secure.
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
   or let your faithful one see the Pit.

You show me the path of life.
   In your presence there is fullness of joy;
   in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.

I fear our world thinks we are too sophisticated for idol worship. Our idols are not statues. We worship things like greed and power. We measure our worth by comparing ourselves to others and labeling them as lower than us because of the color of their skin or who they love discounting the fact that all were created by God which supersedes any measure of worth we might follow. There is no way to be better than anyone else no matter how hard we try. Let us turn away from the bigotry we practice and intentionally work to truly love ourselves so we can love our neighbors.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for loving us as our creator and helping us love all others as you love us. 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.