Author Archives: WOJ@deborahsdescendants.com

Giving Up On God

Eastertide

May 21, 2022

Scripture Reading: John 14:23-29

Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, “I am going away, and I am coming to you.” If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.

Our society is becoming dedicated to putting our words in Jesus’s mouth. I am fascinated by how many actions/behaviors are not covered in the Bible but quoted as absolutes delivered straight from God, while the foundation of Jesus’s whole ministry is routinely ignored. We make easy exceptions for behavior that has become normalized in our society like adultery and even idolizing greed while over-reacting to actions like wearing a mask to prevent the spread of a virus that has now killed over a million Americans. I think Jesus would have classified wearing a mask as loving your neighbor as yourself.

I fear people are giving up on God when we need to lean on God the most. The further we slide from following Jesus’s commands to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves the more we think God has given up on us. We are the ones that moved and like our ancestors in faith are headed for exile.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we feel the need to overrule your plan for us. Help us to turn back to you. 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.

God’s Order

Eastertide

May 20, 2022

Scripture Reading:
Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there anymore. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. –Revelation 22:1-5

I learn something new every time I read scriptures that I have read many times before. Hopefully, I grow more spiritually from my exploration. This morning when I read that there were twelve kinds of fruit on the tree of life—one for each month, I wondered when the idea of months began. I guess, I just accepted that a tree could produce a different fruit each month.  So, I googled when did months begin and was surprised to learn that it is traced back to 3100 BC by a people called Sumerians in Mesopotamia. Each of their 12 months had 29 or 30 days. The Gregorian-based calendar we use today was initiated in 753 BC. I experience a similar surprise when I think I have written something unique, but when I google for pictures to illustrate my idea, I almost always find many pictures from which to select using the same language.

God created an ordered world where generations after generations of people recreate that that existed since the beginning.  A world where rain nourishes the earth creating rivers that flow to oceans, the sun rises and sets, and plants feed on the sun’s light and produce and contribute to clean air for us to breathe. God had enough faith in us to let us enter such a place with the freedom to interact wisely or not with the world and each other. That is an amazingly wonderful opportunity that we must not take for granted. Our job is to make the most of God’s great gifts within the rule of God’s love. We get that at times, but at other times we stumble by stepping outside God’s order and stop caring for both the earth and all the people that are on it. Each day we must take stock of our living in God’s world and recalibrate when needed so that our lives flow like the water of life in our being fully the person God created us to be. We must work harder at doing that in community with all others.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for placing us in a world of wonder. Guide us in caring for it and each other. 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.

Finding the Light

Eastertide

May 19, 2022

Scripture Reading: Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5

And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.

I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. –Revelation 21:10, 22-27

Scriptures this week have emphasized the oneness in God among communities and nations. For probably too long, people of faith were led to hone in on personal salvation as an end unto itself. Personal salvation is just the first step in our call to partner with Christ in building a world ruled by love. John, the author of Revelation, shares that vision in the above scripture. Using God and the Lamb as the light to the transparency we need to live as God desires for us to live in oneness.

Transparency is a word being tossed about today but rarely practiced. We seem to need to put our spin on things we present and receive. The eighteen-year-old accused of killing 11 people in Buffalo, New York had apparently posted his philosophy and plans on the Internet. He apparently was very transparent. Were the only people who read it already in agreement with him? Was it a cry for help that went unnoticed? Did anybody who knows him care?

How do we as communities in Christ work to bring more wholeness into a fractured world?

Prayer: Lord, help us to find ways we can see through the darkness in our world and understand better how to shine your light on the ways of 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.

Community of Faith

Eastertide

May 18, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 67

May God be gracious to us and bless us
   and make his face to shine upon us,
that your way may be known upon earth,
   your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
   let all the peoples praise you.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
   for you judge the peoples with equity
   and guide the nations upon earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
   let all the peoples praise you.

The earth has yielded its increase;
   God, our God, has blessed us.
May God continue to bless us;
   let all the ends of the earth revere him.

 Judgment of our behavior threads through the entire Bible. In the above verse, the poet wrote for you judge the peoples with equity.  I do not know which of our theological ancestors in faith emphasized personal, individual judgment as our primary concern, but we seem to miss that we are also judged as a people.  How we work together for the good is of concern to God. In the US right now God’s greater concern may be that we do not work well together at all even as we claim to be acting in God’s will. Matthew 25:31-32 states, ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Later in that same chapter, Jesus outlines the specific acts on which we as a people will be judged—feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, welcoming the stranger, and restoring the prisoner.

How do we influence others? How do others influence us? It takes a lot of guts to go against societal norms. We in the US claim to have a government of the people, by the people, for the people, but we seem to cater to the desires of the wealthy more than the needs of those in poverty. How many of us sit silently uncomfortably in the presence of people expressing views contrary to anything we have ever believed. In times like these, we indeed need a Savior to make us whole and make us one.

Prayer: Lord, help us be a people who add value to each other in our service to you. 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.

Deepening Faith

Eastertide

May 17, 2022

Scripture Reading: Acts 16:9-15

On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshipper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.’ And she prevailed upon us. –Acts 16:13-16

How open are we to deepening our faith? Lydia described as a worshipper of God apparently practiced the Jewish faith as she observed the sabbath, whether she was a Jew by birth, or a convert is unclear. When she heard Paul preach, she readily accepted the Lord and offered hospitality to Paul and his companion. Did she appreciate the advancement of God’s order from her Jewish training through the one called Christ? How are we advancing God’s order in our time and space? Faith is not frozen in form. Hebrews 4:12 describes it as living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

I am a strong supporter of following spiritual disciplines, prayer, study, meditation, and service, for example, because they empower faith. Celebrating the Lord’s Supper is my opportunity to review my faith walk for the previous week and open a new door for the next. Faith is alive and propels us toward building that Kingdom of God Jesus sent us forth to actualize.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the example of Lydia who open her heart and her home as she deepened her faith. 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 our Love

Eastertide

May 15, 2022

Scripture Reading: John 13:31-35

When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’

I fear people who identify as Christian in our world today are not always recognized for their love.  Whether we like it or not some link the people who openly identify as Christian with privilege, exclusion, bigotry, and nationalism. All are not welcome at their table even though they may identify that table as the Lord’s. Heartbreaking posts have appeared on social media reporting that people have been asked to leave a church because they do not support specific government officials or candidates.  Refusing to wear masks and otherwise follow common sense health protection, protects not only the individual but also is an act of loving one’s neighbor. Most of the outrage issues that frequent our media are designed to divide and conquer us so that we do not notice when we are being assaulted by greed and lust for power.  Most of those outrage issues have simple solutions which we choose to ignore.

We are no different than our ancestors in faith who tried to create God in the image they desired and learned the hard way that God meant it when he commanded us to love God and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. The Lord allowed God’s followers to suffer the consequences of missing God’s mark set for us.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we stubbornly ignore your commands regarding living your love to our own downfall. Lead us to 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.

Alone

Eastertide

May 14, 2022

Scripture Reading: John 13:31-35

When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’

This scripture was preceded by John’s version of the last supper, where Judas leaves to sell Jesus’s locations to those who sought to kill him. As reported in John chapter 8, Jesus did tell the Jews who confronted him, Where I am going, you cannot come.  Did the disciples think that should not apply to them? What does Jesus mean by this statement, anyway? Indeed, there may be a holy of holies that only God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit can enter. I can only speculate, but Resurrection seems to be the only situation Jesus had to enter alone, where he even cried out, in Matthew 27:46, My God, My God why have you forsaken me quoting Psalm 22:1. Although, the author of that Psalm in verses 1 and 19 cries out to God, do not be far from me. Jesus knew what his mission was as did God. We as Christ-followers must realize that his mission, his aloneness on that cross, was the greatest gift of grace ever given and never has to be repeated. That truly was Amazing Grace.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the gift of grace that saved us giving us hope and enabling our love so we might serve you more nearly.  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.

Seeking Greater Heights

Eastertide

May 13, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Revelation 21:1-6

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’

And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

The book of Revelation begins and ends with the statement above, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Revelation 1:8 adds the phrase who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. The future is ours through Christ. His hope eternal is that we realize the wonder and grace of that and make the most of it. But how do we measure “the most.” Our world seems to value the most power and money. Neither ever seemed important to Jesus when he interned on earth. He possessed ultimate power but used it sparingly usually to help others, probably meant to set an example for us. He paid his taxes out of money taken from the mouth of a fish (Matthew 17:27) and recognized the separation of church and state by saying ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ (Matthew 22.1-21b) Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple (Matthew 21:12) and was betrayed by the price of 30 pieces of silver. (Matthew 26:15) The other gospels share the same or similar stories.

Jesus measured” the most” in faith, hope, and love. His relationship with God fed the hope and love he gifted to us. We seem to be at a crossroads in our world today. Are we going to grow in worshipping power and money or are we going to ascend to greater heights through faith, hope, and love?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the gift Jesus and the example he set for us. Help us to attain his higher ground. 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.

Considering God as our Neighbor

Eastertide

May 12, 2022

Scripture Reading: Revelation 21:1-6

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’

And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

I must confess, that tidying my house is not my priority. I understand the need to maintain cleanliness, but putting litter in its place is lower on my list until I get so much paper stacked around me, that I must deal with it. I have tried to practice putting paper in its place after I have reviewed it, but that rarely lasts for long. Breaking down boxes for the recycle bin is even more challenging. I have grown to appreciate all things electronically stored.

So, when I read the ending of Revelation, I consider the idea that God would live among us in the end times and might be our next-door neighbor. Are we as individuals as open to God as we think we are? Would he be on the list of people we would allow in our personhood and see how we really live? What about our society? Is the way we treat one another, all one another’s, the same way we would treat God if God were our next-door neighbor? I think God wants to move into our space of being after we have figured out what the Kingdom of God is all about and done our very best to institute it in our society. I wonder how much litter I need to clean out of my soul. That is the place to start.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we take you for granted. We know you know our thoughts and ways of representing you to the world. Help us to see ourselves as you see us and correct our actions as your disciples in this world today. 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.

God is Omnipotent

Eastertide

May 11, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Psalm 148

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
   praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels;
   praise him, all his host!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
   for he commanded and they were created.
He established them forever and ever;
   he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.

Kings of the earth and all peoples,
   princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike,
   old and young together!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
   for his name alone is exalted;
   his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
   praise for all his faithful,
   for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord! Psalm 148:1-2, 5-6, 11-14

I, in general, do not like campaign ads. They often dwell on issues that rankle emotions but rarely explain a candidate’s plan to address the problem. I particularly pay little attention to ads not sponsored by the candidate and that do not disclose who sponsors them. In one ad I heard recently, the candidate stated he would protect God. An omnipotent, all-powerful God does not need to be protected, an idol might. Therein, perhaps lies the problem within our society. We would need to protect any god we create. We are made in the image of God, not the other way around.

This might be a good time to review Isaiah or some of the other prophets because I fear we are stumbling through life following gods of our own making; we think we must protect like the Jews were doing before they were taken into exile. Our ancestors in faith maintained those prophets’ words so we could learn from them and not make the same mistakes.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for forgetting who we are and whose we are. 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.