Category Archives: Daily Devotion

God’s Righteousness

Living in the Spirit

November 15, 2022

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 23:1-6

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ –Jeremiah 23:5-6

Apparently, what was missing in Israel in Jeremiah’s time was justice—at least the right kind of justice. What is just to me may not be just to you. For example, I do not think capital punishment is just, but its use is legal in my state. I do not think undocumented aliens being sent to jail when they are caught is just when they were brought here to work at below-legal wages with no benefits and no limits on the number of hours required to work for a company that will only get a fine for hiring them. I think the CEO committed the crime and should be the one going to jail. I would vet the undocumented person. If they have a clean record, they should be considered for a work visa allowing them to work for someone who is following the law. If there is no legal job available for them or they do not have a clean record, they should be deported to their native country. Labor trafficking is perhaps less repulsive but is not different from sex trafficking.

Jeremiah is saying that true justice and righteousness are defined by God and modeled for us by the one called the Lord-is-our-righteousness, whom we Christians identify as Jesus Christ. Much of the teachings in the gospels describe Jesus’s interpretation of justice. We love those stories, but do we live them?

Prayer: Lord, help us to study your word to discern your ways of righteousness. 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.

Take Heed

Living in the Spirit

November 14, 2022

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 23:1-6

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord. –Jeremiah 23:1-4

Most of the dark money ads that took over our media leading up to the election were designed to destroy and scatter the members of our democracy. Some of them presented their viewpoints in the name of God without regard to the harm they do, not only to the wellbeing of people, but in turning people away from the God that is love by characterizing God as a supporter of bigotry, lust for power, and greed. Jeremiah’s scripture above addresses God’s response to such an attack on God’s people.

Jeremiah’s warnings related to Judah’s exile to Babylon. Isaiah, Hosea, and Amos also addressed the people getting caught up in the idols of their day. It is frightening to read these prophets of the Hebrew Bible warning people that their lack of attention to what was going on about them was a major factor in their downfall. We today need to listen to their wise counsel for the same evil is afoot in our land.

Prayer:

Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
forgive our foolish ways;
reclothe us in our rightful mind,
in purer lives thy service find,
in deeper reverence, praise.

In simple trust like theirs who heard
beside the Syrian sea
the gracious calling of the Lord,
let us, like them, without a word
rise up and follow thee*. Amen.

*The first and second verses of the hymn Dear Lord and Father of mankind by John Greenleaf Whitter see at https://hymnary.org/text/dear_lord_and_father_of_mankind

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.

Owning What We Say

Living in the Spirit

November 13, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 21:5-19

‘But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls. –Luke 5:12-19

To prepare one’s defense in advance seems to be an attempt to justify something that was wrong. The problem when the words written above were recorded and still the problem today in seeking justice is that we all see things the way we choose to see them based on our backgrounds. Police investigators get suspicious when all the witnesses to an event tell the same story. That does not normally happen. l am 5 foot two inches tall, and I see the world from that height. A seven-footer standing right next to me gets an entirely different view. Both are most likely telling the truth as they experienced it.

I was taught in a class many years ago when trying to work with groups to you “I” language. That simply means setting the norm for discussion in recognition of the fact that everyone does not perceive the world in the same way. Everyone owning their viewpoint enables the group to search among the difference to find the common threads that might end a stalemate. My way or the highway lands most of us in a serious traffic jam. Abortion is a great example of that. The best way to markedly end abortion is to provide quality, affordable, and easily accessible preventive health care; provide a quality public education that allows students to form good decision-making habits and prepare them for a career that will allow them to start their adult life beyond poverty. Yet the USA has the most expensive health care system in the world and does not provide adequate financial support for education leaving many youths stuck in low-wage jobs as adults. We can and must do better than that.

Prayer: Lord, give us the words to say when we work together toward building a better world forall your children. 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.

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.

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.

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.