Category Archives: Daily Devotion

Love as We Love Ourselves

Living in the Spirit

July 31, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’ And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’

I feel like a broken record as I say the same thing, in many ways, all the time. I wonder if Jesus experienced the same response. He told us that we should love our neighbors as we love ourselves. I finally realized that we probably are loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. The problem is we do not love ourselves as God loves us. That results in our need to flaunt outward signs of who we are–fancy clothing, better homes, flashier cars whatever—because we do not love the person God created us to be. We each possess some quality that is needed to realize, the organic beloved community that Jesus visualized as the Kingdom of God.

A man in my church, Lee Bacher, died recently at the age of 98. He embodied the fulfilled person who knew God’s love and knew how to share it with others. I did not know this until the funeral, but he was apparently very stingy when it came to buying anything for himself. The suit he had was perfectly good. I knew him as one of the most generous men in our congregation. Not just with money but with his time and energy. He was a youth sponsor as a young adult and many of the youth whose lives he touched attended his memorial service. He served in most roles as an active church member. After retirement, he volunteered at the food bank once a week, and up to just weeks, before he died, he arrived at the church each week to fold the bulletins for the Sunday service.

Take some time this week to ponder and realize how much God loves you. Let it seep through each of your pores until it has no choice but to flow through you to the rest of God’s children.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for role models like Lee Bacher. 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.

A Satisfied Mind

Living in the Spirit

July 30, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’ And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’

Greed is the pandemic we really need to be worried about. I wrote about it in 2011 and if anything it has gotten worse. Greed is idolatry. In most cases we today are far too sophisticated to bow to a bronze statue. Greed as a controller of our lives is very real and I fear we all have contracted it at one time or another and far too many are addicted to greed-always wanting something bigger and better. I am reminded of the old country and western song A Satisfied Mind.

How many times have
You heard someone say
If I had his money
I could do things my way

But little they know
That it’s so hard to find
One rich man in ten
ith a satisfied mind

Money can’t buy back
Your youth when you’re old
Or a friend when you’re lonely
Or a love that’s grown cold

The wealthiest person
Is a pauper at times
Compared to the man
With a satisfied mind

Prayer: Lord, grant us the gift of a satisfied mind and the courage to maintain it. Amen.

The first, second, fourth, and fifth  segments of A Satisfied Mind written by Jack Rhodes / Red Hays see at https://www.google.com/search?q=Lyrics+by+author+of+a+satisfied+mind&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS987US987&oq=Lyrics+by+author+of+a+satisfied+mind&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i160l3j33i299j33i22i29i30l3.11242j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-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.

Liking and Loving

Living in the Spirit

July 29, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Colossians 3:1-11

Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all! –Colossians 3:5-11

The question was asked in my Sunday school class this week, “Does loving everyone mean we have to like them?” Everyone laughed but is a good question. Merriam-Webster dictionary list ten different forms of the word like. I picked the first verb form, to be suitable, pleasing, or agreeable to (a person) and to feel attraction toward or take pleasure in*. What matters most in differentiating the words like and love perhaps is how we respond to the other. In my limited experience as a direct social worker, I did not choose the clients with whom I worked, but once I met them, I could tell the difference between those I looked forward to visiting, those I did not mind visiting, and those I did not look forward to visiting. These possibly define the briefest spectrum of the attitude of liking. The act of liking or not is spontaneous, a gut-level reaction. As a professional, I was required to both get past the emotions of favoring some people and distancing myself from others. My job was to help whoever was assigned to me.

“Love is the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth… Love is as love does. Love is an act of will — namely, both an intention and an action. Will also implies choice. We do not have to love. We choose to love.” ― M. Scott Peck

Love is a choice of desiring the very best for oneself and for the other. In God’s grand scheme that means all others. Choosing to love someone may require us to look deeper into our “liking” to discern from where our gut-level response came and whether we need to address it.

Prayer: Lord, grant us the courage to love one another and the insight to discern whether our likes and dislikes are meaningful for us to address. Amen.

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

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 Perspective

Living in the Spirit

July 28, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Colossians 3:1-11

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. –Colossian 3:1-4

We are called to seek higher ground. What does that mean? When Jesus sat on the mountain overlooking Jerusalem, he saw a broad vision of what was happening and understood that the way people lived was out of sync with God’s plans for the world God had created. Jesus knew that realigning with God was the only way God’s great Kingdom, God’s beloved community could ever be realized.

‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! (Matthew 23:37)

Jesus eventually gave his life to align God’s children with God.

I wonder what he sees looking over the breadth and depth of our world today. What do we see when taking in the whole picture? Do we need to examine ourselves first and discover the things in our lives we need to change to bring ourselves into sync with God? As we work toward wholeness, do we also need to work harder at finding oneness with all God’s people and our understanding that all people are God’s? Will God’s justice become real in our world if we become real to God?

Prayer: Lord, show us the view from your higher ground and help us discern how to change our lives to be better aligned with you and with all 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.

Doing Justice

Living in the Spirit

July 27, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 49:1-12
Hear this, all you peoples;
   give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
both low and high,
   rich and poor together.
My mouth shall speak wisdom;
   the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
I will incline my ear to a proverb;
   I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.

Why should I fear in times of trouble,
   when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,
those who trust in their wealth
   and boast of the abundance of their riches?
Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life,
   there is no price one can give to God for it.
For the ransom of life is costly,
   and can never suffice,
that one should live on forever
   and never see the grave.

When we look at the wise, they die;
   fool and dolt perish together
   and leave their wealth to others.
Their graves are their homes forever,
   their dwelling-places to all generations,
   though they named lands their own.
Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
   they are like the animals that perish.

Benjamin Franklin said, Our new Constitution is now established, everything seems to promise it will be durable; but, in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes. I understand that to mean that our democracy’s success lies in our hands and our ability to carry it forward into a constantly changing world. I hear daily news reporters asking the question what is the President going to do about this crisis? How will Congress solve a specific issue on which they are deadlocked?  We must let our elected officials know where we stand on the problems we face today. More than that we need to delve into the issue and understand the ramifications of our positions and not just follow the crowd responding to hot-button issues that are distractions to dealing with serious problems.

Prayer: Lord, help us understand our role as citizens working for the justice you have called us to foster. 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.

Vanity

Living in the Spirit

July 26, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Ecclesiastes 2:18-23
I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those who come after me —and who knows whether they will be wise or foolish? Yet they will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned and gave my heart up to despair concerning all the toil of my labors under the sun, because sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. What do mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they toil under the sun? For all their days are full of pain, and their work is a vexation; even at night their minds do not rest. This also is vanity.

What legacy will each of us leave? Will it matter? I certainly have inherited some of my mother’s ways of being. I often describe my mom as the world’s best egalitarian. Every grandchild got equal to the same thing from her whether it was an Afghan or a quilt. When she made out her health care directive, she insisted that all three of her children were listed equally. I may not be as good at treating everyone equally as she was, but it crosses my mind in my decision-making. I dare say she may have developed this attitude because she saw the opposite in some of her life experiences. We do sometimes change patterns of behavior because we have seen the negative results of such behavior.

On the other hand, as the world changes so must our responses to those changes. Children today have no concept of a world without instant communications. I laughed at myself when I drove away from my house and by the time I reached the end of the block, I realized I had forgotten my cell phone. I turned around and got it and then wondered how many times before I had driven down I-35 toward the Stillwater exist near my family’s farm with no means of communication. We worked hard to create a more efficient and effective world. Our descendants hopefully will do the same thing. Some now would argue whether instant communication is always good.

The Hebrew word “Hebel”, translated here as vanity means worthless, more like in vain, than perhaps a perception of false pride*. We are called to do our best to leave our descendants a more advanced world than we may have inherited but the wisdom and love of God are constant and this too we must pass on to coming generations and pray that our example is not in vain.

Prayer: Lord, let the love we inherited from you be the greatest gift we pass on to our descendants. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1892.htm

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.

Healing of the Nations

Living in the Spirit

July 25, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Psalm 107:1-9, 43
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   for his steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
   those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
   from the east and from the west,
   from the north and from the south.

Some wandered in desert wastes,
   finding no way to an inhabited town;
hungry and thirsty,
   their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
   and he delivered them from their distress;
he led them by a straight way,
   until they reached an inhabited town.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind.
For he satisfies the thirsty,
   and the hungry he fills with good things.

Let those who are wise give heed to these things,
   and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

My mind switched from one picture to another drawn from recent news reports as I read this scripture. I recalled people in Africa living in danger due to famine partially caused by the cut-off of grain exports from Ukraine and fertilizer from Russia. Destroyed buildings throughout Ukraine surrounded the body of a little girl dead in the street. A conference table in Turkey where an agreement was reached to let the grain and fertilizer be exported. More people will survive but the delivery will be too late for some and not enough for many.

Prayer:
For the healing of the nations,
Lord, we pray with one accord;
For a just and equal sharing
of the things that earth affords.
To a life of love in action
help us rise and pledge our word.

Lead us, Spirit, into freedom,
from despair your world release;
That, redeemed from war and hatred,
All may come and go in peace.
Show us how through care and goodness
fear will die and hope increase. Amen.

First two verses of For the healing of the nations by F. Kaan/R. Lloyd see at https://pilgrimwr.unitingchurch.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Social-Services-Sunday-various-songs.pdf

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 Common Good and Abundant Life

Living in the Spirit

Kudzu Graveyard

July 24, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 11:14-23

Now he was casting out a demon that was mute; when the demon had gone out, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed. But some of them said, ‘He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.’ Others, to test him, kept demanding from him a sign from heaven. But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? —for you say that I cast out the demons by Beelzebul. Now if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his castle, his property is safe. But when one stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his plunder. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

I am not a literalist, but I must say I was a little unnerved when I read from the scripture today that Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house. Oklahoma is suffering from major drought and deadly heat, as is much of the world. Farmers are hunting for hay to feed their cattle over the winter. Wildfires are burning the grass further reducing the production of hay. Just a few weeks ago I saw flooding on TV from Montana to Tennessee watching houses being lifted off their foundations and floating down out-of-control rivers of water. While climate change is destroying living space, our elected leaders are devoting their time to concerns about what restrooms people should be allowed to use and whether our children have the mental stamina to handle studying history. The problem they cannot seem to figure out is how to provide for the common good while assuring that the rich continue getting richer not recognizing that the common good is the foundation of financial stability. Greed is like the Kudzu plant, nicknamed “the vine that ate the South”, it eats everything around it until nothing is left and it dies.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10) Jesus came to bring us the fullness of life where indeed everyone has enough of the necessities of life, but all have the opportunity to experience the fullness of life.

Prayer: Lord, help us provide for the Common Good as a part of our supporting the fullness of life for everyone. 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 Timeframe

Living in the Spirit

July 23, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Luke 11:14-31

He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

The noun worry means mental distress or agitation resulting from concern usually for something impending or anticipated, anxiety*. My mother was a worrier. I used to think that she subconsciously thought if she worried enough about something over which she had no control, worrying would help the situation in some way. Mom was a devout Christian and what appeared to me as worry probably was a prayer expressed in anxiety. Mom was a doer of the word and was not at home with being unable to rectify a situation. Paul, too, was a doer of the word and he addressed worrisome experiences in Romans 8:26 when he wrote Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.

The story of Jacob wrestling with God, Genesis 32:22-32, Illustrates this idea. Jacob had decided to return home and did not know if he would be welcomed. He wrestled with the situation throughout the night and finally demanded of God a blessing which he was granted with the changing of his name to Israel. Along with being enabled to face his family, he was blessed to become the ancestor of a great nation challenged with being a people through whom God could advance God’s kingdom.

There is a plodding old hymn nobody wants to sing anymore. We do not have the patience. It is not in most hymnals.

God is working this purpose out,
as year succeeds to year;
God is working this purpose out,
and the time is drawing near;
nearer and nearer draws the time,
the time that shall surely be:
when the earth shall be filled with the glory of God
as the waters cover the sea**.

Prayer: Grant us the patience to serve you in your time frame, while instilling in us the will to be doers of your word at all times. Amen.

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

**First verse of God is Working His Purpose Out by Arthur Campbell Ainger see at https://hymnary.org/text/god_is_working_his_purpose_out#Author

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 the Body of Christ

Living in the Spirit

July 22, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19)

Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. –Colossians 2:16-19

Paul got that right. The earthly observations of his day have indeed been supplemented over the years by hundreds and thousands of equally absurd practices and beliefs that distract us from being the Body of Christ in the world today. I am stunned by the singularity of our outrage regarding issues that have simple solutions if we cared to use them. Most abortions could be prevented by the availability of quality, affordable and accessible health care, raising the minimum wage to a living wage, and providing quality public education that prepares children for adulthood and good-paying jobs.

I got off the plane with my choir many years ago at an airport in Sweden and rushed with my group to the nearest restroom as is often the case with people getting off planes. I was surprised to see that there were no designated male and female restrooms. Each of the stalls was enclosed for privacy and each contained appropriate plumbing for men and women. The only thing shared was the sinks to wash one’s hands. The long line moved very quickly, and no one had to worry about sharing a restroom with anyone.

We are called to be the Body of Christ in the world today with an assignment to begin and continue the work of creating the beloved community, the Kingdom of God. That requires us to remove ourselves from the shadows of worldly judgments and live in the light of Christ’s loving example.

Prayer: Lord, write on our hearts your desire for our work and strengthen our will and our bodies to carry it out. 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.