Category Archives: Daily Devotion

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.

Faith Instinct

Eastertide

May 10, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Acts 11:1-18

At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, “Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.” And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?’ When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, ‘Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.’ Acts 11:11-18

The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. Did you ever feel that something came up and you knew instinctually that it was something you needed to take care of that you could feel that need in your bones? I think that would describe Peter’s response to the men who had traveled to bring him back to their community. The spirit not only told him to go but to make no distinction. We are all raised with certain norms, and ways of being that differ from those of others. The line Peter crossed just by going with the visitors took a giant step, but to treat them as he would a fellow Jew was even a greater challenge. We see that kind of behavior in emergencies. A man comes upon a car wreck with a driver in the front seat and a fire under the hood. The first man jumps from his car and pulls the driver out and away from the vehicle just before it explodes. Instinct kicked in. Peter’s faith instinct allowed him to make the journey, share the story of Christ, welcome these strangers, and then return to convince his fellow Jews that he did the right thing. We are called to nurture a vibrant faith instinct where we respond to life situations and people as Jesus would respond.

1 Corinthians 13:12—For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. Describes the dilemma we face when responding to our call to serve God. The KJV uses the word darkly rather the dimly in its translation. Either word illustrates that we are not necessarily seeing the whole picture. We must learn to trust in God when we serve in the dark. To do that we must maintain a lasting, deep relationship with the Lord, through prayers, communion, and study.

Prayer: Lord, strengthen our faith instinct as we work toward realizing the Kingdom of God.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.

Ethnocentricity

Eastertide

May 9, 2022

Scripture Reading: Acts 11:1-18

Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?’ Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, ‘I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” But I replied, “By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.” But a second time the voice answered from heaven, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. –Acts 11:1-10

One of the words I learned in Sociology 103 was Ethnocentricity. According to Mirriam-Webster, it means:
One of the words I learned in Sociology 103 was Ethnocentricity. According to Mirriam-Webster, it means:
a: inclined to regard one’s own race or social group as the center of culture
<any profession … is somewhat ethnocentric regarding outsiders — L. W. Doob>
b: exhibiting an incapacity for viewing foreign cultures dispassionately
<the ethnocentric view that the rest of the world must become worthy of us by … imitating our way of life–G.E. Taylor>

How do we react when someone approaches us saying, “My group’s way is the only way and if you do not adopt it you will suffer extreme consequences.” Jesus’s example was to share meals with people, get to know them, love them, and when they experienced his love, they felt comfortable loving him back.

One of the greatest blessings of living in the US is the breadth and depth of learning from people with differing backgrounds—wonderful music, delicious food, differing life experiences, and amazingly similar ordeals.  Many came to our country due to starvation and famine, escaping war, some came against their will, others were just adventuresome, and some had been here for hundreds of years before these new people arrived. All were created in the image of God.

Prayer: Lord, lead us in understanding others and help us to see them as you see 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.

Privilege

Eastertide

May 8, 2022

Scripture Reading:

John 10:22-30

At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.’

We are in a pandemic of people being told truth who chose not to believe it because it was not what they wanted to hear. As I read the above-quoted scripture, I wondered if that was the problem with the religious leaders in this story. The Jews had been waiting for the Messiah for years, but would the Messiah’s presence disturb their leadership, their power, their privilege?  

A new divide and conquer issue arises almost weekly in the US now with no one willing to look at the realities of the issues or seek common ground for the Common Good. The bathroom issue is currently catching fire in Oklahoma. While schools and other governmental entities are dealing with the war over the issue, I have noticed that many restaurants have taken down the signs designating gender allowing anyone to use whichever facility they choose. In Sweden, bathrooms were built for privacy and none were designated.

Bathrooms are not the issue. The problem we are dealing with is fearing the loss of our privilege like the leaders of the temple in Jesus’ day feared would happen if Jesus really was the Messiah. They killed him because of it. The sad thing is, that Jesus’ coming was a gift of abundant life for all. No one needs to be better than anyone else to be a person of worth to God. God created all of us in God’s image and loves all of us.

Prayer: Lord, open our hearts to love all your children as you love all of 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.