Category Archives: Uncategorized

Perfecting our Love

Jesus’ Ministry
February 14, 2019

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

  But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.

I must confess I have a weird take on Jesus’ Resurrection, at least to many people. I do not question that it happened. I am sorry it had to happen. I celebrate that it did happened. The Resurrection, however, does not play a major role in why I choose to follow Christ. I know that is outright heresy to some but Jesus’ example of living love and his call for us to continue that way of being is at the top of my reason for being a Christian.  Now some do say that the resurrection is the ultimate example of his love and that is true, but wouldn’t it have been wonderful for all involved, if that drastic step could have been avoided.

Why in the history of God is it so hard for humans to maintain wholeness? Those who long for Jesus’ return may want to consider that this time he is waiting for us to get our act together and love one another before he comes back to pitch his tent among us. If you were very clear in your instructions to your loved ones before you withdrew from them that they were to love one another, and 2000 years later they still had not figured out how to do that, would you be excited to visit much less come back to stay?

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for forgiving us repeatedly for the same sins that separate us from you. Help us learn from our mistakes until we get loving like you right and you look forward to pitching your tent among 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.

What is Good?

Jesus’ Ministry
February 11, 2019

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-10

Thus says the Lord:
Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
   and make mere flesh their strength,
   whose hearts turn away from the Lord.
They shall be like a shrub in the desert,
   and shall not see when relief comes.
They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness,
   in an uninhabited salt land. –Jeremiah 17:5-6

Jeremiah does not paint an attractive picture of life without the Lord. If hunger and drought and disease is all we know we may not recognize relief when it comes. I saw a poignant scene on TV recently. A starving child from Yemen in the arms of a relief worker trying to feed the child a tube full of nutrients designed to alleviate starvation. The little one shut his mouth tightly and pushed it away because every time he had swallowed it earlier it made him vomit. His stomach had not functioned properly for so long it did not react appropriately when fed.

Of course, Jeremiah is addressing adults who have chosen to stray from the Lord and in the final verse of this scripture he writes,
I the Lord test the mind
   and search the heart,
to give to all according to their ways,
   according to the fruit of their doings.

What did the child in the relief workers arms do to deserve not knowing what was good for him? All of us stand guilty when we do not take care of the little ones as Jesus said in Matthew 18:6 ‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Doing justice means going the extra mile for those who never learned of God’s good.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we have blinders on regarding the needs of others who may have no knowledge of your love including being loved in real terms such as food and health care. 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.

 

Solid Foundation

Jesus’ Ministry
February 1, 2019

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. –1 Corinthians 13:5-7

We toss the word love around rather loosely to the extent that we may not take it as seriously as God intends. Paul in the above scripture breaks out love in desirable and undesirable behaviors. It would be an interesting project to try to intentionally practice what Paul preaches:

  • Practicing patience
  • Not envying
  • Not being boastful or arrogant or rude
  • Rejoicing in the truth
  • Bearing and enduring all things
  • Trusting in God
  • Keeping hope alive

Many of the non-loving behaviors are more representative of our lack of personal wholeness based in accepting fully that we are who we are and that we have much to contribute to the world without envying or boasting or being rude or arrogant.  Our foundation of wholeness is firmly secured in the love of God. We do not have to acquire outside supports. Freed by wholeness, we can love our neighbors or anyone else as we love and appreciate ourselves.

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said—
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

“Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.

“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress*.

Prayer: Lord, keep our feet on your solid foundation so that we may love others as we love ourselves. Amen.

*First three verses of How Firm a Foundation, author unknown see at https://library.timelesstruths.org/music/How_Firm_a_Foundation/

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.

 

Listen to the Children

Jesus’ Ministry
January 28, 2019

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-10

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’
Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ But the Lord said to me,
‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
says the Lord.’ –Jeremiah 1:4-8

Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
   to silence the enemy and the avenger. –Psalm 8:2

I am letting others provide the words for this devotion today. I was impressed am still am by the tenacity of the Parkland Florida youth who declared no more school shootings and have continued to pursue peaceful means to end violence and hate. We do need to listen to the children.

They are crying out for peace around the world
They are telling us to stop the hurt and pain
Their smiles can melt the coldest heart
Their tears can pull your world apart
Why don’t we listen to the children

 Why can’t you see the world their eyes can see
There is no room for hate or jealousy
And color means nothing to them
To a child another is a friend
Why don’t we listen to the children

 Why don’t we listen, to what they try to say
Make a world of peace for them to live in
Take a leaf out of the book
They read to us each day
Why don’t we learn a lesson from the children

 So everyone around the word join hands
And spread the word of love across the land
Rejoice and live in harmony
And pray that peace at last will be
They need the help of you and me, our children 

They are crying out for peace around the world
They are telling us to stop the hurt and pain
Their smiles can melt the coldest heart
Their tears can pull your world apart
Why don’t we listen to the children*

Prayer: Lord, help us to give ear to the voices crying out to us to leave this world a better place than we found it in the name of your Son who listened to the children. Amen.

*Listen To The Children Lyrics by Isla Grant see at https://genius.com/Isla-grant-listen-to-the-children-lyrics

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 a Higher Rock

Jesus’ Ministry
January 20, 2019

Scripture Reading: John 2:1-11

Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. –John 2:6-11

Our signs are more sophisticated today with numbers and charts, but we still rely on them to help us see the future or potential or the wisest investment to make. The prophets of the Hebrew Bible analyzed signs first to prevent chaos, later to recover from the failure of the people they had warned to heed their wise words. The first century citizens of Galilee were looking for signs just as the children of Israel did and just as we do.

There is dis-ease all about us that I and others cannot precisely describe. Life goes on in a routine manner. We eat, sleep, work, clean, but something is not quite right we cannot put our finger on it and we cannot seem to do anything about it. What is missing? Why do we put our faith in cracked vessels wanting more and more to satisfy our unquenchable hungers and thirst for what? Why do we continue to seek a savior to come and bring us life and bring it abundantly* when we already have one?

While we await the coming of one to solve all our problems and meet all our needs, we may need to look deep into our own beings to see where we have separated from God, where our wishes and desires are missing the mark of satisfying our souls.

I believe that good leaders rise to the top when the people are ready to be led.  Unity arrived regarding the establishment of the United States of America when our founders finally realized they must work together as Ben Franklin rather succinctly put it, “We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

As people of faith we are called by God to be one that is no easy outcome. There are as many ways to do something as there are people planning to get that something done. Finding common ground for the Common Good is hard but it is also imperative, if we are to live in a world of peace and fulfillment where we can truly love God and love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

Prayer: Lord lead, us to the Rock that is Higher than us** so that we can discover those things toward which we can all work to build a better nation and a better world. Amen.

*John 10:10
**Derived from Psalm 61

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.

Music Soothes the Soul

Christmas 
December 29, 2018

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:12-17

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
–Colossians 3:16-17

I love music. Went to sleep more nights than not to my dad playing his guitar and singing country blues. Grew up on dozens of wonderful choruses that still pop into my mind reminding me that Jesus Loves Me and we are to love All the Little Children of the World. I also loved the hymns, some no longer considered theologically correct, but they are still fun to sing. Some have tried to clean up the language or leave out offensive verses. The hymns that survive the test of time guide me through life. Spent my teen years with the Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel.  Love musical theater and have surprised myself with how much I enjoy hip-hop. I cannot tell you when I first discovered classical music, but it was love at first hearing.

Recently, I realized I have drifted away from music. My radio station in the car is tuned to NPR and I like that too, but one of my new year’s goals is to put music back into my life. I remember David’s playing soothed King Saul’s soul. My news reports need to be well balanced with music to soothe my soul. As I write this Vivaldi’s Four Seasons: Spring is playing in the background.

Prayer: Thank you God for the gift of music to place a dash of your love in every note heard. 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.

Growing in God

Christmas
December 26, 2018

Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26

Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy wearing a linen ephod. His mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year, when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, ‘May the Lord repay you with children by this woman for the gift that she made to the Lord’; and then they would return to their home.

  Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and with the people.

This is a wonderful story about Eli raising a boy to become a prophet. If you read the story around this story you learn that Eli did not do so well with his own sons. Perhaps that happened because Eli was younger when he reared his sons and had gain wisdom that helped him deal better with Samuel. Experts say that the first three or so are crucial to how children develop. Perhaps Samuel’s own parents instilled much in those few years he was with them. Parents may have greater expectations for their own children which sometimes gets in the way of parenting well. Perhaps Eli’s sons got so caught up in the world that nothing Eli had done or could do made any difference. All of these are possible; most likely a combination of them or some other outside force made an impact.

An underlying message in the story of Samuel is that none of us are so chiseled in stone that we cannot overcome traits that hold us back whether we are failing to be all that we can be or targeting our talents toward wrong outcomes. God is always present with us an provides the Holy Spirit to guide us. The key to growing away from traits that are not helpful is staying in tune with God and opening ourselves to God’s guidance.

Prayer: God, forgive us when we stubbornly continue down wrong paths or sit idly ignoring our calling. Help us grow in favor with the Lord and with the people so we can be a blessing to 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.

God with Us

Advent
December 21, 2018

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 10:5-10

Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
   but a body you have prepared for me;
in burnt-offerings and sin-offerings
   you have taken no pleasure.
Then I said, “See, God, I have come to do your will, O God”
   (in the scroll of the book it is written of me).’ –Hebrews 10:5-7

I write all the time about living our love and creating a world ruled by love, and I mean it, but the challenges come when I am called to practice what I preach and realize how very hard it is sometimes to love like Jesus. How does one discern when one has done enough or too much? How do we know what is the right thing to do? What is justice? I am sure many of the Jewish Rabbis who prepared the burnt offerings and sacrifices did so with the purest of intentions striving hard to comply with the teachings passed to them through the centuries. Those who follow the path of Abraham understood God’s love as he said to Abram in Genesis 15:6 And [Abram] believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

The history of God’s people records times of living in righteousness but also reports incidents of separation from God that eventually led to the Israelites being exiled from their homeland and living in bondage. God sent leaders and prophets to warn them to little or no avail. Finally, God came to us in human form Emmanuel, God with us, and introduced us to one with the power of Grace to save us from our inability to save ourselves. It is that extraordinary gift we celebrate at this advent season. The Christ has come, is with us today guiding us, and will return to pitch his tent among us and live with us in that world ruled by love.

 Prayer:
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel

 O come, O come, Thou Lord of might
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height
In ancient times did’st give the Law
In cloud, and majesty and awe
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, o Israel*

*First and last verse of O Come, O come, Emmanuel. See at https://castingcrowns.com/music/o-come-o-come-emmanuel/

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.

Fairness

Advent
December 17, 2018

Scripture Reading: Luke 3:7-18

And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.’ Even tax-collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’ Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’ –Luke 3:10-14

John the Baptist seems to be dealing with two types of help. The first is meeting immediate needs no matter what. If we have more than is necessary, we need to share extra coats and food with those who have none. The second expresses an ethical level of doing business. We are to treat people fairly by not overcharging or extorting money falsely for our own gain rather than being satisfied with the wages we make. Tax collectors collected whatever they could apparently if they gave Rome what Rome required.

Schools learned some time ago that students who were hungry could not learn. The school lunch program was expanded to include breakfast for that very reason. I heard on the news recently that our school system is offering dinner after school because for many of our students the school is the only sure place they will be fed. Volunteers from my church fill backpacks with food at a local elementary school each Friday to send home with some children who likely have no dependable source of food at home.

Areas of high poverty have limited healthy food and make a profit selling unhealthy food.

Food deserts are defined as parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas. This is largely due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and healthy food providers.

 This has become a big problem because while food deserts are often short on whole food providers, especially fresh fruits and vegetables, instead, they are heavy on local quickie marts that provide a wealth of processed, sugar, and fat laden foods that are known contributors to our nation’s obesity epidemic.*

John was most likely identifying the first century equivalent of food deserts among the people to whom he preached. His advice remains pertinent to us today as we live in a world where the rich get richer as poverty increases.

There are many issues that must be addressed between meeting basic needs and ethical business practices like offering quality public education to all and restorative criminal justice. John describes a good start toward a more equitable society that reflects God’s love for all God’s children.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we close our eyes to the hungry and ignore the business inequities of poverty. Amen.

*http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/usda-defines-food-deserts

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.

Salvation

Advent
December 13, 2018

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 12:2-6

Surely God is my salvation;
   I will trust, and will not be afraid,
for the Lord God is my strength and my might;
   he has become my salvation.
 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say on that day:
Give thanks to the Lord,
   call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations;
   proclaim that his name is exalted. –Isaiah 12:2-4

Salvation:
1 a: deliverance from the power and effects of sin:  the spiritual saving of humankind especially from damnation
   b:  the means or agent of such saving or deliverance
2:  liberation from ignorance or illusion:  deliverance from clinging to the phenomenal world of appearance and final union with ultimate reality*

God’s rescue which delivers believers out of destruction and into His safety**

I wonder how many people who proclaim their faith in God and Jesus Christ believe they need to be delivered from the power and effects of sin. I recall two ways to salvation from my youth. One described by the phrase, “Once saved always saved.” Another was salvation by works, doing good and following Jesus’ teachings. There are, of course, dangers in both approaches.  People who subscribed to the “once saved always saved” viewpoint are tempted to take salvation for granted and fail to address their personal spiritual needs and their calling to help others. They may have a sense that they are elect people. We might identify white privilege in this category. People who invest all their energies in doing good works and following Jesus’ teachings may think they are the source of their own salvation. Of course, problems arise when they become selective or even judgmental about defining good works and the limitations of the love Jesus modeled. These are the folks who may ask, “who is my neighbor?”

Our scripture today is describing a higher plain ruled by love, absent self-interest because in God’s love we are made whole.

Prayer: Lord, help us to know the fullness of your love as we grow in faith and in loving you more dearly as we love our neighbors more nearly. Amen.

*http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/salvation
**https://biblehub.com/greek/4991.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.