Tag Archives: God’s Kingdom

A Time to Care

Living in the Spirit

July 30, 2021

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:1-16

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. –Ephesians 4:11-16

We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. Sound familiar?

I do not think most of the verbal bouts we hear daily in our nation have much to do with the stated outrage. Instead, it is all about power and money. If some of our leaders think you care about an issue and your support will get them votes or donations, they will speak in favor of it.

With all the problems related to COVID, the one I heard my Senator taking a stand on was improving the delay of getting passports. While some may be in desperate need to return to jobs and family, generally, vacationers need passports. Tomorrow the moratorium on evictions ends, making thousands of citizens vulnerable to losing their homes and ending up on the streets. Adequate federal money was allocated to offset this problem, but many states have not been able to get it into the hands of those who need it. Part of that is the result of states underfunding for years the agencies that must handle the distribution and do not now have the resources to move the money quickly to where it is needed. The other more sinister part is that some government officials do not agree that those out of work need help. I am a bit surprised they do not care about the landlords or mortgage holders.

We must always hold our behavior and the behavior of those who lead us up to God’s standards to guide our service as workers in God’s Kingdom.

Prayer: Lord, help us develop in your righteousness, justice, and mercy as we strive to love like Jesus. 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 Kingdom Come

Lent

March 24, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 40:5-10

Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
   but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt-offering and sin-offering
   you have not required.
Then I said, ‘Here I am;
   in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do your will, O my God;
   your law is within my heart.’

I have told the glad news of deliverance
   in the great congregation;
see, I have not restrained my lips,
   as you know, O Lord.
I have not hidden your saving help within my heart,
   I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
   from the great congregation.–Psalm 40:6-10

This week the lectionary focused on offering “things” to God that are of value to us but not of value to God.  I have always thought it interesting that the required sacrifices support a system that establishes worth based on wealth. The rich with much pomp brought their fatted calves, the middle class, a lamb without blemish, and the poor a couple of birds. Fair is fair; we should give based on our ability. I do not think God desires more of us than we can provide. However, our all too human self-righteous inclinations can create caste systems. What indeed does the Lord require of [us] but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with [our] God*? Doing God’s will by choice is what God desires.

The Psalmist writes Here I am. . .I delight to do your will, and then talks about sharing the glad news of deliverance. When I was a child, my church’s evangelism group called on people new to our community to invite them to our church and called on people who may have lived there for years, encouraging them to come to church. Among the various churches in my small hometown, the preachers preached similar sermons. Bible school felt boards illustrated the same stories, and I was blessed to learn a few different hymns and choruses in each Bible school attended. I do not remember doing much mission work locally. We did support global missions.

Our world has become more complex. The diversity of denominations is the least of what divides us today. We now clash on who owns God. Evil has done Evil’s job well. We have it upside down and backward. Many believe Abraham Lincoln wrote, a house divided against itself cannot stand. He was quoting from Matthew 12:25. The verse was true when repeated and is still true today. He probably thought Christians in his hearing familiar with the verse would take heed.

God is at the center of God’s Kingdom, and all creation is called to be one working within the framework God designed. All people are of worth, all people are called to contribute their unique talents and skills, and all are held together by the sinew of God’s love.

Prayer: Creator of All, forgive us for forming our kingdoms and adding your name without your permission as an endorsement. Guide us to be all that we can be in oneness supporting your Kingdom. Amen.

*From Micah 6:

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.

Becoming One

Epiphany

Jonah Preaches in Ninevah Jonah 3:2-9

January 18, 2021

Scripture Reading: Jonah 3:1-5, 10
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, ‘Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, ‘Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it.

We can seek forgiveness; we can turn around, we can further the presence of God’s Kingdom here today by our actions and our deeds. Self-examination is a great place to start. We must take the beam out of our own eyes before trying to remove them from others. (Matthew 7:5, Luke 6:42)

We also need to listen to the other. We need to hear what is bothering people so much. That starts with engaging with them if relationships do not exist or re-engaging when bonds have been broken. We must patiently lower the tone of discussion. We may need to let others yell at us until they wear themselves out. We might be amazed at what can happen when we lower our own voices rather than speak louder and try to interrupt in response to a loud outburst. Listen to words, not tone, and not anger. I frankly do not understand the source of some people’s consternation. We need to listen to see what the foundation of their rage is.

While I like the idea of preaching a sermon and having everybody get it immediately and change their harmful ways of being as Jonah did, it does not happen often. Road to Damascus experiences happen, but they are not the norm. Loving back to oneness takes strong motivation and generous sharing of love.

Prayer: Lord, empower us to become good listeners and really hear what others are saying. Let your love flow through us and make us one. 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 and Works

Lent
March 10, 2017

Scripture Reading: Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. –Romans 4:13-15

In their book The First Paul, Borg and Crossan indicate it is not possible to have faith without works. It is possible to have works without faith. Why do we do what we do? The answer to the question matters. The what-is-in-it-for-me discourse requires the establishment of some sort of tit for tat arrangement.  God’s call to love our neighbors reflects gifts freely received and freely given.

I once thought our public welfare programs largely served to stifle anarchy. While they were begun During the Great Depression, they were expanded following the riots occurring primarily in inner-cities throughout the country during the 1960’s. Some of the initial programs were very good, designed to help disadvantaged even oppressed citizens move from poverty to self-sufficiency. The War on Poverty quickly turned into structures to prohibit fraud, waste, and abuse. I use to note at the time we fought a war in Vietnam that was never declared and the War on Poverty that was declared but never fought. Both demanded great works neither was necessarily graced by faith.

The history of God is one that welcomes free expression of our love for God. Would you want to be loved by someone forced to love you? Is that even possible? God wants us to love God and out of the abundance of that shared love work toward a world where all know love.

Prayer: Lord we have willing hands and feet to help you in any way we can to make your Kingdom a reality for all your children. Show us the way. Amen.

*The First Paul by Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan. Harper One, 2009.

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.

Worthy of God’s Call

new-bedford-low-voter-turnout-354x216Living in the Spirit
October 28, 2016

Scripture Reading:
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4; 11-12

To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfil by his power every good resolve and work of faith, that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. –2 Thessalonian 1:11-12

What does it mean to be made worthy of Jesus’ call? The word translated worthy means matching value to actual substance*. The meaning seems to suggest that we are considered valuable to God no matter what. Do our contributions to the development of God’s kingdom amount to the value granted us?

We might illustrate being made worthy by comparing the success of any nation particularly one that claims to be a nation of the people, by the people, and for the people with the actual substance provided by its populace. While we wring our hands and lament the failures of our government, few look in the mirror and try to determine what role we have played in its shortcomings. In the last major election in Oklahoma only 33% of registered voters voted, which does not include those eligible to vote who were not registered. Having a government work productively at meeting its goal to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence (sic), promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity** requires all its valuable citizens to contribute to its success. It further requires us to figure out how to do that as one nation. At times, it seems we are more dedicated to destroying it.

Think about that same idea in the furtherance of God’s kingdom. God expects all of us to match the value we are to the substance we contribute to God’s vision of loving God and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. Perhaps rather than trying to force our faith on others through civil law, we should consider modeling inclusion and acceptance of the value of all God’s children in our work for God’s Kingdom as an example of how oneness can work.

Prayer: God of Justice and Mercy, make us worthy of your call. Amen.

*http://biblehub.com/greek/515.htm
**http://constitutionus.com/

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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.