Tag Archives: Justice

Glorifying God With Acts of Love

Living in the Spirit

July 9, 2020

Scripture Reading: Psalm 65:(1-8), 9-13

By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
   O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
   and of the farthest seas.
By your strength you established the mountains;
   you are girded with might.You silence the roaring of the seas,
   the roaring of their waves,
   the tumult of the peoples.
Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy. –Psalm 65:5-8

We certainly need deliverance, but I am not sure we have identified God as either our salvation or our hope. Our society seems to be stubbornly stuck in the denial stage of grief regarding COVID-19. This attitude has been coming on for a few decades; the virus just made it more visible. We have turned the tables on God, creating a god in the image we want. God calls us to partner with God accepting the responsibility of being made in the image of our Creator.  God expects us to love one another, care for the earth, and continue as partners with the Lord in furthering God’s worldview, not ours.

God created us with brains and hearts. Jesus said in John 14:12, Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. Jesus expects us to use our gifts creatively to address the challenging needs of our world until Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs as they see God’s works carried forward by us. Let us glorify God with our acts of love.

Prayer: Creator God, forgive us for following the lesser idols of the world. Led us into your deliverance and empower us to answer your call. 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.

Righteous Diversity

Living in the Spirit

July 4, 2020

Scripture Reading: Romans 7:15-25a
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is

do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.

I do believe these words from the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all [people] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

I also understand that all people are created by God with free will. We have the right to chose whether to do good or to do evil—to be righteous in the eyes of God or not. God prefers that we live in righteousness. I think God created the earth and all that is in it to function optimally when we are all living righteously. God also did not leave us clueless as to what is right or just. God, through Moses, gave us the Ten Commandments, through Jesus, a role model to follow, and ultimately through Christ, the forgiveness of our sin. Still yet, not leaving us on our own, God gifted us with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

I also think God was purposeful in creating a wide variety of plants, and animals, and people to populate the earth. We are better for that diversity. On this day, we celebrate our country’s Independence brought forth by ancestors who were just as human as Paul describes himself to be in our scripture today. We must concede that we, too, are all totally capable of doing the very thing we hate and be overcome by sin. God is not through with us yet. God continues to remold and make us like God divine. As we grow in faith, hope, and love, we see more clearly the value of the right choices as we build a world ruled by love.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the depth of your love that created a world full of the wonder of diversity. Guide us in righteously caring for it. 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.

Truths vs Customs

Living in the Spirit

June 30, 2020

Scripture Reading: Psalm 45:10-17
Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear;
   forget your people and your father’s house,
   and the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your lord, bow to him;
   the people of Tyre will seek your favour with gifts,
   the richest of the people with all kinds of wealth.

The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes;
   in many-coloured robes she is led to the king;
   behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.
With joy and gladness they are led along
   as they enter the palace of the king.

In the place of ancestors you, O king, shall have sons;
   you will make them princes in all the earth.
I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations;
   therefore the peoples will praise you for ever and ever.

Stunned would be the best word to describe my reaction to reading this scripture. I am sure I have read it before, but I do not remember it. I highly value the sacredness of marriage and do not think there are more essential roles in any society than being a mother or a father. I do not think the primary purpose of women is to have babies. I do not think children are chattel in the context of creating wealth for the estate. Indeed, in the culture of the Bible, children were a primary source of workers for the field. Thus the need to have many children and many wives was the norm. The mortality rate for babies was high. Cultural norms often grow out of real need. They remain beyond the need because that are adapted as customs or the way we have always done it.

I grew up on a farm, and everybody had their chores. The schools in my community closed for the harvest months in the summer, freeing up the students to work. We still operate statewide following that norm. Three months is a long time to retain what one learns in preparation for new learning. A few years ago, the Oklahoma City schools changed the schedule shortening the summer break. This resulted in culture shock even though we did not require harvest workers, nor did we have many urban students planning an agricultural-related career.

This scripture is an excellent example of Biblical teachings of several positive life lessons, the sanctity of marriage, and the need to prepare children for life as adults. And while it is educational to learn how such roles were implemented 7000 years ago, it does not mean we need to do them the same way today.

Prayer: Lord, help us glean the truths about your ways of being as we study how our ancestors lived and adapt our culture to those truths but not necessarily the customs. 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 Righteousness

Living in the Spirit

June 26, 2020

Scripture Reading: Romans 6:12-23

What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.—Romans 6:15-19

Recently, I had a conversation about tithing with a friend. She had received a letter from her church saying that it had not yet received her tithe as a reminder to send money. My church sends very business-like updates on the receipt of payment toward my pledge for tax purposes, so I did not think this action was particularly unusual. I had made a pledge and do work to meet it. Apparently, her faith group teaches the following of the tithe described in the Hebrew Bible. Her problem was that she does set aside a tithe but provides it to feed people on the street.

My mother, I think, was influenced by Paul after reading today’s scripture. For she taught us, we were to give our whole being to God’s service in everything we did, including supporting our church. I do think that is what Paul is addressing when he says you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. We must do right, do justice in everything. Wearing masks during the COVID 19 pandemic is doing righteousness, loving our neighbor. There is no separation of church and self. We are individually a part of the Body of Christ and gain synergy in our efforts working within and among the whole Body of Christ.

I also think Paul used the word slave on purpose to get a rise out of his readers because, while some of them had been or were slaves, many were not. There is no privilege among those who make up the Body of Christ. We are all privileged to be in service to the Almighty God.

Prayer: Lord of Life, help us to see where we can do righteousness in everything we do to your glory. 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.

The Light of God’s Countenance

Living in the Spirit

June 24, 2020

Scripture Reading: Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18

Happy are the people who know the festal shout,
   who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance;
they exult in your name all day long,
   and extol your righteousness.
For you are the glory of their strength;
   by your favor our horn is exalted.
For our shield belongs to the Lord,
   our king to the Holy One of Israel. –Psalm 89:15-18

I miss singing in the congregation. I do sing while watching our live stream service, but it is not the same. If all the viewers are singing, the Lord surely hears us as God’s people lifting our voices together. That must be music to God’s ears.

I fear God more often hears a cacophony of noise expressing rage and pain and anger being sounded from around the world during these trying times. I listened to the mother of Bubba Wallace, the racecar driver who found a noose in his garage recently. She indicated she spoke words of comfort and support to him after he called her to alert her to what had happened. She then went to take a shower and screamed and screamed her frustration and concern. I hear the police union leaders’ frustration at being accused of overprotecting “bad” cops and thus causing the problem the stems from racism. While society seems unwilling to address the systemic racism that makes mistreatment of people of color acceptable. Health care professionals are begging people to wear masks and physical distance to reduce the spread of COVID 19. Others say, “No one can tell us what to do,” even when our actions are killing our neighbors.

The time has come to listen to one another with the intent of understanding the other’s positions. To respond in the language of love, as we search together for common ground for the Common Good. If we seek the Spirit’s guidance, God will shine the Lord’s light on our countenances, and we will discover God has innately endowed us with the ability to do justice and live in righteousness if we make it our choice.

Prayer: Lord of Love and Mercy, hear our rage and pain and anger and channel its energy into solutions that are just and righteous. 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 Does the Lord Require?

Living in the Spirit

June 22, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Genesis 22:1-14

After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.’. . .  Isaac said to his father Abraham, ‘Father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ He said, ‘The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?’ Abraham said, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together.

When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.’ And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt-offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place ‘The Lord will provide’; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’ –Genesis 22:1-2, 7-14

Micah asked the pertinent question, What does the Lord require of you? He then provided the answer, but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Before this very familiar discourse in a listing of things God might ask of God’s followers is the question, Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul*?’

The firstborn, particularly in Abraham’s culture, was the heir apparent. There was no equal distribution among all the children. Isaac was not Abraham’s firstborn. Ismael was, but Isaac was the chosen heir because he was the son of the rightful wife and Ismael, the son of a handmaiden. In my genealogy work, I have enjoyed reading some of the detailed wills of my ancestors that include bushels of wheat to one son, a container of potatoes to another. Daughters even got some things. I do not know when the oldest son’s inheritance standard changed. Jesus is noted as being Mary’s firstborn son. Filicide, the killing of one’s own child, was not uncommon in the time of Abraham. Child sacrifice was practiced in many early cultures.

I have read several attempts by theologians to explain this scripture. Some tend toward, we must get our priorities straight, and our worship of God is our highest priority. Others emphasize that the story indicates God demands and tests absolute loyalty. These seem to be the same idea coming from different directions.

I think it is the story of a devout God follower finding his way, perhaps testing himself, as we all struggle to do what the Lord requires of us. Abraham eventually understands that God does not expect Abraham to sacrifice his son. That decision illustrates justice, mercy, and walking humbly as a servant of God.

Prayer: Lord, walk with us as we find our way in serving you more nearly in a challenging world. Amen.

*Micah 6:8

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.

Family of God

Living in the Spirit

June 21, 2020

Scripture Reading: Matthew 10:24-39

‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.  –Matthew 10:34-39

I said yesterday, Jesus spoke some challenging words. Quoted above are some more of them. Jesus came to earth to stir us from the complacency of accepting what is standard in our society as just when it is not righteous in God’s ways. As students of the Bible, we must judge what is righteous, based on God’s rules of love. That is not an easy task.

Over time, I have come to accept that people’s relationship with God is driven by who they are regarding the importance of scripture. Some flourish in knowing a set of rules to follow; others build their life based on the model of Christ’s life. In both instances we must commit ourselves to to delving deeply into the Spiritual Disciplines to understand Christ’s ways better. Christ is the only one who knows each and all of us well enough to see if we are aligned with God’s ways.

I find it interesting that people can be raised by the same parents with the same ancestors and see how totally different they think. Jesus and his brother James are good examples. While James did eventually come around to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, he continued his intense need to follow the traditions of his Jewish faith. Even in life, Jesus translated scriptures as what was the best benefit for God’s mission and God’s people, like plucking wheat to eat on the Sabbath.

So, where does that leave us in meshing our faith with family members, friends, and sisters and brothers in Christ? Listening to not only words said in dialogue but also the driving intent behind them is essential. Listening to another’s responses after expressing ourselves rather than planning our next response also helps. Building any discussion based on first acknowledging to ourselves that the person with whom we are communicating is a person we love is vital. We must remember we are called to love all our brothers and sisters in life and in Christ as we interact with them.

Prayer: Lord, help us be Spirit-led in all our interactions with one another. 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 God’s Word

Living in the Spirit

June 20, 2020

Scripture Reading: Matthew 10:24-39

‘So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

‘Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. –Matthew 10:26-33

Jesus spoke some challenging words. Read the whole scripture for today. It is tough. The world was tough then; it is tough today. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;. rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

I love history and have found myself watching more TV then usual as I shelter in place. I have found some interesting history pieces to watch. The American West is a rerun about the settling of the West in the USA following the Civil War. I have enjoyed watching it but knew most of the history it covers. I did not know that Henry McCarty was from New York or that he did not know who his father was. His mother brought him to live in the New Mexico area where she died when he was a teen leaving him to raise himself. He spent his time sharpening his skills with guns and supported himself stealing cattle.  An  encounter with a rancher whose cattle he was attempting to steal resulted in the rancher hirng him. This first father figure was very important to him. When the rancher was murdered, Billy the Kid was born.

We who are privileged need to search our hearts to determine where we as a society are killing peoples souls, seek forgiveness for our sin, and repent of our actions that are discriminatory, demeaning, and demoralizing.

Prayer: Lord, open our eyes to see how the systemic injustice that is rampant in our world. Once our eyes are open, makeus doers of your word* to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

*See James 1:22

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.

No Common Ground

Living in the Spirit

June 18, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Jeremiah 20:7-13

O Lord, you have enticed me,
   and I was enticed;
you have overpowered me,
   and you have prevailed.
I have become a laughing-stock all day long;
   everyone mocks me.
For whenever I speak, I must cry out,
   I must shout, ‘Violence and destruction!’
For the word of the Lord has become for me
   a reproach and derision all day long.
If I say, ‘I will not mention him,
   or speak any more in his name’,
then within me there is something like a burning fire
   shut up in my bones;
I am weary with holding it in,
   and I cannot. –Jeremiah 20:7-9

I sense a bit how Jeremiah might feel. I tend to identify more, at least with the words, describing John the Baptist, as one crying out in the wilderness. I am stupefied wondering how I see the events of our world so totally different than others. Thus, my ideas of how to address problems are almost the very opposite of others with little room for compromise or negotiation.

  • Solve poverty, including the provision of readily accessible affordable health care, and you will markedly decrease the incidence of none-medically necessary abortion. Making abortion illegal or trying to shame desperate people away from it just exacerbates the problem.
  • Rewrite our immigration laws to make it simple to process work permits for needed workers ensuring that they are paid the minimum wage with benefits. They could even pay income taxes. The reason we cannot implement a simple system is because some people make a lot of money working undocumented persons below minimum wage with no benefits. This is not fair to them nor is it fair to USA citizen who must be paid minimum wage with benefits and pay taxes.
  • Refugees exist because their homelands have become uninhabitable for a variety of reason. Helping to address those reason would let people stay where they are. In the meantime, we need to care for and protect refugees that come to our country for help.  Most of our ancestors arrived here as immigrants and some came because of oppression. We are the better for their contributions to our society.
  • Regarding criminal justice, solving poverty will also positively impact criminal justice. Improving our mental health systems across the board will address many of the problems the police are not trained to address. Providing restorative services rather than punishment will also help. Eliminating private prisons will remove the greed that drives our incarceration rate to number 1 in the world.

 Prayer: Lord, help us find common ground for the common good. 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.

Division in the Body of Christ

Living in the Spirit

June 15, 2020

Scripture Reading: Genesis 21:8-21

The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.’ The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. But God said to Abraham, ‘Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named after you. As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring.’ So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. Genesis 21:8-14

Evil impels us with divisiveness. My Sunday school class recently discussed hospitality encouraged by Walter Brueggemann’s book A Gospel of Hope. In it, he points out that our quarrels large and small divide and thus weaken our ability to be the whole Body of Christ in the world today. The sons of Abraham have been battling ever since Sarah and Hagar quarreled.

In my lifetime, I have observed breakdowns in churches over whether it is appropriate to place upholstered chairs at the communion table to how hedges should be trimmed. My own denomination split at the turn of the 20th century over whether it was Biblical to use organs in worship. Of course, I doubt if these were the real reasons for any of the disputes. All were most likely related to who had the most power. I find myself recoiling from ideas I hear in the public specter that are reportedly derived from the Bible that are totally foreign to my understanding of God.

So, how do we heal the wounds that lead to quarrels that divide? How do we lay divisive issues aside and only work together on those things on which we do agree? I volunteer with the Oklahoma Conference of Churches in is justice work. This organization is composed of a variety of denominations and routinely works with interfaith groups. It has defined the seven issues that are priorities and gained agreement on those issues. It also functions within a rule that it does not pursue topics on which there is no agreement across the board. Of course, individual groups can work on any issues they desire. The result is that OCC has a powerful voice of strength when it speaks about the issues it champions: poverty, health care, criminal justice, the environment, education, discrimination, Immigration.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we waste our time arguing over issues on which agreement is distant at the least, weave us together as a powerful force of your love on the areas on which we do agree. 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.