Tag Archives: Loving God

Faith

Living in the Spirit

August 4, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. –Hebrews 11:1-3

Conviction of the truth of anything, belief (Plato, Polybius, Josephus, Plutarch; θαυμάσια καί μείζω πίστεως, Diodorus 1, 86); in the N. T. of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and conjoined with it*.

I have regrated for some time that no verb form of the word “faith” was created in the English language. The word “believe” corresponds to the word “belief” describing the action element of the word. The writer of Hebrews defines the word faith as assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Truth is fundamental to faith. I think people of faith fall back on the word believe because they have no other choice. Trust might work better. The verb believe has the essence of something being true unless or until proven wrong. That option is not available with the word faith. The word hoped intrinsically carries the idea of something wanted but might not happen. Add faith to hope and it becomes assured.

Prayer: Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief**.  Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/4102.htm

**Taken from Mark 9:24.

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.

Loving Like Jesus

Eastertide

May 1, 2022

Scripture Reading: John 21:1-19

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.’ (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ –John 21:15-19

The dialogue between Peter is one we all must have with Jesus Christ. The first time Jesus asked Peter the question do you love me Jesus is using the Greek word, agapas, which is translated here as the English word love. Peter responds with the Greek word, philō, which is also translated in English as love. Jesus then commands Peter to feed Jesus’s lambs.  The same translations are recorded the second time Jesus asked the question, and Jesus commands Peter to Shepherd Jesus’s sheep. The third time Jesus asked the question using the word, phileis, which is a derivative of philō, but expresses something closer to Do you dearly love me, perhaps suggesting what we often imply about philō* the love of siblings.

I am not a Greek translator of any sort, but I do not think the varied use of the Greek words for love was not an accident. Jesus asked as the son of God for Peter to love all God’s children if they love the Lamb of God who died on the cross. That love carries over to assuming the assignment of Shepherding God’s children, taking on Jesus’s work in our world today.  As we serve in the name of Jesus Christ, in answering his call to be one and love all, we are likened as a sibling to him.

You may read it with another emphasis, but I think the questions were asked to all of Jesus’s disciples Including us. Please note, that all the instructions involved active caring for one another, all one another(s).

Prayer: Lord, help us demonstrate with our lives our love for you. Guide our service. Amen.

See https://biblehub.com/interlinear/john/21-17.htm for the source of all Greek words quoted.

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.

Death Has No Sting

Ordinary Time

February 10, 2022

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 believe in a Supreme Being that is love and the source of all that is, I call God. I believe in the resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, who embodied the Supreme Being when he came to earth as a newborn, lived the life of a human, shared the love of God with all, was crucified on a cross, died and rose again. He breathed the Spirit of God on all his disciples as he has continued to do from that time forth. With the Spirits guidance Jesus commissioned us to take the love of God throughout our world and use it as the springboard for the wellbeing of the world God created and all that is within it.

That said, I have no clue what happens after our death. Of this I am sure, I will spend eternity with God and that is all I need to know. Thus, scriptures like the one above perplex me, and, yet, I know others for whom such scriptures speak much comfort. I do not love God in real time only for the promise of something better to come. I hope I share God’s love for the sake of its value for myself and others rather than building my faith resume’.  I do believe that to whom much is given much will be required (Luke 12:48). God wants all of us to be fully what God created us to be and God never measures our outcomes against others.

Prayer: Lord, we are in chaos as we stumble through the world’s temptations and try to make sense out of what is of you and what is not. We thank you for your abiding presence and asked that you restore and help us retain our recognition of it and not be mislead by false prophets. 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 Joy

Living in the Spirit

October 31, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Mark 12:28-34

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, ‘Which commandment is the first of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The first is, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’ Then the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that “he is one, and besides him there is no other”; and “to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength”, and “to love one’s neighbor as oneself”,—this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.’ When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ After that no one dared to ask him any question.

How far are we from the Kingdom of God? In my college freshman New Testament course 103, Professor Fred Craddock taught that salvation was a gift of grace. He drew two lines on a blackboard. The top line indicated obtaining salvation. The second line illustrated the level of good works we had done. The distance between the two revealed the presence of God’s grace, making up the shortfall. God’s grace opens the entrance for each of us into the Kingdom of God.  Indeed, one can obtain God’s grace even when there is much distance between the lines at the time. We recognize God’s love for us and accept Christ’s gift of grace. Our love of God fulfilled in this gift of grace propels us to follow Jesus’s ways of loving God and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. I imagine God knows joy when God’s followers love one another and all others. God experiences greater joy when we create a world where all are loved and valued, where all have enough of the necessities of life, and where justice prevails. When those qualities exist, we will not be far from the Kingdom of God. Indeed, we might find ourselves in it.

Prayer: God of grace and God of glory,
on thy people pour thy pow’r.
Crown thine ancient church’s story,
bring its bud to glorious flow’r.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
for the facing of this hour,
for the facing of this hour. 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 Priorities

Lent

March 11, 2021

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10
You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

Being alive in Christ is about priorities. I do not know how many times I have seen people interviewed by TV news after some sort of disaster. These victims usually say something to the effect that the family survived, which is all that mattered. In Oklahoma, that is often the sentiment when a tornado or fire destroys a home. Being alive in Christ is living what really matters and that begins and ends with our love relationship with God in Christ. God’s love for us and our love for God naturally spreads to our love for one another when we do not let the world interfere.

Regular communication with God is necessary to keep our priorities straight. Aligning our life goals with God’s requires systematic reviews of outcomes from our efforts and discerning any needs to alter our courses. As we age, our life goals in God’s service may need to be adjusted to address alterations in our world and changes in our skills and talents.

Recognizing distractions for what they are is essential.  More important is learning how to work around them. When I was in grade school, my church decided new chairs were needed at the communion table. The wooden chairs had become quite rickety. A committee was appointed to obtain the new chairs, and the war began. Some wanted upholstered chairs, others demanded that we retain the historic look of wooden seats, and some did not think we needed chairs at all. I do not remember how long this feud continued. I do not even remember what kind of chairs we finally got. We lost one family from the church because of the bruhaha, and we wasted a lot of good energy that could have been channeled to more meaningful work.

We rarely take the time to seek the underlying causes of people’s responses. Most people like to be respected for their ideas. Loving one another is like loving God. It works best when we get to know God and one another better.

Prayer: Lord, help us first look for your image in others as we learn to love all your children enabling each other’s skills and talents as we work together toward building 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.

Selective Love

Living in the Spirit

October 11, 2020

Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:1-14

‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.‘ –Matthew 11-14

One of the hardest things we must recognize is that people are all people. There is no hierarchy of worth. A poor person can be just as greedy as a rich one. An influential person is as capable of being as humble as anyone else. I find it interesting that, while trying to address the inequalities in life, we take steps backward when anyone in the oppressed group makes the same mistake that the privileged make. The privilege cry out, see we were right all along; they are not as good as we are. One of the first things I learned about George Floyd was he had tried to pay for his purchase with a counterfeit $20 bill. I wondered how many times that clerk had run the counterfeit test, saw it failed, and handed the bill back to the one making the purchase. Any of us could get a counterfeit bill back in change and not know it. The store called the police on George Floyd.

 I would love to see a grand jury’s findings trying the Breonna Taylor case, whose members did not know the issue before they entered the courtroom. What would have been the response if they were presented the same evidence, except the prosecutor was white? The victim’s picture was of a beautiful, wholesome-looking, white 20-something woman working as an emergency med-tech earning money to become a nurse.

The scripture above is the continuation of the story related to privileged people ignoring the invitation-of-a-lifetime because they felt they had life right anyway. They did not want to be bothered by accepting an invitation to celebrate love. So, the invitation was issued to everyone, commoners, and even the oppressed. They came, but at least one of them failed to take the invitation seriously. Perhaps came just to watch or eat the refreshments but had no intention of celebrating the gift of God’s love.

Each of us is somewhere in this story. God grants us the choice of loving God and loving one another. We are either in or out. There are no gradations in our selections—we cannot choose to say I will love God when I have the time, and it does not interfere with my greed, I will love this person but not that person.

Prayer: God, forgive us when we turn to lesser gods and choosing to love some but not all of your children. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Loving God by Loving Others

Living in the Spirit

September 5, 2020

Scripture Reading: Romans 13:8-14
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone; the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Paul assumes we owe a debt and that debt is owed to God. We are to love one another on God’s behalf. The best way we can show our love for God is to love one another. The commandments are just a list of examples that demonstrate what it means to love another. We in the USA are struggling mightily with this concept. Almost every news program I watch starts with reports on disasters, instances of violence, murders, possible police brutality, and political shenanigans. I am particularly dismayed watching people refusing to wear masks to prevent the spread of the COVID 19 virus because it restricts there Constitutional Rights. No one has the right to cause the death of another person through recklessness. I think reporters and anchors must get weary of reporting bad news. Most have started adding a human interest story showing that there is still goodness in our world.

We owe everything to God. When we love God deeply and ultimately, we are empowered to love all others even when we have been carefully taught that some do not deserve our love. Giving up preconceived notions about others is hard, particularly ideas that were past to us from people we cherish. Thinking someone else’s life is less important than our own is an affront to God in whose image we all were created.

I did not know my great great grandfather. From all reports, he was a good Christian gentleman. He also owned slaves, left them by name to his children in his will. Owning slaves was just the standard way to do business during the 1840s in the USA. That legacy remains with us today. We have to wonder what such “usual ways of doing business” are we passing on to the next generations that are not based on loving God and loving like Jesus. More importantly, what are we doing to change such behavior?

Prayer: God of Hope and Love, show us the ways we can love you better by loving each other better. 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.

Have we lost our way?

Christmastide

January 4, 2020

Scripture Reading:
John 1:10-18

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. –John 1:10-13

In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace* is the headline to the recent Pew Research Center Study report showing that the number of adults identifying as Christian in the USA fell from 78% in 2007 to 65% in 2018/19 with an increase in unaffiliated adults. I do not blame people for leaving, I find myself not wanted to be identified with some of the ideas being set forth as Christian these days. The speakers seem to be as interested in greed and lust for power as the religious leaders and their followers were in Amos’ time. I heard an interview on the PBS Nightly News with an evangelical faith leader who said his people stood for the basic American rights that all people had a right to choose how to live and believe, and in the very next sentence said his group only supported candidates who were anti-abortion. They do not see the contraction in those two sentences.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him, and we still do not today. Is it any wonder that particularly our younger adults are searching for something more meaningful to them? My sense of millennials is that they are very opened to a spiritual life grounded in love, community, and wanting the best for all people. Is that not what Jesus was all about? Is that not what we are called to foster in the name of our risen Lord?

My understanding is that God wants us to love God by choice. God wants us to love one another by choice. Jesus dealt with the world in community and set the example for us to deal with our world together as we grapple to love God and love one another. When Christ finds two or more gathered in his name, he promises to be with them**. The mystery of love is tied to the synergy of our developing relationship with God that then grows more love.

Prayer: God forgive us when we get so caught up in defining you we forget to let you define us. Amen.

*https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/

**Matthew 18:20

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 as Parent

Kingdom Building

November 12, 2019

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 12

You will say on that day:
I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
   for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
   and you comforted me.

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. –Isaiah 12:1-2

There is one God who created us and the world in which we live, who loves us and wants only the very best for us, and who grants us an immense amount of freedom to explore and develop the talents and skills instilled in each of us. God even grants us the choice of whether we love God. The price God pays for granting that freedom is we, at times, make the worst possible decisions, we routinely worship lesser gods that do not care what happens to us as long as they prosper from our mistakes, and we even forget about God being a part of our lives much less love God.

According to Isaiah’s writing quoted above our dumb actions make God angry and still God forgives us, even comforts us  I perceive God as watching us grow in spirit and in faith much like a parent watches an infant learn to turn over, crawl, walk, and talk. In the process we, like the infant, may land on our backsides more than once as we struggle to stand and take that first step. I am glad the story of Gideon* is included in the Bible. It illustrates well our faith maturation. Gideon was a farmer, not a warrior, whom God called to save the Israelites from the Midianites. Let us just say Gideon did not think God knew what God was doing in choosing Gideon for such a task and it took some gentle persuasion.

God longs for us to reach the place where we recognize the Lord God is our strength and our might, our salvation and we can let go of those lesser gods that are keeping us from being who God created us to be.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me when I search for gods, that distract me from you. Help me to seek your ways as my ways. Amen.

*See Judges 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.

No other god

Kingdom Building

September 29, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 16:19-31

Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.” He said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.” Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.” He said, “No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”’ –Luke 16:26-31

What is it about human nature that distracts us from seeing what is right and just, choosing to be drawn toward powerless idols? Why are we mesmerized by leaders responsible for our wellbeing who are only after their own interest? Do we think some of their magic will rub off on us? Why does Luke cast father Abraham in a very pessimistic role of perceiving people as either unwilling or unable to change even if they witness a greater power than they have ever observed at work before? Where is God in our system of priorities?

The older I get the more important I deem the commandment you shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3) which Jesus defines through a relationship of love when he quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 as described in Matthew 22:37: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

Loving another is a choice. I do not know any human and certainly do not believe God wants anyone to be made to love another or love God. Such an act would be a direct antithesis of the meaning of love. I do think Jesus meant it when he said we were to love God which is measured to some degree by how well we love one another according to Matthew 25. Loving one another is impossible when our own interest is our priority.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we caste you in our lives below the gods of the world like greed and power. 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.