Tag Archives: Loving God First

Money Rules

Living in the Spirit

October 10, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 10:17-31

Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ They were greatly astounded and said to one another, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.’

Peter began to say to him, ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.’ –Mark 10:23-31

I was born in tornado alley and lived in it most of my life. Over and over, I hear people who have lost their homes and vehicles say when interviewed by media, everyone in the family survived that is all that is important. We can rebuild. Roll that scene back and consider what was important in our lives before the storm. In the above scripture, Jesus is telling us to get our priorities right in real-time. He states it this way in Matthew 16:26, For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

Individuals being snared by greed grow into a society driven by greed. Every day, I get between 20 or 30 emails asking me for money to support various candidates when we do not have another election until next year. The sad fact is that the person with the most financial backing usually wins. Worse still, raising money is necessary even to get a bill passed in Congress. We the people, no longer have a say in our governance, which now could be described as government of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich. The only way to address this problem is the vote. Every effort is now being made to take that away from us.

Money deciding our elections would not happen if we, the people, did not also worship wealth. Do we envy the rich? What are our priorities? Where does loving God and loving as Jesus fit into our priorities?

Prayer: Lord, cleanse us of lusting after the ways of the world and help us set priorities that lead to a world ruled by your love. Amen.

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

Honing our Instincts to Love

Living in the Spirit

August 31, 2020

Scripture Reading: Exodus 12:1-14

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbour in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgements: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.

There are times in our lives that we must run on instinct. We see that in the people trying to respond and recover from the hurricanes that are striking the USA. Do we grab what we need and get out or stay and ride out the storm?  The scripture above is much like a weather forecast. The storm is coming, here is what you need to do to get ready for it. We are also dealing with COVID-19. Do we worship at church or live stream? How are we going to handle delivering mobile meals?  How do we bury the dead? And how do we deal with a nation that is so divided, we have lost our way in loving our neighbors as we love ourselves? We will remember the year 2020 for decades to come.

Succeeding at running on instinct happens only when we are well-grounded in our life’s priorities. Is God the driving force at the center of our lives? Is loving others our primary purpose?  Are we being led astray by the many lesser gods of the world to the extent that we have little or no concern about anyone but ourselves, our family, our church and only people who look like us?

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we drop the ball on loving one another. Help us see the danger that comes from division and seek 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.