Tag Archives: Loving like God

Free to Love or Not

Living in the Spirit

August 3, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 33:12-22

Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
   the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.

The Lord looks down from heaven;
   he sees all humankind.
From where he sits enthroned he watches
   all the inhabitants of the earth—
he who fashions the hearts of them all,
   and observes all their deeds.

A king is not saved by his great army;
   a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
   and by its great might, it cannot save.

Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
   on those who hope in his steadfast love,
to deliver their soul from death,
   and to keep them alive in famine.

Our soul waits for the Lord;
   he is our help and shield.
Our heart is glad in him,
   because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
   even as we hope in you.

All humans were made in the image of God and God saw them all as good. This psalmist wrote From where [God] sits enthroned he watches all the inhabitants of the earth—he who fashions the hearts of them all, and observes all their deeds. We were created with the innate capability of discerning right from wrong. That was a courageous act. If we consider God as being the essence of love, then we also must realize that loving is a choice we make. We never make it alone. God’s love can and will enable our love when we choose to have a relationship with God.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for having the courage to love people who struggle with temptations drawing us away from what is right and just.  Nurture us in your ways of loving to the extent that we can nurture others in your ways. 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.

Lord of All

Lent

April 8, 2022

Scripture Reading: Philippians 2:5-11

Therefore God also highly exalted him
   and gave him the name
   that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
   every knee should bend,
   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
   that Jesus Christ is Lord,
   to the glory of God the Father. –Philippians 2:9-11

The word “Lord”, written with a capital “L” and often with small caps for the rest of the word, means God, the ruler of the universe*. The act of taking a knee is considered the ultimate act of acknowledging the status of God as the ruler of the universe, except when Colin Kaepernick took a knee to express his concern about racism. God is not a personal possession that no one else can turn to in times of trouble, not an idol that we wear like a badge of honor. We are all God’s creations.

In the scripture above Paul is exclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord, the glory of his father. I took a class a few years ago where the professor went through all the various triangles to explain the idea of the trinity and other theological definitions of the Supreme Being. I am probably a heretic for this but throughout that segment of the class, I kept thinking we cannot ever put the Lord God in a box or a triangle, and that is a good thing. I like being loved by One who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and always present without having to define that One. My big challenge is learning how to love like Jesus Christ, the Lord.

Prayer:

Thank You Lord for saving my soul
Thank You Lord for making me whole
Thank You Lord for giving to me
Thy great salvation so rich and free**. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/2962.htm

**Chorus from the hymn Thank You Lord by Seth Sykes, Bessie Sykes. See at https://digitalsongsandhymns.com/songs/5739

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.

Self-Righteous

Lent

March 31, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Philippians 3:4b-14

even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh.

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. –Philippians 3:4b-11

This is a letter to those of us who suffer from some degree of religious supremacy, and most of us do. In fact, we would not be participating in a religion we did not think was better, at least for us, than any other religion. I could easily write something like what Paul wrote in the opening section of the scripture quoted— born in the USA, a Christian born of Christians, baptized at the age of six. None of those matters, when I consider the great gift of grace, I receive from the love of God through Jesus the Christ. God’s righteousness must prevail not my self-righteousness for being born the right color in the right country to law-abiding parents who taught me to be law-abiding, even when some laws were/are unfair.

I purposely used the word supremacy because we are called to deal with it in our society today. Christian nationalism is also a phrase that evokes a marriage of church and state which makes me very uncomfortable. Indeed, my faith in God should drive every aspect of my faith, but I am not God and must not assume God’s role in the life of others even through manipulation of governance. God did grant us permission to love others—all others, no matter what and we can do as much of that as possible.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we take our privilege for granted. Help us to see how that may hurt others and help us make changes in our lives to correct such injustice. 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.

A New Creation

Lent

March 25, 2022

Scripture Reading:

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

How do the norms of our lives intersect or even serve as our faith? A norm is an ideal standard binding upon the members of a group and serving to guide, control, or regulate proper and acceptable behavior*. I am what is called a cradle Christian. I jokingly say I was singing Jesus Love Me in the womb. We prayed before each meal, went to church whenever the doors were opened, serving in various jobs. How much of our faith is a well-practiced habit and how much is our living in Christ as a new creation.

I value growing up in a faith-based family and still sing Jesus Loves Me. Yet, at some point, in my life I had to work out my own relationship with God, requiring me to examine the norms I inherited to determine if they are true of God. Jesus did this in his 40 days of wandering in the wilderness. The process never ends. We must all take time to consider whether our actions are simply a reflection of our life norms or if they are of God. In a world that gets smaller every day, we must reassess how we love all the one another’s we encounter outside the boundaries of our norms.

Prayer: Lord, help me learn to love all the children you created. Amen.

*https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/norm number 3

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.

Restore Our Souls

Ordinary Time

January 18, 2022

Scripture Reading:
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.’ For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ —Nehemiah 8-10

One of my favorite songs is Lessons to be Learned* I heard on a Barbra Streisand album.

They say there’s a universal plan
For every woman, for every man
I do believe there’s a higher power
But in our darkest hour it’s hard to understand
So we start to question, start to doubt
We lose faith in what life’s all about

Why did the right road take the wrong turn
Why did our heart break, why’d we get burned
Just like the seasons there are reasons for the path we take
There are no mistakes
Just lessons to be learned
We too might weep if we come together and realized the way we live our lives differs from God’s design for living an abundant life. Perhaps that is because our definition of an abundant life relates to financial well-being whereas scriptures describe spiritual health. We tend to get the world’s measures of success mixed in with God’s.

I do believe that spiritual health supports and sustains the idea that all people have the right to have enough—enough food, clothing, and shelter; enough quality affordable and accessible health care, and public education that enables each person to become the one they were created to be. We all have responsibility to make sure that enough is reality.

Prayer: Lord, as you return us from the exile of COVID help us to examine our lives and see the changes we need to be in sync with you. Amen.

*First verse and refrain from Lessons to be Learned by Gazeley / Malamet / Rich © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Spirit Music Group, Write By The Sea Songs

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.

Perfect Love

Christmas

December 25, 2021

Scripture Reading: John 1:10-14

[Christ] 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.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

The Bible is our primary source of human observation of the history of God, including the coming of the Christ child. Yet John is trying to tell us there is much more to the story recorded in the Bible or anything written since that shares human experiences with God. John describes Christ as the Word we are to follow. The measure of God’s message is determined by whether it passes the test of love. We, indeed, must immerse ourselves in the stories of God, Jesus’s teachings and example, his death, and resurrection that has been passed to us over the years. But, even with those, we must seek love’s path. Such study requires us to call on God to guide us and help us understand the meaning of “love” as Christ lived it as what John describes as the Word.

Today we celebrate the coming of the Word into the world. Let this be a time to recommit our lives to expanding our understanding of the Word and molding our lives to follow the Word more closely.

In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan
Earth stood hard as iron
Water like a stone
Snow had fallen
Snow on snow on snow
In the bleak midwinter
Long, long ago
Angels and Arc Angels
May have traveled there
Cherubim and Seraphim
Thronged the air
But only his Mother
In her maiden bliss
Worshiped the beloved
With a kiss
What can I give him?
Poor as I am
If I were a shepherd
I would give a lamb
If I were a wise man
I would do my part
But what I can I give him
Give him my heart
Give him my heart*

Prayer: Thank you, God, for sending your Son the greatest gift we will ever receive. Amen.

*Hymn In the Bleak Midwinter  by Christina Rossetti and Gustav Holst

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 Grace

Advent

December 16, 2021

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).’
When he said above, ‘You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt-offerings and sin-offerings’ (these are offered according to the law), then he added, ‘See, I have come to do your will.’ He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Civilization from its inception seemed to intuitively understand that there was something more powerful than individuals and even clusters of people, so they identified gods for all occasions.  Our ancestors in faith were among the first to recognize that there was one supreme God who created them and set the ways for them to live successfully. Yet, they struggled to know God more nearly as they discerned their imperfections in following God’s ways and sought a means to rectify their failure by offering what was of value to them. Eventually, the prophets helped them understand that they were valuable to God. God did not want their perfect sheep or even a turtle dove. God wants loving relationships with each and all of God’s children, and among them, in a world, God created to meet their every need. He made that clear in accepting the utmost offering of Jesus in his death on the cross.

Once we learn that we cannot buy God’s grace, that it is a gift, we are forced to deal with living a life of loving God and loving others in times when we may not want to love some of those others at all. God indicates, however, that the best way to show our love for God is to love all others just as they are. People we encounter who, in our opinion, are harming themselves and others need even more of our love. I do not think we can individually change anyone, but we can plant seeds to open their minds to new ideas and their hearts to receiving love by walking beside them as we all grow toward the perfection Paul describes in his writings. The hard part for us is that we must follow Jesus’s instruction in Luke 6:42, how can you say to your neighbor, “Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye”, when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me when I am more self-righteous than righteous. Help me to see the image of God in each of my brothers and sisters in Christ. 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 Habit of Loving

Advent

Scripture Reading: Philippians 1:3-11

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that on the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

In all things, always start with love and see where it leads you. We often think of habits as bad things. Developing good habits will help you live longer and be more competent. However, I am not sure that I ever thought of love as a habit to cultivate. I believe that is what Paul is describing above.

To make love the driving force in our lives, we must understand love. The word “love” used in this Scripture is translated from the Greek agápē – properly, love which centers in moral preference. In the NT, 26 (agápē) typically refers to divine love (= what God prefers). Other words describing love are benevolence, goodwill, esteem. God’s love is given with no strings attached unconditionally.

How do we love unconditionally? How do we love without letting the influences of the world define how we see and deal with others? I just saw on the news a report of a black family living in a lovely home in a good neighborhood, having the home’s value appraised. They thought the appraisal was far too low and wondered if their race impacted the estimate. So they removed any pictures or other indicators that the home might be owned by African Americans and had a white friend acting the part of the owner greet the next appraiser and show them around the house. The second appraisal was $500,000 more than the first appraisal.

When we interact with others, do we first see the image of God by which they were created, or do we cast the world’s judgment on them? If that is the case, we need to develop the habit of looking for the image of God in each person we meet.

Finally, we must apply this same system to loving ourselves. Our problems of not loving like God result from our inability to love ourselves as a child of God.

Prayer: Lord, enable us to follow your instruction to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/26.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.

Wise Hearts

Living in the Spirit

October 6, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 90:12-17

So teach us to count our days
   that we may gain a wise heart.

Turn, O Lord! How long?
   Have compassion on your servants!
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
   so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
   and for as many years as we have seen evil.
Let your work be manifest to your servants,
   and your glorious power to their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
   and prosper for us the work of our hands—
   O prosper the work of our hands!

I have never thought about a heart having the quality of wisdom. We view the heart as an essential pump that pushes blood throughout our system. The Hebrew word used here, lebab, translated as heart, means inner man, mind, will, heart*, which was the perception of that day and remains with us today. So, what is a wise heart?

The rest of the poem outlines what would be gained by having a wiser heart. God giving us compassion surely means we are to share kindness with others. God’s love for us brings us joy, our love for others should be a source of pleasure. I do not perceive that God afflicts us unless we count the gift of free will as the source of our troubles. A wiser heart would guide us toward better decisions. We must also deal with the wrong decision made by others that our poet describes as evil. Addressing the injustices we see in our world calls us to let God’s work manifest in us as we strive to carry out God’s vision of a world ruled by love.

Prayer: Lord, give us wise hearts to serve you more nearly. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3824.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.

Fear Not

Living in the Spirit

August 11, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 34:9-14
O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
   for those who fear him have no want.
The young lions suffer want and hunger,
   but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Come, O children, listen to me;
   I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Which of you desires life,
   and covets many days to enjoy good?
Keep your tongue from evil,
   and your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil, and do good;
   seek peace, and pursue it.

First, let us deal with the idea of fearing the Lord. Fear is the correct word, which concerning God means to be morally, reverent*.  Fear for most of us, I think, constitutes a concern for our safety. Fear of the Lord means precisely the opposite. It is the recognition that a being exists that offers us everlasting protection, providing us unconditional love. This is the message of God’s agents often quoted in the Bible, starting with “fear not” who transmit instructions from God directing our work.

How do we respond to something so mindboggling beyond our imaginations? The above-quoted Psalmist advises seeking this being who offers to teach us the ways of love doing good and seeking peace. This Psalm highlights both physical and spiritual realities—our animal nature experiences hunger for food necessary to support life. Our spiritual side must also be fed if we are to fulfill our calling as children of God to love and be loved, do good and enable good amid all of God’s creation, as we dwell in peace one with the other. Let it be so.

Prayer: Lord, teach us to “fear not” as we step out into the world, transmitting your love to one another and all others. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3373.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.