Tag Archives: Loving Like Jesus

What’s is a Family

Living in the Spirit

October 2, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 10:2-16

Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’

Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’ –Mark 10:2-12

What’s in a family? As a people, we seem to have lost our way regarding the most critical influencer in our lives, the family. God created the family as the means of procreating and maintaining the human species, but that is hardly the family’s sole purpose.  I am reading The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom, the story of an Irish girl whose parents both died on the ship bringing the family to the USA in the 1700 hundreds. This child was sold as an indentured slave to a family that lived on a plantation staffed by enslaved Africans. She was integrated into the house servants’ group. They became her family until her indenture was nearly over. She was separated from that family as a teenager to be reintroduced into society as a white person. What’s in a family, indeed?

The story of the first couple God created began the long history of God’s family, which includes all the diverse people of the world called to love God and love one another. With that example, humans formed other families with the same calling. The behavior of human families and how they interact and influence current and future generations is crucial to fulfilling the calling to love all of God’s children. It is a sacred trust. Doing anything to damage such a trust is harmful to all involved. I think that is the point that Jesus makes in the above scripture. He did not quote the Hebrew practice of stoning the guilty parties*. He even intervened to save a woman caught in adultery from being stoned, forgave her, and cautioned her to sin no more**.

I think Jesus is saying for people to take control of all aspects of our lives, appreciating the gifts God has given us to receive and share love and not make a mockery of love. When we make mistakes learn from them, and when we do love, love with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength as part of the family of God.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when the habits of the world overcome the ways of your love. Please help us serve you more nearly in all aspects of our lives. Amen.

*Leviticus 20:10

**John 7:53–8:11 Jesus and the woman caught in adultery

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.

Partners in God’s Service

Living in the Spirit

September 28, 2021

Scripture Reading: Genesis 2:18-24

Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.’ So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,
‘This at last is bone of my bones
this one shall be called Woman,
Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.

As quoted from the NRSV Bible, the word partner used here is more accurately translated from the Hebrew as helper*. NRSV leans more toward equality of responsibility, which the word helper may no longer possess. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a helper as a relatively unskilled worker who assists another, especially by manual labor. As I look back on my life, I realize that I grew up in a very egalitarian environment. Everyone was expected to do their part based on the skills they possessed. At the age of five, I gathered eggs and feed chickens, my sister and mother worked in the garden, my dad was driving a tracker baling hay, while my brother, balancing on a moving sled, became strong as an ox sledding hay bales as they popped out of the bale. I could not lift a bail of hay, much less stack it in a perfect square cube as high as my arms could reach. My over-sensitive sinuses precluded me from doing much in the garden, and my sister was afraid of chickens. Our tasks changed as we aged, and progress introduced milking machine and round hay bales. I cringed when I read the derogatory words, unskilled worker. No job in the world does not require some level of expertise.

Recognizing the worth and skills of every person is essential for our attaining the goal of building a world where everyone has enough for the necessities of life. That is important in every aspect of life and never more important than in marriage and families with children.

Prayer: Lord, help us redefine the cultural values that allow us to overvalue some things while undervaluing others. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5828.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.

Hell on Earth

Living in the Spirit

September 26, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 9:38-50

‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

‘For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.’ –Mark 9:42-50

As an adult, I have never been a student of the theology of eschatology–concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind. No doubt my reaction is the result of being overdosed with it as a child.

What I have discovered is that people are good at creating hell on earth for themselves and others. My local morning news almost daily opens with stories about who was killed in my city the night before. National news often reports on mass shootings of innocent people buying groceries, working at their jobs, or attending school. People in the streets constantly shout, “You cannot make me wear a mask, get a vaccination, or socially distance.” They are not saying aloud but are implying that they do not care who might get sick and die, including themselves, because they failed to do such simple things.

I recently discovered that in trying to be healthy, I had cut back too much on salt. I love salt, and it is effortless for me to overdo it. However, I started getting leg cramps, and when I reported that to my orthopedic surgeon, he asked me if I was eating enough salt. He could see no other reason for the cramps. No one in my entire life had ever asked me if I was getting enough salt. Then, I remembered that I had recently switched from drinking regular vegetable juice to low sodium. That change had lowered my salt intake enough to cause the leg cramps.

For our souls to survive and thrive in our world today, we must be sure we are intaking enough of God’s Love in our lives to sustain us through life’s challenges and allows us to live at peace with one another. We must pass the Love of God much more actively to all our neighbors to the ends of the earth.

Prayer: Lord, heal our souls and restore us through your Love to be people of peace. 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 Love

Living in the Spirit

September 25, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 9:38-50

John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’ But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. –Mark 9:38-41

Jesus’ statement, Whoever is not against us is for us speaks to the political nature of the world. We may say we do not like politics, but politics has always been woven through people’s interactions. Unfortunately, we tend to segregate politics to our elections and political parties. In doing so, we miss much of the backstory that rules our country.  Who pulls the elected officials’ strings?

Please note that Jesus is not describing a member of a silent majority. He is talking about a man who was casting out demons in the name of Jesus. The man was actively engaged in serving God in the name of Jesus. There is no mention of the man receiving acclaim or benefits for his actions.  Fred Craddock addresses this issue in his book Overhearing the Gospel*.  How we live, and act may tell the story of God with Us more than perfect attendance pins from Sunday school or higher education degrees that never get past the ivory walls of academia. We are called to serve God in the world. Jesus described this in his closing prayer found in John 17:14-16,

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

This idea is sometimes described as being in the world but not of the world. Therefore, we dedicate ourselves to serving in the Kingdom of God, where God’s love rules and creates better lives for all the people of the world.

Prayer: God, grant us the courage to practice your Love in all aspects of our lives. Amen.

*First published in 1978, it is still available in an updated format.

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.

Carefully Taught

Living in the Spirit

September 23, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 19:7-14

The law of the Lord is perfect,
   reviving the soul;
the decrees of the Lord are sure,
   making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
   rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is clear,
   enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is pure,
   enduring forever;
the ordinances of the Lord are true
   and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
   even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey,
   and drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover by them is your servant warned;
   in keeping them there is great reward.
But who can detect their errors?
   Clear me from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from the insolent;
   do not let them have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
   and innocent of great transgression.

Good question: who can detect their errors? The song You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught from the musical South Pacific tells us that the rules we play by may not be God’s or God’s taken out of context or misinterpreted. This song tells us that other sources, our family, community, culture define what we should hate and fear, mainly as our actions relate to diverse people.  Loving like God would have us Love beyond the boundaries of a closed society. Breaking away from long-held attitudes and perceptions is challenging and may only be accomplished by opening our whole beings to the Spirit of God flowing through us, enabling us to love like Jesus.

Prayer: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
   be acceptable to you,
   O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. 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 Priesthood of all Believers

Living in the Spirit

September 22, 2021

Scripture Reading:

Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29

So the Lord said to Moses, ‘Gather for me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them take their place there with you.

So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered seventy elders of the people, and placed them all around the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again.

Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’ And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, ‘My lord Moses, stop them!’ But Moses said to him, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!’ –Numbers 11:16, 24-29

Protestants call what Moses describes above the Priesthood of all Believers. The New Testament describes it in 1 Peter 2:9, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  It is also referred to in the book of Revelation more than once. For example, Revelation 1:6 and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’ But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. (Mark 9:38-40)

We are called to an awesome responsibility, being called to share the Love of God to the whole world, a world full of false prophets dedicated to increasing their power and wealth. We face two significant challenges. First, to not be deceived by those false prophets. Second, as recorded in 2 Timothy 2:15 to

Do [our] best to present [ourselves] to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.

Prayer: Lord, grant us the understanding of your way so that we can represent you in all that we do and say. Forgive us when we stray from your presence and lead us back to you. 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.

Oneness

Living in the Spirit

September 21, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29

The rabble among them had a strong craving; and the Israelites also wept again, and said, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.’

Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, all at the entrances of their tents. Then the Lord became very angry, and Moses was displeased. So Moses said to the Lord, ‘Why have you treated your servant so badly? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I conceive all this people? Did I give birth to them, that you should say to me, “Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a sucking child”, to the land that you promised on oath to their ancestors? Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they come weeping to me and say, “Give us meat to eat!” I am not able to carry all this people alone, for they are too heavy for me. If this is the way you are going to treat me, put me to death at once—if I have found favor in your sight—and do not let me see my misery.’ –Numbers 11: 4-6, 10-15

The rabble were probably the camp-followers attending Hebrews at the Exodus*. The lowest fringe people, possibly not Israelites, led the grumbling that soon became contagious. I was struck by the listing of foods, which includes not the necessities of life but the unique flavors that enhance meals. Bread is not mentioned, nor is milk or water. Fish is the meat they miss, which is hard to find in a desert. They were collecting manna regularly. They want their image of good times back. They do not recognize that they would not have left if those times had been good.

Listening to the news, I hear the hunger of the people for stability. They want everything to return to normal, even if normal is the equivalent life of the outcastes in Egypt. It is hard to accept that we are being forced to transition to a new normal. We long for a government that waves a magic wand and makes all these challenges go away. I worked for the Department of Human Services for 35 years and know what it takes to deal with a significant crisis with too little resources across one state. I cannot imagine addressing the COVID pandemic; hurricanes, floods, and tornados; wildfires; and an influx of refugees at our southern border all at once.  Daily prayers for our leaders are essential.

We also want a magic-wand God to fix everything, even that which we break. God with Us is not our handyperson. God created us with talents, skills, and brains to solve problems when we work together as one and love our neighbor as we love ourselves. When we stop being self-righteous and selfish and start humbly searching for the common good, we will realize that God has been there all along, waiting for us to get over our tantrums and start working with each other with God’s guidance to address the needs of our nation and the world.

Prayer: God, forgive us for failing to be the people you created us to be. Create in us clean hearts and the right spirits to labor in your name for the recovery of our world. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/628.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.

Navigated by Love

Living in the Spirit

September 19, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 9:30-37

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the way?’ But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’ Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’ –Mark 9:33-37

‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’

I fear when the USA, as a nation, looks in the mirror, it sees the past, struggling groups of people escaping religious persecution or famine coming to a new world in search of the freedom to live as our ancestors chose. This was our land; God gave this land to us. Some did consider that the land was vast enough for both the original occupants and those newly arrived, but the majority did not. Our Manifest Destiny grew into an empire. Thus, we are now following the steps of earlier empires like Egypt, Babylon, and Rome. These nations were ruled by greed and lust for power. They all failed, rotted from within.

We can choose to be the people Christ called us to be, setting an example for the whole world. ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’ This is a world ruled by love where everyone has enough to meet their basic needs and become whatever God created them to be. The will to put loving God and loving one another first dictates how we need to govern.

It feels like we are standing on the precipice of our nation, trying to decide which way to go. It reminds me of Jesus weeping as he overlooked Jerusalem.

As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.’ (Luke 19:41-44)

Prayer: God with Us, take the blinders from our eyes and show us your better way of righteousness and justice navigated by 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.

Jesus Teaches

Living in the Spirit

September 18, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 9:30-37

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, ‘The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.’ But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. –Mark 9:30-32

Denial and isolation are the first stages of the grief process. The disciples most likely basked in Jesus’ teaching, but according to Mark, from the beginning, Jesus was open about the end of his earthly ministry. How often do we hear what we want to hear? How often do our relationships begin with seeing in the other only what we want to see? Jesus wanted these disciples to understand fully who he was and why he came to be with them. It took his resurrection and, perhaps even, the arrival of the Holy Spirit for his followers to perceive who they had encountered,

I fear we humans experience the same process to this day. I cringe when I hear some practices and ideologies spoken in the name of the One who preached the Sermon on the Mount, told his followers they would be judged by how they fed the hungry/welcomed the stranger and indicated that loving God and loving one’s neighbors as oneself were the most important commandments.

Of course, all Christ-followers have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). What an incredible Savior we have who knows us each better than we know ourselves and forgives us when we recognize our downfalls and repent from them. God is a god of second chances. God rejoices when we grow in wisdom and truth as Jesus did. God with us came in the form of an infant and grew in understanding of humanity through a child’s experience. God continues to be with us as we stumble through the challenges of our world today. God feeds our hope as well as our endurance and innovation.  We need now to work toward the better world ahead of us as we accept the role of people of the cross with the knowledge that God is working God’s purpose out, and we must discern what our part of that mission is and work toward it with all our hearts, minds, and souls.

Let us go forth in the strength of God,
with the banner of Christ unfurled,
that the light of the glorious gospel of truth
may shine throughout the world.
Let us all fight with sorrow and sin
to set the captives free,
that the earth may be filled with the glory of God
as the waters cover the sea*

Prayer: Lord, help us understand what you are saying to us and show us how to serve you. Amen.

*The third verse of the hymn God is Working His Purpose Out by Arthur Campbell Ainger see at https://hymnary.org/text/god_is_working_his_purpose_out#Author

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.

Feeding our Souls

Living in the Spirit

Scripture Reading: James 3:13 – 4:3, 7-8a

Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. –James 4:3, 7-8

This Scripture hits a little too close to home in our world today. We are all tempted to want our cake and eat it too. We do not care enough about ourselves and our neighbors to take the most straightforward precautions of wearing a mask, washing our hands, and socially distancing—let alone get vaccinated.  What drives us to cross the line away from loving God and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves to self-righteousness and transient self-satisfaction? Have we lost or perhaps sold our ability to love and be loved to the distractions of the world?

Love is as essential as food to thrive in our world. 

Interpersonal acceptance and rejection theory (IPARTheory) predicts that perceived parental acceptance (love) and rejection (lack of love) have universal consequences on children’s and adults’ psychological adjustment and maladjustment*.

When we love money, power, or anything else more than God, we become so mired in greed that we cannot even love ourselves, much less God or others. We all get caught in such snares at one time or another. Thus, we must routinely examine our motivations and responses to life situations. For example, when I worked long hours at sometimes hopeless activities, I would drive through a fast-food place on my way home and grab a reasonably healthy sandwich for dinner. If my situation continued to be challenging, I began doing this every day. Each day or so, I added something else. Eventually, I ordered a burger with double meat, double cheese, a large order of fries, and a large shake. I was trying to feed my soul with the food of the world. Reestablish my relationship with God was the only means of healing my soul. Going straight home passing the fast-food place was a start. Drinking a large glass of water refreshed my body and helped too. Listening to some of my favorite hymns while walking in my house or on my elliptical gave me rest for my weary soul, after which I could enjoy food that would better nourish my body. What have you done for your soul today?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the gift of music that soothes my soul and reengages me with you.  Amen.

*https://www.hilarispublisher.com/open-access/worldwide-implications-of-parental-love-and-lack-of-love-on-childrensand-adults-psychological-adjustment-and-maladjustment-metaana-2471-271X-1000150.pdf

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.