Tag Archives: Oneness

Sharing Love

Advent

December 5, 2020

Scripture Reading: Mark 1:1-8

The Proclamation of John the Baptist
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
   who will prepare your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
   “Prepare the way of the Lord,
   make his paths straight”‘, Mark 1:1-3

How do we, as Christ-followers, prepare the way of the Lord? How do we make the path to the Lord straight? If we had it to do over again, would we have become Christ-followers based on observing the ways of those of us who proclaim to be Christians in our world today? We should heed Gandhi’s comments:

“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

I find myself judgmental of others I perceive as thinking they have the corner on Christ, the only corner. And the rest of us do not count. My sense is they are seeing me in the same way. How do we bridge such a gap? At times, if I had the power, I would put a moratorium on all the hot button issues that divide us and only allow us to interact and work together on things with which we agree. The problem I fear is more profound than those issues or any issues. The forces of evil are stealthy and will quickly adapt to our search for common ground.

Our hope lies in faith. I do not know who wrote the book of Hebrews, but I appreciate their help to make the path to Christ straighter for me:

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)

My electricity was off a few weeks ago. I searched my house for a lighter so I could light some candles. I never did find it but had some flashlights and managed. A few days ago, I got a call from a new neighbor ready to bake something. Her pilot light was out, and she did not have anything with which to light it. I told her that I could not find a lighter just days earlier, but as I talked, I dug through a catchall drawer checking again, and there it was. I met her in the middle of the street to give her the lighter. She just moved here recently and is from another country. She told me later that she could not find the place to light the pilot and waited until her husband got home to do her baking. I did not solve her problem, but I unexpectedly gave her the gift of trusting me to help if she needed it. She is already a Christ-follower. I did not need to straighten her path to him. I did need to show her we shared the same source of love.

Prayer:
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
   and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
   and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
   and sustain in me a willing spirit. Amen. (Psalm 51:10-12)

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.

Seeking Restoration

Advent

November 27, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Restore us, O God;
   let your face shine, that we may be saved.

O Lord God of hosts,
   how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears,
   and given them tears to drink in full measure.
You make us the scorn of our neighbors;
   our enemies laugh among themselves.

Restore us, O God of hosts;
   let your face shine, that we may be saved.

But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,
   the one whom you made strong for yourself.
Then we will never turn back from you;
   give us life, and we will call on your name.

Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
   let your face shine, that we may be saved. —Psalm 80:3-7, 17-19

When I read through this scripture. I was refreshed. We have had a bad year. Racial injustice boiled over. A contentious and divisive political campaign was overshadowed by the worst pandemic we have faced in our lifetimes. Truth gave way to conspiracy; safety gave way to self-righteousness. Our souls do need to be healed. Our oneness and justice need to be reestablished.

Before we pray for restoration, we need to identify what we desire to regenerate. How much of our tribulation was brought on by our own acts of omission or commission? Will we go back to ignoring the plight of the poor and oppressed in our land/our world? Do we want to go back to avoiding our responsibilities as citizens in a country designed to be run by the people? Is striving for wealth and power more important than loving one another?

The out of control roaring twenties led to the Great Depression. The tax cuts of 1982 brought on recession. Oklahoma’s failure to participate in Medicaid Expansion for ten years resulted in the loss of hospitals in rural areas, reducing accessible, affordable health care. We are like the Israelites described in the book of Amos before being taken into exile.

We must reassess who we are and who we want to be. We do not need to be restored to the high times before the flood. We need to be restored to being created in God’s image and build a world community that recognizes that image in all people as the driving force in our way of being.

Prayer: Help us, O Lord, to discern what we must be in your acts of restoration. 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.

Gratitude

Living in the Spirit

November 26, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Luke 17:11-19
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’

How much do we take God for granted? The fact that we can take God for granted does not mean we should. God’s love and grace are gifts without strings attached. How does that make us feel? How does that impact our way of being? How does the knowledge of God’s love and grace give us the strength to reach for our full potential? How does it enable our ability to love one another? How does expressing our gratefulness for God’s love and grace bring us closer to God? How does our expressing gratefulness bring others closer to God?

Jesus modeled giving thanks:

At that time Jesus said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; Matthew 11:25

So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. John 11:41 (Raising of Lazarus)

Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; Matthew 26:27 (Last Supper)

We should also model gratefulness.

Come, ye thankful people, come,
raise the song of harvest home;
all is safely gathered in,
ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide
for our wants to be supplied;
come to God’s own temple, come,
raise the song of harvest home.*

Prayer: Thank you God for your everlasting love and gift of grace. Amen.

First verse of Come, ye thankful people, come by Henry Alford see at https://hymnary.org/text/come_ye_thankful_people_come

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 in God’s Love

Living in the Spirit

November 18, 2020

Scripture Reading: Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
   Worship the Lord with gladness;
   come into his presence with singing.

Know that the Lord is God.
   It is he that made us, and we are his;
   we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
   and his courts with praise.
   Give thanks to him, bless his name.

For the Lord is good;
   his steadfast love endures forever,
   and his faithfulness to all generations.

The paradox of God is that if we choose to follow God, basking in God’s love and being conduits of that love to others, our lives will be full of joy and music and Shalom—peace, harmony, wholeness, and wellbeing. Why do we not want that? Why do we choose to live in discord?

The forces of evil routinely do everything possible to counter God’s righteousness and justice with the self-righteousness of the world.  I ended my book Houses Divided with the observation that, if our goal is to live in eternity in God’s kingdom, we had better start loving all God’s children because that is exactly who we will be spending time with in eternity.

I love the story of someone arriving in heaven being led down a hallway. He peeks into a room and sees rows of people sitting across from each other with food on plates before them but with spoons too long to allow them to feed themselves. They were starving. In the next room with the same setup, the people on one side of the table are reaching across to feed the person across the table with those too-long spoons*.

Prayer: Lord, free us from the bondage of the world we worship, lead us to the freedom of your love. Amen.

*Allegory of the too long spoons. See more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_long_spoons#:~:text=The%20allegory%20of%20the%20long,to%20eat%20with%20long%20spoons.&text=In%20hell%2C%20the%20people%20cannot,the%20table%20and%20are%20sated.

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 our Enemies Making them Friends

Living in the Spirit

November 17, 2020

Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.

I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken. –Ezekiel 34:20-24

As the Body of Christ in the world today, how do we deal with bullies? First, let us get this out of the way. I think Jesus meant it when he said that he was God’s appointed judge. I also think Jesus meant it when he said we are to love our enemies and our neighbors. And Ezekiel is right in warning those taking advantage of others that they will ultimately be judged for those actions.

What I see in our world today are a lot of scared people whose way of life is slipping away from them and they do not know how to stop it. When I have discussed this status with some of these people, they cannot necessarily name the perpetrators.  So, they fall in line with names that really mean nothing to them—socialist, liberals. One of our senators ran an ad that proclaimed socialists and liberals were not Oklahomans. He won. And scared people line up with the principalities and powers because they appear to have found the key to the kingdom. The powerbrokers cast blame on others like people of color and the LGBTQ population as being at fault for the scared people’s dilemma.

I do think we must start by recognizing that all people were made in the image of God and, thus, all people are equal. I worked at a large teaching hospital in the 1970s that was under major renovations. The former parking lot became the ground for a new building. Land purchased a few blocks away was converted into parking space for staff. Prime parking places were reserved next to the hospital for top administrators and all doctors including interns and residents who were mostly young healthy men.   Most of the very essential cleaning staff were women and men over the age of 50 who spent their days on their feet pushing brooms and mops, bending and stretching to sanitize every nook and cranny of rooms and surgical theaters. Several of us raised the issue with the administration. I remember saying that it does not matter how talented a surgeon is if that surgical room is not sanitized properly. The hospital finally provided a bus to transport staff from the distant parking lot. Most people in our nation today are as essential as those cleaning staff who work hard every day and have a right to be respected for the contribution they make to the wellbeing of our society.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see the importance of all your children in our work to make a better world. 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.

Serving Others

Living in the Spirit

November 15, 2020

Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:14-30
‘For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, “Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, “Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” But his master replied, “You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. –Luke 12:48b

I saw a story on the news about soldiers who had been in battle returning to the USA feeling the need to use the service skills they had learned in the military in helping others. They started responding to disasters with the same tenacity they enter battle. Now they are formalized as a non-profit, Team Rubicon, Built to Serve. Helping others, helps them heal from the ravages of war.

I think it is interesting that Jesus choose using economics to illustrate service in the Kingdom of God. Perhaps he chose it because he understood that wealth vs having enough is something most humans understand. We are taught from early ages the value of money and what it can and does mean in our society. When money becomes our only object of value we sell our souls to acquire riches. 1 Timothy 6:10 probably describes it best, For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

Jake Wood, one of the founders of Team Rubicon, said in the news interview that his military service has forced him to seek challenges to use his skills and enable the use of the skills of other soldiers whose experience in war had taught them the better way. We can learn from them.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for those who bravely serve our country and return home to continue their service to help and heal others and themselves. 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.

Community-Nation

Living in the Spirit

November 14, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Matthew 25:14-30

‘For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, “Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, “Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” But his master replied, “You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

What happens if that man was Jesus who entrusted his followers to continue the development of God’s Kingdom throughout the earth? What happens if everyone did not do his or her part?  That is the gist of this parable. But what if each person did his or her part in a silo without regard to what the other people are doing? Can you imagine the chaos? Pharmaceutical companies and other entities all over the world are in a mad race to create a vaccine against COVID-19 where sharing information is crucial. If one group discovers that something does or does not work, others can redirect their energies to more productive activities.

God created us as interdependent people. We need people with vision and foresight to push us toward a better world. We need people who are cautious making sure that all the facts and potential consequences are considered. We need dreamers and skilled workers, experience and new ideas, conservatives, moderates, and progressives. And most importantly we need all people to share the vision of a world ruled by wanting the best for all people where everyone has enough. That requires faith groups, not-for-profits, for-profit businesses, and government at all levels to work together in the USA honoring the separation of church and state while finding common ground to provide for the Common Good. We are at the point of a new beginning in our nation. Let us join together working on where we find common ground.

Prayer: Lord, help us find our niche in your plan as individuals and as a community-nation. Enable us to invest fully in doing our part. 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.

Evil Divides

Living in the Spirit

November 10, 2020

Scripture Reading: Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18
Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is at hand’
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice,
he has consecrated his guest.

-I will bring distress upon people.
That they shall walk like the blind;
Because they have sinned against the Lord,
their blood shall be poured out like dust
And their flesh like dung.
Neither their silver nor their gold
Will be able to save them
On the day of the Lord’s wrath;
In the fire of his passion
The whole earth shall be consumed;
For a full , a terrible end
He will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

My intellectual self does not deal well with scriptures like the one above that describes God quite differently than my God who is love. My spiritual self can identify with getting fed up with complacency in the face of issues that desperately need to be addressed whether in personal lives or in society. Several years ago, a loved one was heavily involved in activities that were clearly missing the mark in my judgment. I prayed that God would forgive that person’s sins. I was immediately struck by a strong message that it was not my place to ask for forgiveness for this other or any other. Ever since that event, I take very seriously Jesus’ statement that he is the judge not me or anyone else. The social worker in me, however, does not ever want to give up on anyone and I think we can speak truth to life situations when needed without passing judgment as we walk with others through challenging times.

Problems arise when the actions of some are detrimental to others in society. Here we face the call to do justice, which inevitably involves dealing with individuals or groups oppressing other individuals or groups. I note that all the references in the scripture above are descriptive of society, people together with caring or not caring for one another. Is that indicative of forces of evil working to divide and conquer the children of God?  How do we turn around from evil’s interference and reclaim the wholeness that comes from the love of God? I think it starts with each of us turning to God and seeking insight into whether or how much we have been caught in such a web of evil and turning away from it. We then must reclaim our roles as members of the Body of Christ charged with bringing the whole world into the fold of God’s loving care.

Prayer: God of Love and Mercy, forgive me from any form of behavior that is detrimental to the development of your vision of our world. Open my eyes to see where I am a part of problems we face whether by my complacency or my overt actions. Show me the better road to follow.  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.

Being the Body of Christ

Living in the Spirit

My back yard. It has already been cleaned up.

Let me give you an update on my life.  On October 26, 2020, Oklahoma was struck by an ice storm that caused major electrical outages and loss of internet connectivity particularly in the central part of the state. My house is still without either. After spending a week in a very cold house with no light I moved to a motel. I would have gone earlier but, alas, I could find no room at any inn until this week. My electric company estimates it may be back up by November 6.

I missed several days of writing my daily devotions. I will start again today. Please pray for all those who are still without electricity which often also means heat, those who do not have the resources to leave it all behind and check into a motel, and all those electricians and linemen who are working long, dangerous hours to get us back home. Thank you.

November 4, 2020

Scripture Reading: Psalm 78:1-7

Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
   incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
   I will utter dark sayings from of old,
things that we have heard and known,
   that our ancestors have told us.
We will not hide them from their children;
   we will tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
   and the wonders that he has done.

He established a decree in Jacob,
   and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
   to teach to their children;
that the next generation might know them,
   the children yet unborn,
and rise up and tell them to their children,
   so that they should set their hope in God,
and not forget the works of God,
   but keep his commandments;

I am writing this the day after the 2020 election while awaiting the final counts on the presidential campaign. I love history. Thus, this scripture spoke to me of the need to pass on to coming generations our successes and failures so that that they can learn about God’s glorious deeds and learn from our successes and mistakes. My take on the challenges of 2020 is that as the Body of Christ active in the world today, we are missing the mark and need to repent and reform our way of serving Christ today. We must start by taking account of how well we are implementing Christ’s plan for our world. I wrote my book Houses Divided eight years ago, and we are even more divided today than we were in 2012.

No matter who wins the election, we followers of Christ must look deeply into God’s mirror and ascertain if the reflection we see looks and acts remotely like Jesus. We indeed need to first take the log out of [our] own eye, and then [we] will see clearly to take the speck out of [our] neighbor’s eye. (Matthew 7:5) We also not only need to listen to one another but also to hear each other.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for getting so caught up in the things of this world that we fail to love as you call us to 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.

Preparing for What Is Next

Living in the Spirit

October 16, 2020

Scripture Reading:
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of people we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place where your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming. –1 Thessalonian 1:2-10

.

I am ready to move on from the election. Maybe it is because I voted over two weeks ago. Perhaps it is because I spent a great deal of my career coordinating planning where I worked. The election matters. If you have not voted, do so as soon as possible to ensure that your vote will count. What is next also matters. The scripture above provides an excellent action step plan for all of us, striving as Christ’s followers to create a world ruled by love. Paul lists the things that the church at Thessalonica was doing that relate to attaining Christ’s vision. Here are they are in a slightly re-ordered form gleaned from this scripture:

  • Inspired by the Holy Spirit
  • Turned to God from idols
  • Works of faith and labors of love
  • Steadfastness of hope
  • Imitators of the Lord
  • Examples to all believers

The time between the election and the inauguration is 78 days with 11 Sundays. This period includes Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, New Years, and Martin Luther King’s Birthday. We have many opportunities to realign with God and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Paul calls on us to turn from idols. I would invite us to broaden that call to a season of repentance, not only idol worship, but from all our sins that have become so entrenched in our culture, we do not see them as sins. Greed probably tops the this, but lust for power, self-righteousness, and that sense of privilege comes close behind. Filled with the Spirit accompanied by our souls’ renewal prepares us well for the reconciliation we need with our brothers and sisters in Christ. That relationship has been torn asunder over the past several months. We also must be reconciled with all of God’s children throughout the earth. Being imitators of Christ makes us examples to all believers and all other people.

Prayer: Lord, beginning now, lead us for these next 78 days through the process of becoming your imitators and examples to all.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.