Tag Archives: Relationship with God

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.

Ray of Light

Ordinary Time

February 21, 2022

Scripture Reading: Exodus 34:29-35

Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. Afterwards all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

The Hebrew word translated shining is from a primitive root; to push or gore; used only as denominative [give a name] from qeren, to shoot out horns; figuratively, rays — have horns, shine*. You may have seen ancient paintings or statues where Moses is portrayed with horns. I envision something like the rays of the rising sun appearing in the sky. Could the tongues of fire in Acts 2 describing the coming of the Holy Spirit be similar? How does one name or illustrate something indescribable? The witnesses seem to innately know they were seeing something holy, something that set Moses apart, something validating his relationship with God.

How do we understand our relationship with God in this modern era where unexplained phenomenon becomes the subject of scientific research until we can explain it completely? God created us with curiosity. Perhaps such exploration brings us closer to God if we let it. Shakespeare puts it this way in Hamlet, “And therefore as a stranger give it welcome. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

The scripture above describes a turning point in the Israelites escape from Egypt. They had been wandering in the wilderness long enough to stop and take stalk of who they were and what their next steps would be. The two tablets Moses carried down the mountain contained the new rules that would lead them into becoming a society preparing them for the next phase of their life out of bondage and into taking responsibility for their behavior. We, too, are amid a transition from a world overcome by a pandemic where all are trying to understand where we are and what we are to do next. We, too, need to be reminded that we serve a mighty God that is willing to show us the way if we are ready to turn to the One who can light our path.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for growing so weary of struggling with pandemics and threats of war, and false gods. Lead us to the brighter tomorrow that you desire for all your children. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7160.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.

Water of Life

Living in the Spirit

November 5, 2021

Scripture Reading:

Revelation 21:1-6a

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’

And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

We do not know how important water is in our lives until we have none. In the late 1970s, I moved to Denver, which was the first time I was introduced to the importance of conserving water. In Oklahoma, waitpersons usually brought water to the table for everyone often when they brought the menu. In the Rocky Mountain area, one had to order water. Hearing about the water problems now in the west is heartbreaking. I wonder when the writer of Revelation describes seeing a new heaven and new earth meant to leave out a new sea. The section of Revelation ends with the phrase, To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. All life is a gift from God. Those who recognize that are the ones who will call on God when they thirst for God and God’s righteousness now and in the Kingdom to Come.

Psalm 63:1 describes this relationship well

O God, you are my God, I seek you,
   my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
   as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

My doctor advised me a few years ago that I was not drinking enough water. Thus, I started a regime of measured drinking amounts of water. In that process, I discovered that I did not like the taste of the water from my tap. So, I started adding a dash of peppermint flavoring and solved my problem. I wonder if our fulfilling our thirst for God requires us to improve our relationship with God so that we desire God as God is not the way we want God to be. God’s spring water does not require the addition of peppermint. If our souls do not like the taste of what we are giving it, we are sipping from the wrong cup.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we chase after things of this world that separate us from you. Draw us back to your spring of living water. 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

Living in the Spirit

September 7, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Isaiah 50:4-9a
The Lord God has given me
   the tongue of a teacher,
that I may know how to sustain
   the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens—
   wakens my ear
   to listen as those who are taught.
The Lord God has opened my ear,
   and I was not rebellious,
   I did not turn backwards.
I gave my back to those who struck me,
   and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
   from insult and spitting.

The Lord God helps me;
   therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
   and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
   he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
   Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
   Let them confront me.
It is the Lord God who helps me;
   who will declare me guilty?
All of them will wear out like a garment;

   the moth will eat them up.

Last week the lectionary dealt with listening but not hearing. Today Isaiah tells us that The Lord God has opened my ear,  and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backwards. He suggests that we must want to hear God even when we fear we will not like what God says. Our relationship with God is the most important relationship we have. It should define and drive all other bonds with family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and strangers. Romans 8:31 states it this way, What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? That statement came from Paul, who was beaten, imprisoned, and eventually executed for his faith.

Christ-followers have heard the most precious truth that God loves us just as we are and is with us every step of our way as we grow in our ability to love like Jesus. It is not a secret for us to keep; it is the simple solution to the complex problems in which we find ourselves today, and it has been there from the beginning of time. We can share this message to others in words like these, but they make a much more significant impact when we share God’s Love through our deeds.

Prayer: Following your example, Lord, empower our love in service to oneness in our 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.

Removing Rust

Living in the Spirit

Living in the Spirit

May 26, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 29

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
   the God of glory thunders,
   the Lord, over mighty waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
   the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
   the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
   and Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
   the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. –Psalm 29:3-8

How do we visualize God in our minds? Do we personify God, seeing the image of a human perhaps sitting on a throne? Do we perceive God’s presence with no visual identity? Is God’s image in your mind’s eye that of a loving father or an angry ruler or both or something else? Read through the quote from Psalm 29 above and consider how the Psalmist identified the voice of God. Most of us live in areas that are threatened at some time each year with floods, tornados, hurricanes, fires, or volcanos. These forces are fully capable of destroying everything around them. Yesterday, I saw pictures of the damage hurricanes did during the last year in Honduras. The homes were splintered wood on the ground peppered here and there with a bedframe or broken table. Worse yet, their crops were ruined—their source of livelihood gone in a split second. The story was about a young man trekking to North American in search of work to feed his family. He was turned back at the Mexican border.

I do not think the Psalmist writes to scare us. The poem highlights that God is more powerful than all the frightening experiences of life. We most often forget that truth when our lives are going well, and we begin to focus our attention on what Paul would call the flesh or the enticements of the world. That results in our getting rusty in our relationship with God–that is no place to be.

During 2020, we were thrown into multiple experiences of turmoil. We are now trying to deal with the challenges of pandemics and societal realities like racism and poverty we do not want to admit exists. Before we can refocus our priorities on the ways of God, we have a lot of rust we need to remove. The wonderful thing about an all-powerful God is God is stronger than any rust we may have developed that separates us from God. Getting rid of it may be painful as we have grown rather attached to it. God promises that God’s love can make all things new, if we follow God’s wisdom.

Prayer: Lord, remove the rust from our faith and bring us to wholeness in 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.

Icon or Idol

Lent

March 9, 2021

Scripture Reading: Numbers 21:4-9
From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.’ Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.’ So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.

What is the difference between icons and idols? What is the difference between a fiery serpent on a pole and a golden calf at the foot of a mountain? Reading stories from the Bible involves reading between the lines because the references made are not a part of our culture. My first response to the above scripture was to skip it. I committed when I started these devotions to deal with the scriptures in the lectionary because I have grown weary of people homing in on some favorite scriptures and ignoring the rest of the Bible. So, there is a caveat to my comments on this scripture. Some of this is consists of writing the musings in my head.

First, what do we make of that poisonous serpent set on a pole? The poisonous serpent is the translation of the Hebrew word saraph *. That word should sound familiar as it is used elsewhere in scripture in the form of seraphim connoting heavenly beings, which are characterized as possession light as with fire. Thus, the fiery snakes. The scripture above indicates that the person lives if they merely look at the fiery snake on the pole. I wonder if it is an indication that the hot bronze snake was used to cauterize the bite, thus stopping the poison’s spread. Such cauterization must be done very quickly. Therefore, placing the bronze snake on a pole makes it readily available to all that need it. Its mere presence would be a source of comfort for the people who recognize it as a source of healing or a means to salvation. Such an explanation is from my practical side. All things are possible through God, and the bronze snake may have been a constant reminder to the Israelites that God continuously surrounds us with God’s love.

Second, the golden calf was built after the people had given up on Moses returning. They went in search of another god to save them. Therein lies the difference between an icon and an idol. Icons remind us of God’s presence and characteristics; idols replace God as the center of our worship.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for helping us better understand our relationship with you through the art of icons. Forgive us when we set you aside for the false promises of idols. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/8314.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.

Dealing with Fame or Disdain

Discipleship

January 31, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Mark 1:21-28
They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

How does one live with fame or authority? We have watched many gifted people cave to the trappings of fame. Some turn to drugs or suicide in response, others become overbearing and dictatorial, and some are converted to idols. Jesus was schooled in handling fame when he was led into the desert after his baptism.  Mark mentions this experience briefly, Mark 1:12-13, And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13 provide more detail. Jesus is tempted by the devil three times, and his responses were the guidance he would follow in his ministry when he was overcome by fame and when he was despised and rejected. The guidance is good advice for us today.

  1. The devil encourages turning stone into bread— Jesus responded that people do not live by bread along addressing greed.
  2. The devil promises that if Jesus worshipped him, the devil would give Jesus authority—Jesus replied that he would worship the Lord your God and serve him only, addressing lust for power.
  3. The devil said, throw yourself off the mountain and see if God would save you—Jesus said it is written not to put God to the test, affirming the faith-recognition of God’s eternal love.

Prayer: God of Love, forgive us when we are tempted by fame or the pressures of disdain. Keep our focus on your love and your vision of 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.

Relationship with God

Advent

December 1, 2020

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 40:1-11

A voice says, ‘Cry out!’
   And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’
All people are grass,
   their constancy is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
   when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
   surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades;
   but the Word of our God will stand for ever.
Get you up to a high mountain,
   O Zion, herald of good tidings;
lift up your voice with strength,
   O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,
   lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
   ‘Here is your God!’
See, the Lord God comes with might,
   and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
   and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
   he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
   and gently lead the mother sheep. –Isaiah 40:6-11

Discerning the Word of God is perhaps our greatest challenge as we scroll through the various Biblical translations and interpretations occurring during history stages. The Biblical book of John foresaw this dilemma when it defined the Word* as Jesus, the Christ, including Jesus indicating that the Spirit of God would always be present to guide us**. Jesus shorthanded God’s commandments by identifying loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves as the plumbline that all our actions must match. The stories provided by the gospel writers offer examples of how Jesus lived love.

Of course, we humans tend to want to make things more complicated. Even Jesus had to deal with that when the religious leader asked him to define exactly who his neighbor was. We always filter information through our life experiences and personalities. Since God created us, we can credit God with the complexities of who we are. God would not have created us with a brain if God did not expect us to use it.

I am led to conclude that God longs for a relationship with each of God’s children. Isaiah ends the above poem with God caring for us like a shepherd loving us deeply and completely, and desire that we choose to love God too.

*John 1:1-18
**John 14:15-31

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your love. Thank you for granting us the freedom to enhance our lives by knowing you more nearly. 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 Word of God

Living in the Spirit

July 8, 2020

Scripture Reading: Psalm 119:105-112
Your Word is a lamp to my feet
   and a light to my path.
I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
   to observe your righteous ordinances.
I am severely afflicted;
   give me life, O Lord, according to your Word.
Accept my offerings of praise, O Lord,
   and teach me your ordinances.
I hold my life in my hand continually,
   but I do not forget your law.
The wicked have laid a snare for me,
   but I do not stray from your precepts.
Your decrees are my heritage forever;
   they are the joy of my heart.
I incline my heart to perform your statutes
   forever, to the end.

I cannot read the first sentence of this scripture without singing it. I learned it as a preschooler. God’s Word has been a mainstay ever since. The challenge is understanding the relevance of God’s righteous ordinances for us today filtered through the experiences of followers who recorded the acts of God in markedly different times, cultures, and places. I still do not know why at the time of the writing of Leviticus 19:19, the rule existed that the Israelites were not to put on a garment made of two different materials. One source suggested it was a custom of pagans and might make others see the Israelite as a pagan. That is not the case today.  I do remember advising the social workers, I supervised, that they did not want to dress in such a way that the client was more concerned about their appearance then the worker being there to help address a client’s needs. 

There is wisdom in scripture that draws us to search it deeply and glean all that we can from it. I find it helpful to read the stories of real people dealing with tough situations. Gideon is one of my favorites. He asked God, in his own way, are you sure you want me to do that? And God was patient with Gideon even as God assured him that the job was for him.  In the story of Jesus’s temptations, Jesus responds to the devil ‘It is said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’ (Luke 4:12). The devil was playing games with Jesus, and Jesus assured the devil that his games were evident to God. Living in the Word requires us to understand ourselves, as a servant of God made in God’s image, and others also made in God’s image. Reaching that understanding requires us to first maintain a deep and abiding relationship with God.

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. (Psalm 19:14)

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.

Waiting on the Lord

Kingdom Building

October 1, 2019

Scripture Reading: Lamentations 1:1-6, 3:19-26

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
   his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
   great is your faithfulness.

‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul,
   ‘therefore I will hope in him.’
The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
   to the soul that seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
   for the salvation of the Lord. –Lamentations 1:25-26

Waiting on the Lord suggests the quality of patience. Indeed, most of us value the patience of a parent helping a child first learn to tie his or her shoes. The patience of the athlete repeating the same move until it becomes muscle memory as needed for catch and shoot in basketball. And the patience of a Christ follower who walks with someone no matter what, for example, as they climb out of addiction sometimes taking two steps back before inching forward again.

Patience is not one of my greatest attributes. I tend to prefer Jesus’ advice in Luke 19:40,

 ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.’ I will admit that we do not know if better results would have occurred if the stones had cried out. Such an event would have gotten my attention. Perhaps Jesus is telling us that there is a difference between patience and procrastination or patience and ennui–emptiness of spirit.

The idea of waiting seems to convey a length of time. Waiting on the Lord simply relates to maintaining a close relationship with God seeking guidance for our lives that may indeed take time to unfold but could also be in the blink of an eye.

Active waiting for guidance from the Lord implies preparing for whatever may come next. I have my tornado ritual which involved having a flashlight at hand, sturdy shoes available, important papers safely stored, my weather radio handy, and my safe place identified. Waiting on the Lord might include practicing spiritual disciples and particularly in times when all are uneasy loving our neighbors as we love ourselves in all instances without exception even when the situation regarding waiting for the Lord involves other with a different point of view than ours.

Prayer: Grant us the gift of patience when we need it and the gift of fullness of spirit always . 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.