Tag Archives: Salvation

Patience

Lent

February 18, 2021

Scripture Reading:
1 Peter 3:18-22
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the Ark, in which a few, that is, eight people, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

As a Child Welfare worker and then supervisor, necessity required our unit to have a good working relationship with the Sheriff and deputies. We were blessed with an excellent Sheriff, and he had a great staff. One year around Christmas, we had a particularly challenging time with abused/neglected children and wayward juveniles. I was exhausted. My team was too. The Sheriff with his crew were with us when needed every step of the way. Our jail had one holding cell that was used for various unique situations, including separating juveniles from adult prisoners. I walked with the Sheriff as he escorted a young, out-of-control teen to that cell so he could be in a safe place while his body recovered from drugs. The cell was padded with no furniture except the built-in toilet and water fountain. As the Sheriff and I walked back to the office area, I said, “I wish you had one of those cells for me. I could use some protection from the world for a while.” He laughed and said, “It has been a week.”

I found it interesting that Peter tells us that one of the first place the risen Christ visited was the spirits in prison identifying them as those who disobeyed God all the way back to Noah’s time. God is described as a patient waiter until Noah’s family was saved from the flood. Peter likens Noah’s salvation by water to baptism. It is a bit of a stretch. I do not recall Noah ever getting wet, but he did obey God in the building of the Ark. He, and his family was saved from drowning. In the Ark, he was lifted out of the water, eventually to dry ground.

Peter’s message to his readers both then and now is patience is essential in proclaiming Christ and God’s Kingdom’s formation.  Patience is a gift of the Spirit, and sometimes when we reach the point where a padded cell looks welcoming, we must withdraw from the world to rekindle our relationship with the Spirit and reclaim the gift of patience.

Prayer: God of Patience, fill us with the gifts of your Spirit so that we might serve you with our patience. 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.

God’s Vision

Living in the Spirit

August 19, 2020

Scripture Reading: Psalm 124
If it had not been the Lord who was on our side
   —let Israel now say—
if it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
   when our enemies attacked us,
then they would have swallowed us up alive,
   when their anger was kindled against us;
then the flood would have swept us away,
   the torrent would have gone over us;
then over us would have gone
   the raging waters.

Blessed be the Lord,
   who has not given us
   as prey to their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird
   from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
   and we have escaped.

Our help is in the name of the Lord,
   who made heaven and earth.

God created the world and all that is in it and saw that it was good—good for our wellbeing. God prepared a place for us as parents create a nursery for an expected child. Humans were the last of God’s creations. Made in God’s image, we are tasked with caring for and using these resources wisely.

We are not provided information regarding the calamity from which God saved Israel. The New Interpreter’s Study Bible suggests that it might have been the attacks on Nehemiah and those who were trying to rebuild the Temple walls after their return from Babylon. The floods become a metaphor for the residents of the area who were angry about this intrusion in their lives. Of course, many stories could have been followed by this poem, even in our world today.

One of the things we miss when reading thanksgiving for God’s intervention is that the people involved were called to do a lot of work and face a lot of danger as a part of God’s salvation. The word help is critical. God expects us to utilize the resources provided and build a better world. When we are in sync with God’s vision of the possible, we are assured that the Lord helps us every step of the way.

Prayer: God of Mercy and Justice, we face a life-threatening virus, destructive storms, fires, and rampant racism in a divided nation that cannot find common ground for the Common Good. Forgive us for being overcome by gods of greed and lust for power. Help us find our way 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.

Become My Salvation

Lent
April 17, 2019

Scripture Reading: Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

The Lord is my strength and my might;
   he has become my salvation. –Psalm 118:14

From what do I need to be saved? The world “salvation” loses meaning as it incapsulates a universal view without drilling down to specifics. That often plays out in whether one is destined for heaven or expelled to hell, which does not help a lot in the present situation. Drilling down into the depths of our relationship with God, discovering the shredded threads of our lives that separate us from God can and will provide the basis for repairing torn places in our souls.

I must start with myself for we must learn to love ourselves before we can ever love our neighbors as they need to be love. I like the illustration of the instructions we receive after boarding an airplane. A steward says something to the effect that if an emergency arises requiring the use of oxygen and we are seated next to someone who needs help accessing the oxygen masks, we are to first put on our masks because we would be no help to someone if we faint from lack of oxygen before we get the other person connected.

Becoming aware of our faults or sins or whatever we want to call them, seeking forgiveness, and turning away from continuing negative ways is not the only examination needed. We also need to become aware of our patterns of living that may be appropriate for us but may not be for another. We limit our ability to love these others if we can only love them when they are willing to become like us. I was born into a family with a strong work ethic and it seems to work well for my family. Others may not share in that cultural trait and their ideas about work may differ markedly from mine. I would have just as much difficulty changing my work ethic as they have changing their understanding of work. Until I understood that I was not able to help people who were never taught the value of work to learn to live in a world that expected them to be self-supportive.

Our wholeness is paramount to attaining the oneness to which Christ calls us. Our wholeness together in Christ’s oneness is the foundation of God’s justice.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for sending Jesus to be a plumb line against we can assess our wholeness. 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.

Reviewing the Life of Jesus

Christmas
January 1, 2019

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 52:7-10
How beautiful upon the mountains
   are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
   who announces salvation,
   who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
   together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
   the return of the Lord to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
   you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
   he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
   before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
   the salvation of our God.

Put away the tinsel, recycle the wrapping paper, carefully store the nativity pieces, God Incarnate has come and we have much to learn and much to do. Over the next several weeks we will revisit the lessons of Jesus’ life lived in love and hear again the sermons and parables, see the crowds throng about him, watch as he heals the sick and even raises the dead. Take it all in, seek new insights, grow in spirit and in truth as the baby Jesus grew in favor with God and people. But most of all let us all dedicate ourselves to be our part of helping all see the salvation of our God.

Prayer: Lord, empower use as your servants to show mercy, do justice, and walk humbly with God as you did in your season on earth. 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.

 

Salvation

Advent
December 13, 2018

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 12:2-6

Surely God is my salvation;
   I will trust, and will not be afraid,
for the Lord God is my strength and my might;
   he has become my salvation.
 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say on that day:
Give thanks to the Lord,
   call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations;
   proclaim that his name is exalted. –Isaiah 12:2-4

Salvation:
1 a: deliverance from the power and effects of sin:  the spiritual saving of humankind especially from damnation
   b:  the means or agent of such saving or deliverance
2:  liberation from ignorance or illusion:  deliverance from clinging to the phenomenal world of appearance and final union with ultimate reality*

God’s rescue which delivers believers out of destruction and into His safety**

I wonder how many people who proclaim their faith in God and Jesus Christ believe they need to be delivered from the power and effects of sin. I recall two ways to salvation from my youth. One described by the phrase, “Once saved always saved.” Another was salvation by works, doing good and following Jesus’ teachings. There are, of course, dangers in both approaches.  People who subscribed to the “once saved always saved” viewpoint are tempted to take salvation for granted and fail to address their personal spiritual needs and their calling to help others. They may have a sense that they are elect people. We might identify white privilege in this category. People who invest all their energies in doing good works and following Jesus’ teachings may think they are the source of their own salvation. Of course, problems arise when they become selective or even judgmental about defining good works and the limitations of the love Jesus modeled. These are the folks who may ask, “who is my neighbor?”

Our scripture today is describing a higher plain ruled by love, absent self-interest because in God’s love we are made whole.

Prayer: Lord, help us to know the fullness of your love as we grow in faith and in loving you more dearly as we love our neighbors more nearly. Amen.

*http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/salvation
**https://biblehub.com/greek/4991.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.

Risen Savior

Good Friday
March 30, 2018

 Scripture Reading: John 20:1-18

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes. –John 20:1-10

I was sitting at my desk in an interior office of a state office building. Secretarial staff had desks in an open area outside each of the enclosed offices. Suddenly as if a conductor had raised a baton all the secretarial staff jumped up and shouted words that all said: “What was that?” That was the Oklahoma City bombing. Radios were turned on and we soon heard the announcement that the Murrah Federal building in downtown Oklahoma City had exploded. Emergency respondents were assessing the situation and rescue efforts were beginning. Tentative analysis thought it might have been a gas explosion. Our building was located over 25 blocks from the Murrah building. I had not heard or felt anything. Although the occupants of the open space had experienced both the sound and the shaking.  By then we had located a TV and were seeing the mess in living color. When the call went out for blood donors, particularly those with O- blood, I rushed to my car and headed for the Blood Institute a few blocks away finding a line five blocks long before I even got near the building. I then heard that a bank had opened another site and I headed there with an equally long line, which I joined. Only seconds later an official coming down the line asked who had O- blood and I moved me much closer to the front of the line. It was a surreal experience. One I watched for days on TV trying to make sense of it all. Everybody in Oklahoma City that day has their own story to tell.

All those who experienced first hand the last days of Jesus had their own stories to tell. John remembered the detail that he outran Peter but stopped and let Peter enter the tomb first. Mary Magdalene acknowledging that she did not at first recognize Jesus. All were in shock. Some remembered Jesus’ predictions of his death. Judas could not cope with what he had done. The entire world changed that day.

We serve a risen Savior and continue his ministry to this day. He is our guiding strength. This is the week we set aside to acknowledge all that Jesus Christ is and is to come.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for saving our souls continue to make us whole as we seek to serve 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.

Power of Love

Lent
March 28, 2018

 Scripture Reading: Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   his steadfast love endures forever!
Let Israel say,
   ‘His steadfast love endures forever.’
The Lord is my strength and my might;
   he has become my salvation. –Psalm 118:1-2, 14

Salvation is for today and as well as tomorrow. “Things may be tough now, but you be a good slave and you will get your reward in heaven.” This was an acceptable theology of the 18th and mid-19th century in the USA. Salvation always removes shackles that lock people into lives of futility.

Christ’s salvation for many today frees people from bondage we wrap around ourselves from addictions to greed, hatred to violence, low self-esteem to narcissism. Christ’s salvation engages all to be doers of justice tearing downs walls that separate and divide. Christ’s salvation enables the Kingdom of God’s full fruition where all have enough, and an abundant life is defined by the depth of our loving and being loved.

Our world is caught in a chaos of its own making leaving many perplexed and feeling helpless. We await the Resurrection of Christ once again as a reminder that our salvation arrived some 2000 years ago in the person of Jesus, who offered his very life for our salvation. He is with us today, every day, and forever. Jesus said:

‘There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in a cloud” with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.’ (Luke 21:25-28)

Jesus also said:

‘Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do you now believe? The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!’ (John 16:30-33)

Prayer: Lord, as we once again remember your death and resurrection help us also remember the constancy of your presence and the power of 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.

Lover of All

Lent
March 27, 2018

 Scripture Reading: Isaiah 25:6-9
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
   a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines,
   of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear.
And he will destroy on this mountain
   the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
   the sheet that is spread over all nations;
he will swallow up death for ever.
Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,
   and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,
   for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
   Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.
   This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
   let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

What is that shroud of death that is spread over all nations? Is it our inability to love one another? Some ancients knew Christ’s message well as they waited for his coming Kingdom. Food enough for all sustained by a well-tended earth is mentioned here. Our tears of pain and fear and frustration are wiped away. Our tears of joy are shared with all who wait upon the Lord. Salvation is at hand.

Christ’s came to earth as both a teacher and role model for the development of his envisioned Kingdom. The price asked of us is to be willing to share it with all peoples throughout the earth, a price we collectively perhaps even individually have never willingly paid. Two things he asked, love God and love your neighbor as yourself. When we cannot love our neighbors, we are not loving God. We always want to give our love conditionally. Loving unconditionally is not easy.

Put yourself in Jesus’ shoes when the boat he is on pulls into shore and the first person you encounter is Legion*, the town’s crazy man. He lives in the tombs, is so strong he broke out of chains and shackles, howls from the mountains, and bruises himself with stones. What would your first reaction be? How long do you think it took Jesus to get Legion to trust him? Do you think that would be a good use of your time? What do you think the crowds think of you dealing with this crazy man? Does their opinion matter?

Practicing regularly God’s extraordinary love is our task. It took his death on the cross and his resurrection for us to figure that out. It takes our full acknowledgment of his loving support for us to live it.

Prayer:
O Love, that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be**. Amen.

*See Mark 5:1-20, Luke 8:26-39
**First verse of hymn O Love that Wilt Not Let Me Go by George Matheson see at https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/432

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.

Weeds No More

Lent
March 10, 2018

 Scripture Reading: John 3:14-21

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

 ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

 ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. –John 3:14-18

.When most of us read John 3:16, we probably think of perishing as meaning not going to heaven or not being in eternity with God. The Greek word translated perish also could be worded (a) I kill, destroy; (b) I lose*. A wasted life is a lost life. Weeds are wasted vegetation. They use up nutrients needed by producing plants. Jesus talked about weeds in a parable Matthew 13.30:

Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.

 God created the world and all that is in it as interdependent and with purpose. In truth most of the plants we classify as weeds serve some use. We were not assigned the task of identify the weeds from good plants in our spiritual journey. Following Jesus’ lead, we are given the job of enabling all of God’s creation to fulfill its purpose. Our job is to turn what we consider to be weeds into useful producing plants. George Washington Carver found hundreds of uses for the lowly peanut that is not a nut at all. Are we assuring that all the curious little boys and girls in our schools are given every opportunity to follow his example? Do we see the potential in every homeless person we encounter? How do we protect the disenfranchised?

God sent Jesus into the world to save the world not to condemn but to return each facet to wholeness. Jesus sent us into the world to do the same.

Prayer: Lord, enable us to enable others until there are no weeds to burn. Amen.

*http://biblehub.com/greek/622.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.

Love

Lent
April 12, 2017

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:1-4

So, if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

I wish that I could wave a magic wand over the earth and in one swipe make everyone whole, including myself. How many of the problems in our world today can be traced back to a gap in someone’s self-worth? How many wars happen because of the need for some to prove they are better in some way than others?

The source of wholeness has come. There is no magic wand; there was a cross. There is a man, we call him Jesus, who came to show us the way to wholeness and then took the additional, extraordinary step to fill the gaps in our relationship with God by giving his very life for us. Some call it atonement, making us at one with God. Some identify it as salvation. Some know it as the gift of grace. He called it love.

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
to bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
to bear the dreadful curse for my soul?

Prayer: Thank you Lord for your unconditional love. Thank you Lord for enabling me to love others. Amen.

*First verse of What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul Author unknown. See at http://www.hymnary.org/text/what_wondrous_love_is_this_o_my_soul_o_m

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.