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Colossians 2:4,8

24 Nov

4 I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments. 

8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.

Colossians 2:4,8

Dear God, I took these two verses and put them together because they are actually the same thought, but separated by some exposition in verses 5-7.

It is so easy to be deceived by well-crafted arguments. And I’m not immune to it. I think my problem is that if I am going to hold to a theological or philosophical position, I want to know my why. Why do I believe this or that. If asked to defend it, what is my why?

For example, I know many, many young people who are living together now with either zero plans of marriage or with the philosophy that it is better to test drive the person before they buy. Well, that is a pretty simple argument that on the surface makes a lot of sense. And although my wife and I did not officially live together before we were married, we certainly blurred those lines beforehand. Either she would stay at my place sometimes, or I would stay with her. But even that wasn’t comingling our complete lives until we had the commitment of marriage. But now if I have some young friends who are talking to me about not wanting to get married because it’s too big of a commitment, and I can intuitively see the problem with that philosophy, do I have enough understanding of my own opinion or your opinion on the topic to make an articulate argument.

Here is a list of things that many churches right now are struggling through that are difficult because, I believe, they have the belief without knowing their why besides simply answering, “Because God said so.”

  • LGBTQ+ issues
  • Premarital sex
  • Living together before marriage
  • Women as senior pastors or in leadership at all
  • Immigration
  • Any number of denominational issues

I have varying opinions on all of these things, with some more conservative and some more liberal, but do I know my why? Do I know how to articulate and argue either against the empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense of the world or against a dogma that has been handed down through the church for millennia that may or may not be of you?

Father, I need your Holy Spirit to whisper in my ear. I need your wisdom. I need to make space for quiet. And I also want to know when to be firm in my stance and when to understand that I am just a source of your love and it is your Holy Spirit’s job to convict when it’s time to convict. So give me your wisdom. Give me your insight. And then flow through me in all of my relationships so that those you are calling will find you through my life.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 24, 2024 in Colossians

 

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Luke 20:27-40

23 Nov

27 Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. 28 They posed this question: “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife but no children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.[c] 29 Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children. 30 So the second brother married the widow, but he also died. 31 Then the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them, who died without children. 32 Finally, the woman also died. 33 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her!”

34 Jesus replied, “Marriage is for people here on earth. 35 But in the age to come, those worthy of being raised from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. 36 And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection.

37 “But now, as to whether the dead will be raised—even Moses proved this when he wrote about the burning bush. Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, he referred to the Lord as ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 So he is the God of the living, not the dead, for they are all alive to him.”

39 “Well said, Teacher!” remarked some of the teachers of religious law who were standing there. 40 And then no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Luke 20:27-40

Dear God, I really love my wife. I mean, she is unbelievably important to me. I enjoy her. I like her. I cannot imagine life without her. After 35 years of knowing each other, we still spend huge amounts of time talking and sharing with each other. And it breaks my heart to know that the odds are that one of us will die before the other. So I am one of those who would want to know what our relationship will be like on the other side of our earthly existence. Will she be my wife in your kingdom? The idea that she won’t disappoints me a little. But then I read passages like the one I did a couple of days ago in Revelation 4, about the 24 elders worshipping you and I think, “Of course! Anything I know now won’t even be enough to pale in comparison to what I know then! She will be there, but our existence will be on a completely different level than I can comprehend.”

So that leads me to the trap of getting distracted by tomorrow. I start to get defensive about the things that I like about my life and try to protect them from ending instead of staying in the moment. What you have for me is completely different than what the world has for me. What you have for me in this moment might be compromised by my desire to preserve what I think I want in the next moment. I make decisions out of self-preservation all of the time. And sometimes, they might get in the way of what you want me to do.

I was watching a movie last night, and I watched characters take principled stands against injustice. It is possible that I might be asked to take a principled stand against injustice one day soon that will cost me. Am I willing to pay that price? Do I truly consider my life worth nothing to me (Act 20:24)?

Father, I don’t know where all of this is going or how it all works out. I don’t know when you might need me to stand up for others and sacrifice myself in the process. And I don’t know what that sacrifice looks like. But I know that you are so–and I mean SO–much more than I can imagine or my situations. You are SO much more than my earthly or even eternal life. You are God. I don’t need to be equal to you. I don’t have any standing to even ask anything of you, much less demand anything. I am grateful for what I have in this moment. I am sad about the things I want that I don’t have, but I will not let that sadness or disappointment keep me from recognizing you, worshipping you, and offering all that I am for all that you are.

I offer this feeble, humble prayer to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 23, 2024 in Luke

 

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Luke 19:41-44

21 Nov

41 But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. 42 “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. 43 Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. 44 They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.”

Luke 19:41-44

Dear God, I wonder how things would have been different if they had recognized the time of your visitation. What if everyone had gotten on board. The Pharisees. The priests. The Levites. The common people. What if the disciples, even, had really understood what you were teaching them? What would that have looked like?

Sometimes, I think we are trying to answer that question as the church today, and different churches are coming up with different answers. Some churches want to forcibly bring your kingdom upon the earth, which I perceive is the mistake the Pharisees of the time were making. Some are silent and just quietly worship you without bothering anyone. Those churches are largely dying from old age and attrition. Some are screaming for justice, which is a legitimate cry because there is so much injustice, but it might also distract them from considering their lives worth nothing to them (see Acts 20:24). And then I do believe there are a few churches that are literally doing what they can to follow the radical teachings of Jesus. They love their neighbors. The meet needs. They worship you. They forgive. The eschew hate and lust. They consider the lilies and don’t worry. They give freely of their time and money.

What would it be like if every church in the world, or even in our community, really lived out the Sermon on the Mount? How would we be helping parents raise their children? How would we be helping the school? How would we be working with the prisoners and the courts? How would we be worshipping you so purely and letting your Spirit and its fruit grow so much within us that we would be a beacon that attracts others?

As for me, if I lean toward any of these categories on a personal level, it is probably the kind that silently and quietly worships you. Yes, I volunteer for some things. Yes, I donate to some things. Yes, I talk to those around me about my faith and how I’m living it out. But I’m not really leading people to you. I’m not teaching worship of you. I’m not teaching the fruits that grow from loving you and loving our neighbors.

Father, it was impossible for the people of Jesus’s time to recognize your visitation because 1.) they weren’t ready for that kind of humility and 2.) it wouldn’t have worked with your plan. Maybe that’s one reason you chose that time and place. And it can be hard now to understand what we would do differently if this were the time of your visitation. Would we put you on cable news and have you lead us to power? Would we reject you for your humility when you refused to do it? Yes and yes. But I worship you, now. I thank you now. Help me to love, forgive, serve, and worship well today. And help me to share that faith with others so that they might develop closer relationships with you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 21, 2024 in Luke

 

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Revelation 4:1-11

20 Nov

4 Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” 2 And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. 3 The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. 4 Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God. 6 In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.

In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. 7 The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. 8 Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—
    the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”

9 Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), 10 the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,

11 “You are worthy, O Lord our God,
    to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created all things,
    and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

Revelation 4:1-11

Dear God, my worship of you is pathetic. And I don’t care how much I would be able to ratchet it up. Compared to this, it would be pathetic.

You know I don’t read too much in Revelation, but since this was the New Testament reading for the Catholic church today I thought I would go ahead and sit with it a bit. Reading it through, I was seeing the descriptions of the different beings and thinking, “Why do I need to know this in my life today?” when it got to the end of the description of the four beings and said starting in 8b:

Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—
    the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”

9 Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), 10 the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,

11 “You are worthy, O Lord our God,
    to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created all things,
    and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

I mean, I could spend every day, 24/7, attempting this, and it would still never come close to this amount of worship of you. The amount of worship of which you are worthy. The amount of worship you deserve. I was reading about the 24 elders in verse 4 and wondering who exactly they were and how great they must have been to be one of the 24. Could I ever be that good? (Yes, my selfish, sinful, carnal heart had the audacity to ask that question.) Then I saw that these great beings were on their faces laying their crowns before you.

Father, I get caught up on questions about heaven like, “Will I know my wife?” “Will I know those I love?” “Will I get bored?” But then I read this and I realize that I simply have no frame of reference for what the other side of death will be. All I know is that I’m not worthy, and if I am with you past this life it is only because of your grace through Jesus. If, on a scale of 1-10, my worship of you is currently a 2 (that’s about how it’s feeling right now), help me to get to a 2.1 today. Honestly, I don’t know if I can ever really get beyond 3 in this life, but the scale of the worship you deserve is so large, there is a lot of room between 2 and 3. So help me to worship you better. And help me to simply turn loose of my ego and be a nobody trying to tell everybody all about somebody who saved my soul. (Shout out Casting Crowns).

I love you, Lord.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 20, 2024 in Revelation

 

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Ruth 1:19-21

09 Nov

19 So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by their arrival. “Is it really Naomi?” the women asked.

20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?”

Ruth 1:19-21

Dear God, a friend’s wife asked me to share a scripture at his funeral next weekend. She asked if I have any ideas. While her husband and I talked about faith a lot, we never talked about our favorite scripture passages. She is going to talk with her daughter and get back to me about any ideas they have.

In the meantime, as I sat down this morning, I started wondering if I had any ideas. Any passages that reminded me of him. The first thing that came to mind was Naomi. See, he married his high school sweetheart, and they had a little girl whom he adored. Tragically, his wife died just a short time after the baby was born from a random brain aneurism. All of a sudden, he was alone with a little girl. He had to return home and move in with his parents to help him with his daughter while he figured out what the rest of his life held for him. As it turns out, it was a good life. Education. Marriage. More children. Even financial success, but coupled with extreme generosity, love for others, and devotion to and worship of you. We aren’t all guaranteed anything in life. It won’t always turn out this way. And I’m sure he would just as soon have had his high school sweetheart with him until his dying day. And I don’t believe you caused the deaths of Naomi’s husband and sons any more than you caused his wife’s death. But you used them. You didn’t let the pain be wasted.

So, back to Naomi. I love this specific passage from Ruth 1 that I used above because it says so much. Naomi is devastated and, as she describes it, bitter. Her life is bitter. She is bitter. She is grieving and in pain. But there is still a future ahead of her. Her life isn’t over. You weren’t done with her yet. She brought Ruth and arranged for her to end up with Boaz. Ruth and Boaz had baby Obed. And that’s where the Book of Ruth ends. With Naomi, the book’s real protagonist, cuddling Obed, caring for him as if he were her own. While we don’t always get to see what you are doing to redeem our pain, at least Naomi got to see Obed. Here’s the rest of how the Book of Ruth ends in Ruth 4:16-17, nearly all of which Naomi never knew this side of heaven:

16 Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were her own. 17 The neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again!” And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David.

And then what the author of Ruth could not know is that David would be the lineage to Jesus. The blessing didn’t stop with David. It was only the beginning of the story, culminating even in me, a Gentile, sitting here today under grace.

Father, I don’t know what you will continue to do with my friend’s life, even now that he is gone. But I know that he had the privilege of getting to cuddle his metaphorical Obed. He got a good mother for his daughter. He got more children whom he adored–he talked about all three of them constantly when he was with me. He got a wife who absolutely delighted him, and she adored him as well. Yes, he had a successful career, but his life is more marked even more by the love he showed others with that success through generosity of time and resources. His is a life that knocks over a lot of dominos. The “butterfly effect” of his life will carry on for generations. Thank you that you rescued my friend from bitterness. Thank you that all of us have a reason to move forward in the midst of sorrow and pain. Thank you that you take our pain and offer us opportunities in each moment to redeem it. Those of us who are left behind are not done. If I consider my life worth nothing to me, then my only other option is to offer it to you. So I offer this day to you. Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

In Memory of Royce Hunter: 1938-2024

 
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Posted by on November 9, 2024 in Ruth

 

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Luke 10:25-37

30 Oct

25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”

27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

Luke 10:25-37

Dear God, I have the opportunity to speak to a private school chapel this morning. The students will be ages 5-18. That can be a tough crowd to reach with one message. And I am supposed to be talking to them about the nonprofit where I work. How do you make an 8-year-old child care about healthcare for low-income people who are uninsured? The answer, of course, is stories. That’s what Jesus did for his crowds.

I asked the woman who scheduled me for this if there was a special spiritual theme they would like me to hit while I’m talking. She said (Not judging any grammar because it was a text and I think texts should be an edit-free zone.), “[Our model] emphasizes personhood, in that all are created in the image of God. Secondly, learning is a “coming to know” the mind of the Creator, and this coming to know is a mind-to-mind meeting. In this way, learning is a communion with God. To unite these ideas within your work: If learning is a way to better know God, and all persons are created in God’s image–when we learn about people, when we relate to anyone, when we see all as image-bearers, we are given the opportunity to draw closer to the Lord.”

Honestly, I was intimidated when I read that. I’m not even sure I fully understand some of it. But as I thought about Jesus and his lessons to us, the parable of the Good Samaritan came to mind. So as I pray to you this morning, I would like for your to finalize my thoughts on how to present to these children. And I understand that this is one of 30+ chapel talks they will hear this year. And I understand that the odds are good that none of them will remember what I said by the end of the day. However, there might be a seed that finds some fertile soil in one heart in the room. Maybe more. And maybe that seed will grow into something beautiful. So I want to take this seriously, if not expecting something grandiose for them in their experience with me this morning.

  • I think I will start by simply reading the first part of the passage above. Up to where Jesus says, “Right!” and point out that this expert in the law is unique in that Jesus is impressed with how he sees his faith. Usually, Jesus is frustrated by people who consider themselves experts in the law, but he seems pleased with this one.
  • Those commands will answer a lot of other questions about what they should do in any given situation.
  • Why does God want us to love Him with all our hearts, soul, mind, and strength.
  • Why does God want us to love others? To be curious and not judgmental?
  • I will let their parents, pastors, and teachers talk with them about what loving God with all their hearts looks like. The man in the story seemed to have that down. What he didn’t understand was how to follow the second commandment, so let’s see what Jesus said.
  • Then read the rest of the parable.
  • Here is an example of a woman who walked in the way of the Good Samaritan.
  • What kinds of people does God put in your path on a daily basis?
    • Parent
    • Sibling
    • Another student
    • A teammate on a team
    • Someone at church
  • When we find that person who annoys us, be curious, not judgmental. Sometimes, if something is making us annoyed or upset, it’s a sign that it is someone or something we need to pray for.

Father this feels a little disjointed right now. I’m not sure I will be able to hit every point. But I want these children to feel your love for them this morning. I want them to feel love for you and for everyone else, whether they consider them a friend, enemy, or are indifferent about them. I want the same thing for myself. I want to love you with all my soul, heart, mind, and strength. I want to love my neighbors generously. Help me to do that in your power and for your glory alone.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 30, 2024 in Luke

 

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Luke 12:35-40, 49-53

24 Oct

49 “I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! 50 I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. 51 Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! 52 From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against.

53 ‘Father will be divided against son
    and son against father;
mother against daughter
    and daughter against mother;
and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law
    and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’”

Dear God, we can’t read these verses without reading the context of what came before it. All of this started with Jesus warning the people to be ready like a servant who awaits his masters return and must always be ready:

35 “Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. 37 The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! 38 He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready.

39 “Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would not permit his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”

Once again, our subject headings make some things convenient, but they can remove passages from their context if we let them.

This has always been a hard passage. Why does Jesus come across as so angry and vindictive in verse 49? Well, it’s partly related to the people not being ready when the master (Jesus) came and also knowing the truth of what was about to happen to him. And what was about to happen was incredibly destructive and then re-creational. But it would divide. It did divide. It still does.

I was listening to a recent Andy Stanley sermon this morning about Jesus being who he said he was. And I’ve seen my faith in that message divide members of my own family. I’ve literally seen children be hostile with parents over their faith. And it’s hard to watch. And when I read these words of Jesus they both aggravate me and comfort me. They aggravate me because I think, Why does it have to be this way? Then they comfort me because I see that it will simply sometimes be this way.

This passage also reminds me of the pressure and even anxiety Jesus felt about his earthly future. He certainly didn’t want it to happen. He didn’t want to be beaten and crucified. He wished the atonement cold have happened another way. But let’s for a moment say it could have happened another way and his death and resurrection wasn’t necessary for that, then what would have differentiated him in history? Had he just lived taught, and then been assumed into heaven, how would he have ever been remembered. It’s the crucifixion and resurrection, and how they inspired the people who witnessed this miracle to then go to the world and proclaim it that made the difference. It was Their witness to this story that made the Gentiles take notice. It is the reason I am sitting here this morning.

Father, there are times I look around and it seems like the world is on fire. And maybe it is. Maybe you’re breaking us down to our bare essentials so you can build us back up, once again, in your image. Maybe you want to love and inspire us through some setbacks. Through some suffering. Maybe it doesn’t matter who wins the presidential election because either way the world is spinning away from you, and we need just a little more leash before we are ready to come to the end of ourselves, repent, and come back to you. Show me the role you have for me in all of this. Show me how to love and inspire my wife. Show her how to love and inspire me. Show me how to love my children and my family. My coworkers. My friends. Everyone within my sphere, show me what to do.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 24, 2024 in Luke

 

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Ephesians 2:11-22

22 Oct

11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.

14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. 18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.

Ephesians 2:11-22

Dear God, I am one of those Gentiles that benefits from all of this. I am someone who was lost but now I’m found. And here I am now. Sitting here before work, praying to you. Loving you. Worshipping you. Looking to you for guidance. Asking you for your love and presence to be in my life and the lives of others. Asking you to guide your church in the midst of election fervor. Asking you to reveal my sin to me so that I might repent and then take up my cross and follow you. That is what I get to do this morning because of what Jesus did 2,000 years ago. Because of what you did in sending a piece of you to us. Because the Holy Spirit, your Holy Spirit, a piece of your nature, is now sitting in this room with me–in me–loving me and guiding me. Talking to me. Comforting me. Correcting me.

Father, I need your inspiration today. I need your love. I need to be able to inspire your love in others. I want people to hunger for you after being with me. I want others to find you on a deep and personal level so that they might experience the life you have for them here on this earth. Having finished Ecclesiastes yesterday, I don’t know that Solomon (if that was Solomon) ever really found what he was looking for, but I have. I wouldn’t trade you for anything. Not anything. Forget afterlife. For the here and now, you are everything I need. I worship you, and I praise you. My Lord and my God.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 22, 2024 in Ephesians

 

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Ecclesiastes 11

20 Oct

11 Send your grain across the seas,
    and in time, profits will flow back to you.
2 But divide your investments among many places,
    for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.

3 When clouds are heavy, the rains come down.
    Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls.

4 Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.
    If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.

5 Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.

6 Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.

7 Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning.

8 When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life. But let them also remember there will be many dark days. Everything still to come is meaningless.

9 Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do. 10 So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy. But remember that youth, with a whole life before you, is meaningless.

Dear God, I don’t normally spend too much time on the footnotes in the different translations, but the footnote for verse 1 seems important: 11:1 Or Give generously, / for your gifts will return to you later. Hebrew reads Throw your bread on the waters, / for after many days you will find it again. It’s interesting because it’s almost like this is putting a selfish twist on Jesus’s command to love others. It’s saying there is a side benefit to loving others that makes it worth it. That sounds like Solomon. That sounds on-brand.

I think the other part I’m going to focus on this morning is the truth of verse 5: 5 Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. I don’t understand you, and I am okay with that. I don’t know why you’re doing thing the way you’re doing them. I think the person who holds on to the selfish motivation for doing what they do gets angry at this. And I’ve been angry with you before because I can be very selfish. I’ve been disappointed in you before because I thought I had made some sort of deal with you that you didn’t live up to. But you had never made that deal with me. Your deal with me is that you will forgive me of my sin, love me as I love you, and then let your Spirit and the fruits of your Spirit grow in me as I love you. Everything else is a hazy mystery.

It makes me think of the Gospel reading for the Catholic church this morning out of Mark 10:35-45, when James and John go to Jesus and ask to sit at his right and left when he comes into his glory. I don’t know why, but I never thought too much about what they meant by Jesus coming into his glory. They had no idea what this would look like. Even though he had just told them about his death, they weren’t getting it. I don’t know exactly what they were envisioning, but it seems to me they were wanting to make a deal with Jesus in order to attain greatness. I don’t think they were thinking about heavenly greatness and new earth greatness like we think of it now. I think they were thinking of earthly power greatness. Judging. Intimidation. Punishment. Casting favor. Little did they know they would literally share in Jesus’s path. James would be the first of the 12 to be martyred while John would live in miserable exile. I don’t know what role they play in the new earth, and I’ll find out one day, but I’m sure they are embarrassed to look back and know they did this. Just like I am embarrassed by so many selfish things I’ve done.

Father, there is so much for Solomon to learn, and so much for me to learn from both his good and bad examples. Help me to learn every lesson you have for me. I know some of them will be harder for me to learn than others. Open my eyes so I can see. Open my ears so I can hear. Dispatch of the bad teaching I’ve observed over the years. Help me to link everything to the teachings I know of from Jesus through the Gospel writers and the other authors of the New Testament. They say on a football team, each player on the field just has to do their 1/11th. Well, if there are 2 billion Christians on the earth, help me to be the best 1/2 billionth I can possibly be. For your glory, and your glory alone.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 20, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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Mark 10:1-16

06 Oct

10 Then Jesus left Capernaum and went down to the region of Judea and into the area east of the Jordan River. Once again crowds gathered around him, and as usual he was teaching them.

2 Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife?”

3 Jesus answered them with a question: “What did Moses say in the law about divorce?”

4 “Well, he permitted it,” they replied. “He said a man can give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away.”

5 But Jesus responded, “He wrote this commandment only as a concession to your hard hearts. 6 But ‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation. 7 ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, 8 and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, 9 let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

10 Later, when he was alone with his disciples in the house, they brought up the subject again. 11 He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery against her. 12 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries someone else, she commits adultery.”

13 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

14 When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 16 Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.

Mark 10:1-16

Dear God, I wonder how much of Jesus’s typical day on earth was spent with him just putting his face in the palm of his hand out of frustration. The two stories here are completely separate, but a theme is Jesus having to teach and correct things that had been generationally taught to the Pharisees, disciples, and everyone else in between.

In the first case, it was 1.) dealing with the skepticism of the Pharisees (which I don’t blame them for. I’d have been skeptical too) and 2.) having to correct an errant perspective on what marriage is. And I have to say that I do not know exactly what a first-century Pharisee thought marriage was, but it apparently wasn’t going back to the one basic fact that you built us for each other. You built us to humbly love and serve each other. You built us to fill a need each of us has that is part of our human condition (the perfectly created human condition, not the fallen human condition). Yes, there are times when we hurt each other. Yes, there are times when divorce has to happen because of the actions of one of the spouses over the other. But there are other times when both people are just failing to live up to what you’re calling us to do. To fill the need in our spouse that you call us to fill. I am here for her and to build up your daughter. She is here to build up your son. Yes, we each have calls on our lives. And one of my jobs is to make sure she has everything she needs to fulfill the call(s) you put on her. And one of her jobs is to help me fulfill the call(s) you put on me. To discern when one of us needs to sacrifice for that call. That is what you intended. So later when Jesus says a divorced person who remarries commits adultery, he is pointing his finger at the person who was not wronged through adultery or abuse by the other and recognizing the sin they are committing.

Then there is the disciples scolding parents for bringing their children for blessings. It’s hard for me to imagine the celebrity entourage aspect of Jesus walking around, but it makes me wonder if the disciples acted as his gatekeepers and how they made decisions on who got through the gate. Maybe they only let the really sick and lame through the gate. I don’t know how they drew the line, but they obviously didn’t respect the idea that parents were just wanting a blessing for their children from Jesus. They must have seen that as a frivolous use of Jesus’s (and their own) time. But Jesus pointed out that he loved these children, that the adults have something to learn from these children, and he wanted to bless these children. I’ve asked this before, but I can’t help but wonder what became of these children. How did their lives play out after having been blessed directly by Jesus.

Father, I have a lot to learn. I have so much to learn. My knowledge of you is steeped in my own selfish perspective, bad teaching from generations of errancy, and then a mix of actual knowledge of you through good teaching and times like this. Too often, I cannot tell what is right and what is wrong. So I am sorry for when I am wrong. I am sorry when I say things to other people that are wrong and I cause them to stumble from my bad teaching. I am sorry when I hurt your daughter, the woman I married 32 years ago. I am sorry when I don’t give her everything she needs to be the woman you created her to be. And I am sorry when I miss the mark on who you call me to be. But I bring you an earnest heart. I bring you a heart that wants to love you and love others. Thank you for the gift of Jesus and that that is enough for you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 6, 2024 in Mark

 

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