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Tag Archives: Voxology

The Beatitudes – Jesus

25 Jun

3 “God blesses those who are poor in spirit and realize their need for him,
    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
4 God blesses those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
5 God blesses those who are humble,
    for they will inherit the whole earth.
6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be satisfied.
7 God blesses those who are merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure,
    for they will see God.
9 God blesses those who work for peace,
    for they will be called the children of God.
10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

Matthew 5:3-12

Dear God, I was listening to this week’s Voxology podcast this morning and they were talking about the new Louisiana law that will put the 10 Commandments into every classroom in Louisiana. While not advocating that any Christian religious symbol or language be mandated in a classroom, they suggested that maybe a better alternative would be the Beatitudes as taught by Jesus at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. That sounded like an intriguing idea, so I thought I would take a look at those verses from Matthew 5 this morning and think about what it might be like for children to at least passively see them regularly.

Honestly, God, it’s pretty amazing and powerful stuff! For children to see that it’s okay to be poor in spirit. To mourn. to be meek. to hunger and thirst for righteousness. To be merciful. To be pure in heart. To be a peacemaker. To even be persecuted (bullied) because of righteousness. What great character traits for everyone to have and to be reinforced.

There is a room in one of our local schools that casually puts the words love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control in big letters on the walls (note, they don’t have peace for some reason). I recognized them as the fruits of the Spirit as described by Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. I’m sure the children don’t. And there is nothing offensive about them so the words are allowed to stay. I am much more interested in this sort of affirmation of your character and what it means to follow you as opposed to listing 10 Commandments from Exodus that, according the Jesus, all of us have broken each one–even if we only hated and didn’t actually kill.

I read an article the other day that talked about how abortions are actually up overall in the U.S. since the Dobbs ruling the overturned Roe v Wade. I think one of our problems is that when we (the moral majority?) feel like we are losing the influence and persuasion battle, we reach for power to enforce our will. What a foolish thing!

Father, help me to lead today with love and patience. Help me to not be afraid to encourage and persuade. Help me to remember to pray for others about whom I care. Help me to willingly take a back seat and even suffer for them. Help me to dive into service of others. That is how you would have me impact the world. Not through power, but through love. I love you, Lord. Help me pass that love of you to others.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 25, 2024 in Matthew

 

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How to know if you’re a Christian trapped in Culture Wars – Rich Villodas

19 Jun

Dear God, I came across this Instagram post yesterday by Rich Villodas. So the temptation when I read this list is to first think about others and judge them. Kind of like being at a marriage conference and thinking, “Man, I hope my wife is listening to this!” instead of wondering which of the words are for me. So I was able to take a beat and this morning I want to think about myself. Pastor Villodas has the word “you” in his title, talking about me in this case, so I want to focus on myself and work through the sin in my heart.

  • God, you are with me but not with them – Well, that is just not true and so arrogant of me to think. Like I’ve cornered the market on truth. Like I’m sinless. Like the known and unknown sins in their lives are worse than the known and unknown sins in my life. Like you love my sister or brother less than you love me. Like I couldn’t be wrong about what I believe. Father, I am sorry for even entertaining the thought that you care about me or are rooting for me more than you care for or root for those who disagree with me. Help me to embrace those who disagree with me and engage with them in a loving way.
  • I don’t see Christians who bear your image as people with whom I should engage, but instead they are threats that I need to eliminate – Yeah, I’ve been there. I’m still there to some extent. The truth is, a lot of the people who disagree with me on some of our cultural issues are truly good people who wake up in the morning wanting to make the world better. They are concerned. They are scared (we’ll get to that later). Just like I am. Father, I am sorry for not wanting to appropriately and compassionately engage with those who concern me. I am sorry for gossiping about others. Help me to know how to engage with others, Christian and non-Christian alike, at any given moment.
  • My hatred is justified because I am fighting for you/truth – Honestly, I don’t know that this one is a problem for me. I’m not really hating people, and if it does start to happen and I realize it I let it go. Basically, have I hated? Yes. But I’ve never felt it was justified and I’ve tried to repent of it when it happens. Father, I am sorry for my hate and even simple judgment of others. Please help me to see everyone–EVERYONE–with your eyes. Help me to love everyone–EVERYONE–with your love.
  • I believe I need political power to make the most of your Gospel – I’m understanding the danger of political power more and more. The Voxology podcast spends a lot of time talking about the difference between “power over” and “power with.” Humans want to exert power over while you want us to tap into you and use your power to live with our neighbors. The Good Samaritan in Jesus’s parable got down into the muck and used your power with his neighbor. When the Samaritans denied Jesus staying with them and John and James wanted to call down fire to destroy them, Jesus rejected their power over approach, respected their decision, and went around. It goes back to the four tools, and four tools only, I heard someone say Jesus used and you gave us to influence our world: Prayer, Service, Persuasion, and Suffering. All power with tools, not power over. Father, I am sorry for the years I spent seeking power and influence. I am sorry for making an idol out of who wins the next local, state, or federal election. I am sorry for wanting to exert power over my neighbors, as if I am the one who can be trusted with power over my neighbor. Help me to not only get down into the muck with my neighbor, but to take your Gospel with me and introduce them to you.
  • I primarily see the world and respond to it through a lens of fear – This made me think of Psalm 27. I just read it again and it might be one of my favorites. It’s one of those rare psalms from David when he is talking about his enemies, but he’s not calling for their destruction. He’s just reminding himself that you are his fortress and he has nothing to fear. One of the most interesting things he did as king was willingly leave Jerusalem during Absalom’s rebellion and leave whether or not he would continue to be king up to you. You had made him king. You could remove him as king. So as I look at the world around me–and there is so much ugly and horror in the world right now, both domestically and in other countries–whom do I really have to fear? I am concerned about a lot of things. I’m concerned about the environment in which our children are growing up. My heart is moved to help people every day. I am moved to pray for people. So concern, yes. But fear? No. Father, I am sorry for allowing fear to motivate my actions. I’m sorry for letting it drive me to hate, seek power, want to eliminate my enemies, and think for a moment that you love me more than you love them. Please help me to see the world how you see it. As I once heard someone say, “God doesn’t chew his nails.” You are not afraid. You are sad. You are concerned. You are even angry about some things. But you are not afraid. Help me to live out my sadness, concern and even anger in a power with way.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 19, 2024 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories, Psalms

 

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Matthew 13:24-30

13 Feb

Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’ “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. “‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”
Matthew 13:24-30

Dear God, this can be a hard parable, but I heard someone talking about it on a podcast today, and one of his statements struck me so much I stopped to write it down as soon as I heard it. Here it is:

“Instead of trying to get rid of the root of evil—because evil will corrupt every instrument designed to remove it—why don’t you work instead for the good of the field.” Mike Erre, Voxology Podcast: Episode 441, 57:00

Another thing he pointed out was that the weeds were not the enemy. I’d never thought about that before. The evil growing around me isn’t the true enemy. It’s Satan. It’s the powers and principalities that I cannot see. The evil or mean person around me isn’t the enemy. She or he is my sister or brother going through life and, most of the time (just like me), making the best decisions they know how to make. I might see their work as evil, but what I need to be about doing is “work[ing] instead for the good of the field.” That’s a powerful thought to me. I’m still not 100% sure how I feel about that statement, but it certainly provoked something within me.

They said they have an entire podcast they did a few years ago dedicated completely to this parable. I’ve downloaded it and I’ll listen to it later tonight. But in the meantime, I want to really see this physical world with the eyes Jesus would see it with if he were here with me (which, of course, he is). I’m having dinner with someone tonight after work. Help me to see him completely with your eyes. I have a job to do today with people to work with and help. Help me to look at them and think of them as Jesus would think of them. As I pray for my friends, my enemies, my family, and strangers I don’t even know, help me to think of all of them as sojourners with me in this field of wheat and weeds. Help me to be the best wheat I can be so that the evil in them might be choked out and they can become your wheat as well. And thank you for the weeds that grow in this field. Who knows? Without them, I might never have found you.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with the Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 13, 2024 in Matthew

 

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