Opportunists

The moment comes.  It surprises you.  You didn't realize these possibilities could become reality, but here you are, on the cusp of dreams being turned into flesh and blood, dirt, air, grass.  Are you prepared to take advantage of what is before you?

Prayer

Gracious Lord Jesus, we confess that the crush of daily responsibilities keep us focused on survival and maintenance.  Help us make time to slow down long enough to look up and see visions of new reality, new life, and the opportunities to realize them by the grace you give.  May Your Kingdom come into our hearts and lives and into this grand creation you have made! 

Matthew 25

Comments

We are in the waning days of Advent, the season of waiting and preparing for Christmas and for the eventual return of Jesus our King who will judge the living and the dead and bring the fullness of his Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.  That's why the text for today is particularly appropriate.  It deals with the second coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. 

There has been a great deal of conjecture about the last days of the world in the past few years.  Truthfully, though, humans have been obsessed with this topic since forever!  A classic Hollywood joke played out in movies and tv shows is the person wearing a billboard on the sidwalk which reads, "THE END IS NEAR!"  These projections about the end were especially prolific at the end of 1999 as the new millenium approached.  Earlier this year, a pastor projected that the end of the world and judgment day were to happen, but here we are.  Jesus has yet to return. 

So what does Jesus tell us in Matthew about his return and final judgment?  He tells us stories and gives us imprecise, spacious images filled with questions and mysteries to deal with.  Isn't Jesus great!?  He does enjoy leaving plenty of room for the mysteries of God to unfold in ways that don't fit in our boxes!  There are three things we can grab hold of about the end times, though.

First, Jesus affirms that no one knows when his return will be.  The bridesmaids didn't know when the groom would return to claim his bride.  The stewards didn't know what day or time the Master of the house would return for an accounting.  We don't know if Jesus will return on Tuesday or in the year 3,000, when we are asleep or caught doing something we shouldn't be doing.  Guessing when Jesus will return is clearly not something Jesus wants us to spend our time doing.  So, with due respect to my brothers and sisters who publish and preach about these things, I recommend we follow his lead and focus on number two.

The second thing Jesus tells about the end times is that we need to be prepared for them, whether he returns before dinner or in 32 years.  The bridesmaids who had the foresight to bring plenty of oil for their lamps in case the groom was delayed got to go into the wedding banquet and celebrate the marriage.  Those who weren't thinking ahead, made no plans, and just showed up got shut out of the party. 

Third, Jesus clarifies for us how we can be prepared.  The good stewards were found using their Master's things in ways that expanded the Master's resources.  They were prepared.  The bad steward did nothing with the Master's things.  He was unprepared.  The sheep in the last parable fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the imprisoned, and cared for the needy.  They were found using the time, energy, money, and personal resources helping the helpless, and so were prepared for the day of Jesus return and judgment. 

How shall we prepare for Christmas and the ultimate return of Jesus our King?  Don't waste time worrying about when he will come, and be ready by caring for the least, the last, and the lost of this world. 

Life Questions

1.  What part of our lives do we need to ask God for the grace to get ready for his return?
2.  In what ways can we serve the imprisoned, hungry, naked, and lost? In other words, how can we serve Jesus "in his most distressing disguise (Mother Theresa)?"

Prayer

Give us grace, dear Jesus, to turn our yearly holiday focus on helping others into a lifestyle that reflects your boundless love for the least, the last, and the lost of this world.  Enlarge our love and generosity by your grace, so that we grow to be more like you!  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.

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Go Ahead, Be Judgmental

When asked what they think about Church and Christianity, many non-Christians levy this charge, "They are so judmental!"  On the one hand, they are right.  On the other hand, the alternative to making judgments about life is paralysis and indecision.  Every choice demands a judgment.  What are we to do?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, we confess that we spend too much time criticizing others and not enough time criticizing ourselves.  It's less painful for us to point out others' faults than it is to own up to our own.  Give us grace to acknowledge and confess our own sins so that we might experience the joy of forgiveness and freedom.  Then give us grace to share your joy and freedom with all others who need it!

Matthew 7: 1-5

Comments

This reminds me of the phobia we Christians often have of being "judgmental." The truth is that we are all judgmental, not in the ugly sense we often use the word, but in the sense that we must make judgments about things and people and situations everyday in order to make choices. Every decision is between good and evil, right and wrong, good and great, not good and very bad. We must measure things to see how they stack up to what God's desires are.

Where judging goes wrong is when we are comparing ourselves to others. It is a good idea to judge others next to God in order to decide whether we will follow their example or leadership. If what they propose lines up well with God's ways, then our judgment should tell us to follow them. If what they propose is off of God's ways, then our judgment should tell us not to follow. The moment we place ourselves in God's shoes and judge others as though we were God is the moment we are in real trouble for the real root of sin is idolatry, our desire to be God. That's what got us in trouble in the garden of Eden in the first place.

We don't get to decide who gets in the Kingdom of Heaven and who stays out. We don't get to decide who God loves and who doesn't (for God loves everyone and everything God has made).  We don't get to decide who can come to church and who can't. Our real job is to point people to Jesus who is the measure of all that is good and life-giving. God will do the convicting and the heart and life-changing. After all, we should be so busy yanking planks from our eyes in the grace of Jesus that we don't have time to look for the faults of others.

Prayer

Give us the guts to see ourselves for the broken, angry, greedy, hurtful people that we sometimes are.  Forgive us, we pray.  Free us for joyful obedience to you, loving Jesus!  Then use us to point people to you so that they too may be judged by you and saved by your grace!  In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.

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For Those That Need It

"I need help!"  It is so hard to say that sometimes.  That's like your tongue having an intense wrestling match with the words "I'm sorry" before they can be thrown out of the ring of your mouth!  We are taught to be self-sufficient in America.  Jesus teaches us that his grace is sufficient to give us the gift of life in his Kingdom.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, who humbled yourself on the cross in obedience to your Father's command to lovingly save us, give us the courage to be humble, to see ourselves clearly, to see our desparate need of your grace for our every moment!  We are too proud and hardened and much poorer for it.  Open our hearts to humility so that we can receive the life-giving flood of your saving grace!

Matthew 5: 3-6

Comments

It seems as though Jesus was contrasting the spiritual pride of many religious leaders around him with the spiritual hunger of regular people who knew they were weak and tired and needed God's help.  This contrast between the spiritually proud and the poor in spirit helps me see more clearly what Jesus meant. It's not that Jesus wants us to be spiritually poor. He is correcting a problem. Those whose spiritual lives have led them to believe they are self-sufficient and superior to others are those who cannot inherit the Kingdom way of life. Those who recognize they are in need of grace and are no better than others have the Kingdom open to them.

This reminds me of the old Smith Barney commercial during which an old scratchy person's voice says, "We make money the old-fashioned way, we eeeaaarrrnnnn it!" In the Kingdom, we can't earn it. We must humbly accept it as a gift. Life with God, the way God intended is a gift, not a right, not an accomplishment. It is a gift. All of our effort goes to remind us of our need for grace and to respond to that grace with our greatest effort to love God and others.

This past weekend we talked about the humility of Mary who came from a poor family in a "nowhere town" called Nazareth.  Why did God choose her to be the earthly mother of Jesus, to carry the King of Kings into the world through her body?  It's possible God did this because Mary's poverty meant that she knew her dependence on God and she would have had fewer dollars, social commitments, and important appearances to weigh down her commitment to do as her God asked her?  For those of us who have much, let us ask God to free us to be obedient no matter what it may mean we have to give up!

Life Questions

1.  What comforts, things, reputations, self-perceptions do we have that might be difficult to give up to

     follow where Jesus leads?

2.  Where does pride keep me from acknowledging my need for God?

Prayer

"Tis the gift to be simple, tis the gift to be free, tis the gift to come down where we ought to be, and when we find ourselves in the place just right, 'twill be in the valley of love and delight.  When true simplicity is gain'd, to bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed, to turn, turn will be our delight, till by turning, turning we come out right ("Simple Gifts", Elder Joseph Brackett).  Thank you for calling us to the freedom of humility.  We need you, the grace you give, the Kingdom you offer.  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen!"

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Justice, Really?

We like to think we want justice, but do we really?  When the same measuring stick we use to evaluate others is applied to us, do we still want justice to be done?  That's when we all recognize our need for grace!

Prayer

Generous God of overflowing grace, we thank you for giving us far more than we deserve!  Remind us that apart from the gifts of your hands we have nothing good, and we would have no hope of growing better.  Your grace sustains us, forgives us, makes right what we have done wrong, and brings peace and good living through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Thank you! Amen.

Matthew 20: 1-16

Comments

"That's not fair!"  How many times have we said that in our lives?  How many times as parents have we heard the words shoot out of our mouths like water out of a pressurized hose,"Who said life is fair?"  Yet, part of the reason we say that with such vigor is because deep down we want life to be fair and just and equitable.  When I became a teen ager, my mother confessed to me that she would buy an equal number of gifts for my sister and I at Christmas because she knew we would be counting them to see that we each had the same amount! 

But do we really want justice to reign supreme?  Do we really want everything to work according to the letter of the law?  That would be fine, I suppose, if we were perfect.  Then we wouldn't worry about the consequences of our bad behavior, and we would have the added benefit of being able to say to others who make mistakes, "Well, you got what you deserved."  But we aren't perfect.  We are flawed, every last one of us.  We just can't seem to get life entirely right.  Think about your day today thus far.  Hurt anyone's feelings yet?  Do anything you shouldn't have?  Think of anything you shouldn't have?  Hmmm...

Enter grace and our generous God to bring us great news that he gives us more than we deserve and even forgives us when we have broken the law and been unjust!  Jesus Christ, born into the world to save sinners like us! 

To be honest, the part of me that wants the world to be just doesn't like Jesus' parable today.  "What do you mean the landowner paid the people who worked only an hour the same as those who worked all day?!?  That's not right!"  And when Jesus says that in the Kingdom "the last will be first and the first will be last" I want to say, "What, that can't be!  We work hard to get first in line!' 

But then, I don't get on track with God everyday until late sometimes either, and in those moments I am grateful that God gives me way more than I deserve.  And after all, it's not like those who worked all day didn't get what they were promised.  God gives more to those who need it because he is generous, good, and merciful while not taking away from the needs of others.  In my bad moments, I am grateful that there is more to God than justice.  There is gift, grace, generosity.  How about you?

Prayer

Gracious Jesus by the power of your Holy Spirit, help us to be as generous and graceful to others who are flawed as you are to us.  Give us your strength and love to forgive as we are forgiven and to give to those in need as you have given to us on the cross.  All this so that the world may know of your goodness and give you praise!  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen!

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The New Great

Children have been in the spotlight the past few weeks, sadly, in the role of victims.  Jesus lifts them up as role models for his Kingdom that we all are called to follow.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, giver of all good things, as we enter this week of Thanksgiving, help us to slow down long enough to actually see the many gifts you have given us.  Remind us that our place and importance is yours alone to assign to us.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Matthew 18: 1-5

Comments

As adults and parents, we often think of the importance of teaching our children how to live and live well.  We teach them manners, math, and how to pray.  According to Jesus, however, there are important things we need to learn from them about living in God's Kingdom. 

We, like the disciples, tend to think of greatness in terms of whether we make the all star team, are the top earners in our companies, get promotions, or gain recognition.  Jesus, however, points to a vulnerable, trusting child, whose everyday existence is an exercise of trust in those around her and says, "Now that is true greatness to my Father."  Greatness in the Kingdom seems to be measured by how much we trust and depend on God, not in the accomplishments we acheive on our own power.

So many of us are control freaks, living our daily lives as though we were the ones solely responsible for our survival.  Parker Palmer uses the phrase "functional atheists" to describe all of us who may say we believe in God but live as though God has left us alone to fight for our own survival.  Life in God's Kingdom looks very different.  It looks like a peaceful, trusting, response to God's continual provision and care. 

Jesus lays down a great challenge for us.  He says that no one can even enter the Kingdom of God unless we have the kind of deep trust that we see in the lives of children.  That kind of trust is foreign in our world where the vulnerable are often exploited.  That's probably why Jesus was so ticked off when he warned anyone who causes a vulnerable one's trust to be damaged that it would be better for them to jump off a bridge with a stone around their neck.  So...

Life Questions:

1.  How can we humble ourselves and trust more fully in our Heavenly Father? 
2.  May God give us grace to be worthy of the trust of our children and of the God who gave them to 
     us to help raise in faith.

Prayer

Precious Jesus, who heals the sick, feeds the hungry, forgives the sinners, frees the oppressed, and whose grace sustains us every single moment of the day, give us larger faith to trust in you.  When we see children, let us see our relationship to you through their eyes.  Thank you for your love.  Amen.

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Keys To The Kingdom

Ever get lost in the mundane tasks of daily living?  Ever wonder how significant your life is while you are changing diapers, stuck in traffic on the interstate, or washing dishes?  The mundane and seemingly "insignificant" are of more eternal value than you think!

Prayer

Jesus save us from our blindness to the magnficence of daily tasks!  Open our eyes to see the potential in every moment for love and grace, to see that all time is an opportunity for Your Kingdom to break into time, to crash into this broken world of ours.  Help us acknowledge Your presence in the kitchen, at work, in bed, in our cars, and everywhere we go.  In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we pray, amen.

Matthew 16: 15-19

Comments

Remember the first time you had car keys dropped into your hands with that thrilling jingle?  You had the power and authority to take the car!  You were the master of the engine, telling it where to go, how fast to go.  You had freedom and power, and your world of possibilities grew exponentially!  If you were like me, you also had to pay for gas and $3500 for the car! 

Jesus says some astounding things in today's passage.  He says to Peter,"I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven; whatever you bind (tie to/connect) on earth will be bound (tied to/connected) in Heaven, and whatever you loose (untie/disconnect) on earth will be loosed (untied/disconnected) in heaven."  Peter has been given a measure of authority and power in the Kingdom of God!  The Church, the followers of Jesus on earth, in fact, have been given the authority and power to expand the Kingdom of God or to expel destructive influences from the Kingdom of God!  What power and freedom and possibilities open up for us, and what great responsibilities we now bear!

So what does this mean for people learning to follow Jesus today?  Among many things, it means there are no fans, no observers, no Jesus followers who can sit in the stands of life and cheer on "those other Christians" who are confronting sin and the evil powers of this world.  When we say "yes" to Jesus' invitation to "come follow me" we say yes to being participants in advancing his Kingdom.  That means we point out and celebrate what is good and right with the world (bind on earth what is heavenly!).  It also means that we confront sin and evil where we find it with the saving love of Jesus (loose on earth what is not of the Kingdom). 

We have an obligation now, a calling.  Our daily lives possess a great significance.  When we see love expressed in a thousand tiny ways (a kiss on the cheek, taking the garbage out, working to secure a livelihood for our families and to serve others, showing courtesy and kindness to others, putting a hamburger in the hands of the man with the sign near the overpass, a visit with a lonely person), we point it out and celebrate it, for it is a sign of the Kingdom of God among us.  And when we see abuse, dysfunction, destructive conflict, hunger, pain over a lost job, disease that causes suffering, greed that takes from others, we are called to point it out and help offer a counteractive solution. 

Unfortunately, this week's events at Penn State remind us of how vitally important it is to oppose sin.  With proper intervention and reporting of the alleged cases of abuse, it is likely that further abuse could have been prevented, the integrity of an institution and its people could have been preserved, and deeper trauma could have been avoided.  May God help all of us be more attentive to protecting the weak and powerless among us.

One final word about the passage this week that is vital for the hope of all creation is that the powers of death will not overcome the love we find in God's Kingdom.  Love really does win in the end.  Paul wrote "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor demons, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8: 38-39)." 

Life Questions:

1.  Where do I see sin and evil around me that I need to stand up to?
2.  Where do I see beauty and love and service to those in need in big or small ways that I need to celebrate?

Prayer:

Your Kingdom is at hand this moment!  Give us grace to enter it and grace to help you bring it more fully into this day we live in and into the lives we interact with!  Come, Lord Jesus!

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Breaking Open

Your work bag or brief case is over-stuffed.  You stand on it, stretch it, pull it to try to get it closed.  Your smart phone calendar is colored in.  There is not white space in which to breathe.  Does your life ever feel to small to fit in all of your expectations and the expectations of others? 

Prayer

Dear Jesus, what if we are the ones trying to shrink You and the life You invite us to down to a manageable size?  What if our hopes and dreams of life are much smaller than Yours?  Free us, break us open wide to enter a bigger life of love and grace than we can imagine right now.  Give us courage, hope, and faith that You want to use us to expand Your Kingdom of love in this world of darkness.  Amen.

Matthew 12

Comments

I enjoyed shrinky dinks as a kid.  My friends and I would color on the plastic animals, people, and objects, then place them in the little oven to shrivel and shrink down into hard plastic art.  Sometimes I wonder how often we try to shrink God down to our size.  God is so big, so unmanageable for us, and, frankly, God's ways can overwhelm us.  "Love your enemies...really?  Forgive...really?  Sell all we have and give to the poor...really?" 

It's much easier for those of us who try to follow Jesus to try to shrink his teachings and way of life down to our size.  One of the ways we do that is to distill his mind-blowing, heart-changing, disquieting, and freeing stories into a list of things for us to do or not do.  While this process is important for us in order to "flesh out" how Jesus' teachings transform how we live, it is vital that we don't get so wrapped up in our "answers" that we stop listening to Jesus, stop allowing his teaching to challenge us.  When we start defending our small ideas of Jesus' Kingdom against Jesus, that's when we find ourselves in trouble. 

Matthew 12 shows Jesus to be like a crazed, sledge-hammer wielding God-man in a china shop, happily wrecking the misunderstandings and rituals the religious leaders came up with to try to shrink God's ways down to a manageable size.  Unfortunately, the religious leaders, in their attempts to faithfully live according to God's laws, made many rules for "not working" on the Sabbath out to be more important than healing others or receiving God's provision to satisfy hunger.  The Sabbath, intended to be a time of rest, renewal, and being in worship with God, became a huge, burdensome, fretful series of rules.  Jesus broke those open as he broke open the heads of grain to eat on the Sabbath and as he extended his hand to heal the man with the withered hand.  Several times in this passage he said, "I tell you, something greater than the ______ is here." 

Anytime our vision of God's way of life (the Kingdom) gets to be too small, Jesus has a way of breaking our vision open and expanding it!  Though that process can be a disturbing one, calling us to acknowledge where we are wrong and turn back toward Jesus' ways, it is life-giving!  It is expanding.  For love, mercy, and healing are greater than rules, laws and regulations, thank God!  And we will know when we are following Jesus when we see the fruits of love, mercy, and healing. 

Life Questions

1.  Who is it that we don't want to be around, that we just don't like?  This person might be our opportunity to see how big God's love is.  How can we be at peace with them or reach out to them?

2.  Where are we focusing on the "minor" issues of life while neglecting love, mercy, and healing?

Prayer

Gracious God, thank You for not allowing us to get too comfortable, for breaking us open when our love needs to grow bigger like Yours.  Thank You for being slow to anger and rich in mercy.   Give us the power of the Holy Spirit to love, heal, and forgive so that the world may know You are the Lord of heaven and earth and everything in them.

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Jesus Is Good News

"I can't let them see me this way." "I've got to get cleaned up and put some make up on before we can go."  "God couldn't possibly love me. Do you know what I've done?"  "I can't go to church like this because everybody there is always so happy."  Hmmm...Jesus challenges us to rethink these thoughts!

Prayer

Lord Jesus, let's just call a spade a spade.  You know we are quite a bit less than perfect.  We struggle with our obesessions, our impulses, our anger, our fears.  And our closets have bags of bones in them!  But we're looking for some good news today.  Help us find some hope, some good, some beauty.  We need your help.  Amen.

Matthew 9

Comments

What did we expect God to be like, the meanest boss we've ever had, the school teacher who seemed to look forward to punishment, the moody friend who made us wonder if they ever liked us?  I've met many people who seem to think that God only loves perfect people, and God is lurking behind every corner excitedly waiting to pounce on all others.  This is not the same God that we find in the Bible!

Here is Jesus, fully God and fully human, showing us that God is love.  Jesus is not waiting impatiently with a stormy red face and a tapping foot for us to "get it right."  Jesus goes to the outsiders, the irreligious, the sinners, the diseased, the demon possessed and gives them great news!  Following Jesus by faith will lead them toward health, forgiveness, freedom, and the true religion of love for God and others!  This is great news!

For all of the bad news we hear about in the media and all of the "dirty laundry (reference Don Henley's song by the same name, it's a great song!)" aired out through our tv's, mobile phones, and iPads, finally, we have some good news!  Jesus invites us broken, dirtied, sinners to follow him into new life.  There is hope!  "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick."  Jesus invites you..."Come, follow me!" 

Prayer

Heal us, Great Savior and friend!  Make us whole where pieces of us have broken off and where shattered pieces of others have gouged us.  You are the hope, the good news to the world, that all can be made whole through your cross and empty tomb.  Thank you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we pray.  Amen.

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Small Faith, Big God

This is a time of disillusionment.  The American dream is crumbling around the edges and cracked in the middle.  The life we thought we would have is not the one we’re living.  Who has the power and authority to bring us new life?

Prayer

God of endless love and mercy, help us find our way!  Jesus, you grab our face in your hands, look us in the eyes and say, “Trust me.  I alone have the power to bring salvation.”  We are weak and doubtful, give us faith in your power and your Kingdom.  In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.

Matthew 8

Comments

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).” 

Each of the short story “clips” in this chapter raise a question for us:  “Do I have faith in the power of Jesus to change my life?” Some in the stories believed in Jesus’ power more than others. 

The man with leprosy sought Jesus out and kneeled before him believing that if Jesus only willed his healing, it would happen.  He did not doubt Jesus could do it.  He had faith in Jesus’ power to heal him.  When Jesus commanded, all heaven and earth moved to fulfill that command.

The Centurion, an important man who gave leadership to many soldiers, came to Jesus with faith that Jesus’ power could act by “remote control!”  He believed Jesus didn’t even need to be physically present to heal his servant!  He believed that Jesus’ power was accessible anywhere on earth or in heaven! 

The demons even acknowledged the power of Jesus and trusted that his command could make them move. 

And then there were the disciples, panicking over the wind storm they were enduring on the sea of Galilee in their boat while Jesus slept.  It’s ironic how outsiders and  people who didn’t grow up in church seemed to have more faith in Jesus’ power to bring new life than his close followers and future leaders.  It’s not that the disciples had no faith at all, it was simply insufficient, not large enough to see the blue sky and flat seas of the day after the storm.

What disease, death, or storms are we facing that invite us to have faith in Jesus to bring new life through?  The economy?  Splintering relationships? Cancer?  Death?  I’ll be the first to admit that it can be hard to have faith in the face of such difficulties.  Thank God Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves even though the disciple’s faith was too small!

Prayer

Lord, help us in our unbelief!  Give us greater faith in you, our loving God who rose from the dead, unconquered.  Come, Lord Jesus, bring your Kingdom to full flower!

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Undivided Heart

Integrity.  Wholeness.  Peace.  Unity.  Hmmm...what does Jesus have to teach us about these?

Prayer

Like 63 voracious pirhanas, the world comes nibling furiously at us, wanting to take our hearts, minds, souls, and strength.  Advertisers clamor for our attention, time, and money.  Bosses squeeze us for productivity like toothpaste , and our entertainment options lure us into worshiping them with our time.  Give us strength, dear Jesus, to stay focused on You and Your peaceful Kingdom way of life in the midst of cymbal crashing world!  Amen.

Matthew 6

Comments

The question always comes up.  The CSI team stands around the crime scene, weapon clearly identified, the chalk outline of a body on the ground near gruesome stains, and someone asks, "We've got the method, but what's the motive?"  This is a great question, not just for solving crimes, but for those who desire to follow Jesus into eternal life. 

What is our motive?  Why do we do what we do?  Does it count in God's eyes if we do the right thing for the wrong reasons?  Is God interested in our reasons?  Read Matthew 6 and we get a resounding "YES!"  According to Jesus, we can pray, share, serve, fast, and work for all of the wrong reasons and miss out on the Kingdom way of life God intends for us to have. 

In my mind, all of chapter 6 is about asking "How completely devoted are our lives to the love of God?"  If we are going to worship, giving our time and money to church functions, even to helping the poor, so that other people might think highly of us, then we aren't pleasing our Heavenly Father.  We are still devoted primarily to ourselves and to building an image of ourselves that other people might worship.  We are not wholeheartedly focused on honoring God in our worship, prayer, work, sleeping, eating, husbanding, childrearing, playing, etc. 

The alternative life, filled with the rich provision and abundance of God is a life whose one desire, one aim, one purpose is to love and honor God above all else in its every aspect.  When our lives are purely devoted to God in this manner, we become people of integrity, wholeness, and peace, because every part of our lives is brought into order by the one supreme purpose of our lives, the worship and love of God.

That Jesus invites us to lives of wholeness, peace, and integrity is great news, for one of the terrible symptoms of living in this age is how divided our hearts are, leaving us confused about our priorities and unclear about our purpose.  His power alone can knit us together.  Let's call upon him for help that we might be saved!

Prayer

"Save us from the many things that might distract us.  Please take them away and purify our hearts.  We don't want to lose the eternal for the things that are passing (One Thing, Rich Mullins)."  Lord Jesus Christ, we worship you above all other things and through the proper use of all others things today.  You are the Lord of our time, our work, our relationships, our money and things.  We offer it all to Your use and disposal.  May Your Kingdom come!  In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen!

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Grow Up!

Want to improve, get better, maximize your potential?  See what Ephesians says about growing up.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, be patient with us.  Sometimes it's hard to notice that we are growing and changing for the better.  Sometimes it feels like we are just revisiting the same issues in our lives over and over again.  Remind us that, with faith and trust in your grace, you are refining us, reshaping us, remaking us in your amazing image!  Give us great faith!  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!

Ephesians 4: 14-16

Comments

When I finally gave up baseball, it was largely because of the post-game "chats" that the coach held for 33 minutes after each game.  He would go on ad nauseum about our many mistakes, telling us repeatedly that if we wanted to win we needed to try harder to do things differently.  His vision of Little League baseball was to make us all fit for the World Series.  My vision was to have a good time with my friends and learn a little baseball.  It's no surprise that at the end of that season, I moved on to drumline and track. 

Looking back on that experience with 27 years of hind sight, I can see the value in pausing to review what is working and what isn't.  Sometimes after a project, we need to step back and take time to improve our awareness of what we're doing right and what we're doing wrong.  It's good to check your way points once in a while to see that you are still heading the right direction. 

Life with Jesus is no different.  Yes, it is fun and enjoyable, filled with many rich blessings of relationships and opportunities to make a difference in people's lives for the Kingdom.  And, yes, we still need to stop, take a good hard look at ourselves next to Jesus, and confess the ways that we live that still are not in line with his.  Then we need to receive his life-changing grace again and the power of his Holy Spirit, and move forward in his footsteps.

We need to be told the truth about ourselves, however painful or glorious that is.  That's how we will grow up to be like Jesus.  "We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.  But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ..."  Let us give thanks to God for those in our lives who help us see the truth about ourselves next to Jesus.  They may annoy us, but they are God's grace in action, perfecting us in Jesus Christ. 

Life Questions

1.  Do I come to God in worship, prayer or Bible study open to knowing the truth about how I am a sinner in need of grace or do I come merely to be justified, comforted, and pumped up?
2.  Who is in my life that tells me the truth about myself?  How can I purposefully ask them to help me be accountable to my life with Jesus?

Prayer

Fairest Lord Jesus, who sees through our every deception and pretense with eyes of blazing truth and love, burn away our impurities so that we may be more pure in your sight, more empty of sin and full of love.  In the powerful name of Jesus, amen.

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We've Been Adopted!!!

Feeling unattached, disconnected, unloved, alone?  Find out how God has adopted you into his family!

Prayer:

Hi God, it's us again, the ragged people who are trying too hard to hold everything together.  We need you to tie our loose ends together, to make us whole again in heart, mind, soul, and body.  Only you can do that.  So here we are, Jesus, save us, make us whole again in the power of your Spirit and love.  Amen.

Ephesians 1: 1-14


Comments

My son and I were reading a mystery the other night in which orphans were secretly being forced to work in a secret mining operation and in secret labs where strange experiments were being done.  The sad orphans were carried from place to place hidden in the back of sour smelling garbage trucks.  They were barely fed and clothed and without anyone in the world to know they were in trouble or to protect them.  These kids longed for someone to welcome them into a family where they could be loved and cared for. 

It amazes me that there are more people on our planet than ever before in recorded history, and we have more ways to communicate than ever before and yet millions of people still feel alone, unappreciated, unknown, and unloved.  To those feeling alone, orphaned, or in destructive family situations, there is great news from the Bible today...you've been adopted into a loving family!  "He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved (Ephesians 1: 5-6)."

The Bible reveals that one of the consequences of our sins is that we are cut off from God, alienated from his family.  In a sense, we all have orphaned ourselves by choice.  Thankfully, God's love stretches beyond justice into mercy and grace.  God lovingly offers himself in Jesus Christ on the cross as the atonement for our sin, satisfying the just penalty of our sin, and providing the way for us to be adopted back into his family.  The height, depth, width, and length of God's love for us cannot be measured!

What does it mean to be adopted?  First it means we have a new relationship with our God who loves us.  Secondly, it means that we are given the right to inherit the fullest life in God's Kingdom.  Third, it means that we have the responsibility to represent the family name and to enter the family mission to draw all things to peace with God through Jesus Christ. 

Let's give thanks to God for the riches that his grace freely gives us in Jesus Christ!  Let's live in and for our Heavenly Father and for His family above all.

Life Question

1.  In my work, my home, and where I go every day, how can I represent Jesus Christ and my
     heavenly family well?
2.  November is national adoption month.  Pray about adopting a child into your family or about
     helping mentor someone near you who needs some direction.

Closing Prayer

Thank you, Lord, for loving us enough to die for us and for welcoming us back into your family.  Give us grace to live as your representatives in our day to day lives.  Help us work with you to bring others into your ever expanding family, the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

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God's Special Forces

Do you have a greater purpose in life than trying to survive and have a little fun along the way?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus save us from the constricting visions of what our lives are about that are given to us from the world!  You have called us to be more then consumers of goods and services, more adventurous than safety conscious, more useful to Your Kingdom than comfortable.  We are made in Your glorious image and nothing less!  Give us the grace to see ourselves in light of You!  Amen

Ephesians 1

Comments

I got bored with the daily reading plan I was using, so we're all going to Ephesians for a little while to see what God says to us there!  Boredom is not really a part of the spiritual life, because God is always being creative, always moving toward the salvation of his broken creation, and always enlisting us on the mission.  If you find yourself bored when you're following Jesus, it is a signal that it is time to pray and ask for the direction of the Holy Spirit!  Trust me, you won't be disappointed!  I did that this morning and was directed to Ephesians.  And what did I find?  Amazing stuff!

As followers of Jesus Christ, God reminds us through Paul that we are set apart (saints) for special use, destined for God's glory (the fullness of salvation), adopted into God's family, forgiven, and redeemed from the eternal consequences of our sins by grace!  If your self-esteem needs a shot in the arm, this is it!  Look what Jesus has done for us!  We, like the Israelites before us, have been chosen by God, in spite of our sinfulness, to be God's special forces, used by him to be a blessing to the world, to point the sin-sick world back to God, to be living examples of the life-changing, grace-filled love of Jesus Christ!  That's our job today and every day. 

I saw a tv show about the Navy Seals Special Operations training requirements.  Absolute dedication is required.  Prospective Seals push themselves to absolute extremes of physical endurance going without sleep, exposing their bodies to freezing temperatures, running past the point of vomiting for weeks at a time.  God invites us to nothing less than the absolute dedication of our lives and resources to loving God and others through acts of worship and service.  

Life Question:

1.  How can we dedicate our every moment to loving God and serving others at our work, in our 
     homes, at the grocery store, in our neighborhoods today?
2.  Are we honoring any other powers and authorities in our lives above Jesus Christ, the King of
     Kings?

Closing Prayer:

Lead on great King Eternal!  We await your command to spread Your Kingdom in the hearts and lives of people today.  Give us eyes to see their needs, energy to respond in compassion, and Your Spirit to draw our lives more fully into Your Kingdom!  Amen.

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Life Or Death

The quality of our lives hangs in the balance.

Opening Prayer:

Merciful God, give us grace to hear what you have to say through your Spirit and your Word, so that we might live the abundant life you have won for us through the cross and empty tomb.  Amen.

Deuteronomy 30: 1-20

Comments:

"Doctor, come quick.  It's a matter of life or death!"  We may have heard this line in a movie a few times, but have we ever thought of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ in this light?  Living God's ways promotes life, and not just long, eternal life, but the richest, highest quality of life that can be had.  From the beginning, God hasn't only been interested in our obedience to him because God is God and deserves it, but also because God knows how we have been designed, what we have been designed for, and how we can live most fully and completely. 

Many people view God's laws in the Old Testament as evidence that God likes to create endlist lists for us to follow, like great hoops for us to jump through as though God needed the entertainment or wanted the power trip to show us who is boss when we fail.  According to the bible, however, God gives us laws so that "it may go well with us," and our lives may be full, abundant, giving praise to God.  Jesus once said, "I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly."

Our text today may have been written after God's people suffered a time of exile then combined with other material from Deuteronomy.  God's people were disobedient, weakening them and making them vulnerable to a hostile takeover and exile from the land.  In this passage, God called them back to obedience of his laws, to a fully devoted love of God so that they might live and live fully.  "The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live (6)."  The author frames obedience to God as a matter of life or death.

Jesus, when teaching his followers the cost of discipleship, said, "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.  What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul (Mark 8: 35-36)."  Taking up a new life with Jesus means leaving behind the old one, a broken life for a whole one, the ways of death exchanged for the ways of life.  That is God's invitation to us. 

Life Questions:

1.  What are the habits we practice that tear down relationships, that promote death?
2.  What habits do we practice that promote love for God with our whole heart and love of our 
     neighbors? 

Prayer:

Jesus, give us the grace to respond to your invitation with great faith, following your footsteps and practicing habits like forgiveness, love, service to the poor, healing, reconciliation, peacemaking, disciple making, thankfulness and praise.  These are the habits of our new life with you.  Thank you for your cross and empty tomb which open the door for us to enter your Kingdom way of life!  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit we pray, amen.

Daily Prayer:

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Weekly Prayer: Directions

Looking for directions?  Isaiah has a few from God.

Opening Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we confess we live in a confused age.  There are so many options, so many choices to make, we struggle to see which ways promote life, love, and peace.  Uncrust our eyes to see the prints your feet leave behind so that we may walk in your paths that lead to life for all.  In Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.

Isaiah 58: 1-14

Comments:

Yes, the prophets can be irritating some times and downright mean, but we have to admit that we all need a swift kick in the butt sometimes.  When we're stubbornly going the wrong way, the person who lovingly grabs our shoulders, squarely faces us, stares into our eyes with fire and says, "If you keep going this way, you'll fly over the cliff.  Turn around!!" is to be treasured!  That's Isaiah's job for God's people then and for us today.

The people of Isaiah's day seek God through prayer and humility, but they aren't connecting their acts of worship with their lives.  They seem to have completely disconnected their "spiritual practices" of prayer and worship from the way they treat other people in their businesses and their homes.  "'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.  Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists (verses 3-4)."

So it is today.  Many people see attending worship or praying as an insurance policy for "getting into heaven" or as a feel good tool for attaining greater relaxation or "something important to do for the kids."  God uses Isaiah to clarify the directions that lead to salvation.  Salvation comes when we worship God not only in our singing, praying, and reading of Scripture, but especially in the way we work, care for the poor, and treat our families.  It seems that the kind of people God saves in Jesus Christ are those who trust him enough to love as he loves, heal as he heals, and care for the poor as he cared for the poor each hour of every day, not just one hour on Sunday with singing in a building called a "Church." "Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear (verse 8)."

Life Question:

1.  Who around me is poor in body, mind, or soul that I can offer healing to in the name of Jesus
     Christ? 


Closing Prayer:

Great God of our salvation, Your Spirit is constantly working in the the people around us to draw them to life-giving faith in Jesus Christ.  Help us see the needs of others.  Give us courage and joy in sharing the love of Christ in tangible ways.  And may your Kingdom of love continue to expand.  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, let it be so.

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Which Leader Do You Trust?

Opening Prayer:

Gracious Father in heaven, we are lost without leaders.  We are wandering, floundering, bumping into things and longing for directions in a complex world.  Worse yet, we sometimes walk off the cliffs our leaders take us to!  Above all powers and thrones, we submit to your leadership first in our lives.  Guide us, direct us we pray, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Psalm 146

Comments:

Who's really in charge here?  Yes, if we have a boss, that boss is in charge of our work area.  If we are the boss, we are in charge of the success or failure of our company.  Yes, the President of the United States is in charge of the Executive Branch of our government and the House and Senate oversee the legislative branch.  But I'm talking about the bigger picture, no, the biggest picture.  Who's really in charge in the universe, over everything that has been and will be created?  Who started everything and who will bring history to it's ultimate destiny? 

Science can't touch this question because it is too big of a question to be contained within the realm of what we can measure with our five senses. This question is the realm of faith.  The Psalmist proclaims that the God of Jacob, the creator of all things, is the only one who is in charge of history's destiny.  This God alone is faithful and trustworthy.  Further in the Bible, Jesus Christ, God made flesh, is acknowledged as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 

And what ultimate destiny is God bringing us too?  God is intensly interested in freeing the oppressed, feeding the hungry, and caring for the alien, the fatherless, and the widows.  In the end, God will be sure that they are well-fed, cared for, and have a rather large family to belong to.  As for those who aren't oppressed, hungry, aliens, fatherless, or widows, God is intensly interested in our participation in caring for others in need. 

We are living in times of terrific uncertainty.  We're all looking for leaders to blaze a trail in the wild overgrown jungle we find ourselves in.  The Psalmist says, "Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.  When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing."  We need great earthly leaders, but more than we need them, we need the One true leader who is trustworthy and who holds a future full of love and justice in his authority. 

These days it's hard to find leaders to trust.  Who do you trust to lead you forward? 

Life Question:

1.  Who do you trust to lead you daily?  Your "gut?" The human leaders around you? 
2.  Who do you trust with your life?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we thank you for showing us in your cross and empty tomb that we not only can trust in your love for us, but we can trust that your power is great enough to overcome all sin and evil.  Forgive us when we cower in fear or when we desperately look for leadership in the wrong places.  Help us keep our eyes and hearts on you.  In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.

Daily Prayer:

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Weekly Prayer: Squeezed

Opening Prayer:

Loving Lord Jesus, when we are squeezed like oranges by the pressures of living, fill us so full of grace that your love is what pours out into this thirsty world.  Speak to us now, we're listening.

Isaiah 8: 11-22 and 9: 1-7

Comments:

I can hear some of you saying, "Say what?"  You've been plopped down into the middle of a much larger story.  The Assyrians, rising world power of that time, were ready to sweep over the nation of Israel.  God's people were being squeezed.  War was imminent.  Loss of self-government, of homes, of lives, of everything familiar to them was imminent.  How would God's people respond?

Many were running to worship other gods of the time in hopes that they would be saved.  Some wanted to cut a deal with the Assyrians to save their own skin.  Some sank into worry, fear, and despair.  Others consulted mediums.  I love what God says about this,"Should not a people inquire of their God?  Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?" 

God's message to Isaiah and to his faithful disciples was this, "Do not call conspiracy what these people call conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear.  But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy."  In other words, God is greater than all angelic/demonic armies, let alone earthly ones.  He alone is to be praised and feared, worshipped and trusted.  And he will become "a sanctuary." 

We are squeezed by many things in this fast-paced age of rapid technological revolution.  Our expectations about how much more we can do in so much less time constantly squeeze us.  The competition of world markets and constant changes in technology press us to keep up so our businesses can stay productive.  Our mobility strains and stretches essential relationships.  And the massive bombardment of entertainment and advertising options threatens to distract us from what is essential to good living.  Like the lime I squeezed over my chicken tacos last night, what is inside of us will pour out when we are pressed.  Jesus said, "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45)."

So what is inside of us?  When we are squeezed, will a determined, faith and trust in God pour out?  Will doubt, fear, and a consultation with false gods or the dead drizzle down?  Like Isaiah, God invites us to trust him, to "regard him alone as holy."  Yes, we may feel afraid, struggle with doubt, and wonder if there is an easier way through, but God wants to know if we will choose to trust him with our lives in spite of our feelings.

Life Question:

1.  When I'm being squeezed this week, what will pour out of me?

Closing Prayer:

Give us great faith in you when we feel like we are hanging over the edge of the cliff.  Remind us you are Jesus, who conquered fear, hell, evil, and death and that nothing, NOTHING, can separate us from your love.  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen!

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Patient, Persistent, Prayer

Opening Prayer:

Today, right now, remind us, great God of every star and planet, of every living thing that we are not alone.  You are calling us closer to you this moment.  We need your strength and wisdom to live well, and we need your love to transform us!  We're listening...please give us Your Word.

Psalm 40

Comments:

I've heard the saying "good things come to those who wait but not to those who hesitate."  I don't know who said it but it speaks the truth that there is a time to wait and pray, and there is a time to act on what God has already revealed without hesitation. 

David's prayer mentions his patient waiting upon God to respond to his prayers.  It makes me wonder how long he had to wait.  Knowing that in many other Psalms David is found almost to be screaming and crying to God saying, "How long must I wait?  Have you left me here to suffer and die," I wonder how patient is his idea of patient? 

How patient are we in waiting for God to respond to our requests in prayer?  Sometimes God tests us to see how much we trust him by seeing how long we will wait.  Abraham was told by God's angel to take his only son, Isaac, the one he waited until he was 90 to have, and sacrifice him.  So Abraham walked a few days to the site where the sacrifice was to be held.  Imagine Abraham praying with each footstep that God would tell him not to do it.  Imagine Abraham and Isaac reaching the top of the mountain with no word from God.  Imagine Abraham tying Isaac up to the altar and there being no word from God!  Imagine Abraham praying through sweat, anxiety, and tears; Abraham lifting the knife and then...God saying, "Stop!"  God never wanted Isaac dead.  He only wanted to see how much Abraham trusted God. 

Jesus must know we have trouble patiently waiting on God in prayer.  He told many stories about praying persistently.  One of my favorites is of a man who was in bed asleep with his whole family (in those days the whole family slept in the same bed...can you imagine?) when his friend knocked on the door during the night asking for bread to share with a visitor who came to see him.  Jesus says that the man in the bed didn't come to the door because he was his friend but because of his persistent knocking!  In other words, the man at the door annoyed his friend into action!  Now that's a funny image of prayer! 

Part of following Jesus is learning to keep knocking on God's door, trusting God to answer out of the love He has for us.  We may not understand God's time or God's ways, but, in the end we believe, like David that God will "incline to me and hear my cry."  God will literally stretch way out to offer us what we need. 

Life Question:

1.  What are we praying about that demands patient persistence from us?
2.  Where do we struggle with doubt that God will provide what we need or what others need?
3.  Let us pray the prayer of the father of the demon possessed man in Mark 9, "Lord I believe!  Help  
     my unbelief!"

Closing Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, give us the persistent, powerful faith that moves mountains, the kind you showed as you mounted the cross for our salvation!  Help us trust in your unfailing love for us and in your tender care.  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.

Daily Prayer:

Sermons:

Christian Community:

Weekly Prayer: Emptied Out And Filled Up

Opening Prayer:

Merciful and kind God, thank you for being quick to forgive and slow to anger.  As we start this week, save us from our small thoughts that this week is only about making more money, keeping everyone happy, having a little fun, or "just getting by."  Restore us to your vision of good life which is nothing less than life lived out of gratitude for your love, life spent honoring you by doing great things and by serving those in need. That is life worthy of eternity.

Scripture:  Matthew 3: 1-17


Comments:

This past weekend I got a better idea of what it looks like to empty myself.  After swimming and biking in the Florida summer heat at full speed, I got off my bike and began to run a 5k on the way to completing a sprint triathlon.  My shoes squished with sweat each time I took a stride, my mouth was dry, my head was pounding, and I was running out of energy.  Sportscasters working the Tour de France often say of cyclists climbing one of the Alps, "He's turning himself inside out!"  I certainly wasn't climbing an Alp, but I did feel like I was turning myself inside out, expending every last drop of energy.  Hmmm, I wonder if spending every last drop of energy in life on Jesus' work to bring wholeness to this broken world is what Jesus means when he says to his disciples and other followers, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it (Mark 8: 34-35)?" 

In today's reading, we find John the baptist in the desert crying out to the world to turn away from their sin and turn back to following God.  The desert...really?  Why not go to Jerusalem or New York City where people actually live if you want to get the word out?  Why would God want to call people out to the desert to turn back to him?  Hmmm...could it be that going out to the desert requires us to be inconvenienced, to have to go out of our way, to step aside from what is normal for us, to empty ourselves of our broken ways of living so that we will be cleaned out and ready to receive the new life Jesus comes to give? 

This God of ours doesn't always seem interested in our convenience or in perpetuating our life-denying ways of living.  This is no namby-pamby, feel good, positive thinking, "programs to make your life better" God.  This is a God who says, "You want eternal life, you've got to die to your selfish ways and turn back to me, plain and simple."  Hmmm, that will need some time to ponder.  God seems resolutely focused on reorganizing our lives according to his ways, ways of love, justice, and mercy, even if that means inviting us out to the desert to empty ourselves. 

Life Questions:

1.  In what ways do I love convenience more than I love God?
2.  What in me needs to be empty on my way to the desert to be filled by the loving, saving presence
     of Jesus Christ and his Spirit?

Closing Prayer:

Save us from a life of weak resignation to "normal."  Fill us with a passionate, all out love for you and the creation you have died and risen to save.  In the name of Jesus who fills us with life overflowing, amen.

Weekly Prayer:

Sermons:

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Weekly Prayer: God And Your Body

Opening Prayer:

God of power, love, and creativity, thank you for taking the stuff of dust and dirt and breathing life into them so that we can live!  Your creativity is boundless and beautiful!  In all of the tasks and busyness of living, help us see the gifts in the present moment so that we may enjoy them and give you praise!  In the name of Jesus, amen.

John 1: 1-18

Comments:

John is all about the big picture and Jesus, the cosmic impact of the enfleshment of God!  Jesus is the Word, the organizing principle and power and source of all living things.  He is the life and light of all that grows and breathes.  When Jesus becomes flesh the divine and human are joined, the spiritual and physical are sown back together after having been torn by sin, and all that is good and right and beautiful about the physical world is given the possibility and power to be restored by the gracious loving sacrifice of God.  So what does that have to do with us today?

Many people don't see that faith in Jesus Christ has any impact on their physical lives.  Over the centuries some bad teachings have led people to believe that the physical world must be destroyed and left behind in order to become more spiritual.  Some have taught that the pleasures of physical life like sex, eating, and the enjoyment of beautiful things like art and music should be avoided at all costs in order to please God.  And historically, when the world has been a painful place to live, people have resorted to an "escapist" faith, looking so forward to the blissful heavenly life after death that they forget God's interest in the physical well being of his creatures in the present. 

When "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us," Jesus came to restore the connection between the spiritual and physical.  God is not just interested in whether you go to heaven or hell when you die.  God is interested in the life-giving order of his Kingdom being restored "on earth as it is in heaven!"  God is not just interested in whether we say the words "I trust Jesus as my Lord and Savior."  God is also interested in whether our bodies act like the Body of Jesus we have joined by faith.  God is interested in whether we love like Jesus with our hands, with how we spend our time, with how we work every day , with how we treat our spouses and children, with how we vote on issues, with what we do in our sex lives, with what we eat, with how we spend our money, and with how we treat our bodies and the bodies of others.  In short, God is very interested in our bodies!

Life Questions:

1.  How do you use your body in ways that honor God and promote love and good living in others?
2.  In what ways do you use your body that are destructive? 

Prayer:

Merciful God, thank you for caring for our bodies!  Forgive us when we have used our bodies as weapons, when our words have injured others, when our actions have broken relationships and the bodies of others.  Thank you for the good that our bodies can do!  Restore our minds, hearts, bodies and souls through the life-giving cross and resurrection of Jesus so that we may live for you joyfully today and in each moment you give.  Amen!

Weekly Prayer

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Weekly Prayer: No Panic

Opening Prayer:

God of power, love, and grace, we are worried about many things, the economy, our jobs, being able to provide for our children, our health, the state of world affairs.  Remind us that you are our salvation, not our efforts, not our politicians, not our technology.  Though each of those is important, without you, we cannot find salvation!  Speak to our hearts that we may find strength, peace, and love to share.  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Psalm 62

Comments:

What I find amazing about this Psalm is that it is apparently written while David and his people are being battered by enemy forces in battle.  How do you "wait in silence" while you are in a fight for your lives and the lives of those you love?  This is either stupidity or amazing trust in the power and care of God!  Though there is upheaval and chaos all around, David is not panicking or caving into fear.  He is silent and resting.  "For God alone my soul waits in silence...On God rests my deliverance."  Though David surely understands his royal role as leader of the battle, in this Psalm his role is dwarfed by the idea that this is God's fight, and God alone will bring peace and salvation. 

The other thing that stands out to me about this Psalm is how in this time of prayer, David maintains an eternal perspective.  Verses 9 and 10 clarify that David puts no confidence in his possessions or his power or his status.  Hoping for these things to bring salvation is futility.  "Do not set your hearts on them."  God alone is the source of all power and love, the hope for our salvation.

I don't know what battles you are fighting today, but I know that we are invited to wait in silence, to rest on God, our Savior.  He alone is our hope that peace, love, joy are coming.

Prayer:

Though the wind blows, the lightning flashes hot, and the thunder shakes the ground, plant our feet firmly on you.  Ground us in the love and resurrection of Jesus Christ who is our hope.  Give us faith so that we can wait on you and rest in you in the middle of the fights we're in.  May you find us faithful.  In the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

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Weekly Prayer: Justice And Beauty

Opening Prayer:

Gracious Lord, we made it to the keyboard and to this time of prayer.  Salvage us from the wreckage of our busy lives so that we may taste the full goodness of life with you!  Speak to us, fill us with your love and transform us into the kind of people who love beyond reason.  Amen!

Isaiah 1: 21-26


Comments:

Justice is a popular issue at the moment.  Baseball, swimming, and cycling stars are under scrutiny for cheating by using performance enhancing drugs.  Millions of people have stayed glued to the details of the Casey Anthony trial.  Many are angered and disappointed with the verdict.  What is right anymore?  Where is there justice?  Are there any rules to play by anymore or is "win at any cost" really the best way to live?

God uses Isaiah to reaffirm that justice is not only in God's character, it is the foundational structure of all that is good, loving, and beautiful about life!  Notice how unfaithfulness to God and God's rule of justice conjures up ugly words like "whore," "murderers," "rebels," thieves."  What was made by God to be beautiful becomes tainted, dented, dirtied, and poisoned by the choices of those who are unfaithful to God's ways.  "Your silver has become dross, your best wine mixed with water (22)."  A watered down and ugly life that is destructive is the fruit of inattention to God's ways of justice.

Thank God for his saving judgment!  Justice will come!  It may hurt us to see how we lack care for the well-being of others, how we treat others unjustly, but in the end, God wants to clear the dross from the silver, protect the full-bodied taste of the wine, and see that the widows and orphans and powerless people among us are cared for.  Then we will be beautiful again and justice will reign and all praise will be given to God our Savior through the Lord Jesus Christ!

Life Questions:

1.  Do I live by the rules because I care about others and because I love God?
2.  Do I treat others justly and fairly?  Do I pay particular attention to caring for the powerless?

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father, when I've been powerless in my sin, you have come to forgive and save me through the love of Jesus Christ!  I am grateful for your justice and mercy to me.  Give me joy in serving the least, the last, and the lost today so that I may grow more beautiful in your sight.  Amen.

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Weekly Prayer: The Kingdom Is Now!

Opening Prayer:

Lord, open our hearts and minds that as we read Your word and commune with Your Spirit, we may hear with joy and hope what You say to us today.  Amen!

Matthew 10: 1-15


Thoughts:

I think it should shock us to realize the kind of power Jesus gives his disciples.  He gives us authority over all of the forces of evil, sin, disease, and death!  Then he charges us to go out and counteract these forces with the healing, forgiving, resurrecting power of God's loving Kingdom!  I know what some of you are thinking, "It's great that Jesus and the disciples did that kind of thing back then before they had science and medicine, but that stuff doesn't really happen any more."  Others may read Jesus' call for us to cast out demons and immediately have images from the movie "The Exorcist" playing in their minds, heads twisting a full 360 degrees and throwing up green goop (that movie still gives me the creeps!).  Those running these films in their minds may be asking, "Is that what Jesus has in mind for me to do to follow him?" 

Regardless of how we feel about it, the fact remains that Jesus calls his disciples then and now to be a force in the world to counteract evil, sin, and death in whatever forms they are presented.  The Bible doesn't have a problem acknowledging that forces of evil and our sinful choices are at work to destroy God's good creation.  The Bible also doesn't have a problem with reminding us that the ultimate forces of our loving God and His Kingdom are greater!  The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ conquers evil, sin, and death! 

So where does that leave those of us seeking to follow Jesus?  It leaves us on the same mission as the 12 disciples in Matthew!  Jesus calls us to go into our neighborhood, office, family, soccer field, and restaurant, prayerfully casting out evil, bringing healing, and proclaiming the forgiving, saving love of Jesus Christ our savior!  We must live the Kingdom way of life and help people see what God is doing to save his creation by proclaiming the Kingdom!

Life Questions: 

How is God asking me to show the Kingdom of God to someone this week?  Is it through prayer, through kindness, through forgiveness, through healing, or service? 

Closing Prayer:

God of grace and God of glory pour your power on us, your people, so that we may advance your Kingdom of healing love in the name of Jesus Christ our King!  Amen.

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Weekly Prayer: Extraordinary Kindness

Opening Prayer:

Heavenly Father, from whom every good thing comes, thank you for your abundant love for us.  We taste it in good food, feel it in the warmth of the sun and the cool of the rain, and know it in the love we share with others.  Open our hearts, make us receptive to the gifts of your Spirit during this time.  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Ruth 2: 14-23

Comments:

I may be among the few who has specifically avoided any news coverage of the Casey Anthony trial, but I can't escape it!  I tried to get a view of the weather radar to see if it was going to rain the other day, and the news channel was showing irritated (and irritating) people waiting in line to get in to see the trial, passing the time by pushing, shoving, hitting each other, and yelling "this old woman cut in line!"  I was embarassed that the rest of the world was forming their opinions about Americans from this press!  Has every drop of respect and care for others bled out of us?

Contrast this with the story of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz.  Ruth, though she is not legally bound to care for her mother-in-law after the death of her husband, chooses love and loyalty, deliberately leaving her country and people to look after Naomi and to follow Naomi's God.  Naomi wisely helps Ruth navigate the potential treacheries awaiting a foreign, unmarried woman in a strange land with her wisdom and care.  Boaz not only welcomes Ruth, a foreigner, as a gleaner, one who is impoverished and, by God's laws, should be allowed to pick wheat and barley from the leftovers of the harvest, but orders his workers to protect her in the fields and to load her up with choice parts of the crops!  Though the story does not explicitly name God as a prime actor, it is implied that God is the origin of all of this kindness, loyalty, and love for strangers and widows and hungry people. 

I know there are many people hungry for the scoop on the trial and hungry to "get what's due to them" no matter what that means for others.  I still hold out hope that these are just misplaced, misdirected hungers and that what people are really hungry for is the way of life Jesus offers.  In Jesus' Kingdom, we share out of the abundance of all God gives us, we are kind because God has been so kind and forgiving to us, and we love with commitment not just the feelings of the moment. 

Life Question:

How can I show the kindnes and love God has shown me with someone this week?

Closing Prayer:

You give us life.  You forgive us when we deliberately disobey you.  You search for us when we are lost.  You give us your Spirit's presence to cheer and guide us each day.  You love us even when we have acted unlovely!  Give us an unquenchable desire to love others in the same way.  In Jesus' power, amen.

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Weekly Prayer: Don't Save An Ounce

Opening Prayer:

God of mercy, forgive us for losing our focus on your presence in our lives.  We get so busy, have so much to do, yet apart from you we can do nothing of any importance or value.  Free us to joyfully drink from your Holy Spirit's presence within us when we wake, when we work, when we play and rest!  Speak, we are listening!

Deuteronomy 6: 4-25:


Comments:

It's easy to love God on Sunday morning in a worship service or on a mission trip to somewhere we don't normally go or in a bible study group.  It's not so easy to love God in the daily tasks of eating, cleaning, working, parenting, communicating with our spouses, and paying bills.  Yet, we are given God's very presence, God's Holy Spirit, to live within us every moment of every day to enable us to love God fully in heart, mind, body, and soul no matter where we are or what we are doing!  The way of life Jesus invites us to is one of loving God with our heart (will/emotion), mind (thoughts), soul (holds our hearts/minds/and bodies together as whole persons), and strength (body) and loving our neighbors as though they are part of our own selves!  There is no "time off" from life with God!  Nor do we want there to be when we know that a life filled to overflowing with love is the best life we can have. 

We have been taught that our lives are broken down into pieces that are unrelated.  We have our work selves, our parenting selves, our spousal selves, our church selves, and, where most of the trouble lies, our "private selves."  We struggle to hold them all together because we are often taught to separate them from one another.  This is the way to disintegration.  When Jesus comes to save us, he comes to make us whole in ourselves, with God, and with everyone and everything else. 

That's why the Scripture for today has always been a central Scripture to God's people and to Jesus!  He said that if we could love God with our whole selves, every minute, we would be fulfilling every commandment in the Bible.  That's why Deuteronomy tells us to write the words reminding us to love God with our whole selves on our doorposts, talk with our families about them, and attach them on our bodies!  Loving God is what holds our lives together and gives us joy.

Life Question:

How does it look to love God when I'm at work, at home, and when I'm alone? 

Closing Prayer:

Fill us with your love, God of grace!  Give us the power of your Holy Spirit to love you each moment with every cell in our bodies, every thought in our minds, and every ounce of our will so that we may know a life of peace and love!  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.

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Weekly Prayer: Spiritual Overhaul

Opening Prayer:

Gracious Lord Jesus, save us from tepid religion, from lukewarm faith that is more like a hobby than an outright commitment to you.  Fan the coals of our love for you into flame, so the world may feel the searing heat of your healing grace!

Ephesians 4: 17-32

When we start following Jesus, we start a new way of living.  Having faith in Jesus isn't just about getting our past sins forgiven so we can feel better about ourselves.  It isn't just about getting a "free pass to heaven" after we die, and it isn't a license for us to do whatever we want since we know that we'll be forgiven.  It is about a death and a resurrection...ours! 

This passage fills out our understanding of Christian baptism.  When we are baptized with faith in Jesus Christ, we are buried in the water.  Our old sin-sickened selves are left to rot under the water.  When we rise out of the water and take our first breath, we are born again by the resurrection power of Jesus, with new minds, hearts, and lives!  Our old self dies, and our new self in Jesus lives!

Thanks to Paul, we see more clearly that our resurrected selves should be different in tangible ways, especially in our relationships.  We should speak truth and not lie.  We can be angry, but we need to refrain from sinning in our anger and from holding onto our anger.  We need to do good work and not steal.  Our speech should build people up, not tear them down.  And we should be forgiving.

I don't know about you, but I find myself needing to pick up my cross and die to some part my old sinful self daily so that I can live more fully in the new life Jesus died and rose to give me.  Though we receive a new nature predisposed to honoring God when we have faith in Jesus, we still must work on the left-over sin-stained spots in our lives.  John Wesley said that we are "going on to perfection."  He meant that we are ever growing to be more fully loving like Jesus Christ whose love is perfect. 

Life Questions:

1.  What in you needs to die today so you can love more like Jesus?
2.  What in you needs to live today so you can love more like Jesus?

Closing Prayer:

Give us courage, dear Lord, to see ourselves clearly, stains and all.  Forgive us when we are unloving and unkind.  Free us to love more courageously, more gracefully, forgiving others, being kind but not fake, and using our words to encourage others. 

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Weekly Prayer: That They May Be One

Opening Prayer:

Dear Jesus, I finally made it here to be with you in these moments.  Speak to my heart and soul.  Fill me where I am hungry.  Be living water to my thirsty soul that my life might be changed, might be filled to overflowing with your love.  Speak, I'm listening.

Titus 3: 1-11

Toward the end of his life, Jesus prays in the gospel of John that God will help all of his followers be unified in their life and mission so that the world may know that they are his followers.  Unity of spirit, purpose, and action are important to Jesus since we Christians are to represent his Kingdom on the earth. 

Titus encourages us to "avoid foolish controversies...and arguments." He doesn't say avoid all controversies and conflicts.  In fact, he tells us to enter conflict by holding our fellow believers who are being divisive accountable, warning them twice before we stop relating to them.  This may come as a shock to those of us who thought Christians were always supposed to be nice!  But Jesus said that we are to love our neighbors, each other, and our enemies, not be nice to them.  Love and accountability go together.

I often struggle between avoiding the conflict of holding others accountable and being too harsh when holding others accountable.  The writer of Ephesians gets it right when he instructs us to "speak the truth in love."  When we tell each other the truth because we want each other to be as close to Jesus as possible, we love.  Cross-shaped love holds accountable and forgives.  It holds us together in unity, our common goal being to deepen our lives and other's lives in Jesus Christ.

Life Questions:

Who do I need to lovingly hold accountable at home, at church, at work, in my neighborhood?

Closing Prayer:

Merciful Lord, give me the grace to love others as you love me. I want to see everyone reconciled and brought to unity through your cross!  Give me courage and love in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.

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