There are two buttons presented to me when I finish a meditation. One allows me to schedule in the future–the other publishes instantaneously. Occasionally I hit the wrong one! It happened again!

Romans 6:6-11

“The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” vss. 10-11

Paul has some large expectations for those who have been baptized into Christ and who dare to call themselves his followers. We are not to be content with muddling along in life and blindly following the ways of the world. And we should never even imagine that living by grace renders our words and our actions meaningless. Paul puts it plainly: we must consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. He says it even more clearly in his second letter to the Corinthians: So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see everything has become new! This isn’t a threat or a warning to change our lives or else! This is a baptismal promise, a magnificent invitation to peaceful, joyfilled living. The sins of the past need not muddy our future–we aren’t doomed to keep on living with our regrets and failures. Rather, each morning announces resurrection. We burst forth from our tombs with new spirits, ready to love and serve with humility and kindness. In Christ we are freed to become the dream that was in the eye of God at our creation. And it doesn’t just happen once! Again and again, with the dawning of a new day, we are raised to live in newness of life.

Thought for the Day: What’s my first thought at the break of day?

Romans 6:1b-5

“Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” vs. 4

During the Jesus Revolution of the 1960’s thousands of searchers responded to the proclamation of God’s unconditional love by being immersed in the waters of the nearest stream, lake, or sea. For many it was a life-changing experience and signaled a clear break from the pleasure-seeking, drug culture that had become so pervasive. It’s this sort of thing that Paul was thinking of as he wrote to the Romans about the importance and significance of baptism. Those whose baptism occurred in the early weeks of their life can have a tough time associating that watery sprinkling with a powerful life-changing event. Yet that is what it is! Baptism at any age, by any means, connects us with the resurrection of Christ. And we’re not talking here about the new life that awaits us beyond death, that mysterious reunion with the Church Triumphant. The newness of life that Paul wrote about is very much this worldly. It’s the reversal of values and spiritual focus that comes as we are fully immersed in the Resurrected Jesus. It means breaking away from the patterns of our culture with its emphasis on material gain and pleasure and moving into a Spirit-led, joy-filled journey with Jesus for all the days of our lives.

Thought for the Day: What does “newness of life” mean for me?

Psalm 69:16-18

“Do not hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress—make haste to answer me.” vs. 17

Whenever we’re feeling isolated and alienated, for whatever reason, the only thing that will restore serenity in our hearts is the assurance of God’s presence. One of the by-products of our isolation is a perception that God has deserted us, that the Omnipresent One has purposely decided to leave us on our own. Of course it’s impossible for that to be true! The problem is not that God’s face is hidden–the problem is that our eyes are closed! There is never a moment when God is away, and when we open all our senses, the Divine Presence is all around. Often the problem is the sheer busyness of our daily lives. When we’re in a car speeding along the freeway everything becomes a blur, and that’s what life is like when we hurry through our days at a breakneck pace. God’s presence is blurred and we get the impression that we’ve been left alone. Through the centuries people of faith have learned to slow down life through regular prayer and meditation. This doesn’t have to be fixed devotional time, though that’s always beneficial, it can be as simple as learning to “slow down and smell the roses.” Sometimes all we need is a few minutes in a chair in the backyard listening to God’s voice in the hymns of the  birds and soothing buzz of the bees. God is–we are not alone!

Thought for the Day: Where and when am I assured of God’s presence?

Psalm 69:7-10

“It is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that shame has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my kindred, an alien to my mother’s children.” vss. 7-10

We don’t know what had taken place in the life of the psalmist, but he’s feeling alienated from his community and his family. It could be that, like Jeremiah, he had offered a prophetic message that was poorly received, and was now experiencing a prophet’s reward. At any rate he believes that he’s been doing what the Lord required of him–in fact he seems to hold God responsible for his misery. Sadly, this isn’t an uncommon feeling among the servants of God–some of us can identify! We’ve done our best to lead a life of integrity and somehow everything has gotten messed up! In our desire to be righteous we’ve managed through one way or another to offend almost everyone we’ve been close to. Occasionally we even find ourselves to be alienated from our own family members. In those moments, as we cry out to God, we can lapse into a “victim mentality.” It’s a way of blaming everyone else for our feeling of isolation while at the same time claiming innocence for the way things have turned out. That’s a hard stance to take! And if we think relationships are going to be restored while we play the role of victim, we’re mistaken. And the more we act like a victim, the more likely we are to be abused–and none of us want that!

Thought for a Day: How can I stop feeling like a victim?

Jeremiah 20:7-13

“For whenever I speak, I must cry out, I must shout, ‘Violence and destruction!’ For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long.” vs. 8

For the most part it’s wonderful to be a follower of Jesus, walk in the Way of Love, and share the good news with sad and lonely people. It does our heart good to see folks respond with thanksgiving to our message of mercy and unconditional love. Their eyes light up and their smiles show their appreciation. Jeremiah would have been jealous of our privilege! Against his will he had been called as a prophet, and his message was not well received. When he spoke of violence and impending destruction people not only plugged their ears, they treated him with contempt and derision. When we hear his story we mostly breathe a sigh of relief–it’s so good not to be a prophet! But sometimes, as with Jeremiah, servants of Jesus will be thrust into that prophetic role. The Spirit will put such convictions into our hearts that we are bound to speak regardless of how people might respond. We might resist for a time, perhaps hoping that someone else will say what we have been thinking, but then the words burst forth. And in our prophetic role we point out the dangers of continuing to degrade the environment. We study causes of global warming, become educated about what can be done, and then become vocal advocates of positive change. And some days it’s not any fun at all!

Thought for the Day: What is my prophetic role?

Matthew 10:1-8

“These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’” vss. 5-6

When Jesus began his preaching, teaching, and healing, he was laser-focused on the Jews. He seems to have had no interest in ministry to the Gentiles, and even told his newly chosen disciples to avoid them. While that may seem strange to us, especially when we know that Jesus himself occasionally violated that principle, his motivation is clear. He clearly believed that he had been sent to the house of Israel, and it was only when his own people rejected him that the Spirit extended the mission. His instructions to his disciples are helpful as we consider the audience for the good news entrusted to us. If he’s right, then we are first sent as servants to those who are closest to us. Consider your sphere of influence. Who are the folks with whom you are most familiar? Most often that will be our families and friends, those who live in our own communities and who understand our idioms and customs. It does little good for us to say we’re following Jesus if we don’t first reach those we know the best. It may well be that they will ignore our words and actions– that’s what happened to Jesus–but there’s no doubt that this is the place to start!

Thought for the Day: What is my sphere of influence? How’s my mission going?

Matthew 9:35-38

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” vs. 36

Jesus had been overwhelmed by the crowds that he encountered as he began his ministry in Galilee. Everywhere he went they flocked to hear his words and be touched by his healing hands, and his heart was filled with compassion. If we’ve ever wondered about our mission as his followers, there really can be no confusion. We continue to encounter harassed and helpless people in our communities–and in some ways conditions seem to be getting worse. On the one hand we see unbelievable prosperity, people building massive luxurious homes, driving expensive cars, and traveling all over the world on vacations. And for some of us these are the only people we ever encounter! But that’s not the whole picture. Millions of people live in refugee camps, thousands of the homeless congregate wherever they can avoid harassment, food banks can’t keep up with the numbers of malnourished and hungry folks even in rural areas. The hurting are harassed by red tape and punitive laws, manipulated and preyed upon by the powerful. Ignored and oppressed they face poverty and ill health every day of their lives, and Jesus’ heart is breaking! Our mission field is white unto the harvest! What can be done? There are a myriad of solutions, and resources are plentiful, but too many are reluctant to share. Jesus calls us to be compassionate–and to act!

Thought for the Day: Why does there seem to be a dearth of compassion?

Romans 5:6-8

“But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” vs. 8

It’s easy to slide into believing that God’s love is conditional, mostly because that’s generally the nature of human love. Even the best of us will ultimately run out of patience when friends and family let us down. As we’re quick to tell one another, “Forgiveness has its limits!” It’s just too hard to keep on letting folks off the hook, especially when we sense that they have no intention of changing their ways. And because that’s our pattern in daily living there’s a part of us that begins to believe that this is also how God operates. In his letter to the Romans Paul takes pains to share the good news that the Divine Love Standard is nothing like what we experience. The fact that humans are fickle, distracted, selfish, and not too be trusted isn’t an issue with God. Everything done for us in Christ is purely a gift and is extended to all, even to those who don’t deserve it. Granted there are some who really don’t care about God’s love. They’re so full of themselves that they don’t even acknowledge their own sinfulness–for them talk about forgiveness is pointless prattle. But most people do care about God’s love! They’ve experienced brokenness in their lives, and some deal with enormous guilt. For folks such as these God’s grace is the best news ever, and when they come to believe that forgiveness belongs to them too, their lives are transformed.

Thought for the Day: Can humans love unconditionally?

Romans 5:1-5

“And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope…” vss. 3-4

Paul was indomitable! While he obviously enjoyed the peace of heart and mind that were a by-product of faith in Christ Jesus, he also rejoiced in his sufferings. It wasn’t that he was a masochist, but he had come to know that suffering is a part of life, and that it can’t be avoided. While we might acknowledge that Paul is right in saying that suffering is inevitable, most of us have a dickens of a time trying to embrace it. In fact, because we’ve grown accustomed to comfort in living, we’ll do everything we can to avoid suffering. All kinds of remedies are available to us–pills, therapy, alcohol–but the most popular is simple denial. We bury our feelings, put on a happy face, and act as though our hearts are not breaking. How much better it is when we can learn to imitate Paul in openly acknowledging our pain and letting folks know that we’re hurting. With that first step we discover the gift of endurance and a resulting strength of character that we never dreamed possible. We become trusted and reliable friends to others who might be in need, and one day discover that our hope has been restored, and joy has returned to our hearts. And at this point, smiles become genuine and we once more have peace of mind.

Thought for the Day: How do I respond to suffering?