Psalm 92:1-4

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night…” vss. 1-2

The psalmist had a rhythm to his life that strengthened his relationship to the Lord, and many of us could learn from his daily practices. He obviously lived with thanks in his heart and on his lips–he was glad to be alive and knew that he wasn’t the center of the universe. His grateful spirit likely showed on his face and in his encounters with family and friends–that’s just how it is when every day is Thanksgiving! He could live that way because he began and ended each day connecting with the Lord. He awakened every morning knowing that he was loved by God unconditionally and in the evening he recounted the ways God had protected and sustained him through the day. Those morning and evening prayers are essential for any of us interested in a long-term relationship with the Divine Presence. They don’t have to be long or complicated, just a God Pause or two at the beginning and the end of our days. It might not seem like much, but these are the moments that give a blessed rhythm to our comings and our goings. It’s so easy to get caught up in the intricacies of daily schedules–sometimes we wonder how we get so busy. So we can’t neglect good starts and smooth finishes–they’re our most important daily appointments!

Thought for the Day: How do I start and end my days?

Ezekiel 17:22-24

“Thus says the Lord God: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender one from the topmost of its young twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.” vs 22

Ezekiel wrote at a time when it appears that Israel had seen its last days. Jerusalem and the temple had been destroyed and the remnants of the royal house now lived in Babylon in captivity. All had been lost–but not quite all! Hope remained and Ezekiel fanned the flames of that hope with a word from the Lord about the cedars of Lebanon. A sprig would be planted on a high mountain, and it would grow and flourish. The point is clear. God is the Lord of all: trees of the field, birds of the air, all living things are created and sustained by the Divine Presence. So if there is hope for trees, surely God will care for Israel. There are many times when we need that reassurance. Right now things look a bit grim for our world. The climate is changing and disaster for many is looming. Humanity seems incapable of mounting a sustained and united response–in light of that failure we wonder what things will be like for our great grandchildren. Ezekiel reminds us that there is power greater than ours loose in the world. Even though we can’t see the way the Creator of the universe is still in control–and most days that’s our only hope!

Thought for the Day: What can God do that humans can’t?

Mark 3:28-35

“And looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’” vss. 34-35

Promoting the nuclear family wasn’t part of Jesus’ platform as his ministry continued in Galilee. In fact, he realized that what he was teaching could actually threaten family unity–at one point he told his followers, “I have come to set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother–one’s foes will be the members of one’s own household.” In recent years however it has become the fashion in congregations to promote the nuclear family, i.e. couples and their children. One of the by-products of that emphasis has been the estrangement of single people. Many have reported that they feel excluded, that they don’t really fit in among all the “happy” families. A better image, given what Jesus taught, might be to think of the congregation itself as a family. In that instance, members, both married and single, would be brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers to one another. And that’s what many of us have experienced in our life in Christ. Our congregation has become our family, and its intimacies surpass what we feel with blood relatives. Each day of worship is like a family reunion and we greet one another with honest affection and love. These are the folks who will be our support and it’s here we will find comfort and strength–even when our nuclear families are falling apart.

Thought for the Day: Where do I experience family?

Mark 3:20-27

“and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.’” vss. 20-21

According to Mark it took a while for Jesus’ family to adjust to his popularity as he began his ministry. And that’s probably to be expected. He had had what seems to have been a normal childhood and adolescence in Nazareth–there was likely nothing extraordinary about his family interactions. But then he’d gone off to see John the Baptist, maybe became his disciple, and ultimately had the baptismal encounter with God that changed his life. And when he returned he was on fire with the gospel, and some were saying he’d lost his mind. Some of us have had that happen in our families. And when a son or daughter comes home full of new ideas and passions it can be a jolt. And if they’ve had a spiritual encounter it can be downright frightening, especially if it seems they’ve become involved in a new cult or religion. Some have even been known to change political affiliations! And we wonder just like Joseph and Mary, “Is this change really of God, or has some demonic spirit taken over?” In the end we can do little more than pray…because when people have been touched by the Spirit, there’s little that can be done to restrain them. Ultimately, the authenticity of their calling will be revealed by its fruits. 

Thought for the Day: How might I react to radical change in a family member?

2 Corinthians 4:16-5:1

“So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.” 16

Whether we like it or not, every day each of us are getting older. Now there is a time in our lives when we appreciate the aging process, and we can hardly wait to get to the next stage, those times of graduation, leaving home, or reaching our physical maturity. But then comes the day when we become aware of decline and realize that we’re beyond our prime and on that slippery slope that some call “over the hill.” No matter how much we try to hold the aging at bay with plastic surgery, gyms, and hair dye, no one has ever figured out how to reverse the process. As Paul puts it, “our outer nature is wasting away.” What we do notice however is that some do it more gracefully than others. They eat well, exercise often, and move through the decades with dignity and joy. A key to that kind of living is the attention such persons pay  to the “inner nature.” Even as their physical bodies decline they remain connected to the Spirit and maintain a strong and vibrant faith. With their lives uncluttered by the haunting cares and concerns of younger years they are able to focus on eternal values, and as the years pass, peace and serenity become daily companions. They know that beyond this life, new life in Christ awaits, and one day it will be theirs!

Thought for the Day: How am I dealing with aging?

2 Corinthians 4:13-15

“Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.” vs. 15

Paul had endured significant suffering in the course of his ministry to the Gentiles. There had been numerous beatings and imprisonments and his body had been worn down–he’d been rejected even by those he’d considered friends. But he never gave up! When he was released from prison in one city, he headed out to preach the gospel in another. As he explains to the congregation in Corinth, he had done everything for their sake, so that more and more people might know the fullness of grace, and give thanksgiving to God. Not all folks have that degree of dedication–many don’t have the endurance and tolerance for rejection that Paul had. We prefer comfortable pews in which to practice our faith, and do our best to be nice to everyone. But thank God for people like Paul, heroes of the faith, who persevere against all odds and give their lives for the sake of the gospel. It’s because of their dogged determination that grace has taken root in our hearts and we know the good news of God’s inclusive and sacrificial love. And their work isn’t over. Even today, all over the world, bold and loving men and women are working for peace, even risking their lives so that justice might abound. They are God’s special gift to humanity!

Thought for the Day: How do I deal with rejection?

Psalm 130

“O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.” vs. 7

The psalmist was at the end of his rope! Overwhelmed by a deep sense of sin and alienation from God, with all religious resources exhausted, he poured out his heart. Speaking for himself and for his nation, he reminds his readers of two things: with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with the Lord there is power to redeem. Times have not changed! Humans have not gotten any better and regularly find themselves battling with sin on a daily basis. It’s like a cancerous infection that affects every part of us and that keeps us from producing the fruits of the Spirit. What a blessing it is to know that there is deep and profound love in the Divine Presence! God is on our side! And more than that, as the psalmist knew, in the Lord there is great power, and we can be restored. Loved and redeemed, we are transformed and resurrected, able to actually be the Light of the world. There aren’t any classes to take, no five easy steps to salvation–God’s love is unconditional and God’s power is available to all. And as we wait upon the Lord, as we surrender in the presence of the Mystery, we are changed. We become the people of the promise and the Spirit-filled conduits of sacrificial love. What started with confession ends with holiness!

Thought for the Day: What does surrender look like in my life?

Genesis 3:11-15

“The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.’” vs. 12

The ancient storytellers nailed it in this account of divine-human interaction in the Garden of Eden. When the man is confronted by the Lord there isn’t a hint of remorse and certainly no acknowledgement of guilt. Already alienated, the man shifts the blame to the woman, and ultimately to God. This big mess is not his fault at all! And that’s pretty much the human dilemma in a nutshell–we inhabit a world full of God’s richest blessings, and we act as though anything goes, imagining that there are no limits. And when we rebel against those limits and predictable disaster follows,  our first impulse is to assess blame. And what’s saddest of all, because so many folks read this literally, women have historically been the ones picked to bear responsibility for humanity’s sin. Through the centuries women have been abused and discounted in every generation and every nation–and it’s still going on. Who is responsible for the breakdown of the family and the decline of morality? For too many people the answer is the same as the one given by Adam–it’s the women’s fault! And what’s ironic is that, for the most part, it’s been women who have held things together in our civilizations! It’s in them that the light of Christ has always shone most brightly, and it’s about time that we put all the blaming to rest. Sin isn’t anyone’s fault–it just is!

Thought for the Day: How has women’s status changed in recent years?

Genesis 3:8-10

“They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” vs. 8

Every ancient civilization had creation myths, stories that were told to successive generations describing how the world had come into existence, and how human beings ultimately made their appearance. We’re familiar with many of these tales, particularly those arising in our own ethnic heritage, but we’re not likely to take them literally. It’s different though with the passages in Genesis that tell the stories of creation and the goings-on in the Garden of Eden. Even though they appear to be Hebrew creation myths, because they are in the bible there are many who insist on taking these verses literally. They mistakenly believe that calling something a myth means that it is untrue–and that’s just not the case. In fact myths were developed by human storytellers in order to communicate universal truths. Jesus did the same thing when he invented parables. He knew that stories have power–and that’s the way it is with the Genesis myths. This particular story is a powerful description of the alienation that exists between humans and God. We know what it’s like to hide from God when temptation has gotten the better of us. And whether we take it literally or not, this story nails the truth of our own existence in a way we can’t ignore. 

Thought for the Day: Why is biblical literalism so popular?

John  3:9-17

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” vs. 17

We are regularly reminded by scripture that followers of Jesus are to be “in the world, but not of the world.” It’s a distinction that can be difficult to maintain as we live out our lives. The world is full of temptations and offers multiple deceptive possibilities for finding happiness and fulfillment. Some have even concluded that the world is by nature evil and an enemy of God. Of course nothing could be further from the truth! As John puts it clearly, God has a passionate sacrificial love for the salvation of the world. In fact that’s why the Word became flesh in Jesus! John believed that as people came to know Christ the world would be transformed and its inherent goodness would be made visible. There are times when we wonder whether John’s dream was pure fiction–often it appears as though the world hasn’t been touched by the presence of Christ. But that’s just not the case! Christ is not only in the world, but through the Spirit is reconciling all things to the Creator. In every generation spirit-filled people are enlightening the world with love and compassion. They are in the world, not as adversaries of the world, but as lovers, and through them, the world’s blessings are being used for goodness’ sake.

Thought for the Day: Am I being tempted or blessed by the world?