Ephesians 5:11-14

“For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light.” vss. 12-14a

Darkness can be a comfortable place to live. Folks can do what they please, not worry about who they hurt, and shamelessly gratify every passion and desire, while living totally for themselves. But the moment light shines in that darkness, everything is up for grabs. People can no longer go on living for themselves, and the light that has been hidden in them is drawn toward the invading light. In those circumstances hardened sinners will begin to let their light shine before others. That’s how evangelism at its best works in this world. It’s not a matter of hammering sinners with the law, hoping to shame them into doing good in response to guilt. Instead we simply let our light shine in every circumstance and before every person. The only thing capable of piercing the shroud of darkness that hangs over so many is focusing the light of love on it. Focused light burns holes in the most impenetrable defence shields and destroys the power of sin. As it says in the gospel of John, when the Light of Christ came into the world, darkness could not overcome it, even death was rendered powerless. Our mission as children of the light could not be more obvious–it’s simply a matter of obeying the command of Jesus to let our light shine. It’s an old refrain, but the only true tune!

Thought for the Day: What darkness still resides in me?

Ephesians 5:8-10

“For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light—for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true.” vss. 8-9

The writer of Ephesians knew that it was possible for people to lead good, decent lives, and always tell the truth. It was simply a matter of behaving as we are! As Jesus once put it, “You are the light of the world.” Our call as the people of God in Christ Jesus, is to act in congruence with who we already are. We have been programmed not for sin but for goodness! It’s about time we stopped making excuses or blaming the devil, and start behaving as children of the light. Every person in the world is capable of producing the fruit of the Spirit–it is past time for us to start doing exactly that. So what keeps us from living as authentic persons? Why do we keep on doing the crap that we do? Who knows? Each of us has to answer that question for ourselves–but the truth is that we’ve gotten to be experts at self-deception and sloth. But not all of us! Praise God for the people around us of every race and religion who do get it! Their good lives make life on this planet a pleasure. Every day we see them showing forth light, telling the truth, loving enemies, feeding the poor, and exuding goodness with every word and deed. And if they can do it, all of us can! Why wait?!

Thought for the Day: What keeps me from being a child of the light?

Psalm 23

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” vs. 5

Often we think of the Lord as our place of refuge in tough times and our comforter when things get dark–and that’s appropriate, because that’s what shepherds do. And as the children of God we are well taken care of in every circumstance. The psalmist knew that, but he knew something more too. Sometimes life is so good we almost run out of words to thank and praise the Lord. Not only do we have plenty to eat in a world where enemies abound, but our cup overflows. We have so much that we can’t believe it! We’re deeply conscious that we are God’s chosen ones, and the blessings just keep on coming. Occasionally in those moments people will say, “Oh, but you deserve it,” and we want to protest. There is absolutely nothing that we have done to merit the embarrassing riches that have come our way. So, why do such days come, and if they come to some, why not to all? Those are good questions but there are really no good answers. The best we can do is simply enjoy the goodness. It does no one any good to put on sad faces and say that life is tough when it really isn’t. After all, it likely won’t be long before we’re back wandering in valleys of dark shadows. Life brings both weal and woe, and our shepherd is with us in both.

Thought for the Day: When has my cup overflowed?

1 Samuel 16:1-13

“The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.’” vs.1

One thing is sure! We’ve been grieving about political matters for a long time, though it does seem like the process of choosing a new ruler was a good deal less cumbersome in the days of Samuel. Some might wish that there was a prophet now, with horn and oil in hand, to choose a leader from the myriad of clamoring candidates. It would be easier, they say, than listening to the onslaught of lies and exaggerations that are typical in a modern campaign. Of course it wasn’t easy for Samuel to choose either. He was told by the Lord to pay no attention to the external appearances of the sons of Jesse so he rejected them all. And then when the last son was hauled away from the sheep and finally stood before him, he chose him–because he had beautiful eyes and was handsome! So much for following the Lord’s instructions! As it turned out David was not a bad choice–though ultimately Israel learned that kings make poor messiahs. By this fall we’ll have figured out our choice, and we’ll probably make our decision based on appearance too. It’s hard to do otherwise. Whatever the pick, none of them will be our messiah! And that’s okay! We’ve already got Jesus, and he’s the best!

Thought for the Day: How will I make my choice this fall?

John 4:27-42

“Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting.” vs. 35

When the disciples looked around it’s likely they saw little more than villages full of despised Samaritans. They hadn’t even imagined that such folks would be interested in the gospel of grace being proclaimed by Jesus. But Jesus knew! In his eyes these weren’t Samaritans, these were people hungry for words of love and acts of kindness. They were hurting, and he stayed with them two more days to preach and teach. We too are called to lift up our eyes to the people around us, especially those who have been missed and alienated by our traditions and rituals. There are literally thousands of folks who hunger for purpose and love…but they’re looking in all the wrong places. We probably won’t be able to reach them in the old ways, but if we’re alert to the Spirit moving among us we’ll be able to figure out new ways to connect. One thing for sure! Our reaching out will always draw us into relationships with hungry people. Folks are yearning for authenticity and compassion, and we might be just the ones to make the connections. True love will never be obsolete and we might be uniquely positioned to break through current cultural barriers–just like Jesus with those Samaritans!

Thought for the Day: Where do I see fields that are ripe for harvesting?

John 4:14-26

“Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.’” vs. 21

During the time of Jesus’ ministry it was inconceivable for both Jews and Samaritans that worship would take place anywhere but in Jerusalem or on Mt. Gerazim. That’s the way things had been done for centuries! But with the Roman response to the Jewish insurrection and the destruction of the temples, all that changed in a flash! Directed solely by the Spirit of God, worship became something entirely different for Jews, Samaritans, and followers of Jesus. Those were tough times for believers, but ultimately things got figured out–at least for a time. Some believe that the same sort of precipitous change lies ahead for us too. The age of denominations is rapidly coming to a close–even Roman Catholics are being forced to consider what were previously unthinkable possibilities. It’s a scary time for those who are tied to the ways of the past. Soon we’ll be considering new creeds and rituals– worship is going to be changing in big ways–already we’re seeing the changes. So what does all this mean? Of course we don’t know for sure–predictions about such things are notoriously inaccurate. But the one thing we know for sure is that the Spirit of Christ will never go away. Many things will pass away but the Christ will remain forever and beyond.

Thought for the Day: What will replace denominations?

John 4:5-14

“The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)” vs. 9

As John tells the story, Jesus doesn’t mess around with the long detour around Samaria that Galileans Jews generally used on their journey to Jerusalem. He takes the direct route and at the well near Sychar, a Samaritan city, gives a Samaritan woman the surprise of her life. He asks her for a drink of water and seems not to care that such an action makes him ritually unclean. It’s a lovely and touching story and reminds us that amazing opportunities for mission happen when we take the time to reach across barriers and violate boundaries. Jesus as the Christ knows that there is really no difference between the sacred and the profane. All those artificial distinctions that humans have invented to make their little group seem special are an affront to the Divine Presence. One of the blessings of living in our time is that some of those differences are being exposed in all their pettiness and as a result our experiences of the other have been amazingly enriched. Of course there’s a lot of work to be done. We’ve spent thousands of years building walls and they’ve only begun to come tumbling down. But some day the Christ’s mission will be complete and all peoples and nations will be one–and what a glorious day that will be!

Thought for the Day: Why do people fear a united world?

Romans 5:6-11

“Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die.” vs. 7

Some theologian types through the years have put forward the notion that Jesus’ death was a sacrifice that takes away the sin of the world. Now they can certainly find verses in scripture to back their position; indeed, there are many parallels that can be made between the Jewish sacrificial system and Jesus’ death on the cross. Unfortunately the sacrificial understanding of the atonement has not been helpful for questioning followers of Jesus. Many such persons are convinced that the best way to understand the cross is as an act of love. That seems to be Paul’s point as he writes to the Romans. Jesus gave his life, not as a sacrifice, but as an act of love, and he did it even for sinners. He died not to affirm the efficacy of the sacrificial system, but to abolish it! Forgiveness is accomplished not through the shedding of blood to appease an angry God, but through the unconditional and merciful love of God. Yes, the cross is the mark of forgiveness in the church, but it’s also a mark of God’s love. Forgiveness was a part of Jesus’ ministry long before he died–nothing magical happened on the cross. Love was there too, and it was love that ultimately brought Jesus to the cross. And it’s also what brings us to Jesus!

Thought for the Day: For whom would I be willing to die?

Romans 5:1-5

“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand…” vss. 1-2

Paul realized that there was no point in hammering away at people with words of law and judgment. He’d had enough of that as a Pharisee and it had led him on a violent path of condemnation. He knew that even though he had sinned against God in a multitude of ways, even participating in the stoning death of Stephen, the first recorded martyr, he had been made righteous through his Lord Jesus Christ. As a result he was good with God, and enjoyed the serenity and peace he had always sought. What joy it must have given him to proclaim this message of grace to both Jew and Gentile! His letters overflow with passion as he carefully lays out his argument for simple trust in God. No longer would people have to fear the vengeance of an angry God! The Jews could put aside that old narrative from their wandering days–they’d been set free to embrace the steadfast love of God that had been there from the very beginning. Gentiles in search of a forgiving God were introduced to the Christ, the source of light and hope for all generations. And now it’s our turn! The gospel of grace is ours to share as the one source of hope in every time and season. Praise God!

Thought for the Day: What gives me hope?

Psalm 95

“For forty years I loathed that generation and said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my ways.’ Therefore in my anger I swore, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’” vss. 10-11

Israel’s family story had some patches of what sounds like parental abuse. As they remembered their time in the wilderness they heard about the problems at Meribah and Rephidim when the wanderers had been directed by the Lord to camp where there was no water. When the people had complained, the anger of the Lord had been kindled against them, and they had been punished. That generation was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. This is not a story of grace! In fact, the psalmist used it as a warning. He believed that if he reminded the people of the Lord’s anger in the past, they’ll be sure to behave in the present. We tend to gloss over passages like this, and it’s probably good that we do. Many of us know what child abuse is all about–we’ve had parents who punished us severely. They may even have said they were doing it for our own good, so that we’d turn from our sinful ways. Some who have been exposed to such treatment, and who read such verses, have concluded that God is like their angry, punishing parent. Some may even believe that God loathes them! What a pity! The psalmist did not have the last word on the nature of God. Jesus did! And he tells us God loves us unconditionally!

Thought for the Day: How did my parents punish me?