2 Corinthians 5: 18-21

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” vs. 21

Most of us have grown to maturity thinking that Jesus of Nazareth was sinless, that he never once did any of the things that we do regularly…never a cross word, never an impure thought, never an act of rebellion. We believe this because it’s what we’ve been told again and again…it’s a doctrine that was adopted as Jesus’ followers began to understand his death as a sacrifice for sin. If he was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, it was argued, then he had to have been without spot or blemish…after all, only such a sacrifice would have been acceptable to God. Unfortunately this teaching has made it difficult for us to see Jesus as a model for living. How can we possibly be like Jesus if he really wasn’t like us? Paul tells us that God made Jesus to be sin and wants us to know that he was exactly like us. In other words he was totally human! And in him the Christ was made incarnate, and here’s the best news, in him we become the righteousness of God. That means that the Christ, present in creation and in Jesus, continues to be present in us. Through us the goodness of God is made manifest in wondrous and beautiful ways, and the entire world is blessed.

Thought for the Day: Why do we like to think of Jesus as being perfect?

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” vs. 17

Being a disciple of Jesus is far more than believing in him and walking in his way. While those things are important Paul describes discipleship as more of a mystical union, an entering into Christ that allows us to experience the pulsating energy of God that is the heartbeat of the universe. We are recreated and made into the remarkable persons that God has intended from the very beginning. We actually become Christs to the world and in us is seen the awesome presence of God that was present in Jesus of Nazareth. In us the world sees love and forgiveness and experiences the gentle kindness that is the hope of humanity. It’s not a matter of doing what is right so that we can go to heaven some day. Rather, heaven comes to us and day by day there is a transformation of our hearts and minds. It would be nice if this happened all at once with a kind of explosive force, and that may happen with some. For most of us the change comes slowly, and sometimes years pass by before we can abandon the self-righteous judging style that plagues so many Christians. What a blessing it is to finally be embraced by the Christ, realize that we are loved, and accept the new life that is ours!

Thought for the Day: How can I know if I am in Christ?

Psalm 32:6-11

“Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.” vs. 11

The psalmist would have loved praise services. He couldn’t get enough of exultations and shouts of joy and wanted all the upright and the righteous to join in giving thanks to the Lord. Some who read these words might have the impression that they don’t have an invitation to the party. They don’t think of themselves as being either upright or righteous. Not to worry! These words were written by the same fellow who’d gotten physically ill while carrying his burden of sin and guilt. But because he’d confessed his sin he knew that the Lord didn’t see him as a sinner. Instead he was the returning son…and there was going to be a party full of joy and praise. And everyone was invited! As Martin Luther so joyfully put it, we are righteous because God has made us righteous. We don’t have to carry our trespasses one step further, all has been taken care of. We have been made righteous by grace and have every reason to be included in the celebration. That’s why hymns of praise and joy deserve a place in every worship service along with the prayers of confession. We’re forgiven sinners and that’s always a reason for thanksgiving…no matter how rotten we think we’ve been!

Thought for the Day: When am I most likely to think of myself as righteous?

Psalm 32:1-5

“Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” vs 5

The psalmist had been engaged in a great cover-up and his conscience had been nagging at him.  We don’t know what had happened but it doesn’t seem to have been a public matter. Only he knew what he had done or said and the memory had become a burden to his soul. Day after day he struggled and eventually his whole body began to waste away. We know about those sorts of things…all of us have had occasion to try to hide the truth. And unless we’re psychopaths there will be an effect. Our attempts to rationalize don’t work and the guilt continues to eat away at our insides like some sort of insidious wasting disease. The psalmist only found relief when he acknowledged his sin to the Lord. With confession came forgiveness and the burden of guilt was lifted. Followers of Jesus have discovered the truth of the psalmist’s experience and have incorporated a ritual of confession into nearly all worship services. It’s not so much that we are hopeless sinners…but it just feels good to hear the words of absolution again and again in the course of our lives. Sin is always at hand for the best of us…and the assurance of forgiveness never gets old.

Thought for the Day: How do I attempt to rationalize my sin?

Joshua 5:9-12

“The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.” vs. 12

According to one of their ancient narratives God had sustained the Israelites with a special bread from heaven through their years in the wilderness. But when they crossed the Jordan River and entered the land of Canaan that gracious provision came to an end. They had begun a new phase of their life with the Lord. From now on their own crops would sustain them. We have somewhat the same experience as we move from childhood to maturity. During our formative years most of us are taken care of…our parents provide for all of our basic needs. They give us food and shelter and clothing…all we have to do is follow their rules and go to school. But then comes the day when we’re on our own. (At least that’s how it’s generally supposed to work.) We finish our school or training and find work that provides an income. Some of us start families and are proud to be able to take care of our own needs. And there’s the rub! The Israelites really weren’t on their own when they entered the land…God was still providing their food, just in a different form. Likewise, even though it may appear we’re on our own, God is still taking care. All that we have, even as adults, is a gift!!!!!

Thought for the Day: When did I first believe that I was on my own?

Luke 9:6-10

“So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’” vs. 7

It appears that in this parable, the man’s love for his fig tree was quite conditional. He could put up with three years of fruitless living, but that was his limit. That’s the way it is in agriculture…it’s all about production. Jesus knew that, and tells this story to make a point about God’s expectations for human life. Again, his words are hard for us to hear. We’d rather believe that God is only interested in our “being” and not our “doing.” In fact grace-oriented preachers have gone out of their way to assure us that God cares not a whit about results in our lives, that we can pretty much do what we want and God will just keep on loving us. Unfortunately such a message is a major distortion of what our scriptures teach. It is true that God’s loving is unconditional…it’s the foundation of our being. But that in no way means that our behaviors are inconsequential! It does make a difference what we do with our lives! Of course we can’t carry the analogy too far. God isn’t going to snuff us out if we’re not productive…and we aren’t just to think of ourselves as “human doings.” Jesus’ point is plain. We are called to bear fruit in this world! It’s a part of who we have been created to be!

Thought for the Day: What fruit am I bearing?

Luke 13:1-5

“No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” vs. 5

Mass tragedies were common in Jesus’ world. Not only were the dominating powers cruel and unjust, there were few if any construction standards…death was always close at hand. Of course people wondered about such things, and there was often a tendency to blame the victims, that they’d been killed because of their sin. Jesus refutes such a notion, but then uses the tragic incidents to make a point that we’ve seen written on countless freeway billboards, “Repent, or perish!” Some don’t like it that Jesus said such a thing, and we struggle to find ways to take the sting from his words. We have a strong preference for the cultural caricature that has developed in progressive circles. We want our Jesus to be always gentle, loving, kind, and forgiving, one from whom we never hear a discouraging word and who approves of all that we do. Not only is such a picture false, it’s horribly misleading! Jesus was deeply concerned with our behaviors and rightly saw that change is an essential ingredient of every person’s life. The gospels report that the core of his teaching was a call to repentance. That’s how it is with unconditional love…it always challenges us to be our better selves and not be content with slipshod living and life without standards.

Thought for the Day: What’s my gut-level response to “Repent or Perish”?

1 Corinthians 10:6-13

“No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” vs. 13

Paul was a strong advocate of the gospel of grace and he knew that our salvation was not dependent on our own good deeds. But he also knew that we humans have an infinite capacity to thoroughly screw up our lives and cause enormous damage to ourselves and to others. For that reason he regularly reminds his readers of what the scriptures had to say about the dangers and consequences of careless living. And then he provides a word of hope! By the power of God within us we can overcome every temptation and every test! Whatever pressures we’re facing…well, others have faced them too. And there is no addiction, no calamity, that can hold us captive or destroy us. As is said in 12 step groups, we have a Higher Power, and that Power enables us to surmount and endure any obstacle that might come our way. All of us have observed this in real time. Think of the inspiring stories that come our way via social media, stories of perseverance and victory in the presence of unbelievable difficulties. Not only are such tales an inspiration, they point to the active power of our God in the lives of ordinary people.

Thought for the Day: What tests or challenges am I facing these days?

1 Corinthians 10:1-5

“and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.” vss. 2-4

Paul was frustrated with the folks at Corinth. They’d been baptized into Christ and were feasting on Christ’s body and blood, but their behavior was abysmal. Paul reprimands them by reminding them of Israel’s wilderness experiences under Moses. In doing so he explodes our understanding of the Christ. We’re accustomed to connecting Jesus with the Christ…it’s almost as though Jesus’ last name was Christ. But that’s not how Paul sees it. For him the Christ is universal and timeless. In fact, he says, the Christ was present with the Israelites in the wilderness some 1500 years before. If we were to use the imagery of the prologue to the gospel of John we could even say that Christ was in the beginning and that through Christ all things have come into existence. And the amazing truth is that this same Christ, present in creation, in the wilderness, and in Jesus, is now present in us. We are the Body of Christ! And more than that! Through us, through the Christ, what was begun in the beginning is being brought to completion. Paul wondered why such knowledge didn’t make any difference in the people’s behavior…and he had a point!

Thought for the Day: Why doesn’t knowledge of who we are change the way we act?

Psalm 63:1-8

“O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” vs. 1

There are some who say that there is a “God-space” within every human and unless that space is filled our lives will seem barren and pointless. While there are some difficulties with that kind of language, the psalmist reflects that sentiment in the opening lines of this most beautiful praise psalm. Now it’s not that God is somehow absent from us…we know that is not the case. After all, there is no place where God is not! It’s just that we don’t feel the presence of God, and in those moments we really do feel the emptiness the psalmist describes. The reasons could be varied: maybe we’ve been neglecting our worship and prayers, or it could be that we’ve gotten preoccupied with other stuff. What a relief it is to then feel the overwhelming presence of love…we’re like thirsty plants sucking up the moisture of a gentle rain. The psalmist describes that feeling with words that have been turned into a popular praise song, “Thy loving kindness is better than life…my lips will praise thee, thus will I bless thee, I will lift up my hands unto thy name.” To know that we are loved is one of the most powerful emotions that any of us can feel. It brings total security and deep satisfaction…and no one will be able to miss the joyful smiles such love brings to our faces!

Thought for the Day: How has being loved changed me?