Revelation 21:1-3

“And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” vs. 2

The book of Revelation speaks to the imagination of our hearts with its vivid pictures and symbols of the time to come. Never intended to be taken literally, it describes the ultimate victory of God over all the forces of sin, and promises that one day God’s kingdom will come in all its fullness. Through the years it has provided the images for our celebration of All Saints Day…we love those pictures of white-robed saints celebrating life before the throne of God. Today as we remember loved ones who have died it gives comfort to know that they now have life in all its fullness. Death has had no power over them. Even though they have been taken from us they have been received in the arms of the everlasting Shepherd where they know perfect peace.Though it’s impossible to know with certainty what that new life is like, (language is impotent in describing what lies beyond our experience), and our images will be different, ultimately it’s enough for us to know that they are safe with Jesus. Revelation describes that new life as a new creation, a new beginning, and assures us that the light of the world will never be extinguished. What a blessing it is to know that our lives, which seem to be speeding toward an ending, will instead experience re-creation!

Thought for the Day: What saints are on my mind today?

Psalm 24:7-10

“Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.” vs. 7

Those responsible for temple rituals in Jerusalem developed liturgies that could be used for special occasions and festivals. Fragments of those liturgies can be found in the psalms…they provide us windows into the worship practices of our ancestral faith community. Psalm 24 describes a kind of entrance ritual that involved a call for holiness on the part of worshippers and a ceremonial opening of the doors so that the King of glory might come in. It’s a reminder that worship is a holy activity that involves an encounter with the divine presence. Now it is true that God is never absent from us and is present in every time and circumstance. But it’s also true that there are occasions when we can expect more of a direct encounter with God, and corporate worship is intended to be one of those times. Well designed liturgies can lead us to contemplate the Mystery in deep and fulfilling ways. Songs, hymns, prayers, scripture readings, and sermons work together to give an experience of God that is beyond the ordinary. It’s really not a time for casual conversation or checking in with friends…that happens before or after the service. Worship calls for focus…a time to open our hearts and minds to the presence of God. As we meditate, watch, and listen, doors are lifted up and God comes close…and our famished souls are fed.

Thought for the Day: What happens for me during worship?

Psalm 24:1-6

“Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.” vss. 3-4

Election day is fast approaching and for some of us it can’t get here soon enough! We are so tired of the endless litany of accusations being tossed back and forth by rival candidates…the political advertisements seem to be nothing more than steady streams of mistruths, misrepresentations, and outright lies. It would seem that our would-be leaders have taken leave of any pretense to being people of faith. We wonder how anyone who takes holiness seriously could completely abandon decency for the sake of winning office. The psalmist calls us back to God’s standards as he asks, “Who shall stand in his holy place?”  His answer is unequivocal. “Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false.” Admittedly all of us are sinners….it is the human condition…but that’s no excuse for the abysmal behavior we see being exhibited all around. Lying has become commonplace…and trust has been eroded. Oh how we long for honesty and integrity in our leaders! We can only pray that people of faith will stand strong in the face of the erosion of values. We know a better way…and we are blessed when we walk in the way of the Lord!

Thought for the Day: How clean are my hands? How pure is my heart?

Isaiah 25:6-9

“And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever.” vs. 7

A long, long time ago the prophet had the sense that there was more to the cycle of life than meets the eye. It wasn’t just a matter of being born, living for a time, and then dying. There just had to be more than that…God doesn’t bring things into being just to have them annihilated. So the prophet envisioned a final day in which the fullness of God would be revealed and God would throw a party for all people…there would be food and drink aplenty and no one would be left out. And then the great enemy of humanity, death, would be swallowed up forever. In the end life would be victorious! This is a remarkable vision, one worth hanging on to in troubled times. Sometimes as we move along through our days it seems like the same sorry story is being repeated again and again. We grow inexorably older…friends and family members age along with us…and one by one death picks people off. A grandparent, a mom or dad, a friend…one day they’re with us and the next they’re gone. But that’s not the whole story. One glorious day we’ll be together again…we’ll be alive, and death will be gone, swallowed up by God forever!

Thought for the Day: Why is death such a fierce enemy?

John 8:34-36

“Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin…So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.’” vss. 34, 36

There’s not a lot of talk about sin in our day…it’s almost as though it has ceased to be a factor in our daily living. Oh, we still acknowledge mistakes and know that sometimes we do dumb stuff, but in general, we don’t say that we’re caught up in sinning. The language itself seems old-fashioned…we’d rather talk about psychological or genetic factors that have led us to behave poorly…and it’s always handy to blame our parents for our failures. Some people are particularly interested in getting rid of the whole notion of guilt. They say it’s outmoded, a tool developed by religious folks to keep people in line, and that’s it’s about time for the human race to declare its independence from ancient moral codes and biblical fairy tales. It’s an interesting thought but there’s nothing in human history to indicate that there has been any moral improvement. We keep on doing the same hurtful things to ourselves and others as we have for thousands of years. Changing our vocabulary isn’t going to help one bit. Sin by any other name is still sin…and the only solution available is forgiveness. No wonder people continue to be drawn to Jesus! When he makes us free…forgiveness and guilt are wiped away…and we are truly free!

Thought for the Day: What is my definition of sin?

John 8:31-33

“They answered him, ‘We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, “You will be made free”?’”

When Jesus told the religious leaders that as his disciples they could be made free, their response is both understandable and laughable. They were of course proud of their heritage as children of Abraham…it gave them a stable identity and set them apart from other people. But to say they had never been slaves to anyone was ludicrous…they had been a subject people for most of their existence. They just didn’t get what Jesus was saying…and neither do we. We too are invited to become disciples and receive the gift of freedom…and like those leaders we defer. “We’re Americans,” we say, “we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave.” We’re proud of our independence…and celebrate it with joy every Fourth of July. But what Jesus offers has nothing to do with our citizenship or political privilege. Jesus is talking about a deeper freedom, one that has to do with our inner inclinations. None of us is as free as we think we are. We are bound in a whole assortment of ways to our passions and desires. We’re even slaves to expectations, both of ourselves and of others! Because of that bondage we carry excruciatingly heavy burdens of failure and guilt. Our souls yearn for the freedom that Jesus offers…and his promise is truly music to our ears.

Thought for the Day: When am I most aware of my slavery?

Romans 3:26-28

“Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith.” vs. 27

Because of his conviction that salvation came through faith and not by works of the law, Paul insisted that there was no room for boasting. And he’s right! When everything is based on grace we have nothing to brag about. As he had earlier written to the Galatians, “May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” As followers of Jesus we should be known for our humility…we’re really not better than anyone else. All we are is sinners saved by grace! And what is true for us as individuals goes double for us as a community of faith. Sometimes we’re tempted to hold up our religious convictions as being superior to those of other groups. We brag about the purity of our doctrine and disparage the teachings of other world religions. How much better it is when we treat others as our equals and show respect for their traditions and customs. Of course we’ll hold fast to the relationship we have with Christ Jesus. Of course we’ll express our love for Christ in all we say and do. But even as we lift high the cross of Christ we’ll be remembering that the One we serve gave his life for all people, and not just for us! And that’s something to boost about!

Thought for the Day: What do I boast about?

Romans 3:19-25

“But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets,the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” vss. 21-22a

For most of us these words from Paul are familiar. This is the core of the gospel…we’ve heard the  message in a variety of ways for our entire lives…we know it well. For that reason it’s hard to grasp how radical this thinking must have been to Paul’s Jewish audience. They had been conditioned to believe that their whole identity as God’s people revolved around obedience to the law. And now Paul is telling them that the law was limited…it only revealed their lack of righteousness and make them aware of their sin. He goes on to say that their scriptures actually disclosed a way of salvation apart from the law. He then paints a picture of a generous God who gives righteousness as a gift through faith in Jesus Christ. This was a totally new way of thinking…one that shifted the focus of faith from a book to a person. Today it’s this truth that gives Christianity its unique position in the family of religions. We don’t link our faith to words written on the pages of a book. We are followers of a living person, Jesus of Nazareth, the one we call the Word of God, and his dynamic Spirit shapes our lives in amazing new ways. In him we broken ones are made whole…and it’s all a gift!

Thought for the Day: What’s the difference between bible-centered and Christ-centered faith?

Psalm 46:6-11

“He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.” vs. 9

Often we think of the God of the Hebrews as being a warmonger, one who brings devastation and ruin through force of arms. At the very least their God is portrayed as urging the people to do battle against their enemies and to wipe them out completely. But that’s not the picture we see here! Instead the psalmist says that God makes wars cease to the end of the earth by destroying all weapons. He clearly implies that God is not a fan of war, but instead acts powerfully to bring warfare to an end. If that’s the case it means war is a purely human endeavor and is not a part of the divine intention for our world. It really is sad to see how devastating our love of war is for our planet. Tens of millions of people live in refugee camps all over the world, forced from their homes by never-ending armed conflicts. Countries spend trillions of dollars to build devastating war machines and maintain ever vigilant armies. Weapons have become increasingly sophisticated and deadly. And none of this is the will of God! How sad it is to see followers of Jesus climbing on the bandwagon in support of bigger and better bombs. Perhaps some day this madness will come to an end! May God act quickly to make war obsolete!

Thought for the Day: Why do we love war so much?

Psalm 46:1-5

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” vs. 1

Martin Luther loved Psalm 46 and used it as the inspiration for his famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.” For him the psalm was a source of comfort in a time of conflict and challenge…and doubtless that’s what it was for its writer too. Jerusalem was a tough place to live, constantly beset by enemies, and full of internal turmoil. In times like that people of faith find their refuge and strength in God as a very present help in trouble. That means that when darkness closes in and the enemies are at the gates God is by our side…God never deserts us. That conviction brings both peace and courage, an end to anxiety and the willingness to battle on against whatever foes might assail us. That doesn’t mean things will always go our way in the time of trouble…some battles might be lost…we could even lose our lives. But our spirits will be indomitable! We will never give up the struggle. The strength comes not because of our own superior resources or capabilities but through the very real presence of God at that time and in that moment. Some of us have experienced this strength in our own lives but all of us have seen it in the lives of others. We’ve marveled at the courage of saints in the most trying circumstance and heard their testimony. “It’s not me,” they say, “God gave me what I needed!” God was their refuge and strength.

Thought for the Day: When has God been my very present help?