1 Timothy 2:1-4

“First of all I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings should be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.” vss. 1-2

The Church was birthed in the Roman Empire, an autocratic and authoritarian regime, with appointed governors and provincial leaders at every level. Periodically for a variety of reasons, including the whims of the emperor, Christians were subject to imprisonment and persecution. As a result they did their best to fly under the radar. Pastors encouraged their congregations to pray for the well-being of all those in authority. They believed that if there was stability in the civil society the Christians could lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and dignity. Even though our situation is different and our executive and legislative leaders are generally elected, most believers continue to pray for our governmental leaders. But when partisanship dominates the national political conversation, it begins to affect our prayer life too. Some find it difficult to pray for those with radically different political convictions. It really is a test of faith! But as followers of Jesus we have no choice. We will love our enemies and pray for all of our leaders, no matter how we feel about them. How much easier it is to lead a godly life when we start and end our days with praying rather than hating!

Thought for the Day: Why is praying for politicians so hard? 

Psalm 113:5-9

“Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap…” vss. 5-6

While we may not share the psalmist’s belief that God is seated at a distance from the earth, we can certainly agree that God is intimately connected to the poor and the needy. God is, and there is no place in the universe where God is not. So certainly the psalmist is right–God doesn’t miss a thing! And in fact, the more hidden we think things are, the more obvious they are to God. We may think that God favors the millionaires and billionaires, but that’s not even close to being true. It’s the obscure, the poor in their dust and the needy on their ash heaps, who touch the heart of God, and when we devote our lives to lifting such folk up, God touches their hearts with love. Maybe some are tired of hearing that God cares so deeply about the broken and the outcasts of the world, but if we take the scriptures seriously we can’t stop talking about such things. And the more our world keeps stacking the deck to favor the rich and the powerful the more acute the problem becomes. And what’s really sad is that it doesn’t have to be this way! There is plenty of food in our world for everyone, and there’s no good reason why anyone should ever go to bed hungry! 

Thought for the Day: Why do I get tired of hearing about the hungry?

Psalm 113:1-4

“Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord; praise the name of the Lord.” vs. 1

Occasionally believers who are members of what are known as liturgical churches will find themselves at a “praise” service in a non-denominational congregation. While some will enjoy the experience, there are others who are quite dismayed by the non-traditional setting. They don’t like standing up and singing multiple praise songs and choruses to begin the worship. Often there is a band and song leaders, and all the music is loud–and the songs, many of which are similar, seem to have no fixed endings. They go on forever! When such persons return to their own styles of worship they are grateful for the quiet hymns with their poetic verses. While those preferences are understandable, it is difficult to understand the aversion to praise music that some believers have. After all it’s obvious that praise hymns make up a significant portion of the psalms we have in our scriptures, and temple worshippers likely sang repetitive hymns of praise and thanksgiving–and they may even have been accompanied by cymbals, horns, and lyres. iSo It’s possible that even worship “purists” could be edified with some rollicking, joyful, and hand-waving songs of praise. If rock concert fans can do it for their idols, there’s probably no good reason for forgiven sinners not to do the same in offering praise to the Lord of the Universe.

Thought for the Day: What style of song do I use for praising God?

Feel free to delete the September 18 meditation you just received. It accidentally got published a few minutes ago.

Amos 8:3-7

“Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, ‘When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practise deceit with false balances,’” vss. 4, 5a, c

While little is said in the book of Second Kings about the reign of Israel’s king, Jeroboam II, it is noted that he reigned for 41 years and that he seems to have made Israel great again. The borders were expanded and the country experienced a period of prosperity. But all was not right, and when Amos, a wandering prophet from the hill country of Judah was sent by God to Israel, he didn’t hesitate to point out the ways in which the poor were being exploited by the rich. Generally that’s what happens in times of prosperity and some are saying that the growing disparity in the distribution of wealth in our own country is a sign of the same malaise detected by Amos in Israel. According to the so-called “Golden Rule” which some say is operative in our society, “those who have the gold make the rules.” And while the phrase is obviously facetious, it does come close to the truth. The law gives enormous advantage to the wealthy, many times at the expense of the needy. Amos was not impressed by Israel’s boom–we can only imagine what he might say to us. Chances are he would not be pleased!

Thought for the Day: Why does prosperity distort a person’s moral compass?

Luke 15:3-10

“And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’” vs. 6

Because the parable of the lost sheep is so familiar we sometimes don’t even question the lunacy of the shepherd. Even in those pastoral times it’s doubtful that any shepherd would actually leave ninety-nine sheep in the wilderness and then go search for one who had gone missing. It doesn’t make any sense. And Jesus knew it! That’s why he told the parable. He knew the story would show just how much God loves sinners, and explain why he spent so much time with the broken and lost people that the righteous religious folks had written off. We love this message of Jesus and we like to imagine ourselves snuggled in the arms of Jesus and being carried home. But it gets a lot harder when we adopt radical shepherding in our congregations. People get resentful when pastors begin to focus on the least and the lost in their ministry. Some feel abandoned and miss the attention. To put it crassly, some congregants don’t see how the broken folks can help them pay the bills! Jesus gave his full attention to sinners and made no distinction between them and the righteous. And if even one person could be reached with the good news, it was worth a celebration.
Thought for the Day: Have I been more a sheep or a shepherd?

Luke 15:1-2

“Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’” vss. 1-2

The message that Jesus was proclaiming was of particular interest to the broken and the hurting, and when he came to the villages,those folks came out in large numbers to listen to him. He told them stories of a loving and merciful God and that there was a home for them in his peaceable kingdom. He was so different from the religious leaders who regularly labelled them as untouchable and who would have nothing to do with them. It’s easy for the pious to develop that kind of an attitude. Somehow it’s easier to think well of ourselves if we have someone to look down on, and sadly, we see far too much of this negative energy in the Christian community. We’ve forgotten our origin story, that we are the descendents of the broken tax-collectors and sinners who crowded to hear Jesus’ words of love and acceptance. It wasn’t that Jesus despised the Pharisees and the scribes–but in his mind they were as broken as the so-called sinners they found so repugnant. And as they got to know Jesus, there’s no doubt that some enjoyed eating and drinking with him. He was that kind of guy, and his heart was open to all.

Thought for the Day: Who do I find it easy to look down upon?

1 Timothy 1:15-17

“The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.” vs. 15

One of the ways that we can tell a saint from a hypocrite is that the saint will make no pretense of being anything but a sinner. If we marvel at the words of St. Paul about his own miserable and broken life, our jaws will drop wide open when we read the memoirs of saints like Mother Theresa or Saint Francis of Assissi. Both of them, at the height of their ministries, struggled with deep darkness and sadness. Francis, who spent the last half of his life as a homeless person, devoted many hours each day to prayer, and was convinced that there was only brokenness in his heart. Mother Theresa longed for intimacy with God and was rewarded with a deep sense of unworthiness. Yet both of them devoted themselves to joyful living and sacrificial giving. Each of these saints was totally reliant on God’s grace and mercy and bore witness that if God could love them, then God could love anyone. It’s that brand of humility that cloaks the life of the authentic saints–they’re broken people, just like everyone else. And they are all around us in our congregations, tearfully confessing their sins, joyfully receiving assurance of forgiveness, and then going out to love and serve.

Thought for the Day: Where do I rank in the hierarchy of sinners?

1 Timothy 1:12-14

“I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence.” vss. 12-13a

Because the Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus) differ in both style and substance from other Pauline letters, some have presumed that they come from an anonymous hand at a later time in the first century. While it’s impossible to prove this, it is true that these letters were considered as a part of Paul’s legacy. Perhaps we could say that they are more biographical than autobiographical. We do know that Paul was very grateful to Christ Jesus and that he was astounded to have been appointed as an apostle. As he says in other letters he was violently opposed to the presence and the work of the early followers of Jesus in Jerusalem. Paul’s story is a vivid reminder to us that the past does not define our future. Even if we have lived careless and profligate lives, repentance can and does happen. In fact some of the most moving testimonies come from those whose transformation was undeniably miraculous. Such persons probably never forget the shame and embarrassment of their past lives, so they are undoubtedly as grateful as Paul for the new life that they have in Christ. As Amazing Grace puts it, “they once were lost, but now they have been found. Praise God!

Thought for the Day: A testimony about transformation that touched my heart!

Psalm 51:1-10

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.” vs. 1

As the various psalms were collected and made available for temple and liturgical use, Psalm 51 became known as a psalm of David, and it’s not hard to understand why. The scriptural accounts of David’s life paint a picture of a man with powerful passions. Not only did he lead the rebellion against King Saul, Israel’s first king, he was attracted to beautiful women, and was even willing to commit murder to make another man’s wife his own. Nothing is spared in describing his despicable actions, and only after being confronted by the prophet Nathan did he confess his sin. And when he finally did turn to God and ask for forgiveness it’s easy to imagine him using the words of this psalm. We use these same words regularly during the season of Lent when we’re forced to our knees by our own brokenness. It’s an earnest and authentic plea to our merciful and loving God for pardon and peace. As we confess our transgressions we promise that we will repent, knowing full well that what we need is a complete makeover, whatever it takes to renew in us a right spirit and a clean heart. And finally it’s good to remember that ultimately Israel remembered David, not as a murderous adulterer, but as a good and pious man.

Thought for the Day: When have I been forced to my knees by my brokenness?