Philippians 3:20-4:1

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.” vs. 1

Paul was writing from prison and he knew how difficult it would be for the Philippians as they lived out their life in Christ. Even though they knew that one day all things would be made new and their transformation would be complete, he felt in his bones that there would be hard times ahead for them. Not only would they be rejected by their synagogues, the Roman occupiers could be counted on to arrest and torment them on almost any pretext. But Paul also knew that the blessings of faithfulness would be of immense value, so he encouraged those who he loved so much to stay firm in their commitment to the Lord Jesus. Sometimes we need those words of encouragement too. We live in strange times, with each day bringing us notices of changes in government practices and policies, and we’re not sure what the future will bring. What seemed unthinkable has become plausible, and we have no sense of what the end game will be. The one thing that we do have is our solid conviction that Jesus is Lord, and that in him we can be secure and protected even when some are predicting nothing but doom and gloom. We really are the beloved of God, and no matter what politicians do, God’s love trumps all!

Thought for the Day: How safe and secure am I feeling?

Philippians 3:17-19

“Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us.” vs. 17

Paul’s conviction that humility was the most significant virtue in the life of a believer did not diminish his self-confidence one single bit. When he was trying to demonstrate for the Philippians what the new life in Christ was like, he unapologetically told them to imitate himself, and to carefully observe the people they knew who were already doing just that. Was this a lapse into arrogance? Not at all! Paul is simply writing with the confidence of a preacher who practiced what he preached! Would that we all could say to those who hunger for spiritual depth, “These are my spiritual practices, why don’t you give them a try!” It seems a simple thing to do and we’re used to doing it with other things. Instructors of all kinds will often say, “Watch me and do what I do,” but we’re reluctant to act with such confidence when it comes to faith. Our tendency is to privatize our spiritual convictions and be silent about what we believe. And that would be okay except for one thing. Our core values are foundational for the best life, and unless we’re willing to share them, others will never know! And keeping our mouths shut is certainly not a mark of genuine humility. This would be a horrible world if the best of us were silent.

Thought for the Day: What is my most imitable practice?

Psalm 27:7-14

“I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” vss. 13-14

Those who believe in resurrection for themselves and for those they love are sometimes led to discount the significance of life in this world right now. As some anonymous sage has said, “They become so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.” While that’s obviously an exaggeration, such a thing could never be said of this psalmist. In fact, most psalm writers had only a fragmentary notion of resurrection at best. But they did have a strong sense of thankfulness for the life that they were currently living, and this psalmist expected to see signs of the Lord’s goodness every day of his life. What a gift it is to be able to live like this! Imagine waking up every morning with praise on our lips and expecting that goodness has been waiting to come and spend the day with us. Can we actually live this way? Of course! The key for the psalmist was waiting for the Lord, being strong and courageous in the presence of the brokenness that too often dominates the news of the day. For we who are believers it is good to know that death is not the end, but let us never forget that “this is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Thought for the Day: What goodness am I seeing right now?

Psalm 27:1-6

“One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.” vs. 4

We don’t know what kind of distractions the psalmist might have been facing but there’s no doubt that he had a deep and profound trust in the Lord. He starts with a question, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?” All he wants is to remain centered on the Lord all the days of his life. He’s not asking to live within the temple sanctuary space, but to see the beauty of God in every moment. That kind of life is available for us too. Jesus called it life in the kingdom of God. It’s when we live with expectancy and confidence, knowing that treasure is waiting to be stumbled upon, and that joy comes with every healed relationship and that restoration is just around the corner. It’s a triumphant life in which bullies never have the last word and where despots are vanquished. It could be that there will be tears and sadness too, such days come in this broken beautiful world, but God will always protect us and our worship will be filled with shouts of joy, and at the end of every day, peace will be ours. This is the promise of the psalmist, and it’s the promise of God.

Thought for the Day: What is the center of my life?

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

“Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.” vss. 5b-6

According to the Hebrew scriptures Abraham stood at the very beginning of what might be called the historical period. He and Sarah were the patriarch and matriarch of the Hebrew peoples, and many stories were told about their encounters with the Divine. According to this story, even though Abraham had been promised that he would have many descendants, he had now grown old without having a son. He and Sarah despaired of having any children. But the promise was never withdrawn, and amazing as it may seem, Abraham believed the Lord. And then there comes this remarkable verse, “and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.” It’s this verse that becomes the centerpiece of the apostle Paul’s argument in Romans that righteousness comes, not by works of the law, but by faith. In Paul’s estimation it doesn’t make any difference who our parents are, or whether we’ve been circumcised, or even whether we’re male or female. It’s all grace, a gift from God, and it all depends on faith. If we trust that we’re the children of God, and that we are loved sacrificially and unconditionally, then we have salvation, now and forever. Will there be good works and deeds of mercy? Of course–those are all a by-product of faith. It’s simple faith that holds the key to life!

Thought for the Day: How strong is my faith?

Luke 4:5-13

“Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’ When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.vss. 12-13

According to Luke the devilish tests in the wilderness were designed to make Jesus question whether he really was the Son of God. It was a crucial time for him. If he had yielded to his doubts, he would have lost his resolve, and would likely have abandoned his mission. We know what that’s like. It’s likely every one of us have at one time or another doubted our calling and mission. Now it’s one thing to have those feelings about a job or a profession. Sometimes we really do need to shift our direction and try something new–it’s the healthiest thing we could possibly do. It would be pure foolishness to doggedly keep doing something we hated and weren’t very good at in the first place. But it’s another thing to doubt our baptismal calling to live as a child of God. We have been called for a purpose, to be the hands and feet of Jesus in bringing healing to a broken world. We’ve even been equipped by the power of the Holy Spirit to use our God-given gifts and talents in our work. The temptation to abandon that calling is intense and comes at us in every stage of life. What a relief it is when we find the Spirit strength to continue in faith! Not only do we pass the test, but the whole world is blessed!

Thought for the Day: When is my faith tested? 

Luke 4:1-4

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.” vss. 1-2a

Even though the numbers don’t quite add up, the season of Lent is meant to replicate the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. For Jesus these were a Spirit-led extended time of reflection and meditation, during which he considered a series of options for his ministry. These options were tests and Luke says they were orchestrated by the devil. Evidently the Spirit did not have a “messiah handbook” for Jesus to study before he began his work, and the direction of his life was not yet planned out. In other words, Jesus faced the possibilities for life in much the same way we do, except that we generally don’t go on retreat before we begin our work. The devil’s main objective was to divert Jesus from his call to sacrificial service by considering more worldly alternatives. We certainly aren’t strangers to those kinds of temptations. In a world where success is defined as the accumulation of power and wealth, some choose careers that will bring them lots of money. Thoughts of service are far from their minds. All of these things are worth our reflection, no matter what season of life we’re in. And it’s never too late to follow the urgings of the Spirit, and say no to the devil’s plans.

Thought for the Day: What might the Spirit have in mind for me?

Romans 10:8b-13

“For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.” vs. 10

Through his entire ministry Paul struggled to convince his audience that salvation did not come through obedience to the law but through grace to any and all who believed. Here in his letter to the Romans he makes it as clear as possible. Righteousness comes by grace through faith, and is available to all, both Jews and Greeks. His insights have been a great gift to believers, but we should never underestimate that power of the law to undermine faith. Legalists have taken over Paul’s words of grace and have managed to turn them into a new law. Now it is said that unless one confesses with their mouth that Jesus is their Lord and Savior they cannot be saved. Countless believers live with fear in their hearts because their loved ones have never said the “Jesus Prayer.” They seem not to realize or care that their insistence on the letter of the law means the condemnation of billions. Paul wasn’t defining the boundaries of the kingdom of God, on the contrary he was trying to let people know that it was a lot bigger than they had ever dreamed. And so it is with us. The minute we get uptight about who’s in and who’s out, we’ve lost the inclusive vision of Christ. 

Thought for the Day: When have I worried about the salvation of a loved one?

Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16

“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” vss. 11-12

Most of us are, familiar with these verses from Psalm 91, not because we’ve read them in scripture, but because we’ve heard them sung as one of the verses in “On Eagles’ Wings.” That devotional hymn, dating back to about 1979, has become enormously popular and is sung at funeral masses and memorial services around the world. There’s almost no way you can hear its tune and accompanying lyrics without feeling a sense of tearful hope. The song lifts us up, and for a moment at least, we can feel ourselves being carried off to safe refuge in the arms of God. We can imagine that the psalmist would be pleased in having his words used in such an evocative and hopeful way. After all that was his intention. He wanted people to know that God was their refuge and fortress, an ever present source of help in a time of trouble. It’s a good scripture for the beginning of our lenten journey. As we take time to reflect on our broken world we need always to remember that one day there will be restoration, and that days of pain do not last forever. We may not always be protected from ugliness and despair, but we can be confident that deliverance awaits–and one day God will make us to shine like the sun.

Thought for the Day: What is my favorite funeral hymn?

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.” vss. 19-20

It’s not unusual in these times to hear people talking of their financial advisor, usually a knowledgeable professional who can help them manage their limited resources in a way that will ensure a comfortable retirement and/or distribution of their estate. Given the intricacies of money management in our system, retaining the services of such an advisor is a wise and prudent thing to do. In that context it’s interesting to read in the Sermon on the Mount what Jesus had to say about storing up treasures on earth. He knows that folks are interested in acquiring wealth–that desire has been around forever. But Jesus also knew the risks that were involved, and he recommended a different approach, what he called storing up treasures in heaven. Many who have tried doing this have discovered that it isn’t as easy as it sounds. As a result some have engaged spiritual advisors, persons with good listening skills who are familiar with the workings of the Spirit, and who can offer solid spiritual direction. This heavenly treasure is far more valuable than any well-invested financial portfolio and can never be stolen by thieves. Good spiritual advisors aren’t easy to find, but once found, they’re worth their weight in gold.

Thought for the Day: What are the qualities of a good spiritual advisor?