Ephesians 2:4-10

“For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” vs. 10

Even though we are sinners, by grace God has already raised us up and given us new life in Christ. And when we trust that this is true, we can put away our old selves and devote ourselves to a lifetime of good works. It doesn’t make any difference how we have lived or what we have done, we have already been programmed by God to walk in the way of righteousness. Good works are a part of our DNA–they really are our natural inclination. The problem is that we have regular issues with our operating systems and sometimes viruses can infect our hard drives with devastating results. When that happens the problem is not that we have turned bad, it’s just that our connection with the Holy Spirit has been broken. We are still the good persons God has created us to be but the brokenness has to be addressed. Fortunately the Holy Spirit is the geek of all geeks, and there is no connection that cannot be reestablished. As we confess our sins, our prayers are heard, viruses are destroyed, and forgiveness is ours. Each day, by grace, we get rebooted and we can begin again to live for truth and work for justice in this broken world. And the joy and peace of God will sustain us until the end of our earthly lives!

Thought for the Day: How is my operating system working?

Ephesians 2:1-3

“You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient.” vss. 1-2

We aren’t exactly sure who Paul is talking about when he spoke of the “ruler of the power of the air,” but we can make a pretty good guess. Chances are he’s referring to Satan, or the one known as the prince of demons. Jesus spoke of Satan too when referring to the testing that was a part of his wilderness experience. Evidently Paul had those same experiences, and believed that Satan was the force behind the  trespasses of the disobedient. His words are instructive for this technological and scientific age where many are reluctant to include beings like demons or devils in their worldview. Even if we no longer use the dualistic language of good and evil, it’s important to remember that not every spirit is the Holy Spirit. There are contrary forces that are alive and well in our world and, unless we are alert, they can have a powerful influence in our lives. Often masquerading as good, they distort and undermine the truth by entangling millions in their lies and deceptions. Paul doesn’t dwell on such forces but instead points his readers to the life they have in Christ Jesus. Even if we’ve been deceived, we are not condemned! The forgiveness we have in the cross is for all people, and not just for the good.

Thought for the Day: How can I discern which spirit is Holy?

Psalm 107:17-22

“Some were sick through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities endured affliction; Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress;” vss. 17, 19

The psalmist knew that sometimes people didn’t get what they deserved, that even though their lives had been marked by rebellion and complaining, the Lord’s healing love was unconditional. Thousands of years later folks continue to find consolation in that surprising good news, especially those who have not led exemplary lives. There are a multitude of ways for us to get messed up in the course of a lifetime. Sometimes it happens early on with parental abuse or neglect. And then there are those “friends” we make during our school days. They’re quick to welcome us into their rebel culture and before we know it we’ve started a downward spiral into a world of licentiousness and excess. Oh, the bad choices we make in those formative years–they can haunt our lives for decades. By the time we even think of our long-neglected faith and come to our senses, we imagine we’ve wandered too long and too far, and that there’s no way back to God. And then comes the big surprise! God’s love has been there all along, and the image of God remains in our souls. In our distress we are lifted up and find our salvation, and we continue our journey with joy in our hearts. Oh, how good it is to be loved by God!

Thought for the Day: What has messed me up along the way?

Psalm 107:1-3

“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.” vs. 1

Occasionally, especially in the middle of Lent or a particularly upsetting news cycle, it’s helpful for people of faith to pause and give thanks to the Lord for the relentless and unceasing love that undergirds our being. Sometimes we’re like old crows as we plod through life. Distracted by everything that moves or glitters we spend our days flitting from this to that, hoping that we can perhaps find some precious bauble that we can take home to our nests. It’s wearisome to live that way and often we wonder why we end up so bothered and irritated. Often it gets so bad that we can’t even watch the evening news without blowing a gasket, which is exactly the intent of the broadcaster! That’s when we need to turn back to the basics and repeat the refrain of the psalmist, “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,” and then go out into our yards and wonder at the beauty of the spring daisies popping up in the yards of our neighborhoods. All the political scheming is here today and gone tomorrow as the old disruptors continue their march to oblivion. But the beauty of the flowers is forever, and they return year after year to remind us of God’s presence and steadfast love. We are so blessed in our spectacular universe, and when we’ve been upset, it feels good to return to the love that will never let us go!

Thought for the Day: Where will I get my “God fix” today?

Numbers 21:4-9

“Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died.” vs. 6

It’s not uncommon for people to wonder why awful things are happening in their lives. And for people of faith the wondering is often accompanied by the question, “Why is God doing this to me?” Behind the question lurks the popular assumption that when we sin, God will arrange for our punishment, maybe not with poisonous snakes, but with some other calamity. Certainly there are many bible passages similar to this one from Numbers that provide a basis for such a picture of God. The problem with such notions is that they don’t hold up to the image of God that we see in Jesus. While his disciples assumed that death and disease were a punishment for sin, Jesus taught them that God was the source of life and forgiveness. Obviously there are consequences for foolish and careless behaviors. Sometimes we do suffer for our sins, but that’s not because God has it in for us. Rather, it’s a corollary of the basic law of cause and effect that’s built into the universe. But in reality there’s plenty of bad stuff that just randomly comes our way in the course of our days. God doesn’t need to add more! Instead, God is the source of comfort and consolation when the ugliness hits home. Remember, God is our healer and not our harmer!

Thought for the Day: What is the law of cause and effect?

John 2:19-22

“After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.” vs. 22

As he concludes the story of how an angry Jesus cleansed the temple precincts by chasing off the merchants and the moneychangers, the gospel writer John gives some clues about how the gospels were written. First he reminds us that it was after the resurrection that the disciples remembered the things that Jesus had said. There were no people taking notes during Jesus’ sermons or conversations–no one had tape recorders and there were certainly no smart phones. All the things we know about Jesus’ words and actions come through the memories of his disciples. This doesn’t mean they can’t be trusted–this is how information was passed on in those days, and because memories were finely honed, the stories are likely quite accurate. After some years those accounts were written down to preserve their transmission to the next generation. When the gospels were finally written the writers made use of those written sources as they composed the editions we have in our bibles. That’s why we see differences in the gospel accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry, and what a blessing that is! It’s what we might expect from stories that have been remembered and passed down through different witnesses. The bible is a thoroughly human book in its origins and it’s for that reason that we can trust its words.

Thought for the Day: Why do we remember different things about the same event?

John 2:13-17

“Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.” vs. 15

If we were asked to describe Jesus we would likely use words like wise, charismatic, loving, humble, and gentle. Yet passages like this one from John would indicate that we should also add the adjective “angry” to the list. Because many struggle with anger issues, it can be difficult to even imagine that Jesus had those feelings. But he did! And a careful reading of the gospels will show us many instances where Jesus expressed anger, and he did it without apology! So anger is an appropriate emotion for disciples of Jesus, but not in the ways that we often experience it. His anger was not the out of control explosive type that plagues us on the freeways or in conversations about politics. Jesus got angry at the misguided efforts of the Pharisee and scribes to make the law a burden. He got angry at the exclusion of sinners from God’s grace, and the grinding poverty of the poor. In the instance mentioned by John he was infuriated at the systematic abuse of the temple sacrificial system. Certainly there will be times when we too are called to express righteous indignation at the ways people continue to be abused and neglected. Some of the things being done in our world deserve our angry and unapologetic responses. As disciples of Jesus, it really is our duty!

Thought for the Day: What makes me angry?

1 Corinthians 1:22-25

“For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” vs. 25

When Jesus was crucified, as far as the Jewish leaders were concerned, that was the end of his claim to be the messiah. But they hadn’t reckoned with the resurrection! As far as the disciples  were concerned, his crucifixion was all part of the divine plan, and the cross became their rallying cry. They gloried in the message of the crucified Christ and proclaimed it wherever they traveled. The Jews had expected a king who would restore the kingdom to Israel. What they got was a plan of universal salvation that would restore fallen humanity. What had seemed to be foolish and weak turned out to be the wisdom and strength of God. There’s a part of us that would still like some triumphant power move from God, an army of angels from heaven perhaps, that would root out all sin and evildoers. Humans have always been suckers for the brash and the belligerent, and we half-way admire tyrants. But that is not how God operates. Instead of aggression we get unconditional love and relentless self-sacrifice, and ultimately it’s in death that we discover the door to eternal life. That the message that has been transforming lives for hundreds of years, and that’s the way it will continue to be. And bit by bit as we take that message to heart, we are recreated, and the image of God shines forth.

Thought for the Day: Why was the message of the cross so powerful?

1 Corinthians 1:18-21

“Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” vs. 20

Each day we see reports about the heart-breaking loss of innocent lives in a seemingly endless cycle of wars and revolutions. There seems to be no end to our capacity to inflict suffering on one another, and most distressingly, there seems to be no end in sight. Recalcitrant powerful people are unwilling to yield in any way to their perceived enemies. Of course all this has happened before. In the last century tens of millions of people died in our world wars, one of which was said to be “the war to end all wars.” Since all are created in the image of God, and gifted with the ability to engage in rational thought, it might seem reasonable to expect that after all these centuries of blood-shed and mayhem, someone might have come up with a way to stop the fighting. Maybe Paul is right, and the so-called wisdom of the world is nothing but foolishness and pointless chatter. It certainly would seem that way. Paul believed that the salvation of humanity is tied to the message of the cross, the good news that selfless sacrifice is the answer to the problem of sin. He pointed to Jesus and said, “This is the way,” and the wise people of his age called him foolish. But maybe the real foolishness is to keep on doing the same things while hoping for different results! 

Thought for the Day: What is an alternative to war?

Psalm 19

“Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” vss, 2-4a

The psalmist believed that God was revealed in the creation. If we wanted to know God all we needed to do was open up our eyes and take a look around. And if we do that, the psalmist wants us to know, we will discover the glory of the Lord. Even though we hear no speech or words, the voice of creation speaks clearly and the wonders of the universe are made known. And it is spectacular! The psalmist wrote these words thousands of years ago, and their truth is amplified with each new scientific discovery. We will never cease to be surprised–that’s just how wonderful this old world is. And the neat thing is that as we grow in our knowledge of our surroundings we are also immersing ourselves in the essence of God. There was a time when our knowledge of God was limited–many thought of God as a supreme being living off in the clouds in a place called heaven. But as we have continued to listen to creation’s speech in the day and in the night, exploring our God connections, knowledge and intimacy grows. We know now that we are never apart from God because we are eternally a part of God.

Thought for the Day: What has creation taught me about God?