THAT'S 'right' NEIGHBOURLY of YOU

 

May 31, 2024

Let us end our week of reflections 

by looking at Jesus' teaching on Neighbouring.

Luke 10:27-30

The man answered, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.” And, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

THAT'S 'right' NEIGHBOURLY of YA

Jesus was asked a significant question by a religious leader, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” This man was interested in what Jesus had to say about the topic of eternity.

Jesus however, turned the question back to him, “What is written in the law?” The man acknowledged that eternal life is promised to those who love God deeply; those who demonstrate love for God by the way they live, and the way they love others.

But, the man then asks Jesus to define the term “neighbor.”

In response, Jesus proceeded to tell the story of a person who demonstrated real love for God and others. It is the familiar story of The Good Samaritan. (Read Luke 10:30-37)

The essence of the story is that many people who claim to be religious do not truly understand God’s heart. Like the priest and Levite in the parable, they pass by people who are wounded, who have problems and are facing pain, they avoid personal involvement and investment in others lives. Jesus’ parable highlights that while they may give the appearance of spiritual maturity, externally, engaging in the right spiritual activities, they are missing an essential ingredient of heart, love for their neighbor.

The story contrasts the responses of individuals, like the “Expert in the Law”, whose spirituality is primarily self focused with that of a despised Samaritan who had the right kind of response and who understood God’s heart. In the story the Samaritan, took the time to get involved in the process of helping a hurting man. He had a compassionate heart. At his own expense, and sacrificing his own comfort, he made sure the beaten man was cared for and that healing occurred. He demonstrated the real stuff of salvation, a transformed heart that loved God and cared for others.

This parable was Jesus’ way of communicating how the saving love of God affects us. The saving love of God is the kind that works in us and transforms us into caring and compassionate people. Biblical salvation produces a desire to love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, AND it causes us to love our neighbors as ourselves.



Lord, would You please deepen my love for my neighborhood, this “place” I call home, and the people in it? Again I’m reminded of Jesus’ example, “The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14). Amen

WALK. PRAY. PAY ATTENTION. LISTEN. Day 3

 

MAY 30, 2024

Luke 19:41-42

41 As he (Jesus) approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.

WALK. PRAY. PAY ATTENTION. LISTEN.

Lord, help me to see my neighborhood 

with Your eyes. 

May my heart break 

for those things that break Your heart. Amen

WALK. PRAY. PAY ATTENTION. LISTEN. DAY 2

 

May 29, 2024

 

Mark 12:29-31 The Message (MSG)

Jesus said, “The first in importance is, ‘Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these.”

 

WALK. PRAY. PAY ATTENTION. LISTEN.

The last couple of days you likely noticed this heading of  WALK. PRAY. PAY ATTENTION. LISTEN. The intention of the title is to help us focus on our neighbors and our surroundings. As we move through our neighborhoods, walk or ride,  or mentally picture your street or the homes and people near you, the invitation this week is to pray for the area where God has placed us. Pray for the well being of your neighbors, and neighborhood.

 

Today We Pray:

Lord, as I walk past my neighbors’ homes, I’m mindful that I don’t know many of their names. Help me to learn the names of those living by me. Amen.

 

 

WALK. PRAY. PAY ATTENTION. LISTEN. DAY 1

 

May 28, 2024

There is something deep and transformational that happens when we walk the streets of our neighborhood while talking with God. You’re invited to make a "practice” by walking and praying through your own community.... I believe God has placed us where we are for a purpose and that loving our neighborhood's is part his plan. Building on Monday's devotion and God's instruction to "Pray for the Prosperty of the city ...." the rest of this week each day I will be posting a Bible Verse and a Prayer to help us "Love Where You Live" by praying for our neighborhood. 

DAY 1

John 1:14 The Message (MSG)

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.

WALK. PRAY. PAY ATTENTION. LISTEN. 

Lord, please deepen my affection for my neighborhood, the place I consider home. Amen.

COMMUNITY PRAYER

 

MAY 27, 2024


Jeremiah 29:7

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

COMMUNITY PRAYER

Here is the backstory of the above verse. God’s People had been taken away into captivity. The Babylonians were God’s unsuspected means of judgment against Jerusalem and her inhabitants. The outcome was that the Israelites would be away from their homeland seventy years.

Jeremiah was God’s prophet during this time. God spoke through Jeremiah and told the his people to seek the welfare for the city in which they would live during the exile. God was saying, “Your survival depends on them. Your welfare depends on their welfare.” “Your ‘success’ during the exile is dependent not on praying for yourselves, but for how you’re praying for others.” This seems so contrary to some of my praying, it almost seems backwards. Would you agree? That Praying for others is more important than praying for our own stuff.

As I reflected on today’s text, I was thinking that if God were to send Jeremiah to our worshipping community, he would have the same message for us! He would tell us to pray for our community. I wonder if as Jesus followers our prayer is not so much for us to grow; as it is for those in our neighborhood to grow. It’s not for us to be blessed; it’s for our neighbors and community to be blessed.

I wonder if Jeremiah visited us, he would say something like “be Jesus to your community. Pray for your neighbor’s. Be present for them. Work and volunteer along with them. Love them with a care and compassion that Jesus modeled for us.

Who would have thought that our well-being was dependent upon how we prayed for the well-being of our neighborhood?



PRAYER

God, we ask for a flourishing community, where neighbors learn to love and care for each other and come to recognize your presence. We pray that we can be good stewards of Your love. Amen.

'TILL I REST IN YOU

 

May 24, 2024

We are going to conclude our week of a mini “Prayer Retreat” by reading Psalm 72.

This psalm is one of the nine Royal Psalms (2, 18, 20, 21, 45, 72, 89, 110, 132) these are Psalms that sing praise to the king as God’s chosen representative on earth. They are prayers from the worship life of God’s people for the king and his role as earthly ruler. You may recall that in Israel’s history the king represented the ruling presence of God among the people. So, with this backdrop the Psalm begins with “Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son” (v. 1).

Psalm 72

1 Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king’s son.
2 May he judge your people with righteousness
and your poor with justice.
3 May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor.

5 May he live while the sun endures
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth.
7 In his days may righteousness flourish
and peace abound, until the moon is no more.

8 May he have dominion from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 May his foes bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles
render him tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts.
11 May all kings fall down before him,
all nations give him service.

12 For he delivers the needy when they call,
the poor and those who have no helper.
13 He has pity on the weak and the needy
and saves the lives of the needy.
14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
and precious is their blood in his sight.

15 Long may he live!
May gold of Sheba be given to him.
May prayer be made for him continually
and blessings invoked for him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain in the land;
may it wave on the tops of the mountains;
may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people blossom in the cities
like the grass of the field.
17 May his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun.
May all nations be blessed in him;
may they pronounce him happy.

18 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous things.
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever;
may his glory fill the whole earth.
Amen and Amen.

'TILL I REST IN YOU

I suspect in your reading of Psalm 72 you recognize these words as a vision of the rule and reign of our Messiah Jesus. Indeed, the vision of the king who saved the poor and needy was completed in Jesus.

The righteous rule of the Davidic king in Psalm 72 is signalled as a ruler over all, including nature, demon possession, and even death. Jesus is the one who calms the storm as he crosses the Sea of Galilee with his disciples (Mark 4:35-41), exorcises the demon-possessed man as they reach the Gentile shore (Mark 5:1-20), heals a woman with an issue of blood (Mark 5:24b-34) while he is on the way to heal Jairus’ daughter, who in the delay of healing the woman, has since died, and Jesus raises her from death (Mark 5:21-24a, 35-43).

Psalm 72 is not only about kings and kingdoms, it also illustrates an important universal principle: trust placed in anyone or anything that is not eternal is ultimately doomed to fail. How many of us have thought that a new job, increased wealth, or an intimate friendship will bring us the peace we so deeply long for? Yet, we discover these are not sufficient. True enough, we might be fortunate enough to encounter a few moments of delight, even a few years perhaps, but eventually everything loses its shine and fails to satisfy and despair sets in. Our heart becomes restless.

I believe, the message of Psalm 72 is that hopes placed into anything earthly will never satisfy, but hopes placed in God will always bring fulfillment. As Augustine famously put it: “Thou has made us for thyself, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”

May we all find our rest and hope in the eternal God. Amen

MAKE ME LIKE A CACTUS?

 

MAY 23, 2024 

Psalm 63 is one of the most loved of the Psalms. In fact in the late 300’s AD it was ordained by the Church leaders “that no day should pass without the public singing of this Psalm.” Psalm 63 became know as “the morning hymn.”

As Part of our “Prayer Retreat”, let us read together "the morning hymn” 

Psalm 63 

1 You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.

9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.

11 But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God will glory in him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

MAKE ME LIKE A CACTUS?

During David’s reign, his son, Absalom, led a rebellion against him. David and his loyal followers had to flee for their lives. During that time David spent a short while in the northeastern portion of the wilderness of Judah before he crossed over the Jordan River. In that barren land, fleeing for his life from his own son, feeling disgraced and rejected, with an uncertain future, David wrote Psalm 63. The heading in my Bible for this Psalm reads A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

Talk about a pressure filled, and difficult place. I don’t know about you but if I was in David’s situation, one thing I wouldn’t be doing is writing a song. I’d be saying “get me out of here!!” But David wrote a song, Psalm 63.

Do you have a cactus plant in your home? If you do I invite you to let this plant be your contact with Nature today. Let it represent the wilderness or dessert place of Psalm 63. The “dry and thirsty land where there is no water.”

I was at a gathering and the leader said the following: “Pray that God would help you to be like the cactus.” Huh, I thought? What is your response to that statement?

Later I did some digging and I discovered that in the Bible, the cactus is often associated with endurance, perseverance, and the ability to flourish in challenging circumstances. That's what we see in David in this Psalm. The Cactus also stands out because of its lasting nature and ability to store water. This ability symbolizes the spiritual resources, nourishment that God gives us, that sustains us even in the most dry and difficult seasons of life. Perhaps you are feeling the pressure of life, feeling overwhelmed and worried, maybe fear filled. God feels distant, and you feel dry like you are in the dessert place. Look at that Cactus.  “Pray that God would help you to be like the cactus.”

Let us spend a few moments meditating on Psalm 63 and let David’s heart for God guide you today. “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (vs 1).

What really strikes me about this Psalm is that Psalm 63 contains no petition. David expresses longing for God’s presence, praise, joy, fellowship with God, confidence in God’s salvation. But there is not one word of asking for help or deliverance or even spiritual blessings. The psalm shows us that David’s priority was to seek the Lord. Maybe that is what God is reminding us of through David, 
“Seeking God is essential!” Maybe we need to join David, the man after God’s own heart, and declare from "the morning hymn":

You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you. Amen

 

FOR THE BIRDS

 

MAY 22, 2024



Our Prayer Retreat this week has taken us on an intimate walk or path with Jesus, and yesterday we were invited to acknowledge Jesus as our Rock. Today we look to Psalm 104, this psalm is often read on Pentecost Sunday with special focus on the line “When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.” (vs. 30)


Psalm 104

1 Praise the Lord, my soul.

Lord my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

2 The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent
3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes winds his messengers,
flames of fire his servants.

5 He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.
6 You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 But at your rebuke the waters fled,
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
8 they flowed over the mountains,
they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them.
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross;
never again will they cover the earth.

10 He makes springs pour water into the ravines;
it flows between the mountains.
11 They give water to all the beasts of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky nest by the waters;
they sing among the branches.
13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
14 He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to cultivate—
bringing forth food from the earth:
15 wine that gladdens human hearts,
oil to make their faces shine,
and bread that sustains their hearts.
16 The trees of the Lord are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 There the birds make their nests;
the stork has its home in the junipers.
18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats;
the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.

19 He made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.
20 You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
21 The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.
23 Then people go out to their work,
to their labor until evening.

24 How many are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.
26 There the ships go to and fro,
and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

27 All creatures look to you
to give them their food at the proper time.
28 When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.
29 When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.
30 When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.

31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works—
32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the Lord.
35 But may sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

Praise the Lord.

FOR THE BIRDS

In Matthew's Gospel Jesus says to his disciples “Look at the birds of the air” and that is what I invite us to do today. Let us look and listen for the birds of the air. I sometimes get to watch the birds and listen to their songs in trees behind our house. Sometimes a little earlier in the day than I wished. 😊 I consider these moments very precious in connecting with God's beautiful creation.

Today, notice how joyfully the birds sing! Watch them as they playfully fly from branch to branch. Do you recall Jesus said look at the birds and then reminds us that the same Heavenly Father that cares for them cares for you and me. So, let the birds lead you to give thanks and praise to God. With the birds we join to sing God’s love song, and remember what Zephaniah tells us, that our Creator God “rejoices over us with singing.” (3:17)

Reflect on the birds and use Psalm 104:1, 12, 28, 30 as a guide. “Praise the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great… The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches… When you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things… When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.”

How have you been appreciating God’s goodness and care in these recent days?

This would be a great time to smile, sing, and give thanks to God!

 

BE MY ROCK

 

May 21, 2024

Today we continue our “Prayer Retreat”. Yesterday we walked and reflected on the words of Psalm 16, did you find a path to walk with Jesus, find a “sacred space” to talk with God?

Today let’s read Psalm 62.

1 Truly my soul finds rest in God;
my salvation comes from him.
2 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

3 How long will you assault me?
Would all of you throw me down—
this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
4 Surely they intend to topple me
from my lofty place;
they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their hearts they curse.

5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.

9 Surely the lowborn are but a breath,
the highborn are but a lie.
If weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
together they are only a breath.
10 Do not trust in extortion
or put vain hope in stolen goods;
though your riches increase,
do not set your heart on them.

11 One thing God has spoken,
two things I have heard:
“Power belongs to you, God,
12 and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”;
and, “You reward everyone
according to what they have done.”

BE MY ROCK

Today lets find a rock, maybe a large one to sit on or sit near, or perhaps a small one to hold. In his desert trials David often found shelter, safety, rest, and space for prayer in a cave in the rocks. Perhaps in some area you’re feeling unsure or unstable, fearful or indecisive. If that is you, I invite you to open your heart to God and tell God just how you feel, don’t hold back your feelings. Be open and transparent before your Creator today. 

Now, use the rock to meditate on Psalm 62. Pray in your own words that God’s words from Psalm 62 would be true for you. Perhaps you will focus in on verses 1 and 2: “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation.”

In what way or area of life do you need Jesus to be your Rock today?

 

TAKE A WALK

 

MAY 20, 2024



Jesus gave the following invitation to his disciples, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Jesus we are told went out to a solitary place to spend time with God. Even the Creator in Genesis 1, when the work of creation was completed, rested. The point is we need these rejuvenating spaces in our lives too. This week let us engage in a PRAYER RETREAT together.

Each day we are going to read a Psalm together, and you will be invited to take that Psalm with you into God’s beautiful creation to allow the “general revelation” of our Creator in all that he has made, connect with the “special revelation” of God’s word to us.

We begin today with PSALM 16.


1 Keep me safe, my God,
for in you I take refuge.

2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”
3 I say of the holy people who are in the land,
“They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”
4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
or take up their names on my lips.

5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

TAKE A WALK

If you are able to, lets take a walk with Jesus on a path, sidewalk, in your immediate surroundings.

While you walk consider a decision you need to make and with that in mind imagine yourself following Jesus or walking side by side with him. Pray about what path you are to take. Perhaps its even more important to pray about how you’re to walk on whichever path you take.

Let David’s words in Psalm 16 inspire you: “I have set the Lord before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body will also rest secure… You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (verses 8-11).

What is Jesus saying to you on your path?

In your daily life what helps you to walk in the joy of the Lord?

AND SO IT BEGINS

 

 May 17, 2024

AND SO IT BEGINS

Summer is here. I know that officially on the calendar June 20th is summer's start. But lets be honest, on the street, the May long weekend really kicks things off. I know this because I received notice that the City of Windsor, will open up the splashpads across the city this weekend, several people I have talked to in our neighborhood are heading for a campground, or an AirBNB out of the city or county to visit family or hang with friends.

I mention all this simply to remind us that we are entering that season where we spend more time outside, and therefore we are in the perfect location to be overwhelmed by God’s presence in the blessing of creation. 

Throughout the Bible the context for experiencing God’s overwhelming presence is not inside a temple or synagogue but out in the created world of night time starlit skies, slow sun set and sunrises, beautiful lakes, rivers, or falls, hills and valleys, nature walks and hikes, campfires and family. These and more reflect and reveal God’s blessings and care for each of us. So, today let us be reminded to stop whatever activities we are doing this weekend and take in God’s wonderful gift.

In Nehemiah 9:6 we read, “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.”

Job 12:7-10 says, “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all humankind.”

I wonder, if we are allowing God to teach us through his creation? Are we taking in the unspeakable mystery and majesty found in the work of God’s hands? Or are we taking these for granted and merely passing by these beautiful, sights that remind us that God is Good?

Do you recall what Psalm 19:1-4 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” Here we are reminded that God is always speaking to us. Every piece of creation declares the depth of God’s love, power, faithfulness, and nearness. Will we stop and listen? Will we find time and make space to open the eyes of our hearts to receive the beauty, creativity, and love displayed before us by our loving Creator?

I discovered that to seek God without taking notice of his creation is to miss out on one of the most tangible and beautiful ways he speaks to us. May we spend time this season looking at and reflecting on the work of God’s hands. Truth is the People of God across thousands of years have used creation to learn about their Creator. We experience eye-opening revelation from God through his creation. May we be worshippers who seek God through every avenue available to us. May we be believers who have the faith and patience to learn about our heavenly Father as revealed by the work of his hands.

Have a blessed long weekend!!

 

FEAR HIDES, FAITH ADVANCES

 

MAY 16, 2024

Matthew 25:14-

14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

FEAR HIDES, FAITH ADVANCES

A rich man delegates the management of his wealth to his servants, much as investors in today’s markets do. We often gloss over the word “talent”, but a talent represented about 15 years of income for servants like these. That is, whether you had received five, two, or a single talent, you would have just been entrusted with a huge amount of wealth. And while the first two servants seem to take that as a sign of their master’s confidence and affirmation and hence risk that wealth seeking to do well for him, it’s only the third servant who is paralyzed by fear.

In reading our account of Matthew 25, I recall an old saying “fear hides, faith advances!” What stands out to me in our reading is the “fear factor” of the third servant. Why is he afraid of the Master? There is nothing in this parable before the third servant speaks that indicates anything about the Master being good or bad. In fact, one might argue that this Master is generous and trusting. Where is the evidence of the Master’s character that seems so troubling to this servant, but who seemed so gracious to the other servants?

I wonder if a key to understanding this parable may have more to do with one’s view of God, than just the burying of money. Among the Jews who followed the Pharisees influence, some imagined that God was a severe judge, who treated people according to the merit they had gained through the obedient observance of the Law. They lived under the weight of a belief about rewards and punishment. They held to a notion that God was watching and waiting for a misstep so he could launch a “lightening bolt” in their direction.

Understandable, that view produced fear in the people and prevented them from growing. It especially prevented them from making space in their lives to receive and accept the new experience of God which Jesus communicated. This new experience that Jesus revealed was that God is the God of grace. I mean think about the stories in the Gospels how many of them are focused on the “outsider”? Those that the religious establishment of the day neglected or treated as “dirty rotten sinners” that as a result were excluded from God’s kingdom. This was not the message of Jesus, he said rather “come to me, all of you.” Later in the New Testament we are told that “perfect love, casts out fear.”

I have a feeling that this parable is not intended as a warning about the threatening nature of God but an invitation to answer the question “What kind of God do you see? Perhaps, this parable is a caution to us all, that in many of our relationships we tell self-fulfilling prophecies, we make premature judgments about the character of others? And that this can be true even in our relationship with God?

When we imagine God primarily as an enforcer of rules, we get hung up by the legalism of religion. When we visualize God as stern and prone to punishment, we come to believe that everything bad in our lives is punishment from God. When we see God as unpredictable and impulsive, that’s what we experience, an unsympathetic God who meets our expectations.

However, when we see God as loving, we find it easier to love ourselves and others. When we see God as gracious, we lead more grace-filled lives. When we recognize God as forgiving, we live in the joy of receiving and giving forgiveness. We invest ourselves, in other words, for Kingdom purposes.

So, I’ll close by asking that question again: what kind of God do you see?

Dear God, let us recognize you as the one who comes bearing forgiveness, love, mercy, and grace and allow this true vision of you to transform who we are and how we live. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

 

 

 

TO GOD BE THE GLORY

May 15, 2024



1 Peter 4:10-11

10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY

Peter tells us that each follower of Jesus has received a gift, and this gift is to be used to benefit others. The point being, is that each of us has been “saved to serve”. Yes, it is by grace we have been saved and this is the gift of God, but God through the gift of the Spirit, also equips his people to serve in some capacity in the church and community. It is this understanding that results in Peter words that each of us have been gifted by God to serve one another, as faithful stewards of God’s grace.

As the transformed people of God, we are now called to serve one another with the gifts God has given us. The gifts of God given for the benefit of the whole faith community.

Peter groups these gifts into two areas: speaking to people’s spiritual needs and serving people’s physical needs. Some are able to bring God’s words to others in all kinds of ways. Others see people’s physical struggles and show a desire and ability to help. “If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” 

Peter teaches us that those who serve by speaking are to use the Bible, and not their own ideas or they will be ineffective. To those who serve in a physical capacity, they are to seek God’s guiding strength in serving others or they will be burned out.

When this way of using our gifts is pursued, God is glorified because it all comes from Him. No wonder that Peter ends this section with a doxology of praise to God. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

FULFILLMENT IS POSSIBLE

 

May 14, 2024

 

Luke 15:11-32

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. . .  

we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ”

FULFILLMENT IS POSSIBLE

After prematurely taking his inheritance and wasting it all on wild living, the prodigal son in Luke 15 lands in a messy, unclean place, feeding pigs while starving. He is empty and alone. 

Have you ever been there? Isn’t it true that often in life difficulties come when we live life on o.ur own terms, ignoring God’s design for us?

I sure know what that is like, oh, I did not squander an inheritance. Yet, I did ignore God’s purposes and plan, and sought to live my life outside God’s design. “Who needs God,” I said, and I lived “my way”. The outcome and consequences of my choices were painful and messy.

What I want to emphasize today is that we are created to find our ultimate fulfillment in a relationship with God. The things we long for and yearn for the most, love, joy, and peace can only truly be found in a loving relationship with our Creator. 

Our parable today teaches us that the Good News of the gospel is that no matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done, God’s love, joy, and peace are still there waiting for you. While we may have ignored God’s life-giving purpose, God never did, our loving Creator faithfully keeps his promises, and is committed to offering abundant life to all. As the old gospel song put it, God “waits patiently in line, but "he is there all the time” for each of us. 

Here is what I found, I know you will too, that while  still a long way off, God the father will ran toward you with new clothes, and the celebration begins. For the lost has been found. 



As you think about today’s Parable.

· What is God saying to you?

· What does it mean to you?

· What action step do you need to take?


After you reflect on these questions, bring everything to God in prayer. 

CHANGE IS GOOD?

 May 13, 2024

Matthew 9:9-16

9As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,”he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

12On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

14Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”

15Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.17Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

CHANGE IS GOOD?

“A little change will do you good,” so the song goes. Yet for most of us change is considered an unpleasant experience. New things, Changes, require preparation, flexibility, and a willingness to go through the process of change.

Change is found throughout the Bible. Truth is, God has been leading people out of old, unhealthy ways of thinking and living for thousands of years! Some, 700 years prior to Jesus birth in Isaiah 43:19, God said, “Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; do you not perceive it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” It is important for us to remember that in order to receive and experience the new things which God wants to do, we must be prepared to change and create space for growth.

Jesus Himself clearly spoke of the power of change when He shared His Parable of the Wine and Wineskins in Matthew 9:17: “Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Wineskins were leather pouches that stored wine in Jesus’ time. You see, unfermented wine expands and will break old, rigid wineskins as it ages, whereas new wineskins have the elasticity to handle the pressure as unfermented wine expands.

So what is Jesus is teaching? His words indicate that “The old rituals of Judaism and the sacrificial system cannot contain the freshness that comes from the Gospel and grace of God.” The problem with old structures is they can’t contain new life! Jesus was calling for something new, new thoughts, new attitudes, new actions, new habits, and new lifestyles. CHANGE.

I believe that God wants to do a fresh work of grace in our hearts and our lives, so let us be women and men who have open, yielding hearts that are willing to change!


As you reflect today on our Bible Reading:

• What is God saying to you?
• What does it mean for you?
• What action step do you need to take?

After you reflect on these questions, bring everything to God in prayer.

AMBASSADORS OF RECONCILIATION

 

May 10, 2024

2 Corinthians 5:16-21



16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

AMBASSADORS OF RECONCILIATION

Paul stresses the word “reconciliation” in this final portion of 2 Corinthians 5. The Apostle’s message in these verses is that God brings the new creation into existence by sending his Son into the old creation to transform or “reconcile” it. “In Christ, God was rec­onciling the world to himself.” Not just one aspect of the world, but the whole world. And those who follow Christ, who are reconciled to God by Christ, are appointed to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18). We are agents to bring reconciliation to all areas of the world.

Paul highlights some of the key elements of the ministry of reconciliation for us in our reading today. Let us list some of these:


1. The ministry of reconciliation originates with God. God Himself, initiates the way of reconciliation. We respond.

2. The ministry of reconciliation is universally inclusive. The wonder of the Christian message is its universality. It has proven to satisfy the spiritual hunger of people from “every tribe and nation”, bringing the fullness of God to the need of every person.

3. The ministry of reconciliation is personally delivered. It is delivered by living, breathing men and women who speak from their own experience. Incarnation, the word become flesh, is God's way of truly communicating with people.

4. The ministry of reconciliation achieves the impossible. Here is the supreme glory of the new covenant. He who knew no sin, Jesus the Righteous One, was made (on the cross) to be sin on behalf of us, who knew no righteousness, in order that the righteousness of God might be forever ours!

LET US PRAY

God, Thank you, for the gift of reconciliation through Christ. We ask that you continue to equip us and use us in your redemptive mission as you graciously bring peace to those we encounter. We ask that you nourish our hearts daily with your word, and the Spirit’s presence, that we may live out the privilege of being your ambassadors. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

 

HAPPY ASCENSION DAY

 

May 9, 2024

1 Timothy 3:14-16

14 Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16 Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:

He appeared in the flesh,
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.

HAPPY ASCENSION DAY!!

Happy Ascension Day? The ascension of Jesus may seem like a teaching that makes no difference. In some Christian circles the Ascension of Jesus receives little attention. I suppose when the Ascension is compared to Jesus suffering and death and his resurrection victory over death, Jesus’ ascension can seem almost an afterthought.

However, the ascension has always been a part of the Christian story. Christianity is a religion of events, not abstract ideas. It is too alive and down to earth to be lost in abstractions. Think about the story for a moment, the Jesus story, the gospel. We notice in this story there are meetings and encounters, goings and returnings, judgments and forgiveness, woundings and healings of mercy.


The apostle Paul, summarizing that story here, reminds us that the Lord who “appeared in the flesh” was also “taken up in glory.” It is from this whole story—not just part of it—that “true godliness springs” and our lives are changed.

Last Sunday in our worship time we noted with the help of The Heidelberg Catechism Lord’s Day 18, that the Ascension of Jesus was not some after thought, some abstract idea, but holds a profound and encouraging and comforting truth that we all need to remember today.

The Catechism asks, What do you confess when you say, he ascended into heaven? We answer with:

That Christ, before the eyes of his disciples, (Acts 1:1-11)
was taken up from the earth into heaven,
and that he is there for our benefit

Then a follow-up questions comes, and this answer is what I would encourage you to read slowly, and reflect on today. Here is the question,

How does Christ's ascension into heaven benefit us?

The answer?

First,
he is our Advocate in heaven
before his Father.
Second,
we have our flesh in heaven
as a corresponding pledge that he, our Head,
will also take us, his members,
up to himself.
Third,
he sends us his Spirit as a pledge,
by whose power we seek
the things that are above,
where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God,
and not the things that are on earth.


LET US PRAY

Ascended Lord, you are our Savior and King over all things. By your Spirit, speak to us and guide us, that we may worship and honor you. Give us power to serve you and to share with others all you have done. Amen.

COMPELLED BY LOVE

 

May 8, 2024

2 Corinthians 5:11-16

11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. . . . 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

COMPELLED BY LOVE

In our devotion yesterday we saw that Paul was reminding the Corinthian believers that while we long to be “at home with the Lord” we live in the time between promise and fulfillment. In that space of waiting for fulfillment he says “we live by faith, not by sight”, underscoring God’s faithfulness and that we can trust in the promises of our good God. While we wait, the apostle says, “we make it our goal to please” our creator. 

In today’s verses from 2 Corinthians 5, we see what we have to live for as the community of Jesus. “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others” of the Gospel promises and he then writes we do this not for personal gain, rather we do this because “Christ’s love compels us.” 

Let's take a sidebar for a moment. The "fear of the Lord" that Paul mentions, how are we to understand it? Throughout Paul's letters this "fear of God" seems to refer to a fear that is good and that brings us to place where we recognize God's call to attentiveness. God calls us to spiritual-mindedness. God calls us to set our minds on things above. And to "fear the Lord" in this way is not to quake in our boots, but it’s to take God seriously. It’s always to have an eye to God, to his presence, to what he’s doing, to his promises and their relevance for our circumstances. And so, the "fear of the Lord" is that God-centered focus, wherever we may be, whatever circumstance we may be living, whether it be happy or sad, whether it be life or death, that we would be mindful of God and his presence. 

The message here is that our relationship with God and the transformation He brings within us, results in our cultivating a heart that reflects God’s love, compassion, and grace. We take God seriously. When we do so, we naturally see others through the same lens. In other words, God’s transformational work in us gives us “new eyes” through which we view the world and others. We drop the labels, and we see the “image of God” in those around us.

"For Christ's love compels us" means that the love of Christ is a powerful force that drives people to act in certain ways. This phrase describes the motivation behind Christian discipleship and service. Reading a little further in the context we notice that this drive is based on the gospel truth “that Christ died for all, and therefore all died.” Jesus through the cross "died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."

2 Corinthians 5:11-13 reminds us to be God focused which means in part to view people as God does, valuable, loved, and worthy of reconciliation. Let us strive to see with new eyes, as Christ’s love compels us, recognizing the divine image in every person we encounter, and wanting to "persuade" people around us, that taking God seriously, to "fear the Lord" is a good thing. For there we encounter grace. In all of this, “we make it our goal to please” our Creator.