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Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Reading: Psalm 107:1-7

Verse 6: “They cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.”

Psalm 107 opens with a call to give thanks to God because God is good and loving. And because God “redeemed [them] from the hand of the foe.” God most recently rescued them from exile and gathered the people of God back to Israel. Yes, this is a great reason to bring praise and thanksgiving to God. When has God redeemed or rescued you most recently from a time of exile or wilderness wandering? Pause and offer God a moment of praise and thanksgiving for God’s goodness and love.

Moving into verses 4-5 the psalmist details some of their struggles. The people wandered without a home. During the Exodus wilderness time and during the exile in Babylon, the people were without a true home. They were lost spiritually too, often quarreling with and questioning God. The sense of being without a home raises up insecurities and fears, leading often to an increase in feelings of hopelessness and despair. In the struggle it can feel like our life is ebbing away. This all can, in turn, lead us to a hunger and thirst for God’s presence in our lives. Pause and reflect on a time when you felt this way. When did you feel without a faith home, without an assurance of God’s presence in your life?

In verse 6 we read, “They cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.” In their exile or wilderness or struggle, they got to the point of crying out to God. We too will reach that point. Our efforts have failed. Like it was with Israel, God will come in and deliver us too. God will help us back onto the “straight way,” rebuilding our relationship with and our trust and faith in God, bringing us back home. God is good and loving. Thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, you are faithful and true, loving and forgiving. Time and time again I have cried out to you. Time and time again you are right there, becoming present to me in the exile or wilderness, walking with me through the struggle. I beg you to continue to walk with me as I desire to walk with you. Amen.


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People of Forgiveness

Reading: Matthew 18:28-35

Verse 33: “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?”

As we continue today in the gospel lesson for this week, we see that the servant now goes out, fresh from being forgiven a huge debt. But instead of being filled with joy and good will he latches onto a fellow servant who owes his a small sum. Demanding payment and refusing to be patient, he has the man thrown into jail, where he will remain until the debt is paid.

Other servants see what has happened. Knowing how great a debt this man has been forgiven, they are “greatly distressed” by how he treats his fellow servant. They go to the king to right this great wrong. It all is so unfair. I don’t know about you, but I have and I can act this way at times. I know that God and others have forgiven me for things big and small and every place in between. I did not deserve to be forgiven some of the time. Yet I was. Even knowing all this and being so grateful for such mercy and grace, I can struggle to forgive someone for the smallest thing. I get stubborn or arrogant or prideful and it becomes hard to let something go, to get to the place of forgiveness. At times I’m not so unlike this forgiven servant.

The king (God, right?) is so upset with this man that he says, “You wicked servant.” He reminds the man (us) of how much was forgiven. Then he asks this pointed question: “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” It is a great reminder for us. The man is then thrown into prison (hell). Jesus closes the parable by reminding us all that God will treat us this way too if we refuse to forgive one another. Each Sunday we pray for the ability and strength to do just this. May this passage and our weekly prayer reminder help us to be people of forgiveness always and without condition or limit. This is what God offers us. May we go and do likewise.

Prayer: Lord God, without your grace and mercy that leads to forgiveness, I would face a most dreadful future. Without practicing your model of grace, mercy, and forgiveness, my relationships would be a shambles. Thank you for showing me the way to truly live and love. Empower me to live it out daily. Amen.


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Accountability

Reading: Romans 14:1-12

Verse 10: “You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt?”

Photo credit: Ditto Bowo

Our Epistle reading begins with the directive to accept others without passing judgment. I’m not sure if the first or second is harder to adhere to. Maybe both are an equal struggle as they are so closely related. This seemed to be the case for the church in Rome. It remains a big struggle in many of our churches today.

In what Paul terms “disputable matters” these Christians are struggling to allow for understandings and practices that are different from their own. The Gentile Christians thought their faith was “stronger” because they didn’t have to follow all of these rules to maintain their relationship with Jesus. Thus, they viewed the Jewish Christians as “weak.” The Jews, for example, only ate vegetables as a way to keep the Jewish food purity laws concerning meat. It was hard to find meat that they were sure was kosher in that pagan culture of Rome. The Gentile believers saw this as a weakness of faith because they themselves could eat anything and still be right with God.

Paul reminds all of those in the church that “none of us lives to himself [or herself] alone.” Instead, he insists, “we belong to the Lord” – both in life and in death. With these truths in mind, Paul then asks these two pointed questions: “You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt?” He reminds us that if Jesus submitted to the point of death on a cross, then we should submit to unity in spite of minor differences in understanding and practice. He closes with a sober reminder: one day we will all come before the judgment seat. May our accounting of how we treated our brothers and sisters in Christ bring glory to God.

Prayer: Lord God, it’s so easy to slip into judging and looking down on others. It’s an area of weakness for me. Jesus set the example – engaging others as equal, worthy, beloved, valued. Build up my inner being and remove my weakness so that I can better live like Jesus. Amen.


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Hold Onto God

Reading: Genesis 33:22-31

Verse 26: “But Jacob replied, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’”

Photo credit: Ryan McGuire

We begin our week with Jacob. He has almost returned to his home and to his family. Although he has come a long way in his relationship with God there is still some of the old Jacob in him. In the first part of chapter 32 he questions responding to God’s directive to go back home. When he hears that Esau is coming out with 400 men, Jacob feels “great fear and distress.” Instead of fully trusting God, he begins to scheme – maybe he can at least escape with half of his “stuff.” Sound familiar? He sends flock after flock across the stream, sent as gifts to try and curry his brother’s favor and friendship. Then he sends across his wives, servants, sons, and all of his possessions. He himself stays on this side of the water.

It is during the night that a “man” comes and wrestles with Jacob. Jacob is tenacious. Finally the man wrenches Jacob’s hip in an attempt to free himself. Jacob wrestles on. At daybreak the man asks to be let go. In response Jacob says, “‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.” It is then that Jacob is blessed.

When have you wrestled with God? Maybe, like Jacob, it was when a lot was on the line and it felt like everything rested upon the decision(s) you had to make. Maybe it was in a valley or in some other place of struggle, in a place where you clung to God because it felt like you had nothing else to hold onto. Maybe it was some other scenario when you held on. Maybe it is happening right now. From Jacob’s story and from our own story, we learn that when we refuse to let go of God, when we hold on tight in spite of the pain, we too will be blessed by God. In trust, may we wrestle with and may we hold onto God until we get to the place of blessing.

Prayer: Lord God, I know that the light and the joy come with the morning. Though the night may last days or even weeks, I know that you are there and that you will see me through. Help me to hold onto you, especially in the wrestling. Thank you Lord for holding onto me. Amen.


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Faith Is Like…

Reading: Matthew 13:31-33

Verses 31 and 33: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed… is like yeast… worked all through the dough.”

Photo credit: Lidia Nikole

Today and tomorrow we work through a series of “the kingdom of heaven is like” statements from Jesus that are found in Matthew 13. These short bursts, when taken alone, are small truths about our faith. Taken as a whole, though, they paint a bigger picture than we can see and understand from just any one of these mini-parables.

The first parable tells us that “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed.” This bush begins as a tiny seed that is planted in the garden. With good sunlight and soil, with adequate water, the tiny seed grows into a large plant. Once mature, it provides a place for birds to perch, offering rest and shelter. Once upon a time someone planted a tiny seed of faith in our heart. Others nurtured our faith and others tended to it, helping it to grow. As we mature in our faith, we too become seed planters. And we also become able to give to others, offering and helping them to find rest and to find shelter in the storms.

The second parable tells us that “The kingdom of heaven… is like yeast… worked all through the dough.” Yeast is also a very tiny organism. A packet that we add to the dough contains hundreds of yeast. Once mixed in it is almost hidden – too small to easily see amongst the flour, sugar, eggs… And yet it is still there. As the yeast matures it affects the dough, causing it to rise. Our faith is also like the yeast. It is not just one seed planted but many. As our faith grows, we learn this here, we experience that there, we overcome an obstacle or struggle. Hope or peace or strength or trust rises up in us. Our faith, like the yeast in dough, works through all of our life, in the highs, lows, and everything in between. Thanks be to God for the many workings of faith.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for those who planted seeds in my faith life and thank you for those who have nurtured and taught and encouraged my faith over these many years. Use me in the these ways too, O God, helping your kingdom to grow and rise up in our world. Amen.


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Washed Clean

Reading: Psalm 32

Verse 5: “I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity… you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

In our Psalm today we find a pattern that we all know intimately and we find the truth that breaks or redeems this pattern. Like David, the author of the Psalm, we are familiar with sin. Some may think that as our faith matures, we sin less. We do, I believe, get a handle on many things that caused us to sin when we were less mature in the faith. However, as our faith matures, we come to understand more as sin. Things that we did not see before as sinful, suddenly it is sinful. For me, for example, gossip was one of those things. At a point I realized that this was sinful and that I needed to control my tongue. And physical age, which tends to parallel our “faith age,” brings with it challenges that often require greater faith – health issues, emotional changes…

No matter our age or the maturity of our faith, David names something that we all struggle with. Strangely it is not the sin itself. If one is truly repentant and seeks God’s help, then God will provide all that we need to overcome that sin. It is the guilt that we can struggle with. I may be able, with lots of help from God, to get a judgmental attitude turned around. The guilt for damage done remains though. This too I need to surrender to God. In verses 5 we find the promise: “I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity… you forgave the guilt of my sin.” When we are honest with God and seek God’s power, then God not only forgives but also takes away our guilt. Now we may have work to do to restore or reconcile that relationship, but the stain or the guilt is washed clean by God’s love.

Fully forgiven, we get to the place that David is at at the end of the Psalm. The guilt and the weight of the sin removed, we know that God’s unfailing love surrounds us. We can rejoice in the Lord. We can experience joy and gladness as we lift our praises to God. What a wonderful Savior. Thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, you seek to walk with us daily. Beside us, you give us strength and courage. Beside us, you welcome our honest conversations and confessions. Through the life given by your son, you cleanse us and free us from the sun and guilt that we bear. Thank you for your mercy, for your grace, and for your great love. All my days may I praise your holy name. Amen.


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Hold Fast

Reading: Jeremiah 8:18-9:1

Verse 19: “Listen to the cry of my people.”

Photo credit: Noah Silliman

In the opening verses of chapter 8 God details the many sins of the people and the punishment waiting on their doorstep. The weight of all this is reflected in the world that we read today. These words are heavy upon Jeremiah’s heart and soul. In the opening verse today we read, “My heart is faint within me.” He is overwhelmed with the suffering and the struggle, with the pain and sorrow soon to befall the people of God. It is as if the brokenness of the world has caught up with him. Jeremiah longs for comfort and strength from God.

We too live in a broken world. At times our hearts can grow faint. People continue to struggle with poverty, oppression, injustice, unfair systems… Many are filled with despair and their hearts are also heavy. Like Jeremiah, we can shout out, “Listen to the cry of my people.” The brokenness of his world leads Jeremiah to cry out to God, to seek to maintain his faith in God and in God’s goodness. When overwhelmed we can feel just as Jeremiah does in today’s text.

In verse 22 Jeremiah asks, “Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?” He questions God not to doubt God but to show that he still believes that God is listening and that God’s heart is still bent towards the people. Even through his tears and grieving, Jeremiah trusts that God is faithful and just and loving and kind and compassionate. May we hold onto these truths, trusting in the Lord our God. Even in the struggle or trial, even in the brokenness, may we hold fast to the God who loves you and me.

Prayer: Lord God, when the world around me or when life itself begins to overwhelm, flood me with your love and truth. Raise up my heart and spirit, give me the faith and strength to offer your love to those in need, be it me or others. Amen.


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Authentic and True

Reading: Colossians 3:5-11

Verses 9-10: “Since you have taken off your old self… and put on the new self…”

Continuing on in Colossians 3, Paul fleshes out the “old self” to “new self” transformation. He begins by giving us an overview of what actions we must die to in order to become new in Christ: “sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed.” Paul then gives us a list of emotions or emotional responses that we must also die to: “anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language.” Both of these lists are far from complete. Paul implores us, telling us that we “must rid ourselves” of all of these kinds of evil. To live in these ways is not to live in the way of Christ.

In verse 9 Paul begins by saying “Do not lie to each other.” He knows it is easy to look nice and shiny and good on the outside. That’s what he did for years. That’s what he was all about back in his Pharisee days. Today, with pretty minimal effort, one can look like a Christian. Until we have an affair… Until we join in the gossip during fellowship hour… Until we cheat on our taxes or business ethics… Until we slander our leaders… Until we lose our cool at work or with one of our children… If we’re honest though – if I am honest – the greater struggles are within my heart and head. I too easily slip into being judgmental and critical, into jealousy and pride. All inside the privacy of my heart and head. This is the self that we – that I – must die to daily.

On our own this is impossible. We do have hope. As he closes this part of the letter to the Colossians, Paul reminds us that when we are renewed in the knowledge of Jesus Christ there is no Greek or Jew, no… When we live an authentic and true Christian life we see one another as God sees each of us: beloved, worthy, forgiven. In this place, “Christ is all and is in all.” May we each work towards this beautiful vision for our world day by day, each beginning within our own heart and head.

Prayer: Lord God, sanctify me within. When the old self rises up or begins to surface, light up the Holy Spirit within me and burn away all that hinders the image of Christ in me. Guide me to live an authentic and true faith in all ways. Amen.


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All That We Are

Reading: Luke 10:25-27

Verse 27: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.”

This week’s gospel text is one of the most familiar of Jesus’ teachings: the parable of the good Samaritan. The passage begins with an “expert in the Law” standing up to “test” Jesus. This man asks Jesus what must be done to inherit eternal life. Perhaps to test the genuineness of the expert, Jesus responds with a question seeking the law expert’s interpretation. To be considered an “expert” this well educated man would’ve known the 600+ laws inside-out.

The expert gives a two-part answer. The first part is this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.” The man mostly quotes from Deuteronomy 6 but he adds a part to the original scripture. It is interesting to me that an expert in the Law would add something to the word of God. To add “and with all your mind” demonstrates a fuller awareness of belonging to God. It might also indicate a struggle that he has discovered. It is one that I and maybe you wrestle with. As an expert in the Law he would’ve known it inside-out. But knowing it and living it are two very different things. Reading about Jesus and living like Jesus are two radically different things for you and for me. Adding the mind to what we give to God is an important step of surrender.

In closing today, I invite us to consider what it looks like to love God with all of our heart? With all of our soul? With all of our strength? With all of our mind? When taken as a whole, it really involves loving God with all that we are. It involves surrendering the relational, spiritual, physical, and intellectual parts of our being to God. The rest of the parable gives us a great example of what this kind of surrender looks like. Join me tomorrow!

Prayer: Lord God, sometimes this full surrender is not easy. Sometimes I like to decide things for myself. Sometimes I want to be angry and seek revenge. Sometimes I want to be selfish or lazy. Help me, O God, to more fully surrender my whole being to your will and ways. Amen.


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Evidence

Reading: Psalm 27:7-14

Verse 13: “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of God in the land of the living.”

As we turn to the second half of our Psalm we hear David looking to God, longing for God, seeking God’s presence and protection. David wants to learn from God and to seek God’s face. There is an active part to David’s faith. He doesn’t expect God to just show up when needed. David has built a relationship with God. This gives him the confidence to state: “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of God in the land of the living.”

David has had his share of difficulties. Like ours, some have been self-inflicted and some have been a part of living in a fallen and broken world. In either case, we can sometimes forget that we are not alone. Times of struggle and hardship tend to turn us inward, seeking to protect ourselves, to limit any more exposure to pain, to avoid those who mean well. This can also be how we treat God. It takes trust to turn to God and to others, to open ourselves up to sources of strength, compassion, encouragement, and support.

In those moments when we’re tempted to withdraw, to isolate, may we remember to take the long view. God is faithful – that will be evident if we look back at other times in the valley. God loves us. That will be evident as we recall times when we sought God and God drew near to us. God has good for us. Looking back at hard times or at the lows in our life, we can see how God worked some good out of our darkest days. Doing these things we too will see the goodness of the Lord, made evident in and through our relationship with God. May it be so for you and for me.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for your unfailing love and presence in my life. Even when I create distance, when I turn away, you are always right there, as close as my next prayer. Thank you for your faithfulness, O God. Amen.