Reading: Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. Reflection Recently, I recalled a time when I was a counselor at camp, sitting under a tree, talking to a fellow staff member. Other staff would say and do things and she always brought it back to herself, wondering if it was her fault. She took things personally, and she took it to the extreme. I was trying to help her talk through it. When we take something personally, whether it be words someone speaks or an action shown towards us, it can get us down and discouraged. How do we combat that? I think we need to renew our minds, just as Paul tells us in today’s passage. Maybe we need to say to ourselves, “Here I go again” and try to nip it in the bud. Maybe we need to stop, take a deep breath, and try to relook at the situation from another perspective. Maybe we need to investigate where the thought came from—what might it be rooted in? Or maybe we need to seek some godly counsel. Talking to a friend or family member who we trust may help them to put something in perspective that we didn’t think about. I’ve had lots of trusted people over the years that I can go to and seek different perspective. Sometimes hearing something from another can help me renew my mind and not take something personally. I hope these tips help you, and I hope my friend that sat with me under that tree has learned not to take things as personally as she did as a young adult! --Chad Hershberger Prayer God who renews, help us to renew our thoughts and minds and keep our eyes on you so that we might see your will. Amen
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Reading: Luke 17:5-10
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’” Reflection How much faith is enough faith? The apostles wanted their faith to increase, but how exactly is that done? Is that really even possible? Growing up, many of my friends in school attended the Nazarene church in town. This group of kids seemed to always have it all together. They never seemed discouraged or got very upset about anything. I remember one time one of my friends who attended this church said that maybe I just needed more faith. I thought about it and read my Bible a little more for a time, and still, I never felt like I had any more faith than I did before. Were the Lutherans missing something that our fellow Nazarene friends knew about faith and we didn’t? Obviously not, because how much faith is enough and how exactly do we measure that faith? Faith is a journey. Faith grows for a time, faith can remain for a time and faith can even falter a little for a time. Depending on the circumstances, faith is always different. At least that has been my experience. Faith is a lifetime of experiences in which we grow and learn. How much or how little faith we have at any given moment is impossible to measure. How we live our lives differently in response to our belief in a risen Jesus, that is faith. That is trusting and knowing we are enough and our faith is enough. Never question, never doubt. --Amy Shuck Prayer Heavenly Father, help us to live lives of faith. In knowing the story of the tiny mustard seed that can uproot a mulberry tree and be planted in the sea, we trust our faith is always enough. Our faith comes from You and You dear Lord are always enough. Amen. Reading: 2 Timothy 1:1-14
From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. God himself chose me to be an apostle, and he gave me the promised life that Jesus Christ makes possible. Timothy, you are like a dear child to me. I pray that God our Father and our Lord Christ Jesus will be kind and merciful to you and will bless you with peace! Night and day I mention you in my prayers. I am always grateful for you, as I pray to the God my ancestors and I have served with a clear conscience. I remember how you cried, and I want to see you, because this would make me truly happy. I also remember the genuine faith of your mother Eunice. Your grandmother Lois had the same sort of faith, and I am sure you have it as well. So I ask you to make full use of the gift God gave you when I placed my hands on you. Use it well. God's Spirit doesn't make cowards out of us. The Spirit gives us power, love, and self-control. Don't be ashamed to speak for our Lord. And don't be ashamed of me, just because I am in jail for serving him. Use the power that comes from God and join with me in suffering for telling the good news. God saved us and chose us to be his holy people. We did nothing to deserve this, but God planned it because he is so kind. Even before time began God planned for Christ Jesus to show kindness to us. Now Christ Jesus has come to offer us God's gift of undeserved grace. Christ our Savior defeated death and brought us the good news. It shines like a light and offers life that never ends. My work is to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher. This is why I am suffering now. But I am not ashamed! I know the one I have faith in, and I am sure he can guard until the last day what he has trusted me with. Now follow the example of the correct teaching I gave you, and let the faith and love of Christ Jesus be your model. You have been trusted with a wonderful treasure. Guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit, who lives within us. Reflection Paul’s letter to Timothy, his beloved friend, is filled with encouragement, reinforcement of faith, and reminder of the precious gift of being beloved. Paul encourages Timothy to make full use of the gift that God has given him, his Belovedness. To be beloved is to have been claimed by God just as Jesus was in his baptism. Henry Nouwen speaks of this belovedness as being something we can only share with another if we have claimed it for ourselves.[1] In other words, unless we allow ourselves to be claimed by God, we cannot proclaim our love for another. As Paul writes to Timothy, it conveys a sense of belovedness that comes from both God and Paul. Nouwen says that “being the beloved is the origin and the fulfillment of the life of the Spirit.”[2] Isn’t this exactly what Paul is saying to Timothy, that because he is already a beloved child of God, the Spirit will give him power, love, and self-control? These things will help him to guard his most treasured gift, his belovedness. We too are claimed as beloved children of God, just as Paul and Timothy were. This belovedness is because God chose us and granted us grace through Christ Jesus. We have been given the most precious gift and we are to guard it with our very being. But by guarding it, it does not mean that we hide it, it means that we nurture it, never letting the light of Christ dim within us, but rather let our belovedness shine for the entire world to see. --Rev. Karla Leiby Prayer Gracious God, there are no words to express enough thanks that you have claimed us as your beloved. Through your Spirit empower us to boldly embrace our belovedness and to share that gift of belovedness with one another. Let us never be ashamed to let the light of Christ show the world that we belong to you. Amen. _____________________________ [1] Nouwen, Henri J. M., Life of the Beloved, (New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1992), 30. [2] Nouwen, 43. Reading: Psalm 37:1-9
Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers, for they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good; live in the land and enjoy security. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will make your vindication shine like the light and the justice of your cause like the noonday. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. Refrain from anger and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil. For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. Reflection I don’t know about you, but patience is not one of my strengths. Especially as I think about the terrible things going on in the world. How long do we have to put up with the lies from corrupt politicians? Put them behind bars now! How long do we have to watch people suffer from the war in Ukraine? Can’t we just take out Putin and put this craziness to an end….NOW! Or, what about all this crazy weather we see; hurricanes, draughts, wild fires; more powerful than ever, predominantly a result of increased temperatures due to climate change. Most scientists tell us that this is caused mainly due to increased level of greenhouse gases, caused by human activities, such as burning oil and fossil fuels, in our homes, in our cars, in our factories. Profit and bottom-line earnings for oil companies and large corporations often takes precedence over caring for the environment and God’s creation. I am with Greta Thunberg. This has to stop NOW! I could go on and on. The world is filled with wrongdoings and wickedness, and we are tired of it. Or perhaps we have just given up, thinking there is no use to even care anymore. It is easy to forget the promises of God, that there will be a new day, there will be a day of justice, when things are made right again, for in the end, God is the one in charge. “Trust in the Lord and do good,” the psalmist writes. God calls us to not get caught up in the way of the world, because in the end, God is in charge, and things will be OK. That doesn’t mean that we simply just coast along, and let things be. No, we still stand up against injustice. We still speak up against wrongdoing. We still do what is right and good. But we do so without uncontrolled anger. It only leads to evil, the psalmist tells us. So, let us be patient. Let us trust in the Lord, and let us never give up, but continue to do good in the world. --Tormod Svensson Prayer We too often pray “How long, Lord?” when we see evil and wickedness at work. And we grow impatient, or sometimes simply give up. Help us Lord, to be patient, and to trust you, even when it is difficult. Help us to not lose heart, but instead continue to do good and work for justice and peace. Amen. Reading: Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw. O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see wrong-doing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous—therefore judgment comes forth perverted. I will stand at my watchpost, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will answer concerning my complaint. Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith. Reflection The absolute desolation of Mordor lay before Samwise Gamgee. That land that once was so lush and beautiful lay scorched and blackened, its riverbeds dried up save for some bitter pools. The epicenter of this horrible land was the tower Barad-dûr, home to the evil that sought to choke the whole world; and next to it, the great Mount Doom, volcanic and dangerous and the very place Sam needed to go—the only way to save the world. The landscape J. R. R. Tolkien describes in his high fantasy novel The Return of the King would have been very recognizable to anyone who lived through the reign of the Babylonian Empire. It would have been especially familiar to our prophet Habakkuk, who lived during the total destruction of Jerusalem by the forces of Babylon. Decimation. Annihilation. Eradication. The grinding wheels of the Babylonian empire crushed Judah to dust. Habakkuk is a short book. You could read it in about ten minutes. The first chapter is Habakkuk’s complaint to God over the impending (or recently perpetrated) destruction of Judah. He wonders, “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?” Habakkuk waits and listens. We don’t know how long he listens but eventually God responds. In chapter 2, God reminds Habakkuk that though suffering and death cloak the world now, it will not always be so. Those who punish in turn will be punished. As Samwise stood looking out over the suffocating, noxious, deathscape of Mordor, he looked up into the sky. “There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.” Whatever evil befalls us, however terrible it might by, it is not the end. It is not the final word. There is light beyond the darkness. There is hope beyond despair. There is life beyond death. And it is this faith that leads Habakkuk to sing his praises to God in chapter 3. Despite the waste that lays before him, he sings praise. The singer Andrew Peterson beautifully conveys this hope-beyond-despair in his song “After the Last Tear Falls.” He sings: “And in the end, the end is Oceans and oceans Of love and love again. We’ll see how the tears that have fallen Were caught in the palms Of the giver of love and the lover of all; And we’ll look back on these tears as old tales.” --Jim Vitale Prayer Great God of love, give us the hope that endures through despair. Give us the love that endures beyond death. Remind us that this shadow is a small and passing thing. Amen. Reading: I Corinthians 3:16-17
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. Reflection I struggle with verses like these that tell us we are God’s temple. I know that I don’t take care of my body the way I think God would want us to take care of a temple. It’s hard to pass up that potato chip bag or that chocolate chip cookie when presented with the opportunity to indulge! But maybe it’s bigger than that. God should be magnified in our bodies. That means all our thoughts, spoken words, and actions should reflect who we are. And aren’t we children of God? Should we not think good, pleasing, positive, loving thoughts? Should we speak those thoughts to others to uplift and not tear down? Should we serve our fellow human beings in all we do? I think I can do that! Maybe I can do that and have the Cool Ranch Doritos to help fuel me in such service! I came across this quote that I like when thinking about being a temple of God. “What you are is God’s gift to you; what you make of it is your gift to God.” (Anthony Dalla Villa) That helps me see more clearly what I should do to keep God’s temple (me) more holy! --Chad Hershberger Prayer Make us holy, make us whole, God. May our thoughts, words, and deeds magnify you. Amen Reading: Luke 16:19-31
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” Reflection: My children like to have races, particularly up the steps of our home when it’s bathtime. Sometimes, they race out of the bath to the sink to brush their teeth. They want to be first. My son, who is a loving and caring boy, often will remark when he and I are racing, “It was a tie, daddy!” He usually beats me up the stairs but wants to make sure I feel good at the end of our race, too. My daughter, who often gets upset if she is not #1, will often point to the Bible. “Well in the Bible it says the last shall be first and the first shall be last!” Both my children have a way of making everyone feel like winners. In fact, I’m reminded as I write this of how many times during a summer our staff says, “Everyone’s a winner at Camp Mount Luther!” In our story today, I’m reminded of being first and last and having that world literally turned upside down. The rich man thinks he “has it all.” He probably didn’t even bother to give Lazarus the time of day. But later, Lazarus is the one who “has it all” and is seated next to Abraham, in a prominent place. As I reflect on this story, I think about a children’s sermon that I heard preached a number of years ago. Our supply pastor reminded the kids that it is more important to put God first rather than money. I wonder how often I make decisions based on the “almighty dollar” instead of “Almighty God.” How do we truly put God first in our lives? --Chad Hershberger Prayer: Almighty God, help us to put you first in our lives. Amen. Reading: I Timothy 6:6-19
Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life. Reflection How can we live life that is really life? Paul encourages us to set our hopes on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Be rich in good works, generous and ready to share. That is the way to take hold of the life that is really life. A friend of mine shared with me a way she shapes her days and it has become a framework for how I journal at the end of the day. Every day:
So yesterday was:
--Ruth Gates Prayer Reflect on your day with the list above, not as a checklist of things to do but a framework of living Life that Really is Life and then pray, “Thank you, God, for...Amen.” Reading: Psalm 146
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long. Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish. Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord! Reflection Our Psalm today is all about praising God. During summer staff training, I often talk with our counselors about how to put together a worship service and the typical elements of Lutheran worship. Worship is all about praising God. We’ve talked about how you might do that: song, dance, litanies, even silence. Showing God that you love and adore God is what worship is all about. What are some experiences that you have had where you know you were worshiping God? There are many times when we sing hymns in church that I get a little teary-eyed because of the words and their meaning. That’s when I know I’m in a very worshipful mode. It is my hope that our campers experience meaningful worship this summer in this place and sing praises to their God all their lives long! --Chad Hershberger Prayer We worship and we praise you, Lord. Amen. Reading: Amos 6:1,4-7
Alas for those who are at ease in Zion, and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria, the notables of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel resorts! Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall; who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David improvise on instruments of music; who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile, and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away. Reflection Today’s reading leaves very little room to beat around the bush—the prophet Amos is mad. He has been sent by God to speak out against the alarming wealth disparity in Israel. The rich “lounge on their couches” and “sing idle songs on the sound of the harp” and “drink wine from bowls” and “anoint themselves with the finest oils.” The rich live lavish lives and don’t think twice about “the ruin of Joseph” which here refers to the plight of the poor. To put it frankly: the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Amos warns that when the Babylonian exile happens, it will be the rich who are sent away first. The Old Testament, particularly Leviticus 25, provides us insight into God’s preferred economy, where everyone receives what they need. God is certainly not against prosperity or living a comfortable life—what God is against, however, is neglecting the poor. When we read passages like this, particularly for those of us who live comfortable lives, it is easy to feel swamped with shame. We start to feel guilty about being so well-to-do; but our feelings of guilt and shame don’t do much to help the poor, do they? The point of Amos’ words is not to induce crippling guilt but to expand our awareness to the needs of others. For those of us who lead comfortable lives, what can we be doing to help make others’ lives more comfortable? For those of us to whom God has given many gifts, how can we share those gifts with others? How might God be calling you to tend to the needs of the poor? --Jim Vitale Prayer Just God, you desire all your children to thrive. Help us to share what we have with those who are in need. Amen. Reading: Luke 18:9-14
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.” Reflection The word humble comes from the root “humus” which means dirt. Primarily, it signifies “low-lying.” It is mentioned often in the Bible, including the famous passage from Micah that tells us that we should walk humbly with our God. Christians often speak of the mystery of faith being comprised of paradoxes. A paradox is one or more statements that seem to contradict each other but when placed together are true. Like kneading bread. You work hard to flatten the dough. The flatter you get it, the higher it will rise. So it is with being humble. The more we empty ourselves in love and service, the more we are filled with peace, joy, and hope. By humbling ourselves, we will be filled. We sing a song at camp called “Humble Thyself.” In that song we are reminded that God will lift us up higher and higher if we are humble. God makes many promises to those who are humble. And Jesus set a good example of humility when he was here on earth. How will you be humble today? --Chad Hershberger Prayer Lord, you gave us a prime example of humility in Jesus Christ. Grant that we might be more like Jesus, emptying ourselves, and living our lives in fullness in you. Amen Reading: Luke 16:1-13
Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes. “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Reflection There is a lot going on here, and it is a bit hard to make sense of it all. The first nine verses talk about dishonesty in a weird way. In the beginning, the rich man tells his manager that he has to let him go because of his dishonesty, but at the end of the parable, he praises the manager for acting shrewdly. It was the verses that follow that caught my attention. It seems to me that Jesus is telling us that we are to handle the gifts that God has entrusted to us in ways that honor God. Verse 13 is really the key verse in this text. We cannot serve God and wealth. It doesn’t mean that we cannot appreciate money and material things on some level, but we cannot serve and worship both God and wealth. If our lives become so focused on wanting what we don’t have, as in striving to acquire more and more of what we don’t need, simply for the sake of having more money, and more stuff, we are no longer living into who God calls us to be. God calls us to love God and love neighbor, and as long as there are people in this world who do not have enough; enough food, enough clean water, enough housing, enough health care, enough resources to have dignified lives, there is a problem. God has provided enough resources on this earth so that every person could have enough. It is the distribution that is the problem. 10% of the worlds’ people own 85% of the worlds’ wealth. That means the bottom 90% have to share the remaining 15%. This is certainly not of God, but a result of human sin and greed. As people of God, we are called to work for a more just world; a world that more closely resembles God’s kingdom, where everyone has enough. --Tormod Svensson Prayer God of justice and love, help us to care more diligently about the well-being of our neighbors; those next door, those across our country and those across the world. Help us to work for a more just world, where everyone has enough. Help us to be less concerned about our own wealth and material goods, and more about faithfully serving you. Amen. Reading: I Timothy 2:1-7
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all—this was attested at the right time. For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. Reflection Pray for JOY: Jesus - that he will remain in your heart and thank him for his steadfast love Others - who are ill and in need; who have lost loved ones, or a job or their home; those who are mean-spirited and angry; who seek to inflict pain and dissention; who are challenged; who are unhappy Yourself - to remain humble and helpful; always mindful of your blessings Take note which list is the longest. -- Alice Yeakel Prayer We pray for joy. We pray our love for Jesus, our care for others and your blessings. Amen. Reading: I Timothy 2:1-7
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings should be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all —this was attested at the right time. For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. Reflection: In I Timothy 2, Paul urges that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings are to be made for everyone. Everyone! I know someone whose bedtime, "God bless..." list became quite long over the years but it never got shortened and no one ever got skipped. I know another person who has a day of the week system to pray for different groups of people different days so no one falls between the cracks. Whatever works, as long as we are praying for everyone. A few years ago, my church started a practice of each week praying for 5 or 6 families from our membership roster. I must admit, when we first started this practice, it took me some time to adjust. When the first name would be read, I would wonder, "Oh dear, what is going on with the Harmon family?" Then I would hear Hermann, Hirsch, Holoran,....and as my brain gave up wondering; I realized we were simply praying through the H's of the church family. And over the many, many weeks, we prayed for everyone! --Ruth Gates Prayer: We offer supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for everyone. Amen. Reading: Psalm 113
Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord; praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time on and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised. The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord! Reflection The familiar words of Psalm 113 take me back to my high school choir days. “Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore!” My sister and I were super excited when this piece was handed out for our upcoming concert. It was always one of our favorite songs to sing back in our high school days. Sometimes she would sit at the piano and play, and I would sing. We both loved that song and sang it with such joy and life and enthusiasm! The way it should be sung. Joy and life is evident in Psalm113 with or without a catchy tuned attached to it. The Lord, mighty and powerful is high above all else, from morning till night, the name of the Lord is to be praised. He lifts up the lowly and gives the barren woman children to bring her delight. The Lord, mighty and awesome, is in each new day and deserves our praise and adoration. However you choose to do that today and everyday, make it a part of your morning devotion. Sing praises in the shower! Give thanks for your morning coffee or tea. Marvel in the beauty and wonder of nature as you take your morning walk or run. Pray or sing worship songs as you travel to work. Bow your head in silent prayer as you begin a new day. Make a joyful noise to the Lord and remember all the goodness God bestows upon you each and every day! Prayer Heavenly Father, we rejoice in you and your love for us this day and always! All you have made is good and precious and brings joy to each new day! May we find a moment to sing our songs of praise to your holy, blessed name from this time forth and forevermore! Amen. Reading: Amos 8:4-7
Hear this, you who trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, “When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah smaller and the shekel heavier and practice deceit with false balances, buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and selling the sweepings of the wheat.” The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. Reflection My daughter Claire and I have a funny kind of banter. She knows I’m not a morning person. I know that she is at her brightest and best self long before I’ve turned on the coffee maker. So, in the mornings, she knows that if she wants me to be awake to pay attention to her, it’s going to take time. And reminders. Because it’s possible that I don’t just hop out of bed as soon as I hear the alarm. (Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever actually hopped out of bed.) Claire usually gets to the point where she is tapping me on the head and saying, “This is your third AND FINAL wake-up call!” And then I usually say something like “okay, okay, okay, I’m up, I’m up, I’m up.” I think Amos has gotten to a point here where he is trying to give *yet another* wake-up call to God’s people. So, he has to get a little more severe with his language. “You who trample on the needy and bring to ruin the poor of the land.” Yikes. It might be easy for us to push Amos off into his historical context, but those words should hit us over the head like a twelve-year-old trying to wake up her mother without coffee. And it should make us have the response, “okay, okay, okay….I get it now. I’m going to start doing better.” Old Testament prophets have a way of smacking us over the head with wake-up calls. At their core, though, they are pointing us toward God’s radical, transformative grace. The wake-up calls always point us to God doing a new thing in our lives, just like Claire’s wake-up calls bring me into a new day. (Does that mean that the alarm clock is like the law and my coffee is like the gospel? I’ll ponder this while the coffee pot warms up.) –Sarah Hershberger, mother of a morning person Prayer Gracious and loving God, thank you for using all kinds of ways to wake us up to life with you. Guide us to see the new things you are doing, and remind us to see the world through your eyes of grace. Amen. Reading: George MacDonald in C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce (chapter 9)
“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.” Reflection: If you’ve never read C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce, you should bump it to the top of your reading list. It sits near the top of my list of all-time favorite books. It’s a fantasy about a man who dies and goes to hell. While in hell, a lovely-looking public bus shows up and offers to give people a free ride up to heaven. Anyone who wants to can leave hell right then and there and head up to heaven. All they must do is get on. To the surprise of the main character, the line for the bus is quite short. But he gets on anyway and is whisked off to heaven. All of that takes place in chapter one. The main character is filled with questions, one of which is: why don’t more people choose heaven? Rather quickly he meets a mentor (the father of modern fairy tales, George MacDonald) who helps him better understand the situation. The reason why some people prefer hell is that it can be quite appealing. In the hell of Lewis’ imagination, people are allowed whatever they desire. God hands everyone over to the thing they want most; whatever you seek, you find. The Great Divorce is filled with story after story of various people trying to figure out if they desire God (joy, love, peace) over the things they clung to in life (greed, anger, pride, lust, gossip, violence). Some characters are afraid to give up what they know, even if it is killing them. They would rather suffer a painful life that is familiar than risk a better life that is unknown. Some take the plunge, leaving behind their pride or gossip or anger and choosing peace instead. Others don’t quite get it, failing to realize that any life apart from God, even if it is filled with the luxury of wealth or the satisfaction of vengeance, ultimately ends in misery. I love this story because I think it gets right to the heart of discipleship. Christians are caught in a constant struggle between desiring God and desiring everything but God. We seek our fulfillment in so many things: money, power, fame, success, work, play, marriage, parenthood, education. We exhaust ourselves in these things, hoping they will fill our lives with meaning and purpose. But really only God can do that. So often we talk like following Jesus is hard (and it is, don’t get me wrong). But it’s also very simple. To follow Jesus is to put away our desires for everything else and instead desire God’s peace and rest and goodness. To follow Jesus is to realize that the work is done. There is nothing more for you to worry about. God has taken care of you. Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). The Christian life is the daily struggle to lay down all our heavy, complicated, and burdensome worldly desires and instead rest with Jesus. That’s it. So may we rest deeply in God’s grace. May we feel the arms of Jesus hoist that heavy burden off our backs. May we rest contentedly in God, with nothing but “Thy will be done” upon our lips. --Jim Vitale Prayer Dear God, we cling to the things of this life hoping they will fulfill us; but fulfillment is in you alone. By your immeasurable grace, make yourself the desire of our hearts. Release us from the burdensome desires that push us away from you and draw us into your rest, that we might live eternally in you. Amen. Reading: Luke 15:1-10
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to [Jesus.] And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it; he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Reflection Have you ever been lost? There is fear, loneliness, a sense confusion, and feeling out of your comfort zone. We often feel this way when we are not physically lost, but when we feel lost in life. This happens during low points in our lives: times of difficulty, challenges, or change, whether it be our own doing or what life has given us. Either way, we often feel separated from the rest, alone, and even unworthy. Jesus changes that, he rejoices in finding the lost! His parables today show us at what length he will go to find those who are lost, love them, and bring them back to God. Just as the shepherd goes after the lost sheep, Jesus will always seek us out when we are lost and show us the way home. Like the woman who celebrates finding her lost coin, even though she has 9 more, God rejoices when even one who is lost is restored to faith. Take comfort in knowing that no matter how far we wander, or loose ourselves in this world, Jesus is continuously seeking us to bring us back to a rejoicing God! --Rev. Karla Leiby Prayer Glorious Creator, we give thanks for the promise of your abiding presence, for Jesus Christ who seeks us out when we are lost, for the Spirit that calls us to faith, and for God who rejoices each time we return to the safety of your love, mercy, and peace. Help us to always feel your presence whether we feel lost or not and open us up to the ways we can help others who feel lost. Amen. Reading: 1 Timothy 1:12-17
I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Reflection As a parent, I struggle daily to display the utmost patience towards my kids. And almost daily I fail at this struggle. My heart beats fast, my skin gets hot, and snapped words escape towards my two precious boys who are, as Paul writes of himself, acting ignorantly. I like thinking of God as my parent because it brings a warmth and love to our relationship that “God as distant clock maker” does not. I don’t know about you, but it’s important for me to follow a God that sweeps in as a parent overflowing with faith and love. I can trust that God to love me no matter what. Even though I’m not always the parent I strive to be, God is there judging me. Judging me?! Yes, judging me faithful and able to serve. Judging usually has a bad connotation but here, Paul gives thanks for God’s judgement, which is forever merciful. Only my parent God would have love enough to forgive me and keep strengthening me for service again and again. --Isabel Vitale Prayer Thank you, God, for being my parent who loves me unconditionally and shows me endless mercy when I act in ignorant unbelief. Strengthen me and make me an example of your utmost patience, loving my neighbors and acting in their service. Praise be to God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen Reading: Psalm 51:1-10
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me. You desire truth in the inward being; therefor teach me wisdom in my secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Reflection Reading these verses from Psalm 51 and looking back over the summer of 2022, I am reminded of the theme of Mount Luther’s camp season – Boundless: God Beyond Measure. Psalm 51 sums it up quite well speaking of God’s boundless goodness, love, welcome, forgiveness and generosity: Goodness – Let me hear joy and gladness... Love - ...your steadfast love Welcome – Wash me...cleanse me Forgiveness - ...according to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions Generosity - ...put a new and right spirit within me While summer days come to an end, the lessons we learned at Camp Mount Luther are boundless. Thanks be to God! --Ruth Gates Prayer: Read Psalm 51:1-10 again as a prayer. Reading: Exodus 32:7-14
The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them, and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.” But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people. Reflection There are a couple of times in the Old Testament where humans “bargain” with God. This is one of those instances. God is going to bring great punishment to the Israelites because they made the golden calf while Moses was up on Mount Sinai. God wants to consume them and let God’s wrath burn hot against them. But Moses reminds God of God’s promises. Moses asks God to change God’s mind. That took some courage and boldness, don’t you think? But God did change course. I wonder if this is like those times as a parent where I think of the most extreme punishment. I know I will not do that to my children, but I want them to know I mean business. They might bargain with me, and we come to a compromise. My point is made, they learn a lesson, and we move on. Maybe that is what God is doing here. God wants to make sure that Moses and the Israelites will not dishonor God again with another idol. God comes across more loving and understanding and I bet earns Moses’ respect. A point is made, and they all move on. I think God reveals to us here that God’s love is so big that no matter how much we might mess things up, God doesn’t want to bring disaster upon us. God wants to be right relationship with us, just like I want to be in right relationship with my children. And God will take steps to make sure that happens—just look to the cross and see what God did for us! --Chad Hershberger Prayer God of love, continue to be near us and guide our ways. When we have doubt, help us to feel confidence. When we feel down, lift our spirits. Help us to live in the good of the love of Jesus every day. Amen. Reading: I John 1:5-10
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. Reflection During Family Camp this summer, at closing worship we got into groups and confessed any wrongdoings that we had with those in our circle. Some in my group were very specific and had something direct to share with others. Others were more general, saying, “I was feeling this way this week and may have said something hurtful because of that. If I did that to you, I’m sorry.” After each of the confessions, the group said, “I forgive you” to the confessor. The passage today is one that we use in Lutheran liturgy when we do the Brief Order of Confession and Forgiveness. I know it by heart from all the years of reciting it on a Sunday morning. Sometimes, I say the words and really don’t think about them. But this summer, one of our daily themes was God’s Forgiveness Beyond Measure. We reminded our campers that God forgives so much. It is so abundant that we can’t fathom or measure it. Our response is to forgive others just like God forgives us. Abundantly! When I heard the words “I forgive you” in that circle at Family Camp, it was powerful. I had confessed my wrongdoings and I was forgiven by those I wronged. It also was powerful to say those words to others. It seems as if forgiveness blesses not only the one who receives it but also the one who gives it. --Chad Hershberger Prayer Forgiving God, your abundant forgiveness is hard for us to comprehend. As we learn to be better forgivers, help us to feel to feel the blessing of receiving and giving forgiveness as much as you do to us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Reading: Luke 14:25-33
Now large crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. Reflection Why would I want to follow Jesus, if it means that I have to hate my family, and even life itself? One thing we always have to remember when we read the Bible, whatever translation we prefer, is that no English translation will ever capture the full meaning of what was written in the original scriptures. The New Testament passages were written in koine Greek, a language very different from English, in grammar and sentence structure as well as the very meaning of the words themselves. To complicate matters even more, the words do not always mean the same thing! For example, the Greek word transliterated “miseo,” which is translated “hate” here, can mean anything from “detest” or “renounce” (as in “hate”), to love someone or something less than someone or something else. It is likely the latter would likely be the case here. Jesus is saying that following him is going to be really hard, and for us to be able to do so faithfully and completely, we have to love him more than the very people we are closest to in this life, and even life itself. It is a tall order, isn’t it? So, why would anyone want to do this? Why would anyone want to follow Jesus? Discipleship is something we grow into. Most of us don’t just wake up one morning, ready to give up everything, to follow him. No, it comes by taking little steps, moving from a self-centered way of life, to loving and serving the other, which is really what following Jesus is all about. Reality is, we will never be able to become perfect in our self-sacrifice, like Jesus, but we are still called to pick up our cross, and follow him, whatever that might look like for us, in our context. As we grow in discipleship, we soon realize that true joy comes from not living for ourselves, but instead through loving and serving our neighbor. --Tormod Svensson Prayer God of love in Christ Jesus, you gave it all for us, even your own life, so that we could live. Help us to faithfully follow you, and grow as your disciples, so that we too, may selflessly share of ourselves, for the sake of others. Amen Reading: Philemon 1-21
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker—also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier—and to the church that meets in your home: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people. Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me. I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever—no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord. So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask. Reflection The letter Paul writes to Philemon is a great example of what it means to be welcoming as Christ has welcomed us. Paul points out that because of Christ’s love, we are changed. We look at others in a different way. No longer slaves, but siblings in Christ Jesus. Paul is willing to sacrifice anything he can that this child of God might be welcomed as a brother and forgiven any debt that he might own to Philemon. Part of being welcoming is to hold mutual love for one another. Because of that mutual love, we are called to welcome all, regardless of our prior relationship with them or what they might owe us. And at times that also means we must sacrifice what belongs to us or we are owed for the good of the whole community. Paul asks Philemon to let go of Onesimus as his slave, not punish him, forgive his debt, and embrace him as a brother in Christ. We do not know what Philemon’s response is, but the message Paul gives us is clear. When we are put in a position to forgive the debts of our siblings in Christ, we are to do so and welcome them truly as children of God. --Karla Leiby Prayer Welcoming God, you open your arms to all your children, granting us love, mercy, and forgiveness. Help us to do the same with one another as we rejoice in our unity in Christ Jesus. Amen Reading: Psalm 1
Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path that sinners tread or sit in the seat of scoffers, but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. The wicked are not so but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous, for the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Reflection Almost a year ago, I adopted a 2-year-old mixed breed from a local pet rescue. Anyone who has ever done so knows that rescue dogs often come with their share of “issues”. Kaia is no exception. She’s what dog people call “reactive”—anything new scares her and so her go-to reaction to such things is to take a defensive posture, one that those unfamiliar with dog behavior often interpret as aggressive. She is, as I often describe her, “a bit much”. It’s not Kaia’s fault. For the first two years of her life, she didn’t get proper socialization and training, so everything outside of her comfort zone is now a threat. She’s not trying to behave reactively; she just doesn’t know a better way to cope. Together we’re working on it, but ingrained patterns are hard to break. But, in those moments when she gets it—when she doesn’t respond to new stimuli in a reactive way—those are causes to celebrate (usually with treats and snuggles)! Such is the nature of our relationship with the Divine. We want to “delight in the Lord”, but our status as saints and sinners means that sometimes we are “scoffers” treading on our brokenness. We don’t live up to who God calls us to be. We respond aggressively when our world feels threatened. If anger is, indeed, fear turned inward, then our fear of the unknown causes us to react negatively to perceived threats. Here’s the thing, though, God in Christ Jesus and through the Holy Spirit is infinitely patient with our brokenness. In our baptisms, we are permanently tethered to God and, as such, we cannot break the bond between Divine and human. God will never give up on us, even when we’re “a bit much”, and gives us ample opportunities to try again and again and again until we have our breakthrough moments. And, in those moments when we get it—when we live in ways that exemplify love and understanding—God celebrates with welcoming arms of grace and the promise and possibility of new life! —Lisa Raylene Barnes Prayer God of saints and sinners, we are sometimes “a bit much”, but we give thanks that you love us in spite of ourselves. Teach us to respond to the unknown with love instead of fear. Guide us to yield the fruits of hope and mercy and grace in the name of the triune God. Amen. |
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