| February 2010 DEVOTIONALS Main Devotional Page February 1 Read Acts 1:6-11; Key Verse 1:8 – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Our Adult Sunday School Forum has begun a study on the book of Acts. Gordon and Virginia Wahler are leading the study, and I invite you to participate and learn more about this important book of the New Testament. Now may even be a good time to go back and read the web devotions from June and July of 2009 when all the devotions were based on the book of Acts. For this week, I am going to reintroduce us to the Book of Acts, and lift up a few key passages. The basic outline of the Book of Acts is based on chapter 1, verse 8. The first section deals with preparing for witnessing for Jesus (1:1-2:13); in the remain sections, the disciples are witnessing about Jesus to Jerusalem (2:14-8:3), the Gentiles (10:1-15:35), and to ‘the ends of the earth’ (15:36-28:31). So if one word could be used to describe this Book, that word is “witnessing.” Witnessing involves actually experiencing something and then telling others about it. In our state court system, hearsay is not normally admitted because the premise of hearsay is because the person did not directly experience the conversation or the event in question. I cannot testify that someone told me they saw a crime happen. Only the person who saw the crime happen can testify – as a witness. Jesus calls us to be witnesses of his life, death and resurrection, and witness the experience of Jesus changing our life through the power of the Good News. We are not hearsay witnesses who read what someone else said; we are first-hand witnesses. Jesus has impacted our life. Jesus has forgiven us directly. What we have experienced is what we have been given to tell others about Jesus. Take a moment today and pray to Jesus: Lord, you have made such a difference in my life. Help me to be confident and share with someone else your love and your forgiveness. Amen <back to top> February 2 Read Acts 2:1-4; Key Verse 2:4 – “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” One of the key developments in the life of a disciple is receiving the Holy Spirit. Receiving the Holy Spirit is the sign of God’s power working through us. We receive the Holy Spirit when we are baptized, and water and God’s Word enact God’s promise in our life. We also receive the Holy Spirit when we receive communion, and the bread and wine combine with God’s Word to enact God’s promise in our life. We also receive the Holy Spirit at random moments of faith whenever God’s promise is enacted in our life. For the earliest Christians, who gathered on the 50th day after the Passover celebration, the way God sent the Holy Spirit into the room was quite a shock. It literally shook their tongues loose and allowed these earliest disciples to tell God’s story in other languages. What power God’s Spirit gives us indeed. Today, the Holy Spirit still gives us God’s power. We have the power of God to invite others to experience the Good News through our ministry. We have the power to support a child overseas in an impoverished community. We have the power of donating to relief agencies helping victims of natural disasters. We have the power to sing songs praising the Eternal One. It is still an amazing power that God’s Spirit gives us indeed. Take a moment to pray today: O Lord, remind me of the gift of your Holy Spirit in my life. Empower me to tap into the Spirit’s power, and show me the ways I can use that power to help others be drawn into your kingdom. Amen<back to top> February 3 Read Acts 2:43-47, Key Verse: 2:44 – “All who believed were together and had all things in common;” In the Bible, the only book that tells us anything about what the early church did as it was just forming is the Book of Acts. Through the small portrait painted here, we discover a wonderful mosaic that was the early church gathering, learning about God, and learning how to live as Jesus did. The joy in reading about the early church is that this helps us to understand how our church can gather, learn about God, and live as Jesus did. As the earliest church was forming, there was a great excitement. Here at Living Spirit, we understand that excitement as we have been church for just one year. But the Church in Acts was truly doing something new and never done before. Here at Living Spirit, there are moments when we have lost some of the sense of urgency that being Church requires. That sense of urgency was so alive for the early church, they truly expected Jesus’ return at any moment. With 2000 years and more time passing, and all the reasons in the world to be cynical and skeptical, our sense of urgency has waned quite a bit. Reading the Book of Acts is one way to reinvigorate our sense of urgency. The Book of Acts allows us to discover again the joy of living as though Jesus may return tomorrow, and the ways we need to be living in order to be prepared for Jesus’ return. The earliest disciples gathered and were always together. But what they were doing when they gathered was making sure people were being taken care of, they were sharing their possessions, caring for the less fortunate, and worshipping God. What we discover here is the very things that need to be priorities in our church today: sharing our resources for ministry, caring for the less fortunate, and worshipping God. Take a moment today and pray: Lord, open my heart to a greater sense of urgency, to see the ministry of the church I am a part of as a priority in my life, because gathering, sharing resources, caring for others, and worshipping you are your priorities for me life. Amen Person of Interest: Ansgar, Bishop of Hamburg, missionary to Denmark and Sweden, died 865<back to top> February 4 Read Acts 6:1-7, Key Verse: 6:3 – “Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task,” One of the easiest traps for a church to fall into is that too few people are involved with leading the ministry. When too few people are involved with the leading of ministry, several things happen none of which are positive. The church was just getting going, when it learned this valuable lesson. The first leaders of the church were the 11 disciples, plus Mathias, who was chosen to replace Judas since he died after betraying Jesus. So these 12 men were doing everything in the church. They were preaching, teaching, taking care of the sick and the elderly, making sure the money was being distributed fairly, and they were doing this not just in Jerusalem, but for all over Israel where communities of believers were forming. As more and more communities were being formed, it was becoming clear that the 12 leaders could not do everything. So they learned they needed to share the responsibility of leadership. Today the church is no different. While we may be one congregation, there are still many areas that need focus. So many areas that one or two people cannot be left to do all the ministry. So we have a council, with 7 elected members. We also have a ministry leaders’ team which is made up of volunteers leading up the various ministry teams. And we have the ministry teams themselves. When there are too few leaders, something inevitably gets dropped or forgotten entirely. Our congregation will be having a Spiritual Gifts workshop on Saturday, February 20th. This will be an opportunity for everyone to explore their God-given gifts and to see how they can use their gifts for leadership in our congregation. Not all leadership roles require being at meetings constantly, or giving up every week night for the sake of the church. But every leadership role is equally important. Take a moment today to pray: Lord God, I know you have given me gifts to use for the ministry of Living Spirit. Help me to grow in my gifts, to become more passionate about my gifts, and to answer your call to serve with my gifts. I know when I serve, along with all the other leaders at Living Spirit, amazing things will happen because of you. Amen<back to top> February 5 Read: Acts 10:34-43, Key Verse: 10:34, “The Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality,’” One of the key elements of the Book of Acts is how the message of Jesus Christ moved from being something exclusive to the Jews, to being a message for everyone on earth. The word Gentile is a Jewish concept and it is used to describe anyone who was not Jewish. The Jewish understanding of US (Jews) versus THEM (Gentiles, everyone else who was not Jewish) was based on the belief that God, the only God, chose the Jews as a special people, and established a covenant with ONLY the Jews. So the label Gentile was not just about being non-Jewish, it was a way to say that person was not included in the covenant with God. The thinking becoming that if you were not included in the covenant with God, then you did not get anything from God – no blessings, only curses for not being included. So the word Gentile was really a harsh word and carried connotations beyond just describing two different groups of ethnicity. Peter learned a lesson about how Jesus’ Good News was inclusive of all. He learned this lesson through a dream and an encounter with a Roman Centurian named Cornelius. Cornelius was called by God to invite Peter to his house to hear the message of Good News from him. Peter was hesitant about going to Cornelius’ house. Jews did not enter the home of a Gentile; it meant breaking the covenant with God. But God used this encounter to show Peter, and then for Peter to teach the other Christian leaders, that God’s new covenant in Jesus was not exclusive to one tribe of people – this new covenant is for all. Unfortunately, the Church still puts up barriers. We have barriers based on denomination, gender, race, economics, and even age. It is sad when one church group cannot officially recognize the ministry of another church group. It is sad when we tell one group of people they cannot serve ministry because of their gender or age. Our culture still separates us by race and economics. So there are white churches, black churches, churches that speak Spanish, poor churches, rich churches (where you literally pay for your pew space). Living Spirit is a place where we try to put the impartiality of God to work for us. But it isn’t always easy. We still find ways to create barriers and lines of division. Yet, if we are going to follow the lead of the church in the Bible, the church started by Peter and the other 11 disciples, then we need to find a way to end barriers and draw all people – no matter what color or gender or age or denomination or economic status – all people need to be drawn into God’s kingdom, to hear the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection as God’s covenant is not just for us, who are already part of the “in-club”, God’s covenant is for everyone on earth – both the “In-Club” and the “Out-Club”. Take a moment today and pray: Lord, I know you do not show partiality, you accept everyone equally. For we are all sinners, and we all come up short of your glory. Yet, I hold some barriers up that in my mind prevents others from hearing your message. Help me to learn the lesson Peter learned, help me to truly show no partiality and to accept all others into your Kingdom, as you have already done. Amen People of Interest: The Martyrs of Japan, died 1597<back to top> February 6 No Devotional <back to top> February 7 No Devotional <back to top> February 8 We finish our study of becoming 212 degree disciples this week. Take a moment this week to read again the devotions written by Scott Behrends, former Council President, and still active leader of our congregation. Let these devotions inspire you to become a 212 degree disciple and prepare you to attend our Spiritual Gifts Workshop on February 20th. In church on Sundays we are preaching on becoming a 212◦ disciple. Water boils at 212◦. By becoming 212◦ disciples, we can reach the boiling point of discipleship and reach our full potential as a church body. We will be sending out weekly devotional emails to help you in the process. Today, the verse we will review is Romans 12:4-5: “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a useful function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.” In these two verses, Paul lays the foundation of the Christian church. We are all a part of one church, called to live in the love and mission of Jesus. As a part of that body, we all have many useful gifts. However, one thing that Paul does not openly state is that the gifts of the body are given freely without asking. The body does not have to ask the hand to participate by picking up food for nutrition, it just does. The feet do not need to request that the eyes look out for obstacles so that they won’t run into things. The eyes do this without a conscious request. All parts work perfectly together and hold back nothing for the good of the whole. If the church body were to function in the same way, it would surely run much more effectively. Part of being a 212◦ disciple means constantly being on the lookout for ways to utilize the gifts you offer to the congregation without being asked to do so. We have all been called to this church body by God. We belong to each other. Each of us needs all of the others. You are needed. Consider how you can offer your gifts to Christ through Living Spirit Lutheran Church.<back to top> February 9 On Sunday, January 24th] Pastor Jamie taught from the book of Luke when Jesus read from the scrolls at the synagogue in Nazareth. The first words he read were “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach good news to the poor.” We are talking about becoming 212 degree disciples. The purpose of the sermon series is laid out in Romans 12:6: “God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well.” When reading to the Nazarenes, Jesus knew what his purpose was and he also knew his gifts. His mission was to preach good news to the poor. When he said this, he was not referring to people of little or no financial means, but rather people who lacked a personal relationship with God. He also knew that the Spirit of the Lord was providing him with everything he needed to complete his mission. Each of us is also on a mission together at Living Spirit and the gifts we have been given are to be used for that mission. Sometimes we can be afraid of utilizing the very talents that God has given for the church for various reasons, but we should also know that the Spirit of the Lord is upon us. We do the legwork, the Holy Spirit provides the power and together we will do amazing things. Without your participation, the mission cannot be accomplished to its fullest potential. You can be a fan or you can be a participant. In my lifetime I have had the opportunity to be both. I have cheered my team on, been elated when they win and disappointed when they lose. Being a Cubs fan, it seems disappointment is a more regular theme. Eventually the seasons blend together and are forgotten. As a participant on teams relationships are formed that can last lifetimes. As a participant, when your team loses you remember it and carry the lessons learned with you. When your team wins memories are created that you won’t forget. Win or lose, as a participant it is done together and much more valuable in life than simply being a fan. I invite you to become a participant. Use your gifts. Doing so can make you a 212◦ disciple. The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.<back to top> February 10 “You have many gifts that you’ve never opened. These are gifts of talent, ability, and “reach” that are yours for the taking. The people we call gifted are different from the crowd in one very special way. They accepted their gifts.” Price Pritchett from the book You2 Are there gifts that you have that you have never opened? Of course there are. We all have been given the ability to do a multitude of things well. In fact, I would state that there is nothing we cannot do. However, the gifts that we develop are typically more in line with what we are passionate about. Without passion gifts can never be fully developed. You may have the gift of working with numbers, but if you don’t particularly like to do so it’s a gift that you won’t care to utilize. Making things more difficult is the fact that passions often change and we feel that we cannot follow those passions because they are not consistent with the gifts we have opened and developed. Peter’s passions changed drastically during his lifetime. Peter was a fisherman and was most likely passionate about fishing. When Jesus entered the picture, Peter’s passions changed and he had to develop his unopened gifts. The reservoir of ability that Peter had would never be fully developed as a fisherman and in the middle of his life he found a new passion in Jesus Christ and opened gifts that he never knew he had. All it took was to follow his passion and the gifts were developed. In Acts 2:14-40 Peter utilized the new gifts that had taken him years to develop. He delivered a passionate sermon about Jesus that added about 3,000 members to their church. There was never any indication that he had done any public speaking prior to this. He simply followed his passion for Jesus and opened new gifts that were always present. What gifts would you like to open today?<back to top> February 11 Think Big Picture “Now there are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service in the church, but it is the same Lord we are serving. There are different ways God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work through all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 There are several passages in the Bible where Paul writes about spiritual gifts. In each one he talks about how the Holy Spirit has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. There is one part of this passage that stands out from the others. The last sentence from above says it all. Depending on how you look at it, it could be a small statement or a big statement. I encourage you to think big. When Paul mentions that the gifts we have been given are for helping the church, he may or may not have been talking about the church of Corinth. When we talk about helping the church with your spiritual gifts we are asking you to help Living Spirit Lutheran Church. However, if you take a big picture attitude you know that in helping Living Spirit you are also helping the Northern Illinois Synod, the ELCA, and the global Christian church. There are works to be done for Christ throughout the world. Through Living Spirit, we have helped feed people in third world countries, we have helped with disaster relief, we help provide training for seminary students, and we help to spread the word of Jesus throughout the world via missionaries. In the small picture, you would be helping out your local congregation. In the big picture you will be doing the work of Jesus throughout the world simply by volunteering to give your time, talent and financial support. The difference between you sharing your gifts and not has big picture implications. Take a moment today and think of ways that you can share your spiritual gifts with God’s Kingdom (big picture) through Living Spirit Lutheran Church. You’ll be glad you did! <back to top> February 12 Come and See Peter and Andrew had never met Jesus. They didn’t know him. The indication in the Gospel of Luke is that they knew of him because when he asked them to throw their nets back into the water Peter referred to him as “Master.” Knowing of Jesus and knowing Jesus are two different things. They were fisherman by trade, working in their business with no intention of leaving to do anything else. In the book of John, Jesus tells them to “come and see.” When they do come and see, they realize that Jesus is something special and that the opportunity to work with Jesus is a once in a lifetime occurrence. Jesus has invited you to come and see. That is why you are here at Living Spirit. He has chosen you and you have chosen to follow him here. You are well-equipped to do the work that he has called you to do. You are not just fishermen and there is nothing that you lack in potential. There are certain gifts that you have chosen to utilize, and others that you may enjoy that are underutilized. You may enjoy knitting. You may enjoy writing. You may enjoy reading. You may enjoy being with children. Perhaps you have always wanted to build things. You could have the gift of discernment and be very wise in knowing the direction that God wants you to take. You may be a great follower. You may be a great leader. Whatever your gifts are and whether they have been opened or not you have been called to utilize those gifts for Jesus. The beauty of it is that when you give, you receive. It is through the giving of your gifts that relationships are built with other Living Spirit members. It is through the giving of your gifts that you will know Jesus instead of only knowing of Jesus. You cannot know Jesus through the Bible, you can only know of Jesus. There is a huge distinction between the two and the ability to live your best life lies in knowing Jesus. Jesus lives in you. Jesus does his work through you. As you give, develop, and grow your gifts you will develop a closer relationship with Jesus and our mission of connecting to Christ will be fulfilled in you and through you. Join us at the ministry center on February 20th for the Spiritual Gifts workshop. You do not want to miss this. Come and see. <back to top> February 13 No Devotional <back to top> February 14 No Devotional <back to top> February 15 It is Monday, February 15th. I write this devotion while I am sitting in my hotel room in Atlanta, GA. It is Presidents’ Day, which gives me rise to take a moment to reflect on one president, but mostly on another important leader from American history. On Sunday, I visited the Martin Luther King Jr National Historical Center. Ross, Karen and Tyler were with me as well as several other leaders from our church who have gathered in Atlanta for a leadership conference. Now, I want to take a moment, and reflect on a couple of things that struck me as I visited for the first time the place dedicated to help Americans remember Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most instrumental leaders of the civil rights movement in America. First, let me take a moment today to give a brief reminder of who was Martin Luther King, Jr. King was born the son and grandson of Baptist preachers. Both his father and his grandfather had served as pastors of Ebenezer Baptist Church in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Martin was originally born as “Michael Luther King, Jr.” but after his family traveled to Germany; his father changed both his and his son’s names in honor of the German leader of the Protestant revolution, Martin Luther. That is just an interesting note that I learned about King while here today, I had not know that story before. At the age of 25 King became the pastor of a church in Montgomery, Alabama, and it didn’t take long for King to become the central figure in the US Civil Rights movement. It was 14 years later, after many arrests, many marches, many influential speeches, and many important cultural reformations in the US, that on an early April 4th evening in 1963, King was assassinated while in Memphis, Tennessee. I am going to reflect this week on my experience of going to the Historical Center, and experience which I was very much looking forward to, and which I am very glad I was able to have.<back to top> February 16 One of the very interesting quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr., that kept rising to the surface for me, among the many quotes you can talk about, was this: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” We heard that played in the video about King’s life and leadership of the civil rights movement. It was a key piece in several of the displays. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” King used this as a mantra to tell those who thought the civil rights movement should quietly go away why the fight was so important. When there is one group of people oppressed, there is pain, there is injustice, and there is a place that is so far away from God’s vision for the world –where all people share equally in the world. Let me begin by lifting up that the service/compassion ministries of Living Spirit keep us linked to this principle King preached so clearly. Each time we volunteer at Hesed House and support food pantries that help the poor – we are taking a stand, we are saying there is still injustice here in our world and we have been called by God to work toward justice. But I also reflected with Karen that as I stood and read the legacy, and see what the impact was from King’s leadership of the civil rights movement, it put our ministry in a new perspective. Each time we ‘fight’ (sometimes in good fun, sometimes in serious passion) over what song is right, or what bread to serve, or how long the sermon is, and any of the other frivolous things we get caught up in – that is when we do a disservice to King’s legacy. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” We need to keep our focus outward, looking toward to a world that is still filled with pain and injustice and we need to keep asking God where our gifts are leading us to serve and fight for justice. It would be great to fight over where we are going to give money away to. It would be awesome to have to turn volunteers away from a mission trip to an impoverished community in America. It would be amazing to hear someone ask, when are we sending people overseas to a place like Africa, or Central America, or Asia, where the poverty is so great our one day’s wage could feed a community for a month. When we live in King’s legacy, our priorities shift from the inward self-care, to the outward world-needs-what-we-have.<back to top> February 17 When we think about the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights movement, there are so many important images. The image of Mrs. Rosa Parks sitting on the bus; of police with hoses and billy clubs and tear gas beating peaceful protestors; the image of burning crosses. One image that was seriously revolting was a sign that read “Whites Only.” Ugh, it made me shudder to think that once upon a time it was acceptable to have a sign that read those words. How absolutely horrible. One of the most striking images I found came from King’s funeral. I don’t think I had seen footage from King’s funeral before. It was a powerful image. And to get the proper perspective for this image, I need you to recall the images of President John Kennedy’s funeral procession. The brightly shined caisson pulled by strong military horses with secret service and armed guard protecting the procession, Jackie in her veil, John-John saluting the flag. The full regal-ness was present in every aspect, and as Tyler pointed out, he was, after all the President – you wouldn’t expect any less. Now Martin Luther King, Jr. was not an elected official. He was a national leader though; he was leading a revolution of our culture and national moral center. And as the people surrounded the funeral procession, parting as the caisson with King’s casket made its way to the cemetery, there was the contrary image to JFK’s funeral. For here was a rickety farmer’s cart, pulled by two mules. The actual cart was here in the visitor’s center. It was actually in a rather unassuming position, for if I hadn’t walked around that corner, I would not have seen it. Here is why this struck me so much – this image of MLK on the rickety, mule-drawn farmer’s cart was the image of Jesus riding the donkey into Jerusalem on the day we now call Palm Sunday. When a military conqueror rode into a city, he came in on his finest horse; but not Jesus. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, a sign of peace, a sign of submission, totally turning our image of being Messiah upside down. King turned our American world upside down, with his mission of equality and civil rights. It was simply very powerful that in life and in death, King followed the way of Jesus, the way of humility and peace. Truly love conquered the cross, truly love conquered the billy clubs and hoses. Truly love conquered an assassins bullet. <back to top> February 18 In the 1960’s as America lost two (and eventually three, when RFK was assassinated) leaders who revolutionized American culture, we have these two interesting and contrasting and telling images of their funerals. And then I realized why I probably never saw footage of King’s funeral before. We want the regal, we want the full military strength. Yet what Jesus calls us to is something so entirely different, so radically different. He calls us not to the JFK but the MLK funeral. Jesus said, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13) If we, as a congregation, can capture a sense of what that means, if we can capture a sense of Jesus’ call to love by laying down one’s life (and not in a physical sense, but in that metaphorical and yes sometimes physical sense), then we will discover God’s mission for our congregation. We may easily think since we live in Oswego, there is no need to deal with justice issues, there is no one it affects in Oswego – but “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” We are called to look outward. Pastor Kurt Nordby, from the Northern Illinois Synod office, and I were reflecting on King’s “I have seen the mountaintop” speech. This was the speech he gave on the night of April 3rd, the night before he was assassinated. As you listen to the speech with historical perspective, you hear the prophetic words of King announcing he had been to the mountain top, how he had seen the Promised Land, and how he may not get there with those to whom he was speaking. And it made us wonder, what God may have revealed to King in the days or weeks or months ahead of that April 4th, 1963 end of the road for King’s work here on earth. Now, certainly, we don’t think for a moment that God told King how his end would come. We are looking at his speech through the lens of historical perspective. I am sure King, who was a master preacher, was using this allegory to increase the spirit of fight within the Memphis community seeking justice. But what power from King’s words, to be able to name a reality that God is bringing into the world, that this world will indeed become a place where God’s justice reigns, and what prophetic power to name that not all of us will get to that same day, but that we will indeed get there. King lived with a conviction, a simple Christian conviction – Jesus’ is bringing God’s reign to reality in this world; and our job is to name where God’s reign is not yet happening – and we are to name it, so God’s reign can finally become realized everywhere. This was at the heart of his mission, this was at the heart of Jesus’ mission. This is at the heart of what we need to strive to do as a congregation – to declare God’s reign is coming; to name where it isn’t already, and to become God’s instruments to make God’s reign a reality. Person of Interest: Martin Luther, renewer of the Church, died 1546<back to top> February 19 As Pastor Kurt and I reflected on King’s final speech, I found myself saying something that I wish I could have taken back as soon as I said it. I said, “I wish I was as close to God as King was.” I said this, as if King had an inside track that I don’t have, that he was given inside information that allowed him to shape his ministry and life. And like I said, I wish I could have taken back immediately what I said. Because the truth is, God has shown each of us what he has called us to do. We are to follow the footsteps of Jesus. We are to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8). We are to show our love by laying down our life for our friends (John 15:13). We are to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). Each of these commands leads us outside of ourselves. It tells us what should be of greater concern to us is the other person. It tells us we become whole through our serving someone else. Visiting the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Center in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday, gave me a chance to reflect again on this outward leading movement of God’s Spirit. So as we learned much about how our congregation can grow (an internal thing), and how we can receive people (a comfort thing), I was very much reminded that first and foremost, we need to keep our attention outward. We need to be mindful of how we receive guests, of how we tend to each other’s needs and support one another. And we need to balance that with the outward drive. We need the heart of Jesus, the heart of Martin Luther King, Jr. which reminds us that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” And we need to open ourselves to hear God’s call to announce God’s reign is here, to find the places where God’s reign is not happening, and to be God’s instruments in bringing about God’s reign here on earth. I hope you one day get the chance to visit Atlanta, Georgia and a chance to visit the National Historical Center which celebrates King’s life and the legacy of his work. It was a profound few hours; and it was an experience I am very grateful I was able to have.<back to top> February 20 No Devotional <back to top> February 21 No Devotional <back to top> February 22 Prayer for the Hardened Soil in our Heart: The hardened heart of national pride Read Exodus 10:21-29 This story is part of the larger sequence of events that lead to the Israelite’s freedom from Egypt. The Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. Specifically, God hardened it. Though, I suspect it didn’t take much effort by God to harden Pharaoh’s heart. Pharaoh was full of national pride. He believed his nation was the most important place in the whole world. He even believed he was the son of a god (not the same God Moses and the Israelites worshipped, but a god nonetheless). With the backdrop of the Olympics and the rally cry of Remember 9/11, our sense of American national pride is really strong. We believe we live in the greatest country in the history of the world. We believe the freedoms our country offers is an asset that no other country has. There are many good reasons to take pride in our national identity. But there does come a point, when we can become too full of our own nation and become like Pharaoh – with a heart hardened against the will of God. The guard we must have against having too hard of a heart is when national pride becomes destructive toward other nationalities and cultures. It does not serve anyone to have Pharaoh’s heart, to believe our nation is superior to all others, to believe we must dominate all others. Today, as you pray for the loosening of the hard heart in your soil, pray this prayer – and let God’s tilling take place: This is my song, O God of all the nations, a song of peace for lands afar and mine. This is my home, the country where my heart is; here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine; but other hearts in other lands are beating with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine My country's skies are bluer than the ocean, And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine. But other lands have sunlight too and clover, And skies are everywhere as blue as mine. This is my song O God of all the nations, A song of peace for their land and for mine. (this prayer is taken from a song written by Lloyd Stone, and commonly set to the tune of Finlandia)<back to top> February 23 Prayer for the Hardened Soil in our Heart: The hardened heart of darkest secrets Read 1 Samuel 11:1-17 This is the story of a man thinking the rules didn’t apply to him. David was king of the nation of Israel. He could have everything and anything he wanted. He could even do whatever was necessary to cover up things he didn’t want the public to know about. It sounds like something that recently came to light. Sports superstar Tiger Woods recently said in his public speech about his marital infidelity “I thought the rules no longer applied to me”. Part of our hard soil is this belief that the rules just don’t apply to me. That sure, someone needs to be caught and punished, but me – I can go on living the life I want to live, because the rules don’t apply to me. Well, the hard reality is the rules do apply to us all. And whether we are protecting dark secrets like infidelity, or addictions, or mistrust, or whatever that secret is – God is waiting to till that hard soil out of us, so our hearts can have more good soil. David wrote a psalm of confession. We read a portion of it on Ash Wednesday. It is Psalm 51. And while we may never recite anything Tiger Woods said in his public confession; his genuine David-like honesty that the rules do apply to him too is an attitude God seeks in us all. Today, pray this prayer about your own hardened soil in your heart: Okay, God, now you are getting a bit personal. I am willing to let you mess with the things that matter little in my life. But now you are cultivating a bit too closely to things that I don’t share with my closest friends and relatives. But I trust you God. I trust that as you cultivate, I will feel a sense of peace that I have never known before. I trust that the good soil you are working to bring out will have me living a life of freedom from this dark pain that I spend so much energy hiding beneath the hard soil. So go ahead and cultivate Lord. Let me become free from those things that I no longer want to bind me up inside. Amen Person of Interest: Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, martyr, died 156<back to top> February 24 Prayer for the Hardened Soil in our Heart: The hardened heart of religious belief Read: Mark 3:1-6 This is the story we will read on Sunday, February 28th. It is a story that illustrates what happens when we become entrenched in a system of beliefs. The Pharisees and other leaders of the Jewish faith thought they had it all figured out. They knew the Law of God and they knew how to interpret it so precisely. They knew who lived by the law and who broke the law. And they thought they had the system of beliefs down pat. Jesus sets us free from believing that we have it all figured out. Sure, there are basics to believe in God. But Jesus says don’t get bogged down in interpretation or laws. When faith is true, there God is setting free. Some churches today teach that their interpretation is right – and there is no other true interpretation of God’s ways. This type of teaching continues to baffle Jesus. And though we think we are not that way, there are often things we all dig our heels into the sand over. “Church isn’t church without this kind of music” . . . “Church isn’t church if you let that person into worship” – these are some very broad generalizations and are not meant to reflect any one person’s religiously hardened hearts. When we pray, Jesus loosens the hard soil in our heart, so that we can be set free from human interpretations and live according to God’s love, mercy, compassion, and justice. Today, pray for God to loosen the hard soil in your heart this way: Oh Lord, I have learned to believe certain things about you to be absolutely true and right. Help loosen the hard soil in my life, so that I may continue to believe – but also so that I am set free to live according to your love, mercy, compassion and justice – and not just by my own interpretation. You are the God of the entire universe and you love your entire creation and every person within it. When I refuse to let someone else experience your love, I have hardened my heart. But you can loosen the soil; you can turn my heart into good soil, and set me free to be filled with your love, mercy, compassion and justice. Amen<back to top> February 25 Prayer for the Hardened Soil in our Heart: The hardened heart of giving Read Matthew 19:16-24 Here we have the story of the rich man who wants to know how to enter eternal life. Jesus knows where his priorities are. And though this man has obviously followed the law very carefully, he is still burdened by his own wealth. When we talk honestly about our own heart, one of the things we keep under very hard soil is our desire to have more, and our desire to see that we are taken care of first and foremost. There are bills to pay, a large house to keep up, more gadgets and things we feel the need to buy in order to complete our life. Recently we had two students from Northern Illinois University come and share during the adult forum about their mission work in Guatemala. They said one of the first things they learned is how happy the people were in Guatemala. The reason it struck them as being odd was the people in Guatemala are extremely poor. They do not have access to good education, let alone a large house, the newest Steve Jobs or Bill Gates gadget, or any of the other stuff we so routinely fill our life with. Part of letting God loosen the hard soil of our heart is to let God cultivate our own sense of material needs, and how we can show our love and adoration for God by giving away more of our wealth. Sure, Jesus, in heaven, we don’t need money. But here and now, Lord, we have families to provide. We have hobbies and interests and collections and entertainment and food – oh do we have food. Really, the restaurants are much better today than when you were around. You should come by, I’ll take you to my favorite place. Seriously, though, Jesus, I know I cling hard to what I have. I sometimes even feel entitled to all that I have and forget it is all gift from you. Loosen the hard soil in my heart, my I have good soil, full of generosity and a desire to give you thanks through the way I support your ministry. In your name. Amen Person of Interest: Elizabeth Fedde, deaconess, died 1921<back to top> February 26 Prayer for the Hardened Soil in our Heart: The hardened heart of deepest desires Read Acts 5:1-11 This story in the Book of Acts has a very shocking tale. A husband and wife sell some property. They have promised to give the entire proceeds to the Church. But instead, they decide to keep some of the money. Instead of being honest and saying, here is a portion of the proceeds, they tell Peter what they are giving him was the entire amount. Peter discerns the lie and calls first the husband and later the wife on the carpet for their lie. As we have spent the week discerning how our hearts are hardened, hopefully you have discovered that our hearts are hardened when we turn inward to our own desires, our own misplaced trusts. This happens when we think we can handle taking care of our life on our own. For Ananais and Sapphira the weight of their mistrust and self-interest literally killed them. They each fell over and died as soon as Peter called them out for being deceptive. For most of us, we are not literally knocked over to death under the weight of our internal selfish desires. But we are slowly dying from our faith, and learning to turn more and more away from the God who loves us so very much. The Good News is that with God’s cultivating action in our life – that comes through us praying and talking to God and letting God into that hard soil – we are being made new, and death is not our end but the new life promised in Jesus. The journey is never over for us as we open our hearts to God to let God and God alone till the hard soil in our hearts. Take a moment today and pray . . . Lord Jesus, I am burdened with hardened soil in my heart. There is soil that is hardened that I haven’t even begun to admit to my own self. But I trust that you, O Lord, can free me from the weight of this hardened soil. You can turn my hard soil into good soil, and create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and make me willing to obey you. In your name, I pray. Amen <back to top> February 27 No Devotional <back to top> February 28 No Devotional <back to top> |
