Devotion for Jan. 20, 2012

Psalm 62:5-12; 2 Peter 3: 1-7

In high school, I had three BFFs (best friends forever).  We were always together:  we took the same classes, participated in the same activities, and shared the same faith.  We could tell each other anything and often spent long hours discussing school, boys, and our futures.  We trusted each other completely.  In fact, these women are still my best friends, even though we no longer are able to spend every waking moment together.  We may only see each other a couple of times per year, but we still have a high level of trust.  We are able to get right to the important information when we visit, not having to muddle through the small talk or wonder where else our worries might be shared.

Yet as amazing as these women are, and as lucky as I am to have them, the Bible tells us that there is an even better friend available, one who is not only our rock and our refuge, but who is literally also our salvation.  God is our fortress, Psalm 62 says; the power belongs to him.  We need not worry about wealth, or lack thereof.  It doesn’t matter to God; we are all equal in his sight.  Our deliverance and honor rest on him.  When we trust in him at all times and pour out our hearts before him, we shall not be shaken.

A strong, trustworthy friend might be hard to come by in the human world, but the strongest, mightiest friend imaginable is only a prayer away.  God is readily available to be a rock and fortress not just to anyone, but to everyone in the world.  With an ever-listening ear, an overflowing heart of love, and a blind eye to our faults, He is truly our holy BFF.

Prayer:  Dear Lord, Thank you for being our rock, our solid place, our listening ear.  Help us to share your love and friendship with others.  Amen.

Devotion for Dec. 7, 2011

December 7, 2011

Psalm  27; Luke 1: 5-17

“The Lord is our light and our salvation; whom shall we fear?” Psalm 27: 1

            Darkness is a universal human fear.  Imagine what comfort a fire must have been to our early ancestors.  Whether they were on the plains, in the jungle, or in the desert, some light in the darkness would have helped keep away the fear of unknown predators, as well as the predators themselves.

            It’s not a coincidence that Advent and Christmas come at the darkest time of the year.  We are waiting and watching through the darkness of the longest nights of the year.  Even though electric light is now overabundant and we need never be in literal darkness, we are still full of fear, doubt, and loneliness.  There is much to be fearful of in the modern world: financial trouble, relationship trouble, political trouble.  In spite of all the modern ways in which we can connect with one another, in many ways we are more disconnected and lonely than ever.  Even the Advent/Christmas season has been turned into a situation of stress and pressure to buy the right gifts at the lowest prices.

            Into this mess of loneliness, fear, and frenetic shopping comes a tiny baby, a little spark of light in the dark night.  Just as Zechariah and Elizabeth’s son, John, was born to prepare the way for his younger cousin Jesus, it is now our responsibility in 2011 to help prepare the world to hear the good news of Jesus.  The world still needs Jesus.  People that we know and see every day are waiting to have Jesus brought into their lives.  They are lonely, they are scared, and they are searching for meaning and acceptance.  It is our responsibility to reach out to them and show them the light shining in the darkness. 

Devotion for Nov. 17

Devotion

November 17, 2011

Psalm 95: 1-7a, Revelation 14: 1-11

“Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving” Psalm 95: 2a (NRSV)

When I hear the word “thanksgiving,” I immediately think of the American holiday celebrated every November—Thanksgiving with a capital T.  Thanksgiving reminds me of my grandma and the happy holidays spent at her house as a child, eating her delicious homemade meals and playing board games with her and my cousins. 

Although I often give thanks to God, whether on my own, with my family, or during corporate worship, I rarely hear the word “thanksgiving” used without the capital letter.  I try to thank God frequently for my blessings, but this verse from Psalm 95 puts a different emphasis on it.  Usually I am giving thanks wherever I happen to be:  in the car, at school, at home, at church.  In other words, I interrupt what I’m doing, say my prayer of thanks, and then go back to whatever task or conversation I was previously involved in. 

What this verse invites us to do instead, is to slow down, stop the other distractions, and make an obvious entrance into the presence of God.  And not just come-as-you-are into His presence.  Come with an attitude of thanksgiving.  Come with a heart bursting with gratitude for each and every blessing we have received.  God the Father sacrificed his only Son for us.  As we come into His presence this Thanksgiving, let us strive to approach Him with hearts full of thanksgiving.

Devotion for August 5

1 Kings 18:17-19, 30-40; Acts 18:24-28

In these two scripture passages, we find two different types of believers.  There are the people of the Old Testament, as described in the reading from 1 Kings, who require an enormous display of God’s power before they will fall on their faces and declare that God is the Lord.  Elijah prepares an elaborate sacrifice, and God sends fire that consumes not only the offering itself, but also the altar and the surrounding water.

By contrast, the reading from Acts introduces us to Apollos, a New Testament believer.  He is well-versed in scripture, and has been taught about the Lord.  He speaks with “burning enthusiasm” as he teaches others about Jesus.  In this passage, Apollos deepens his faith, not by meeting Jesus or by witnessing a sign from God, but by listening to the teaching of others.  He then continues to boldly proclaim Jesus as the Messiah.

Many of our friends and neighbors in the 21^st century are not Christian believers.  Surely, many would change their ways quickly if they were to observe a large, obvious display of God’s power, such as the fire that consumed Elijah’s altar.  However, that is unlikely to happen.  And so we are called to be New Testament believers.  We must believe without necessarily seeing.  But that’s not where it ends.  As believers, it is our job to act as Apollos, Priscilla, and Aquila did, and share the good news about Jesus with others.  Apollos spoke enthusiastically to anyone who would listen, and he publicly and powerfully argued with those who would try to prove him wrong.  Priscilla and Aquila saw that a fellow believer didn’t quite have all the information, and they took him aside and explained what he needed to know, deepening his faith and his commitment to spreading Jesus’ message.

If the believers don’t speak out, who will?  People who don’t know Jesus are waiting to hear from us.  We have to be the “sign from God” that they are waiting for. 

Devotion for June 2

Devotion

June 2, 2011

Psalm 47

As a child taking piano lessons, I was very timid.  Some children attack the piano, banging as loudly as they can, and have to be taught to play softly.  Not me.  I always had to be coached to play louder and more confidently.  As I progressed through different piano teachers, choral instructors, and band directors, I began to hear one phrase over and over.  “If you’re going to make a mistake, make a big one.”  In other words, play (or sing) boldly, with confidence, as if everything will be perfect.  Many times, the confidence helps eliminate the mistakes, and even if it doesn’t, the audience would rather hear music performed with passion and emotion (and a few missed notes) than a timid, hesitant, although technically correct, performance. 

God, as the audience for our lives, is no different.  He wants to see lives lived with passion, emotion, and risk-taking for His kingdom.  Psalm 47 tells us:  “Shout to God with loud songs of joy.”  God wants to hear our noise, our mistakes, our wrong notes.  Don’t be timid.  Shout!  Sing loud songs.  Proclaim His name and His love boldly!  Sing and shout with joy.  We have so much to be thankful for!  Let’s put smiles on our faces, and laughter in our voices as we share His good news with others.

And the best part is this:  God doesn’t make mistakes.  Through Him, all our wrong notes are made right.  Our mess-ups can ultimately be used, through Him, for good purposes.  To paraphrase all good music teachers, “When you praise God, praise big!”  Praise Him loudly, boldly, and with confidence.  There will be no mistakes!

Prayer:  (read loudly, with a smile on your face)  Most High God, we praise your name with confidence.  We thank you for the hundreds of blessings you shower upon us each day.  Help us to share our joy and confidence with others who don’t know you yet.  ALLELUIA!  AMEN!

Devotion for June 29

Devotion

June 29, 2011

Jeremiah 18: 1-11

When I was in grade school, a woman from my church congregation had a small pottery studio in her home.  Once a year, all the elementary classes from our small-town grade school took a field trip to Vi’s house to see the pottery wheel and kiln; then we returned to school and made clay creations of our own.  I was always fascinated by the pottery wheel.  Vi made it look so easy:  taking the wet clay, working it between her fingers, shaping it into different size jars on the wheel, then smashing it down and starting all over again.  We learned about the importance of working the clay first, to get out all the air bubbles.  If even one air bubble remained, it could ruin the final piece.  When I received my lump of clay, back at my classroom desk, I discovered it was not nearly as easy as Vi had made it look.  It was hard to work the clay, and impossible for a 10-year-old to know if all the air bubbles were out.  I also lacked vision.  Whereas Vi had an idea of how she wanted each piece to turn out, I could never think of anything unique to make.

As today’s reading from Jeremiah shows, God works in a way that is very similar to a potter creating jars at the wheel.  He molds and shapes us like clay.  We are His creation, His work of art.  He has a vision for us, and each of us is unique.  God might make it look easy, like Vi at her wheel, but we know it is not.  We are stubborn, like the lumps of clay from my childhood, not wanting to be shaped in a particular direction.  We also know that sin, like air bubbles, has a way of entering into our lives.  Even the tiniest sin can ruin the entire creation.  Fortunately, God has the power to smash out those air bubbles, to take away our sins, and return us to that perfect art form someday.  No matter how hard it is, or how many times He has to re-shape us on the wheel, God won’t give up. 

Prayer:  Dear Lord, You are the Potter, we are the clay.  Mold us in your image and help us to be good examples of Your artistry in the world.  Thank you for never giving up on us.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Devotion for July 20

I've been writing devotions for our church publication each month, and it finally occurred to me that I should post them on here too.  So here's the current one, and I'll go back and post the others later.

Devotion for St. John's Lutheran Church

July 20, 2011

Matthew 12:15-21, Psalm 75

My father-in-law was diagnosed at age 26 with Type II diabetes.  Over the years he has learned to test his blood sugar, watch his diet, count calories, give himself insulin injections, and generally manage his disease.  He is now in his 70s.  Diabetes is a central part of his life, yet he never complains about it.  He has accepted it and learned to live with it.  At the same time, everyone who knows him, knows about his condition.  We’ve all seen him disappear before a meal to take insulin, or refuse a dessert because his blood sugar is too high. 

Now imagine if he (or anyone else who lives with a chronic illness) went to a religious gathering, and the speaker healed him.  The diabetes is gone.  He is completely healthy again.  Although my father-in-law never complains about his disease, I’m pretty sure the first thing he’d want to do if he were healed is to tell someone!  And then tell everyone!  And then send his friends and family to see this miraculous healer.

This is essentially the situation described in Matthew 12:  “Many crowds followed [Jesus], and he cured all of them, and he ordered them not to make him known” (Matthew 12:15b-16).  There were many crowds, he cured all of their ills, and then he said, “But don’t tell anyone.”  What a difficult order from Jesus!  You are healed, but don’t tell anyone that I was involved. 

Fortunately, we are no longer operating under that order.  We are free to tell anyone and everyone about the amazing love and healing power of Jesus.  And really, what is more wonderful than the Son of God giving up his life for us, so that we can be healed from sin?  Go and tell of God’s wondrous deeds!

Prayer:  Dear Lord, we thank you for the gift of your love.  Help us to remember that your works are no longer secret.  Give us courage to share your love and good news with others.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.