Devotion for Wednesday, April 26

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught,” (Colossians 2: 6-7)

I am fortunate that my life in the Christian faith has been rooted in a family that loves Jesus and taught me to do the same. 

My grandparents were all faithful.  I remember waking up at my grandparent’s home and seeing my grandmother and grandfather reading the scripture.  I remember seeing my other grandmother reading her bible each day.  I remember being an active participant in the church because my parents were faithful in exposing me to the beautiful promises of my baptism. 

Church life has been the backbone of my life.  I have grown up in the faith and continue my life being a professional clergyman.  Heidi and I are working on teaching the faith to our children.  And this is a great joy.

I often wonder how my life might be different if I had experienced something other than what I have.  Would I still be a pastor?  Would Jesus mean as much to me as he does? Would I be faithful?

I can’t answer that.  I do know that when I meet those who have come to the faith without having the same kind of upbringing that I had, I am heartened and figure that their witness could be my own.  I have come to believe that I probably would have ended up a pastor since I feel this is what God called me to be and, as I have told numerous potential pastors over the years, “If God wants you, God is going to get you!” 

Still, as we sing in a favorite song, Come Now is The Time to Worship, “One day every tongue will confess you are God, one day every knee with bow. Still the greatest treasure remains for those who gladly choose you now.”  I am thankful that I have been taught the blessing and grace of choosing this life with Jesus now.  It is a treasure.

God of my life, thank you for giving me faithful loved ones to teach me about you. Amen.

Devotion for Tuesday, April 25

A Devotion by Richard John Neuhaus

(inspired by the three holy days - Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter)

By these three days all the world is called to attention. Everything that is and ever was and ever will be, the macro and the micro, the galaxies beyond number and the microbes beyond notice; everything is mysteriously entangled with what happened, with what happens, in these three days.

Every human life conceived from eternity and destined to eternity, here finds its story truly told.  In this killing that some calls senseless we are brought to our senses.  Here we find out who we most truly are because here is the One who is what we are called to be.  The derelict cries, "Come, follow me."  Follow him there?  We recoil.  We close our ears.  We hurry on to Easter.  

But we will not know what to do with Easter's light if we shun the friendship of the darkness that is wisdom's way to the light.

Devotion for Monday, April 24

Prayer

(inspired by John 20: 19-31)

In spite of our doubts,

may we recognize you in our midst:

wounded, bloody, and resurrected.

In spite of our doubts,

may we know when we come face to face 

with the love that is greater than all deaths.

In spite of our doubts,

may we reach out to touch the wounds of the world's pain

trust that when grace and love surround them

they will become part of Christ's resurrected body.

And in spite of our doubts,

may we live as though we are too.

- written by Cheryl Lawrie

Devotion for Friday, April 21

The Strife is O'er, the Battle Done

The strife is o'er the battle done
The victory of life is won
The song of triumph has begun
Hallelujah

The powers of death have done their worst
But Christ their legions has dispersed
Let shouts of holy joy outburst
Hallelujah

The three sad days have quickly sped
He rises glorious from the dead
All glory to our risen Head
Hallelujah

He broke the bonds of death and hell
The bars from heaven's high portals fell
Let hymns of praise His triumph tell
Hallelujah

Lord by the stripes which wounded Thee
From death's dread sting Thy servants free
That we may live and sing to Thee
Hallelujah

• Francis Pott | Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina | William Henry Monk

Devotion for Thursday, April 20

Christ is Alive! Let Christians Sing!

Christ is alive let Christians sing
The cross stands empty to the sky
Let streets and homes with praises ring
Love drowned in death Shall never die


Christ is alive, No longer bound
to distant years in Palestine
But saving healing here and now
And touching ev'ry place and time

Not throned afar remotely high
Untouched unmoved by human pains
But daily in the midst of life
Our Savior in the Godhead reigns

In ev'ry insult rift and war
Where color scorn or wealth divide
Christ suffers still yet loves the more
And lives where even hope has died


Christ is alive and comes to bring
Good news to this and every age
Till earth and sky and ocean ring with joy
With justice love and praise

• Brian Arthur Wren | T. Williams

Devotion for Friday, April 7

Jesus calls us to "bear fruit, fruit that will last."  This can seem daunting to many of us.  It does for me. I imagine it does for you too.

In all things, following Jesus is about trust; trust that Jesus will honor his promises and be ever faithful to us amidst our failings, brokenness, and selfishness.  As we learn and grow in our ability to trust that Jesus is indeed honorable and faithful, we will come to see that responding likewise in the relationships of our lives, the honest work that we do to make a living, and the joyful play we experience that our lives begin to bear lasting fruit.  This fruit may be seen in the reconciliation of a broken relationship or the blossoming of an already meaningful one.  This fruit may be experienced in finding sustaining purpose in doing our work daily even amidst tight deadlines, impolite people, and stressful burdens.  This fruit may be on full display as we laugh with friends, share great conversation with a spouse, or enjoy a beautiful hike in God's glorious creation.

Lasting fruit is at our fingertips and all of you have the capacity for bearing more than you can ever imagine.

Loving Jesus, inspire our lives and faith so that we might bear Kingdom fruit in surprising ways. Amen.

Devotion for Thursday, April 6

Rise up, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God! (Psalm 3:7)

In our most stressful moments, when anxiety is high, we implore our God to do what God promises., to deliver us! Much of our lives are spent trusting that God will do this and will be who God has promised to be.

As we grow in faith, we learn to trust that God will be the One who will sustain us whether or needs are met or not.  And this is the real promise of deliverance!

When deliverance is only having needs met, then deliverance doesn't come sometimes. Yet, when we come to understand that deliverance come regardless of outcome, then we begin to find grace and hope in all moments, i.e. deliverance!

Deliver us God from our own misguided thoughts and to see the grace in front of us. Amen.

Devotion for Wednesday, April 5

"You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.  For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many." (Mark 10: 42-45)

In his 1520 treatise, Freedom of a Christian, Martin Luther writes,

  A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none.

  A Christian is a dutiful servant of all, subject to all.

Seems contradictory huh?  In reality, it is at the heart of our Christian understanding of discipleship and faithfulness.  Jesus says today that the model of life in the Kingdom of God is different from the kingdoms of the world, where power, prestige, and domination rule.  Instead, we are called to an alternative reality, one that is as counter-cultural as it gets.

We are set free to be servants!  We are unequivocally unbound by the chains of the world so that we can chain ourselves to the needs, cares, struggles, and pains of those around us, especially those marginalized and forgotten by our world.  Jesus says that true greatness is experienced in being "weak" by the worlds standards!  And he has a cross, a symbol of death, failure, and suffering to back up this call.

Indeed, whenever Christianity gets a taste of power, prestige and rule, we often fail miserably at it. We simply couch our lust for control and domination in some niceties about Jesus and believe we are justified.  Well, not so fast my friends!

I believe that we Christians are at our best, our greatest when we are weak, struggling, and uncertainty.  Why?  Because it is only when all the other securities and powers that we sinfully cling to have abandoned us that we remember and embrace that which is our truest source of power -- the generous, gracious love of Christ Jesus, the one who served the world he loves so much and calls us to do the same!

Liberating God, you have made us free. May we use our freedom to bring liberating freedom to those who are weak, poor, and broken. Amen. 

Devotion for Tuesday, April 4

"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."  When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. (Mark 10: 17, 21-22) 

Giving entails so much more than our financial offerings.  Giving involves our time, our talent, and our treasure.  And at the heart of all of this is a seemingly impossible call.

A pastor friend of mine once preached for me on a Stewardship Sunday at the congregation I served in Cincinnati.  I will never forget him saying in his sermon that God does not call for 10% of our hearts, 10% of our lives, or even 10% of our treasure.  In fact, God wants 100%!

Jesus makes the same call today in the story with the man who tradition calls "the rich young ruler." Now, be sure, this is not about everyone giving all their money away, becoming paupers, and then working for free. The Bible is clear that poverty is something we should help people avoid through our generosity.  Being poor, except for specific cases of those called to live in poverty as part of a vocation, is something Christians are called to work toward eliminating.  So, then, what could giving 100% to God possibly mean?

Living our lives, all aspects of our lives, in God-pleasing ways is what matters to Jesus.  Do we acquire our money, regard our money, manage our money, and spend our money in God pleasing ways?  Perhaps the rich young ruler had accumulated his money in ways not pleasing to God? Perhaps he regarded his wealth as his own, not giving God credit for his blessings? Perhaps he managed and spent his money in ways that were contradictory to his self-professed faithfulness (vs. 18-20)?

Jesus was inviting the rich, young ruler into a new relationship with God.  However, for him, his wealth was a stumbling block to such new relationship.  The question for us this day is what would Jesus say is getting in the way of us giving 100% of ourselves, our lives to God?

Perhaps its our wealth. Perhaps our status. Perhaps our position or profession.  Perhaps its addiction. Perhaps its something as beautiful as our family, spouse, or children.  Whatever it is, Jesus asks us to replace it with a deeper relationship with God.

This is difficult, no doubt, as evidenced by the rich, young ruler going away grieving.  But, Jesus also tells us, such commitment and discipleship will be blessed beyond measure and we will find treasure of another kind, treasure through God that will never and can never disappoint.

God of grace, shape my life, my giving, and my heart toward you in all ways.  Amen.

Devotion for Monday, April 3

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them.  But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.  Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. (Mark 10:13-16)

The word that speaks to me in this reading is indignant. The word means feeling or showing anger or annoyance at what is perceived as unfair treatment. 

What makes Jesus indignant? In scripture it is usually revolves around issues of justice, barriers to community, and misplaced, misguided religiosity.  These things really make Jesus show his human side!

I find the issue with children to be interesting, especially in light of our modern affection for children. How often do politicians, leaders, families say something along the lines of "its all about the kids." 

In many ways, our day is totally foreign to Jesus' time, when children were truly marginalized.  In our day, in many ways, children occupy a place of prominence in our society.  This is a good thing of course.  We've come a long way.  Still, have we, perhaps, moved too far?

Hear me clearly, I am not advocating a return to where kids are best "seen and not heard" or anything of the like.  But I do wonder if the child-centric focus in many families is for the best?  To be sure, I'll go above and beyond for my kids.  At times, however, that will mean that I must make certain decisions that will challenge their "wants" or even their "hopes."  

One time, I had a pastor friend say to me, "I desire that my children are faithful, not necessarily happy."  I asked him to unpack that a bit and he reflected that as he and his wife sought to raise their children toward faithfulness, i.e. helping them come to Jesus, there were times when this was at odds with what would have made them happy.  And I get this.  

Bringing my children to Jesus is something that I take seriously.  This means that we often make decisions that they don't always enjoy, but have come to expect (i.e. almost daily Faith5, regular worship, giving away some of their birthday money, learning to forgive, support, and love others who hurt them, and making our life of a faith a priority).  This has caused our children some pain at times.

While I desire my children to achieve their goals, pursue their passions, etc. what I desire more is that they will come to fully experience the blessing and goodness of Jesus, who calls them to Him.  This will put us at odds with the culture and will put us at odds with them from time to time.

Bringing children to Jesus is not for the faint of heart.  But since God gave these three beautiful souls to Heidi and me, and because we trust God, we will take up our call as parents with fear and trepidation and not a little prayer.  For in the end, Jesus wants my children with Him.  And that, to Heidi and I, is our main parental responsibility and, to be sure, our greatest blessing!

Loving Lord, help us bring the children to your gracious presence. Amen.