Devotion for Thursday, May 25

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! (Psalm 84)

I've been in any number of church buildings and sanctuaries.  I've seen some that were large and gorgeous (like the cathedrals in Europe).  I've been small churches on the North Dakota plains.  I've been in open air churches in Africa and the Bahamas.  I've been in churches with a high ceiling and beautiful natural light and I've been in churches with expensive stain glass windows that kept the natural light out.  I've been in old churches and new churches that meet in auditoriums and movie theaters. As I imagine you have, my worship of God has been in all manner of settings and sizes.

What I have found is that while I may prefer a particular style or decor over others, the one constant in all of these places is the Word of God.  The promise that where "two or more are gathered" then Jesus is with us.  This makes each and every place that I have worshiped in my life a "lovely dwelling place."  

Indeed, where I worship matters little when compared to the promise inherent in worship.  God comes to us in all manner of ways and in all manner of sanctuaries.  And it is this realization that allows me to find holiness in the most humble or ornate setting.  

The next time you find yourself worshiping in a setting not particularly to your liking, remember that God dwells there too.  And does so with the same powerful Word as a sanctuary more to your liking. Remember that the people who worship with you on any given Sunday in any given sanctuary are loved children of God just like you.

As we focus on this, we will most definitely come to find that lovely dwelling places of the Lord of hosts abound.  And how precious and awesome is this!

Dwelling God, may we experience your beauty and blessing wherever and whenever we worship. Amen.

Devotion for Wednesday, May 24

You have turned my mourning into dancing (Psalm 30:11)

The following song is one that I believe speaks to the tragic and heartbreaking realities of our world with the promise of Jesus.  Whether it was the recent death of a loved one, a time of difficulty in a relationship, or even an atrocity like what happened in Manchester, England.  The Lord will work to bringing healing, restoration, and hope.

Mourning into Dancing

(Chorus)
You've turned my mourning
Into dancing again
You've lifted my sorrows
And I can't stay silent
I must sing, for your joy has come

Where there once was only hurt
You gave Your healing hand
Where the once was only pain
You brought comfort like a friend

I feel the sweetness of Your love
Piercing my darkness
I see the bright qnd morning sun
As it ushers in your joyful gladness
(Chorus)

You're anger lasts for a moment in time
But Your favor is here
And will be on me for
All my life time
(Chorus)

"Mouring into Dancing" by Ron Kenoly

Devotion for Tuesday, May 23

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 ..." (Psalm 113:5-8)

With all due respect to the great Bette Midler, ours is not a God who "looks down from a distance" on us our lives.  I can understand the thought and the image, yes.  However, if the Christian faith says anything about God, it is that God is not aloof nor removed from the world God created.  Instead, our God is the one not only dwelt with us Jesus, but dwells with us still in the Spirit of Jesus.

In doing so, God is able to do quite a remarkable thing:  God lifts us from our struggles and pains and raises us to new life and renewed life time and time again.  This is at the heart of the witness of Jesus. This is the central aspect of His ministry and teaching.  It remains the most vital confession and profession that we make as followers of Jesus.

My dad says it this way:  God is "God-enough" for our sin, shame, sufferings, and pain.  Through the Spirit of Jesus, and activated amidst our faithful response to the promise, we come to find that our lives are redeemed and restored no matter the circumstance and no matter the brokenness.

As we know, this can be and often times will be a long and winding road.  Still, it is the primary work of God to raise us up from our moments and experiences of desperation, to offer us hope beyond hope for each and every struggle and each and every shame.

Our God is "God-enough" to help us face our trials and "God enough" to not only offer us comfort amidst our trials and see us through them, but to hasten the time when peace and restoration will once again reign in our lives, and prayerfully, in our world.

God-Enough, may we cling to your promised presence always and in all ways. Amen.

Devotion for Monday, May 22

Love one another with mutual affection (Romans 12:10)

About this verse, Martin Luther writes, "No feeble love is demanded here, but a love that comes from the heart, so that our heart bears witness that the sorrow of others hurts us as much as if it were our own and their prosperity cheers us as much as if it were our own."

This is the goal of "loving your neighbor as yourself" and it is a daunting task.  Our sin, our shame, our fear, and our jealousies can keep us from fully embracing this vision of Jesus.  Still, it is our goal and a call to change our hearts.

How then do we do this? I believe that as we come to experience and internalize our own worthiness, our own value as defined by God's love for us, we are best able to love with our whole hearts. Perhaps it is only for a time, a moment even. Still, we can, through the grace and strength of Jesus, dare to love in such a divine way.  

Know this, that you are a blessing and gift.  You need not define yourself over and against another, but can find solace and strength in knowing that you are a chosen, beloved child of God. Period.

So dare to to love others with all your hearts. Dare to celebrate with others in their joy. Dare to bless others and support others in their sorrow. Dare to be the people God has created you to be!

Lord Jesus, inspire us to love and see ourselves as you love and see us so that we might love and see others as you love and see them. Amen.

Devotion for Thursday, May 18 (A Week with 1 Corinithians)

If Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain (I Corinthians 15:14)

At the heart of the Christian faith is this very sensational claim: that Jesus of Nazareth was raised from the dead!

I have known many people who could buy Jesus as a great teacher, or even a healer of some kind but did not by that he was raised from the dead.  Their rational sensibilities hold sway.  

I admit that I can understand why someone may not believe in the resurrection of Jesus.  Resurrection does not happen in our everyday lives.  But I do believe it happened.  I absolutely believe it had to happen.

I came to faith through my head.  At some point I came to the rational belief that if there is a God (and I was pretty sure that there was), then the kind of God that I could believe in and give my life to would be a God who came down to experience all that we experience in life, even experiencing death.  And if that could happen, then Jesus, God-incarnate in the world, could absolutely be raised, proving that life trumps death.  

Paul writes that if there is no resurrection, then all that we are doing is for naught.  I agree.  Our central Christian witness is that God in Christ brings life out of death -- not simply at the end of our lives, but amidst all the "mini-deaths" that we experience in this world (i.e. death of a dream, relationship, professional goal, sickness, etc.).

I believe that "resurrection" happens all the time, that God is forever in the "resurrection business" in our lives and the lives of the people of world.  May we have the faith and the eyes to see it!

Ever-living God, open us to your life-giving and life-changing ways. Amen.   

Devotion for Wednesday, May 17 (A Week with 1 Corinthians)

For as often as you eat of this bread and drink from this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes (I Corinthians 11:26)

We share the sacrament of Holy Communion every Sunday at Bethel.  I am so glad that we do and that it has become commonplace to do so in most Lutheran congregations.  For what we believe about Holy Communion is actually quite awesome.

For Lutherans, Holy Communion is more than a memory exercise.  Neither is it a full-blown transformation of bread and wine.  Instead, Lutherans walk a middle path if you will.

We believe that while the elements remain bread/wine, we also strongly believe that the mysterious presence of Jesus is "in, with, and under" the elements as spiritual nourishment.  We call this the "real presence".  Therefore, Holy Communion is something we desire and need each week.

When my daughter Leah celebrated her "First Communion", I remember so vividly is that leading up to that Sunday, she kept saying "Is this the Sunday that I get to do the cup?"  Her joy in participating in worship in this new way was infections for our family.  I so hope that she does not lose that joy for the remainder of her life.

I have seen the power of Holy Communion in the lives of many people, particularly older people who are unable to attend worship with any regularity, if at all.  They value receiving the bread/wine because it connects them to their church but also to a life-long promise of Jesus' presence, forgiveness, and grace.

And isn't that feeling something we need to experience as much as possible?

Nourishing Lord, may our lives be filled by your Spirit, sustaining us and energizing us for faith. Amen.

Devotion for Tuesday, May 16 (A Week with 1 Corinthians)

Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries (I Corinthians 4:1)

Servants and stewards.  That is what we are as followers of Jesus.  We are serve Christ by serving others.  We are stewards of the revelatory nature of God.  What then does this mean?

As servants it means that we live for the benefit of others first.  In doing so, we are modeling our life after Jesus.  This will invite us into loving others and forgiving others in ways that may not feel natural or without difficult.  Still, we dare to do so with the promise of the Spirit's help.

As stewards, we recognize that all that we have and all that we are is gift and grace!  We are stewards of what God has freely given to us out of love -- our unique abilities and talents, our treasure, and our time.  God indeed works in mysterious ways, but here is how this works?

The ways of God are unveiled and revealed to us, often when we least expect it or consider it.  This means that where we may not see ourselves as doing something for God's purpose, that may be exactly what God is doing in us and through us.  Being stewards of the mysteries of God is that we are willing to do and be about the work of the Kingdom trusting that God is up to something in us and through us. Period.  

You may be working at McDonalds, or as a lawyer, or as a teacher, or on the road crew for VDOT. God can and does and will use you -- perhaps mysteriously to you -- to achieve God's purposes. We may never even know what God was up to, but believe me, God is up to something -- always!

Mysterious, yet ever near Lord, help us to live as servant and steward in trust your ways. Amen.   

Devotion for Monday, May 15 (A Week with 1 Corinthians)

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world ... so that no one might boast in the presence of God (I Corinthians 1:27-29)

Christianity's diminishing presence in our society might not be a bad thing! What, you may be asking to yourself, do I mean by that? Well, I believe that we stand in the midst of a great opportunity for Jesus followers to return to being the church at our best.

My conclusion is fairly simple: whenever the Christian church is in a position of power, we often cease to be what we are supposed to be about (i.e. radical inclusion, equality, and justice for all). Instead, we become the "insiders" and therefore must have "outsiders".

The maddening truth of Christianity is that our greatest power is in the powerlessness of the cross!

This means that we live and profess a faith that may seem "foolish" to others.  Our greatest strength is when we embrace and live through our weakness, our suffering, and the crosses we bear.  For in these moments only God is left to give us what we need.  All other trappings of power, prestige, and status fall away.  Only the crucified Christ is left!

It can be difficult, if not seemingly impossible, to put our trust in our own weaknesses.  It goes against all that we are taught from birth it seems.  However, our Christian faith finds its strength in recognizing the overwhelming grace, mercy, and compassion of God, as experienced in the cross. This allows us therefore to live crucified lives for the benefit and love of others.  And this sacrificial mandate of our baptism changes lives and changes our world.

Crucified and risen Lord, may we find strength in our weakness and hope in our pain. Amen.

Devotion for Friday, May 12 (Galatians Week)

Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)

As we conclude this week on Galatians, I lift up this verse for you.  I believe that it encapsulates the entirety of the purpose and message of Paul's letter.  

The law is fulfilled not through pietism, works, or doctrinal devotion.  No, the law is fulfilled as we love our neighbor and consider their burdens our own.  There is no hierarchy, no levels of faithfulness, no demarcation of followers of Jesus.  As much as we probably would like for there to be such things, Paul says that this is patently anti-kingdom of Jesus thinking.  

Instead, Paul proclaims a radical inclusiveness and maddening equality.  We follow the law as we love without prejudice and within compassion. Period.  We most perfectly execute God's purpose in this world as we begin to see the struggles of others as our own, and do something about them.  We most perfectly execute God's plan for our lives as we humble ourselves and devote ourselves to the work of justice and freedom for the other.  

And as we do, we will experience a glimpse of God's beautiful vision for our world.

God of compassion, may we have compassion on others and share their struggles so as to bring new life. Amen. 

Devotion for Thursday, May 11 (Galatians Week)

By contrast the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  There is no law against such thing. (Galatians 5:22-23).

My son Noah learned a song about the fruits of the spirit at a Virginia Synod youth event.  It has become a family favorite.

The funny thing is that Heidi and I had a difficult time remembering the words.  We actually practiced singing it while we were driving around Hawaii in December.  We finally got it down.

I kind of felt like that experience was reminiscent of what it is like to put these fruits into practice during life.  We may know some of them really well (i.e. love, kindness, faithfulness) but find others slipping our mind (i.e. generosity, gentleness, self-control).  Keeping them ALL in play takes concentration and practice and repetition.  It also takes working with others.

So, I will bring up this song with our family from time to time.  Hopefully, together we can remember to live into the fruits of the spirit each day.  May you do the same.

Loving Spirit, renew, recreate, and reshape our lives to look like Jesus. Amen.

Devotion for Wednesday, May 10 (Galatians Week)

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.

(Galatians 5:1))

Martin Luther once wrote a treatise called Freedom of a Christian.  In it, he wrote the following:

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

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

These words may seem like a paradox.  Yet, for the Christian, it is clear.

Our freedom in Christ allows us, indeed challenges us, to live a life of service and love of neighbor. We are not bound by the "slavery" to self-interest, self-promotion, or self-protection.  We need not remain "enslaved" to the chains of self-doubt, self-pity, or self-righteousness.  We have been freed to be selfless, self-effacing, and self-sacrificing. In other words, to live and love like Jesus.

It really is that simple.  And that difficult.  We are free. We are servants. In Christ, this works and in Christ, this makes perfectly merciful sense! 

Jesus, the breaker of chains, guide us to choose freedom of service over slavery to self. Amen.

Devotion for Tuesday, May 9 (Galatians Week)

There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.  And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:28-29)

In a world that seeks to divide us and place barriers between us, Jesus seeks instead to unite us.

These barriers include ethnic, religious, regional, political, cultural, social, economic, and gender biases that make for an "us-them" dynamic.  The kingdom of God, however, seeks to promote and provide a "we" dynamic. 

The worldly divisions that mark our lives are washed away in the waters of baptism.  Then those who were enemies and strangers can find peace and hope in a common relationship that they share with Jesus. 

I've often remarked that my relationship with Jesus seeks to shape all my other relationships. Indeed, in Christ we are made a new creation -- not bound by definitions others give us or that we give ourselves.  Instead, we are defined most fully and most completely by the claim that Jesus has upon us.  And so is our neighbor!

Loving Jesus, may you guide us to live and love like you! Amen.

Devotion for Monday, May 8 (Galatians Week)

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ ... I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing (Galatians 2:15,21)

One of my favorite verses in scripture.  "I do not nullify the grace of God."  What a word of hope.

So many people live with shame, brokenness, doubt and self-pity.  These words become healing balm for our woundedness and pain.

The grace of God is greater, bigger, and stronger than our sin.  Period. Exclamation point!

If our good works can't save us, then perhaps our bad works can't damn us either.  Perhaps, just perhaps, it's God's call.  And what we know about God is that He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love!

So, as you begin this week, hear and believe these powerful and promissory words my friends,

YOU DO NOT NULLIFY THE GRACE OF GOD! 

Compassionate God, your grace and love trumps our sin and shame. Thank you! Amen. 

Devotion for Thursday, May 4 (National Day of Prayer)

Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock (Matthew 7: 24-25)

Today is the National Day of Prayer.  

As we seek to build our lives on the rock of Jesus, prayer is, as Jesus commands, vital to our ability to do so. He says that we who act on his words of hope and promise will find security and strength in God.  This is, as Luther says, most certainly true.

Luther wrote the hymn, A Mighty Fortress is Our God.  In this hymn, Luther paints the dramatic image of God as the place of refuge and safety and security in our lives.  It is a powerful image of a stronghold where we can find solace amidst stress and anxiety and pain and suffering.  

I think of this when I engage our reading today.  As we follow the teachings of Jesus, we enter the stronghold of God.  We take up residence in the mighty fortress of grace, mercy, forgiveness and love.  When the flood of fear and the winds of worry seek to overtake us, then we can dare to trust that we will not fall.  

These words from Jesus today come near the end of his sermon.  And rightfully so.  After speaking life-giving words of promise and challenge and hope and blessing, Jesus says that they make no difference in our lives unless we internalize them and act because of them.  

As we do, we will find that the uncertainty of life will be met by the assurance of faith.

Mighty God, may we find our security fully in you. Amen. 

Devotion for Monday, May 1

“If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belong to the world?” (Colossians 2: 20)

This is the big question isn’t it?

How often do I continue to cling to the false promises and bankrupt powers of this world, instead of submitting to the life-giving, renewing, and reconciling grace of Jesus?

As a pastor, I am not immune to this struggle.  I simply signed up to proclaim in publicly, and invite you to recognize it in your own life.  Hopefully, I do this faithfully and creatively in my ministry.  Still, I know that I won’t do it as well as I could or should or have or will.  In these moments, I attempt to find solace in knowing that any moments of grace that I somehow bestow on others is the work of Jesus in both of our lives. 

The reality for all of us is that we will continually find ourselves living, not as redeemed believers, but as those who have forgotten who and whose we truly are.  And when we do, we need each other to serve as reminders of who our truest selves are and where truest allegiance belongs.  And how gracious that God gives each of us the ability to do exactly this.

I have often been ministered to by you.  I have often been brought back to the faith because of your faith.  I have often been encouraged to risk and exhibit courage because of the daring faith you have shown.  For this, I am grateful and blessed. 

My prayer is that you will come to see that your life, despite its challenges and back-sliding moments, can, does, and will impact the lives of others.  This is the great secret of God’s grace and power.  He changes hearts and lives in and through the very people who don’t believe they can or will do so.  Yet, it happens.  All the time, in all the world.  Grace happens. 

Surprising God, use us as instruments of your grace, love, and peace. Amen.