What Will You Be Able to Say?

Long Scripture reading.  Take your time. Notice the details.  Ask God to speak to directly through the scripture:

 

Matthew 25:14-30

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.  To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.  The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more.  So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more.  But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?  Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

“‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags.  For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.  And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

 

I can not read this story, taking it seriously, and come out on the other side thinking that my actions regarding what I have been given are unimportant to God – the specific ways that I spend my time, the specific ways I spend my money, the ways that I use my talents.  None of those things  - my time, my money, or my talents – are really mine.  They will all recalled some day by their owner (my owner) and an accounting will take place.  I’d like to think this won’t happen, but this Jesus tells me this story to assure me that it will.  My faithfulness IS EXPECTED!  I can try and fail, but not trying is not a faithful option. 

So I recommit myself to faithfulness.  I hope you will too. 

 

Prayer:  Lord,  we commit actions today to your purposes.  Use them beyond our time, talent, and treasure. To you be the glory forever. Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray a prayer of gratitude for all the resources, relationships, gifts, and other blessings that you have in your possession at the moment. 

 

Song:  All I Am – Phil Wickham

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXBr5W27pao

The Power to be Faithful

‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.      Zechariah 4:6

 

Like all the other fruits of the Spirit, our faithfulness proceeds from God’s faithfulness.  This is crucial.  I can’t sustain my own faithfulness.  When I’ve tried, I have always reached the moment when I decide that I’m done.  In my work as a Pastor, I have on multiple occasions gotten to the point where I say to myself, “I’ve got to find something else to do with my life.”  In each of those cases, I realized that I was trying to be faithful on my own power.  It may work for a while, but it is not sustainable.

In the above scripture, “by my Spirit” is the key.  To the extent that we are “present” with the Spirit that God has placed within us, our faithfulness becomes sustainable.  To be present with the Spirit is to be aware of and connected to the Spirit’s presence in us.  This is what the Psalmist means when he shares God’s encouragement to “be still and know that I am God.” (46:10)  The most important part of our day is the time we spend slowing ourselves down enough to pay attention to the presence of God with us.  When this becomes a habit, we have a growing sense of God’s faithfulness to us.  This makes our faithfulness a natural response, not drudgery.

What has God called you to be faithful in?  If you don’t have an answer to that question, be assured that what God is calling you to be faithful in is practicing being aware of God’s presence.  Other areas of obedience grow out of that.  If you are aware of even a small thing that God is calling you to do, do it. As you do it, notice how God shows up in your doing it.  That leads to the next step in your faithfulness.  We’ll talk more about that tomorrow.

 

Prayer:  God, slow me down enough that I may notice your presence with me and your faithfulness to me.  Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Take some time to be quiet and still today, asking God to make God’s presence known to you. 

 

Song: Great is Thy Faithfulness – Chris Rice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k1WhFtVp0o

Faithfulness

 

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

                                                                                Hebrews 10:23

 

We are not called upon to be successful, but to be faithful.

                                                                                Mother Teresa

 

Today, we move to the fruit of faithfulness.  Staying the course of faithful action even when it’s hard and even when it seems like it isn’t doing any good seems downright impossible at times.  I like to think that my actions make a difference.  I’m guessing you do too.  So Mother Teresa’s words above are sometimes hard to hear.  Jesus never said, “follow me and I will make you successful.”

Here’s the hard part about being unsuccessful.  Failing is an integral part of growing up.  I worry about my kids when things seem to come too easy.  I actually want them to encounter some adversity and even fail sometimes.  Do I sympathize, hurt with them, and love on them when that happens?  You bet I do!  But I don’t actually hope that everything they ever attempt is a rousing victory.

Why? Because there are lessons you cannot learn any other way other than by failing.  Failing also has the potential to teach you compassion.  How can you know how to support someone who is suffering if you’ve never suffered.  One of the deepest comforts that Jesus supplies to me in times of  suffering is that I know He knows what is to suffer.  God knows my suffering because God suffers as well.   The really powerful part of that is that God’s suffering brings redemption.  The cross is how God brings redemption.  But here’s the part that isn’t said much.  Our suffering can also, with God’s help, bring redemption.

This truth helps me be faithful.  Knowing that God uses success and failure to bring about redemption means that my faithfulness is enough.  My obedience to the call is not about me producing certain results.  In fact, I’m not responsible for the results.  I am responsible for obedience.  I’m responsible for being faithful.  But I don’t even have to be faithful on my own.  But that’s a topic for next time.

 

Prayer:  God, it feels so good to succeed and it feels so bad to fail.  Thank you that you are able to use our efforts regardless of how we feel about them. Help us to be faithful.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for struggling business owners you know today.

 

Song:  Hillsong United – So Will I – Pay close attention to the words of this song…so powerful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyYn21RdBBQ

What’s a Light Good For?

Mark 4:21-23 - He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?  For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.  If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”

 

A couple of weeks ago, in a prior devo, I asserted that scholarly debate about the “messianic secret” was, in my opinion largely overstated.  For me, the above passage confirms this idea.  Jesus uses the image a lamp to describe the nature of the kingdom.  You would not cover or hide a lamp for it’s purpose is to provide light.  Likewise, you would not conceal or minimize the kingdom of God, for it is a reality and way of life that is meant to be shared.  I think Jesus’s meaning here, especially as Mark has told the story, is fairly straightforward.  The treasure Jesus shares with us is meant to be shared with others.

Too often though, Christians want it both ways.  On one hand, they are attracted to the teachings of Jesus and even more drawn in by the Love Jesus incarnates.  But at the same time, most do not want to be perceived as a “radical.” Further, they rightly don’t want to impose their own beliefs upon others.  As a result, we have the epidemic of “private religion” and “live and let live” mantras.  In the text above, Jesus calls this what it is – nonsense. 

If what we have received from Jesus is light, then what purpose does it serve to hide it?  I believe Jesus calls us to use our light in the same helpful way that one would use a good light source.  We bring it into places where people are living in darkness.  We live in a way that demonstrates the value of following Jesus’s ways in real life.  Another use of light is to illumine the often-concealed injustice and evils that plague our society.  Light is not always welcome in such places, but Jesus calls us to “set it on the lampstand” anyway. 

Don’t get me wrong; we aren’t called to annoying and obnoxious as some Jesus-followers have been prone to be.  What was always obvious in Jesus’s approach was that, even when He was confrontational and/or angry, it was obvious that his motivation was love.  He was not known primarily for His anger.  He was known for His love, mercy and healing.  But avoiding confrontation at all costs falls short of faithfulness to the nature of the Kingdom. 

 

Questions:  Think of a time when a conversation or situation in which you found yourself was running contrary to what you believed to be right.  How did you handle it?  How would you handle it in the future?

 

Prayer:  Lord, help us see ways to more authentically “let our light shine.”  Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for the victims of the latest round of bombings in Ukraine that have killed and injured hundreds of civilians. 

 

Song:  What Makes a Man? – Ben Rector and Thomas Rhett

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcmeE3wPndM

Elisha - Just Doing the Job

 

Read 2 Kings 4:8-37 – too long to print here

 

As was mentioned last time, Elisha had been groomed and mentored by Elijah for the work of the prophet. And Elijah’s investment paid off. Elisha, by all accounts exceeded the works of his mentor – longer service, twice as many miracles, and he helped and challenged more kings. The Old Testament spends more time telling the stories of Elisha than Elijah. Yet, in all that was told about Elisha, not once does it record him complaining or wanting to quit. Elijah tried to quit multiple times.

Still, Elijah is revered as the greater prophet. Most likely, more of you reading this know more about Elijah than Elisha. Jesus had problems with his disciples arguing about “who is the greatest? I don’t know why this is the case, but here’s my simple point this morning. It doesn’t matter. Who gets more credit? Who’s more famous? Who’s more “important?” God does not care.

But let ‘s be honest. It matters to us. Humans like “pecking orders” just as much as chickens. We want to know where we stand. But along comes Elisha and simply just does what he’s called to do and lets the cards fall where they may. I’m not naïve enough to think that he never played the comparison game. Nevertheless, Elisha just kept doing his job without complaining.

I need to hear that and I bet others need to hear that. As nice as it is to get credit and be affirmed, what I(and you) need to remember is that the work is often it’s own reward. In addition, God is pleased when we do what He has led us to do. We serve at the pleasure of our God. Keep on keeping on!

 

Prayer: Lord, make us clear about the things we can do today that matter, whether we get credit or affirmation or not. Amen.

 

Prayer Focus: Pray for unity to grow around what we can do as a country to solve the problems we are facing right now

 

Song: Alicia Keys - Good Job

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ighFo0i0nrA

What WE Would Do Given the Same Situation. . .

What WE Would Do Given the Same Situation. . .

 

Matthew 26:31-35, The Message - Then Jesus told them, “Before the night’s over, you’re going to fall to pieces because of what happens to me. There is a Scripture that says,

I’ll strike the shepherd;

dazed and confused, the sheep will be scattered.

But after I am raised up, I, your Shepherd, will go ahead of you, leading the way to Galilee.”

Peter broke in, “Even if everyone else falls to pieces on account of you, I won’t.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Jesus said. “This very night, before the rooster crows up the dawn, you will deny me three times.”

Peter protested, “Even if I had to die with you, I would never deny you.” All the others said the same thing.

 

                Up until right before it happens, Jesus keeps telling the disciples how things are going to go badly for Him.  And our passage above, Jesus warns his disciples that, when things go badly, they won’t handle it very well.  They will “fall to pieces.”  Peter speaks for all of Jesus’s cohorts when he boasts there is no way that would ever happen.  But just as Jesus foretold, Peter will deny Jesus three times before the night is over. All the others would falter in some way as well.  Though it is Peter that is the example, this prediction from Jesus is one that is about all of us.

                Unlike Peter, I doubt that I would have made a verbal boast about what I would do or not do.  But I am certain, in the same circumstances, I would have quietly assured myself that I would never deny or forsake Jesus though all hell breaks loose.  I believe my approach would have been to quietly prove Jesus’s words to be wrong.  My aim would be to simply show Jesus my undying loyalty.  But I’m pretty sure that I, just like all the confident disciples, would fail to prove my unspoken boast.  I’m certain about this because I have failed Jesus many times when I faced no real danger for being faithful. 

                However, this passage is not about Peter’s denial or the failings of all the other disciples in the midst of the arrest, crucifixion, and death of Jesus.  Jesus lets them know that they will fall to pieces not to shame them, but to assure them, that when it happens, He will be there to lead them forward after their failure.  The reality is that all of the disciples, except John, will go on to be martyred for their bold faith in Jesus.  But not before they first fail Jesus.  The encounter with the Risen Christ turns their failure into faithfulness.  The gift of the Holy Spirit turns their fear into holy bravado. 

                We all know what we think we will do when the “big moment” comes.  Bur regardless of whether we fail or succeed, Jesus promises to lead us forward afterwards.  Jesus knows that we will fall short sometimes.  We might even completely fall apart.  But on the other side of those darkest of moments, our Shepherd will be there to help us pick up the pieces and move forward to a better future. 

 

Questions:  Can you think of times when you didn’t live up to your own expectations about how you would perform in a difficult situation?  What was helpful to you in such moments?

 

Prayer:  Jesus, we sometimes overestimate our loyalty and devotion to You.  Thank you for your promise to be with us when we fail.  Use our failures and shortcomings to strengthen our faithfulness moving forward.  Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for people in places where Christians are martyred for their faith on a regular basis.

 

Song:  Are Ye Able – Han Sol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG8b0J7gnLw

Blessings Where We See Curses

 

Blessings Where We See Curses

 

Matthew 24:45-51, CEB - “Who then are the faithful and wise servants whom their master puts in charge of giving food at the right time to those who live in his house?  Happy are those servants whom the master finds fulfilling their responsibilities when he comes.  I assure you that he will put them in charge of all his possessions.  But suppose those bad servants should say to themselves, My master won’t come until later.  And suppose they began to beat their fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunks?  The master of those servants will come on a day when they are not expecting him, at a time they couldn’t predict.  He will cut them in pieces and put them in a place with the hypocrites. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.

 

                We all have work to do. When we’re young, it’s schoolwork and for many, chores.  We graduate.  Maybe we go to college where our work is more schoolwork and possibly a side job.  At some point though, our formal schooling is over and we begin a different kind of work.  Even those who start a family and make the choice quit their job to raise children have work, perhaps more work than most jobs outside the home.  After the children are gone and all the others retire, most find other work.  They volunteer.  They help their adult children and dote on grandchildren. They take up a hobby that they’ve been thinking about but never had time while they held a formal “job.”  Many elderly people who can no longer do the physically and mentally demanding work they did earlier in their lives seem to find ways to keep working at something.  They find ways to keep working. Our work may change over the course of our lifetimes, but we always have work to do.

                Quite often, I have observed what happens when people choose not to do the work they have been given.  I’m not talking vacations or sabbaticals or transition times.  Those are all healthy ways of making sure we can keep working.  I’m talking about people who choose to stop doing their work permanently.   It can happen at any stage.  Children who give up on their school work often flounder for the rest of their lives.  People who quit or lose their jobs and choose to stop working altogether lose their sense of purpose and connection to the world.  Even many people who retire and don’t discover their post-career work struggle with the same issues of purpose and connection. 

It seems that having work to do is generally good for us even though we don’t often feel that way. I often find myself fantasizing about a “someday” when I will no longer have work to do.  I even occasionally have days now when I rebel and refuse to do my work.  I also thoroughly enjoy short periods of time of “days off” or vacation and my “work” is to intentionally do nothing.  But I’m realizing more and more that the work I’ve been given to do is a gift.  Even the work that I do for others often does more for me than it does for them.  I’m not always aware of this in the moment, but I’m aware of this truth right now.  Faithfulness in our work in the world is good for us.

Maybe the “weeping and gnashing of teeth” Jesus spoke about in the passage above is more of a “self-inflicted wound” than a punishment for those who chose to interrupt their faithfulness.  I don’t know for sure.  What I do know is having faithfulness to perform does more for us than simply pleasing God, although Jesus assures us God is pleased.  The ways that Jesus teaches us to live are really the best way to live – for us, for our families, for our communities, and for the world.  Go figure.

 

Question:  How have you been blessed by your faithfulness to God and other relationships that you are in?

 

Prayer:  O God, sometimes we begin to think that the work we do is a curse.  Forgive us.  Give us eyes to see it the way you do.  You are pleased in your faithfulness to us.  May we be pleased in our faithfulness to You and each other.  Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Spend a little extra time praying for the members of your household today.  If you live alone, pray for the people in your extended family.

 

Song:  The Weight | Featuring Ringo Starr and Robbie Robertson | Playing For Change | Song Around The World

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1GU1qQ1zQ

The Gospel of Matthew: Endgame

 

The Gospel of Matthew: Endgame

 

Matthew 24:1-14, CEB - Now Jesus left the temple and was going away. His disciples came to point out to him the temple buildings.  He responded, “Do you see all these things? I assure that no stone will be left on another. Everything will be demolished.”

Now while Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?”

Jesus replied, “Watch out that no one deceives you.  Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I’m the Christ.’ They will deceive many people.  You will hear about wars and reports of wars. Don’t be alarmed. These things must happen, but this isn’t the end yet.  Nations and kingdoms will fight against each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in all sorts of places.  But all these things are just the beginning of the sufferings associated with the end.  They will arrest you, abuse you, and they will kill you. All nations will hate you on account of my name.  At that time many will fall away. They will betray each other and hate each other.  Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.  Because disobedience will expand, the love of many will grow cold.  But the one who endures to the end will be delivered.  This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a testimony to all the nations. Then the end will come.

 

                Following Jesus’s last public address in the Temple, Jesus and His disciples leave.  As they are walking out of the Temple, the disciples make comments about the beauty of the Temple.  Jesus shocks them by announcing that the Temple will be reduced to rubble.  As Jesus predicted, the Temple was destroyed in AD 70, a few decades after Jesus’s crucifixion. It would never be rebuilt again.  All that remains of that Temple is a portion of the western wall, now called the Wailing Wall, where millions of people from multiple faiths go to pray every year.  People stuff small pieces of paper with their prayer concerns written on them in the cracks of the wall.  I did this myself when I was in the Holy Land some years ago. 

                The disciples were thrown by the news that the Temple would be destroyed.  It must have consumed their thoughts until they reached the Mount of Olives.  As Jesus sat down there, his disciples ask Him three questions:  (1) when will these things happen?  (2) what will be the sign of [Jesus’s] coming?  (3) What will be the sign of the end of the age?  Jesus’s answers to these questions make up the remainder of chapter 24 and constitute one of the passages in the New Testament that have most difficult to interpret.  There is great disagreement in the scholarly community to this day over the precise meanings of Jesus’s words here.  While we will carefully work through this confusing chapter in the next couple of reflections, the goal is to gain some general insight into what Jesus is trying to convey and not to try an arrive at the perfect interpretation.

                In the passage above, Jesus begins to address question 1, the question of when.  The frustration is that what he offers here is not a precise “when,” but a definite “not when.”  There will be people claiming to be the Messiah;  when that happens, you will know that they are surely lying.  Terrible things that feel like the end will happen.  The end is not then either.  The disciples themselves will be persecuted and killed – not then either.  People will lose faith and fall into hate.  Betrayal will abound.  False prophets will be numerous.  Wars, earthquakes, and famines will be common.  Disobedience will expand to an epidemic level.  Still not the time. 

                It must be said that in every time period since Jesus uttered these words, the idea has been floated that the time period Jesus described is the present time.  When we look at the conditions of the world today, we could make the case that Jesus was talking about the 21^st century.  While that cannot be ruled out, Jesus’s message in this description above was not that we try to read the descriptions of world events and try to match them up to what we see in the news.  The point is essentially is this approach won’t work.  When you think it might be the end, it’s not the end.  Focus on proclaiming the Kingdom to the whole world, not on trying to predict the end.  Persevere through the catastrophes.  No matter what happens or how bad it gets, those who do this will be delivered.  Let the end be God’s concern. Keep the faith.  That’s our job. 

                As I already stated, we have just begun to explore Jesus’s response to the disciples three questions.  But for today, let’s focus on what Jesus says should be the focus – perseverance and proclaiming the Kingdom. 

 

Questions:  What does persevering in the faith men for your circumstances right now?  What is your role in “proclaiming the kingdom?”

 

Prayer:  Lord, we know that the advancement of your kingdom is the real news we should be paying attention to in the midst of all we see today.  Help us to see how You are moving in our circumstances, our community, and the larger world.  Give us strength to persevere and be faithful.  Amen.

 

Prayer Focus: Pray for those who have left the faith in recent years

 

Song:  Won’t Back Down – Tom Petty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2h9HPZhqHE