Betrayal or Faithful?

When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me." 
-Matthew 26:19-20 (NIV)

It's our first morning at Disney. As we arrived at the Orlando Airport last night, we were greeted with a beautiful display of Christmas lights and decorations everywhere. Noticeably absent, at least to this point, is any religious symbolism of the season. I haven't seen a baby in a manger or a star of Bethlehem. I haven't seen three wise men...although I did see a wise guy yelling at the car rental clerk at the airport about his car not being ready. I've yet to see Mary, the mother of Jesus, but Minnie and Daisy have been around almost every corner.

It's in that context that I read the betrayal story this morning and I cannot help but wonder if what I've seen in Orlando thus far is one of the ways that Jesus feels betrayed in 2012.

Christmas is bigger than ever in our culture. More people are decorating. More people are shopping. At the same time, Jesus (the real reason of the season) seemingly has never been smaller. "Merry Christmas" has been replaced by "Happy Holidays." The baby in the manger has been replaced by a super-sized Santa in a sleigh...or a mouse with a high-pitched voice.

If you were Jesus, would you feel betrayed? What will you do to be faithful to the real reason for Christmas this year? How does that stack against the other trappings of this season that you encounter?

May God grant you the grace to be faithful today.




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If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, tomorrow's suggested readings are Matthew 20-22. Sunday's readings are Matthew 28 and 1 Thessalonians 1-3.

Forgiven People Forgive

Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had on you?' -Matthew 18:32-33 (NIV)

I'll never forget the first time that it happened. I was in the Drive-Thru line at a McDonald's in Columbia. When I got to the window to pay for my food, I was told that my debt had been forgiven. Okay, so she didn't say it just like that, but she did tell me that the person in front of me had paid for my meal. I asked the drive-thru worker, "What's the catch?" and she said, "Just pay it forward."

Since that day, I occasionally pick up the tab for someone else's meal. Having been on the receiving end of having one's debt forgiven in that way, I'm more intentional about forgiving the debts of others in that way.

In the suggested scripture readings this morning, Jesus tells the story of a king who wants to settle accounts with his servants. One servant owes a lot of money to the king and begs the king to be patient with him. The king goes beyond patience and actually forgives (cancels) the entire debt.

The servant whose debt has been canceled then runs into someone that owes him money, not nearly as much as he owed the king. This person begs the servant for patience in repaying the debt just like the servant had requested from the king. The servant, however, was unwilling to show patience or grace.

The king finds out about the servant's unwillingness to cancel the debt of another person even after having had a huge debt of his own canceled. The king is so angry that he throws the once debt-forgiven servant into jail and requires that he pay back his entire debt to the king before being released. We're not told this specifically in the text but the servant's debt is so large, he most likely did not live long enough to repay it.

What I take away from this story is that forgiven people are called to forgive. When someone pays your tab at McDonald's, then out of gratitude you should want to pick up the tab of someone else. But it's more than that! When you have experienced the forgiveness of Jesus (and you have experienced it whether you realize it or not), especially when you don't deserve it (and if you're anything like me you don't deserve it), then you should be more inclined to forgive others (whether they deserve it or not).

May God grant you the grace to experience and extend forgiveness today.




You can sign up to receive these daily devotionals by email each morning by scrolling to the bottom of this page and entering your email into the yellowish box.

If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, tomorrow's suggested readings are Matthew 20-22. Sunday's readings are Matthew 23-25. I hope to be back on Monday with a devotional from Psalm 125 and/or Matthew 26-27.

Eat (Feed) and Be Satisfied

And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. -Matthew 14:19 (NIV)

As I write this morning devotional, a group of people are in the kitchen of Fayetteville First United Methodist Church cooking. In a few hours, the doors of the church will open and a crowd of hungry people will gather.

It would be easy to just say that Thanksgiving is a day spent alone with our families. Like Jesus in Matthew 14, we could just seek a solitary place and do our own thing: eat some turkey, tap a nap, and then wake up long enough to watch a football game or go to a movie.

But much like Jesus is mindful of the crowd in today's suggested reading, the people of our church are aware that there are lots of people who have nowhere to go on a day like today and/or have nothing to eat. So as tempting as it is to be alone or to do our own thing, we've heard the call of Jesus to gather what food can be gathered, to give God thanks for it, to distribute it among hungry and/or lonely people, and to sit down together with these our sisters and brothers in Christ and cultivate relationships with them. Our goal is to share the same love of Christ that we have experienced with others in our community.

Our prayer is that the crowds of people who come today will eat and be satisfied and that the volunteers will feed and be satisfied. We want our guests to feel like family and to know that we're not just concerned about the hungry and lonely on Thanksgiving, but that our church will be back providing food and fellowship in December, January, February, and every month after that.

Today, as you enjoy food, family, and fellowship, be mindful of the people who have none or little of those things...and may God grant you the grace to want to do your part to make sure that they do.





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If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, tomorrow's suggested readings are Matthew 17-19.

After Being Touched

He touched her hand and the fever left her and she got up and began to wait on him. -Matthew 8:15 (NIV)

Jesus goes to Peter’s house and finds Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. Jesus touches her, the fever leaves, and she begins serving.

This has never really been one of my favorite miracle stories. It reminds me of the sexism of Jesus' day (which unfortunately still exists today) suggesting that the role of women is to wait on men. But today it strikes me that perhaps this woman waits (serves) on Jesus because that’s what all of us are supposed to do with our lives; we are all called to serve Christ out of the new life that he offers. Peter’s mother-in-law then is expressing her gratitude for life and for being touched by Jesus.

So many of us have been touched by Jesus, healed or restored in some way only to go right back to doing what we were doing before Jesus touched us. But I want to be touched by Jesus and then devote my entire life to serving him.

May God grant you the grace to be touched and then to serve today.





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If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, tomorrow's suggested readings are Matthew 11-13.

Be Salt

You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled underfoot. -Matthew 5:13-14 (NIV)

I am reminded of what author and preacher Bill Hybels says about salt in his book, Becoming a Contagious Christian: it creates thirst, it enhances flavor, and it preserves. This is helpful in trying to understand this teaching of Jesus in Matthew 5.

We are supposed to be salt. We are supposed to live our lives for Jesus in such a way that they would create a thirst in the lives of those we touch. We are supposed to enhance the lives of others with whom we come in contact and we are supposed to live in such a way that they would see how a relationship with Christ preserves a person from being completely destroyed by sin.

How are you like salt? Does your faith create thirst, enhance flavor, and preserve?

May God grant you the grace to have a faith that creates a thirst in others, enhances the flavor of the lives you touch, and preserves lives from decay.




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If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, tomorrow's suggested readings are Matthew 8-10.

Growth in Giving

But since you excel in everything- in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you- see that you also excel in the grace of giving. -2 Corinthians 8:7 (NIV)

Oftentimes, people will tell me that they want to grow in their prayer life. So we'll talk about the many different ways of praying (and there are many).

 I've had lots of people tell me that they want to grow in their knowledge of scripture. I point them to different resources or small group opportunities where such knowledge is available and where growth regularly takes place.

I've also had people tell me that they're struggling with a particular issue-fear, grief, anger, unforgiveness- and they want to grow beyond those issues. So I arrange counseling with someone especially trained to help people deal with those issues and find healing and hope.

And yet in my almost sixteen years of ministry, I can count on one hand the number of people who have come to me and said that they want to grow more in their giving. No one has ever tossed their checkbook on my desk and said, "Help me find a way to give more to God."

Maybe if I were as bold as Paul, I'd more often challenge people not just to excel in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in earnestness, and in love, but to also excel in the grace of giving. God wants us to grow in all aspects of our lives and our level of giving is one of them. What we give says a lot about what we believe and what we value.

What does your level of giving say about you? May God grant you the grace to excel in the grace of giving.



You can sign up to receive these daily devotionals by email each morning by scrolling to the bottom of this page and entering your email into the yellowish box.

If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, tomorrow's readings are 2 Corinthians 11-13 and Psalm 124. Sunday's readings are Matthew 1-4. I'll be back on Monday with a devotional on Matthew 5-7. 

Endurance

If we are distressed, it is for our comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. -2 Corinthians 1:6

Paul is testifying to the fact that he knows suffering! Just because we submit our lives to God in obedience and seek to live a Christ-like life does not mean that life gets easier or that suffering stops. In fact, the way of Christ often leads to more suffering; it led Christ himself to the cross. Paul says that the Christian life does not end suffering but it does comforts us in the midst of suffering.

If suffering ended the moment we submitted our lives to Christ, everyone would submit. But this would not be submission born out of love; it would be submission born out of our own self-serving motives. God wants us to submit to Him but only out of our great love for Him. His promise is that He will comfort us- give us the strength to endure struggles when (not if) they come.

May God grant you the grace to submit your entire life to Him out of love. May you be prepared and strengthened for whatever struggles lie ahead.



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If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, tomorrow's readings are 2 Corinthians 3-6.

By the Grace of God

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. -1 Corinthians 15:9 (NIV)

It doesn't happen as often as it used to happen but whenever I run into someone from my childhood that doesn't know what I grew up to become, they're often surprised that I'm a pastor. It's not that I was a bad kid; I wasn't. But I certainly didn't walk around with the Bible in one hand while making the sign of the cross with the other. I resisted the call of ministry for a long time because I wasn't sure that I was good enough. I'm more convinced now that I wasn't good enough then. And though this won't come as a shock to any of you, I'm still not good enough today. I have gifts and graces but I am nonetheless unworthy of the calling that I have received.

Christ has seen fit to use me despite my shortcomings and failures. And though it's still hard for me at times to believe that I'm a pastor, it shouldn't come as any surprise that God would use unlikely people for His glory.

Just look at Paul. He was a persecutor of Christians who was intent on stopping Christianity before it really started. And yet Christ saw fit to use him, to call him, and equip him to be a faithful disciple of The Way. He too felt unworthy. He too was unworthy.

When people share with me that they don't understand how God could love them or how God could use them, I nod understandably. I've been there; I've experienced those same thoughts. But I've also experienced the grace of God. I've seen firsthand how God can forgive and redeem, equip and empower.

May God grant you the grace to experience that kind of grace today.



You can sign up to receive these daily devotionals by email each morning by scrolling to the bottom of this page and entering your email into the yellowish box.

If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, tomorrow's readings are Job 41-42 and 2 Corinthians 1-2.

God is Really Among You!

But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and brought under judgment by all, as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!" -1 Corinthians 14:24-25 (NIV)

I am thankful that I was exposed to many different expressions of faith as a child. On Sunday mornings, I'd go to the Baptist Church. On Sunday nights, I'd go to the United Methodist Church. I lived across the street from the Church of Christ and I had friends who were Presbyterian so it was also not unusual for me to attend church in those two places as well.

But it was experience in the Church of God tradition that I probably remember best from my childhood. My mother had several friends who worshiped there and we'd go visit from time to time, especially during Vacation Bible School. The people were very friendly, the food was always delicious, and VBS was always a lot of fun. But what I recall most about that experience was the fact that, when we prayed together, everyone prayed out loud at the same time. Even more memorable to my young mind was that sometimes people "spoke in tongues".

Though unfamiliar to me, I didn't mind the praying out loud part. You could be quiet and listen to what other people were praying about and sometimes hear some interesting stuff about people you knew. But the speaking in tongues part always scared me. I couldn't understand what in the world they were saying. I couldn't help but get the feeling that they were possessed...and not necessarily by the Holy Spirit. Because I was frightened, because I couldn't understand what they were saying, and especially because I had never spoken in tongues myself, I was often hesitant to go back again.

Now that I'm older and have read passages like the one suggested for today, I find myself thankful for those experiences at the Church of God. I have a better understanding of why they did (do) what they did (do). People who speak in tongues do not speak to people but instead to God (14:1). When a person is speaking in tongues, there should always be someone there to interpret it to others in attendance. And I don't have to worry that I've never spoken in tongues myself because apparently not everyone has that gift. But Paul states that everyone does have the ability to prophecy (14:31).

Even though I've never spoken in tongues, I am mindful that I often speak in a language that some don't understand. When I use words like sanctification, liturgical, Lent, or Advent, there are usually people who are not familiar with these words or concepts. In the same way that a person speaking in tongues needs an interpreter, I need to make sure that I speak in a language that others can hear, understand, and to which they can respond to the Good News of Jesus.

I don't know how you feel about speaking in tongues but it's pretty clear to me that it's biblical and of God. But it is important, as the key verse I've chosen this morning says, that we speak in ways that confirm that God is among us.

May God grant you the grace to hear and to speak in a way that confirms that God is really among you today.




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If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, tomorrow's readings are Psalm 149 and 1 Corinthians 15-16.

Songs in the Night

People cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful. But no one says, "Where is God my maker, who gives songs in the night..." -Job 35:9-10  (NIV) 

Elihu is still trying to help Job realize why he is in the shape that he's in! Though he is not right in this particular case, there is some truth to his statement in the above cited scripture. So many times we experience trouble in life but try to handle it ourselves. We don't look to God who desires to give us songs in the midst of our darkness.

I know that troubles are going to come. I know that I am going to find myself in situations like Job, situations where it seems as if I just can't catch a break. I may even try to eliminate the cause of my oppression and pain myself. Although that may be possible and appropriate, I want to remember to call upon God and I want to believe with all of my heart that God can give songs in the middle of the darkness.

May God grant you the grace to hear songs in your night.




You can sign up to receive these daily devotionals by email each morning by scrolling to the bottom of this page and entering your email into the yellowish box.

If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, tomorrow's readings are Psalm 122 and 1 Corinthians 9-11. Sunday's readings are Job 37-38 and 1 Corinthians 12. I'll be back on Monday with a devotional from Job 39-40 and/or 1 Corinthians 13-14.

Loyalty to Christ

You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere human beings? What after all is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe...-1 Corinthians 3:3-5 (NIV) 

Do not go beyond what is written. Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us against the other. -1 Corinthians 4:6 (NIV)

It's hard not to read this text from 1 Corinthians without thinking about the presidential election and the way people are responding to the results. Reading and hearing what many people are saying suggests that there is indeed much quarreling among us. On one side, we have the Obama followers. On the other side, we have the Romney followers. Roughly 50% of those who voted on Tuesday placed their hope in the party of the donkey and roughly 48% placed their hope in the party of the elephant. It sure seems like people are puffed up about the candidate they follow. I'm saddened that many on the winning side appear to be "rubbing it in" and many on the losing side have, what at least one person described as, "sour grapes."

One of the study notes in my Life Application Bible points out how easy it is for people to become attached to a leader; when someone has helped us, it's natural to feel loyalty. But Paul warns against such pride in our leaders that then leads to division, slander, strife, or broken relationships. Paul admonishes that our deepest loyalty should be to Christ.

As I posted on Facebook Tuesday (and it's not an original quote), our hope does not come from a donkey (Democrats) or an elephant (Republicans). Our hope comes from a Lamb (Jesus). 

The election is over. What's done is done. If our country has any hope, it will be when we move beyond loyalty to a candidate or a party and when we pledge our ultimate loyalty to Jesus Christ. May God grant you the grace to do to that today.



You can sign up to receive these daily devotionals by email each morning by scrolling to the bottom of this page and entering your email into the yellowish box.

If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, tomorrow's readings are Job 35-36 and 1 Corinthians 7-8. 

Elihu and Elections

 I too will have my say; I too will tell you what I know. -Job 32:17 (NIV)

Waking up late and a busy day prevent me from writing much in the way of a personal reflection on today's scripture readings. I did read the texts but nothing really spoke to me as I read. When that happens, I usually consult a commentary to inspire or challenge me. It was in so doing this morning that I perhaps found something worth sharing.

In Job 32, we are introduced to Elihu. He's angry at Job because Job thinks that he is blameless in what's been happening to him. He's angry at Job's three friends because they have not successfully put Job in his place and forced him to realize that it's Job and not God who is responsible for what's happening. After Job and his friends have stated their case and had their say, Elihu speaks his mind.

This is where I find Carol Newsom's New Interpreter's Bible Commentary helpful: "Elihu is a cautionary example of the temptation that besets all interpreters. There is a temptation to use one's authoritative role in an improperly controlling fashion. By selecting some issues and passing over others in silence, by subtle distortions of what the text says, or by caricaturing and ridiculing other interpretations, one can make it appear that there is no other way to understand the text and the issues it presents."

Though I haven't said it as eloquently as Carol Newsom, that's how I have sized up this election season in our country. Candidates select some key issues while totally ignoring others. Candidates distort the positions of their rivals and ridicule anyone who doesn't see things exactly the way they (or their party) sees them. Issues become over-simplified and the suggestion is made that there is only one way to solve the problem and that's a particular party or ideology's way. There appears to be very little room for common ground.

May God grant us the grace on this election day to not ridicule those who don't think like us, to avoid the temptation to over-simplify the issues we face, or to be so blinded by our own interpretation and ideology that we fail to see truth in whatever way it presents itself.



You can sign up to receive these daily devotionals by email each morning by scrolling to the bottom of this page and entering your email into the yellowish box.

If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, this weekend's readings are Job 33 and 1 Corinthians 1-3.

Definition, Not a Cure

Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring would come to whom the promise had been made; and it was ordained through angels by a mediator. -Galatians 5:19 (NRSV)

It is faith and not law that makes us right with God. So why, Paul asks in today's suggested scripture reading, do we have or need the law? The simple answer seems to be that the law defines sin, but it does not cure sin. It lets us know what is right and what is wrong but it cannot save us from our sin. The only thing that can do that is grace...God's grace.

May God grant you the grace to respect and obey the law but to remember that ultimately you're not saved by being lawful...you're saved by grace.




You can sign up to receive these daily devotionals by email each morning by scrolling to the bottom of this page and entering your email into the yellowish box.

If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, this weekend's readings are Job 25-29 and Mark 13-16. I'll be back on Monday with a devotional from Job 31-32 and Galatians 5-6

Christ Has Need of You

"Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it to me. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it and will send it back here shortly.'" -Mark 11: 2-3 (NIV)

We are in the final week of rehearsals for the Carriage House Players production of the comedy, "Christmas Belles." I play Raynerd Chisum, a Forrest Gump-type character who is odd to say the least (I'm glad they didn't type-cast me) but who ends up saving Christmas. It's a hilarious show and a talented cast.

It takes a lot of people to put on a quality production, many of whom don't get much, if any credit. There are prop masters who make sure that props are placed on stage when they're needed, stage hands who move sets around, lighting technicians who hang and operate stage lights. They don't get the cheers, the laughs, and the claps that the actors on stage get but they are essential to the overall success of the show.

In today's suggested scripture reading, Jesus dispatches two disciples to go untie a colt and bring it to him. On the surface, it's probably not as exciting a job as baptizing Jesus (like John did) or being on stage when Jesus healed his mother-in-law (like Peter was) but it is an essential part of the story in that it is fulfilling the Hebrew scripture of Zechariah 9:9. It's communicating an important truth about the kind of king that Jesus is, not someone sent to conquer the enemies of Israel, but someone sent to conquer sin. Their part wasn't perhaps as glamorous as others in the unfolding drama, but it was important and it was needed.

As you look at your life, you may not feel that the part you're playing in God's unfolding story is an important one. You may not be in a position where you get all of the laughs, cheers, accolades, and applause. But your part, if God has called you to do it, is important. Christ has need of it. Christ has need of you.

May God grant you the grace to do your part in the unfolding of God's story on earth. Christ has need of it. Christ has need of you.


You can sign up to receive these daily devotionals by email each morning by scrolling to the bottom of this page and entering your email into the yellowish box.

If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, this weekend's readings are Job 25-29 and Mark 13-16. I'll be back on Monday with a devotional from Job 30, Psalm 120 and/or Galatians 1-4.