Tuesday, May 16, 2023

       Remind your people to submit to rulers and authorities, to obey them, and to be ready to do good in every way. ² Tell them not to speak evil of anyone, but to be peaceful and friendly, and always to show a gentle attitude toward everyone. ³ For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and wrong. We were slaves to passions and pleasures of all kinds. We spent our lives in malice and envy; others hated us and we hated them. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior was revealed, ⁵ he saved us. It was not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of his own mercy that he saved us, through the Holy Spirit, who gives us new birth and new life by washing us. ⁶ God poured out the Holy Spirit abundantly on us through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that by his grace we might be put right with God and come into possession of the eternal life we hope for. ⁸ This is a true saying.

       I want you to give special emphasis to these matters, so that those who believe in God may be concerned with giving their time to doing good deeds, which are good and useful for everyone. ⁹ But avoid stupid arguments, long lists of ancestors, quarrels, and fights about the Law. They are useless and worthless. ¹⁰ Give at least two warnings to those who cause divisions, and then have nothing more to do with them. ¹¹ You know that such people are corrupt, and their sins prove that they are wrong.                                                                                                               Titus 3:1 – 11 

       Avoid stupid arguments.  Some people love arguments, debating.  At Asbury, we stayed up late into the night just arguing, debating.  What if we had prayed?!  Arguments divide; thus, the USA is divided by the constant argument between left and right, between Dems and Reps.  There’s no room in the church, especially in the pulpit, for people who cause division or people who capitalize on the division caused by others.  It is written, “As far as it depends on you, live in peace with everyone.”  Did I do all I could do to stay UM?  Have I caused too much division among God’s people, within God’s churches, by my stupid arguments?  O God, make us one, and Lord, forgive my weaknesses and clean up the junk I’ve left behind me.  Amen!

Monday, May 15, 2023

           ¹³ So then, have your minds ready for action. Keep alert and set your hope completely on the blessing which will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. ¹⁴ Be obedient to God, and do not allow your lives to be shaped by those desires you had when you were still ignorant. ¹⁵ Instead, be holy in all that you do, just as God who called you is holy. ¹⁶ The scripture says, “Be holy because I am holy.”

           ¹⁷ You call him Father, when you pray to God, who judges all people by the same standard, according to what each one has done; so then, spend the rest of your lives here on earth in reverence for him. ¹⁸ For you know what was paid to set you free from the worthless manner of life handed down by your ancestors. It was not something that can be destroyed, such as silver or gold; ¹⁹ it was the costly sacrifice of Christ, who was like a lamb without defect or flaw. ²⁰ He had been chosen by God before the creation of the world and was revealed in these last days for your sake. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from death and gave him glory; and so your faith and hope are fixed on God.

           ²² Now that by your obedience to the truth you have purified yourselves and have come to have a sincere love for other believers, love one another earnestly with all your heart. ²³ For through the living and eternal word of God you have been born again as the children of a parent who is immortal, not mortal. ²⁴ As the scripture says,

“All human beings are like grass, and all their glory is like wildflowers.  The grass withers, and the flowers fall, ²⁵ but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

       This word is the Good News that was proclaimed to you.                   I Peter 1:13 – 25 

       Many divisions among us are caused by judgment – not God’s righteous judgment but human opinions.  I have the human tendency to gaze upon another and instantly “size him up.”  I sometimes see people doing things that I know are contrary to God’s Word and instead of allowing it to lead me to prayer for that person or conversation with that person, I scoot away and condemn under my breath.  There are divisions among us for sure, but the divisions we have between us are not more important than that which unites us, i.e. each of us is a unique creation of God; each of us is a sinner for whom Christ died.  That is the basis of human unity, church unity.  Why, then, do I allow petty things to keep me from my brother, my sister?  Why can’t I be like the Father who saw the prodigal’s sin, yet ran to embrace him?  O God, help me get this right and live in peace and harmony with all Your people.  Amen!

Saturday, May 13, 2023

       One day, Mr WR stopped by my office.  He had a couple of watermelons in the back of his truck.  He said: “Take both of them and give the other one away.”  That was a tall order for me, because I love watermelon like I love to breathe.  But I did as he asked.  I ate one and gave the other away to Lisa the next day.  God is a giver.  He gave me His Son and He gave me His love.  Not just love enough for me but an abundance of love so that I could share with others.  Failing to give God’s love away to others is a serious offense against God, just as with Mr WR’s watermelon.  There are people in the world who are longing for an experience with God.  They want to see something, hear something, feel something; yet, they never have.  That’s why giving God’s love away is so important, because that’s how others see, feel, hear God.  God’s is made visible to others when I love.  O God, forgive me for hoarding, for being so slow in sharing Your gift with others.  Amen!

Friday, May 12, 2023

       Consider this: The Father has given us his love. He loves us so much that we are actually called God’s dear children. And that’s what we are. For this reason, the world doesn’t recognize us, and it didn’t recognize him either. ² Dear friends, now we are God’s children. What we will be isn’t completely clear yet. We do know that when Christ appears we will be like him because we will see him as he is. ³ So all people who have this confidence in Christ keep themselves pure, as Christ is pure.  ⁴ Those who live sinful lives are disobeying God. Sin is disobedience. ⁵ You know that Christ appeared in order to take away our sins. He isn’t sinful. ⁶ Those who live in Christ don’t go on sinning. Those who go on sinning haven’t seen or known Christ.

       ⁷ Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you. Whoever does what God approves of has God’s approval as Christ has God’s approval. ⁸ The person who lives a sinful life belongs to the devil, because the devil has been committing sin since the beginning. The reason that the Son of God appeared was to destroy what the devil does. ⁹ Those who have been born from God don’t live sinful lives. What God has said lives in them, and they can’t live sinful lives. They have been born from God. ¹⁰ This is the way God’s children are distinguished from the devil’s children. Everyone who doesn’t do what is right or love other believers isn’t God’s child.

           ¹¹ The message that you have heard from the beginning is to love each other. ¹² Don’t be like Cain. He was a child of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain murder his brother? Because the things Cain did were evil and the things his brother did had God’s approval. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, don’t be surprised if the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love other believers. The person who doesn’t grow in love remains in death. ¹⁵ Everyone who hates another believer is a murderer, and you know that a murderer doesn’t have eternal life. ¹⁶ We understand what love is when we realize that Christ gave his life for us. That means we must give our lives for other believers. ¹⁷ Now, suppose a person has enough to live on and notices another believer in need. How can God’s love be in that person if he doesn’t bother to help the other believer? ¹⁸ Dear children, we must show love through actions that are sincere, not through empty words.                                                                   1 John 3:1 – 18            

I must love other believers … My love must be like Jesus’ in that He laid down His life for others … If I don’t love other believers, God’s love isn’t in me … love must be more than words.  In our western cultures, primarily in the USA, love is an emotion, something a person feels.  And should the feeling flicker like a flame, then it no longer exists.  Some would say it devolves into indifference which is really the opposite of love.  Love, some say, is a verb; it is actions that flow from a loved soul.  Once someone realizes they are loved unconditionally by a God who showed His love in actions, it becomes necessary to act lovingly toward others.  I must admit that my understanding of love and my practice of love are not the same.  I know (cognitively) things I do not put into action (behavior).  O God, forgive me for not better showing others that I have Your love in me.  Make Your love to move me from passive emotion to tangible action.  Amen!

Thursday, May 11, 2023

           ⁷ My dear friends, this command I am writing you is not new; it is the old command, the one you have had from the very beginning. The old command is the message you have already heard. ⁸ However, the command I now write you is new, because its truth is seen in Christ and also in you. For the darkness is passing away, and the real light is already shining. ⁹ If we say that we are in the light, yet hate others, we are in the darkness to this very hour. ¹⁰ If we love others, we live in the light, and so there is nothing in us that will cause someone else to sin. ¹¹ But if we hate others, we are in the darkness; we walk in it and do not know where we are going, because the darkness has made us blind.

           ¹² I write to you, my children, because your sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ. ¹³ I write to you, fathers, because you know him who has existed from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you have defeated the Evil One. ¹⁴ I write to you, my children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who has existed from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you are strong; the word of God lives in you, and you have defeated the Evil One. ¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything that belongs to the world. If you love the world, you do not love the Father. ¹⁶ Everything that belongs to the world—what the sinful self desires, what people see and want, and everything in this world that people are so proud of—none of this comes from the Father; it all comes from the world. ¹⁷ The world and everything in it that people desire is passing away; but those who do the will of God live forever.                                                           1 John 2:7–17

       John commonly uses the images of darkness and light to convey spiritual reality.  The light is associated with love; darkness is associated with hatred or (as I would say) indifference.  And he encourages me: “Live in the light.”  I sense God calling me to a different kind of love than I have known.  One that places Him above all else.  One that touches my neighbors whom I have grown indifferent to since I hardly know them except for a casual wave.  One that becomes indifferent to the things of this world.  I expect the forgiveness of others; yet, I am slow to offer forgiveness to others.  I expect the kindness and generosity of others; yet, I am slow to show kindness and generosity to others.  How can I claim to love God whom I have never seen when loving my neighbor who I see every day seems to fail me!  O God, love me through me; and love my neighbor through me too!  Amen!

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

       Christ has freed us so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom. Therefore, be firm in this freedom and don’t become slaves again. ² I, Paul, can guarantee that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. ³ Again, I insist that everyone who allows himself to be circumcised must realize that he obligates himself to do everything Moses’ Teachings demand. ⁴ Those of you who try to earn God’s approval by obeying his laws have been cut off from Christ. You have fallen out of God’s favor. ⁵ However, in our spiritual nature, faith causes us to wait eagerly for the confidence that comes with God’s approval. ⁶ As far as our relationship to Christ Jesus is concerned, it doesn’t matter whether we are circumcised or not. But what matters is a faith that expresses itself through love.

       ⁷ You were doing so well. Who stopped you from being influenced by the truth? ⁸ The arguments of the person who is influencing you do not come from the one who is calling you. ⁹ A little yeast spreads through the whole batch of dough. ¹⁰ The Lord gives me confidence that you will not disagree with this. However, the one who is confusing you will suffer God’s judgment regardless of who he is. ¹¹ Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching that circumcision is necessary, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the cross wouldn’t be offensive anymore. ¹² I wish those troublemakers would castrate themselves. ¹³ You were indeed called to be free, brothers and sisters. Don’t turn this freedom into an excuse for your corrupt nature to express itself. Rather, serve each other through love. ¹⁴ All of Moses’ Teachings are summarized in a single statement, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” ¹⁵ But if you criticize and attack each other, be careful that you don’t destroy each other.

Galatians 5:1 – 15

Love, the re-newed Law of God.  The Law is so attractive from the outside.  Keeping the rules!  Doing something!  These allow me to measure my spirituality.  So, when someone comes and says, “You must be circumcised” (or any other requirement), I naturally jump to it.  Stand and salute.  Then, I celebrate my own goodness.  But this isn’t God’s requirement; this is the enemy tempting me to do God’s work another way.  God’s requirement is: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”  Faith-based love!  Do, I extend the love of Christ to my neighbor?  Do I do what love demands when no one is watching?  When the person before me cannot possibly precipitate?  When the only credit I get for it is “Well done”?  My love isn’t always faith-based love; it is often something less!  Oh God, love through me until I am strong enough to love for You!!

Wednesday, May 03, 2023

Mark 12:38 – 54 —– One of the legal experts heard their dispute and saw how well Jesus answered them. He came over and asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” ²⁹ Jesus replied, “The most important one is Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord, ³⁰ and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength. ³¹ The second is this, You will love your neighbor as yourself.  No other commandment is greater than these.” ³² The legal expert said to him, “Well said, Teacher. You have truthfully said that God is one and there is no other besides him. ³³ And to love God with all of the heart, a full understanding, and all of one’s strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself is much more important than all kinds of entirely burned offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had answered with wisdom, he said to him, “You aren’t far from God’s kingdom.” After that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Are we there yet?  Am I there yet?  John Wesley taught us: holiness or Entire Sanctification is loving God and loving our neighbor.  That implies Staying in Love with God through the means of grace, Doing Good by actively showing kindness and love to others AND Doing No Harm by not sinning against others.  This is my destination in Christ.  Yet, I struggle.  I get off course.  I run out of gas before I arrive.  I’m just not there.  I take comfort in Paul’s “pressing on” (Phil 2) and Wesley’s “earnestly striving for it.”  Yet, I know there’s something more.  The destination before me is a glorious place, a glorious way to live.  Almost!  Just keep going!  Oh may I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s sun!!

Tuesday, May 09, 2023

¹² As holy people whom God has chosen and loved, be sympathetic, kind, humble, gentle, and patient. ¹³ Put up with each other and forgive each other if anyone has a complaint. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ Above all, be loving. This ties everything together perfectly. ¹⁵ Also, let Christ’s peace control you. God has called you into this peace by bringing you into one body. Be thankful. ¹⁶ Let Christ’s word with all its wisdom and richness live in you. Use psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to teach and instruct yourselves about God’s kindness. Sing to God in your hearts. ¹⁷ Everything you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:12 – 17

“Above all, be loving, because this ties everything together perfectly.”  I note in this verse how “love” (v. 14) is tied directly to “holiness” (v. 12).  Mr. Wesley said: Holiness is loving God … and loving others.  How can I claim to be holy if I do not love others?  How can I claim to be growing in grace from one degree of glory to another if I do not see a progression in love?  I wonder sometimes if the only person I truly love is … ME.  Sure, I’m nice, for that is what is expected of a pastor, but love is something different.  Love demands kindness, gentleness, and patience.  Love demands inward as well as outward “niceties.”  Perhaps the reason my life is so broad instead of deep is I don’t love enough.  O God, give me Your heart for my family, my friends, my neighbors, my foes!  Amen!

Monday, May 08, 2023

⁹ Let us have no imitation Christian love. Let us have a genuine break with evil and a real devotion to good. ¹⁰ Let us have real warm affection for one another as between brothers, and a willingness to let the other man have the credit. ¹¹ Let us not allow slackness to spoil our work and let us keep the fires of the spirit burning, as we do our work for God. ¹² Base your happiness on your hope in Christ. When trials come endure them patiently, steadfastly maintain the habit of prayer. ¹³ Give freely to fellow-Christians in want, never grudging a meal or a bed to those who need them. ¹⁴ And as for those who try to make your life a misery, bless them. Don’t curse, bless. ¹⁵ Share the happiness of those who are happy, the sorrow of those who are sad. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with each other. Don’t become snobbish but take a real interest in ordinary people. Don’t become set in your own opinions. ¹⁷ Don’t pay back a bad turn by a bad turn, to anyone. Don’t say “it doesn’t matter what people think,” but see that your public behavior is above criticism. ¹⁸ As far as your responsibility goes, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Never take vengeance into your own hands, my dear friends: stand back and let God punish if he will. For it is written: ‘Vengeance is mine. I will repay’. ^20-21 … these are God’s words: ‘Therefore if your enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirsts, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head’. Don’t allow yourself to be overpowered with evil. Take the offensive—overpower evil by good!                                                                                                             Rom 12:9 – 21

My love must be genuine.  It can’t be show; it can’t be anything less than real and tangible.  One of the things Paul says here strikes me hard; he writes: “Don’t become snobbish but take a real interest in ordinary people.”  This is truly how love is expressed to those outside of the family of God.  I must take time for “ordinary people,” not caring who they are, what they have, or what they can do for me in return.  I must listen intently; I must speak gently; I must touch their lives with love, the love that is in me because of Christ Jesus.  I must leave the door open; I must leave my arms extended in welcome; and I must give … give all that I am just as Jesus did.  Oh God, your love is within me; give me grace that it may flow out of me and touch others.

Friday, May 05, 2023

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ He created all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.  Whether they are kings or lords, rulers or powers – everything has been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He existed before everything and holds everything together. ¹⁸ He is also the head of the church, which is his body.  He is the beginning, the first to come back to life so that he would have first place in everything. ¹⁹ God was pleased to have all of Himself live in Christ. ²⁰ God was also pleased to bring everything on earth and in heaven back to Himself through Christ. He did this by making peace through Christ’s blood sacrificed on the cross. ²¹ Once you were separated from God. The evil things you did showed your hostile attitude. ²² But now Christ has brought you back to God by dying in His physical body. He did this so that you could come into God’s presence without sin, fault, or blame. ²³ This is on the condition that you continue in faith without being moved from the solid foundation of the hope that the Good News contains. You’ve heard this Good News of which I, Paul, became a servant. It has been spread throughout all creation under heaven.

²⁴ I am happy to suffer for you now. In my body I am completing whatever remains of Christ’s sufferings. I am doing this on behalf of his body, the church. ²⁵ I became a servant of the church when God gave me the work of telling you his entire message. ²⁶ In the past God hid this mystery, but now he has revealed it to his people. ²⁷ God wanted his people throughout the world to know the glorious riches of this mystery—which is Christ living in you, giving you the hope of glory. ²⁸ We spread the message about Christ as we instruct and teach everyone with all the wisdom there is. We want to present everyone as mature Christian people. ²⁹ I work hard and struggle to do this while his mighty power works in me.

Without sin, fault, or blame before God!  Paul said that Jesus died on the cross in order to present me before God without sin, fault, or blame, granted that I continue in faith!  This work, while completed in Christ, is incomplete in me.  I know that the problem is in me.  It is my sin, my faults, and my guilt that makes it so.  Even after walking with the Lord all these years, my faith is still lacking.  Like Paul, I want to do things and can’t (won’t) and I don’t want to do things and do them anyway.  I fail to rely on the Lord, proving thereby that my faith is weak.  O God, I ask not that You give me more faith, but that You strengthen and deepen the faith I have.