When Leaders Fail; Daily Devotions for the Easter Season - May 16, 2018

When Leaders Fail

Acts 1:12-26

“. . .concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was one of our number and shared in our ministry (Acts 1:16b-17 NIV).”

He was a disciple, one of Jesus' chosen. Paul tells us to follow his example as he follows Christ. There are leaders, teachers, pastors, we look up to and follow in this manner. Sometimes men and women of God fail us. They fail to be the leaders they need to be, the examples of Christ likeness they should be. They walk away from their faith; away from God. They were people we loved, people we respected, people we looked up to in the faith; worked to follow their example. And the place they held in our lives and in our hearts may forever be left deserted. But that does not mean that we do not continue on in our faith. Or that we do not go on to trust others in faith to help, lead and guide us. That we find new examples of Christlikeness to look up to.  Our faith in Jesus is never dependent upon the faithfulness of another follower of Christ. When we trust in the wrong place, it is ok to be disappointed to feel let down, but then we can move on. Work to pick up where we left off and continue to follow faithfully ourselves.  

Prayer:

Lord, people of faith have failed me. Help me to find examples of what it means to be the person of God you are calling each of us to be, who are worthy looking up to. Help me to continue to trust others, to never become disenchanted with your people because of the failings of others. And teach me to be an example worthy of being followed as well. Amen

Having One Miind - Philippians 2:1-13

Philippians 2:1-13

Last week we began to look at the book of Philippians. The opening section of the book underlines the importance of the Christian community. The book of Acts shows us how a small group of believers were sent into the world by the Holy Spirit, scattering to the winds like a dandelion puff, planting Churches across the known world. The rest of the book of the Bible are letters written to those Churches, expected to be read in Churches, by churches, giving instructions to them about how to be the Church.

Paul begins his letter by telling the Church in Philippi that he is thankful for them, that he thanks God for them every time he prays (which Paul tells us elsewhere is “continually”). He thankful for the way they share the gospel, live in Christ like ways and for the help and support they are giving to him and his ministry. And we ended our time together practicing being thankful for one another sharing the ways we are thankful people in this congregation and writing thank you notes to one another, which we sent out this week.

Paul’s understands the Christian life as a life lived in community, and that community is necessarily the Church. The Church, among many things, is a community in which each person who belongs to that community lives completely for others.  Paul speaks of a life in which a person is continually emptying themselves out, pouring their being out for the good of others and for the sharing and spreading of the Gospel.  It is a life which his marked by the belief that even as you give all of yourself to the good, support and strengthening of others, they in turn will live their lives in a similar fashion.  An emptying knowing that you will in turn be filled. It is a life of abandon and trust, trust that if you empty yourself out, you will be filled by one who is likewise living this emptying life.

We have all met that person.  You know the person, the one who knows exactly how much they are worth and how much they expect out of those around them.  The person who walks through this world believing the rest of the world is there to serve them.  They are the person who, when at a coffee shop, gets upset when the line is not moving fast enough, they don’t get their drink as immediately as they would like or doesn’t understand why the person who is making drinks for other people doesn’t stop right this very second and fill their bottle with water instead of waiting for others to get the drinks they paid for first.  On the road they are the person who gets in the empty right turn lane to speed forward and then cut over into the left turn lane so they don’t have to wait behind all the other cars making a left turn.  In a line they are the one trying to push to the front.  In the workplace they are the one who does not understand why they do not get a promotion even when they are not working hard or doing their job properly.  They are certain that the world is there for their pleasure, for their convenience, to serve them.  They will do whatever they can do to push ahead and be on top; to be front and center for everything.

These people pretty much live exactly the opposite to the life Paul calls for us to live as Christians.  The Christian life is a life that is poured out for others, not one that continually pulling from others and never giving back.

When it comes to the lives we live, Paul tells us nothing would make his joy more complete than if we all were of the same mind. His desire is for us to have the same love. When it comes to matters of Christian living we are of one mind, we are in one accord in that we live out of the abundance of the love we experience through Jesus Christ.  The one mind we share, the one mind we all have, is the mind of none other than Jesus Christ.  We live with Christ’s mind guiding us all. The love Christ exemplified through his life, death and resurrection is the center of all of our lives, is the center of our community, is the heart of the life we live.

Paul then goes into detail about the self-emptying love which the life of Jesus exemplified.  Jesus gave up all that rightfully belonged to him, he shed all his honor, all his glory all that was his and laid it aside, for us.  To live life amongst us, to show us the Love of God, to give up everything, so that he could be human and then in the end even gave that life up for us, for our salvation, to draw humanity unto God, and into right relationship with God.

This is our example of the mind WE should have, the sameness that we are to incorporate into our communal life.  We are to be of one mind, and that mind is to be the mind of Christ.  The life we live should exemplify and typify the life of Christ.  The love we have should be none other than the love of Jesus Christ; a love that is continually emptying itself out, being poured out for the sake of others, a love that gives everything of value, everything of worth and floods out, so that there is a tidal wave of love being poured out on all the others that inhabit the world around.

Having the mind of Christ means loving; it means that we love those around us with a phenomenal love, with a love that is willing to reach inside and scoop out everything and give it to those around us, trusting and knowing that the more we scoop the more we empty ourselves the more we are filled.

If we are all scooping, if we are all pouring then we are all being filled, no one is ever empty, everyone always has abundance.  This is a beautiful picture, a picture of Christ emptying himself out, pouring out all that he is, spilling his love into each and every one of us, and us in turn then turning ourselves out onto others.  Filling and being filling, of continually being emptied and continually being filled.  The good life is a life where we don’t have to worry about ever being empty.  It is a life lived giving away the love that we are receiving.  All of us receiving and giving and spilling and flooding the world around us, so that no one is untouched, so that no one is empty, so that no one is left out.  Living the life we are called to live is a life lived in overflowing love, filled with the love of God, flooding our world with that love.  Loving each other, loving our world, filling our world with all with which Christ is filling us.

Joy In All Things: Daily Devotions for the Easter Season - May 11, 2018

Joy In All Things

Philippians 4:2-9

Verse: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4 NIV)”

Nobody can be happy at all times. Happiness is something that is dependent upon mood and circumstances. But finding joy in life, in all things, in all circumstances is a choice. We can choose to find joy in the world around us. Even as we sat in the hospital while my Father was dying my mother found joy in the beauty of the warm Spring Sun. Even when the circumstances of life are difficult to deal with, we can choose to find the small joys in life; the warmth of the Sun, the beauty of a flower, the kindness of a friend. As Christians we are not called to be emotionless automatons, who are not affected by the sorrows and pain that too often come in this life, but we are called to find joy in all things. We are called to be people who rejoice always in all things, finding the beauty and wonder in God’s world. Seeing the great, as well as the small joys God brings into this world, rejoicing in these things.  We may not be able to choose the circumstances of our lives which bring happiness but we can in all things choose joy.

Prayer:

Lord, as I move through this day, help me to see the joy and the beauty that surrounds me. Things may not be great. Today may be hard, difficult to make it through, and although I may be hurting or struggling, help me to see the ways in which you fill my day with small blessings. Help me to see the beauty which surrounds me. Help me to find joy in this day and rejoice in the ways you fill me day with good things. Amen

Heavenly Citizenship: Daily Devotions for the Easter Season - May 10, 2018

Heavenly Citizenship 

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Key Verse: But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20)

What does it mean to have citizenship in a particular country? There are rights and privileges that are afforded citizens that are not afforded to others. There are also responsibilities. It also requires a certain amount of loyalty. If you are a citizen of a particular country, and then do something to help a foreign government move against your country, that is called treason. For many countries if you are a citizen in one country and become a citizen in another, you must then renounce your allegiance to the other country and pledge your allegiance to the new country in which you now hold citizenship. So what does it mean to be a citizen of heaven? As Christians, where do our loyalties lie. What do we owe the “country” in which we hold citizenship? What does this mean for our loyalties not only to this world but to the country in which we reside and currently hold citizenship? How does our loyalty to heaven affect our loyalty to our own countries? How does thinking about our relationship with Christ as a citizenship in Heaven change our understanding of the Christian life?

Prayer:

Lord, I pledge my allegiance to you, over all other things. I am not a citizen of this world, but a temporary resident. I live here, I work here, but I do not belong here. Help me to see heaven as the place I belong.  I desire to be loyal to heaven and all she stands for over an above any loyalty I might have to any country or institution on earth. Help me to live into my heavenly citizenship daily, aligning who I am with her values and who she is calling me to be. Amen

Living in Relationship: Daily Devotions for the Easter Season - May 9, 2018

 Living in Relationship 

Acts 3:1-11 

Key Verse:  “If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: (Acts 3:4b NIV)”

Paul did everything right. He had all his religious boxed checked all his moral I’s dotted and character T’s crossed. If it was something that was expected of a deeply religious person of his day, he did it. And he took pride in doing it right. It is easy to turn our Christian life into a “to do list”, a series of goals to be obtained; devotions – check; prayer time – done. As if living life as Christ is calling us to live is something we can be proud of accomplishing, like being a good piano player or having read Moby Dick from cover to cover. What we are doing as Christians is living in relationship with God of the universe; a relationship built on love not having done certain things. And like all relationships simply by being in the relationship we are transformed by the experience, not out of obligation or in an attempt accomplish something but because living in relationship changes who we are. Paul reminds us here that we are living in a relationship with the God of universe, not merely living up to a “to do list”.

Prayer:

         Lord, God help me to be live in relationship with you, a relationship that changes who I am bit, by bit as continue to live in it. Help me to never see life in Christ as a to do list to get done, or accomplishments of which I can be proud. Being the person I am when I am in relationship with you, is not something I can call my own, to laud like a skill I have gained. Help me to simply live in love with you and loved by you and allow that love to transform me daily. Amen

Do it Without Grumbling: Daily Devotions for the Easter Season - May 8th, 2018

Do it without Grumbling

Philippians 2:14-30

Key Verse: “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky (Acts 2:14-15 NIV)

Wow! Now that is hard! i do it, my kids do it, I think we all do it. We grumble and complain when there is a task at hand. There are so many annoying, mundane, dull tasks that have to be done Even if we do not actually grumble out loud, many of us grumble to ourselves. I do it every time I have to fold a load of laundry. It is so easy to grumble for grumglings’ sake. We complain, just little, about doing things we don’t really want to do. Paul tell us that if we are to be the children of God, God is calling us to be we need to curtail our grumbling. After all what good is it doing anyway? The laundry still needs to be folded whether we grumble about it or not. There are probably better more productive things we can waste, I mean spend, our time and energy doing instead of grumbling. So instead of whining and complaining, even if just to ourselves, we can just do the task at hand and be closer to being the holy people of God, we are called to be.

Prayer:

Oh, Lord, there are so many things I would rather not have to do. Whining, complaining, grumbling about doing them, is an easy habit to fall into. Teach me to just pick up the task at hand and just do it and not waste time or my energy grumbling about it. Help me to set about the work I have to do with a joyful heart and rejoice in their completion instead of complaining about having to do them. Amen

Whatever Happens. . . : Daily Devotions for the Easter Season - May 7, 2018

Whatever Happens. . . 

Philippians 1:18b-30

Key Verse: “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27a NIV)

Things happen. Nothing is going our way. The car broke down. We lost our job. We are so deep in debt we don’t know how we will ever get out. People do things that hurt us. They betray us; let us down. Those that we love turn on us in hatred, anger or malice. Someone we look up to turns out to be a fraud. The leaders we trust fail us. Our government disappoints us. Paul tells us that no matter what is happening, no matter how much the people around us are acting poorly, in general or towards us, that these things do not dictate our actions. It is the love of God, the image of Christ that regulates how we act. It is easy to respond in like to people who hurt us. It is easy to react poorly to the events in our lives. But as Christians we are called beyond gut reactions, and living by emotional responses. We are called to be reflections of Jesus, of the very character of God, in this world. It is not always easy to do this but we are often the only bit of Jesus those around us ever see.

Prayer:

Jesus, Sometimes I am angry. Sometimes I am disappointed. Sometimes I am frustrated or simply overwhelmed. Lord, I confess, that it is my desire to act and respond from places of hurt, to allow my emotional responses dictate my actions and my attitude. Help me to pauce, take a deep breath and rely on you and allow your goodness, your grace, your mercy to burn through my instinctual reactions and instead act in ways that that show those around me who you are, instead. Help me to better reflect your nature, your character in my daily life. Amen