May 31: 2 Chronicles 4-6; Psalm 122; Romans 13

"Pay to all what is due them --- taxes to whom taxes are due." (Romans 13:7)

As Christians, we should be supportive of taxes.  What?!?  Come on, everyone hates taxes.

What are taxes, exactly?  They are how we, as a community, have decided to pool our abundance in order to make sure that everyone has enough.  Of course, we often feel like we don't have abundance.  Maybe people with all new cars, big houses, those who can afford to go on vacations....they have abundance, but us??

Most of us have abundance if we define abundance as more than we need.  So often, we define it based on what we want, not what we need.  In America, we recognize that many of us have more than we need, so we give from what we have (taxes) in order to insure that everyone has what they need.

Yes, taxes can be abused and become excessive.  But, unless we no longer feel it is our duty and obligation to care for all people (whatever you do for the least of these....), then we should at least appreciate and support the benefit and "good" of taxes.  While the concept of taxes/tithes did not originate in Christianity, it certainly follows the Way of Jesus and the message of Scripture.

May 30: 2 Chronicles: 1-3; Psalm 121; Romans 12

In 2 Chronicles, we hear again Solomon's Prayer: "Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people...."  Now, that's wisdom.  To recognize one's humanity and to ask God to grant you the discernment to know how to move forward, how to be with people, according to God's will.  As leaders (and as Christians, we are all leaders to some extent...even if our leading is simply by what we do and say), this is our prayer: God help me to do what you would have me do.  May pleasing you, God, be my priority.

That's what the 12th chapter of Romans is all about: how to be a people, a community, who pleases God.  This chapter spells out what I call the cross-shaped life.  We are called to be cross-shaped individuals who live in cross-shaped communities that transform the world around them, agents of God's Kingdom.

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." (Romans 12: 1)

May 29: 1 Chronicles 28-29; Psalm 120; Romans 11

"For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you." (1 Chronicles 29:14)

At Intercession we say this as we give our offertory to God.  At the Offertory, we are bringing up our firstfruits---the best and first of our labors---to give back to God from what God has provided us.  In the Old Testament, these were usually fruits, or grain, or some product of Creation.  But, for most of us, what we harvest comes in monetary form, so our offering comes in monetary form.  For symbolism's sake, the form doesn't matter; it represents the best and first of our labors as a thanksgiving in return for all that God has provided us (which is everything, folks).

However, we often think of money as ours....we earned it....it came from our hard labor, our skills, our abilities.  As soon as we think of it as our own, it becomes harder to give up.

The Offertory is a consecrated moment in the worship service to remind us that our ability to work, our skills, our gifts all come from God.  This life, this creation.....all come from God.  This money, this harvest, was never ours.  It is always God's.  But, it is provided for us so that we might live abundantly, and so that we might insure that our neighbors live abundantlly.

Just as Jesus gave of himself in order that all might have life....just as Jesus was willing to be broken in order that all might know God and abundant life.....we too must give of ourselves; we too must be willing to allow what we have to be broken in order for it to be shared.  This is how abundant life is experienced and lived.  We give; it is blessed; it is broken into pieces; it is shared.  Isn't it amazing how brokenness is turned into salvation?

May 28: 1 Chronicles 25-27; Psalm 119: 145-176; Romans 10

Psalm 119 is a declaration of the necessity of learning---learning about God, God's way, and God's love.  Jesus brought all the Law and the Prophets down to this: Love the Lord your God with all  your heart, mind, soul, and strength and Love your Neighbor as yourself.

Seems easy enough--two things.  And yet, oh so difficult to do, as the Psalmist acknowledges.  Study is one part of the answer to the question: How can I live--24/7-- according to God's Law?  Setting aside time to read and study, not just alone but in community as well, and setting aside time to take advantage of the opportunities given to us to learn God's Way, to live God's way, to love God's Way is an important aspect of discipleship.  Looking at our calendars from time to time in order to discern how much of our time we grant to being in relationship with God is a step in the right direction.
"Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts." (Psalm 119:173)

May 27: 1 Chronicles 22-24; Psalm 119:113-144; Roman 9

Thank God for Paul.  Paul who spent his life after meeting Jesus convincing the early church that God's plan includes the Gentiles.  Paul proclaims that those who were once considered outside the circle of salvation are actually people whom God means to save.

What might we do today to convince whomever needs convincing (other disciples, our own selves, maybe the outsider) that God means to redeem all of Creation....not just a preferred selection?  What might we do today to be an agent of God's salvation?

May 23: 1 Chronicles 13-15; Psalm 119: 1-32; Romans 6

Our salvation has already been accomplished, and yet it is not complete.  Strange, huh?  Our salvation---freedom to live a new life free from sin---was accomplished with the death and resurrection of Jesus.  And we intentionally claim this at our Baptism.  It is accomplished.  The Way has been provided.

However, our salvation is incomplete because it is something we (notice the communal pronoun) must live into.  Like Psalm 119, it is a matter of living as God calls us to---a life without sin, like Jesus.  This is certainly no easy thing.  But listen to the outcome: eternal life with God.  Eternal life where we are whole and well and at peace.  Shalom.

Sin is whatever distances us from God.  Salvation is being in intimate relationship with God 24/7---Eternal Life.  It is in our grasp.  Let's live salvation today.

May 22: 1 Chronicles 10-12; Psalm 118; Romans 5

Psalm 118:18    "You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
                            you are my God, I will extol you."

Extol: to praise enthusiastically, to glorify.

Let's live this truth today.  Give thanks and praise to God in all that you do, think, and choose today.  Let your words and actions declare who is your God.

May 21: 1 Chronicles 7-9; Psalm 117; Romans 4

"...being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised."  This is righteousness.  Being convinced, and acting on this conviction, that God is able to do what God has promised.

To be righteous means that we believe God provides for us...and we act according to this belief.  Being righteous means we do not hoard; we share.  Being righteous means we do not fear; we hope.  Being righteous means we do not seek vengeance; we forgive.  Being righteous means we do not seek to be served; we serve.  Being righteous means we recognize that we are not in control, nor do we need to be, because God is in control.  Being righteous means we know we cannot save ourselves nor make ourselves whole; this is God's work.  Our role is to live into this righteousness.

Discipleship isn't easy, but it is the Way to wholeness, to wellness, and to shalom.  Be fully convinced.

May 20: 1 Chronicles 4-6; Psalm 116; Romans 3

"...since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," (Romans 3: 23-24)

Our redemption--our salvation--is not a future gift.  It is already ours for the taking.  It has already been achieved by Jesus; we are justified by his grace NOW....not in the future.

The key here is: we have to live it.  We have to live Jesus' gift of salvation.  We are to live as Jesus, the Body of Christ.  Let us be the church, continuing the ministry of Jesus.  This is our redemption, our salvation, our being made whole.  Practice Resurrection; Live Salvation.

May 19: Enjoy the Scriptures read aloud in church: Happy Pentecost!

May 18: 1 Chronicles 1-3; Psalm 115; Romans 2

Many good nuggets in Romans 2 today.  Two to think about:

Over and over in Scripture it is made clear that God is the judge when it comes to one's living out the life of faith.....ours and others.  It is not our role to judge, but to love and forgive.

Paul makes it clear that to know the law, to be able to recite it and spout it out, isn't what redeems and restores us......it isn't God's desire that we can quote the Law word by word.  It is God's desire for us to live the law.  We are to live the command to love one another as Jesus loves us and to love God with all our heart, mind, strength and soul.  (oh, and by the way, it isn't our job to judge how well others are doing it......it is our call to love.)

May 17: 2 Kings 25; Psalm 114; Romans 1

And so begins the Babylonian exile.
Have you ever felt this way....besieged? Surrounded on every side?  Cannot see a way out?  All is lost?

At these times in our lives, we must recall Psalm 31:21: Blessed be the LORD!  for he has shown me the wonders of his love in a besieged city.

How?  How, when all seems lost?  Paul gives us the answer in today's first Chapter of Romans, verses 13-14:
We must go to our brothers and sisters.  What saves us when all seems hopeless is that we belong to a community.  A community who will hold us, heal us, stay with us, and help us find our way out.....our way home.  Our God is a God who returns the exile, who brings life where there was once death, who brings new life where there was once barrenness.  We need not be afraid.  We are a people of hope, not fear.

2 Kings 22-24; Psalm 113; Acts 28

In 2 Kings, they find the book of Deuteronomy---the second telling of the Law, the Torah.  When the King reads it (and realizes how far they have strayed from God's law), he tears his clothes.  He then turned to the Lord to see what might be done.

We are a people of the New Covenant.  God has provided a way for us to be re-turned and restored to the way of God---to reconcile ourselves to God.  Forgiveness.  Forgiveness is more than saying I am sorry.  It is also a turning away from that which caused you to sin and turning (or re-turning) back to the way of living to which God calls us.  And we are offered this gift of renewal as often and as many times as we need it.  There are no limits.  God deeply desires to be in relationship with us.  We may close the door on God, but God will not close the door on us.

May 15: 2 Kings 19-21; Psalm 112; Acts 27

"Yes, these sorts of people will never be shaken; the righteous will be remembered forever; they won't be frightened at bad news.  Their hearts are steady, trusting in the LORD." (Psalm 112:6-7)

Like Paul in this chapter from Acts, when times are tough, when the waters rise and the winds are rough, we need to trust that God is with us.  That the Holy Spirit is steering us...if we let her take the wheel.  So often we have only one vision of what the "way out" looks like, and often, it is not the way God has planned.  Faith means that through the good and the bad, we act on the belief that God will see us through it.  That God will provide a way out.  That God will insure that we are sustained and that our needs will be provided.

Christians are not to act out of fear, but out of hope.  When the winds begin to blow and the waters start to rise, this is the time to sit still and listen for God's guidance in our lives.  Listen for the whispers of the Holy Spirit.  God will guide us through the dark waters and stay with us.  Keep your heart steady.

May 14: 2 Kings 16-18; Psalm 111; Acts 26

"Praise the LORD!  I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation." (Psalm 111:1)

We belong in community.  God calls us to worship--to give God our praise and thanksgiving--alongside others, not as lone rangers.  We are called to come together that we might give witness to--and to midwife--God's great works.  Works such as those proclaimed in verses 2-10 of Psalm 111.  Works such as those seen in our lives and in the world around us.  By doing so, week after week, we are changed like Paul---given clearer vision and new purpose in life.  "Praise the LORD!"

May 13: 2 Kings 13-15; Psalm 110; Acts 25

"He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused Israel to sin..."

This is repeated over and over.  Over and over reminding us that to serve someone or something else as God---to give someone or something else other than God the power to determine our choices, our schedules, how we share our gifts and treasure (in other words, idolatry)---this is what is evil in the sight of the LORD.  God comes first.  When we serve and love others, we are serving and loving God. To not have this as our priority is to do what is evil in the sight of God.

N.T. Wright shares: to have the love of God is "enslaving yourself to other people in a whole new way, making their needs your priorities and their sorrows your concern."  God grants us the strength and power to live this love.  Let's live this love of God today.

May 10: 2 Kings 7-9; Psalm 108- Acts 23

As parents, we would not be able to wish harm over one of our children for the sake of the other.  When we hold two people as precious in our sight, we do not wish that one triumphs or succeeds at the benefit of the other.

And yet, we expect God---who loves with a love that surpasses any human love known to us---would do this very thing.  God loves all of Creation because God is the Creator.  This means God loves, and desires to be united to, all of humanity.  And yet, we still think that we can invoke God's wrath and anger upon others.....as long as it is for our benefit.

"Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth.  Give victory with your right hand, and answer me, so that those whom you love may be rescued." (Psalm 108: 5-6)

We need to realize that God desires all of humanity to be rescued....not just us.  If God's plan of salvation is for Creation---all of us---then how can we think that God is willing to destroy some for the sake of others?  God doesn't belong to one people, one race, one nation, one continent.  God is God over all.  God is Creator of all.  God is Savior of all.  How will this affect our prayer life and what we pray for today?

May9 2 Kings 4-6; Psalm 107; Acts 22

Sometimes I wish the Bible did not tell these miracle stories as we hear in Elisha's story today.  We hear these stories of people on the verge of poverty being provided for by a miraculous flow of oil, of the dead being brought back to life, of the barren being given life and we think: Why doesn't God still do those things today?  After all, we've all known someone who has died far too young; we all know there are starving people in the world today; we all know that there are women and couples who deeply desire a child and yet cannot conceive.

So, where does that leave us?  Well, part of our Truth is that these miracles do not always (sometimes ever) happen this way in the 21st century.  But, God still provides miracles....miracles of restoration of life, miracles of abundance and provision, miracles of new life where once there was none.  However, these miracles may look vastly different than the ones in Scripture:

Restoration of life:  An addict chooses the road of rehabilitation and chooses a whole new way of life that restores him back to his family, new friends, and a shining future.  The once "dead to us" is restored to an abundant life.

Abundance and provision:  A village in Kenya, through the abundance God has given to others, shares in the abundance by building water cisterns that provide clean water where before there was not enough water.  The villagers grow forests of trees that will not only change the ecosystem around them, but will also provide the means for more financial security.

Miracle of new life:  Parents and families open their hearts and homes to the orphaned and those in foster care.  Families are made in many ways.  Medical knowledge and technology has grown in such a way that barren couples can now, often, conceive a child.

Sometimes, like Paul, we need the scales to fall from our eyes in order to see and experience the restoration, abundance, and new life that God provides all around us.  All thanks and glory be to God.

May 8: 2 Kings 1-3; Psalm 106; Acts 21

Remembering that the account of Elijah and Elisha is a story (even an account with historical people in it is a story), we can begin to look for the Truths in it instead of getting stuck with whether or not it actually happened.

For example, the cursing of the 42 boys who then die is received as a horrible event to modern-day readers.  But the Truth this story relays to the listeners it was originally told to is that it is dangerous to mock and deride a person of God.  Still not necessarily a Truth that sits wells with people, so we must continue to wrestle with it.

When Elijah ascends and leaves Elisha and Elisha picks up Elijah's mantle and continues the ministry--we can hear an important Truth here.  We are like Elisha.  We pick up the mantle of our great Prophet--Jesus.  We are to continue Jesus' ministry.  Jesus even tells us, in the Gospel of John, that we will accomplish even greater things than he (Elisha asks for a double share).  Sometimes we find this hard to accept---that we are to do the very work of Jesus, that we are to accomplish even greater things.  But, for us as the Body of Christ (the living Christ in the world) it is our Truth.

May 7: 1 Kings 22; Psalm105; Acts 20

Oh, how hard it is to hear God's word sometimes.  And like those in this story, we find ways to discredit the Truth when the Truth is hard to hear.

How important it is for each of us to set aside time to listen and hear...to hear the Holy Spirit speaking to us.  To hold up what we are hearing to the Gospel in order to discern if it is the Spirit or if it is false prophecy that urges us.  We must all look and listen to see if the Word is pointing us toward God and toward God's plan of salvation for all.....does the character of the Word match the character of God?

Having God as our Master and Jesus as our Savior requires our listening and discernment.

May 6: 1 Kings 19-21; Psalm 104; Acts 19

Paul's story makes it clear that sometimes being a disciple is dangerous.  For us in America, we are in no danger of being persecuted in such a way.  This is not true everywhere, of course, but it is our truth. However,  being a disciple always means facing death.  For us, it is not usually the death of our actual lives, but it is often a death to a way of life or to a mindset or behaviors.

Paul's obstacles were often people and their unbelief.  This is true for us.  How do we maintain our belief in the midst of doubt?  And we must do more than maintain; we must find the strength and courage to act on our belief that Jesus' way of living is the Way.  This is faith--acting on our belief.

Keeping the Sabbath is an important element of this.  Keeping the Sabbath is a weekly reminder that God is in charge (see Psalm 104) and that God has already made a way for our salvation and our peace.  Keeping the Sabbath means worship and sacraments and recharging the image of the divine within us by being infused with the Holy Spirit so we have enough in the tank to make it through to the next Sabbath.

"I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being." (Psalm 104:33)

May 5: Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

May 4: 1 Kngs 16-18; Psalm 103; Acts 18

May the beautiful truths of Psalm 103 shine in our lives.  May these truths cause us to respond as Paul does---with boldness and conviction.  May we, like Paul, speak the love and mercy of God so that the light of Christ might shine through us into the shadows of this world.  God's light and love will transform the world through us.

Holy Spirit, come and fill us.  Inspire us. That our lives, words  and behavior may persuade others to know the Living Christ; use us as vessels of your grace so that all may know and believe that God's Kingdom has come.  May God's will be done.

May 3: 1 Kings 13-15; Psalm 102; Acts 17

Well, what Truth is there for us to hear in this narrative of Kings in the Old Testament?

Having an earthly king does not bring us peace; it does not lead us to righteousness or justice.  God is the only King who can bring humanity peace, wholeness, wellness, righteousness and justice.

So, today, how can this Truth that God is our only king be our guide and at the center of all that we are?  Each one of us wrestles with this Truth.  Each one of us must find a way to live it out.

"But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever; your name endures to all generations." (Psalm 102:12)

May2: 1 Kings 10-12; Psalm 101; Acts 16

Even wise King Solomon gets played for the fool.  We go from chapter 10 when we see how blessed and wonderful is Solomon's life because he is wise and follows the Lord.  To the very next chapter when his heart follows another path......lust and love for his wives.

It's not loving his wives that gets him in trouble, it is that in his love for his wives he turns to their gods. How often is this true in our lives.  Our new loves, whether they be people or things, lead us to think that the answer lies somewhere other than in God's rule and reign.  Oftentimes, we do not even recognize the idolatry we practice, but it is the error we make over and over.....thinking that our "answer" for happiness, joy, and wholeness comes from outside of our relationship with God.

We, like the Psalmist, must "sing of loyalty and of justice; to you O LORD, I will sing"
In baptism we become pure----purity in the ancient world had to do with an undivided heart.  Undivided loyalties.  Having one master----God. "I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is base."

May 1: 1 Kings 7-9; Psalm 100; Acts 15

The Psalmist this morning reminds us of how to be a disciple:

Praise God
Worship God
Recognize that God is God and we are not
Know that You are God's beloved
Come before God with thanks
Let God's love and faithfulness be your center.

If we do these things, with our whole heart, we will be changed.  And the changes within us will change our behavior and actions.  Our changed behavior and actions will change others and the world around us.  And the transformation goes on and on....