Devotions from "Christ in Our Home"
May 14, 2023
#devotional
Prayer concern: People Who Advocate for Patients in Health-Care Systems.
GOD OF COMFORT, THANK YOU FOR BOTH YOUR SPIRIT AND THE PEOPLE YOU'VE PUT IN OUR LIVES. IN JESUS' NAME. AMEN.
Devotions for Sunday, May 14: Sixth Sunday of Easter.
John 14:15-21 [Jesus said,] "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you." (v.18)
Though my parents wanted me to attend Bible camp as a child, I just knew I'd be too homesick. Separation anxiety is real for many children, but also for some adults and even pets. In today's gospel, Jesus is aware of the separation anxiety looming for his disciples upon his departure--that is, his death. Now it's getting, as we say, "really real."
Knowing that the disciples will feel distraught and orphaned, Jesus assures them he will send "another Advocate" (v.16). He sends the Holy Spirit to us as well, but like the distraught child whose parent soothes, "Remember, Jesus is always with you." sometimes we want to respond, "But I want someone with skin on!"
In these days between Easter and Pentecost, we give thanks for the promised Holy Spirit, who draws near to us with comfort and help. But we also praise God for those "with skin on" through whom Jesus comes to us, and to whom we can provide comfort and help in turn.
Taken from "Christ in Our Home," April through June 2023. Copies are available in the church.
May 13, 2023
#devotional
Prayer concern: Those Living With Mental Illness.
DEAR JESUS, WHEN WE FEEL HOPELESS, STIR IN US THE HOPE OF YOUR RESURRECTION. AMEN.
Devotions for Saturday, May 13: Easter, don't fade!
1 Peter 3:13-22 Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you. (v.15)
It already seems eons since worship leaders greeted us with "Alleluia! Christ is risen! and we shouted back, "Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!" Now the lilies are dead, the trumpet is stored away, and our Easter clothes are in the back of the closet. Peter calls us to tell others eagerly, if gently, what accounts for our hope. But even for us "Easter people," despair often overshadows hope and joy.
Yet Peter wasn't writing to people whose lives were perfect, but to Christians facing persecution along with the regular challenges of life. "The hope that is in " Peter's readers then and now isn't based on life circumstances, the state of the world, or self-made happiness. Rather, what accounts for our hope is that "Christ...suffered for sins once and for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring [us] to God" (v.18). We trust in Easter hope not because we always feel hopeful but because Christ has brought us into God's presence, where life is stronger than death.
Taken from "Christ in Our Home," April thru June 2023. Copies are available in the church.
May 12, 2023
#devotional
Prayer concern: Creators of Comic Strips and Animated Films.
WITH GRATITUDE AND HOPE, WE OFFER OUR ALMS AND OUR HEARTS TO YOU. GOD OF STEADFAST LOVE. AMEN.
Devotions for Friday, May 12: A spacious place
Psalm 66:8-20 We went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a spacious place. (v.12)
Poor Charlie Brown, Lucy convinces him she won't pull the football out from under him when he attempts the kickoff for the football game. But for decades now, the same thing happens; he falls flat on his back.
Our lives often seem to work like this: it feels like we're on a repeat cycle of hope, disappointment, hope. The psalmist lays bare life's burdens. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov wrote that the exodus occurs in every generation through different circumstances, but also that God's saving action in every age renews the exodus event: God's deliverance leading to our faithfulness. Tests and trials recur in our lives, but God brings us out "to a spacious place." For Israel, this is the promised land; for Christians, it is new life in Christ.
When life gives me tricksters like Lucy or trials like what the psalmist faced, I pray I will rely on God's space and grace. Then may I respond with praise and offerings of thanks, and "tell what [God] has done for me." (v.16)
Taken from "Christ in Our Home," April thru June 2023. Copies are available in the church.
May 11, 2023
#devotional
Prayer concern: ELCA Missionaries.
IN OUR FUMBLING AND OUR FINDING, REMIND US, GENTLE GOD, THAT YOU ARE ONLY A BREATH AWAY. AMEN
Devotions for Thursday, May 11: A model missionary.
Acts 17:22-31 For "In him, we live and move and have our being";..." For we too are his offspring." (v.28)
Most leaders know enough to not make quick or drastic changes when they are new to a position. There are plenty of cautionary tales of a new pastor changing things before knowing the people, or a new boss who doesn't get to know the work culture or employees before laying down some new rules.
The apostle Paul knows this too when preaching to the Athenians in a distant land. He bides his time, tours the city, notes their religiosity (v.22), and finds common ground: people's shared search for God. And then, unexpectedly, he quotes poetry from their culture to reveal a God in whom all of us "live and move and have our being."
Paul tells his listeners that God has already given them life and breath, and their own time and place in which to live--words of promise and possibility. Paul then points his listeners to Jesus (v. 31), whom God has already raised and through whom God calls them to repentance. And through Paul's preaching, and his relationship building, many come to believe (v.34)
Taken from "Christ in Our Home," April thru June 2023. Copies are available in the church.
May 10, 2023
#devotional
Prayer concern: Authors and Illustrators of Children's Books.
WHEN PROBLEMS OVERWHELM US OR OUR COMMUNITY, OUR HOPE IS FOUND IN YOU, MERCIFUL GOD. AMEN.
Devotions for Wednesday, May 10: Hope for the afflicted.
Psalm 102:1-17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their prayer. (v.17)
Psalm 102 describes much more than what we read in the classic children's book "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" (1972), but that book came to my mind as I read this psalm. In the book, author Judith Viorst validates children's feelings when life just doesn't go their way.
With language that's honest and raw, the psalmist, too, describes our feelings when we fall into grief or desperation. We're so distraught we forget to eat and can't sleep. We're isolated, by choice or circumstance. We feel like everyone is against us.
The psalm's early verses make it sound like one person's terrible, horrible life, brought about by illness or relationship problems. Yet soon it shifts into a lament about national trauma for Zion. This is no children's story with a happy ending, but there is good news. Despite our personal or communal afflictions, God responds, restores, and rebuilds. When we feel most troubled, alone, and abandoned, God offers hope.
Taken from "Christ in Our Home," April thru June 2023. Copies are available in the church.
May 9, 2023
#devotional
Prayer concern: Graduates and Their Families.
GRACIOUS GOD, ESPECIALLY IN TIMES OF TRANSITION, REMIND US TO RELY ON YOU. IN JESUS' NAME. AMEN.
Devotions for Tuesday, May 9: Graduation grace
Proverbs 3:5-12 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. (v.5)
These verses are fitting for the end of the school year and graduation time for many students. But such guidance isn't always clear-cut. Like many parents, I've often urged my kids to rely on their insights--not apart from God, but in the sense of trusting their gut and growing in self-confidence. What's more, their years of every Sunday worship are a memory as we navigate demands of college, jobs, and, yes, sports. I wish it weren't so, but these realities affect how they participate in church.
So here we are, striving to steer our kids, and ourselves, to trust God, turn from evil, and practice stewardship. What a relief that Proverbs also reflects God's grace! Whether we're students or elders or in between, this counsel is pure gift. the promises of blessing and abundance (v.2) here include God's guidance along "straight paths" (v.6), healing and refreshment (v.8), and--whether our actions prompt divine reproof or delight--always, always God's love (vv.11-12)
May 8, 2023
#devotional
Prayer concern: Those Preparing to Travel This Summer.
HELP US REALIZE, GRACIOUS GOD, THAT WE CAN REST IN THE PROMISE THAT YOU GO WITH US THROUGHOUT LIFE. AMEN.
Devotions for Monday, May 8: Travel challenges--including bones?
Exodus 13:17-22 Neither the pillar of cloud...nor the pillar of fire...left its place in front of the people. (v.22)
Packing for an extended vacation or even a day hike is a lot of work: so many details to tend to, so much to prepare. This is not one of my strengths, but it could be worse: at least I don't have to worry about bringing along an ancestor's bones (vv. 18-19)
What we moderns do hold in common with the Israelites is that our lives often take "the roundabout way" (v.18), and it takes longer than we like to reach our destination. But God is present along our journey. For Israel, God showed up in pillars of cloud and fire. For us, God comes in word and sacrament, fellowship with the family of God, the Holy Spirit's guidance.
Sometimes we do carry our ancestors with us--good memories and models that encourage our faith. Other times we do well to leave hurtful memories and unhelpful family dynamics in the past, trusting God to show us new life in a land of promise. Either way, God leads us night and day, helps us carry our load--or let it go--and never leaves us alone.
Taken from "Christ in Our Home," April thru June 2023. Copies are available in the church.
May 7, 2023
#devotional
Prayer concern: Mapmakers and GPS Developers.
HELP US REMEMBER, JESUS, THAT AMID DOUBTS AND DISTRACTIONS, YOU ARE OUR CONSTANT COMPASS. AMEN.
Devotions for Sunday, May 7: Fifth Sunday of Easter.
John 14;1-14 Jesus said to [Thomas], "I am the way, and the truth, and the life." (v.6)
Recently I took a day trip to interview two elderly gentlemen for a story I was writing. In our email exchange about the upcoming visit, the ninety-year-old sent me detailed directions to their home one hundred miles away. But he didn't include the actual address, which was what I needed for the map app I use on my phone.
As one with a horrible sense of direction) as well as some questions and doubts), I identify with Thomas. In our reading today, he wants a map, detailed directions, and some help getting to where Jesus is going. From these verses spring questions for modern readers too: What will heaven look like? Who gets in and who doesn't? How and when will we get there?
Yet neither directions nor an address is necessary: Jesus is "the way" (v. 6) and will take us to himself (v.3). We live in the mystery of unknown details about heaven while resting in the promise that in Jesus, both our present and our future are secure.
Taken from "Christ in Our Home," April thru June 2023. Copies are available in the church.
May 6, 2023
#devotional
Prayer concern: Newborns and their parents.
JESUS, HELP US REMEMBER WHO WE ARE--YOUR BELOVED PEOPLE AND YOUR LOVING CHURCH. AMEN.
Devotions for Saturday, May 6: Back to the basics.
1 Peter 2:2-10 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people. (v.9)
You don't need to be a parent of a newborn to know a baby's basic needs; milk or formula; sleep; clean diapers; and someone to hold, love, and care for them. Add a lullaby (maybe some classical music or hymns), books, and a favorite stuffy for good measure. But generally, we know the basics.
These verses from the writer of 1 Peter also remind us of basics: our identity and community in Christ the cornerstone (v.6). With Christ as our foundation, God builds us and our faith communities into faithful witnesses willing to suffer for and proclaim the good news of Christ.
How, then do we carry the good news of Christ the cornerstone, into our witness and service today? By focusing on the basics: that we are God's own people, a royal priesthood; that God names and claims us, gathers us in community, and sends us out to proclaim the mighty acts of God in our present day and age. Sometimes it's good to be reminded of the basics.
Taken from "Christ in Our Home," April thru June 2023. Copies are available in the church.