Jan. 19-25, 2009
January 19, 2009
GOD'S MERCY GOES WHERE HE WANTS IT
Bible Readings: Ezekiel 44:1-16, 23-29 and Romans 9:1-18
At first blush, the title of this devotion seems totally unfair. God comes off looking capricious and uncaring. He seems like HE just does as He wills. Listen again.
God send His mercy to those who He wants to be saved. God wants everyone to be saved. God's mercy goes out to all. The reality is that some choose to reject that mercy. Israel is a prime example of such a people. Ezekiel tells of Levites and Priests barred from the temple for their corrupt and ungodly practices. All the people are barred because they chose to follow false gods and corrupt priests. Now they are outside the walls of the temple. The prince only goes in to eat before the Lord. No one else is allowed in the temple. The priests, Levites, and the people have chosen so by their corruption.
St. Paul is saying exactly the same thing in Romans 9 and 10. He laments the fact of the Jews rejecting Jesus and trying to live by the Law. They hardened their own hearts. God merely left them in the error of their ways.
Pharaoh in the book of Exodus is another fine example of a heart hardening. God gave Pharaoh ten plagues to choose to let Israel depart from Goshen. He kept hardening his heart and changing his mind. God merely left him to his own hardness of heart. God finally did prohibit Pharaoh from changing his mind to do right. Then came the death of the firstborn and the death of Pharaoh and his army in the sea. God chose Pharaoh as an example. He chose Israel as His people. Israel escaped. Pharaoh died. Jesus was Israel reduced to One.
Many people still harden their hearts against God's will. It's God's choice whether to keep trying to save them or to let them be in the error of their ways.
God always has the welfare of all people at heart. Sometimes one person's example can lead many to be saved. Again, God knows when a person is that example. Let God be God and trust in His ways!
Prayer. Lord, show us Your ways so our hearts are always open to Your mercy. In Jesus' name. Amen.
January 20, 2009
IF YOU WISH TO CHALLENGE GOD ...
Bible Readings: Ezekiel 47:1-14, 21-23 and Romans 9:1-18
Yesterday we heard about God choosing to harden hearts. Today we talk about challenging God.
Many people like to challenge God. They like to judge what God does by human standards. They set up ideas like God being devised by humans, therefore humans can judge and change what God does. This simply isn't true!
Have you ever heard of a clay pot talking back to the potter who made it? It might occasionally happen in a cartoon. It doesn't happen in real life.
God has created all that exists. As Creator, He also owns all that exists. He created people in His image. That image was lost at the Fall into Sin (Genesis 3). God gave people a mission. They were to manage the earth and all on it to the best of their ability and to show God's care and concern in all their management practices.
People have not done as God told them to do. But, they still want to complain and to change God's ways when they are hurt by their sins and errors. "It isn't fair," goes the thought, "that bad things happen to good people." Who is really so perfect and good? Isn't the complainer really showing their rebellion against God?
God does have the right to judge. He does so fairly and wisely, according to His purpose and mission to save all people. No one is excluded from God's love. We have no right to make one group stand at any different level of salvation than another.
Jesus came to die for all of us. Some may cause themselves to be outside of God's will by their beliefs and actions. God judges that. Jesus came so all can finally go to live with God forever.
Ezekiel tells of heaven in his 47th chapter. His immediate instructions are for an new and perfect Jerusalem and temple. The only perfect Jerusalem and temple will be seen when Jesus returns to take us to live with God forever in heaven. Ezekiel and Revelation both tell us of the city and the temple. May God bring us all to that wonderful place because of His grace in Jesus Christ.
Prayer. Lord, remind us that we are Your creatures. Help us always to seek Your management plan for our lives. In Jesus' name. Amen.
January 21, 2009
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BELIEVE AFTER YOU'VE HEARD
Bible Readings: Joel 1:1-20 and Romans 10:1-21
Israel had heard repeatedly about God's love for them. They had heard from Moses. He told them and even gave them God's rules for living in His kingdom. But, no one listened.
God gave Israel the prophets. Joel is one example of the prophets. He tells them God needs repentance, not just sham offerings. The illustration of the locusts probably happened. But, the illustration is also talking about a fearsome and powerful army coming to destroy all of Israel. We don't actually know what army this was. Some feel it was the Assyrian army. Others see more of the Greek army under Alexander the Great. Either way, the land was ruined. Either way, the weeping for the homeland was as acute.
Why did Israel need to mourn for her homeland? Joel says the same thing as St. Paul. Both tell us the people had to mourn because they simply wouldn't listen. In Joel's day, they'd had some prophets. In St. Paul's day, people looked back on the prophets and could easily access their message through the local rabbi.
Then came Jesus. Jesus was the greatest of the Prophets because He is the Son of God. He came and spread the word about God's loving care for everyone. Few listened. The religious leaders not only didn't listen, they and the Romans hung Jesus on the cross. Jesus died on that cross so we can be forgiven for the times we don't listen to God. Jesus rose so we can be sure of our own resurrection.
But, how well do we listen? Are our ears always attentive to Jesus' preaching of love for one another as a sign of God's love in us? Are our lives really any better than those of the people of Israel?
God has given us new life in Christ. But, we can also reject that faith and follow our own ideas and pleasures. Then we need the same call to repentance St. Paul and Joel issue today. Are we listening?
Prayer. Lord, give us ears always to listen and to act upon the good news of Your love in Jesus. In Jesus' name. Amen.
January 22, 2009
SEE YOURSELF AS YOU REALLY ARE
Bible Readings: Joel 2:1-17 and Romans 11:1-24
One of the reasons people often give for not going to church is that Christians are supposed to love one another, but all they do is fight. They see the meetings and the hallways of the churches of America and notice the fighting and sniping done there. They assume the message must be false because the people there aren't living up to the message.
The Gentiles in St, Paul's time must also have felt poorly. Some seem to have thought they were better than the Jews. Most did not. The Jews often were of little help.
St. Paul tells the Gentiles the Jews were God's first people. Yes, Jesus came so they'd stumble in their own blindness to follow the Law. But, the Gentiles were also stumbling in their own blindness of judging the Jews. Each really needed to see themselves as they really were.
Joel had a similar problem in his day. The Jews thought they were better than everybody else. Still, the Jews had committed many sins. They ignored warning after warning about their behavior. Now, Joel says, "It's time to have a National Day of Repentance and Prayer." It wasn't to be some fancy deal. The priests and everybody else was to spend the day in mourning and prayer. They were to mourn their sinouss and to repent of them. They were to pray to God for forgiveness so He could once again call them His people.
Those of us coming to church on Ash Wednesday, will hear these words read. Ash Wednesday is the day we gather to repent of our sins, to ask God's forgiveness, and to ask to Holy Spirit to help us to live as God's people. The color black, used in many churches, shows mourning and repentance. In some churches, burlap is used to remind us of the sackcloth and ashes Old Testament people used to show their repentance.
For now, we continue to repent of our sins. This shows us as we really are. We see ourselves as equal to, not above or below, anyone else.
Prayer. Lord, show us how to repent. Repentance isn't just a show, it's a way of life, a real change from our previous sins to following You in all we think, say, and do. In Jesus' name. Amen.
January 23, 2009
LIVING SACRIFICES
Bible Readings: Joel 2:18-32 and Romans 11:25-12:13
Sacrifice is sometimes a topic in our world today. Most often, we try to avoid too much sacrifice. More often than not, we'd rather someone else but ourselves bu forced to make a sacrifice.
God doesn't see things that way. First, God made the supreme sacrifice in sending Jesus to be born, to live, to suffer, and to die for our sins. Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross so we could be forgiven our sins and be God's children once again.
God also sacrificed by sending the Holy Spirit into the world so we can be God's children each day. The end of Joel 2 talks of restoration. God's Spirit, who had departed as Israel was defeated by the foreign army, would return to rebuild Israel. The final fulfillment of Joel's words came on the Day of Pentecost. The restoration was accomplished by Jesus' death and resurrection. Now, the Spirit needed to return so the work could go forward.
Return He did! He came as a mighty, rushing wind. He came as tongues of fire. He came interpreting the language of the disciples so all could understand in their native tongue. The prophecy, really the preaching of the Gospel to all people, happened after that day. Man and women took part in using their gifts to help the Christian Church grow. Men and women preached and conducted worship in those days. All shared the wealth with one another. The world could but marvel at the love the early Christians showed towards one another.
St. Paul tells us that we also need to make ourselves a living sacrifice to God. This doesn't mean merely giving an offering in a church or giving time to church. Our entire life needs to be given to God. We were called to this ministry at our baptism. There, God called us by name and gave us the Holy Spirit and the gifts we need to serve Him in all we do.
In Holy Communion, God gives us the strength to sacrifice ourselves and our bodies to Him. God's Word, the Bible, tells us how to sacrifice ourselves to Him. Churches are the gas stations along our way so we can refill our tanks to be able to the living sacrifices God wants us to be. Let's all go out and living sacrifices to God every day of our lives.
Prayer. Lord, give us Your Holy Spirit and Your gifts to make us the living sacrifices You desire. In Jesus' name. Amen.
January 24, 2009
LIVING IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
Bible Readings: Joel 3:1-21 and Romans 12:14-13:14
Living sacrifices are indeed what God wants us to be. But, how does one become such a sacrifice. Does one go to a church and sign up to work there? Seems the Biblical character Samuel did that. But, I really need to support my family. How can I be a living sacrifice to God?
God asks nothing outlandish in your call to be His living sacrifice. In fact, what God asks of you is rather simple. You don't even have to leave home to do it. Once you actually do it, you will want to leave home and share your personal gifts from God with others.
First, don't return curses or evil in kind. In other words, if someone curses you or does bad things to you, do good things to them. Help them, love them, do what you can to show God's love to them.
Second, if people mourn or rejoice, share their time of mourning or rejoicing. God does this for us through others and through comfort and rejoicing from His Word and Sacraments.
Live peaceable with everyone covers the other things we read in Romans 12. God will give you the peace when you may not feel too peaceful. Besides, the peace of God is knowing God is always with you so you can deal with anything happening to you.
One of the toughest parts of living in the Spirit comes in obeying the government. It's easy to obey the government when you like the office holders. It isn't as easy when those in office offend you with their policies and are people you find loathsome and disgusting. It's even tougher yet when the government is run by outright evil people like Hitler or Idi Amin. God puts governments in office or permits them to have office to teach and to build up His people.
What about taxes? What if the IRS is unfair? Pay your taxes, revenues, and other fees. Again, they are there for a reason. God can move an office holder to revoke fees or to rebate taxes at any time it is so needed. He also uses many forces to bring down evil and sinful governments.
St. Paul tells us to wake up and to know what it means to live under God's Spirit. We have the light of the Bible and the strengthening of the Sacraments to help us each day to live as God's people.
Prayer. Lord, help is always to honor the government. Hedlp us to live as Your people and show the light of Your love to everyone. In Jesus' name. Amen.
January 25, 2009
KEEPING THE PEACE
Reading: Zechariah 1:1-21 and Romans 14:1-23
Having spent time in exile of Judah, we now turn to God's restoration of Judah to their land and to their status as God's people. Zechariah (Yahweh will remember) was both a prophet and a priest. He sought the fulfillment of the promise of the restoration. He also came to warn Judah of the consequences of not rebuilding the temple.
Zechariah begins with God being jealous for His people. Now that peace reigns on earth, it's time to set Judah back in its proper place. God begins by undoing the judgment against Judah.
God begins in the same place with us. He must first undo the judgment of guilt brought on by our sins. He has done this in Jesus Christ. Jesus came into the world as a person. He fulfilled the Law for us. He took out punishment in His suffering and dying on the cross. Jesus rose from death and has now gone back to heaven to prepare a place for us. The Holy Spirit now leads and guides us each day.
St. Paul shows us the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He helps us keep the peace among people. We accept people no matter who they are. We love them no matter how strange or intolerable them seem. We don't judge others by their culture or customs. No, we help them and work with them so they can please God in their own way. As we accept one another, others see God and praise Him for the love they see in and through us.
Prayer. Lord, help us to keep the peace among people. Help us always to accept others for who and what they are. In Jesus' name. Amen.