Generosity

Deuteronomy 15

"Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, "Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land."  (15:11 NRSV)

On my way home from town yesterday, I stopped to see my husband (and his friends), who were busy packing up toys for the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program in the county.  It is run by the local Marine Corps League.  As soon as I walked through the door, I was given a bagful of toys to deliver on my way home. He's learning to be a really good steward of time and talents that God drops on his doorstep!  The warehouse (donated space by the village) was almost empty.  A few days ago, it was full.  It was full, because people throughout the county have contributed both dollars and toys so that every child in the county would have presents under their tree on Christmas morning.  It is a good feeling to know that there is so much generosity in this community toward our children.  This county has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.  In October it was reported at 15.1%, much improved as it had been at 22.1 % in January.  On one hand, there is much need.  On the other hand, those who have, give generously.  It is a good community, a good place to live. 

May God bless this community, with a spirit of generosity, not only in the Christmas season, but throughout the whole year.

You are a Child of God

Deuteronomy 14

You are children of the LORD your God.  The LORD has blessed you!  Remember that always!

There are a couple of really good themes in chapter 14.  I bring to your attention verse 23 (NRSV):  In the presence of the LORD your God, in the place that he will choose as a dwelling for his name, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil, as well as the firstlings of your herd and flock, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. 

Here it is again, the mention of the dwelling for his name.  And secondly, the regulation for the Israelites to bring their tithe to the temple so that they might eat of it and every third yeard they must store up enough to share with the Levites, the resident aliens, orphans and widows.  They must help feed those who don't have the resources to feed themselves properly.

The reading today reminds me of food... and eating... and fellowship we enjoy together at Zion.  Again, this Advent, we have been having soup suppers prior to Wednesday evening Worship.  It is an opportunity for us to be able to visit with our neighbor (fellowship) at the dinner table and in doing so, hopefully, we glorify God's name.  Each Wednesday, the supper is hosted usually by 2 or 3 persons from the congregation.  There is no charge for this dinner - it is freely given and all are welcome: members, visitors, strangers.  

Tomorrow, we have a council meeting at Zion.  I noticed the president has on the agenda: fellowship/coffee hour.  In  recent months the council decided to suspend monthly coffee/fellowships because of other dinners/suppers at the church.  I believe the president has in mind to reinstate them or at least some form of them so that we have a greater opportunity to welcome visitors following worship and to be able to spend more time with our neighbors, sharing our love of God, as children of God. 

And... also on Wednesday, our ladies will meet to pack up cookies for shut-ins, and widows, as well as bachelors and others in the community. Then some of us will go out delivering the cookies as we spend some time visiting with our neighbors.

Gathering together in fellowship; "breaking bread" together; bringing gifts of food to our neighbors are ways in which that we can glorify God, glorify His name, by living like a children of God.

Yesterday, we had a baptism at Zion.  The godmother received a lit candle for Xavier as I spoke to and prayed for the child, "Let your light so shine before others, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."  (Matt 5:16) As children of the heavenly Father, we probably shouldn't worry so much about what we can't do, but what we can do to glorify His name.  When we, as children of God, reach out in various ways, that light of Christ, reaches those who live in darkness, enlightening their lives and God's name is glorified.    

Evangelism - sharing the good news and ultimately glorifying God's name - is not always about what we say - but - sometimes (often) it is about what we do.  Jesus tells us that if we love Him, we will feed His sheep.  (John 21)

Questions for the morning:  Does the way in which you live and serve others glorify God?  Does your life style reveal a child of God?  Does your light so shine before others, that others may see your good works and also glorify our Father in heaven?  

Sneaky False Gods

Deuteronomy 13

Do not allow anyone to lead you astray; to tempt you to worship other gods.  Sound like an easy one?  It is not.  Sure, we all like to say we worship only the one true God, but in all reality do we?  It seems that I have been exposing false gods most of my life, with very little impact.  They just keep showing up and knocking at our doors - sometimes they even get in. 

It is difficult to live in this world without those false gods sneaking into our lives, often without us even knowing it.  These gods may be our desire for material wealth some earned honestly, some not so honestly.  But, even of that which is earned honestly, how much of it glorifies God?  How much time away from serving God and neighbor has been wasted away earning money while you no longer have time to enjoy being with and serving God and family or neighbor?  How much time is wasted on that false god - the television - or all those characters on it?  How much time and money in the casino?  Or on drinking or other means to getting high?  Our addictions and compulsive behaviors and attractions are false gods.  They sneak into our lives as possibly harmless diversions, ways to enjoy the company of others (maybe), to live the life that God has given us.  But, the reality is that these false gods also want our full devotion and they often get it as they lead us away from living in a fuller relationship with the one true God and with our neighbors.  One of the sneakiest false gods that I am aware of is ourselves.  Our own egos can become our gods as we strive to please ourselves rather than God.  In this age of self-help gurus, many have actually been convinced that the way to have a relationship with God is to love and be good to yourself first.  When your focus in inward upon yourself, then what is the name of the god that you end up serving?  Always... always... the one true God must come first.  Once you know the love of God, then you will learn to love yourself.   When you live in relationship with God, serving God first, then you will truly know what the blessed life is as you live in peace, reconciled to God; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Then you will be able to live in peace in and with this world.

The new year approaches.  I encourage you to take an inventory of your false gods and resolve to see what you can do to get them out of your life.  There is only one God and it is He whom we should be serving. 

God and God's Name

Deuteronomy 12

"But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go..."  (12:5 NIV)  Here we find something that I have found totally fascinating for years.  Every now and then I go back through scriptures and start searching and thinking about the sanctuary being God's habitation, by His putting His name there.  Some of the questions I ponder are:  Are God and His Name synonymous?  Does God dwell in the temple or just His Name or are they one and the same?  What was the temple or sanctuary then?  What is it now?  Lots of things to think about...  I can get lost in the scriptures for days on this one...

Here are just a few of the scriptures that might relate - there are a lot more...: 

The LORD said to him: “I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.  1 Kings 9:3

But now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.’  2 Chronicles 6:6

I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.  2 Chronicles 7:16

And what about this angel of the LORD - how does His name abide in the angel?
Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.  Exodus 23:21

And what about God's name being on the Israelites?
“So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”  Numbers 6:27

And how is it then, that the Body of Christ is the temple of God; how is it that God abides in us (members of the Body) through Jesus Christ?  Is it His Word; His Name; or the Spirit of God?  Are they all one and the same?  It is all a very great mystery...  The LORD, your God is one God...

Note for yesterday's chapter:  After I post in the mornings - I end up thinking about the lesson all day.  Yesterday, Chapter 11:20 "write them upon the door posts.." made me think to remind all of you in Skanee and Aura not to forget to be at Worship a bit early on New Year's Day.  At about 8:45 we will have a short service asking God to bless the sanctuary for another year by praying and writing 20 C M B 12 year - CMB standing for "Christus Manionem Benedicat" which means "May Christ bless this house," on the frame above the sanctuary door.  

Long-winded Moses

Deuteronomy 11

One of the most invaluable lessons for ministry that I learned at Wartburg Seminary was taught by  Prof. Sam Giere in homilitics - to keep the sermons to a reasonable length :) I cut mine almost in half and still am able to say what the Spirit leads me to say.  Moses is beginning to tire me out.  It appears he's saying the same thing over and over again.  Not that what he says isn't worth hearing, it's just that I'm having a hard time finding anything new in the chapters.

Moses is again reminding the Israelites of what God has done for them.  He reminds them of God's promises to those who love Him, keep his charge, his statutes and his commandments.  He reminds them and us again to teach all these things to our children.  Well, then I guess, Moses was right in continually repeating himself.  Seems to me we haven't listened too well! 

Or maybe we have chosen to forget where we come from, how lost we would be if it were not for God; maybe we've chosen to forget that God has saved us from ourselves!  When I worked at the youth correctional facility, it always amazed me that people "on the outside" would make comments that inferred the youth in the facility were really "bad" kids and that they, themselves, were not.  I knew where they came from.  I knew a bit about their lifestyle.  Simply put, I knew them.  The only difference between those in the correctional facility and those on the outside (in most cases) is that those on the inside had been caught and those on the outside had not.  The youth "on the inside" had opportunity to change as they remembered where they came from, why they were there.  Instead of facing our sinful natures and repenting so that we might receive forgiveness, often I think Christians, prefer to pretend that we are without sin and we get stuck wondering why God has not blessed us, wondering why we "good people" aren't enjoying the fruits of the good land that we live in.  When we "good people" turn our backs on the LORD our God who saved us and follow after other gods, then we will receive the blessing of the other gods - gods who are worthless and have no blessings to give.  Do we really expect a blessing from a rock or a piece of wood or paper with a president's face on it or coins?

So, even if Moses is beginning to wear me out by repeating himself, we probably need to read it and hear it over and over again so that his words may be laid up in our hearts and in our souls so that our days and the days of our children may be blessed. 

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and mind and soul that it may be well with you and your children and that you might live long upon the land that He has given you.

P.S.  I apologize for being so long-winded myself in some of these blogs...

Love the Lord

Deuteronomy 10

Fear the LORD, walk in his ways, to love him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul... (vs 12)  Ring a bell?  The first and greatest commandment according to Jesus.  And if you are reading chapter 10 of Deuteronomy you will also see the second greatest commandment, according to Jesus.  "You shall also love the stranger; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt."  (vs 19 NRSV)

Moses is recounting the time that he received the ten commandments for the second time.  We are reminded that the law is (among other things) about love:  loving God and loving others.  I wish that Les, one of God's servants here at Zion, were writing this.  He so eloquently tells how it is that we can love our neighbor or the stranger.  In a nutshell:  When we realize God's great love for us, we love Him in return.  We place the LORD first in our lives and then we are more fully empowered to more fully love our neighbor, the stranger, even our enemy.  The ten "words" of the law are placed in a very specific order.  The first table (3 or 4 commandments depending on how you divide them) are about fearing, loving, honoring God.  The second table is about how we are to show love for our neighbors.  When we place God in our lives first, then loving the rest is much easier, because God is with us, loving them through us.  Sure, our sinful natures will still try to override the power of God, causing us a bit of shakiness in the area of love.  But, we will know a love for our neighbors that cannot exist without the love of God.

Love the LORD, your God, there is nothing more pleasant than being in relationship with Him and as you walk with Him in His way, you will love your neighbor as yourself.  That's about it. 

May the love of God overwhelm and empower you to love your neighbor, the stranger, your enemy, as yourself this day.

God Still Gets The Glory

Deuteronomy 9

You stiffnecked people... You turned away from God...  You did not follow Him... You really got under His skin...  He was about to destroy you all... Many times, I saved you by interceding with God for you.  The jist I'm getting from this chapter is that Moses is ranting or bragging about how much he had to put up with and do for the people.  He had to keep going back to God to beg for mercy for them and ya'll know how dangerous that can be. 

Yesterday, I wrote about how God, not any man, gets the glory and I'm afraid it sounds a little like Moses is grabbing at a bit of glory today.  I stand by yesterday's statements.  Moses may have prayed for the people, but God didn't have to give the Israelites the promised land.  He could have destroyed them at any point.  God gets the glory for leading the people out of Egypt and into the promised land.  God is about to lead them into the land of the great and mighty Anakims so that they might take possession of it.  But, He's not doing it because they are so good.  He's doing it because He chooses to.  And, yes, it is probably a good thing that Moses was there to intercede for them when God was about to destroy the people.

When we pray for someone and the prayer is answered, do we get the credit?  Do we get the glory?  I hope not!  I have had names of some people on my prayer list for decades.  Some of those prayers have been answered in big ways.  And I will tell you, everytime I see them, I am thanking God in a big way!  Others, I still pray for and I know that when I see, with my own eyes, the answer to those prayers, I will be celebrating with all the hosts of heaven for the ones who were lost, but now found.  I will most definitely be giving thanks and glory to God! 

St. Paul wrote in various letters asking the people to pray for him.  He asked them to intercede for him and for all the Lord's people. In Ephesians 6:18-20, we read: 

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."  

 We are called and directed to pray for one another.  Yet, Paul tells us to pray in the Spirit.  And in Romans 8:26-30 (read all of Romans 8 - it is awesome!):

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.  And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

So from all this I glean, that it is not we who interecede (it is not our good work), but, God, the Holy Spirit, who intercedes through us and it is God, Himself, who answers the prayers.  God gets the glory (even for glorifying those whom He calls)! 

Lot's going through my head with this lesson this morning - but - it is a blog - not suppose to be a sermon :)  And... for those of you who noticed (and I know at least a couple of you have) both Deuteronomy 9 and Romans 8 would be good places to start a conversation regarding predestination.  But, I think maybe we should wait 'till we get to Romans for that... 

All Glory Belongs to God

Deuteronomy 8


Do not say...  I worked hard for this.  By mine own hand I have earned it.  Rather, "remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today."  (vs 18 NRSV)


And... some may wonder why I talk so much about giving honor and glory to God.  Some may wonder why I talk so much about caring for and using the good gifts that God has given us so that we might honor and glorify Him.  It is because it is written in the scriptures, over and over again.


There is never a day that I don't thank God for all that He has given me.  I know that I would not have my family, my home, my past experiences, my congregration; I would have none of them except for the hand of God.  I can look back, I remember where I have been and I can see clearly how His hand was at work in all areas of my life. 


As I read the warnings to Israel, I am reminded that these warning could well be for those of us who live in the U.S. as well.  We have been tremendously blessed in this country.  Unfortunately, with all the blessings, also comes the tendency to give ourselves, rather then God, the credit, the honor, glory.  So often the will of God is no longer heard, but only the desires of our own sinful hearts.  And...  I wonder how long it will be before God says "this is enough" and takes it all from us. 


There is always a lot of lip service given to how this land was founded on Christian principles and how important that is to us.  However, there seems to me to be more lip service than actual service to God.  I am not even sure if the majority of Christians even knows what being a Christian actually is, according to scriptures (this probably applies to a whole lot more countries than the U.S.)  Very few read their Bibles.  If you do not, how would you even know what it means to be a Christian? Because someone else who never reads or hears the Word of God told you?  Christianity has become enmashed with new age teachings in order to empower us, in order to make us feel better about ourselves.  For some reason it is easier and more appealing to read New Age or self-help material rather than the Holy Scriptures.  When we apply "New Age" teachings to what little we have gleaned from the Scriptures, it is no longer Christianity.  You are worshipping a false god.  If this land being founded on Christian principles were really as important to us as we claim, would we not immerse ourselves in studying Christian principles by reading our Bibles, would we not be more faithful in attending Worship to hear the Word of God, to receive Christ into our very beings through the Sacrament of Holy Communion?


God has given us these things (Word and Sacrament), not for His sake, but for ours; so that it may be well with us.  Do not say that I am a self-made man or woman.  All that I have is mine, I have worked hard for it.  It is God who has made you.  It is God who allows you to live well upon the earth.  It is God who gives you the opportunity to worship and serve Him.  All honor and glory belongs to God, not humankind.


When my sons were in their rebellious teen years, I remember on a few occasions when I would be about totally exasperated with their shenanigans and remind them:  "God gave you life, God can take it away."  I've mellowed since then.  Well, maybe not too much...  Remembering our scriptures (2 Peter 3:9-13 NRSV) from last Sunday: 

     "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.
     Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire?  But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home."


May God help you to remember to give God the glory for all that He accomplishes through you this day.  May you be blessed with the knowledge that there is only one God and empowered to worship and serve only Him.     

God is God

Deuteronomy 7

God is God and only He shall you worship.  Have nothing to do with false gods.  Rid the land of them and their altars and all the items that are used for worshipping false gods.  Do not covet the gold or the silver of the false altars so that you do not become ensnared by it.  Do not allow anythng to do with false gods into your home because they are abhorrent to the LORD your God. 

In this season just prior to Christmas, how to impress upon people just how sneaky those false gods are.  We claim that the reason for the season is Jesus.  Yet, the glitz and glitter of the commercialized season attempt (very strongly) to draw us in.  Yesterday morning at and after Worship, I was watching our children from the Sunday School and Confirmation class, closely as usual.  They have been busy practicing various parts and music to put on a skit as they lead Worship at our mid-week service on December 14th.  They have given up many hours to work on this.  Other things have not drawn them away from this opportunity to glorify God - to honor Jesus. 

We talked about Jesus' birthday and they decided on Christmas morning that we should have a birthday party with a cake for Jesus after Worship.  It is always comforting to me to see the faith of the children.  They know who their God is.  Let us take a lesson from our children.  There is only one God who loves us so much that He was willing to send His only begotten Son to be born among us, to live among us, and to die for us that we might live in His presence eternally. 

Worship God, and no others - nothing else - not silver or gold.  For... He alone is the God who loves you.  Gold and silver cannot love - God loves.  Only Jesus can bring you out of the wilderness and save you.