Someplace Special
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Someplace Special
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Read Luke 11:32 "Wrong way Jonah!!." I sat back and watched as the children at First Lutheran's Vacation Bible School shouted in response to one of their stories this summer. That particular story was the well known tale of Jonah being swallowed by the whale. The children had just learned that Jonah didn't listen to God when he told him to help the wicked people of Ninevah. They were so well trained that every time Jonah took a wrong turn, they knew just when to shout! They weren't the only ones learning Jonah's story that day. I was there shouting right along with them. And a good thing that I was there too! Hearing the story as a young adult helped me to see it in a different light. Jonah turned his back on God because he was afraid, and the people of Ninevah turned their backs on God because of their sins. All of us at one time have been Jonah or the one of the people of Ninevah. We have all been afraid, felt alone, or have sinned. We're human beings that have been created with faults. We've all, unfortunately, at one time or another turned our back on someone in need. Whether it be an important meeting we didn't attend or a forgotten anniversary, we've all made our fair share of mistakes. But even with all of our faults, God loves us just the same. We are His children. No matter how many times we may sin or turn our backs on Him in fear, he will never turn his back on us. With repentance comes forgiveness. If only all relationships worked out that way! None of us are as forgiving as God. But I try to follow in His path and forgive those who have wronged me. Take the time to think about someone that you wronged or turned your back on. It may be hard to mend some broken relationships, but someone more powerful than Jonah and all of us is here to help us, and will always remain here. Prayer Loving God, We pray for all those who daily turn their backs in fear or sin. Help them to find their way back to you. Watch over those struggling in daily relationships with others. Show them how to rebuild relationships that they deem as lost. As Jonah helped the people of Ninevah, use us to help others to stray from the path of wickedness. Teach us all to be more forgiving, so that we may live in a more peaceful world for us and for all generations. Amen. Katie Magnuson Clarion University of Pennsylvania Member of First Lutheran Church Jamestown, NY
Read Matthew 7:12 “So always treat other as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the law and the prophets.” Matthew 7:12 When I read this passage I though what more could be said on this passage but what a powerful and supportive statement this can be for us as it empowers us to be Christ-like in our actions. It lends courage to us to take compassionate action towards others and that we can make a difference to those we meet in our daily lives in the community and the world. I believe that it reminds us to be proactive and not just reactive in our actions. It reminds me of the power of one; a thought of Helen Keller “I am only one, I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse the something I can do.” We all have the gift to love and demonstrate kindness to one another (ask, seek, knock). Prayer O Lord, help us to remember that it is through you that the weak become strong and the one become many. Guide us in our journey to be like Christ in our actions. Amen Bernie Bruenn
Read Matthew 5: 23-24 “…first be reconciled to your brother...” What does it mean to be reconciled to, or with, another person? When I think of reconciliation, it means to be friends again following a dispute or a painful situation. I wondered what other implications “reconcile” has, so I looked it up in the dictionary we have at home. According to the World Book Encyclopedia Dictionary, to reconcile means: · To make friends again; to win over. · To settle a quarrel or disagreement. · To bring into harmony. · To no longer oppose. · To purify by special ceremonies. These definitions suggest a wider application for reconciliation. Certainly, the most common meaning is to be friends again following a disagreement. Forgiveness is an implied, but necessary, aspect of reconciliation. I usually think of forgiveness as granted by the person who was offended. But, this is too simplistic. Our interactions with other people rarely are so one-sided. As there are two sides to any story, offenses in a dispute generally are committed by both parties. So, reconciliation often has two parts: the offering of apologies and their complete acceptance, and both parties’ acknowledgment of their roles in the dispute. Only by accepting our own culpabilities and taking responsibility for them can we bring our relationships into true harmony. This is easier said than done, especially if you are the wronged party. It’s also easier to write about reconciliation than it is to do it. I think it’s particularly hard to reconcile if no apology is offered to the person feeling wronged. At this point, it’s tempting just to sever the relationship rather than mend it. At least, this has been my experience. Also, our attempts at reconciliation with people may not always be successful. Yet, there is one with whom we can always be reconciled. Through God’s limitless grace, our wrongs are forgiven and we are free to continue a harmonious relationship with Him. Prayer Dear Lord, help us to be reconciled with others as you are reconciled with us. Amen. Debra Fridman
Read Matthew 5: 44 "But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..." Matthew 5:44 I had a modest but mostly comfortable childhood. I had a family who cared about me, an easy time in school, and my family protected me from a lot of the evils of the world. So, when I graduated from high school and set out on my own for college, I was still rather naive. I really believed in the basic goodness of all people. I had never experienced hatred or prejudice. I had never come face to face with evil intent. Mine had been a very protected life up until I, along with the rest of the nation, became acutely aware of the injustices people of color faced in the South; the indignity and unfairness of the Jim Crow Laws. So, passionate teens that we were in that summer of 1961, some friends and I committed ourselves to action, loaded a few belongings in a battered old Buick, and set off for Alabama to join up with the Freedom Riders, who were organizing to test the segregation of transcontinental buses as they crossed southern states and to force integration of the bus system. I had absolutely no idea what was in store for me! We had some training in nonviolence, how to protect ourselves, and how to react to threatened or actual violence. The training aimed at calming that natural animal instinct to meet violence with violence, whether it's physical or verbal. In my heart I had grown into a pacifist, trying to follow the example of Jesus. But, I found myself wanting to harm even those who were conditioning the violence out of us, and I knew I was in no physical danger from these people. The time finally came when we climbed onto a bus dressed in our Sunday best ready to meet whatever came our way down the road. The first time we pulled into a bus station and had to unload from the bus to refuel, quite a crowd was waiting for us. As we walked off the bus, we prayed together The Lord's Prayer. I kept repeating in my head over and over, "As I walk through the valley of death, I fear no evil." It was my first time encountering raw hatred and prejudice, people who hated me just because of who I was. Rocks hit us; we were threatened by men with baseball bats and pitch forks; children threw rotten vegetables and pig slop on us, and we were shoved and pushed to the ground. The words of Matthew came to me later as we took turns sponging off and changing clothes behind a blanket in the back of the bus, "Love your enemies." In that moment I said a quiet prayer for those people who wanted to harm me, and I prayed after every stop we made that summer. That experience profoundly changed me. It made me grow up certainly. But it also made me grow deep...grow deeper in faith and trust in my God and Savior who walks in tandem with me, with all of us, through every experience of our lives. Prayer Creator God, please be with those who hold onto anger and hatred in their hearts and ease their woundedness. Help us to grow in love and light so that we are able to shine your healing light into the dark caves of a wounded soul with compassion, understanding, and forgiveness. Amen Anne Gamble New Faith Church, UCC Auburn, CA
Read Philippians 3:20 “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 3:20 I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the... Where do you pledge your allegiance? The bible says that we are in this world but not of it. Therefore we must conclude that: our citizenship must be in heaven and not here. There is only one King and one kingdom. God in me, God in you, the hope of Glory. Together with our bothers and sisters in Christ, we are the Kingdom. We should be focused on the heavenly kingdom and it’s citizens more than our physical kingdom. Another aspect of our heavenly citizenship is, it is eternal. Everything we do for God’s kingdom has eternal consequences. Can you imagine, when you go to work tomorrow you have the ability to affect eternity. Wow! What an awesome opportunity. Prayer Lord, Please help us develop an eternal perspective and heavenly actions so we can benefit your kingdom. In Jesus name. Amen. Dave and Melissa Schutrum
Read Luke 6:36-38 “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” In the verses preceding these Jesus tells the disciples to love their enemies and to do good to them. He tells them they are not to judge or condemn them, but instead forgive and give generously to them. Loving our enemies seems so foreign when often the natural instinct is to seek revenge and retaliation. Loving our friends and those who are like us is easy. But loving our enemies and treating them well seems to go against the grain. It is downright difficult to love our enemies. In our smugness we like to judge others and condemn them for not being more like us. And when we’ve been hurt, we seek retaliation and payback. But Jesus tells us the measure we give others will be the measure given us. He reminds us to give…and give a good measure. He instructs us to forgive and he says we are to be merciful because God has been merciful to us. God’s love is all embracing. It does not discriminate between friend and enemy. Prayer Dear Lord, in the bustle of our busy lives, we come into contact with many different people. Let us see the good in each person we meet, treat them mercifully as neighbors and love them as you have commanded us. Amen Sharon Hanks, Student at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia
Read Matthew 23:1-12 “Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger.” Matthew 23:1-4 There are many burdens in life, some that I will never know, some that I have known but would not wish on anyone. Some are a labor of love, like parenting. Some burdens are heavy. Some are made heavy by our attitude, like homework or dishes. Some can be made light when we work together. Some are thrust upon us by our deeds and we carry them alone. The burden of sin is like that, we carry it everywhere we go and it is a ponderous load, one that we cannot carry ourselves, we need a sin-load carrier. But sometimes we can pick up a burden for someone to show our love. Have you seen the book bags that the kids are carrying these days? When my son is carrying a boulder of a bag on an icy path in the cold outside, I reach down, pick it up and carry it for him. Why? Simple, because I am capable, he isn’t and I love him. This is what Jesus does for us. He carries the sin-load that we are not able to carry and that he does not need to carry. There is a contrast demonstrated between Jesus and the Pharisees. The Pharisees would lay the burden of the Law on the people and condemn them when they would falter, pretending that they were capable of keeping the Law. They had no right to condemn. The purpose of the Law was to point out the need for the Savior. Jesus on the other hand was able to keep the law. He has the right to condemn but by GRACE he doesn’t. Instead, unlike the leaders of that day, Jesus reached down, picked up the cross that was meant for a criminal and carried sinners like us into salvation. Why? Simple! We can’t carry the load ourselves. He can, and he loves us. So when Jesus reaches out to you with those nail scared hands and offers to carry the sin that burdens you, let go! Prayer Lord Jesus, thank-you for taking up the burden of our sin that kept us from an eternity with God. Amen Ron O’Hara |
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