Readings

2 Samuel 11:1-15

Psalm 14

Ephesians 3:14-21

John 6:1-21

Devotion

Peace be with you!

July has been a difficult month; I am looking forward to putting it behind me. I am physically exhausted, psychosocially challenged (and yet renewed), and spiritually hanging on to hope. I feel as though life has taken everything out of me, and I have nothing to offer God. In the past month, I have endured the disintegration of a very important relationship.  This has caused me to lean hard on God.  I feel as though I only have twenty-four hours in a day where I need to grieve my relational loss, eat three meals, feed the pups twice, take the pups out a dozen or so times, pay bills, pray, train the youngest pup, tend to life matters, keep in touch with friends and family, keep track of all the changes in my life, go to speech therapy, work out, continue to train for a fourteen mile bike ride in October, plan upcoming trips, enjoy the pups, and somehow keep my sanity. I am exhausted in every way possible. I have an hour until I need to send this off to my editor, so I can get it back to post it – sooner than later.

Like the disciples in the gospel reading, I feel like I have an insignificant amount of food to offer the hungry crowd. The disciples have five barley loaves and two fish and little energy; I have an hour and little energy; and the crowd continues to grow as more people are hungry to hear God’s good Word. The disciples and I (and I imagine you do too some days) beg Jesus to send the growing crowd elsewhere – at least until we get ourselves together. We just have nothing of significance to offer; we hardly have enough to feed ourselves at the moment.

Yet Jesus takes what little that we have and amplifies to the nth degree. Jesus takes the five barley loaves and two fish and feeds the whole crowd; plus, there are still leftovers for the coming days! The disciples give Jesus the little that they have, and he gets them a net return that is out of this world.

Somehow I pray these words reach at least one person who can relate. One person who will see that even though life seems to be taking all that we have and is leaving us with nothing, God has a plan to use that milli-[whatever “it” is] and amplifies it to the nth degree. Nothing else matters. There is hope in God that the exhaustion will pass and renewal is coming. For Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:26-27,  “Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” (NRSV) God has uses the weak to fulfill his plan.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for amplifying what little that we have to the nth degree. Help us to rest in the hope in knowing that even when we feel like we have nothing to give back you have a plan to use us for your good. Continue to renew us as we meet life’s challenges.  Thank you for giving us hope. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. When have you felt exhausted?

2. How has God amplified your gifts to the nth degree? How did it surprise you?

3. Where has God renewed you?

Readings

2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27

Psalm 130

2 Corinthians 8:7-15

Mark 5:21-43

Devotion

Peace be with you!

African-Americans in the nineteenth century had a saying: “God may not come when you call, but he’ll be right on time.” We always want to be healed right now, because we live in the instant society. It is the waiting part that we are not good at. With the advancements of computers, we are getting more and more impatient. Individuals can now access the Internet on their phones and look anything up in an instant. We want to fix problems instantly and get answers instantly. However, when it comes to looking at ourselves, we look the other way, because we refused to see our brokenness. If we admit our brokenness, then we have to do something about it. Who wants to do that? Who wants to reach out for help?

Jesus comes back to Jerusalem from the other side of the sea. He is met by Jairus, a leader of the synagogue, who asks him to come heal his dying daughter who. Jesus agree to go to his daughter, because Jairus believes that she will be well again when Jesus lays his hands upon her.

Unfortunately, the crowd distracts Jesus on his way to Jairus’ house. A woman who has been hemorrhaging for twelve years is in the crowd and is determined to touch Jesus’ clothes, which she believes will heal her. After twelve years of going to doctors and spending all of her money trying all of their treatments, the woman is still bleeding uncontrollably. Jesus is her last hope. The woman takes a chance by going into the crowd without a male companion and by going in secret – Jesus is not even aware she is there until after she touches him and is healed. What does she have to lose? The worst that could happen would be that she would keep on hemorrhaging and be kicked out of Jerusalem. Or perhaps the woman is not Jewish at all, yet still she must feel some stigma for violating the mores of the Jewish people. But her life has gotten so unendurable, again, what does she have to lose?

The woman has nothing to lose, but everything to gain. Healing is one of those things that people think is joyous until they are the ones who need the healing. The ending of any healing is happy-ever-after, but what if you need a healing now? You have stage four cancer; you are separated from your husband or wife; you are a veteran coming home with no legs; your relationships with friends are deranged; you feel alone; you have lost touch with God the Father; [whatever “it” is]. Seeking any kind of healing – physical, psychosocial, or spiritual – takes energy, because you have to admit something is broken and you need help – from God. You need a healing, because something just is not right. When you need a physical, psychosocial, or spiritual healing, you have nothing to lose, because [whatever “it” is] makes you not whole. You are at your rock bottom and there is nowhere to go but up. Where do you reach out to be healed? Where do you go when you are ashamed? Who can you trust when even your closest friends do not want to be around you?

The woman is right, because as soon as she touches Jesus’ clothes she healed. After twelve years of going to different doctors and trying different treatments, the woman is healed by a simple touch.

Jesus notices that someone has touched him and asks who it was. The disciples are confused as to how he could have noticed someone touching him, but the woman goes up to Jesus and tells him it was her. The woman tells Jesus the whole truth: how she has been sick for twelve years, how the doctors have tried everything to make her feel better with no success, and how when she touched him she was immediately healed. As the woman braces for him to scold her, Jesus simply says that her faith has healed her and to go in peace. While others were probably ready to yell at the woman, Jesus shows the woman love.

People from Jairus’ house come to tell him it is too late; his daughter has already died. Overhearing the news, Jesus simply says to have faith and goes immediately to Jairus’ house. Jesus tells everyone to go outside while he goes inside with two disciples, Jairus, and his wife. Jesus takes Jairus’ daughter’s hand and says, “Little girl, get up” (Mark 5:43). Her father and her mother are amazed as the little girl walks around. Jesus quickly reminds her parents that she needs to eat.

There is a picture Women of Faith posted and people are sharing on Facebook that simply says, “My child, You worry too much. I’ve got this, remember? Love, God.” Is it really that simple? “I need a healing, God,” you call out and God calls back, “I got it. Do not worry.” Of course, it is that simple – except for waiting part and admitting you are broken. And that may be simple, but it’s not easy.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for coming right on time when we need you the most. Help us to feel your healing touch as we recognize our brokenness. Remind us that you hear us when we call out; we need to wait for your perfect timing. We realize we are not only the broken ones in the world. Give us the courage and the strength to be there for others as they recognize their brokenness and turn to you.  Thank you for blessing us with your healing touch through forgiveness, love, and grace. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. Describe a time when you had to wait for a healing.

2. How are you broken? When and where did you realize you were broken?

3. How has the Triune God healed you?

Readings

1 Samuel 17:1-18:16

Psalm 113

2 Corinthians 6:1-16

Mark 4:35-41

Devotion

Peace be with you!

One of my favorite movies is The Blind Side. It tells the story of Michael Otto, who grew up in foster care after being taken away from his drug-addicted mother. Despite his poor grades, Michael was admitted to a private school, which hoped to use his large stature as an advantage on the football team. The Tuohys, a wealthy family, take Michael in after finding him wandering the streets late one night. Eventually the Tuohys adopt Michael and make him a part of their family. The Tuohy’s faith in God the Father is remarkable. Throughout the movie, you see Mrs. Touhy pray to God for guidance as she takes Michael in and slowly thinks of him as her son. The first night Michael stays with them Mrs. Tuohy ask her husband if he thinks he will steal anything and prays for guidance. Mrs. Tuohy hires a tutor for Michael to help him improve his grades so he can play football. Although it takes him a few practices to learn his position, Michael becomes a powerful offensive tackle once Ms Tuohy taps into his protective instincts. Michael is able to raise his GPA to 2.52 in order to attend Ole Miss and gets drafted to Baltimore Ravens after college.

The story of David and Goliath reads a lot like The Blind Side as both young boys go from underdog to hero. When David is just a young boy, King Saul sends him to fight Goliath, a descendent of the Nephilim – the giants. Goliath challenges the Israelites’ army to a duel to see if one of the men can kill him – seemingly an impossible task.

When David hears about the challenge, he volunteers to fight the giant, given his experience killing bears and lions with his bare hands to keep his father’s sheep safe. King Saul dresses David in his armor and gives him his sword, but it is too heavy for him to wear so he takes it off and just takes his staff, five rocks, his slingshot, and the power of the Lord (1 Samuel 17:40). David puts his faith in the Lord like the sheep put their trust in him as shepherd.

Upon seeing David, Goliath mocks him. How will a small boy fight against a giant with just rocks and a slingshot? When Goliath defies the Lord by promising to feed him to the animals, David says he comes in the name of the Lord, who will protect him (1 Samuel 17:43-47).  David has faith that the Lord will protect him against Goliath no matter what happens. His trust in the Lord shows us what God can do when we give our lives to him.

With a single rock to Goliath’s forehead, David takes down the giant in the epic ending. No one would have guessed that a small boy would defeat a giant. Only the Lord could make this happen.

Like David, Jesus does the impossible. The disciples are going across the Sea of Galilee in a boat with Jesus. Jesus falls asleep after a long day of preaching to a crowd. Suddenly a storm causes the boat to rock and take on water. The disciples start panicking, so they wake up Jesus. When he wakes up, Jesus yells at the wind and says to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” and the sea calms down (Mark 4:39 NRSV).

Then he turns to his disciples and asks, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40 NRSV). Jesus is challenging his disciples. It is as though Jesus asks, “Did you really think I would let you die? Really guys, have some faith in me after all you have witnessed – healing the sick, feeding thousands with little food, and casting out demons. Come on, boys, it is just a small storm.”

You can see the disciples roll their eyes as they are thinking, “Just a small storm! The boat was taking on water. We could have drowned back there. And who are you? The wind and sea even obey you.” (Mark 4:41). The quieting of the storm at Jesus’ command seems impossible by our standards today too. If a tornado or a hurricane comes our way, we quickly grab the essentials and run and hide. We have not figured out this particular trick yet!

It is not that the disciples lack in their faith in every way – I mean they did leave their families behind to follow Jesus. There are two kinds of fear: 1) the kind that paralyzes you and prevents you from believing in Jesus, and 2) the kind that makes you confused as to what just happened and makes you think. The fear that paralyzes you keeps you from believing in God the Father and God the Son by keeping you in the dark. The fear that causes confusion allows you to believe in God and Jesus but challenges your faith. This type of fear is not a bad thing, especially when your faith grows stronger through the challenging time. Jesus seems to imply the disciples’ fear is paralyzing them from believing by their need for immediate help from the Lord, whether than trusting in him to keep them safe during the storm.

All things are possible in the Lord our God. A small boy can beat a giant in battle; Jesus can calm the storm; Michael Otto can beat the odds and become a big football star. The Lord makes all things possible, even when the odds are against us. If he wants it done, it will get done.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for being with us as we go about our day. Help us to call upon you and feel your presence when we are faced with a giant or a bad storm or some other trial of life. Remind us that you can make all things possible when we allow you into our hearts.  Thank you for using us to do the impossible. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. How has God used you to do the impossible?

2. How has a storm shaken your faith? How did you get through this experience?

Readings

Isaiah 6:1-8

Psalm 29

Romans 8:12-17

John 3:1-17

Devotion

Peace be with you!

Anytime I do something for the first time, my muscles tense up as if to ask what they are supposed to do. Due to having Cerebral Palsy, my muscles do not always like doing what I tell them to do. Take the simple task of picking up a quart of juice off the floor to put it in the refrigerator. Most people can do this without thinking about it. I have to think about the best way I can grab the bottle, how I can lift it over my head (no simple task) to get it onto the shelf, and then I have to execute the maneuver. If I fail the first time, I have to rethink how I can get the juice bottle off the floor and into the refrigerator. I know it seems like a simple task, but when you have to fight with your muscles, the most random and simple task becomes a challenge.

Now let’s take a bigger activity: training for a fourteen-mile bicycle ride in October.  For my avid biking readers, fourteen miles seems like a piece of cake, and part of me thinks so too. But then I have an involuntary movement and the fear of losing control of my three wheel bike and tipping over creeps into my mind, and the fourteen miles seem impossible. What is my personal trainer/friend thinking? What am I thinking for agreeing to be her biking buddy? Where do I even start with the training?

Here are some questions for you: Where do you begin when you first come to believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit? How do you begin to have a relationship with God? These questions seem a bit odd to those of us who have always believed. For some of us, our relationship with God began well before our first memories. It seems like we were born with our relationship with God. Others have come to know God later in life after having children and desiring to pass on a good heritage to them, or after experiencing tragedy or heartache and finding their need of God.

Others have come to faith after experiencing guilt for a sin that harmed others grievously. . These individuals ask how God can forgive them for what they did in the past. Maybe the individual was part of a gang and led his younger siblings to join, only to see them killed during a fight. It seems impossible for him to forgive himself for allowing his brother or sister to die; it should have been him. The individual has carried around the guilt for years or even decades. Now that the individual has come into a relationship with God, God says that he is able to let go of the guilt for he is forgiven … but how?

The beginning of the journey with God is a bit scary. No matter how we cut it, we are unclean – unworthy of God’s love and forgiveness. The power of sin makes us feel powerless. What business do you have seeking forgiveness from God after following the Devil? It is unthinkable. Take our reading from Isaiah where God calls Isaiah to be prophet to speak on his behalf. But Isaiah claims it to be impossible since his lips are unclean from past events where he has broken the Ten Commandments. A prophet should be someone who has upheld the Ten Commandments and lives according to God’s will. Surely, there is someone more fit to be prophet than him. But God sends seraphs, angels with six wings, to touch Isaiah’s lips with hot coal in order to take away his guilt and past sins. God redeems Isaiah from his past by offering him forgiveness.

Forgiveness is not something we can earn through our own actions. God gives us forgiveness freely through Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection. Righteousness was given to us when Jesus rose from the dead. We are forgiven only through Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

In Romans 8:1-11, Paul tells us the power of God is life-giving when the Holy Spirit lives in you. Whatever power the flesh has over you vanishes away when the Holy Spirit enters your life through the risen Lord.  Paul continues on in Romans 8:12-17, comparing life in the flesh to life with the Holy Spirit. When you live according to the flesh, you will die; the Devil has no plans to keep you after you have done your job for him. You become a slave to the flesh with no identity or input on the outcomes of your actions. And if you refuse to conform, someone can always replace you. However, the Holy Spirit will give you life; you always have a place in God’s kingdom, no matter what happens. God adopts you into his family with love and grace, giving you an identity as his child. You are no longer a slave of the flesh, but set free of your sins through God’s forgiveness. You are changed when you welcome the Holy Spirit into your life. Your new identity embraces God’s love and grace.

So if you know anyone like the ex-gang member who feels that forgiveness is impossible for her, start her with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, because he died for her sins and rose again to make her righteous in the eyes of the Lord.

Yes, the ex-gang member led his younger siblings to join the gang, which caused their deaths, but nevertheless he is forgiven. Yes, you did [whatever “it” is] you did, but nevertheless you are forgiven. It does not matter what you did in the past; as long as you have the Holy Spirit in your life, you are forgiven. We start with Jesus washing away our sins and giving us God’s love and grace.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for giving us your forgiveness, love, and grace through Jesus in our baptisms. Help us to accept your forgiveness as we accept the Holy Spirit into our lives. Guide us by your life-giving power to live lives according to your plan. We are humbled by our adoption through the Holy Spirit. Thank you for taking us in as your children and never leaving our sides. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. Where do you begin when you first come to believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit? How do you begin to have a relationship with God?

2. Has there been a time in your life when you found it difficult to accept God’s forgiveness? How did you overcome this?

Readings

Acts 2:1-21

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

Romans 8:22-27

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

Devotion

Peace be with you!

Wherever you go, you know what a smile symbolizes – happiness. Smiling expresses joy in a person’s life. It is contagious and can cause others to smile. There is no grouch in the world that a baby’s smile and giggling cannot melt!

When you allow the Holy Spirit to be in your life, all things are possible – even the impossible. The Holy Spirit enters our lives as an Advocate between Jesus and us. The Holy Spirit allows us to be in communication with Jesus as we answer God’s calling for us.

In Acts 2, the disciples and the Jews from different countries are all gathered together in a room. They are not sure what to do: Jesus, their leader who gave them guidance and the good news, has gone to be with God the Father. We left the disciples in confusion last week as they called Matthias to replace Judas as a disciple.

As we read John 16, Jesus promises abundance of life by sending the disciples an Advocate who will continue to unfold God’s love for all to know. Since Jesus is about to leave the disciples and go to God the Father, he promises to send an Advocate to continue his work of keeping the communication lines open between God and us. The Advocate will seek protection and prayer requests on our behalf as a mediator. The Advocate will lead the disciples and us by the truth of what is to come in the future. The Holy Spirit bears the good news, so we can be empowered to share it with the world. Jesus sends us the Holy Spirit to embody and model the good news for us so that we can know and come to understand what it means.

When Jesus leaves the disciples, they are so confused as to what to do next. Jesus has left the disciples temporarily alone with no Advocate. Now what are they supposed to do? As we pick up the story, the disciples are still in Jerusalem in a room waiting for the next chapter.

Suddenly the Holy Spirit enters the room and enters into the disciples, and they supernaturally speak other languages that they do not know (Acts 2:4). For the first time, the disciples and many of the foreign Jews who had come from other lands could communicate with each other. The Holy Spirit breaks down individual identities and unites them with the good news. By doing this uniting, the Holy Spirit expands the reach of the good news beyond the restoration of Israel to the whole world. The Jews are no longer the only chosen ones; anyone who comes to believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, becomes a part of Israel’s restoration. The Holy Spirit continues to redeem us as God’s children.

The Holy Spirit works through us as we go into the world to spread the good news of Jesus Christ who redeems us from our sins. The compassion you show others during your daily routine helps to share the good news with others who may not know what love is. Our actions of love, helpfulness, conviction, and grace carry the good news throughout the world.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for sending us the Holy Spirit to embody your good news. Help us to feel the Holy Spirit around us. Allow the Holy Spirit to work through us as we go out into the world to spread your good news. Thank you for guiding us through the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. How does the Holy Spirit give you hope?

2. What significant event made you feel the presence of the Holy Spirit?

Readings

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Psalm 1

1 John 5:9-13

John 17:6-19, 20

Devotion

Peace be with you!

On days where the world seems to be crashing in on you, it seems like life is going forward for everyone except you. Everyone is getting jobs after graduation or going on for more schooling, but you … you have sent out resumes and received no call back. You have applied for graduate programs and not been accepted. . Every day, you send out more cover letters and more resumes. Still no call back. You have done everything (except perhaps for begging for a job!). Still no call back.

Transitions are the hardest with all their changes: old routines fade as new routines beg to be picked up. Friends move on to better jobs and opportunities; you will move too. What is familiar to you now will soon fade into memories.

The transition from graduate school to the “real world” was tough on me. Unlike most of my fellow classmates, I had no real next step planned. I had met my last long-term goal and really had not thought about what would come next. The next year I struggled trying to discern my calling. I moved two or three times that year, between Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Florida. The following summer I thought I had found a great volunteer opportunity, but between the challenges of mixing professional and personal relationships and the non-profit not being open to different faith traditions, it ended up not working out. “Now what?” I asked myself. That fall was when I felt a calling from God to start this series of devotions on my website.

Imagine how the eleven disciples felt after Jesus ascended into heaven. Now what? Jesus told them to stay in Jerusalem to be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4). Wait? Why? And what is this “being baptized with the Holy Spirit” about? As human beings, we like having all of the answers set out in front of us. I wanted God to directly and plainly tell me what he wanted me to do, even though I was fully aware that it doesn’t usually happen that way. However, God was telling me to wait for his plan to unfold.

As the eleven disciples wait, Peter realizes they need to replace Judas with a new twelfth disciple. Jesus had named twelve disciples in order to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. Peter is thinking about organizing Jesus’ followers and keeping with the traditions which Jesus started. The eleven disciples have been charged with going forward with Jesus’ teachings and good news; they need some organization and a new compatriot.

Two possible candidates to replace Judas are named: Barsabbas and Matthias. The eleven disciples pray for guidance as they choose the new twelfth disciple by casting lots. Matthias wins the “toss of the dice” to be the new twelfth disciple. Unfortunately, the disciples missed a step: to get it seconded from Holy Spirit. It was not that Matthias did not make a good disciple, but he was not called by the Holy Spirit. The eleven disciples jumped to fill their own need to have a twelfth disciple, rather than waiting for God to direct them.

It is easy to understand why the disciples felt the need to act. Waiting induces anxiety, impertinence, confusion, and the list goes on. No one likes to wait; people want to act now to make things happen. The disciples are gathered in a room in Jerusalem, waiting to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. They do not even understand what that means. Some things have not changed. Many of us in seminary were questioning where God was leading us. Even if you never go to seminary, I imagine you question where God is calling you – whether it is as a teacher, doctor, nurse, business person, social worker, parent, lover, or any combination. It is never easy discerning where God is leading you.

What you can be sure of is that Jesus gives us the good news to share with all those we meet. Just before Jesus was betrayed by Judas, he was praying to God the Father for his twelve disciples and his future disciples. Jesus understands the world rejects God, because it did not know him and because Satan lives and reigns in the world. Jesus also understands how much God is in love with the world and would do anything for us – even send his only son to die for our sins.

Therefore, Jesus prays for God to protect his current and future disciples, so they may continue to spread the good news in the world. Jesus brands his disciples with his name and leads them by the truth of the good news.

As I dwell on my own call, I sit in awe that Jesus would pray for me, a disciple in the distant future. It seems like such an insignificant concern for someone about to be led to his death within hours, but Jesus finds it so significant that he takes a moment to pray for me and for you. The well-being of his disciples is more important to him than his own life. Do you grasp the significance of that? It is John 3:16-17 all over again: “God so loved the world that he sent to his only son…”. God lives in the present and knows and understands exactly what is going in our lives, and at the same time he looks to the future for the well-being of all.

Although it is difficult sometimes for us to know what God is calling us to do, he finds ways to guide us through the Holy Spirit and by speaking to us through answered prayers. All we need to do is wait and listen. The Holy Spirit is our guide.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for looking into the future to our callings. Help us to understand how Jesus could pray for us two thousand just before he was lead to his death. We stand in awe that someone would make such a sacrifice for us. Remind us as we struggle to seek our callings to spread the good news.  Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. How do you discern God’s calling for you?

2. How does it make you feel to know that Jesus prayed for you two thousand years ago?

Readings

Acts 10:44-48

Psalm 98

1 John 5:1-6

John 15:9-17

Devotion

Peace be with you!

To date, I have 464 friends on Facebook. Yet off the top of my head I can name thirty friends who I consider my close friends – the ones I can call out of the blue to just to talk or in a sheer panic when I go through hard times. I probably send out seventy Christmas cards to friends and family. What a contrast to my 464 friends on Facebook! Maybe Facebook should use the word “connections” instead of “friends.” A large majority of my friends on Facebook are individuals I met at conferences or through other friends. They are people with whom I want to keep in touch, but only occasionally. Sure, some of these friends have become close friends, but the number is a single digit.

Before Facebook, the word “friends” meant those individuals we knew personally. We knew our friends in real life, whether we saw or talked with them daily or only caught up every few months or years. These days, a friend is anyone we are connected with on Facebook, even if we have never met them. It is interesting how the definition of a friend has changed over the past few years.

Friendships form out of our need to share common ground, values, and interests with other people. We make friends who support us in our endeavors and our physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Although a real friendship always includes give-and-take between friends, we have a tendency to sometimes be self-focused in our friendships, rather than focused on serving and loving them.

Our tendency to be self-focused instead of others-focused is what makes Jesus’ example as a friend stand out so boldly to us. Jesus’ friendship with you is not about him and his needs; Jesus is all about you and your need for salvation and redemption. He cares so much about you that he laid down his own life through his crucifixion and death so that you could be forgiven of your sins and be in a relationship with God the Father. Jesus offers his friendship to you for your needs as an individual. Not only does he offer his friendship, but he gives you the gift of his friendship freely. It is a gift; Jesus chooses you as his friend.

Jesus’ friendship with you stems from his love for you. Each of us as Christians has been brought into the family of God through the power of his love. As we wonder at the marvel of being made his friends, we are transformed from self-centered people to people with transformed hearts, who cannot wait to share his love for us with others. We long to respond to God’s friendship by obeying the commandments and loving others. Our faith in the Triune God leads us to keep the commandments not out of duty, but because we love God. By extending Jesus’ love to others, we express our devotion to the Triune God.

The more I think about it, Facebook and Twitter invite us, as Christians, to share God’s love with others. We are connected with so many people on Facebook and Twitter who would be unknown to us without these applications. Social media gives us some great opportunities both to be better friends to others and to share the Good News with them. Maybe Facebook does not so much redefine the terms of friends and friendships as it expands the scope of our friends and allows us to connect with more individuals. After all, God’s love is for all people.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for Jesus laying down his life for us so that we might become friends of God. Help us to lay down our lives for others and to love one another. Remind us of your love and your gift of friendship.  Thank you for Jesus’ friendship with us. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. What does it mean to you that you have been made a friend of God?

2. In what way is God calling you to show His love to others this week?

Readings

Acts 8:26-40

Psalm 22:25-31

1 John 4:7-21

John 15:1-8

Devotion

Peace be with you!

It is funny how you can start talking to a random person on the street, only to find out you both know some of the same people and go to some of the same places. For me, this happened when someone who was a stranger to me showed up on my doorstep thirteen years ago with a friend of mine. This stranger just happened to be the son of the speech therapist I had in preschool. What a small world! Amazingly, that random person is one of my closest friends today, though he now lives in Japan. (Rumor has it he and his wife are moving back to the States soon.)

Another time, I randomly met someone at a Lutheran conference a few years ago, but forgot to get his email address. I was so happy to renew the connection when he randomly showed up years later while I was touring Luther Seminary as a prospective student with my parents.

A few years ago I went skiing in Utah with my friend, Amber – a fellow Luther Seminary alum – and my volunteer (who was helping the ski instructor put me onto the ski lift) heard us talking about classes. We found out that he was also a Luther Seminary alum and knew a few of the professors we were talking about.

Today’s Gospel reading has Jesus comparing God to a vine grower, himself to a vine, and us to branches. As a vine, Jesus is the conduit to give us (the branches) the tools, strength, courage, and wisdom to live faithfully as Christians. As branches, we are connected together by a common vine and tangled together. Our community of believers is interlocked together through our relationship with Jesus and our relationships with each other.

When we abide (or remain) in Jesus, we are able to share his good news, forgiveness, grace, love, and compassion with others in order to draw them to the Triune God. Abiding in Jesus means to live out our faith and to continue to spread the good news; it is an active way of living through Jesus. Our relationships are tangled up with one another as we support each other in our faith in Jesus Christ. You never know when the random person next to you needs to hear the good news – whether as a believer needing to hear a simple word of forgiveness or as an individual needing to be introduced to the Triune God. And you never know when the person next to you will be the one to bring you good news.

For example, take our reading from Acts where God sends Philip to Gaza along the wilderness road. On the way, Philip runs into an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace (Queen of the Ethiopians), who is reading a mysterious passage from Isaiah about a lamb being slaughtered (Acts 8:30a, 32-33). When Philip asks the eunuch if he understands what he is reading, he questions how he can without guidance (Acts 8:30b). On cue, Philip shares the good news of Jesus Christ with the eunuch who then stops his chariot to be baptized in water (Acts 8:36-39). Philip had no clue he would be baptizing an important Ethiopian official that day along the wilderness road.

Jesus gives Philip the tools and the place – as unlikely as it is – to share the good news with an unlikely individual. We may not always understand where Jesus is sending us, but when we allow his plan to unfold through us amazing things can happen.

A vine can be a tangled mess. My mom and grandma complain about vines taking over their gardens because they are hard to kill. Relationships in communities can be complicated; strained relationships are the worst since hard feelings are difficult to get over. Sometimes relationships overlap, which can cause confusion. For instance, you may think of employee as a friend until the unfortunate time you have to fire them for stealing. Your friendship with the employee will never be the same. You may have other friends who also know your ex-employee/friend and who may decide to take sides. Or take the structure of the church and all of the people who keep it running. We have all had experiences of conflict with church council members or church hierarchy. Relationships can be messy, especially since not everyone gets along.

Jesus says he will prune and burn those branches that do not bear fruit (John 15:6). It is a harsh threat: Jesus will get rid of those of us that do not share his love and grace with other and stay living in the darkness. Jesus has no use for individuals who do not live out their faith.

Yet I cannot help but wonder if Jesus also prunes us when we seek forgiveness by getting rid of the darkness in our lives. All of us are sinners since Satan lives in the world. Jesus makes us new when we reconcile ourselves with God and ask for forgiveness. By seeking forgiveness, we are asking Jesus to prune us of our faults, so we can grow closer to God the Father and share the good news. As we grow in our faith, we let go of parts of our old selves through Jesus Christ.

Jesus calls us to abide (or remain) in him and his words, and he will answer our prayers (John 15:7). We continue to grow into our faith throughout our lives. Our daily commitment to stay in the light with Jesus keeps us on the vine of life. We actively remain in Jesus by becoming and continuing to be his disciples.

As branches on a vine, Christians are all connected to each other through Jesus Christ. We live in a community as disciples as we grow in our faith through our connections with Jesus and each other. As disciples, we bear the fruit of Jesus for all the world to see.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for pruning us to be Jesus’ disciples. Help us to seek forgiveness in order to live out the good news and to answer your calls for us.  Thank you for connecting us in a community. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. How do you live in community with other disciples? Do you see it as a positive or negative that you are intertwined with other believers? Why?

2. How do you bear fruit?

3. Have you ever had a random encounter like Philip with the Ethiopian eunuch? How did God use you to touch someone’s life unexpectedly?