Monthly Archives: June 2013

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost: Living by the Fruits of the Spirit

Readings

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20

Galatians 5:1, 13-25

Luke 9:51-62

Devotion

Peace be with you!

When I lived in St Paul, I had a personal trainer named Ashley. She is awesome at her job. She could get me to do things I did not know I could do. Shortly after I moved away, Ashley made a difficult decision to move back to her small hometown and work at a local rehab center. She enjoyed her clients and co-workers at a big health club, but her job consistently required Ashley to sell herself as a personal trainer to new members. The health club required Ashley to have so many clients and personal training sessions that her clients were becoming numbers, not individuals with personal goals. Ashley grew weary of the corporate personal training world, and she decided to instead take a job where she could help people without having to sell herself. Her new job did not require Ashley to draw in new clients by working on commission; instead she can focus on the individual needs and goals of her clients. Ashley is able to put aside the numbers and focus on the individual.

Paul continues his letter to the Galatians with a warning about the flesh. Operating out of the flesh prevents us from doing good works that honor God and instead makes us impure and causes us to sin. The work of the flesh causes us to “fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these” (Galatians 5:19b-21a NRSV). These actions place our lives in bondage to the Devil who continues to try to separate us from the Triune God.

Ashley felt like a slave to selling person training sessions at a big health club. As a result, she wasn’t really free to live out her God-given passion to help people achieve their personal wellness goals. After four years of moving up the corporate chain and learning all she could from a big health club, Ashley had enough of the corporate world and was really for a new challenge. At some point in our lives, we have all been there – the wrong career or place of employment, a bad relationship, or [whatever “it” is] that made you give up your core principles for an exterior motive. Life seems to lose its appeal when we give up our core principles to achieve someone else’s goals.

Fortunately, the fruit of the Spirit works against the flesh by giving us freedom from [whatever “it” is] that binds us to the evil things in world. The fruit of the Spirit creates “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22b-23a NRSV) in the world. The flesh does whatever it can to keep the fruit of the Spirit out of the world. However, God the Father sent Jesus Christ into the world to free us from the bondage of sin. Jesus frees us from the Devil’s grip on us by giving us eternal life.

Yet we are given a choice as to how we use our energy in the world: the work of the flesh or the fruit of the Spirit. Paul warns us that doing the work of the flesh will not allow us to inherit the Kingdom of God (Galatians 5:21b). The work of the flesh takes us away from the Triune God who loves us unconditionally. When we do the work of the flesh, we choose destruction and pain by living apart from the Triune God.

However, when we do the fruit of the Spirit, we live into eternal life with the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We choose to be set free from our sinful selves. By doing the fruit of the Spirit, we are free to serve others and God in love without any self interest. The goal of the Spirit is to ensure no one is homeless, hungry, or naked. The Spirit creates a community to take care of God’s children. By loving our neighbor, we are living according to God’s way of being. Our fruit of the Spirit gives glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

The corporate world of a big health club kept Ashley from what she loved and found most freeing: helping people meet their individual wellness goals. Ashley took a scary step of faith by leaving a big health club and moving to a small town to work at a small rehab clinic. By doing so, Ashley directed her skill set to help people who would not be able afford to work with someone otherwise. Ashley’s passion for others’ wellness is visible by how she dedicates herself to her work.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for giving us the opportunity to do the fruit of the Spirit. Help us to love our neighbor according to your way of living. Keep us from being captives to the flesh, and free us from its grip. Guide us as we go about our day to bring you glory through the fruit of the Spirit. Thank you for setting us free from the flesh. 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 be free?

2. How do you do the fruit of the Spirit?

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost: Faith Frees Us

Readings

1 Kings 19:1-15a

Psalm 42 & 43

Galatians 3:23-29

Luke 8:26-39

Devotion

Peace be with you!

Somewhere hidden in my office is a postcard my mom sent me while she was on a business trip during my first semester of college ten years ago. She talks about the conference, which she is attending to pick out product for her Christian book and gift shop. My mom rambles on about her sister is enjoying people-watching and how hot it is. She ends with a note of how proud she is of me for going to college – something she never did. Of course, going to college was not to supposed to be possible for me according to the doctors who first diagnosed me with Cerebral Palsy. I enjoy randomly finding the beat up postcard when I am looking for something or reorganizing my office. The postcard reminds me of how far I have come and how proud my mom is of me.

Paul continues his letter to the Galatians by discussing how we should live faithfully according to the good news. Jesus reveals how we are supposed to relate to each other and work together to build a solid community of faith. We do not have to worry about making right our relationship with God the Father, because Jesus Christ did it for us when he was crucified, died, and was resurrected. Jesus provides a way for us to know and be loved by God.

The Jewish Christians guard themselves by their laws and by observing their festivals. The law was valuable before Jesus came for it provided discipline for God’s people to live by (Galatians 3:23-24). Now that Jesus has come into the world we are no longer subjects to the law (Galatians 3:25) for he releases us from our bondage to the law. The law ultimately revealed to us our need for a Savior, but we could never match up to its unrelenting demands.

We are justified by faith as God’s children (Galatians 3:24b, 26). Jesus embodies how we are to live our lives as God’s children. Paul writes, “No longer is there Jew or Greek, slave or free, or male or female.” (Galatians 3:28). The divisions of the past no longer have value in the world where Jesus has died for our sins. Jesus radically changes the way individuals enter into a relationship with God the Father. He destroys any roadblock that held people back from knowing the Triune God. Jesus frees us from the law by being crucified on the cross and dying for our sins.

By destroying these divisions, Jesus provides a way for us to live in community with each other. We are no longer divided by our differences. Now we are bound together by our faith in Jesus Christ who allows us to be in a relationship with the God the Father. Our unique personalities and gifts belong to the community to help it grow and prosper. Jesus uses our unique traits to further God’s plan for our community. Divisions are a thing of the past; our unique traits give the community life in the world where it is easier to be divided. The world preys on our past divisions, but Jesus brings us with all of our differences to be the community to share the good news.

Paul’s letter to the Galatians has survived thousands of years. As Christians, it is a letter we go back to to remind ourselves we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ. For the Galatians, the letter tells how to live faithfully in the world, with our unique personalities and gifts. The letter provides a blueprint of life as a Christian.

Letters have a way of putting things in perspective, reminding us of how life is and what we are to do. They also give us something to go back to remind ourselves of a relationship close to our hearts. The letter to the Galatians reminds us to end the divisions among ourselves, to live in community with each other, and to use our unique personalities and gifts to further God’s plan. Paul understood the power of the written word and physically having a letter read and reread. Nothing is more powerful than a letter from a true friend who shares their heart with you.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for Paul’s powerful words to the Galatians encouraging us to work together as a community of believers. Help us to read Paul’s letter to the Galatians with an open heart as we work towards ending the divisions of this world and instead work to further God’s plan. Bring us together as your children and use us for your mission. Thank you for the letter to the Galatians to read and reread. 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. Who has written you an important letter?

2. What divisions exist in today’s world? How does Jesus end these divisions?

3. What challenges do we face as Christians living in community? How can we overcome those challenges?

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost: Faith Saves, Not Ourselves

Readings

1 Kings 21:1-21a

Psalm 5:1-8

Galatians 2:15-21

Luke 7:36-8:3

Devotion

http://www.impawards.com/2012/les_miserables_ver11.html

Peace be with you!

In the musical Les Miserables, Jean Valjean is an ex-convict who stole a piece of bread for his niece. Upon coming out of prison, Valjean is determined to turn away from the harsh life of prison and help those in need no matter the consequences. However, Valjean has also broken parole and is hiding from the police. He has his own factory where he gives women jobs to support their families. Javert is the police inspector who releases Valjean after warning him what will happen if he breaks the law. Javert believes the law comes before anything else in life. When he finds Valjean after several years of thinking he was dead, Javert is determined to bring him back into custody.

Paul is writing Galatians because the Jewish Christians are telling them they have to earn their way into Heaven by doing good works. The Jewish Christians believe that they have to be justified by their works. They have to keep the laws handed down to them by Moses and their ancestors.

However, Paul writes that the Galatians are justified by their faith in Jesus Christ who died for their sins on the cross. There is no way anyone can earn their way into Heaven on their own merit (Galatians 2:16). If we live according to the law, we are dead (Galatians 2:19) because we cannot fulfill the law on our own. We have nothing without Jesus Christ dying on the cross. Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection give us life with the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

If we believe we can be justified by the law, then Jesus died for nothing (Galatians 2:21). This is not the case because we cannot uphold the law on our own. Our sinful nature has been crucified through Jesus and now we can have life and know God the Father.

Paul calls the Galatians to live by faith in Jesus Christ who gave up his life out of love for them (Galatians 2:20). God did not have to send Jesus to die for our sins, but he loves us so deeply he gives us eternal life in him. There is nothing we can do to undo his love for us. By living in faith, we receive the gift of life given to us through Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, death, and resurrection.

In Les Miserables, Valjean and Javert meet in different situations over the years. Somehow Valjean always escapes and goes into hiding until Javert finds him again. At one point Valjean has an opportunity to kill Javert, but he lets him go. Javert realizes Valjean lives by a different moral code than the strict law. Valjean strives to help those who cannot help themselves even if it means breaking a law. This is what Paul is telling the Galatians. It is better to love each other than to judge one another. When we love each other, we are living out our faith in Jesus Christ.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for having Jesus Christ die for our sins so we can have life. Help us to live according your word. Remind us we are nothing without your love and grace. Thank you for life in your son Jesus Christ. 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 people live by the law? Why?

2. How do people live out their faith?

Third Sunday after Pentecost: Good News of Jesus Christ, Not the People

Readings

1 Kings 17:8-24

Psalm 30

Galatians 1:11-24

Luke 7:11-17

Devotion

Peace be with you!

Everyone has his or her critics – people who will never understand what you are doing.  These individuals know the world around them and think it will never change. When you make the change, these individuals freak out and tell you are wrong. How dare you challenge their traditions and ways of life? Paul is answering his critics in his letter to the Galatians.

Paul’s critics have been in Galatia questioning his credentials among the people who are supporting his church and mission. His critics are reminding the Galatians that Paul has persecuted Christians in the past and questioning how they could follow such a person. They do not understand how a man who grew up as a faithful Jew can turn his back on the Jewish traditions and speak about salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Paul now calls Jesus, the very person he used to persecute people for following, his own Savior now. Not only that, but he is now calling others to follow the leader he formerly maligned.

Blasphemy!

The Jewish contemporaries of Paul resist any change to their faith traditions and do not accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Paul’s message of the good news threatens their faith system and questions their way of life. His critics question Paul’s authority to start churches in the name of Jesus and to tell people that they are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. After all, Paul never personally knew Jesus when he was alive. How can someone have faith in an individual whom he has never met?

In his true fashion, Paul answers his critics with the snarky truth. Paul explains that his accreditations come from Jesus Christ through a revelation  he had on the road to Damascus (Galatians 1:11-12). His accreditations do not come from human origin; they come from the Lord God. As we noted last week, Paul is not looking for a  “thataboy” from his contemporaries. Paul has made a lifestyle change; he is living for Jesus Christ – no one else.

Paul does not give in to his critics. Paul confesses his past sins: he persecuted Christians before his revelation and advanced quickly within the Judaism structures (Galatians 1:13-14). He is upfront with the Galatians and hides nothing about his past.

However, Paul is not who he was before his revelation. Now he takes no orders from man; Paul’s orders come from God the Father through Jesus Christ. Through a revelation, Jesus calls Paul to share the good news wherever he goes and with whomever he meets. Paul’s life is transformed by his revelation from Jesus. Paul goes from being a persecutor of Christians to a preacher of the good news. He lives as a called Christian.

Just like Paul, we are made new when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior who over comes death and gives us eternal life – new life to be in a relationship with the Triune God (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are all called to share the good news wherever we go and with whomever we meet. You do not have to be called to preach in order to share the good news. You can be a doctor or a nurse who shares God’s compassion with your patients, a lawyer who shows mercy and grace to your clients, a chef who feeds the hungry, an accountant who protects the poor, an advocate who gives a voice to the silent, a parent who loves your children, a bus driver who cares for your passengers, or [whatever “it” is] you do to share the good news. No matter what you do, you are called to share the good news by living out the Christian faith. Paul uses the skills he learned in the Jewish faith system and as a Roman to spread the good news with the world.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for giving Paul a revelation through Jesus Christ, a revelation which changed his heart towards you. Help us to work past the criticism of others and continue to spread the good news no matter who tries to stand in our way. Remind us that we are all called to share the good news in our daily lives. Guide us to use our resources to feed the hungry, to protect the poor, to give the silent a voice, to heal the sick, and to clothe the naked. Thank you for calling us to be your voice and to act on your behalf in this world. 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 are you called to share the good news?

2. How do non-Christians or even other Christians criticize you? How do you handle the criticism? How does Paul’s example change how you will handle criticism?

Second Sunday after Pentecost: Listen Up, People

Readings

1 Kings 18:20-39

Psalm 96

Galatians 1:1-12

Luke 7:1-10

Devotion

Peace be with you!

Have you ever watched a football coach of a losing team during a game? The coach is always exasperated with his players, frustrated that they are not doing anything he taught them during practice. The players are letting the opposing team break through their weaknesses.

Paul shared the good news with the Galatians, founded a church there, and had shared with them the freedom of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. He left the Galatians believing that Jesus welcomes them into a relationship with God the Father. The Galatians knew they could not earn their way into the Kingdom of God through their good works; they had to believe Jesus Christ died on the cross for the forgiveness of their sins and that faith was their ticket into the Kingdom of God – nothing more and nothing less.

Reports of the activities of the Galatians have been shared with Paul and what he hears does not make him very happy. So Paul writes the Galatians a little letter. Paul is frustrated with the Galatians, because they falling preytrap to Jewish Christians false teachers who have announced they need to be circumcised and do good works in order to earn their way into the Kingdom of God. Paul is jumping up and down saying, “NO! You cannot earn your way into the Kingdom of God on your own accord. Jesus Christ came into the world, walked with us, died on the cross, and ascended into heaven, so we may come into a relationship with God the Father and enter the Kingdom of God.” Over the next six weeks, we will see Paul direct the Galatians (and us) away from earthly solutions and point them and us towards God’s grace, love, and forgiveness.

Paul is not looking for a pat on the back or a “good job, bro.” Paul is not looking for approval from his call committee or synod to begin ministries in the world. Jesus Christ commissioned Paul through a vision on the road to Damascus (Galatians 1:12). If he wanted approval from his earthly counterparts, Paul would have stayed doing his job for the Roman Empire (Galatians 1:10). But that would have been the easy way out. Paul chose the path to salvation, the road less travelled.

Life would be easier if it came with a checklist. For the Galatians, the false teachers were giving them a checklist to complete in order to enter the Kingdom of God: circumcise all males, follow the Ten Commandments, and observe the Jewish festivals. However, Paul will argue this checklist only gains you earthly approval – not God’s approval. Maybe in Old Testament times this checklist was important, but Jesus Christ changed all of that. Both we and the Galatians are living in a new age where faith in Jesus Christ gives us passage into the Kingdom of God.

Remember taking algebra in high school and having the teacher make you do problems the long way before showing you the easy and shorter way? Why didn’t he just show you the shorter way to begin with?

Well, Paul has given the Galatians the easy way into the Kingdom of God: admit you are sinner who needs forgiveness and believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior. But it seems too easy for the Galatians and for us. We want to earn our own way into heaven. Paul jumps up and down and says, “No, listen up people, you cannot earn your own way into heaven; you need Jesus Christ who came into the world, walked with us, died on the cross, and ascended into heaven to offer us God’s love, grace, and forgiveness, so we may come into a relationship with God the Father and enter the Kingdom of God.” Paul is begging the Galatians not to get wrapped in some unnecessary checklist to meet the requirements to enter heaven. All you need is faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for giving Paul the vision to spread the good news across the Roman Empire. Help us to resist the temptation to complete checklists to try to earn our way into heaven. Direct us instead to have faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior. Remind us that you sent Jesus into the world to die for our sins and to give us eternal life. Thank you for Paul’s commitment to the good news. 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 vision has Jesus given you?

2. How do you attempt earn approval from the world? From the Triune God?