Category Archives: devotion

Christian, devotion, Matthew, Presbyterian Church (USA), Uncategorized, United Church of Christ (UCC)

Glimpses of Grace Daily Devotion for July 9, 2017

Devotional Reading from the Daily Common Lectionary: Matthew 22: 1-14

Text: Then (the king in the parable) said (to his servants): “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthing. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you see to the wedding feast.” (vss. 8&10)

Bypass surgery. Those two words strike fear in many a heart–no pun intended. When there is a blockage of one of the arteries to the heart, it is first treated with medicine. But when an emergency arises in the form of a heart attack drastic measures are taken. The chest is split open, a vein is taken from an arm or a leg and reattached to the main artery “bypassing” the blockage. When it goes well–as it more often than not does–health is restored but lifestyle changes are in order.

In today’s reading, a parable, a king sends out invitations to a wedding feast for his child. It was not a general invitation but a very specific one to particular individuals. But they were so preoccupied with themselves that they declined the invitation. So, the king “bypassed” them and invited others to take their place.

I believe that God also practices bypass surgery. When God calls an individual or a church to a particular task God believes that they are well suited for the task. They need to accept the invitation. If they refuse, their place in God’s Purpose will not go empty for God’s Will will be done. Another is simply invited in their place.

I do not pretend to know what the ultimate consequences are for individuals who do not respond to God’s call–God’s nudge, but I do know of many churches that ceased to exist because rather than “serving” they became “self-serving”. As a consequence, they disconnect themselves from “the vine” of Christ, withered and died.

Here’s a question to consider; what is God calling you or your congregation to do? Are you listening? Are you responding? I hope so, if for no one sake but your own.

Lord, I await your invitation. Tell me what to do, show me how to do it and give me the courage to do Your work. Amen.

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Christian, devotion, Luke, Gospel of, Presbyterian Church (USA), Uncategorized, United Church of Christ (UCC)

Glimpses of Grace Daily Devotion for July 7, 2017

Devotional Reading: Acts 9: 1-9

Text: Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heave heaven flashed around him. (v. 3)

The Scots say that there are “thin places” in this world; places where heaven and earth touch. I believe that there are such places. Often they have been sanctified by generations of prayer.

I also believe that there are mystical experiences; times when we are touched by the Eternal in a very special and inexplicable way. I have had two. I seldom share them because they are simply too holy. But Kweisi Mfume, previously known as Frizzell Gerald Gray, wrote of his mystical experience in his autobiography No Free Ride. In the briefest of moments, out of the clear blue, his life was forever changed. His name change symbolized  a new beginning, a new life. I shared his story with a group of teens in a residential treatment center. It gave them pause and a new vocabulary.

Today’s reading is about Saul’s mystical experience. Over the years I have learned four things about such experiences. They come when you least expect it. They cannot be wished for or manufactured. They change your life for the better. Finally, they can only be validated within a community of faith.

In following Jesus there is no such thing as a Lone Ranger.  God created in plurality. Jesus called individuals into a community. We find ourselves, our true selves, only when we are in communion with others. We cannot go it alone. Nor were we ever meant to.

Lord, guide me to the community in which I can be my true self; the community that will challenge me and help me grow, that will challenge me to use my talents to glorify You. Amen.

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Christian, devotion, Presbyterian Church (USA), Uncategorized, United Church of Christ (UCC)

Glimpses of Grace Daily Devotion for July 6, 2017

Devotional Reading from the Common Daily Lectionary: I Samuel 13: 5-18

Text: but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people began to slip away from Saul. So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the offerings of well-being.” And he offered the burnt offering. (vss 8b-9)

One of my biggest spiritual struggles is with Patience. I have to constantly remind myself to be patient. I don’t know if I’m worried that I will miss out on something or what the deal is, but I am pretty impatient.

Saul lost his kingship because of impatience. The prophet Samuel told Saul to wait for him to present an offering to the LORD before going into battle. Samuel did not show up when Saul expected, and Saul saw that his army was “slipping away” from him. He had to do something, soooo he presented the offering. Big mistake.

In his “spiritual” autobiography A Way Out of No Way Andrew Young wrote about a lesson in learning Patience. At first he thought that spending time singing hymns, praying and witnessing was wasting time. They gathered to march in an effort to desegregate. But then he discovered that gathering to worship was not a waste of time but a time of spiritual preparation.

Wait for the LORD, the Psalmist wrote. (Psalm 27:14) Wait in Jerusalem until you are clothed from on High, Jesus instructed His disciples.

Some things just cannot be rushed. God may not “come” when we expect but God is never late. God is always on time because all Time is God’s time.

Lord God, teach me the discipline of Patience. Help me to listen as well as speak, wait as well as act so that I may glorify You in all things.

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Christian, devotion, Presbyterian Church (USA), Uncategorized, United Church of Christ (UCC)

Glimpses of Grace Daily Devotion for July 5, 2017

Devotional Text: Luke 23: 1-12

Text:  And when (Pilate) learned that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was in fact in Jerusalem at that time. (v. 7)

Passing the buck. Not taking responsibility. Letting someone else do it. All far too common occurrences today.  In another gospel Pilate ceremonially washes his hands when he’s afraid to do what he believes to be right. He was afraid of the crowd, of being unpopular. (Matthew 27:24)

Buck passing is as old as Eden. When God asked Adam if he ate of the forbidden fruit, Adam answered by passing the buck to Eve saying, “The woman YOU gave me, made me do it.” In other words, it was God’s fault! Eve, in turn, blamed the serpent. And so it went and goes today.

In what we refer to as The Sermon on the Mount Jesus said “let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no’.” (Matthew 5:37) Take responsibility. Admit when you are wrong. Confess your sin because by not doing any of these things we are simply fooling ourselves, “and the truth is not in us.” (I John 1:8)

When we live into our call, though, we become truer reflections of the image of God.

Lord God, give me the courage to take responsibility and not make excuses. When I am tempted to “fudge” the truth or “pass the buck”, remind me of Jesus’ example and teachings. Amen. 

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Christian, devotion, faith, Humble Humility, Presbyterian Church (USA), Psalms, Uncategorized, United Church of Christ (UCC)

Glimpses of Grace Daily Devotion for July 4, 2017

Devotional Reading from the Daily Common Lectionary: Psalm 46

Text: Put not your trust in princes, in whom there is no help. When they die and return to earth, their dreams die with them. (vvs. 3&4)

An international company in the city where I grew up started to build a new factory but a year or two into the project the global economy changed. Construction halted and only a steel skeleton stood against the sky, a silent witness to a plan that never came to life.

This text has been one of my guiding principles in life. It applies to me and to others. It keeps me humble and helps me avoid putting too much hope in any one individual or having too much confidence in myself. It has reminded me that I do not truly own anything in this life. No one or thing is truly “mine”. It reminds me that there is only one Savior, and it isn’t you or me. These are good things for us to keep in mind.

On this national holiday as we commemorate the “birth” of a nation, we can celebrate and, at times mourn, our collective history, but we must also remember that it is “in God we trust.”

Lord, thank you for all that You have given to us. Make us responsible trustees of this portion of Your estate during our short time in this world. Show us how to pass on to those who follow us a better world than the one we inherited. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

reminds me who God is and who I am.

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Christian, devotion, faith, Luke, Gospel of, Peter, Presbyterian Church (USA), Uncategorized, United Church of Christ (UCC)

Glimpses of Grace Daily Devotion for July 3, 2017

Devotional Reading: Luke 22: 52-62

Text: …but Peter was following at a distance. (vs. 54b)

I once read that the problem with many Christians is that they have been inoculated with the faith; they have been exposed to Christianity just enough not to catch a full-blown case. I refer to these people as “cultural Christians”. In either case, we follow Jesus up to a point; up to the point of finding Jesus hard.

In that way we are a lot like Peter, following Jesus from a distance. When getting too close to Jesus is uncomfortable, we back away. We keep silent in the face of jokes that denigrate others, let alone abuse them. We look the other way and pretend that we do not see the injustice in our midst.  We hope that someone else will do something because we are afraid to do anything. We use prayer as a shield against involvement. In a thousand and one different ways, like Peter, we deny Jesus.

The story of Peter does not end with his following at a distance. Jesus knew that Peter’s faith was weak or less than mature, to be kind. He came to Peter again after the Resurrection. He continues to come to us again and again, always calling, always encouraging and always prodding through the circumstances of our lives to become stronger disciples.

Lord, do not give up on me even when I give up on You. Let me hear Your Voice continually in my faith journey until at the very end I hear your whisper saying “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Amen.

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Christian, devotion, faith, James, Matthew, Presbyterian Church (USA), Uncategorized, United Church of Christ (UCC)

Glimpses of Grace Daily Devotion for July 2, 2017

Devotional Reading: Matthew 21: 23-32

Text: “Which of the two sons did the will of his father?” (v. 31)

What drives your crazier; a person who says that they will do something but never gets around to doing it OR, someone who says that they won’t do something but does it anyway?

Years ago I read a short essay that said the neighborhood bar is often more “Christian” than the neighborhood church. Go into any neighborhood bar and you will probably see somewhere a can for donations that will go to someone in need. Go to most neighborhood churches and will you find that before any special offering can be taken it first has to go through a committee or two and a board.  The neighborhood bar just wants to know if anyone knows the person needing assistance but the church wants to do a background check to make sure that the person is worthy.

Jesus’ in today’s reading is to those who questioned His authority to do the things that He did. He replied with a common situation. A father asks his two sons to do something. One son says he will but never gets around to it and other son says that he won’t but actually does what the father asked.  Which one did the will of the father?

To say that we are a follower of Jesus or to say that we will take Jesus seriously but not to use His teachings as our North Star is to be like the first brother. The neighborhood bar makes no pretense of following Jesus. The church, though, sings about Jesus and hears talks about how Jesus wants us to live but often there is little evidence that anything ever comes of it.

Taking Jesus seriously means, taking Jesus seriously. In the New Testament Letter of James the writer said that faith without works is dead. In other words, don’t tell me what you believe; show me what you believe. Your actions speak louder than all of your words.

Lord, show me Your will but more importantly move me to do it for I am weak. Let me be a light of Your Love revealed in Jesus in this world that has way too much darkness in it. Amen.

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Christian, devotion, faith, Luke, Gospel of, Prayer, Presbyterian Church (USA), Uncategorized, United Church of Christ (UCC)

Glimpses of Grace for July 1, 2017

Devotional Reading from the Daily Common Lectionary: Luke 22: 39-51

Test; Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from ye; yet not my will but yours be done. (vs. 42, bold is writer’s emphasis)

Many of you are familiar with the ACTS prayer: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. In teaching new people to take Jesus seriously I add an additional S; Submission. Submission is the most difficult part of the prayer.

It is relatively easy to offer petitions of Adoration to God, especially when we consider the blessings, both great and small, that we have received in a given day or in our lifetime. Confession is a bit harder because, especially in our culture today, we do not like to admit that we did something wrong. We see confession of guilt or error as a sign of weakness. But, if we remember Paul’s insight into the human condition, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Confession becomes a bit easier. Thanksgiving, like Adoration is easy if we just take the time to count our blessings, as the old hymn says, “one by one.” And we are experts at Supplication. We’ve been doing it from childhood and became embolden upon Santa’s knee when he asked, “What do you want for Christmas?” Yes, we are experts at these four petitions.

But Submission, well that is another story. This is the hardest petition because we are asking God to do His will even at our expense. And yet, Submission is at the very heart of Jesus’ prayer in the Garden before His crucifixion.“If it be possible,” He prayed, “let this cup pass from my lips; but not My will but Thy will be done.” 

Can you trust in the Goodness of God even if you do not get what you pray for? Can you trust in God’s Grace even if your dreams, plans and desires go unfulfilled? This is the true test of discipleship, of taking Jesus seriously? It is to pray at Jesus prayed, “not My will but Thy will be done.”

I do not know if your can or can not but I do know this, I continue to struggle. And in the struggle, I’m getting a little better.

Lord, despite all of my wishes and prayers, not my will buy Thy will be done. Amen.

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Glimpses of Grace Daily Devotion for June 30, 2017

Devotional Reading from the Daily Common Lectionary: Psalm 130 (a morning psalm)

Text: My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning.

The movie “Groundhog Day” is about a self-centered reporter who wakes up to the same day over and over and over again until he “gets it right”; until he becomes a truly “nice guy”. Of course he was helped along in this “spiritual” journey by falling in love with a beautiful woman. At some point in the movie, though, he looked forward to the day being over so that he could “start again”.

Sometimes you just can’t wait for a day to be over. Things did not go well, or at least as you had planned and hoped. You watch the clock because all you really want to do is wait until bedtime so that you can put this day in the proverbial “history books”.

I’m not sure what was going on in the psalmist mind when the 130th Psalm was written but the writer began with words of thanksgiving for God willingness to hear our prayers. This is followed by a sense of gratitude for God’s continuing forgiveness of our “iniquities”. The Psalmist closed by reminding himself, and the reader, of God’s hope which is new every morning.

Maybe that is why this was selected as a morning Psalm. Yesterday is a memory from which we can learn. Tomorrow is a hope to lead us forward. But Today is the only thing that is “real”. Make the most of it.

Lord, thank you for Your forgiveness and for loving me enough to listen to my thoughts and prayers. Lead me through this day and when it draws to a close, let me one again confess my iniquities and take comfort in the fact that You watch over me all through the night. Amen.

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Glimpses of Grace Daily Devotion for June 29, 2017

Devotional Reading from the Daily Common Lectionary: I Samuel 8: 1-22

Text: But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, “No! We are determined to have a king over us, so that we may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.” (vs. 19-20)

Be careful what you wish for…you may just get it…in spades!

The people wanted a change. They told the prophet Samuel that he was getting too old and that his sons were corrupt. Well, he knew that latter and resented the former.

The people wanted a king who would fight their battles. They wanted to be like everyone else. Where else have we heard the lament; “Everyone else is doing it!” Ah, yes, from our own mouths and the lips of our children.

God told Samuel not to take it personally. The people were not rejecting him but God. Samuel warned Israel that they did not know what they were asking for. He explained what having a king meant in the starkest of terms but it didn’t make any difference. So God gave them a king, and things went from bad to worse.

Life lessons: It’s not always about leadership; sometimes it’s about followership. Some things can only be learned through experience. No one else can fight your battles. Trusting God’s Providential is hard. Trusting the God knows best is even harder. Be careful that in the pursuit of success that we do not lose our soul…or our heart in the process.

Lord, give me a heart of wisdom and understanding today. Let me not seek easy answers or dangerous shortcuts that cut me off from experiencing Your gracious mercy. Amen.

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