Christian daily devotionals

Let All

Posted on by Betsy

I listened to a friend lament recently about her teenage years and how she felt completely excluded from her high school’s social life. Let’s face it; kids at that age can be viciously mean. It can be a dog-eat-dog world for four years, and we feel lucky to survive it through graduation. I suspect even the popular kids feel the tension and pressure of constant scrutiny and criticism. I’m pretty sure that the “mean girls” learned it from somewhere.

And of course, there are mean teens who remain mean through their adult years. We live in a society that elevates bullying. If you think I’m wrong consider the popularity of the “Real Housewife” franchise. Exclusion of one cast member is the goal of every episode. We are living in a world where put-downs and bullying are experienced from the top tiers of government to the kindergarten playground. What can we do? Surely this is not God’s plan.

The lectionary this week seems to be focused on the inclusive nature of the kingdom of God. From the psalm we will read today to the birth of the church in Acts to the later writings of John, the emphasis is on the church of “Jesus the Open Gate.” See if you can spot all the inclusive words and phrases in Psalm 22:

Psalm 22 (Common English Bible)

I offer praise in the great congregation
    because of you;
    I will fulfill my promises
    in the presence of those who honor God.
26 Let all those who are suffering eat and be full!
    Let all who seek the Lord praise him!
        I pray your hearts live forever!
27 Every part of the earth
    will remember and come back to the Lord;
    every family among all the nations will worship you.

Here is my count so far: “Let all” is mentioned twice; “Every part” and “Every family among ALL nations” follows.

28 Because the right to rule belongs to the Lord,
    he rules all nations.
29 Indeed, all the earth’s powerful
    will worship him;
    all who are descending to the dust
    will kneel before him;
    my being also lives for him.
30 Future descendants will serve him;
    generations to come will be told about my Lord.
31 They will proclaim God’s righteousness
        to those not yet born,
        telling them what God has done.

In this section, the psalmist talked about ALL nations, ALL the earth, ALL who are descending to the dust (some of us faster than others …), future descendants, generations, and even mentions those not yet born. That pretty much covers everyone! God’s kingdom will not be like high school, thank the Lord. All will be welcome to enter … even real housewives.

Wouldn’t it be lovely if we started living God’s kingdom here on earth today? I think the choice is completely up to us.

Kingdom Rise by Michelle Robertson

You Made it Disappear

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever lain awake at night with your mind spinning over an insult or rejection? I sure have. I wish I was as strong as I apparently look when it comes to taking hits from people who are displeased with me. If you are a people pleaser, you know what I’m talking about. It is hard to come to the reality that someone simply doesn’t like you if you are that type of person. People pleasers suffer from any kind of rejection and the pain of a direct assault can last for months. Truth be told, part of the problem is that we keep poking at the injury like a sore spot in your mouth that you just can’t stop touching with your tongue. If you are also a people pleaser, my prayers go out to you! Sometimes I just wish I didn’t care so much.

The flip side of this personality type is that because we do care, we often feel and respond to other people’s pain in an effort to mitigate their suffering. I bet if you put people pleasers in a room, you would find that they volunteer in care ministries in their churches, donate to the food pantry, go on mission trips, and extend Christ ‘s compassion to hurting people in the world. So here’s a thought, people pleasers: When you’re sleepless over an injury get up and do something good for someone. That will mitigate your own pain, too.

Our Scripture today talks about practicing real love. It succinctly makes a connection between Christ’s sacrifice for us and how we are called to live sacrificially for others. In our Message translation, Eugene Peterson contends that when we see a need and do nothing, God’s love disappears, and we are the ones who made it disappear.

1 John 3:16-24

16-17 This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.

This should be something we practice daily in everything we do. When you post negative things about someone on social media, you are making God’s love disappear. When you speak out with anger when you could have held your tongue, you make God’s love disappear. When a disagreement causes you to leave a relationship and you burn the house down on your way out, you make God’s love disappear.

When We Practice Real Love

18-20 My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.

When people pleasers like me get attacked, it’s not just the initial injury that keeps us awake. It is our incessant need to review the situation over and over and over again, criticizing our own actions and condemning our behavior. Our worried hearts get stuck on replay, and even when we try to repair the relationship, we fail to shut down the internal turmoil that the bad encounter has brought. It is hard for us to accept that there are some people and situations where resolution isn’t possible, and truthfully, the other party doesn’t care. They have moved on to criticize someone else while we allow them to live rent free in our heads.

That’s when it’s time to let go and give it over to God. God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.

21-24 And friends, once that’s taken care of and we’re no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we’re bold and free before God! We’re able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we’re doing what he said, doing what pleases him. Again, this is God’s command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command. As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us.

This last section is the real goal for everyone, people pleasers or not. God invites us to please him, not others. He invites us to love one another, keep his commands, live deeply and surely in him, and experience his abiding is us through the Sprit that he gave on. So if you are still feeling the sting of someone’s negativity, let it go.

God has set you free.

Bold and Set Free by Michelle Robertson

How Can I, Without Some Help?

Posted on by Betsy

Name something that is easier to do with help. My mind goes to things like setting up tables and chairs, wallpapering a room, opening a pickle jar, or washing the car. Our grandmothers used to say that “many hands make light work,” and it is true. Not only can you work faster and more efficiently with help, but you will also probably enjoy having company for the task. Well, except for wallpapering. There is no way for two people to enjoy wallpapering.

Then there is another kind of help which is essential because you are completely incapable of doing the thing yourself. I am grateful for lawyers, financial advisors, and car repairmen for the work they have done for me in areas where I am completely unequipped. Not to mention wallpaper hangers.

In our lectionary passage today, we see a beautiful example of help coming along at just the right time. Take note of Philip’s approach to a stranger as he obediently listens to the leading of the Holy Spirit:

Acts 8 (Common English Bible)

26-28 Later God’s angel spoke to Philip: “At noon today I want you to walk over to that desolate road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza.” He got up and went. He met an Ethiopian eunuch coming down the road. The eunuch had been on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was returning to Ethiopia, where he was minister in charge of all the finances of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He was riding in a chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah.

29-30 The Spirit told Philip, “Climb into the chariot.” Running up alongside, Philip heard the eunuch reading Isaiah and asked, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”

The image of Philip happily running alongside the chariot of a very important diplomat is a charming picture to me. I love the innocence of that moment. It’s somewhat akin to a new puppy running out the front door to greet you when you come home from work.

31-33 He answered, “How can I without some help?” and invited Philip into the chariot with him.

Here is the message for us today. How can the unknowing people around us understand the impact of the gift of salvation if nobody happily comes alongside of them to explain it? How can new believers understand if nobody explains things?

The passage he was reading was this:

As a sheep led to slaughter,
    and quiet as a lamb being sheared,
He was silent, saying nothing.
    He was mocked and put down, never got a fair trial.
But who now can count his kin
    since he’s been taken from the earth?

34-35 The eunuch said, “Tell me, who is the prophet talking about: himself or some other?” Philip grabbed his chance. Using this passage as his text, he preached Jesus to him.

How many times do you think you’ve had that same chance to preach Jesus to someone but missed it? Sometimes we are tired, distracted, or too busy to realize someone needs help understanding and we miss being Philip to someone.

And then it gets better:

36-39 As they continued down the road, they came to a stream of water. The eunuch said, “Here’s water. Why can’t I be baptized?” He ordered the chariot to stop. They both went down to the water, and Philip baptized him on the spot. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of God suddenly took Philip off, and that was the last the eunuch saw of him. But he didn’t mind. He had what he’d come for and went on down the road as happy as he could be.

The offer of help, the preaching moment it provided, and the companionship they established resulted in Philip baptizing the man on the spot. And after Philip was taken away, the man went down the road “as happy as he could be”.

Listen, here’s the thing. There is a child in your neighborhood who doesn’t understand. There is a teenager in your church who needs your help to sort things out. There are people in the homeless shelters and the addiction centers who would benefit from your companionship. Everyone, at some point, just needs a helper to come alongside and offer their assistance. You might even know someone who needs some wallpapering done. Are you willing?

Be a Philip to someone today.

Isaiah’s Fountain by Kathy Schumacher

When all Hallel Breaks Loose

Posted on by Betsy

Last evening our dear friends returned to their home next door, and we spent several minutes hugging and talking in our adjoining backyards. We caught up on happy and sad news and made plans to do things together while they are here. In the midst of that joy, my husband suddenly looked past me with a startled look on his face. I followed his gaze and was shocked to see that an entire section of railing and glass slats had fallen from our bedroom balcony onto the middle deck. It was laying across chairs. My heart skipped a beat, remembering that I had let our dog out on that balcony only hours earlier. I had watched her from the bedroom as I put laundry away but could not see the missing panel from that vantage point. I am so glad she plopped down for a rest in her normal sunny spot in the middle and did not try to explore the new opening! We have no idea when it fell and never heard anything. Luckily nobody was sitting in the chairs when it did. Even more surprising is that none of the glass slats broke on impact. Praise the Lord for that!

It is good to praise God in good times and bad. In times of sudden disaster, praising God might not be the first thing that comes to mind, but it is a healthy habit to get into. Praising God in the storms reminds us that God is in the storm with us, and that is something for which to be thankful.

Psalm 113 (Common English Bible)
Praise the Lord!
    You who serve the Lord—praise!
    Praise the Lord’s name!
2 Let the Lord’s name be blessed
    from now until forever from now!
3 From sunrise to sunset,
    let the Lord’s name be praised!
4 The Lord is high over all the nations;
    God’s glory is higher than the skies!

5 Who could possibly compare to the Lord our God?
    God rules from on high;
6     he has to come down to even see heaven and earth!
7 God lifts up the poor from the dirt
    and raises up the needy from the garbage pile
8         to seat them with leaders—
        with the leaders of his own people!
9     God nests the once barren woman at home—
        now a joyful mother with children!

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 113 is the first of the “Egyptian Hallel” psalms. These were so named for their references to God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt during the exodus, and the people’s response of praise (as in “Hallel-uyah”, meaning praise the Lord). Indeed, the word “praise” occurs three times in the first verse. This collection of psalms includes Psalm 113 through 118 and is used by Jews at all major festivals, but especially at the beginning and the conclusion of the Passover. For Christians, Psalm 113 is used for the celebration of Easter. Mark 14:26 tells us that Jesus and his disciples went to the Mount of Olives after “singing songs of praise” at the Last Supper, since it was a traditional Passover meal. It is very likely that Psalm 113 was one of those songs.

Our despair over the inequities of earthly life are answered beautifully with the promise of salvation in the verses 7 and 8: “God lifts up the poor from the dirt and raises up the needy from the garbage pile to seat them with the leaders”. We can almost feel the anticipation of Christ’s Second Coming, when he will return and level out every top-heavy system humanity has created. On days when we despair over what is happening (and not happening) in our own government, we can remember to praise God, even when it seems that all “Hallel” is breaking out. God is still in control, praise be! The promise of redemption is offered to all of God’s people … and that is reason to praise, indeed!

So, take heart. God is with us in every moment. Thanks be to God.

Yikes!

Rejected

Posted on by Betsy

Nothing hurts like rejection. Whether it happens on the playground, the boardroom, the marriage bed, or the church, rejection is a bitter pill to swallow. Even those who understand that God is always working for the good of those who love him suffer when a relationship is severed and someone they love turns their face and walks away. Part of the deepest pain I have felt over my church’s schism is the feeling of rejection by those who left my church. Family estrangements are always filled with hurt, confusion, and a feeling of “just not being good enough” for the one who departed.

When we are in those phases of waning relationships, we can find comfort in remembering that even our Lord felt the pangs of rejection, albeit on a much larger scale. He spent his entire life loving and caring for people and suffered a horrible rejection for it. Peter describes him as a cornerstone, and it is an apt description. A cornerstone is a large stone placed at the intersection of two masonry walls that form the foundation of a building. As such, it has come to mean something vitally important to a group or an idea, without which the system would fail.

Peter’s cornerstone reference comes from Psalm 118:22, a passage that these Jewish religious leaders would certainly have recognized:

The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;
    let us rejoice today and be glad.

Does your church building have a cornerstone? It probably has a date engraved on it that indicates the year of construction. That engraving celebrates not only the year, but the people in the congregation at that time who were vitally essential in the church’s construction. We talk about things being the “cornerstone” of democracy, the “cornerstone” of our budget, and the “cornerstone” of our faith. Are you a cornerstone? It can be challenging to hold up heavy walls. Jesus knew this.

Acts 4 (Common English Bible)

5 The next day the leaders, elders, and legal experts gathered in Jerusalem,6 along with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others from the high priest’s family. 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and asked, “By what power or in what name did you do this?”

8 Then Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, answered, “Leaders of the people and elders, 9 are we being examined today because something good was done for a sick person, a good deed that healed him? 10 If so, then you and all the people of Israel need to know that this man stands healthy before you because of the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. 11 This Jesus is the stone you builders rejected; he has become the cornerstone! 12 Salvation can be found in no one else. Throughout the whole world, no other name has been given among humans through which we must be saved.”

I have to wonder what was going on in the minds of Annas the high priest and Caiaphas. These men, who were so instrumental in Jesus’ crucifixion, are now first-hand witnesses to the power of the risen Lord. We have all been in situations where new information comes to light and we have to second guess our original assessment of an event, but can you imagine how they felt when they saw with their own eyes that you just can’t kill the Son of God?? You just can’t kill the power of the Holy Spirit! You just can’t kill a movement of disciples and followers who are about to take on the ministry that Jesus started and go to the ends of the known world proclaiming his good news.

Perhaps it is good for us today to acknowledge that Jesus’ rejection was necessary for the healing of the world. As I look back on times when I have suffered a rejection, I can find some good there. Rejections forced me to move on, to be more realistic in my expectations, and to seek out more stable and healthy relationships. If you are struggling today with feelings of being rejected, take heart. Jesus will indeed work it out someday for your own good, too.

Bloom Where You’re Planted by Kathy Schumacher

Parental Anxiety

Posted on by Betsy

I have a question for the parents today. Do you ever reach a point with your kids where you stop worrying about them? Watching the young parents in my church as they watch over their children reminds me of all the sleepless nights during my own childrearing days when the pressure and anxiety I felt over their safety and well-being was overwhelming at times. Being married to a pilot who flew international trips meant that I was sole-parenting for about half the month, and the responsibility for their care fell squarely on me. Thank God for our church, which walked beside me in my soul-parenting efforts in those days and carried the burden of care with me through pre-school, children, and youth programs. There were other adults who loved and nurtured my kids at church, and I felt the momentary relief that came from trusting them over to the watchful hearts of church members. My youngest daughter is now a member of that same church, and last Sunday morning we gave over the care of my three grandchildren to Tim, Beth, and Gigi, three of the extraordinary human beings who loved on my two kids when they were growing up and continue to love on the next generation in the name and for the sake of Jesus. What a tremendous blessing children’s ministry volunteers are!

When my daughters got married, I was grateful that there would now be someone in their lives taking care of them. I felt relief that there were two lovely husbands who would now shoulder the responsibility for their well-being. I especially felt relieved that they would be right there for my daughters when I couldn’t be. But I still worry. All the time. Do you ever let go of that?

 Today I want to dive into Paul’s letter to his church in Thessalonica, where we can feel his parental anxiety coming through the pages. The new church was dealing with problems and persecutions for their faith, and Paul just wanted to run to their side. But like that Mom who can’t turn the car around and sit in her son’s dorm room for a semester, Paul can’t discontinue his own work to come back to check on them. So he sends his trusted friend Timothy to render assistance and encouragement.

1 Thessalonians 3 (Common English Bible)
1So when we couldn’t stand it any longer, we thought it was a good idea to stay on in Athens by ourselves, 2 and we sent you Timothy, who is our brother and God’s coworker in the good news about Christ. We sent him to strengthen and encourage you in your faithfulness. 3 We didn’t want any of you to be shaken by these problems. You know very well that we were meant to go through this. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we kept on predicting that we were going to face problems exactly like what happened, as you know. 5 That’s why I sent Timothy to find out about your faithfulness when I couldn’t stand it anymore.

 I love how Paul repeated himself when he said, “I couldn’t stand it (i.e. being away from them) anymore.” Have you ever felt that way when you were worried over a child? Have you ever wanted to get in the car and go and peek in their window just to assure yourself that they are alright? Have you ever called or texted too much, just to put your anxiety at ease? I have.

You know, there is an antidote to this kind of worry: it’s called prayer.

When the weight of parenting gets too heavy, it is good to let it press you straight down to your knees. By turning our loved ones over to God’s care, we know we have reached out to One who loves them even more that we do and has the power to protect, guide, and save them in ways that we never could. Paul tells his church that he had been praying “night and day” (verse 10), a good reminder to take our anxiety to God daily in prayer and leave it there. 

And maybe you could be a Beth, Tim, or Gigi to a child in your church or neighborhood. If you ask any of them why they have volunteered in children’s ministry for so long, they will recount countless blessings they have received from their work. Are you being called to be blessed to be a blessing so that young parents in your church can have a moment of respite? There is no more vital work to be done than that, I promise you.

Today’s Scripture is an opportunity to take a moment to practice waiting on God. Can you replace your anxiety as you wait for God to resolve something this week by simply praying about it, night and day? Give it a try. God is able!

Waiting on God by Michelle Robertson

People Get Ready

Posted on by Betsy

The recent solar eclipse raised a lot of interest in the apocalypse. Some folks thought that it might usher in the Second Coming, as Scripture talks about the world going dark just before Christ returns. As you can see by the fact that we’re all still here, that didn’t happen. My running partner and I were speculating about what might happen if it had. We decided that being ushered into the heavenly realm would certainly mean that we would be eternally located in our happy place, which for us involved being the caretakers of all the dogs who have gone to heaven before us. The idea of running a Celestial Doggy Day care was very appealing to us. People could drop their dogs off with us on their way to their choir practice and harp lessons. Doesn’t that sound heavenly??

In the fourth chapter of 1 Thessalonians, Paul addresses the Second Coming head on:

13 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about people who have died so that you won’t mourn like others who don’t have any hope. 14 Since we believe that Jesus died and rose, so we also believe that God will bring with him those who have died in Jesus. 15 What we are saying is a message from the Lord: we who are alive and still around at the Lord’s coming definitely won’t go ahead of those who have died. 

16 This is because the Lord himself will come down from heaven with the signal of a shout by the head angel and a blast on God’s trumpet. First, those who are dead in Christ will rise.17 Then, we who are living and still around will be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet with the Lord in the air. That way we will always be with the Lord. 18 So encourage each other with these words.

Paul paints images of signals, shouts, head angels making proclamations, and trumpet blasts, which raise goosebumps on our arms and causes feathered hope to rise in our hearts. Not to be confused with Scriptures on the “rapture,” this passage falls in line with our expectations from the book of Matthew which describes it this way:

“Then the sign of the Human One will appear in the sky. At that time all the tribes of the earth will be full of sadness, and they will see the Human One coming in the heavenly clouds with power and great splendor. 31 He will send his angels with the sound of a great trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from the four corners of the earth, from one end of the sky to the other” (Matthew 24:30-31).

Paul clarifies that the Lord will come down at the sound of the trumpet and those who are dead will rise, joining those who are still living. This last bit of encouragement about the Second Coming was precious to the church, and it is precious to us as well.

Christ’s triumphal return is reminiscent of the royal processionals of earth’s great kings. Even in our lifetime, we experienced the pageantry and pomp of King Charles III of Britain when he took the throne in 2023. You may remember the tens of thousands of people who lined the street to welcome their new king that day as he was driven by eight white horses in a centuries old Gold State Coach surrounded by over 4,000 members of the Royal Navy, Royal Army, Royal Marines, the Tri Service Guard of Honor, and the Royal British Legion. It was spectacular and as some would say, “fit for a king.” How will we welcome our King when his time comes to return? Will it be a big and noisy spectacle of crowds cheering and trumpets blasting, or will we groan in sorrow because we aren’t ready? 

 Paul envisions Jesus coming from heaven to earth on a kind of celestial highway that will lead him straight to the graveyards in order to resurrect the dead. This offers a word of hope that when we die in Jesus we will arise in Jesus and never be separated from him. Matthew 25 explains what will happen next: 

Matthew 25:31-33 (Common English Bible)

Now when the Human One comes in his majesty and all his angels are with him, he will sit on his majestic throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in front of him. He will separate them from each other, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right side. But the goats he will put on his left” (Matthew 25:31-33).

Understanding that the judging of the nations is coming should serve as a wake-up call to us today. Where will you stand at the end? If Jesus were to return tomorrow, would the church be ready? Are you living your life everyday with the expectation that Jesus’ return could happen at any moment?

People get ready! Jesus is comin’.

Celestial Highway by Michelle Robertson

Witness Walk

Posted on by Betsy

A friend of mine broke her wrist after falling in a parking lot after church. I immediately flashed back to times when I broke a bone and I truly commiserated with her. The process of healing is long and complicated. In my case, learning to walk with a boot and crutches was tricky and exhausting. Many people assured me, though, that a broken bone heals stronger. Have you ever heard that? Apparently it is true, but only applies to the time in the healing process when your body forms a callus around the break, indeed making it stronger for a time.

This made me think about things that actually do get stronger after they break.

I believe that people can get stronger after they suffer a break of sorts. Case in point is a dear friend who came out of a prolonged and contentions divorce much, much stronger due to the break in her marriage. She found her voice in the process, is able to stand up for herself in ways she never could before, found the courage to leave her abusive husband, and discovered God’s redemptive and saving power in ways she would never have experienced had she not been broken so badly. So, there is that. Have you ever been broken and then healed stronger?

In our lectionary passage today, Peter addressed the crowd after healing a lame man. Watch what happened and how the crowd reacts:

Acts 3: 7-10 Common English Bible

7 Then he grasped the man’s right hand and raised him up. At once his feet and ankles became strong. 8 Jumping up, he began to walk around. He entered the temple with them, walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 All the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 They recognized him as the same one who used to sit at the temple’s Beautiful Gate asking for money. They were filled with amazement and surprise at what had happened to him.

The once broken and damaged feet and ankles became strong, and the man began his witness walk. He was a living, breathing example of the power of God to change and make new. Are you that person? Has God taken your brokenness and made you new? How are you proclaiming his power with your own witness walk?

12 Seeing this, Peter addressed the people: “You Israelites, why are you amazed at this? Why are you staring at us as if we made him walk by our own power or piety? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of our ancestors—has glorified his servant Jesus. This is the one you handed over and denied in Pilate’s presence, even though he had already decided to release him. 14 You rejected the holy and righteous one, and asked that a murderer be released to you instead. 15 You killed the author of life, the very one whom God raised from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 

Peter takes this opportunity to preach about Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. It is important to note that he did not allow any of the attention to remain on himself, but immediately deflected their wonder to the power of Christ.

16 His name itself has made this man strong. That is, because of faith in Jesus’ name, God has strengthened this man whom you see and know. The faith that comes through Jesus gave him complete health right before your eyes.

We know that we are healed in the strong and powerful name of Jesus. We know that when we have faith in Jesus’ name, strength comes to us by his grace.

17 “Brothers and sisters, I know you acted in ignorance. So did your rulers.18 But this is how God fulfilled what he foretold through all the prophets: that his Christ would suffer. 19 Change your hearts and lives! Turn back to God so that your sins may be wiped away.

Peter’s final words are good for us today. How do you respond to Easter? How do you understand healing? How do you account for the strength that you have obtained from God? Changing our hearts is the only way to respond. May our minds be set on turning back to God today as we continue our witness walk in everything we say and do.

Can I Get a Witness by Michelle Robertson

Sowing and Reaping

Posted on by Betsy

From the mouths of babes, Chapter 1.

I gave my four-year-old grandson a bath last week and watched as he happily played with his Little People bath toys. I noticed that he was stuffing them all in the rinsing cup until it was full. “Why are all the Little People in the cup?” I asked. “Oh,” he replied. “They’re in cup jail.” “Good heavens!” I said. “What did they do to be put in cup jail?” I asked. He looked me straight in the eye. “They made baaaad choices,” he responded solemnly.

Well, you just can’t argue with that.

My daughters are constantly advising their children to make good choices. When a bad choice seems to be asserting itself, they caution them to “make a better choice.” Even the four-year-old understands the consequences of bad choices.

In Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia, he gave the same parenting advice. Remember how much Paul loved his churches, and truly felt a parental responsibility for each one of them. Listen to what he says in this well-known warning about reaping and sowing.

Galatians 6:7-8 (Common English Bible)

7 Make no mistake, God is not mocked. A person will harvest what they plant. 8 Those who plant only for their own benefit will harvest devastation from their selfishness, but those who plant for the benefit of the Spirit will harvest eternal life from the Spirit.

God pays attention to everything we say and do, and when those choices don’t fall in line with his word and his will for our lives, you can be sure there will be ramifications. I have a friend who spent a year denouncing an organization that she belonged to and basically burned every bridge on her way out. She returned to that organization recently and was hurt when someone asked her in surprise why she had come to the meeting. Reaping and sowing are basic to life. When you sow discord and rejection, you risk reaping discord and rejection.

Think for a moment about how you treat others. When you sow anger, discrimination, harsh words, and carelessness, these things will come back to you tenfold. Overindulgence in consuming things that are ultimately harmful to your body will result in actual harm to your body. Lying, cheating, and gossip often backfire and expose you to ridicule and alienation. Are these things worth the temporary pleasure?

A better choice is to sow the seeds of love and acceptance. A better choice is to choose healthy things for your body ,mind, and soul. A better choice is to plant seeds for the benefit of God’s kingdom. That will result in a harvest of eternal life and help you to avoid cup jail.

And trust me, you don’t want to end up in cup jail.

Harvesting Eternal Life by Michelle Robertson

What God Will Do

Posted on by Betsy

We had a death in our extended family that caught us completely off guard. The last ten days have been a topsy-turvy whirlwind of grief, memories, a celebration of life, plans made, changed, re-made … death left a small tsunami in its wake, but we will be okay.

I was drawn to these words from Isaiah in the lectionary this week. They were spoken in a time of great trial for Israel, yet they lead the hearer to look forward and not dwell in the immediate or the past. As you know, the best way to drive a car is to focus looking out the windshield, not the rear view mirror.

Isaiah 25 (New International Version)
On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
    a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
    the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7 On this mountain he will destroy
    the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
8     he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
    from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
    from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.

Something called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb occurs a few times in the Bible (see Revelation 19:9) which is a great feast that takes place at the end of days. This passage suggests that it will take place on earth, not in heaven. It will be resplendent with fine wines and fat meats, but the best part is that it will be a feast for all peoples.

Just last week we studied the Last Supper in Matthew 26. If you attended a Maundy Thursday service, you probably heard this Scripture read aloud. Do you remember when Jesus said, “I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom”? I wonder if it is this Marriage Supper of the Lamb, held on a beautiful high mountain with all people, where we will take our first communion with the Risen Lord when he returns to redeem his people. I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to that.

9 In that day they will say,

“Surely this is our God;
    we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
    let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

I don’t know what you’re going through right now but take heart. There will come a day when every tear is dried, every groan is silenced, every bad thing gone from your life, and we will sup and commune with our Sacrificial Lamb, who indeed came to save us. You can trust this, because God is trustworthy.

Beautiful Mountain by Hannah Cornish