#dailydevotionals

Start your day with morning coffee and a devotional.

Grateful

Posted on by Betsy

We recently studied the passage from Luke 17 where Jesus healed ten lepers and only one came back to thank him. In that devotional, we were reminded to give thanks to God in all seasons and for all things, and never take what we have, who we are, and what our future holds for granted. Some of you commented that it was a much-needed reminder. One commenter said she got “pinged”. When that happens, I hope you know that it isn’t me doing the pinging!

Today, we will practice offering God the thanksgiving he deserves. This eloquent psalm focuses on all the reasons to thank God. We thank him for his works. We thank him for his righteousness. We thank him for the company of our congregation. We thank him for food, wonderful deeds, grace, mercy, power, our heritage … everything. Are you having a bad day/week/year? Read this one aloud. Twice.

Psalm 111 is an acrostic psalm, which means that each line of the psalm starts with a letter in the order of the Hebrew alphabet. Acrostic psalms were written to help people memorize them, much as elementary school kids do when they learn the song about the state capitals in alphabetic order. I know adults who can still sing the State Capitals song. Can you?

I can’t imagine the skill it would take to write a piece of poetry like this and ensure that every verse started with a specific letter in the alphabet. We should endeavor to memorize it for that very reason.

Psalm 111 (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)

Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
    in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

Giving thanks with our whole heart is something God deserves from us. Charles Spurgeon put it this way: “God cannot be acceptably praised with a divided heart, neither should we attempt so to dishonor him; for our whole heart is little enough for his glory, and there can be no reason why it should not all be lifted up in his praise.” Wise words.

2 Great are the works of the Lord,
    studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of honor and majesty is his work,
    and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds;
    the Lord is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
    he is ever mindful of his covenant.

God’s covenant with his people is a pledge to give protection, provision, and blessing. When the psalmist says that God is mindful of his covenant and that he has commanded his covenant to last forever, he reassures the reader that God’s promises last forever. As modern Christian readers, we know that God’s covenant was fulfilled on the cross when he sent his only son for the salvation of the world. Through Jesus, we received a new covenant. Thank God!

6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
    in giving them the heritage of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
    all his precepts are trustworthy.
8 They are established forever and ever,
    to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
    he has commanded his covenant forever.

Holy and awesome is his name.

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
    all those who practice it have a good understanding.
    His praise endures forever.

I always prefer to understand the word “fear” in these passages as “reverential trust.” This word is not meant to imply quaking and trembling in terror before a powerful entity, but rather it portrays a picture of a respectful reverence that acknowledges God’s power and might and our insignificance. Only by grace may we approach the throne. But approach it, we may.

Holy and AWESOME is his name!

Grateful for Sunsets

Ungrateful

Posted on by Betsy

I am working on a book on Psalms (hopefully available on Amazon soon!) and I have organized it into a five-week study for small groups. Each week will focus on a type of psalm: praise, lament, trust, wisdom, and thanksgiving. As I was writing the leader’s guide chapter on Psalms of Thanksgiving, I wrote a discussion question that made me wonder what my own response would be: “Do you remember to thank God for everything he has given you?” I pondered that for a moment. Do I? Do you? Or do we take this life, this world, these homes, our families, good health, our food, and our jobs all for granted? Do we just go along living our lives and act like we’re entitled to everything? Or worse, do we think we have earned it all by the work of our hands alone?

I have a family member who would argue that she has worked for everything she has. Her lifestyle is a result of her hard work, her persistence, and her skills. I have no argument with that. Surely these things have served her well. But I believe that her work ethic was passed down from generations of people who worked God’s harvest before her and taught her that value. I believe her persistence is a personality trait that was knit into her by God when he formed her in the womb. And I believe that God gives us skills and spiritual gifts with which we can serve him and sustain our families. I don’t think there is anything we have for which we can take sole credit. God is the creator of everything, even our ability to earn a living. For that I thank God!

Our lectionary passage today tells a wonderful story of healing. Jesus was doing his thing, traveling between Samaria (where his type was not received) and Galilee (where his type belonged). Upon entering a village, he met ten men who desperately needed healing:

Luke 17 (Common English Bible)

11 On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he entered a village, ten men with skin diseases approached him. Keeping their distance from him, 13 they raised their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, show us mercy!”

14 When Jesus saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” As they left, they were cleansed. 

It is interesting to note that a measure of obedience was required from the men. They were being asked to step out on faith and participate in their healing. They had to go to the priests. Their healing was not just doled out to them. It is also noteworthy that their common disease had broken down the societal barriers that normally stood between Samaritans and Jews. They were a mixed group, bound together in misery … and hope.

15 One of them, when he saw that he had been healed, returned and praised God with a loud voice. 16 He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus replied, “Weren’t ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 No one returned to praise God except this foreigner?” 19 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up and go. Your faith has healed you.”

The Samaritan was doubly blessed. While all ten received physical healing, only he returned to Jesus for a healing of heart and received an additional blessing of faith. The foreigner became the faithful.

I think that if we look hard enough, we can always find something to be grateful for. Bible commentator Matthew Henry was once robbed of his wallet. That night he wrote in his diary all the things he was grateful for. He was grateful that he had never been robbed before. He was thankful that they took his wallet but not his life. He wrote that even though they took all his money, it wasn’t very much. Finally, he gave thanks that he was the one who was robbed and not the one who did the robbing.

Do you owe God a debt of thanksgiving? Has he done anything for you lately? Don’t be ungrateful. It is never too late to return to the Lord with an attitude of gratitude.

He deserves no less from us.

Pink Sky Blessings

Undeserved

Posted on by Betsy

Last week I was in the Norfolk airport and stumbled upon someone’s driver’s license lying on the floor. It had been lying face down and many people had just walked by it, assuming it was trash. The small holographic image of the woman’s face caught my eye and when I turned it over, lo and behold it was a New York State driver’s license. I quickly looked around to see if anyone who matched the picture was frantically looking for it, but nobody was.

So, I took the license to the Southwest gate and waited patiently while a ramp worker was processing a gate check for a stroller. He was the only one working the gate. He took a phone call while I waited, did some computer work, then asked if he could help me.

I showed him the license and he immediately checked his manifest, and sure enough, the woman was listed on a flight leaving from that gate an hour after my flight. I was relieved to know that he would eventually be able to find her when she attempted to board. He asked me to wait while he made a few PA announcements asking for her to come to the gate. She did not respond. I was ready to leave at that point, knowing the license was in good hands, but then he asked me my name and requested that I wait while he assisted another customer. He said he had something for me.

When he finally was able to turn his attention back to me, he reached under the desk and said, “I have something for you.” Southwest is known for their great sense of humor and attention to customer care, and I thought perhaps he was going to give me a key chain or even a free drink coupon.

He handed me a Southwest voucher for $100.

I gasped a little as he explained how to use it, and I said, “Sir, I can’t accept this! I don’t deserve something for simply being a Good Samaritan and picking up a driver’s license off the floor.” At that point another gate agent had joined him, and she was grinning. He looked me in the eye and said, “Is this the first time we have met?” I replied, “Yes, it is.” And he said, “Well now you know me, and this is what I do.” The other gate agent nodded and said, “Yep. It’s no use arguing. This is just how he is!” I smiled at him and said, “Well in that case, I’ll let you be you! Thank you so much.”

Do you think Jesus has returned and is working gate A5 at the Norfolk airport?

Giving us things that we don’t deserve is Jesus’ way. It’s called grace.

Titus 3 (Common English Bible)

 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Jesus saved us, not because of anything we have done or could do, but because of his grace. God’s kindness and love appeared on earth in the form of Jesus, who brought us unconditional love and unmerited favor. His grace is poured out generously on us, making us the recipients of eternal life. Jesus went to the cross on our behalf and extends a free voucher of forgiveness and acceptance.

If you haven’t accepted Christ as your personal Lord and loving Savior, now is the time. Your flight has been called and it’s almost time to board. Won’t you accept this amazing, underserved gift? It will change your life forever.

Grace by Kathy Schumacher

Nothing is Too Hard

Posted on by Betsy

I love the headings that bible editors put in the beginning of each passage. They give us a clue about what is coming and provide a lovely one-sentence synopsis of the verses. I was delighted to open up the Common English Bible version of today’s passage and read the heading, “Nothing is too hard for the Lord.” Now I can’t wait to dive in!

Let’s go back to a time in Old Testament history when Babylon had invaded Jerusalem and the prophet Jeremiah was in jail. Israel had fallen into enemy hands and Judah was on the verge of being taken over as well. The people had been captured and taken to Babylon and the outlook was very bleak.

Hopeless, even.

Jeremiah 32 (Common English Bible)

32 Jeremiah received the Lord’s word in the tenth year of Judah’s King Zedekiah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s rule. 2 At that time, the army of the Babylonian king had surrounded Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined to the prison quarters in the palace of Judah’s king. 3 Judah’s King Zedekiah had Jeremiah sent there after questioning him: “Why do you prophesy, ‘This is what the Lord says: I’m handing this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will occupy it.

In this midst of this mess, God spoke.

6 Jeremiah said, The Lord’s word came to me: 7 Your cousin Hanamel, Shallum’s son, is on his way to see you; and when he arrives, he will tell you: “Buy my field in Anathoth, for by law you are next in line to purchase it.”8 And just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel showed up at the prison quarters and told me, “Buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you are next in line and have a family obligation to purchase it.” Then I was sure this was the Lord’s doing.

This is one of those “Wait … what??” moments. God told Jeremiah that Judah was falling into enemy hands and they are about to be deported, so he should go buy a field of land in Jerusalem. Jeremiah’s strong faith was evident in his response to this startling instruction … he knows that something this nonsensical has got to be the Lord’s doing.

Have you ever been in a situation that seemed hopeless … impossible even … and then all of a sudden something changed or moved or appeared that made it all work out? Has God ever given you an instruction that seemed crazy, but it turned out to be exactly the right way to go?

Jeremiah did as he was told.

9 So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver. 10 I signed the deed, sealed it, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11 Then I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy, with its terms and conditions, and the unsealed copy— 12 and gave it to Baruch, Neriah’s son and Mahseiah’s grandson, before my cousin Hanamel and the witnesses named in the deed, as well as before all the Judeans who were present in the prison quarters.13 I charged Baruch before all of them: 14 “The Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Take these documents—this sealed deed of purchase along with the unsealed one—and put them into a clay container so they will last a long time. 

15 The Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”

And indeed, the diaspora eventually ended, and the Israelites returned home.

I think this is a good reminder to us that when the Lord speaks, we should listen and obey. And it also assures us that nothing is too hard for the Lord. So whatever heavy load you are carrying today, give it to him.

God is able.

God is Able by Michelle Robertson

Wait For It

Posted on by Betsy

If you have spent even a minute on social media, you have probably seen the caption “Wait for it” on videos. This is an indication that the funny moment or big reveal happens at the very end of the clip. Do you suppose this is an indication of how short our attention spans have become? Do we really need an instruction on a 30 second video to wait for the ending? That’s a scary thought.

Our lectionary this week has a lot of “wait for it” instructions. We find it again in this passage from Habakkuk. Habakkuk stood before Jerusalem as yet another foreign enemy army was on a rampage to destroy Judah. God’s people remained there after the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722 B.C., but it became evident that Judah will fall as well.

This remarkable dialogue between the prophet and God has a lot to teach us about waiting, disappointment, and why it sometimes seems that God is inactive in our strife. Or is he?

Habakkuk 1 (Common English Bible)

1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.

2 Lord, how long will I call for help and you not listen?
        I cry out to you, “Violence!”
            but you don’t deliver us.
3 Why do you show me injustice and look at anguish
        so that devastation and violence are before me?
There is strife, and conflict abounds.
4         The Instruction is ineffective.
            Justice does not endure
            because the wicked surround the righteous.
        Justice becomes warped.

These words express the tears of frustration and betrayal that the people of Judah felt. They saw the walls closing in and were acutely aware of their impending destruction. Why was God not coming to their defense? Where was the justice? Why were the wicked people prospering?

But Habakkuk remembers his place, and returns to his post in humble obedience.

2:1  I will take my post;
        I will position myself on the fortress.
        I will keep watch to see what the Lord says to me
        and how he will respond to my complaint.

Then God answered the prophet’s complaint.

2 Then the Lord answered me and said,

Write a vision, and make it plain upon a tablet
    so that a runner can read it.
3         There is still a vision for the appointed time;
            it testifies to the end;
                it does not deceive.

If you are in a place of great hurt right now and you need God to come, read this. He will come in his time.

If it delays, wait for it;
        for it is surely coming; it will not be late.

4 Some people’s desires are truly audacious;
            they don’t do the right thing.
        But the righteous person will live honestly

So, if you are waiting for justice, vengeance, deliverance, the truth to come out, or any audacious thing to be overturned, just wait for it. Return to your post in humble obedience. Surely it is coming, saith the Lord.

Waiting for Dawn by Michelle Robertson

New Mercies

Posted on by Betsy

What is your favorite hymn? I have several, but “Great is thy Faithfulness” is way on the top of the list.

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be

Chorus: Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

(Chorus)

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love

(Chorus)

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine with 10, 000 beside.

Would it surprise you to know that this positive and upbeat hymn is based on the Old Testament book of Lamentations? Here is the story:

Thomas O. Chisholm was born in a Kentucky log cabin in 1866. He succeeded academically even though he did not receive a formal education. Thomas became a schoolteacher at the age of 16 in the same schoolhouse where he was educated. He later became associate editor of the local newspaper and moved on to be an editor of the Pentecostal Herald in Louisville, Kentucky.

At the age of 26, Thomas made one of the most important decisions that he would make in his life when he accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior in 1893. In 1903, he was officially ordained a minister, but was forced to limit his years of service due to his poor health.

Thomas wrote hundreds of poems throughout his life. One was based in Lamentations 3:22-23:

“22 Certainly the faithful love of the Lord hasn’t ended; certainly God’s compassion isn’t through! 23 They are renewed every morning. Great is your faithfulness.”

Thomas sent this poem to a fellow minister and friend, William Runyan who configured a musical setting for the poem and called it, “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”

Let’s now read the full passage from Lamentations, written by the prophet Jeremiah as he reflected on the desolation of the once-proud city of Jerusalem.

Lamentations 3 (Common English Bible)

19 The memory of my suffering and homelessness is bitterness and poison. 20 I can’t help but remember and am depressed. 21 I call all this to mind—therefore, I will wait.
22 Certainly the faithful love of the Lord hasn’t ended; certainly God’s compassion isn’t through!
23 They are renewed every morning. Great is your faithfulness.

Powerful words. What does it say to you? Are you watching destruction and desolation, and longing for God to intervene in your situation? What can you do? According to Jeremiah, you can wait.

24 I think: The Lord is my portion! Therefore, I’ll wait for him. 25 The Lord is good to those who hope in him, to the person who seeks him.26 It’s good to wait in silence for the Lord’s deliverance.

May we wait in silence today for the Lord’s deliverance from everything that has come to steal our hope.

Reflections of Waiting by Kathy Schumacher

Rich Simplicity

Posted on by Betsy

Take a look at this picture. This was front-page news, above-the-fold breaking information that came out this week in my local paper.

Yes, it is an article about a man being reunited with his favorite fishing pole after a 50-year separation. You can just see the look of joy on his face! You can hear the rush of excitement in the voices of the man who found the rod and the man who lost the rod. Can I just say that I love where I live?

Our front-page news is often like this. Usually, it is a beautiful picture of waterfowl, a big fish, or a Boy Scout taking an oath. These things constitute ‘big doin’s’ in this part. My husband and I always chuckle when the paper comes. We are blessed and delighted to live in this simple place.

Many of us have a yearning for this kind of simplicity in a community. Headlines and news programs literally scream at us with words that are harsh, complex, divisive, and distressing. We live in a broken world and our media reflects that on a daily/hourly basis. Oh, to go to a place and time that is easier!

Our lectionary passage speaks about “rich simplicity.” Paul connects simplicity with “being yourself before God” in this pastoral epistle to Timothy, probably written in A.D. 62-66.

1 Timothy 6 (The Message)

6-8 A devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that’s enough.

What a picture Paul paints here. If we can keep our needs and wants in line with what we actually need to live, that’s enough. This surely begs the question about “stuff.” How much stuff do you have? How much stuff do you need? I have a friend who deeply dislikes all the storage units that have popped up on our island. Sometimes they are needed when you are between house moves, but a lot of it is just stuff we have acquired and can’t fit into our houses.

My closet reflects this. It is always a good exercise to look through your things and consider that if you haven’t worn something in months (years?) it probably isn’t that necessary to you.

Paul then moves on to the love of money:

9-10 But if it’s only money these leaders are after, they’ll self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after.

Can it get any plainer? Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Have you ever compromised your principles because the lure of money got the better of you? If people didn’t do that, there wouldn’t be a lottery program in every state. What can we do?

Paul says to run.

11-12 But you, Timothy, man of God: Run for your life from all this. Pursue a righteous life—a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses.

Run for your life from all of this. Run toward the goal that is Christ Jesus. Run to the beauty that is righteousness. Run toward wonder, faith, love, steadiness and courtesy. You remember courtesy, don’t you? Just run.

In essence, Paul says just to keep it simple, and run toward the life to which God called you. Be yourself before God.

But clean out your closets first!

Photo via The Coastland Times

Protective Shield

Posted on by Betsy

One of the best things about living in the Outer Banks is the constant sound of birds and waterfowl. When I was growing up, we camped every summer all along the Eastern seaboard. I loved to sit on the beach and listen to the sounds of seagulls calling to one another. That sound was always associated in my mind with vacation, my parent’s love, family fun, and the freedom that camping with friends brought.

I recently came home from a long trip away and as I stepped out of my car, the first sound I heard was a seagull laughing. I was home.

In this lovely Psalm, we are reminded of the strength of a bird’s pinions. The word pinions refers to the wings including the flight feathers. According to scientists at HawkQuest, an environmental education nonprofit in Colorado, a bald eagle’s gripping strength is ten times stronger than the average grip of an adult human hand. A bald eagle can exert upwards of 400 pounds per square inch (psi). God’s creation is amazing, isn’t it? Such majesty and strength in something that is literally as light as a feather.

As you read this psalm today, I want you to think of a time when you felt attacked, defeated, or threatened by something that looked too big to combat. It might be a person, situation, an illness, a bad decision, or a false accusation. It might be depression or divorce. Whatever has you in a hunter’s trap, know this: God is bigger, stronger, and more powerful than any of that.

Psalm 91 (Common English Bible)

Living in the Most High’s shelter,
    camping in the Almighty’s shade,
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my refuge, my stronghold!
    You are my God—the one I trust!”

3 God will save you from the hunter’s trap
    and from deadly sickness.
4 God will protect you with his pinions;
    you’ll find refuge under his wings.
    His faithfulness is a protective shield.
5 Don’t be afraid of terrors at night,
    arrows that fly in daylight,
6     or sickness that prowls in the dark,
    destruction that ravages at noontime.

God’s faithfulness to you is your protective shield. You can take comfort in knowing that God is your refuge. He is your stronghold. He is your protector.

14 God says, “Because you are devoted to me,
    I’ll rescue you.
    I’ll protect you because you know my name.
15 Whenever you cry out to me, I’ll answer.
    I’ll be with you in troubling times.
    I’ll save you and glorify you.
16     I’ll fill you full with old age.
    I’ll show you my salvation.”

So, cry out! Seek the Lord in your distress and you will be found. God will save you and glorify you! Thanks be to God.

Pinion Protection by Michelle Robertson

Be Perfect

Posted on by Betsy

A study on the Sermon on the Mount has bought me to a startling command from Jesus. Most of us are familiar with the “love your neighbor” teachings, as well as the “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” part, but I had really not noticed how this section ends. Take a look at verse 48:

Matthew 5 (NIV)

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the gentiles do the same? 

48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Do you think that is even possible? To be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect? That seems like a big ask.

Jesus relates this to the instructions to love and pray for our enemies for a reason. Imagine what the world would be like if we took that one verse to heart and truly did strive every day to love people who hate us. And we know that when we pray for people who persecute us, that prayer changes US.

In researching a sermon on this passage, I stumbled upon these wise words from Thomas Merton, an American Trappist Monk. Merton wrote over 50 books on spirituality, faith, comparative religion, and theology.

“Do not be too quick,” he wrote, “to assume that your enemy is a savage just because he is your enemy. Perhaps he is your enemy because he thinks you are a savage. Or perhaps he is afraid of you because he feels you are afraid of him. And perhaps if he believed you were capable of loving him, he would no longer be your enemy.


Do not be too quick to assume that your enemy is an enemy of God just because he is your enemy. Perhaps he is your enemy precisely because he can find nothing in you that gives glory to God. Perhaps he fears you because he can find nothing in you of God’s love and God’s kindness and God’s patience and mercy and understanding of the weakness of men.


Do not be too quick to condemn the man who no longer believes in God. For it is perhaps your own coldness and avarice and mediocrity and materialism and sensuality and selfishness that have killed his faith.”

There is much to ponder here. Do you have an enemy? Do you love that person? Can you pray for that person?

When we focus on this kind of accepting and grace filled agape love, we indeed move the needle a little closer to the perfection of the Heavenly Father. One thing is certain … we will surely never achieve it if we don’t even try.

Perfect Sunrise by Wende Pritchard

Pray Every Way

Posted on by Betsy

Is it just me, or has the world gotten a whole lot meaner?

I had this conversation with a couple in my church as we discussed a situation that had them deeply troubled. We spent some time not just talking about the situation itself, but how we got here. Conversations, text chains, emails, and “information links” via social media were some of the things that we could pinpoint as part of our current conundrum of confusion.

In the midst of this, the wife looked at me and said, “When did it become okay to be mean? There is nothing you see anymore that isn’t followed up with some negative remark.” As I drove home, it really hit me. All I could see were mean bumper stickers, mean flags, and mean drivers. I opened up Facebook and Twitter where anger and name-calling rule the day. When did bullying become okay?

I don’t ever remember it being like this.

I closed social media, and I opened up the lectionary assignment for today, and this is what I found:

1 Timothy 2 (The Message)

2 1-3 The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.

Yes, Lord Jesus! Yes, Holy Spirit! All we want to do is go quietly about our business, live simply, and exist together in humble contemplation. I am exhausted with the cacophony of ugliness that shouts all of these things down.

4-7 He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned: that there’s one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us—Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free.

We need to return to this one, seminal, important truth. God wants everyone to be saved. There is only one God, who lovingly sent Jesus to die for our sins and set us all free. When we spend our days spinning truths, pushing agendas, misdirecting the efforts of the faithful, and when we are hell bent on having our way, we fail at this most essential thing.

We are called to proclaim Christ crucified. None of the rest of the noise matters.

Eventually the news is going to get out. This and this only has been my appointed work: getting this news to those who have never heard of God, and explaining how it works by simple faith and plain truth.

At the end of my meeting, the issue had been resolved and we all felt at peace. The wife mentioned to me that God has been calling her to form a ladies prayer group at our church. That, my friends, is exactly what Timothy is saying here. The FIRST thing we should do is pray and pray every way we know how and for everyone we know.

Eventually the news does get out. May Jesus Christ be praised.

The Light Shines by Kathy Schumacher