#dailydevotionals

Start your day with morning coffee and a devotional.

What Shall We Do

Posted on by Betsy

I just love a good birthday party. Candles on cake, presents and presence, and a sung “Happy Birthday” greeting by the guests. For some reason, and I cannot tell you why, my husband’s family takes pride in singing “Happy Birthday” as loud and as off-key as they possibly can. This odd tradition has been passed down to the next generation, and at a recent birthday party for my father-in-law it was hilarious to hear all of the grown grandchildren call in with their own painful rendition of birthday greetings. When the spirit moves in our family, it moves with a mighty force.

Pentecost is considered to be the birthday of the church. It was the incredible moment when the Holy Spirit of God came down upon the gathered disciples in Jerusalem and caused them to hear and speak in each other’s languages. With a fresh wind and a mighty fire, the Holy Spirit was poured out in full force.

One moment that is sometimes overlooked at this “birthday party” is the outstanding sermon Peter gave after the whirlwind subsided. His bold words included references to Joel 2:28-32, Psalm 16, and Psalm 110. He used Scripture to explain the strange event that had just happened, connecting that event to Old Testament writings that also spoke of an outpouring of God’s Spirit, signs and wonders, visions, prophecies, and an invitation.

Acts 2 (Common English Bible)

14 Peter stood with the other eleven apostles. He raised his voice and declared, “Judeans and everyone living in Jerusalem! Know this! Listen carefully to my words! 15 These people aren’t drunk, as you suspect; after all, it’s only nine o’clock in the morning!16 Rather, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

17 In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
    Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
    Your young will see visions.
    Your elders will dream dreams.
18     Even upon my servants, men and women,
        I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
        and they will prophesy.
19 I will cause wonders to occur in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,
        blood and fire and a cloud of smoke.
20 The sun will be changed into darkness,
    and the moon will be changed into blood,
        before the great and spectacular day of the Lord comes.
21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Notice how he connects these events with the advent of Jesus’ life and death. Pentecost was near the fulfillment of God’s plan, but not the end. Indeed, the final fulfillment will come in the last days when Jesus returns to earth. Peter cleverly quoted David, the revered King of Israel, to cement his argument.

22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to these words! Jesus the Nazarene was a man whose credentials God proved to you through miracles, wonders, and signs, which God performed through him among you. You yourselves know this. 23 In accordance with God’s established plan and foreknowledge, he was betrayed. You, with the help of wicked men, had Jesus killed by nailing him to a cross. 24 God raised him up! God freed him from death’s dreadful grip, since it was impossible for death to hang on to him. 25 David says about him,

I foresaw that the Lord was always with me;
    because he is at my right hand I won’t be shaken.
26 Therefore, my heart was glad
    and my tongue rejoiced.
Moreover, my body will live in hope,
27         because you won’t abandon me to the grave,
    nor permit your holy one to experience decay.
28 You have shown me the paths of life;
    your presence will fill me with happiness.

29 “Brothers and sisters, I can speak confidently about the patriarch David. He died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this very day. 30 Because he was a prophet, he knew that God promised him with a solemn pledge to seat one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Having seen this beforehand, David spoke about the resurrection of Christ, that he wasn’t abandoned to the grave, nor did his body experience decay. 32 This Jesus God raised up. We are all witnesses to that fact. 33 He was exalted to God’s right side and received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit. He poured out this Spirit, and you are seeing and hearing the results of his having done so. 34 David didn’t ascend into heaven. Yet he says,

The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right side,
35     until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’

Peter’s final remarks brought them to the present reality of how to be ready for what is to come. “What should we do?” asked the troubled crowd. Peter boldly challenged them to change their hearts and lives, be baptized, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is promised for all in every generations yet to come.

36 “Therefore, let all Israel know beyond question that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

37 When the crowd heard this, they were deeply troubled. They said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Change your hearts and lives. Each of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is for you, your children, and for all who are far away—as many as the Lord our God invites.” 40 With many other words he testified to them and encouraged them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41 Those who accepted Peter’s message were baptized. God brought about three thousand people into the community on that day.

The promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit is one that ensures our salvation. With it, we are invited to call on the name of Jesus in moments of distress and he will answer. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved!

Are you in distress? Call on Jesus.

Poured Out by Kathy Schumacher

Many Gifts, One Spirit

Posted on by Betsy

Do you enjoy doing puzzles? We always had a puzzle going on vacation every year and it was a lot of fun. Occasionally we would spend days and nights putting together a puzzle only to get to the end and find that one solitary piece was missing.Lost under the couch forever or eaten by the dog, losing that last bit of the picture made the whole effort feel incomplete. I hate it when that happens.

I think the church is like a 5,000 piece puzzle. Every person has a place and a part to play. When someone is missing, it doesn’t come together like it should.

When I read today’s scripture I immediately thought about puzzles and I kept hearing a hymn from our United Methodist Hymnal called “Many Gifts, One Spirit.” Do you know this song? Is it sung in your church? It is a beautiful interpretation of 1 Corinthians 12: 7-11, where Paul spoke about the gifts of the spirit that are given to each person for the common good. Like interlocking pieces of a puzzle, the Spirit uses our individual gifts to make a complete picture of the body of Christ.

“Many Gifts, One Spirit”
Al Carmines
UM Hymnal, No. 114

Many gifts, one Spirit,
one love known in many ways.
In our difference is blessing,
from diversity we praise
one Giver, one Lord, one Word
known in many ways, hallowing our days.
For the Giver and the Gifts,
praise, praise, praise.*

Paul outlined the gifts that this hymn alludes to: Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, spirit divination, speaking in tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. He makes the bold and strong point that while the gifts and the gift receivers were diverse, there is only one Giver who dispenses them all. The same Spirit gives according to what he wants to each person, or as the hymn says, “one love known in many ways.”

Do you see your particular gift on the list? This is not comprehensive. In Romans 12, Paul lists teaching, prophecy, serving, encouraging, giving, leading and mercy. Ephesians mentions other gifts as well, leading us to understand the importance Paul put on these things.

1 Corinthians 12 (Common English Bible)

7 A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good. 8 A word of wisdom is given by the Spirit to one person, a word of knowledge to another according to the same Spirit, 9 faith to still another by the same Spirit, gifts of healing to another in the one Spirit, 10 performance of miracles to another, prophecy to another, the ability to tell spirits apart to another, different kinds of tongues to another, and the interpretation of the tongues to another. 11 All these things are produced by the one and same Spirit who gives what he wants to each person.

The celebration of diversity is lovely in both the Scripture and the song. Sometimes we feel that we have little to offer. Feeling discouraged or left out can make us want to withhold our participation. Burnout, frustration, and life’s overwhelming circumstances can lead us to pull back and pull out. When we do, the bigger picture suffers. Everybody is somebody in the Body!

What is your gift? Are you using it in God’s service? People are counting on you to make the puzzle complete. Remember, the purpose of our diversity is our unity. May we come together as one to serve the One who calls us by name.

Hallowing Our Days by Mary Anne Mong

The Comfort of Comforting

Posted on by Betsy

It wasn’t a big deal. We were enjoying a lunch at a beachside bistro with friends when I spotted an older gentleman pushing his wife in a wheelchair up the ramp toward us. As he got to the door, he struggled to get it open and then hold it as he made a tight corner with the chair. I could see and feel his frustration as he attempted to get his wife inside the air-conditioning and out of the hot sun. My husband was at the end of the table, so I said to him, “That fellow needs help with the door.” My husband sprang into action and with holding the door and guiding the chair from the front, they made it inside. Our lunch companion observed this and said to me, “You’re always at work.” She is a wonderful friend and church member, and she was referring to the position a pastor accepts when they are assigned to a flock. Our job is to constantly look over and look out for our people and respond. Again, it wasn’t a big deal, but it brought back memories of watching my father struggle with my mother’s wheelchair and feeling gratitude for many strangers who held doors and lent a hand. People showing compassion to strangers is peopling at its best.

Human compassion is a reflection of the very heart of God. God comforts us so that we can comfort others. Troubles are thus understood as opportunities to bring comfort to the suffering. Think about it a moment. The joy of giving and receiving comfort is bound up with the pain of suffering. Without one we would never experience the other.

2 Corinthians 1 (Common English Bible)

3 May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be blessed! He is the compassionate Father and God of all comfort. 4 He’s the one who comforts us in all our trouble so that we can comfort other people who are in every kind of trouble. We offer the same comfort that we ourselves received from God. 5 That is because we receive so much comfort through Christ in the same way that we share so many of Christ’s sufferings. 

Paul used the Greek word paraklesis when he spoke of God offering comfort. It is more than just sympathy: paraklesis refers to the strengthening and help that a strong Paraclete of consolation can bring. When he spoke of receiving comfort through Christ, he reminded us that Christ was never far from Paul in all of his suffering. That helped Paul to understand that God had a larger purpose for his discomfort. Indeed, Paul used those experiences in his preaching and ministering to his churches. He helped the church at Corinth understand that their sufferings would produce the endurance they needed to survive. Through their trouble they would receive salvation.

6 So if we have trouble, it is to bring you comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is to bring you comfort from the experience of endurance while you go through the same sufferings that we also suffer. 7 Our hope for you is certain, because we know that as you are partners in suffering, so also you are partners in comfort.

Are you struggling today? Do you need a mighty Paraclete to come along side of you and give you strength? Do you know someone who is suffering? Can you offer comfort to them in the name of Jesus? Even just holding a door open to someone who is struggling can make a big difference.

Come on Through by Michelle Robertson

Live Oaks

Posted on by Betsy

Live oaks are common trees in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Their majestic crowns can spread to over 150 feet and they provide shelter and food for many animals, including birds, wild turkeys, squirrels, black bears, and deer. Found primarily in the south, live oaks grow well in salty soils and in the shade. My community of Colington Harbour is surrounded by these beautiful trees, some of which are hundreds of years old. For centuries, live oaks were the preferred timber for shipbuilding due to their incredibly strong wood. In fact, the U.S.S. Constitution was constructed with live oak timber and earned the nickname “Old Ironsides” when her hull survived repeated canon fire in the war of 1812. There is a stunning live oak at the end of my street. The sun sets behind it and people walk down the street in the evening every day to take in the beautiful scene.

Our beautiful psalm today speaks of a tree planted by the streams of water. This tree bears fruit and its leaves don’t fade. The psalmist uses this word-picture to encourage us to choose a path of righteousness that would make us like these trees. This path is one of reading, reciting, and meditating on God’s word.

Psalm 1 (Common English Bible)

1 The truly happy person
    doesn’t follow wicked advice,
    doesn’t stand on the road of sinners,
    and doesn’t sit with the disrespectful.
2 Instead of doing those things,
    these persons love the Lord’s Instruction,
    and they recite God’s Instruction day and night!
3 They are like a tree replanted by streams of water,
    which bears fruit at just the right time
    and whose leaves don’t fade.
        Whatever they do succeeds.

By contrast, we also can choose the path of the wicked. This path results in dust that the wind simply blows away. The psalmist reminds us that sinners cannot enter the assembly of the righteous. This path has no joy or hope and ends in destruction.

4 That’s not true for the wicked!
    They are like dust that the wind blows away.
5 And that’s why the wicked will have no standing in the court of justice—
    neither will sinners
    in the assembly of the righteous.
6 The Lord is intimately acquainted
    with the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked is destroyed.

Verse 1 offers a warning about the progression of sin. Notice the movement from walk to stand to sit. We can imagine the path that temptation takes in this verse. When we are tempted we walk toward something we should not have, stand for a moment of decision, and then choose to sit into it. The righteous don’t do this. They remain truly happy by setting healthy boundaries around themselves lest they fall into temptation.

If you think about it, we have that choice to make every day. We can refuse to associate with the wicked and disrespectful and choose to follow God’s instructions. We can read and meditate on God’s word. The psalmist assures us that this will result in happiness and success.

I think I would prefer to be a live oak, planted by the waters rather than dust. How about you?

Live Oak on the Sound

The Overfed

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever seen someone in a position of popularity, wealth, or power and thought, “How can you have so much?” I think that every time I see Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, who are the richest men in the world. How did they get there? Whether it’s the NFL’s highest paid player, a musician like Taylor Swift who rakes in millions with every concert, the highest paid actor, or any of the rich politicians who dominate our news feeds with their own brand of nonsense, people at the “top” and their prosperity can surely make you scratch your head. The person running your local food pantry, the young pastor who lays awake at night worrying about his church, the volunteer firefighter spending the night at the station away from her family, the underpaid nurse who loves her patients … these folks do their jobs quietly without the celebrity and fanfare of those others. It is easy to envy the wealth and popularity of the rich, but you have to wonder, does God bless their prosperity?

When ungodly people prosper, it is normal to wonder where God is.

Psalm 73 was written by Asaph, the great singer and musician of David and Solomon’s eras. He began with the confident assertion that God is good to those who have a pure heart but then confessed that his confidence nearly slipped when he observed the arrogant, wicked people and noticed how well off they are.

Psalm 73 (Common English Bible)

Truly God is good to Israel,
    to those who are have a pure heart.
2 But me? My feet had almost stumbled;
    my steps had nearly slipped
3     because I envied the arrogant;
    I observed how the wicked are well off:
4 They suffer no pain;
    their bodies are fit and strong.
5 They are never in trouble;
    they aren’t weighed down like other people.

You can almost hear his unspoken question. God is good, but if the wicked prosper, what is the good of being good? The overfed, in their privileged positions, speak against heaven. Where is God?

6 That’s why they wear arrogance like a necklace,
    why violence covers them like clothes.
7 Their eyes bulge out from eating so well;
    their hearts overflow with delusions.
8 They scoff and talk so cruel;
    from their privileged positions
    they plan oppression.
9 Their mouths dare to speak against heaven!
    Their tongues roam the earth!
10 That’s why people keep going back to them,
    keep approving what they say.

Well, God is where you can always go when you are seeking his presence. God is in the sanctuary, where we meet and encounter eternity. God is in our praise and our worship. God is faithful to the pure in heart and will not abide those who are far from his will and his word which all people are called to obey. God is in us. Those who are far from God will perish.

15 If I said, “I will talk about all this,”
    I would have been unfaithful to your children.
16 But when I tried to understand these things,
    it just seemed like hard work
17     until I entered God’s sanctuary
        and understood what would happen to the wicked.

So the next time you encounter a person’s earthly wealth and status, remember this: the heavenly reward for your righteousness will far exceed any temporal advantage the people at the “top” enjoy here on earth. God indeed is good to those who are pure in heart.

His Bill Can Hold More than his Belican by Michelle Robertson

Big Daddy

Posted on by Betsy

I have just returned from a wonderful family weekend where we celebrated my father-in-law’s 94th birthday. That is not a typo, folks! 94 years of life on this earth, working, loving, laughing, and providing for his family as a Naval officer for over 30 years. Our time together was kind of a replay of the life my husband’s family lived. There were jokes, stories told again, joy, mayhem, and a feeling of connectedness that was bred into them by their parents. Everyone came together with a helping hand and a happy heart. Even Muffin the cat had a great time getting extra ear rubs.

We often use familial language when referencing our relationships with our church and the larger body of Christ. We call one another brothers and sisters and refer to God as our Abba, a beautiful Aramaic word that best translates as “Daddy.” This word signifies the close and intimate relationship of love and trust between father and child. You may remember that Jesus called God his Abba Father. In Mark 14:36, Jesus called out to his Abba in a moment of agony and asked if perhaps the cup of suffering (the impending crucifixion) might be taken from him if it was Abba’s will. This alone should give us permission to cry out to our Abba Father in any moment of hurt, confusion, and deep distress. Both Paul and Jesus related to God as their big Daddy who will rush to their aid, fix any problem, and never leave their side.

Romans 8 (Common English Bible)

12 So then, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation, but it isn’t an obligation to ourselves to live our lives on the basis of selfishness. 13 If you live on the basis of selfishness, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the actions of the body, you will live. 14 All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons and daughters. 

15 You didn’t receive a spirit of slavery to lead you back again into fear, but you received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children. With this Spirit, we cry, “Abba, Father.”16 The same Spirit agrees with our spirit, that we are God’s children. 17 But if we are children, we are also heirs. We are God’s heirs and fellow heirs with Christ, if we really suffer with him so that we can also be glorified with him.

Paul wrote Romans while in Corinth as he wintered there during his third missionary journey. He had been a preacher of the Good News of Jesus Christ for 20 years. Romans is a sophisticated and well-articulated theological statement of faith that is incredibly timeless. If you have time today, read the whole book. Unlike his other letters where he addressed issues that were being faced by each church, Romans focuses on God’s plan for salvation.

This beautiful father-child relationship that Paul described in this passage comes with an obligation to live by the Spirit. The Spirit of God leads us in all paths of righteousness and away from the selfishness of being led by the flesh/body. Fear has no place here: We are children of God and have nothing to fear, even suffering. The cup that our Lord took on our behalf ensures that we need not fear death, for his death brought us life. As Paul said, we can “also be glorified with him” (verse 17). So even in our suffering, we are assured that there are better days ahead.

Think about your relationship with God. Do you experience God as Abba, Father, or as a harsh judge? Do you know him as your trusted Daddy, or do you fear his wrath? God desires to sit at our family birthday parties and share the joy.

Won’t you let him in?

Heirs by Michelle Robertson

How To Be Happy

Posted on by Betsy

A few days ago I sat down to write and nothing happened. I stared down Psalm 112 and it just stared right back at me. I mean, it’s a lovely psalm, but for some reason, nothing was coming to my mind. I looked at the seagulls, went for a run, ran errands, and returned in the afternoon to resume our blinking contest.

It didn’t blink.

In the midst of my writer’s block, I got the most unexpected phone call from a friend who started the conversation with “That opening sentence that you wrote this morning was one of the funniest things that I have ever read.” I was completely startled and a little scared. He went on to say that he thought about it all day and was still laughing. Because I write and schedule my devotionals several days out, I actually had no idea which opening sentence he was referring to. That was embarrassing!

He encouraged me to keep writing and told me he enjoys reading my online devotionals every day. He could not have known how timely and much-needed that phone call was. I have taken on an additional assignment from my Cokesbury publisher that has a short due-date (the original writer suddenly dropped out) and I just needed that boost of support that his phone call gave me. This happy voice with a happy message from a pretty happy fellow was good medicine.

When I went back to Psalm 112, I suddenly realized that it was talking about this man, and the people in our lives who shine in the dark and are truly good people. He indeed is a man who honors the Lord, adores God’s commandments, and is one of the happiest people I know.

Do you have people in your life who stop what they are doing to speak a good word into your faltering afternoon? Are you the kind of person who reaches out to friends who are feeling low? What a gift you are!

Psalm 112 is an acrostic poem, which means that the first word of each line follows the Hebrew alphabet. Writers liked the order and convention that this form gave their poetry. There is also a sense of completeness, as the psalm goes A to Z … or Alef to Tav, actually.

Psalm 112 (Common English Bible)

Praise the Lord!
    Those who honor the Lord,
    who adore God’s commandments, are truly happy!
2 Their descendants will be strong throughout the land.
    The offspring of those who do right will be blessed;
3     wealth and riches will be in their houses.
    Their righteousness stands forever.
4 They shine in the dark for others who do right.
    They are merciful, compassionate, and righteous.

5 Those who lend generously are good people—
    as are those who conduct their affairs with justice.
6 Yes, these sorts of people will never be shaken;
    the righteous will be remembered forever!

Verses 7 and 8 speak of the hearts of these righteous people. Their hearts are steady, trusting, firm and unafraid. In contrast, the wicked will disappear to nothing.

Like Psalm 1, Psalm 112 offers us the choice of pursuing the path of righteousness which leads to happiness or wickedness that leads to nothing. Pretty simple, yes? Well, not always. Heartache, circumstances beyond our control, betrayals, and other life disappointments will come our way and interfere with our happiness, but it certainly gives us something to strive for.

7 They won’t be frightened at bad news.
    Their hearts are steady, trusting in the Lord.
8 Their hearts are firm; they aren’t afraid.
    In the end, they will witness their enemies’ defeat.
9 They give freely to those in need.
    Their righteousness stands forever.
    Their strength increases gloriously.
10 The wicked see all this and fume;
        they grind their teeth, but disappear to nothing.
    What the wicked want to see happen comes to nothing!

Are you looking to increase your happiness? Read Psalm 112 again. It’s all spelled out from A to Z.

Happiness by Michelle Robertson

Help Along the Way

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever started a project, journey, mission, or endeavor with a single goal in mind, only to be completely and utterly redirected to a brand new frontier, one you hadn’t even considered before? I have. I once visited a church member’s son in the county jail at her request and ended up doing prison ministry for the next five years. Never in my life would I have guessed God’s redirection would land me there! But there was a guard at the jail who was a good Christian man, and he kept inviting me back to meet with new inmates who needed pastoral care. Every time I went, this man made sure I was ushered quickly into the clergy room and was offered a cup of water to drink. His hospitality in that cold and disarming place was part of the reason I returned for so long.

Something similar happened to Paul. In our reading today, he expressed his desire to preach the gospel in places where people have never heard of Christ. His immediate plan was to go to Jerusalem to extend the hospitality and the contributions of the Christians in Macedonia and Achaia to the Christians in Jerusalem. He wrote to the church in Rome that as soon as this mission was accomplished, he would return to them to receive their hospitality on his way to Spain, where the Gospel hadn’t been heard yet.

Romans 15 (Common English Bible)

20 In this way, I have a goal to preach the gospel where they haven’t heard of Christ yet, so that I won’t be building on someone else’s foundation. 21 Instead, as it’s written, Those who hadn’t been told about him will see, and those who hadn’t heard will understand.

Travel plans to visit Rome

22 That’s why I’ve been stopped so many times from coming to see you. 23 But now, since I don’t have any place to work in these regions anymore, and since I’ve wanted to come to see you for many years, 24 I’ll visit you when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while I’m passing through. And I hope you will send me on my way there, after I have first been reenergized by some time in your company.

Hospitality was vital to the growth of the early church. Paul had to depend on the welcome generosity of the churches he had founded in order to make his way from Rome, his base of operations in the western part of the empire, to Antioch, his eastern base of operations. He relied on them to “send him on his way” after a time of being reenergized by their company.

25 But now I’m going to Jerusalem, to serve God’s people.26 Macedonia and Achaia have been happy to make a contribution for the poor among God’s people in Jerusalem. 27 They were happy to do this, and they are actually in debt to God’s people in Jerusalem. If the Gentiles got a share of the Jewish people’s spiritual resources, they ought to minister to them with material resources. 28 So then after I have finished this job and have safely delivered the final amount of the Gentiles’ offering to them, I will leave for Spain, visiting you on the way. 29 And I know that when I come to you I will come with the fullest blessing of Christ.

Paul’s desire to make his way to Spain turned into an unexpected imprisonment in a jail in Rome. But there, he had the unexpected opportunity to preach to the emperor of Rome, as told in the last several chapters in Acts. He did deliver the offering to Jerusalem, and eventually made his way to Spain, but obediently followed God’s redirection in the meantime.

We learn two valuable lessons here. First, we are called to extend hospitality to others who are traveling through our town, beginning at home when people enter our churches for the first time. Is your church hospitable to newcomers and the surrounding community? Second, we see by Paul’s example that things don’t always go to plan. But when we allow God to direct our feet on the paths of God’s own choosing, we will never go astray. Thanks be to God!

Come on In! The Water’s Fine.

Heaven Opens

Posted on by Betsy

What do you believe happens in baptism? Your answer will likely reflect your denomination’s beliefs on the subject. In the United Methodist church, we believe this about baptism:

Christ constitutes the church as his body by the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13, 27). The church draws new people into itself as it seeks to remain faithful to its commission to proclaim and exemplify the gospel. Baptism is the sacrament of initiation and incorporation into the body of Christ. (United Methodist Church Book of Discipline, paragraph 216, page 156.)

So, we understand the sacrament of baptism to be a beginning point, or an “initiation” into the household of God, from which we will grow in our understanding of God, increase our faith, participate in the life of the church, and confirm our hope for the kingdom of heaven as it is on earth.

In our passage from Luke today, we observe Jesus’ baptism, which was also an initiation point for him. His ministry began in that moment. Heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him with power and purpose:

Luke 3 (Common English Bible)

21 When everyone was being baptized, Jesus also was baptized. While he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit came down on him in bodily form like a dove. And there was a voice from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.”

Immediately the Spirit led him straight into Faith Formation Bootcamp, where he had the opportunity to grow in his knowledge of God and have his strength and purpose defined by his battle with the devil there.

Jesus’ temptation

4 Jesus returned from the Jordan River full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

After completing his cross-fit strength training, he immediately went about the task of telling the people who he was, and more importantly, whose he was.

Jesus announces good news to the poor

14 Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news about him spread throughout the whole countryside.

Are you baptized? For what purpose? Are you actively engaged in your own Faith Formation Bootcamp, or are you ignoring your mission and allowing others to do the work of the kingdom?

All of us are called to God’s purpose, which is confirmed through our baptism. Heaven opened up the day you were baptized! God looked upon the baptismal waters and claimed you by saying, “You are mine. In you, I find happiness.”

Like Jesus, we have work to do. Let’s get to it!

Come to the Water by Colin Snider

Dependence

Posted on by Betsy

Can dogs tell time? I think they can. Every evening at exactly 6:00 my very large Labrador Retriever named Georgia arises from her nap and stares me down until I get up and feed her dinner. Exactly at 6:00! Georgia and I have a mutually dependent relationship. I depend on her for her unconditional love expressed through tail wags, and she depends on me for everything in her life: her health and well-being, her sustenance, her shelter, her playtime … just as I depend on God for these things. The first line of Psalm 104, attributed to David, says it all. “All your creations wait for you to give them their food on time.” David was a keen observer of the nature that surrounded him. This verse made me laugh, thinking of how our pets know it’s time to eat. Does your pet do that?

Psalm 104 (Common English Bible)

All your creations wait for you
    to give them their food on time.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up;
    when you open your hand, they are filled completely full!
29 But when you hide your face, they are terrified;
    when you take away their breath,
    they die and return to dust.
30 When you let loose your breath, they are created,
    and you make the surface of the ground brand-new again.

A better translation of “on time” in verse 1 is “in God’s timing.” This alludes to the fact that we are completely dependent on God to provide for us, and it only happens in God’s time. That is an important concept to understand as we mature in our faith. Our daily bread will always be offered to keep us going, but there are other things that we need to wait on God to provide, such as resolutions to our conflicts, answers to prayer, and receiving provision only when we are able to manage it. And sometimes that provision comes in ways we didn’t expect. In those moments we must allow God to be God and give us what we need rather than what we want. When we pray for healing and it comes in the form of death, this is a bitter pill to take. When we pray for help with a marriage that is falling apart and God delivers us through divorce, we have to accept God’s wisdom. When we pray for things we can’t handle, God’s withholding is for our own good.

Verse 28 reminds us that when God provides, we are called to “gather it up.” Like chickens in the barnyard who scatter at the farmer’s feet to receive the corn, we have to come to God in an attitude of humble gratitude for whatever God sees fit to provide. We need both wisdom and effort when it comes to receiving our Lord’s merciful gifts, knowing that everything we are being given comes from God’s goodness and God’s wisdom, which is much higher than our own.

Recognizing our dependance on God is a reason to sing. The Spirit is ready and able to create new things in us and for us with every breath. May we sing to the Lord as long as we live, and may our whole beings bless the Lord.

31 Let the Lord’s glory last forever!
    Let the Lord rejoice in all he has made!
32 He has only to look at the earth, and it shakes.
    God just touches the mountains, and they erupt in smoke.

33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God while I’m still alive.
34 Let my praise be pleasing to him;
    I’m rejoicing in the Lord!
35 Let sinners be wiped clean from the earth;
    let the wicked be no more.
But let my whole being bless the Lord!
    Praise the Lord!

God Provides by Michelle Robertson