Views

The views expressed here are those of each individual devotion writer. Thank you to our writers for their contributions to this ministry!

Thursday, June 30, 2022

Peace and Gratitude

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:15-17

This passage gives me two thoughts to reflect on. The Peace of Christ is our fondest wish and hope for our world and our community of faith. If we can work through differences with love and do it in the name of the Lord Jesus, we can build relationships and avoid conflicts with a goal of Peace in our lives. The second thought is the “with gratitude in your hearts to God,” and “whatever you do, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” As Christians we surely must be constantly in an “attitude of gratitude” for the gift of our salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus so that we can live our lives with the goal of eternity in Christ’s kingdom, if we remain faithful to His promises.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we are so thankful that we can live joyful lives, praying and serving and encouraging others to live in Peace with the goal of Eternal Life with you.

June Lyman (reprinted from 2008. Title added by the editor.)

Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Temptation

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written, Man does not live on bread alone.” Luke 4: 2-4

Often temptation sneaks up on you and then in a bit or several days later, you are sorry you yielded. You may just want to vent about someone or maybe you wish you had something and just go get {it}. Then it sits there looking at you and you wonder why did I want that?

Case in point is a perfectly good automatic vacuum sweeper. I wanted it; I convinced my husband that it was a very necessary item. But then a broken collar bone made it necessary to hire a cleaning service. Automatic vacuums do not clean bathrooms! Anyone want or need an automatic vacuum sweeper?

Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days and nights. The devil offered food and said why don’t you jump? You will be fine since you are the Son of God. Jesus did not yield to temptation, but I am sure it was not easy. He must have been hungry, tired and maybe even cranky. All of us would have been. An old song goes “Yield not to temptation for yielding is sin.” The next time I enter the spare bedroom and see that perfectly good rather expensive vacuum, I think I will hum that song!

Prayer: Oh God, help us all avoid temptation in our lives. To not eat what is not good for us, to not respond in anger to those around us, to be gentle and kind in situations when we would like to be otherwise. Help us to think before acting. Amen

Carolyn Olsen

Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Refuge

I cried unto the lord with my voice; with my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication. I poured out my complaint before him, I showed before him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me; then thou knewest my path.  In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me. I looked on my right hand, and behold, but there was no man that would know me; no man cared for my soul. I cried unto thee, O Lord; I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.  Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.  Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise they name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me. Psalm 142

This psalm is a prayer written by David when he was hiding in caves from Saul as recorded in 1 Samuel 22 and 1 Samuel 24. David was overwhelmed and desperate. The cave was like a prison; he was cornered by his enemies. In his hopelessness he thought that no cared for him. After pouring out his lament to the Lord, David acknowledges that the Lord is his refuge and asks for deliverance. As the Psalm concludes David offers to render praise and thanksgiving and realizes that he is cared for by a bountiful and loving God.

How many times have we been in a “cave” or “dark tunnel?” Have we allowed feelings of despair and hopelessness to keep us on a downward spiral? Like David we must remember to turn to the Lord in prayer.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, you are a powerful God who loves us and cares deeply for us. Help us to remember to turn to you in prayer and thanksgiving. As we live our lives may we take comfort and assurance from the words of Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Amen

Gail Keown (reprinted from 2008. Title added by editor.)

Monday, June 27, 2022

Waiting for God

I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts. I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. Habakkuk 2:1

There are so many ways in which God’s actions or inactions make little sense to us.  We ask him for help, and he is silent. We trust in him to provide, and he withholds.  But is God inconsistent, or is he simply running according to another time schedule, another set of priorities?

Habakkuk questions God’s plan to use the pagan nation of Babylon to discipline wayward Israel. He then settles in to wait for God’s answer. Like a guard who waits through his watch with eye peeled for a sign of movement, Habakkuk waited for God.

So must we. We must pray with a willingness to wait and wait with a willingness to pray. Waiting and praying go together. Like two shoes of a pair or two halves of a whole, they work as a team.

Prayer: Dear Lord, sometimes things seem so hard, and we don’t understand why they must be that way. We pray, and we do not hear your answer. Help us to be patient, to wait for you to share your plan. Help us to be listening when you are speaking all around us. Amen

Laurie Schlitt (reprinted from 2008. Title added by editor.)

Friday, June 24, 2022

In God's Eyes, We Have Great Value

And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. Genesis 1:31

I was in a restaurant recently, waiting in the lobby for a table. To help pass the time, I began to study the many people milling around. For a while, I looked at their noses. I was amazed to see every shape and size imaginable. Then I compared hair color, height, and weight. I was impressed by the great variety I saw. No two people looked exactly the same.

Often our culture decides a certain nose or hair color, or figure is beautiful. I often laugh at myself when I try to have the same haircut as everyone else or the same clothes. I keep forgetting that God loves variety, as the author of the Presbyterian Women’s study book on Ephesians reminded me: “God keeps sending congregations members with diverse needs, life experiences, cultural loyalties, and even faith perspectives. This divine preference for variety is nothing new!”

It’s a great thing to be able to replace the world’s view of me (too old, too young, too short, too fat, too freckled, too smart, too dumb) with God’s view of me: “And God saw all that He had made, and beyond, it was very good.”  He created each of us in His own image. In God’s eyes, we have great value.

Prayer: Lord, help us to remember that you value variety and that you value the gifts you gave us. Help us to learn to see things with your eyes. In Jesus’ name.   Amen.

Nancy Brumbaugh (reprinted from 2008...title added by editor)

Thursday, June 23, 2022

Misunderstanding of Spiritual Person

A spiritual person “will have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:16

For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Romans 8:12-14

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

You will notice as you pass through life that those who speak openly about their faith and tell how others can turn to our Lord, often have people who don’t want to be around them. These people cannot accept and understand the things that come from the Spirit of God as they are foolishness to him.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we need your help to present your message to those who are not spiritually discerned, so they may have the mind of Christ as it says in 1 Corinthians. When we see people turn away because of words they do not understand, help us know how to speak to them. In Jesus name, Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck

Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Holy Spirit

There are times when you feel you have reached the “last straw” or just one more item that will overload you. Sometimes life hands you so many curves, turns, detours, decisions that you wonder where do I go from here.  

Remember with the strength of the Holy Spirit you can survive.

I have a lot of trees around where I live; a couple of the trees really needed cleaning up. I was working on the ones I can reach or at least my tree trimming chain saw can reach. But there is one limb that I really don’t know how it is still hanging on. It’s impossible that as broken as it is that it hasn’t fallen down. It’s a rather large branch so I know it’s beyond my capabilities to safely remove. But with the weight of it and the gravity pulling it down, how does it hang there? 

If you have ever seen the wondrous unexplainable things in this world, you know He has to have a hand in it. He must be guiding us through the toughest of times, but always there. 

I had a Christmas poinsettia that I was pretty sure it hadn’t survived after its beautiful bloom. But it had just a tiny green left in its frame; so I decided to move it to a different window, moderately water. That plant has grown numerous leaves and is filling out to be a beautiful plant; even if it does bloom it has shown its ability to survive and began new growth. 

And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward. Exodus 14:14

Lori Hood (photos below shared by Lori)





Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Happy Summer Solstice

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away. Ecclesiastes 3:1-6

The summer solstice is the longest day of the year, and the shortest night. In the Northern Hemisphere it takes place between June 20 and 22, depending on the year. In the Southern Hemisphere, the longest day of the year occurs between December 20 and 22. Over the course of history, many cultures have celebrated this day. Today, most of us just think of it as the “first day of summer”.

As I get older, I appreciate the changing seasons more. I still love summer, but I know that without the cold of winter, we wouldn’t rejoice with the beauty and warmth of spring and summer. A reminder to practice gratitude!

I have traveled Highway 77 through Nebraska countless times, heading back to Iowa for photography jobs. Many times during the first year we lived in Lincoln, I noticed three horses in a field near Lyons, Nebraska. I pulled over to the side of the road on the day of the summer solstice 2013 to take these photos. I love how the solstice’s lemony light illuminates the scene. A few years ago, the owner moved the horses. I don’t stop looking, however, just in case they're back. They had only been residing in that field for a season, it seemed. 

I am thankful that they were there that day, so that I could appreciate their beauty (and capture some photos!). Instead of focusing on the fact that they are gone, I can choose to remember fondly that they were there in the first place.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to practice gratitude in our lives. We know that without the darkness, we can’t fully appreciate the light. Without the winter, we can’t appreciate the spring. Thank you for the gift of seasons, literal and figurative, of our lives. Amen.

Donna Gustafson

Monday, June 20, 2022

Seeds

...for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:23

The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, and this is smaller than all other seeds; but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. Matthew 13: 31-32

When I was a little girl, my grandmother gave me a necklace with a tiny glass pendant on it. Inside the glass was encased a mustard seed. She told me the parable of the mustard seed and its significance. Whenever I wore it, it sparked many conversations. I remember it often, and think how ironic it is that small things, even children, have endless potential. 

I did not fully come to be in wonder of this until I started following the stages of a young friend who recently became pregnant. Even at a few weeks' pregnancy, with the baby in its most rapid stages of growth, it was merely the size of a sesame seed. Yet in that thing barely visible to the naked eye, is the germ of a human being. 

This spring I planted a number of seeds, and most of them have been larger than sesame seeds; but they have grown into amazing flowering plants that will never be as large as I am. Yet that sesame seed-sized baby will become a fully developed human. (Please do not take any of this as an expression of a political or legal view.)

I believe that size does not matter in God's world. There is no limitation conferred on things in God's eyes. Little and big have no meaning to the God who counts the hairs on our heads or creates the universe. Little things truly do count. Small pleasures, moments of enlightenment, tiny miracles that advance us in our growth; because growth does indeed matter, even when size does not.  

I am fascinated, in the spring and summer, watching the stages of growth in nature. It is encouraging to believe that I am capable of infinitesimal growth during any moment on this earth. That, to me, is what being alive is all about. Seeds and atoms and other minutiae are the building blocks of life in the natural world, and their transformation, by growth or by gathering in community, is revolutionary. The process is exhilarating and powerful.

"For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn't understand growth, it would look like complete destruction." Cynthia Occelli

Prayer: God in whose hands are many seeds, help us to understand big and small things beyond the condition of their size. Help us to see what matters, and to grow in communion with all the sacred things that flower in your world. Thank you for the miracle and wonder of transformation and growth and help us to experience those gifts as we grow in the true knowledge of your boundless creation. Become the smallest thing at our center, and the largest thing all around us. Amen.

Mollie Manner (reprinted from 2019)

Friday, June 17, 2022

Happy Father's Day on Sunday

 


Some Father's Day-inspired scripture:

"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4

"Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching." Proverbs 1:8

"As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him." Psalm 103:13

"Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

"The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him." Proverbs 23:24


Thursday, June 16, 2022

Joy is not the Same as Pleasure or Happiness

I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. 1 Chronicles 29:17 

Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place. 1 Chronicles 16:27 

Let the trees of the forest sing, let them sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. 1 Chronicles 16:33 

Fulton Sheen says in his “365 Days of Inspiration”-

Joy is not the same as pleasure or happiness. A wicked and evil man may have pleasure, while any ordinary mortal is capable of being happy. Pleasure generally comes from things, and always through the senses; happiness comes from humans through fellowship. Joy comes from loving God and neighbor. Pleasure is quick and violent, like a flash of lightning. Joy is steady and abiding, like a fixed star. Pleasure depends on external circumstances, such as money, food, travel, etc. Joy is independent of them, for it comes from a good conscience and love of God.

Every man rejoices twice when he has a partner in his joy. He who shares tears with us wipes them away. He divides them in two, and he who laughs with us makes the joy double.

I had an experience this week of having a family member tell me I was instrumental in helping him and another family member understand the love of life, all life. The joy I felt had nothing to do with happiness or something pleasurable. It was true joy that went throughout my body until I was at the point of tears. It was steady, like a fixed star.

Another instance of joy I had recently was one of the players I taught free tennis lessons to at-risk kids on junior high school courts in the early 1990’s has become a tennis professional. He is now teaching others to play the sport I love and coaching where I coached at Nebraska Wesleyan. It made me feel I made a difference without spending money, just time, with kids.

Prayer: Father, Almighty God, thank you for the joy of serving others and serving you. Thank you for making humans experience true JOY when their life shows meaning and caring for one another. In Jesus name, Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck 

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

The Parable of the Rich Fool


Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” Luke 12: 13-21

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Psalm 30

 


I will exalt you, Lord,

    for you lifted me out of the depths

    and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

  Lord my God, I called to you for help,

    and you healed me.

  You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;

    you spared me from going down to the pit.

 

  Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;

    praise his holy name.

  For his anger lasts only a moment,

    but his favor lasts a lifetime;

weeping may stay for the night,

    but rejoicing comes in the morning.

 

 When I felt secure, I said,

    “I will never be shaken.”

 Lord, when you favored me,

    you made my royal mountain stand firm;

but when you hid your face,

    I was dismayed.

 

  To you, Lord, I called;

    to the Lord I cried for mercy:

  “What is gained if I am silenced,

    if I go down to the pit?

Will the dust praise you?

    Will it proclaim your faithfulness?

  Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me;

    Lord, be my help.”

You turned my wailing into dancing;

    you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

  that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.

    Lord my God, I will praise you forever. Psalm 30

Monday, June 13, 2022

God is So Creative

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Romans 1:20

Jesus said, Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. John 17:24

But at the beginning of creation God made them male and female. Mark 10:6

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." Mark 16:15

I look at the iris and cannot believe the beauty. The iris and the perennial geranium sleep through the winter underground and come back every year to give us this beauty. Can you imagine designing these? Then, the great design of the bird mother’s egg which protects the baby from rain, sun and more until the baby pecks out (how does it know to do that?), according to God’s will.

Prayer: please Lord, help us to realize how awesome you are and see your glory. You designed and made these wonders for us. Guide us to tell others you are the creator of all things.

Sandra Hilsabeck (photos shared by Sandra)





 

 

Friday, June 10, 2022

What does your sandwich board say?

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Colossians 3:11

Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.   Ephesians 5:1-2

In Frank Bruni’s book The Beauty of Dusk: On Vision Lost and Found he talks about not knowing what others have been through, what makes them behave in certain ways, what motivates or depresses them. (Point of reference: you may not know why that driver cut you off in traffic, or why your best friend snarled at you on the phone). His point is, if we all had sandwich boards with our limitations/struggles displayed for all to see, in other words, outwardly visible, maybe we would all know to be gentler with each other. We don’t always know where someone has been, but we can offer them care. Compassion. Forgiveness. Help. Maybe only a smile, but it’s a start.

What would your sandwich board say? In Bruni’s book, he contrasts daily sandwich board issues with bigger issues. For example, today my board might say “she feels stressed out by unfinished tasks”. A permanent board might reveal “she has had the same health challenges for 28 years and is tired”. Someone else’s board might read: “he has lost his wife and is overwhelmed by grief”. Endless sandwich board options.

In an essay titled "To The Woman Screaming On The Quad" in Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives by Mary Laura Philpott, the author points out that sometimes we are judged on our worst behavior, behavior that probably says more about what kind of day we're having rather than who we are most of the time. We've all been there. "Everything we've ever done, no matter how true or false to our nature, makes us the kind of person who does that thing - at least to anyone who was there for it." We can empathize with others, because we can recall times when we have felt that we had run out of patience, or were unable to deal with the situation at hand in a calm way. 

In considering these sandwich board revelations, maybe we can benefit from not only empathizing with others, but realizing we have much in common with those who are struggling just as we are.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for guiding me as your disciple. Show me ways in which I can demonstrate your love and care to those in my life. I want to better appreciate the fact that despite outward or visible differences, at our basic human level we are not so different at all. Help me to remember that we all have our own “sandwich boards”. Amen.

Donna Gustafson

Thursday, June 9, 2022

Forever Promises by God

Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon., praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created. He set them in place for ever and ever; he gave a decree that will never pass away. Psalm 148: 1-6

There are many places in the Bible where God controls forces which men are unable to control like rain in Genesis 7:12, wind in Genesis 8:1, darkness in Exodus 10:23 and an earthquake in Numbers 16:31-33 to help his people. However, men have never been able to stop the morning from coming or stop the wind or the storms. For sure, we would have liked to stop the winds we had this spring.

I am thankful the verses above declare the Lord has placed the heavens, the seasons, and the sun to shine in the day and the moon to shine in the night for ever and ever, so we can have consistency in a world that keeps changing. I am so happy to see the sun come up every day and the spring which came and brings all the beautiful flowers. It helps me know God is in control in spite of the evil that men do on this earth.

Fulton Sheen says in his book of 365 Days of Inspiration, “A man without God is not like a cake without raisins; he is like a cake without the flour and milk; he lacks the essential ingredients.” God gave us free will and many today are without God. But we who see what God created and gave to us on this earth can be calmed by His creation and His love.

Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, thank you for creating us and giving us your Bible, which explains your creation which is for ever and ever. Help us to reach those in our world that are without God. Help us to show them that you forgive, and you love forever. Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck

Wednesday, June 8, 2022

The "This I Know People"

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, that everyone who has faith in him may not die but have eternal life (John 3:16 New English Bible).

Recently I wrote a devotional message about a Canadian woman named Catherine who wanted to use a devotional of mine about the children’s hymn, “Jesus Loves Me.” It started me thinking about why I loved that message so much. Among all the wonderful stories about that hymn, I decided to retell a story that happened in 1949.

In that year, Communism was taking over the country of China and there were many Christians inside China’s borders. These Christians were being persecuted.  Family and friends outside of China were worried about those who were trapped.

A group of those Christians inside China’s borders wanted to tell their loved ones in a letter that they were OK, but they were concerned that the censors wouldn’t let their letter go through. So, they wrote a letter saying that “the this I know people” are well. The censors thought that phrase was nonsensical and let the message go through. 

In today’s world, Christians are being persecuted again.  Are you a “this I know” Christian? Let’s continue to go out and tell the world about Jesus’ love for all of us.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, the gift of Your Son, Jesus, is the greatest blessing you have given us. Please give us the strength to continue spreading the news of Jesus’ love. In His name we pray. Amen

Judy Welch

Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Impossible to Comprehend

 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was day- the fourth day. Genesis 1: 14-19

I was all set to ride my bike to the Rocca Berry Farm and see the August 21, 2017 eclipse. The tickets and lunches were ordered and received. Preparing to put it on the calendar I noticed I had to be at Lincoln Surgical Hospital for eye surgery on the very same day. OK, as I do often, I worked on a way to do both things. No, the next date available for surgery was too late to take. No, the doctor said I cannot ride my bike the afternoon of the surgery, it would be too dangerous.

I settled in and decided to watch the eclipse from our circle. Lo and behold, the people at Roca Berry Farms did not have the beautiful view we had right here in Lincoln.

Amazing, amazing, what a place God used to set our earth in the universe. How could he create all of this in such a way man could calculate the exact time the moon would cover the sun in a total eclipse? Calculations were made for each area on earth. Men and women who can do that are amazing too, but God set it all up and tells us about it in His book our Bible.

Prayer: Oh Lord, God Almighty, how little I seem. You control all. You planned the total eclipse before you put the sun and the moon in the sky. You created us allowing us to see this magnificent sight that happens so far above us all. It is beyond words. Thank you. Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck (reprinted from 2017)

Monday, June 6, 2022

A Sure and Certain Hope

Matthew 28:1-10

A sure and certain...death. They did not abandon, leave, or forsaken their teacher, friend, and Lord. They followed him...all the way. Yes, those women that appear in the lineage at the beginning of Matthew, like little seeds of hope that bear witness, that tell the story of the way the world can and should be; when the ones whose lives and voices have been silenced; when outsiders break down barriers; when the refugees come home; when the abused are named; when the young, teenage, pregnant mother and the one to whom she is betrothed do the unthinkable - give birth to the Annointed One - the Messiah - the Christos - the God-with-us. These women, these are the ones who travel with, learn from, eat with, and care for Jesus. They follow him to the ends of the earth - or back to the beginning, back to Jerusalem, back to the place of God's promise and blessing, the seat of the Kingdom, where David reigned as King. They followed him, cheering in the parade behind his ride into town on a donkey, on the colt - the foal - of a donkey. They heard him preach five crazy sermons, or lessons, about the divisions - harsh divisions - of wheat and weeds, of wedding guests, of bridesmaids, of servants, of sheep and goats. They understood what he meant when he said, "Be perfect, as God is perfect." They heard the implied, "As I am perfect." They were there when he took the unleavened bread of the Passover feast, and declared, "I give you my body. I give you my blood." They were there when the centurions and the Roman politicians, and the religious leaders, and the crowd - when everything horrible, truly horrible happened. The believed he was the one. The Messiah. The Annointed One. The King. They believed - he was perfect. They believed. 

Even when he did not. Maybe you participated in our Afterchat with our friend, the professor of religion (and theatre!), Dr. Richard Swanson from Augustana University. He shared with us that this perfect, beloved, son of God, who was hunted, fled to Egypt, could not go home, whose entire age group was slaughtered by the first Herod, whose cousin John was slaughtered by the second Herod, that this God-with-us, made a shocking confession before dying on the cross. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me." His last recorded words. Jesus died believing he was alone, abandoned by a God he could not see, or feel. And while some scholars point out that he still believed, because he cried out to God, Swanson wonders why he did not then finish that Psalm, Psalm 22, that begins with this cry of abandonment, and ends with a confession of faith in a God the Psalmist could not see. 

Matthew throws us a twist here, because we, the readers, we know, we know, that Jesus has not been abandoned on the cross. Joseph of Arimathea - he is there. He asks Pilate for the body, and gives it a proper burial. And the women. The women are there. "They had followed from Galilee to care for his needs." They sit there. At the tomb. They sit there. Waiting. To know for sure that he is gone. The last breath expired.  They waited the three days, customary, to know that he was really, truly gone. They sat there with Roman centurions, made to watch the tomb to make sure no one (the women?) would steal the body, in order to claim that Jesus wasn't really dead. They all waited. To know. There is no way Jesus of Nazareth could have survived. Not death on the cross. Not the burial rituals. Not being in a tomb for three days. Dead. A sure and certain death.

How do you know - for sure and certain? 

A week ago, I had a crazy dream. I dreamt my beloved shi-tzu dog, Teddy, was alive. In fact, it was kind of a creepy dream where I lived in a previous house in a previous city, and it was my previous life, where I had no kids, and no husband, and no - you - and I knew it was wrong. As I struggled to wake up, I had that same feeling of waking up from the dream where I am back in high school, in college, and I'm failing my courses, because I haven't done the reading, because I've already finished those courses and done that reading! Or, I show up late to my hourly-paid job - like, years and years late, to find out that for the last twenty years, they've still given me shifts, named me the shift lead, and been docking my pay for not showing up to a job I no longer think I have. 

How do you know? That the vision you have in a dream, of that person you lost, that physical health you no longer have, that pre-pandemic life, pre-divorce or separation life, that pre-diagnosis life, that life that was once yours, that "before" is no longer? When you wake up, and you see the reality of what is set before you, in this after? The empty seat, the empty bank account, the empty bed - house, the long walks, the painful movement? 

How do you know? When you are sitting beside "them," for the first time on the same side of this.  Really dead. The women and the Roman guards watch, making sure the tomb is untouched, the body of the deceased safe inside. 

I wonder if it seemed like a dream, then, when the earth started to shake - violently shake? When the angel of the Lord descended, and rolled the stone away? When the guards - the ones living - became like the dead; and the angel invited them to look inside - the dead became alive. Were they really afraid? Or did something inside of them spring up, just a little bit, hoping they might see their teacher, their friend, - maybe not walking out of the tomb, maybe not sitting up, maybe not even moving.  Just a little twitch of the eye. A small movement of breath. 

No. Nothing. Nothing inside. The angel tells them, before they can even get there, be there, peer inside.  Nothing to look at here, ladies! Because he is risen. He goes ahead of you. Go to Galilee. He will meet you there. 

Not sure. Not certain. But it's there. Dare they? Can they? Will they? Hope? After all the horrible-ness.  The violence, the abandonment, the death, the burial. Can they hope, just a little?

How does one hope, with a Sure and Certain Hope? How do you know it's more than a dream? A confusing dream? A nightmare dream? A comforting dream? How do you know your hope is real? Sure? Certain?

They run with fear AND joy, longing to see him. When they do they fall, grab onto his feet, those feet that have carried him throughout the countryside teaching, healing, feeding, praying; those feet that have been pierced; those resurrected feet which carry him to jump out with a surprise greeting now. They fall, and they worship.

Does he look different to you? This Jesus? After? After the pain, the loss, the sorrow, the abandonment? Swanson argues this is a Jesus transformed. Not resuscitated. Resurrected! It's not about breathing! It's about life. Real life. 

It's about life that happens. Hunger. Poverty. Imprisonment. Oppression. Loss. Separation. Illness. Abuse. War. Famine. Flood. Hurricane. Fire. Divorce. Separation. Abandonment. 

I don't know where you are today, or what you came here looking to find. I can only tell you that I am a woman, who has dedicated her life to following this Jesus who feeds, heals, teaches, and restores. I have followed him, in order that I might bear witness, that is see him and share him with you. I tell you this morning, I have seen the Lord! 

I have seen the Lord in the reunions of those long separated.

I have seen the Lord in the community that surrounds those who are grieving.

I have seen the Lord in the mental health hospital when the abused forgave the abuser.

I have seen the Lord in the sharing of food - food given in our pantry, meals offered by clients.

I have seen the Lord in the mother and father who put aside past pains and expectations to love their children.

I have seen the Lord in the surprise of that long-forgotten feeling of love, tenderness, and caring.

I have seen the Lord in the courage of those for whom every day without drugs and alcohol is a good day.

I have seen the Lord in the faces of those who are ending their earthly journey, yes, whose bodies are dying, but whose spirits are reaching for the eternal. 

I have seen the Lord when we embrace the other and allow ourselves to be changed by who they are, and what they bring.

I have seen the Lord, dear friends, here and now, as we gather together, to reach out with small hope for the feet of the Risen Lord, and who, having clasped them, worship the risen savior, Son of Man, Son of God, with a sure and certain hope.

For surely, dear friends, if we have been united with Christ in a death like his, we will surely and certainly be united with Christ in a resurrection like his. 

Sure.  Certain.  Hope.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Melodie Jones Pointon            

Friday, June 3, 2022

Straight to the Heart

Romans 5:1-11

Earlier this week, I was listening to a podcast, where the guest was sharing about the early days of the pandemic, and what life was like. Three weeks, she said, three weeks for our rivers and streams to clear up - even the nastiest and worst polluted ones. Three weeks for the hole in the ozone layer to begin to heal, for the haze and pollution from factories, car, and other human wrought damage to begin to subside. Three weeks, she said, for neighbors to meet neighbors they'd never met before, reach out and re-connect with friends and family who are not a part of everyday life. Three weeks, she said, for the city-dweller to hear the song of the birds in the morning as they woke, to see the streets come together with nature and life other than the cars and buses they designed to carry. Three weeks, she said, for us to find those essential workers - people whose jobs we hold in high regard, like doctors and nurses, and wear them out, letting them take the mental, emotional, and physical stress upon their own bodies. Three weeks, she said, for us to find those essential workers - people whose jobs we need to keep things running - like grocery store, childcare, those who clean and disinfect our spaces, and tell them they have to keep going (but they would have any way, they can't afford not to). Three weeks for those who could to set up home offices, wear pajama (bottoms) to work everyday, balance the stresses and joys of living and working and parenting and being in one space all the time. 

Three weeks, she said, for the natural environment begin to heal, and for society to divide itself. 

In the midst of all this, she noted the peace that she felt at the beginning of everyday, waking up (yes) in the middle of a city, where she'd never heard the birds before, never spent so much time with her amazing spouse, got to know her neighbors and community, and had time for her hobbies.  It was so amazing, and would have been so wonderful...except for the tension in her every breath, not knowing if she had it, was sharing it; knowing that people were dying - healthy people, sick people, young people, older people, friends, strangers.  Knowing only that we were up against an adversary we knew little about, other than we didn't have any defense. 

Yes, it was peace, she said, under the very heavy veil of tension.

Peace. Paul opens our text for today with these words about peace. Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his faithfulness, we have peace. Of course, as we learned last week, though, this isn't a passage or a sermon written on its own. Paul, the great Apostle, missionary, converted converter, is writing to a community he has never been to - the only of his letters to a community he did not establish and nurture into being - but longs to visit. Why, we ask? Why does Paul long to visit Rome?

There's a lot of things we don't know about Paul, so it's a wonderful sacred imagination spiritual discipline to dream about who Paul might have been. It's okay, and we need that, otherwise we might not like Paul. The things we do know about him should make us suspicious of him, as his own contemporaries were, as the church in Rome was. Paul was a persecutor of the Christians, a devout protector of a very rigid and literal form of his childhood faith, who claimed to have an experience where he saw Jesus, which only made others more suspicious of him. After his conversion, he began to share about the new way of life with people outside of the covenant, which maybe there were some who thought was okay, who didn't mind, except its Paul. Why would he become so insistent on bringing those gentiles into an already established faith community where no one else really thought they belonged? One could see his traveling as a wonderful calling and gift from God. Or one could read some of these letters and think that Paul is telling others to do what he cannot - to live in community with each other, to lay aside differences, to find that peace with God through Jesus Christ. 

He writes to the church in Rome - why? He longs to be with them - why? As Thomas mentioned last week, and we've mentioned before, we're reading someone else's mail here. There is an element, here, then, of things we will never know or understand, because we aren't living in that time and culture, we don't live in that particular place, and we aren't the ones with (or without) the relationship to fully understand all the dynamics at play. What we do know is that Paul could write, by which I mean he could write and read, physically and intellectually able to do these things, and so we have his letters, and maybe not letters from others who were sharing the gospel. We also know that he writes about himself as a person who was struggled with his past, and the things he'd done, and who struggled with sin and faith and righteousness; who had some pain and suffering, was thrown in jail; who struggled with inclusion and exclusion, and fairness, and how it all worked; and he wrote it all down, beautifully. These words, dear friends, speak to us through the ages, and much of his writing does not need a deep historical-theological exegesis and study of hermeneutics to reach us - because without love I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

I really don't understand why he's writing to the church in Rome, why this exception was made for a community that he does not share a close connection with. The only thing that makes sense to me is that Rome is the belly of the beast, the head of the dragon, the heart of the empire. Life in Rome is amazing - really, in all of the Roman empire - as a peaceful city and empire. Pax Romana. Maybe you learned about it in school, I know I did, a long, long time ago. I dust of the cobwebs of a long ago education and remember that life in the Roman empire was good, very good. They had great food, good parties, awesome clothes, and good entertainment. Life for the Roman citizen was good - just not for the average Roman citizen. 

It is out of this Pax Romana that we get Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony, a true tale of deceit, treachery, and death; a working class that never gets ahead and lives to serve their masters - yes, slave and servant; a system of violence and oppression where entertainment was to watch troublemakers and political threats and rebels fight each other, lions, or be crucified in the coliseum and the city gates.        

Yes, it was peace, but at what cost?

The Pax Romana was a peace under the veil of oppression and fear of the ruthless, violent, at times turbulent government. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, writes to the Christian community that lives every day in its shadow. 

Peace. Paul is writing to these early followers of a faith not fully formed to have peace with each other, because they have peace with God. For a people who are living in a place where life is highly structured, and not fair, he writes - you, dear people of God, are now ONE community, made into ONE community by the great power of God in Jesus Christ. These passages we did not read, particularly chapter 3, speak so powerfully about being made right we God, not of our own doing, but because of Christ's act on our behalf - his death so that we might die to sin, and he resurrection so that we might have new life in him - has spoken and inspired believers throughout the ages. It was this chapter - 3 - that we did not read, that inspired the likes of Martin Luther, the great reformer, so that it clicked in his heart and soul that we do not live anymore under the veil of sin and death, but that we are called to live in the peace of God. Radically here, Paul takes away those things that have made us different, from each other, from the rest of society, and says, "You're all the same here, folks.  In this one regard, you are all the same, and it doesn't matter who you are - for those who have believed for their entire lives, and for those who have believed for a day - you are all receivers of this righteousness, a restored relationship with God.

Wow. That's big. I don’t know that we fully understand just how big that is. Have you ever been part of a group or an organization that longs for new members, extends awesome hospitality, and then struggles because they don't know the "way we do things?" Maybe you've been sitting at a meeting when a new attender throws out an idea that is so - well - unheard of and different that they clearly don't know the history of the organization, and why things are done the way they are? I'm going to be honest with you this morning and tell you that in my 20 years of ordained service to the church, I have seen my fair share of this. So much so that I really thought it was only the church that struggled with it. Of course, the church is NOT the only place that struggles, I'm seeing it now in every aspect of life, every time someone new is introduced as a potential in-law or step-relative, every time a new class of students enters a school, every time a new coach brings their coaching staff, every time a company is bought out or merged. 

I remember, several years ago now, when I first met our friend Adam White. Maybe you know Adam - he has served as the pastor to the Lutheran Center at UNL for most of his career, is a graduate of Hastings College, and is now moving to Minnesota to serve in congregational ministries. Anyway, I remember the first time I met him, and we took our staff (at the time) on a tour of the old Lutheran Center building. He shared with us his vision for the community he served, and how the building (at the time) was not serving the community well. When he showed us the worship space, I asked a whole bunch of questions about worship, and leadership, and Adam gently and excitedly shared this truth about working with college students - every four years, the entirety of the community he served was completely different. He knew, 100% that every four years, none of the members would be the same. The mentality of the community then, was this - how we will worship God today as a community? What gifts and talents do we bring, and how can we share them? Some years, he said, it meant worship with more traditional instruments, and songs out of a hymnal. Some years, he said, it meant more contemplative practices and less singing. Some years, he said, it meant praising God with harp, guitar, flute, and violin. Some years, he said, it means worshipping with drums and guitar. 

What freedom, there is, dear friends, in this! As we continue, unfortunately, to be in the fits and throws of what can and can't be safely done, I would urge us all to have an awareness that we are all, here today, the church gathered to worship. And yes, some of us are new, and some of us - aren't; some of us are tired, and some of us have energy; some of us long to return to the way things have been done, and some of us only know what is currently being done; and some of us are in person, and some of us are online or on the phone; and some of us are this, and some of us are that. I would offer for us this morning that we are not serving the church, or each other, or the God with whom we are made right through Jesus Christ, if we did not continuously go back to that cornerstone of faith that Paul shares - that we have all received righteousness by the life and death of Jesus, and new life in the resurrection of Jesus. 

This, dear friends, peace under the grace of God in Jesus Christ. It's the Amazing Grace of God, in the old, familiar tune, and in a completely new way, as well.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Melodie Jones Pointon

Thursday, June 2, 2022

Like a Mustard Seed

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.  Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” (Matt. 13:31-32 NIV)

In the mid to late ‘90’s, I started writing daily devotionals and continued doing so until about 5 years ago at which time I took a break from writing as I was suffering from burnout and writer’s block. 

During those 15+ years, I wrote for the Eastridge page, but I also wrote for the Presbyterian Church of Canada’s webpage which goes by the name of PresbyCan Daily Devotional. At that time, their daily page was published across the globe and translated into 7 languages besides English. I am sure it has grown since then. Receiving feedback from readers from so many different countries was very affirming. I admit that during my break I have missed that aspect of devotional writing immensely.

Recently, a woman named Catherine who lives in Canada sent an email asking me if I would be willing to give up my copyright rights to a message I wrote about the Children’s hymn, “Jesus Loves Me.” It was published in the PresbyCan Daily in August of 2016. I marveled that it was still available to readers. 

Catherine basically wanted to plagiarize my whole message and present it orally to her Presbyterian Women’s Society’s synodical meeting. I gave her my permission and told her it pleased me that she liked it well enough to present it as a closing devotional to such a large group.  

This message of mine after going around the world several years ago like the mustard seed in Jesus’ parable was being presented to a new audience and it was growing again. To me it seemed like one of those “God things” and perhaps it is just the sign I needed to start sharing my faith through writing again.

Prayer: Thank You, Father, for all the readers of Your word and especially for those who affirm and encourage those of us who send out our faith to all the world through writing. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Judy Welch 

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Meditation on Romans 12:9-18

Let your love be genuine, Paul writes to the newly formed church at Rome. Or, as the Common English Bible puts it, "love should be shown without pretending." This letter to the church at Rome is different from his other letters - this community of faith is the only one he didn't establish, has never visited, indeed, as never even met. It's a diverse community of those who have been part of the covenant of God's people, Israel, and the gentile community that is being grafted into the body of Christ. This dual identity is one that Paul himself struggles with, having loved the Jewish understanding of the God of his youth; and the non- Jewish converts who are now taking part in this new community. Paul wrestles with how all this works out, and then turns to some very practical ways to live in this new community together.

THE love genuine, he writes. Translations have to add words in order for us to understand. THE love, meaning God's love, genuine. This is the cornerstone, the center of how God's people are to live in community with each other. It's a description, not a prescription. It's a statement of fact, not an order to follow. THE love is genuine. No pretending, folks.

It's not as poetic as Paul's tome of love in I Corinthians 13, but it's not far behind. THE love doesn't pretend. THE love is genuine.

What is this love, and what does it look like? Paul goes on to describe how this love changes - because it causes its receivers to turn from evil, to cling to what is good; brings us to love each other like we're family, to outdo each other in showing honor and respect, it's enthusiastic in its expression.

This love - THE love grounds its receivers so they can withstand adversity, pray in the toughest of times, welcome strangers - welcome those who are mean to you, share happiness with others, and cry with others. THE love leads its receivers to the conclusion that they're not better than anyone else and chooses to spend time with those who don't have status.

I would encourage us to be paying attention to THE love these days.  Listen for it.  Watch for it.  Pay attention to it.  Share it.  There's a lot going on in the world, and it can be hard to find THE love.  Take a few moments today, and think about someone you know or have known and how they have shared THE love with you.

Love - THE love - isn't shared with words, it doesn't need to be spoken. THE love doesn't talk very much. But it does say everything about who and whose you are. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Melodie Jones Pointon