Colossians 1:9-14 Knowledge of God's Will

Observation: Paul prays for many blessings for the Christians in Colossae. What's interesting about Paul's prayer is that it has nothing to do with changing the Colossians' situation and everything to do with their perception. He prays not for God to grant all their desires, but that they may know God's will. He prays not that their lives would be easy, but that they would have strength and patience.

Application: God doesn't answer all our prayers. At least not the way we expect. That doesn't mean God doesn't hear or care about us. God wants to hear exactly where our hearts and minds are, and telling God what we want and need is not wrong. Jesus says God will grant us what we ask in Jesus' name. But anything we ask in Jesus' name is not for our purposes, but for God's, and the answer won't always look like we picture.

In my experience, however, a prayer that often does come through much the way we ask, is a prayer for a new mindset. I guarantee, if you are consistent in praying to know God's will, your eyes will be opened. If you pray for patience and strength, you'll get it. If you pray for wisdom, over time, it'll come. It's harder to ask God to change us than to change our situation, because change in us requires openness and hard work. But when we ourselves are changed, a lot about our world can change too.

Prayer: Change my heart, my mind and my spirit, God. Help me be ready when you answer. Amen 

Zechariah 9:14-10:2 Warriors and Rain

Observation: The prophet Zechariah promises a divine warrior figure will one day establish peace by conquering the invading Greek armies. The image of "waging war for the sake of peace" is all too familiar from human history, and even though this warrior comes from God, it's hard to accept a violent message as entirely good news.

Then, beginning a new section, the prophet urges listeners to ask The Lord, rather than any household gods, for rain.

Application: Whew. I'm always tempted to skip over violent texts like this, but I think it's important to stick here a minute and remind myself: Not every Bible text, on any given day of the week, will inspire and motivate you, just because it's the Bible. It's okay to be confused, or even disgusted, by some passages that really don't match up with our ethics and values today. It doesn't make you a ''bad Christian" to read a Bible text and say, "Boy, that really doesn't sound like something Jesus would say/do." Actually (and forgive me for stating the obvious) lifting up the life of Jesus as your standard is actually what makes you a Christian.

Which is to say, I didn't get much from today's text. I know the Holy Spirit inspired it for some reason, and it may have produced faith, hope and love in other believers at other times. That's good for them. I appreciate the part about relying on God for rain, because we've had the first bit of summer rain over the last three days or so in quite some time, and the earth is grateful. That's what I've got today. And Jesus is still Lord.

Prayer: God, thanks for the gift of scripture to inspire faith in your son Jesus. Help us to believe in and follow him above all else. 

Colossians 1:15-23 Reconciling All Things

Observation: Paul uses some of the most sweeping, cosmic terms to be found in the whole Bible to describe Jesus: "the image of the invisible God, firstborn of all creation firstborn from the dead...in him all things hold together." From very early on in the Christian movement, people were aware of Jesus as much more than a good teacher. He is the power and love of God incarnate. "Through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things."

Application: Sometimes Christians like myself get kind of an inflated ego. We sometimes get the impression that we are directly responsible for how much Jesus there is in the world. We try to bring Jesus to people, or bring people to Jesus, or try to close some imagined distance between Jesus and ourselves or our society. That's impossible. Know why? Because anywhere we go, Jesus is already waiting. He's everywhere. In him all things hold together. And God has already reconciled the whole world to himself. We can not make any of that happen. It already did. Our only job is pointing it out.

Prayer: Jesus, let me greet you in each new day, in each new person, in each new opportunity to love, where you have been waiting since before time. Thank you for making peace between our world and the Father. Amen. 

Amos 3:1-12 You Only Have I Known

Observation: God says that because God is in a special relationship with the people of Israel, only with Israel will God send prophets to hold the people accountable. Only Israel is in a covenant relationship with God. Therefore, as only a parent has responsibility to discipline a child, only God can discipline God's people.

Application: One of my biggest pet peeves is when religious people or organizations request preferential treatment in our society. Without getting into any specific case, it's sufficient to say that some in our American culture today long for the days when there was tremendous social pressure, not only to have religious faith, but specifically Christian faith. Increasingly, however, Christianity is not a cultural norm in America as it was in the past. Although this does mean church attendance and membership is on the decline, it also means those who attend church and call themselves Christians do so not just because it's the socially acceptable thing to do, but because they truly love Jesus and want to be there.

We may be entering a time when Christian disciples can grow as never before, because they can expect no special encouragement or rewards from the larger society, but instead are devoted to Jesus and his message. In this era, as in the early church, Christians can hold one another to a higher ethical standard--just as Jesus held his disciples to a higher standard--rather than to a lower one because we're "in the club". Being part of the family means accountability, and the promise of loving guidance.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, hold us accountable to a higher standard. Rejoicing in your grace, help us to live in a new obedience to you. Amen.

Amos 2:6-16 "You Shall Not Prophesy"

Observation: Amos relates God's message of judgment on the people of Israel, that though God helped them escape slavery in Egypt and cleared their path into the Promised Land, in return the people trample the poor into the dust, have promiscuous sex and worship idols.

In response to God's message, the people simply tell Amos to shut up: "You shall not prophesy!"

Application: Prophets have a tough time of it. They are never well received. Nobody likes to be told they're not doing right. Especially not when that message purports to be from none other than God. Some Christians may romanticize the role of one who "speaks truth to power," and there are certain types of people who do thrive on being the center of controversy, but in the long run, taking on the role of prophet can be a lonely, exhausting road.

 But something we learn from scripture is that prophets are called by God. They didn't just go to a job fair, or select "prophecy" as a major in a college course catalogue. They are made in such a way that telling God's truth is the only thing that feels right. Jeremiah describes the feeling of trying *not* to prophesy as having "fire shut up in [his] bones". This doesn't mean that everyone who claims to speak in God's name is doing so. Nor does it make it easier to hear when someone who really is called by God to share a word of truth that convicts us of sin. But as we listen and compare the prophet's words to God's Word as we know it, the Spirit will guide us and let us know if there is something we need to take to heart. No matter whether or not we ourselves are called as prophets, part of being a person of faith of any stripe is being ready to hear a prophet's truth. 

Prayer: God, thank you for Prophets. Help us to listen and really be changed by their words. Amen. 

Jeremiah 7:1-15 "The Temple of the Lord, The Temple of the Lord..."

Observation: God calls Jeremiah to "stand at the gate of the Lord's house," the Temple in Jerusalem, and remind God's people that just showing up for worship does not give them permission to act unjustly toward their most vulnerable citizens in their daily lives. To simply repeat religious slogans, "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord," is not enough. Jeremiah calls the Temple a "den of robbers", a phrase which Jesus will later quote when he disrupts temple worship. The prophet is called to make a promise to the people: "if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place..." 

Application: You've probably heard some version of this quote before, "Sitting in a pew on Sunday doesn't make us Christians any more than sitting in a garage makes us Ferraris." Worship is a time to dwell in God's presence, hear and receive God's grace, celebrate and praise God's name, and be empowered to go out and be God's people. It's that last part that always trips us up. We are glad to admire and praise Jesus, but when it comes to imitating him, that's harder to do. Especially in a culture that increasingly views compassion for "the alien, the orphan, the widow" with suspicion, or even as a partisan act.

God's grace is real, all the time. If we were already perfect, we wouldn't need worship. Our very lives would worship God. But since we're...well...us, since we do fall short, since we have sometimes fallen silent or even spoken unkindly when strangers are rejected and the vulnerable are brushed aside, we need grace. But that grace isn't cheap. At least it wasn't to God. It cost Jesus his life. And if we truly understand that, the only faithful response is to pledge our lives to embodying God's grace and love for others.

Prayer: God, help us stand in the gates sometimes, as a reminder that sometimes the only true worship is justice and mercy. Amen. 

2 Corinthians 8:16-24 Words Make Worlds

Observation: Paul is talking logistics to the Corinthian church about a special collection for the impoverished church in Jerusalem. He mentions sending Titus, one of his proteges, their way, along with a very gifted preacher who is not identified. No one knows who it is, but tradition holds it is Luke, the Gospel writer.

Application: After five days with thousands of young people from Lutheran congregations all across the US, I'm reminded more than ever that words have power. The gifted speakers, each with an inspiring story of God's love, grace and hope, deeply affected me and probably thousands of others. They opened up conversations that otherwise would not have happened, hard as that may sometimes be. As I reflect on the power of their words, and on the churches Paul and his partners built from nothing using only God's powerful Word, and on God's word himself, Jesus, I am reminded: never underestimate the power of the right word at the right time and place.

Prayer: God, thank you for words. For their power to connect our hearts and minds to one another. For God's power to use them in connecting to us. Thank you most of all for your word incarnate, Jesus Christ our Lord, who died and lives for us. Amen.