Day: November 19, 2015

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PWTE Daily Devotion

Let’s Make a Deal

St. Elmo, Colorado

God calls us to examine what is behind the door of our lives.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.
Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you–
unless, of course, you fail the test?”
2 Corinthians 13:5 New International Version

I loved daytime game shoe, “Let’s Make a Deal,” though I haven’t watched the modern version with Wayne Brady. I enjoyed the different costumes people wore and the items they brought to exchange for what they hoped would be an amazing prize like a brand new car. Two people who were willing to trade back their winnings would have a chance at the end of the show to choose between three different doors; The Big Deal.

Valuable items waited behind two of those door, but something of lesser value than what the contestants traded in was stashed behind a third door, but which door would it be? We all waited, and secretly hoped, for that moment when one of the contestants chose the wrong door, forfeiting his or her valuable gift for something of lesser value.

St. Elmo, Colorado
St. Elmo, Colorado

What lays behind door 8 in St. Elmo? Is it something of value or not? Would people leap for joy when they saw was hidden behind this door, or would they walk away depressed and discouraged?

Open the doors of our Christian communities and what do people see? When you read the verse from 2 Corinthians you probably thought that Paul was writing to individuals, but he’s writing to the community: to all you all. Paul’s calling you and me in the context of our Christian communities  to examine our life together; to realize that Christ is in our community.

The community’s faith life centers on Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Christ who forms our life together. It is Jesus Christ who calls us to let the light of our communal life shine in our surrounding communities. We fail the test when Jesus Christ is no longer the focus of who we are and the force behind what we do.

God made a deal with us in his Son Jesus, a deal which includes the forgiveness of our sins. And it is this God who, through his Son, does his work through us. When we examine our Christian communities may we see Jesus front and center.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner

Categories
PWTE Daily Devotion

How to Be the Next Unlikely Super Hero

St. Elmo, Colorado

God uses us, warts and all, to change people’s lives.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“Then, since Rahab’s house was built into the town wall,
she let [the spies] down by a rope through the window.
‘Escape to the hill country,’ she told them.
‘Hide there for three days from the men searching for you.
Then, when they have returned, you can go on your way.'”
Joshua 2:15-16 New Living Translation

Wonder Woman, Batman, and the Tick (okay, maybe not the Tick) are characters we expect to save the day. When Gotham City is in danger, we expect Batman to slide down his pole to the Batcave, hop in his Batmobile and race to the rescue. That’s what super heroes do. It’s what we expect them to do, and we know that they will not disappoint us.

St. Elmo, Colorado
St. Elmo, Colorado

I don’t think many of us would consider Rahab a super hero. She’s a prostitute in Jericho; a non-Israelite, yet she knows that God has given the city into the hands of the Israelite. She is willing to risk death to save her life as well as her family’s life. In the process she becomes a super hero of the Bible when she saves the lives of the Israelite spies by her actions to save herself.

There is something earthy, something real in Rahab’s actions. Her goal is not to be a super hero, but to save herself, as well as her family, which she does because she declares the Lord is God (Joshua 2:11), and in this sense believes in the God of the Hebrews.

We don’t set out to be super heroes, in fact, much of what we do is to save our lives. God uses even our self-serving actions to change the lives of others. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying we should disregard our motives. I’m not saying we ought to live with selfish intent, but I am saying that even when our motives do not put God first he is at work to do what he does best: save lives.

How important was Rahab’s actions? We need to look to the New Testament for the answer as she is listed in Jesus’ genealogy, one of only four women mentioned (Matthew 1:5). When others look back on your life, your name will appear in their genealogy of faith because God is at work through you.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner