Month: May 2017

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PWTE Daily Devotion

But I Say to You!

Tooth Talk.

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

Our oldest grandson lost his first tooth a couple months ago.  It was a big deal.  We received a couple of pictures, via text within minutes, to share the good news.  The next morning, he found $5 under his pillow!  Hello!  Beats the 5 cents I received!

Luckily for our grandson, he didn’t receive a tooth for a tooth!  But you know I’m pulling something (no tooth-pun intended) out of context with that one.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus pulls things from Scripture and still keeps them “in context.“

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’  But I say to you….”
Matthew 5:38-39a, New American Standard Bible

I like the way Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message:  “Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’  Is that going to get us anywhere?  Here’s what I propose: Don’t hit back at all.“

In this portion of the Sermon on the Mount, God the Word quotes the Word of his own Scripture and puts it in the context of his fulfillment of that Word.  He does this over and over, and each time he says, “But I say to you….”  Jesus the Word has the authority to interpret and apply the Word that is He as the Word of God.  There’s a bit of a mind-bender for you.

There is enough — in fact, too much — “tooth for a tooth“ behavior in the world.  There is too much of it in the Church, in families — well, I’m guessing you get the idea.  You can add to the list, if you’d like, but I wouldn’t waste the time.  As the paraphrase above says, “Is that going to get us anywhere?“ Christ came as love, in love, to love.  He bids us come and follow.  It’s a better way to live, I guarantee it.  You are loved today.  Love, today.  God smiles on you today.  Smile, today.  Even if you have a tooth missing.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, CO

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PWTE Daily Devotion

Strangers in the World

Carrying Joy in a Grim World.

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

“All these people were still living by faith when they died.  They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.  And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.”
Hebrews 11:13

As we were walking through the streets surrounded by the concrete high rises of downtown Chicago, I was stunned to see … tulips.  Bravely reaching for the sunlight in the shadows of the tall buildings, there were beautiful, vibrant flowers cheering my day.

That is what God has ordained you and me to be, chosen people carrying joy and beauty into a dark, grim world.  Not that you and I are such beautiful people, but you and I, clay jars that we are, are carrying the greatest treasure, the most joyful message of all time.  In the midst of a sinful world, the Lord Jesus Christ has died to remove my sin and has risen to give me eternal life.  This is the message, the joy, the peace that this world desperately needs.

Although you and I are surrounded by sin and death, we do not give up hope.  We see with the eyes of faith that God has redeemed His people, and there is laid up for us an eternal glory that only shines dimly in this present darkness.  We, like the tulips, seem strangely out of place to many around us.  “What is there to be so happy about?”, some would snarl,but if you know the Savior, there is joy in the midst of suffering, and light in the midst of darkness.  We know “that we are just passing through, heaven is our home!”

Strangers in this world?  Perhaps, but also bearers of incredible joy and peace to all who would put their trust in Jesus, the Lord of life… Amen.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, CO

 

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PWTE Daily Devotion

A Time to Pray?

St. Elmo, Colorado

The importance of making time for prayer.

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

“But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” 
Matthew 6:6 New Living Translation

If this house is someone’s prayer closet, they’ve been in there a long time, but that person wouldn’t be me. I’ve always struggled with prayer. The person who prays hoping that others will notice their spiritual maturity, and the person who prays privately in the closet, do not describe me. I struggle with prayer. It seems that I can always find something else to do and not pray.

St. Elmo, Colorado

I can ALWAYS discover a picture that I haven’t edited.

I can ALWAYS uncover a television program on Netflix that I’ve never watched.

I can ALWAYS spot that new ministry into which we ought to delve at Holy Cross.

There will always be something else that distracts me from Jesus’ call to pray – yes, the call to pray. Did you notice that Jesus didn’t say “if you pray,” but “when you pray.” Prayer ought to be a given exercise of our faith in the One who gave everything for us.

My problem is that I view prayer as a duty and not as a gift. You and I know those people for whom prayer is a gift. Praying is a joy for them. It is the most important part of the day for them. It sustains them.

My guess is that spending time praying wasn’t always easy for these people either. Maybe they still go through periods where praying is difficult. Yet, they made prayer a habit of their daily routine, and because of their habitual prayer not only do they find themselves behind closed doors like this one in St. Elmo, but their life becomes a prayer.

Maybe it’s time to think of prayer as a gift and make it a more consistent habit.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, CO