Devotions For The Reconciled Life

Then the whole community of Israel set out from Elim and journeyed into the wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month, one month after leaving the land of Egypt. There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron. “If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual.” So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “By evening you will realize it was the LORD who brought you out of the l

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. John 15:12 Kairos Prison Ministry International is a lay-led, interdenominational Christian ministry in which men and women volunteers bring Christ's love and forgiveness to prisoners and their families.  I volunteered with Kairos for almost a decade at Limestone Correctional Facility.  One of the ways that Kairos ministers to inmates is through presenting them small gifts that we call “agape”.  The purpose of these posters, placemats, letters, cookies, meals, seat cushions, and other items or “agape” is to show the inmates the reality of unconditional love.  When we shared the gospel with them we were able to point to the items as a small example of “agape”.  I witnessed a forty year old convi

In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. Jeremiah 29:12-13 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir. Galatians 4:4-7 I’ve said it, and you probably have too.  “They have heart,” or “they just had more heart.”  We aren’t talking about the blood pumping engine within their chests.  Neither was Jesus when He recited the Shema Yisrael to the Pharisees.  The word used in Deuteronomy 6:5 that Jesus was quoting is lebab.  Lebab is the inner part, or the seat of courage.  The Shema and the greatest commandment start off the list with lebab.  

Jesus replied,“‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ Matthew 22:37 In Deuteronomy the Israelites were given a prayer that Jewish people today recite.  Videos on Youtube show this prayer being broadcast over loudspeakers over the Old City portion of Jerusalem.  The Shema Yisrael or שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל‎.  Shema is found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 .  This prayer is one of the very basic premises of Judaism.  Jesus was not telling these experts in the Jewish law anything that they were not already aware of.  In their religious zeal they would speak this prayer every morning and every evening.  But, it seems that these religious experts were missing the point. The Shema calls out three elements of man to love God completely:  heart, soul, and mind.  We are to love God with our heart which is where the spirit resides, a spiritual, supernatural place.  Great!  What does that mean?  The old covenant recognized that a spiritual relationship wi

“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They replied, “He is the son of David.” Jesus responded,“Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’ Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”" Matthew 22:42-45 My undergraduate university required either a philosophy or an art class for general education.  I chose to take philosophy class at 8:00 during the summer, Tuesdays and Thursdays.  The teacher was phenomenal:  Dr. Isaac Mwase.  He was from Zimbabwe.  Since it was summer, the dress of instructors was very relaxed and this African professor would wear a dashiki to class some days.  He would not write on the board often, and when he did it was only when he made a mistake.  He would walk to the board and write as he said (in an British educat

Jesus replied,“Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So he is the God of the living, not the dead.” Matthew 22:29,32 I had and still do struggle with a particular area of pride.  Karen and I got married right out of high school.  My scholarship paid for our rent and I also got a job working at the physical plant.  We were able to apply Karen’s work study income to bills and food also.  We saved and bought our first car.  Everything we did was from our work and saving from the day we got married to today.  We “bootstrapped” our way to where we are.  As I type this I am almost pounding my chest with pride.  That’s a severe level of pride in self-sufficiency.  Not a good thing. The Sadducees were also extremely self-sufficient.  They denied God’s involvement in their lives.  Life was all on them so I am certain that they also experienced bootstrapped pride.  The

“I am not saying these things to all of you; I know the ones I have chosen. But this fulfills the Scripture that says, ‘The one who eats my food has turned against me.’ I tell you this beforehand, so that when it happens you will believe that I AM the Messiah. I tell you the truth, anyone who welcomes my messenger is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me.” Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and he exclaimed,“I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!” The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. The disciple Jesus loved was sitting next to Jesus at the table. Simon Peter motioned to him to ask, “Who’s he talking about?” So that disciple leaned over to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus responded,“It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl.”And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him,“Hurry and do w

When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said,“I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins." Luke 22:14-15 If you knew that today was your last day, how would you live it?  Who would you spend your time with?  Talk with?  What messages would you make sure you passed on?  We’ve all heard the old adage, “Live today as if it were your last.”  That is a nice old saying, but I don’t know how truly applicable it is.  That would create a huge amount of stress in my life.  If I lived each day like it was my last I would lose the basic happiness that each day can bring. Who would you want to eat your last meal with?  What would you want to tell the people there?  How would you want the meal to be?  The atmosphere of the room?  What effect would having a betrayer there, mocking this dinner?  How would feel?  Jesus says in verse 15 that he desired with desire to have this meal with them.  That is a

Jesus said,“I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.” Luke 22:15-16 I grew up next door to the church building.  We walked to church even when it was raining.  Church attendance was required for at least two reasons; everyone would know that I was skipping worship, my parents “encouraged” my attendance.  As a congregation of approximately 60 on a Sunday morning, every absence was noticed.  Because “a good Christian” goes to every worship service, I equated worship attendance with a true faith journey.  That false understanding grew in me.  I thought that I was “earning” God’s pleasure and acceptance.  That I should.  That I could.  God’s grace depended on my activity. What’s interesting is that I’m not alone.  About 2000 years ago, a group of Jews that we tend to look down on in the church, the Pharisees, thought the same way.

"For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." John 6:55 Exodus 10 , Luke 22:1-23 , John 13:18-28 Since 1973 ABC has broadcast the Cecil B. DeMille movie The Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston every year around Easter.  Many years on Silent Saturday or Easter Sunday.  For the past ten years this sixty year old movie has been the first or second most viewed program for the evening.  This T.V. ritual began before I was born.  I grew up watching Charlton Heston as Moses annually, and much of what I think of regarding the Passover is tied to this movie.  I do love this movie, but I think that this view has sanitized my understanding of gruesome aspects of this celebration. Central to the celebration of the Passover is the blood of the sacrificial lamb.  The Israelites in Egypt needed the blood to cover their door posts.  To do this, the person performing the sacrifice had to hold the lamb close and cut the it’s throat.  While holding the dying anima

“All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper ), and to prayer. “ “They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity — all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved." Acts of the Apostles 2:42,46-47 I started undergrad in 1993 at a Baptist university.  For electives, I took a couple of religion classes my freshman year.  My first B was in one of these classes, taught by my Sunday School teacher and golf partner.  Needless to say, I wasn’t happy with him.  The class was “Introduction to Church Ministry”.  Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Church (1995) had not yet been published but his ideas were still a topic of conversation in the class as we all had heard of Saddleback Church and Rick Warren