Devotional 8-27-10

I was listening to two versions of the song Hallelujah this morning -- one by Jason Castro and the other by Lincoln Brewster. They are basically the same tune with some of the same words, but others changed. I think Brewster may have re-written it, although Castro's version is not the original, either.

Anyway, I was thinking about the songs, and decided to play around with the tune and words, myself. This is the result -- it's about Moses and Ezekiel and a little about me.

What is your call to ministry? When you answer it, can you feel you life singing "Hallelujah"?

Your life had changed, from Nile to sand
You cared for sheep and walked the land
Until God sang through holy fire and drew ya
You fought his will, explained your faults,
Convinced his song was all for naught
Until your staff sent forth an Hallelujah

Hallelujah Hallelujah
Hallelujah Hallelujah

You dreamed of God and found the word
To tell his song when it wasn’t heard
The chords of desolation strummed right through ya.
He led you to a place of death
Of hopelessness and dust, no breath
Until you spoke the words of Hallelujah

Hallelujah Hallelujah
Hallelujah Hallelujah

The night is long when God steps in
When the waiting’s done and the trust begins
He calls you to a plan that overwhelms ya
You won’t say yes, you can’t say no
When morning comes and doubts must go
Your life itself becomes an Hallelujah

Hallelujah Hallelujah
Hallelujah Hallelujah

Hallelujah Hallelujah
Hallelujah Hallelujah

Hallelujah Hallelujah
Hallelujah Hallelujah

Kim Matthews

Devotional 8-20-10

Blind Guides!
Please read Matthew 23.

In Matthew 23, Jesus confronts religious leaders for not practicing what they preach. They talked the big talk about Moses and law, but when it came to their own actions, they didn’t walk the walk. Their words were empty. Jesus denounces them as “blind guides” who put on a show of religiosity while neglecting the weightier matters of justice, mercy, and faith.

For the past five years or so, I have relied on a GPS to help me find my way around the hills and hollows of West Virginia. It is a useful tool, but not foolproof. For example, my first GPS unit suggested that the quickest route home from I-64 is a right turn through a fence at the end of a dead-end. Fortunately, I did not rely solely on my GPS to get me home, but also on my own vision, memory, and common sense. In an episode of The Office, my favorite television show, Michael Scott, in spite of Dwight Shrute’s protestations, drives off the road and into a pond in deference to the voice of his GPS to “turn left.” Funny as it is on a sitcom, it turns out this is a real problem. Several accidents have been reported because people blindly follow their GPS directions and miss the obvious.

In their book, The Invisible Gorilla, psychologists Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons discuss inattentional blindness. The term inattentional blindness describes how we fail to perceive the obvious, not because we’re not paying attention, but because we’re focusing our attention on something other than the obvious. Inattentional blindness causes us to obey the GPS even when the obvious road signs point to something else. Inattentional blindness is why we shouldn’t text and drive. So you think you’re immune to inattentional blindness? Think you’re pretty perceptive? Before you read any further, take a simple test of watching a short video and counting the number of times a basketball is passed.

Take the test at this link: http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/gorilla_experiment.html

Did you take the test? Are you still confident that you’re observant? Perhaps you’re surprised that you’re not as perceptive as you thought. The theme of Chabris’ and Simons’ book is not so much that we fail to perceive the obvious as much as it is that we are surprised by our lack of perception. That is to say, we think we are more observant than we are. We think our memories are better than they are. We think we can multi-task, but can we really? We are overly confident when it comes to matters of perception. In a sense, we’re like the Pharisees and scribes who were the subject of Jesus’ criticism. Blind guides!

Blind guide! Am I so focused on my own agenda that I fail to see the opportunity for ministry right in front of me?
Blind fool! Am I so focused on low prices that I fail to consider the working conditions in the factories where products are manufactured?
Blind man! Am I so focused on my current need for energy that I fail to see the long-term effects of mining and off-shore drilling on the environment?
Blind guide! Am I so focused on the bottom line investment return that I fail to consider the social impact of my investments?
Blind fool! Am I so focused on church that I fail to see God?
Blind man! Am I so focused on “me” that I fail to see others?

Dear God, open my eyes that I may see clearly your truth revealed; let me hear clearly your voice of truth; and open my heart to share your love with others. Amen.

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 8-13-10

Faithful Pilgrims

Hebrew 11:29-12:1

A person of faith is always, always, always a person in motion. These actions figures are not on the List of Faithful Saints because they were models of perfection. They were not always perfectly obedient to God. They screwed up at times like the humans they were. They obeyed God much of the time, but when they disobeyed, it was ugly. Noah got drunk after the flood and passed out naked in a tent, only to have his son, Ham, walk in on him in his rather ignoble condition. Abraham lied about his wife, saving own skin but putting Sarah at risk—twice. Jacob cheated Esau. Moses killed an Egyptian. Rahab supported herself through prostitution. Jephthah was the son of another prostitute and then was run out of town by his father’s real wife. Barak refused to fight without Deborah holding his hand. Samson had a weakness for beautiful, persistent women. David’s misconduct in the bedroom and the battlefield are well-documented. In other words, these people are closer in temperament to Jerry Springer than Jesus Christ; they ought to be in the Hall of Shame, not the Hall of Fame. They’re not on the list because they were so special. In fact, many of them were profoundly ordinary. Abel didn’t seem to do much of anything remarkable except watch sheep superbly. They’re not on the list because they won all the battles. Many were notorious failures. The writer says that some were stoned, some endured colorful episodes involving raging fires, hungry lions, flogging and sword fighting. What makes a person of faith influential today? What common thread runs through the lives of all these people on the Hebrew list? What do a good-hearted prostitute, a good man with a drinking problem who built a boat and a blinded, strong man have in common? They were people who were willing to act on vision even though the fruit of their faith was not readily apparent. The text tells us that they all died before receiving everything God had promised them. But they never fully enjoyed those promises. Those who live by faith may never understand why a sheep offering trumps a fruit offering in God’s eyes, as it did in the lives of Abel and Cain. Those who live by faith may never understand that curious tugging which makes us long to leave home and move into unfamiliar territory, as in the lives of Abraham and Sarah. Faith does not guarantee power or beauty or riches or even influence. “Faith is merely and miraculously—the assurance “of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. This is what that odd assortment people of Hebrew 11, had in common; THEY ACTIONIZED THEIR FAITH, INFLUENTFLUAL BECAUSE OF GOD’S ON THEM. WE SHOULD ALL BE SO INFLUENCED. My hope and prayer for myself and for the church is that we might be faithful farsighted pilgrims; that we not be so anxious for immediate results that we miss the blessing of a glorious adventure, following the call of God in our lives.

Jeremiah A. Jasper

Devotional 8-6-10

"I know the plans I have for you," announces the Lord.
"I want you to enjoy success. I do not plan to harm you.
I will give you hope for the years to come." Jeremiah 29:11 NIRV

When I was a teenager I had my life planned out. I wanted to be an elementary school teacher, wife, and a mother. When I got to college and about to flunk out it, I realized that I was not going to get my Mrs. before I got my BA. God had other plans for me. So, I buckled down and received my BA in Education. Later, I did become a Mrs. and a mother to Michael.

As a divorced single parent, I am very grateful to God for blessing me with His plans. I had and have a wonderful support system, with God in the front. My plans are not always His plans and that is sometimes hard to take. I try to pray every day, "Thy will be done."

To paraphrase from the book, Mountain Prayers, A Vacation for Your Soul, p.76,"Your plans may have been quite good and notably responsible ones, and certainly you should make plans for your future based on the knowledge and experience you possess today. But when God sends a delay, routes you to another road, or changes the climate completely, give thanks for what He puts in front of you. Maybe even laugh. When God hands you his plans, you're getting the great ones." AMEN

Kay Lewis