Devotional 9-16-11

Please read Psalm 78.

Psalm 78 is a long Psalm. It is mainly a brief history lesson from Moses through David. It shows the love and protection our Awesome GOD has for us. (And patience), but it also speaks of how we, as then, continue to test Our Awesome GOD. But he just keeps on Loving us to no end. What an Awesome GOD we have.

There is a song sung by many titled "Our God is an Awesome God." Generally all we hear is the "chorus" but in the attached YouTube video we get to hear all of the lyrics. Please listen to this video/audio file as you read Psalm 78.

Our do we LOVE our Awesome GOD?????

http://youtu.be/2w2b033DXCw

Grace and Peace

Fred Herr

Devotional 9-9-11

What’s Your Message?

Have you ever been in a conversation and thought, “I’m getting mixed signals here; what’s the message?”  No means yes, yes means maybe, maybe means ‘isn’t going to happen’.  What’s your message?

One of the lectionary readings this week is in Exodus.  We pick up just after Pharaoh has let the Hebrews leave.  They get to the edge of the sea and WHOA…look at all that water.  God parts the sea and lets them pass on dry land.   A few verses later he lets Pharaoh’s soldiers get just far enough in, gums up their chariot wheels and then pulls the plug.  The water covers them and “none survive.”  The slaves, now safely on shore, sing and dance and praise God for His deliverance (Ex 15:2 -- The LORD is my strength and my might, and he has become my salvation; this is my God and I will praise him…).  They make up a song, Miriam gets a group together with tambourines, and again they sing.  That’s right up through Chapter 14.  By Chapter 16, they are all whining and complaining that there is not enough food and water.  Again, God provides.  As we arrive at Chapter 20, Moses enters the cloud, goes up on the mountain and receives the Commandments (and other rules) from God.  This whole time, at the bottom of the mountain, the native are restless.  As Chapter 32 unfolds, Aaron is throwing a gold party, and it seems that golden calf is on the menu.  God is great… as long as he gives us what we want.  What’s your message?

I have had the opportunity to ride in the Bishop’s Bike Ride to Annual Conference.  We trek from Charleston, along two-lane country roads, with our end destination being Wesley Chapel on the campus of West Virginia Wesleyan College.  It’s 150 miles over two days.  It is an awesome way to see some of the scenic beauty of West Virginia at a snail’s pace compared to the same route by car.  We travel through many little towns (some I had never heard of until the ride).  Riding a bicycle on a road populated by automobiles can be tricky even on a good day.  A light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak, is that ever-familiar diamond shaped sign with its outline of a bike and the words “SHARE THE ROAD.”   When that sign is spotted, a rider can finally exhale as the thought passes through his rapidly pedaling brain, “This is a town that sees a lot of riders. They will be ready for us and will indeed Share the Road.”  It does not take long for the pulse to quicken and the side-to-side sweep of the head to begin as he gets closer to the (wonderful) sign and discovers that it is full of bullet holes.  What’s your message?  Welcome, just stay off MY road!

Questionnaires focused on service workers reveal that restaurant employees dislike Sunday lunch more than any other shift.  They say that the church crowds are the worst.  They are impatient, demanding, hateful and the absolute WORST of all (especially to someone who waits tables) they don’t TIP. What’s our message?

I’ll close with this little ditty. It’s an oldie but goodie, and I think timely.  A woman traveling very close to the car in front of her is obviously irritated that the driver ahead does not share her sense of urgency.  The driver in front slows entering an intersection.  Clearly frustrated, the woman ‘leans’ on her car horn.  The man in the car, maybe just to get away, makes a quick left across traffic onto a side street – without using a signal.  The woman, now more agitated than ever, begins to yell obscenities through her open window, she thrusts her arm from the same open window, and without troubling three of the fingers or the thumb on that hand ensures that this no-signal-slow-poke understands that he is her “Number 1.”  And for good measure, steering with her knees at this point, she lays on the horn until the intersection is out of sight.   A police officer stopped nearby witnesses the entire exchange.  As the woman’s car clears the intersection, the police office becomes alarmed. He immediately activates the car siren and flashing lights.  He pulls the woman to the side of the road and with little or no conversation puts her into the cruiser and takes her to jail.  Time passes at the police station and finally the woman, the officer and a supervisor are all brought together.  The woman DEMANDS to know what is going on.  Prompted to speak by the supervisor the police office recounts for the woman what he saw and heard at the intersection.  He ends by saying when I saw your car pass by me with its “Follow Me to Church’” and “HONK if you Love Jesus” bumper stickers, its Christian fish outline stuck just below the name of the car and the WWJD transfer on the rear glass…I naturally assumed that the car had been stolen.  What’s your message?

We outwardly show symbols of our Christianity but do we outwardly show our Christianity? Maybe it’s a talk the talk or a walk the walk thing.  What’s your message?

“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words”    -St.Francis of Assisi

Steve Matthews

Devotional 9-2-11

“Living with Joyful Thanksgiving”

Have you ever given someone a gift that you thought was very special; something you had put a lot of thought into, only to see it passed over with hardly any reaction? Maybe, they even forgot to say thank you or worse found something wrong with the gift. Isn’t that what we all too often do with God’s gifts to us? It is all too easy to get bogged down in our every day lives and problems and forget the many blessings that God gives us every day (not to mention His greatest gift, his Son.)

Psalm 148 talks about how all of nature praises God. What is nature if not a glorious hymn of praise? Each season brings it’s own special joyful homage to God. In the spring, we watch as the world bursts forth with new life. The summer sun sparkles on the waters and warms the earth. In the autumn the leaves change to beautiful oranges, reds, and yellows and eventually fall to crunch noisily and joyfully under our feet. In winter, the earth sleeps. But, who can not watch a snowflake fall lazily from the sky and not know that nature is still celebrating God’s love? The moon and the stars at night, the sun by day, the winds. the oceans and rivers, the birds singing, the fish swimming, and all of the other animals on earth praise God by their very existence.

Nature praises God just by being. Is not one way to praise God by living our daily lives in joyful thanksgiving, aware of how truly blessed we really are?

Margaret Williams

Devotional 8-27-11

Jezebel Envisioned, Part II
Poetry by Molly Hicks, Master of Divinity student
Methodist Theological School in Ohio
July 2011 
 

Thank you to Molly Hicks for granting me permisson to use her poetry as a devotional.  Molly says of Jezebel, "She is vengeful, indeed, but I decided her humanity needed its say, as well."  Part one of her poem was published as a devotional on August 12.

 III. 1 Kings 21: 1-16
 
Metaphor: The struggle between religion and class

I came to Ahab today,
And he was withdrawn,
Sulking,
He would not eat,
Like a child he lay,
His back turned,
His breathing slight.
I felt his sadness,
And I touched his heart with mine,
“Naboth refused his land to us,” he said,
(Father would be furious!),
“This is unheard of!” I said,
“But his denial is the way of Yahweh,” he said.
Then arose my very own fury,
And I saw to it,
That Naboth breathed no more,
And my King received his vegetable garden,
This was my love given to Ahab.

IV. 2 Kings 9: 1-37

A Pomegranate Seed: The bitter end

My king has died in war,
And Elijah still lived,
Stories of his,
Rising prophetic power,
Traveled quickly,
Across our land.
This high priest of Yahweh,
Even crowned a new king,
Jehu,
A false king for Israel,
And my father's grandson,
Joram,
This precious gift,
Was slain by this false king,
This Yahweh king made by Elijah.

And then, you see, I was alone,
And feeling old.

Jehu traveled to Jezreel,
Where I stayed in respite,
And I knew my own fate,
For all I did,
For father,
For Ahab,
For Ba'al,
Meant nothing to Yahweh,
And nothing to Yahweh's people,
And Elijah meant to finish,
This endless battle,
That both him and I knew,
Would continue forever.
So I dressed in my royal gowns,
And painted my face,
As I did when I first came,
To this beautiful, cursed land,
And I waited for Jehu.

He arrived below my bedroom window,
I called him Zimri, the murderer he was,
And I imagined him to be Elijah,
Oh what a feast he will be for Ba'al,
On the day of his end,
And I cursed Elijah in my soul,
As I looked down at Jehu...

...Then before I could stop it,
I was falling,
To the street below,
I saw the faces of the people,
And the hooves of the horses,
And then the chariot covered me,
As I spattered that deep, deep red and purple,
Like the grapes of the vineyards speckled across,
The rich green cloth of this sacred land.
 
References

Frymer-Kensky, T. (2002). Reading the Women of the Bible: A new interpretation of their stories.  New York: Schocken Books.
Pruin, D. (2007). What is in a Text? - Searching for Jezebel. In L. Grabbe (Ed.), Ahab Agonistes: The Rise and Fall of the Omri Dynasty (208-235). New York: T&T Clark.
Miller, J.M. & Hayes, J., (2006). A History of Ancient Israel and Judah (2^nd ed.) Louisville: West Minster John Knox Press.
Nowell, I. (1997). Women in the Old Testament. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press.
 
Molly Hicks

Devotional 8-19-11

Basket Case

Lectionary Readings:  Exodus 1:8-2:10; Psalm 124; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16:21-28.

A man from the family of Levi married a Levite woman.  The woman became pregnant and had a son.  She saw there was something special about him and hid him.  She hid him for three months.  When she couldn’t hide him any longer she got a little basket-boat made of papyrus, waterproofed it with tar and pitch, and placed the child in it.  Then she set it afloat in the reeds at the edge of the Nile. Exodus 2:1-3
You’ve heard this story many times:  One of the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt decided the Israelites were becoming too prolific.  He decided that the best method to control the population was to have all the male babies killed.   Moses’ mother devised a way to save her special baby who eventually grew up to save the Israelite nation from the evil domination of the Pharaohs.   Moses is one of the main spiritual leaders in Judeo-Christian heritage but would never have lived past infancy, had his mother not devised this ingenious plan.

I recently received an e-mail which described various humorous signs posted by churches.  One of them claimed that Moses was the first “basket case”.  A basket had been part of the plan that saved Moses’ life—the basket kept Moses afloat until the Pharaoh’s daughter noticed and then later adopted him. However, the accepted definition of a basket case is a person who is emotionally or mentally disabled, who can no longer cope or is too impaired to function.  Although Moses spent some time in a basket at an early age, his times as a true “basket-case” came during his adult life after he fled Egypt as a fugitive and when God was recruiting him for service via the burning bush. God’s plan for Moses did not end with the life-saving basket and although Moses had several episodes that could qualify him as a basket case, God continued to call and use Moses in fulfilling His Plan.

The point of all this is that God has a plan for each of us.  Much of the time we, like Moses, have no idea what the outcomes or goals will be for that plan. Many of us are called to a certain profession or task, but we may never really understand the significance of that calling on the lives of others.  We struggle to know if we’re doing the right thing or heading in the right direction.  Sometimes even the suggestion of a change of plan results in confusion, disbelief and fear for us. What are we to do?  Paul says: “Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.  Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him…You’ll be changed from the inside out…God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” (Romans 12:1-2 from the Message)  All of us are called to a greater service than we could ever achieve under our own power.  God can use even our own times as a “basket-case” for His Plan.  What He needs most from us is a true surrender to serve Him and then He provides the direction, the circumstances, the words, the strength and maybe even a basket-rescue.

Dear Loving and Forgiving God, I apologize for my lazy approach to life and for my unwillingness to follow where you have called me.  I am sorry that I have refused or have been reluctant to surrender my will to yours.  Please continue to call me so that I might have another opportunity to surrender myself to you.  Use me as I am in the circumstances you have placed me, but continue to change me so that I may be more like the child you want me to be. Help me to see You in each person I meet and find ways to fulfill your Plan for my life.  Thank you for hearing me and all of your children as we pray this prayer and thank you for the “baskets” you send us in order to save us again and again.  AMEN

Chyrl Budd

Devotional 8-12-11

Jezebel Envisioned Poetry by Molly Hicks, Master of Divinity student
Methodist Theological School in Ohio
July 2011
       

Thank you to Molly Hicks for granting me permisson to use her poetry as a devotional. Molly says of Jezebel, "She is vengeful, indeed, but I decided her humanity needed its say, as well." Part two of her poem will be published as a devotional soon.

I. 1 Kings 16: 29-33

The Announcement

When father, Ethba'al, King of the Sidonians – all of Phoenicia,
Told me of my future husband,
I was fearful,
What did I know of this place in the south?
“This will strengthen the alliance of kingdoms,
Israel, Judah and Phoenicia,” he said.
“You will make me proud,
by bringing more prosperity,” he said.
“Then...you can give me a grandson,” he said.
And at that...my heart melted,
I loved him even more,
And I smiled.

Then I began to imagine,
New rivers and mountains,
Beautiful fields of barley and pomegranate bushes,
Vineyards stretched across the desert landscape,
Like a vast green cloth,
Speckled with deep, deep red and purple,
Like blood spattered across the altar of sacrifice.
Ba'al will surely have blessed this place,
And the people will surely welcome me,
Daughter of the high priest, Ethba'al
Meaning “Ba'al is with him.”
He will surely be with me, as well.

New Home

By the next new moon,
Samaria was my kingdom,
And Ahab my king,
I was taken as wife,
And we were blessed by a priest,
But this union was not for Ba'al.
The temple was for Yahweh,
And the land was blessed by Yahweh,
Ba'al would not be happy,
Until he was welcomed, too.

I longed for Sidonia,
From sunrise till the night sky,
My husband was observant and curious,
He asked to know my god,
So I told him,
Every story grandmother had given me,
And I told him,
Every way Ba'al had blessed my life,
And father's as well,
My husband listened.

King Ahab built a great temple for Ba'al,
With an altar,
And Asherah,
The goddess mother, sacred pole.
Then I had a place for Ba'al,
And others could know him,
As they knew their Yahweh,
Here they would find their souls,
They would know true fear,
And kindness.

The new temple lay empty in daylight,
But I learned that some came,
In the first and last light of day,
They arrived in secret,
Hidden by the rising and falling cloak of night,
And they found Ba'al,
And were blessed by him,
It seems many remembered him,
Through their ancestors' time in Canaan,
When the people here lived for Ba'al.


II. 1 Kings 18: 20-40; 1 Kings 19: 1-3

Spiritual Conflict

In the city, I learned Ba'al's prophets,
Arose from Yahweh's people,
Like lions rising miraculously,
From an eternal nap.
The people asked for Ba'al's stories,
They were hungry for memories,
Of their loved ones,
And their gods and goddesses.
I began to feel at home,
In this strange place.

How could so many turn to this Yahweh?
Who is this Elijah, speaking so much untruth?
Before death we must find balance in our souls,
Ba'al brings this balance.
We receive Ba'al's happiness through rain,
A piece of him, a drop of his lifeblood,
Spared to thank us for serving him so well.
We accept the rain and grow our sheep, our crops,

We burn offerings of grains and animals,
And Ba'al is renewed, his lifeblood returned,
In honor of giving us such bounty.
He gives so much when we are good.

Once the whole of this land,
Knew Ba'al through storms as well,
Yes, he has anger, too,
His voice a great rush of thunder,
His breath weaving through the trees,
A ferocious wind,
His tears of shame churning great floods and destruction,
We listen to this anger,
We sacrifice ourselves in these deadly times,
And repent.
Ba'al, the god of all people,
The cult of Yahweh is for Ba'al,
They must see this and call it by his name.

When I heard of the killings by the brook,
By Elijah's swords,
I felt the anger of Ba'al,
Arise within my own blood and body.
My message to Elijah was clear,
The gods willed upon me,
The need to end your life,
For you, and you alone,
Can be the sacrifice to Ba'al,
For the deaths you have caused,
In your false god's name.

Molly Hicks

Devotional 8-7-11

"In one way or another, God makes sure that we all expeience what it means to be outside so that he can personally open the door and welcome us back in"
Romans 11:30
All experience what it means to be outside. It is a part of Gods plan. It is not easy, it is not fun. God makes sure that we all experience it.We may have felt the hurt of being excluded from a group or we may know the hurt of having doors closed in our face. We don't always see the whole picture. What we do need to remember is that God loves us, he wants the best for us, and he does have wonderful gifts for us. Sometimes it is necessary to move through a situation to know that God has been in control. It is only as we look back that we can know that God was in control.
Perhaps there was a job or an assignment that we really wanted, there were certain people we wanted in our life. God has always known which doors should be opened. God has a plan for the life of each of us. GOD KNOWS.

It is for each of us to put our trust in God and have the faith to believe that with God's love for each of us and with our trust in him that all will be according to Gods plan.

Let us be reminded to put each problem in Gods hands, let us ask for Gods will as we try to work through our problems. Then let us be joyful as we praise God and thank him for being with us as we deal with being outside. God makes sure that we all experience what it means to be outside so he can let us back in.

Marilyn Holleron