For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
Galatians 3:26-28
One element of being on a team that unifies the players is the uniform. Dressing alike helps to bond a team and unify them around a common belief; the belief that, as a team, they are winners!
When we come to Christ, we all put on the new clothes of belonging to Jesus Christ. There is no distinction regarding who is eligible for the uniform, no regard for culture, gender, race, economic status. Everyone has exactly the same access.
That is absolutely amazing to me. I don’t have to become anything or anyone else to be eligible. I am completely acceptable just as I am. God loves the differences we bring to the table. He loves what I bring to the table. He loves what you bring to the table.
It is when I understand that God loves me just as I am, that I am able to love God in return and then able to love others just as they are. Without knowing the love of God for myself, I won’t be able to love others.
Do you know that God loves you exactly like you are? From that place of knowing, are you able to deeply love yourself and others?
And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.
As I read this scripture, the outstanding element is the emphasis on equality. Paul writing that Jews and Gentiles share equally and are part of the same body was inflammatory in his day. It has certainly lost that punch for the reader today. Except, has it really? As the events of the last week or so have unfolded, I believe that God is bringing to the forefront inequity that exists in our land, our neighborhoods, our churches and worst of all, in our homes!
The atrocity of the murder of George Floyd is absolutely unjust and unacceptable. There is nothing that makes it okay, no way to erase it or defend it. As I write this week, I continue to hear from God’s word that we are all part of the same body, we all have equal access to the resources of God as his children. We are all a part of the same spiritual body. But I don’t know or understand the disadvantages my black siblings experience in daily life. And that bothers me.
I don’t know what it is like to be denied because of the color of my skin. I don’t know how it feels to be mistreated because of the color of my skin. I don’t know what it is like to be avoided because of the color of my skin.
Empathy is feeling what someone else feels in a specific situation. Putting myself in your shoes and feeling what you feel. And to be honest, putting myself in the shoes of my black sisters is not comfortable. So I hurry back to my white shoes and, from this place of relative comfort, I offer platitudes for any injustice she might experience. But I like my white shoes.
In John 17, Jesus prayed for all people who would believe in him. He says this:
“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me… May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
It is the heart of Jesus for everyone who believes in him to be completely unified. It doesn’t say we have to all look the same, worship the same, talk the same, celebrate the same. It says he wants us to be unified! Just like Father, Jesus and Spirit are unified – all working together for the same end goal.
My nephew and his family spent the evening on Sunday with friends. Two little boys met for the first time and as they walked the rugged path, they clasped hands. This picture says it all…
I don’t know if I said this right but my heart is deeply saddened. Saddened by the racism that is alive and well in our country. I want to believe we are beyond that, that it is something that existed hundreds of years ago, something that died out when slavery was abolished. But it isn’t. It exists and it needs to be acknowledged, mourned and changed. I don’t know how to do it, but I want to be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem. Perhaps speaking out today is the beginning of change for me.
May we grasp the hand of those around us regardles of skin color or any other difference and walk the rugged path together. After all, we are better together!
God is orchestrating a beautiful, sychronous movement to display his wisdom to the unseen powers and forces in the heavenly realms. We all have a part to play and listening to the Spirit is paramount. Apostle Paul writes to the church in Ephesus, saying it like this:
And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News. Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning. God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Maybe you didn’t know you were part of an eternal plan, that God put into action through Jesus. Paul knew his part was to spread the gospel to Gentiles. My part is to spread the gospel through this blog. Your part is just that – your part. But together, we are a beautiful, sychronous message full of rich variety declaring God’s wisdom to the unseen authorities in heavenly realms. In plain language, the angels and demons are watching us and can’t believe what God is doing through humans.
They {prophets} were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.
What does a living a worthy life look like? Paul goes on to say:
Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.
It kind of sounds like a worthy life is living in synchrony with other followers of Jesus. Together, we can put on quite a display for those unseen forces! But we can’t do it if we are doing our own thing. It has to be done his way, keeping in step with him.
What is it that draws me to the choreography and sychronous movement of backup dancing or drill team? Why am I enlivened by the invitation to “keep in step with the Spirit?” As I ponder that, I recognize something about myself. I don’t need to be the main atttraction. I want to be a part of what makes the main attraction expand from 2D to a 3D, multi-faceted, mesmerizing event.
In order for a drill team to perform successfully, there are hours of practice. But it isn’t individuals doing their own thing. It is individuals, listening carefully to the leader who has the vision, the big picture, and then individually doing their part at exactly the right time, with exactly the right tempo. The success of a drill team depends on listening well. It depends on being in tune with the leader and the other team members.
Keeping in step with the Spirit involves the same kind of intense listening and responding to the cues he gives. Isaiah, prophesying blessing for God’s people, says this:
Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say,“This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.
Too often I am stubborn. I imagine that my movements aren’t exciting enough or my part is less important than someone else. I am tempted to do my own thing. But what if I saw myself as part of a great sychronized movement orchestrated by God himself with the Holy Spirit as the leader and coach? What if the beauty and impact of my life depended on obedience to the directives of the Holy Spirit? Apostle Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia gives this admonition:
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
When I made the decision to follow Jesus, I simultaneously agreed that my way is not the best. In agreeing that living autonomously is not my desire, I submitted to the guidance and presence of the Holy Spirit in my life. Since I live by the Spirit, I want to keep in step with him. The fastest way to get out of step is by doing my own thing – that’s conceit. And when I become excessively proud of myself, I stop listening and I jealously stir others up. In other words, I incite a protest.
If my desire is a sychronous, harmonious lifestyle that displays the talent of my Leader, I need to keep in step with the Spirit. I do that best when I listen. He speaks to me through scripture, songs, nature, family, friends, in the quiet of my heart. He lets me know when to turn right and when to turn left. And if I don’t hear him telling me to turn, I continue in a forward trajectory. Even when it doesn’t seem to make sense. I trust that he sees the big picture and is creating an amazing display that awes the unseen powers in the heavenly realms.
Who or what are you listening to? What kind of impact does it have on your life? Who are you in step with: your flesh or the Spirit?
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves . . . Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16, 25
Early Sunday morning, as the night turned into day, the phrase “walk it out” came into my mind. I thought about walking out commitments I make to others, I thought about walking out my faith, I thought about keeping in step with the Spirit.
As a young girl, I always wanted to be one of the back up dancers you see in dance and music productions. Right now there is a TV show entitled “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.” They use a lot of choreography and back up dancers. I want to do that. The time and precision required still draws me.
A long time ago, our high school had a drill team. Drill team was a group of females who performed sychronized routines set to music during the half-time of sporting events. I wanted to be on drill team. But they wore short skirts, like cheer leaders, and my parents didn’t allow me to try out. That didn’t keep me from practicing at home. One evening, while melting butter for popcorn, I practiced my 8-count movements with all the enthusiasm and precision I could muster. As I brought my arm down on the 4-count, I hit the handle of the pan and my melted butter flew off the stove and landed on the carpet. (This was a time when carpet in the kitchen was a thing.) It was a mess. The butter made a greasy spot that turned very dirty after awhile. I was glad when the carpet was replaced.
I may not be a backup dancer for a famous singer and I wasn’t ever on drill team, but there is still good news for me! I am invited to get in step with the Holy Spirit. He moves with quickness, precision and form even more fantastic than what drill team or dance choreography can boast. I don’t have to try out and I don’t have to wear costumes I might find offensive or uncomfortable. He is interested in anyone who is willing to let him lead.
Get out your dance shoes and join me this week as we explore what it means to follow the Holy Spirit and keep in step with Him.
Thirty-three years ago, I experienced tremendous loss when my first pregnancy ended in miscarriage. I didn’t know how to lose a baby. I had never walked that way before and neither had any of my close friends. I felt sad, but didn’t know if that was okay. How long could I be sad?
My closest friend gave me a card and I still have it in my box of cherished notes. This is what it said:
In your heart, you probably realize that in time the sadness you are feeling will fade. For now, just know that it’s all right to hurt…I hurt with you. It’s all right to cry…I share your tears. It is only through crying that you learn what it’s really like to laugh…only after feeling sadness can you really experience joy. So allow yourself to feel what comes naturally…but know that someday life will be better…it will be easier to smile.
Renee Duvall
Today I feel like I am walking uncharted territory. I have never lived during a pandemic. I don’t know how I am supposed to feel. I don’t know what is okay. How long should I stay home? What does it look like when I go out?
I think it’s much like my experience so long ago. It’s okay to feel sad, hurt, angry, confused. Go ahead and be who you are. As our communities open up, it’s hard to know how to respond. Two things came to me today as I mowed lawn. That’s when all good thinking happens! 🙂 First, be kind. My way of thinking, responding, doing is just that – my way. It likely won’t be how someone else responds. Be secure in your response, but be kind to others.
Secondly, allow others to respond in their way. None of us have walked this way before so we are all just doing the best we can. Love others just as you want to be loved.
My friend hadn’t lost a baby, but she knew how to empathize. She allowed me to be sad for as long as it took. She called me every day during her 10:00 break to let me know she cared. Our lives were very similar, but in this difference, she allowed me to be me. And she loved me well!
The last few days have been rainy. Not just a gentle rain, but storms, winds and downpours. Along with the storms came the most amazing cloud displays. And rainbows!
As I watched the clouds build and billow across the sky, I was so grateful. It was absolutely beautiful. The sun was setting and the colors mirrored in the clouds were incomparable. Then it appeared! A rainbow. Absolutely magnificent. At one point, I was driving into the rainbow as if I was the gold pot, the treasure, at the end of the rainbow.
I was reminded that none of this beauty would have been available to me if blue skies was the only thing I ever see. To be honest, in northern Indiana we almost always see grey skies, except for a few days when the blue breaks through and the clouds roll away to reveal the beauty of an unadulterated blue sky. And I love it. But the cloud display was amazing, to say nothing of the COMPLETE RAINBOW that turned double after awhile.
If my life was only blue skies, I would never see the rainbows, the clouds and amazing displays. And those will only come when the storms come through coupled with rain, wind, lightening and thunder.
The next time the storms roll through your life, give thanks. There is something available in that time that won’t ever be seen at any other time. The storm brings beauty that won’t exposed any other way.
Best wishes on your Saturday! Be true to yourself today!
Recently I explored the truth that as children of God, we are all being transformed into the likeness of Jesus. Our heavenly Father wants us to think, act, respond like Jesus. Compassion is one more way we should look like Jesus.
Jesus spoke these words to the crowds gathered to hear him in a message known best as the Sermon on the Mount. In Luke’s record of this message, these words conclude a pericope on loving our enemies. This is one of the most difficult teachings of Jesus – at least for me. And it directly ties to the theme of “asking” I explored earlier this week.
Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back.
As I read this again, I found myself pondering, “How does this make me look like Jesus?”
This is the essence of Jesus. He gives to anyone who asks, regardless if they are deserving. He gives even to those who do not ask. In Paul’s letter to Rome, he says that while we were still far away from God, before we deserved even a sideways glance, Jesus gave…he gave his life. (Romans 5:8) It is while I was an enemy of God that he showed me his deepest love.
Loving my enemies is difficult. But it is what I am to do if I want to look like Jesus. I can’t do this by myself. My reliance is on Jesus, who demonstrated it best and now gives me the ability to do supernatural things – like loving my enemies – because he lives in me. Never was I intended to do this on my own.
Perhaps that is one goal of Jesus’ teaching. He sets the bar so high to clearly show it can’t be done with human effort. I need the Holy Spirit to empower me. I need to ask for help.
And he will freely provide all I need. As Jesus told the disciples, “Give as freely as you have received!” (Matthew 10:8)
As followers of Jesus, we are invited to freely ask him for all things. Asking without doubt and with pure motives are prerequisites for receiving, but from that place of abundance, we can freely give to others. More than our money or our things, people need our love, compassion and acceptance. Jesus didn’t have material possessions to share with others, so he shared something more valuable: his life.
Questions – they are kind of a big deal. Willingness to ask is a precursor to receiving. Jesus said it this way…
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Yesterday we read that James invites us to ask for wisdom if we are lacking in that area. The only caveat is we need unwavering faith that we will receive it. There is another section of his letter that highlights the need to ask.
You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
How many times have I needed or wanted something, but didn’t want to ask for it? Even something as simple as “please pass the salt” can be difficult to say at times.
When I ask, I admit need. I was taught to be self-sufficient, resourceful, independent. Admitting a need is contrary to these deeply ingrained habits. So, instead of asking, I scheme other ways to get what I want/need without help. This bit of scripture says I have it all wrong.
God delights to give his children good gifts. He delights in supplying my needs. He stands ready to assist. But I don’t ask. And when I get around to asking, my motives are wrong.
Reflecting on this, it seems to me asking for wisdom comes first. Fully confident that I will receive wisdom, I use it to check my motives when a desire for something presents itself. Am I jealous of someone else? Is this desire for my own pleasure? Is it to impress my neighbors and friends?
And then I need to ask, presenting my request to Jesus who delights in giving me good things for my enjoyment. In another New Testament letter, Paul writes this to Timothy:
… {our} trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment…use…money to do good… be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.
The message to me is START ASKING! And when I do, I need to believe with unwavering confidence that my asking will result in receiving if my motives are pure.
What is it that you are lacking right now? Is it wisdom? Ask! Is it faith? Ask! Is it resources? Ask! We do not have because we don’t ask. So, ask!
According to this old saying, wisdom is gained through silence and observation. Did the wisdom initiate the silent observation or did the silent observation give birth to the wisdom? A conundrumf for sure!
The letter of Jesus’ brother, James, gives a different method for gaining wisdom.
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
Simple as that! If you need it, ask for it and it’s yours. There is only one caveat. If you ask, you have to believe it is yours without wavering. Otherwise, James says, you display divided loyalty. Who do you really trust: God or the world?
But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
The wisdom that God gives has very specific qualities about it. The world values wisdom that is shrewd, cunning and edgy. God’s values are very different!
But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.
Today, I invite you to do a wisdom inventory. It seems like I am always in need of an extra measure of wisdom; these unusual times are certainly no exception. So, how is your wisdom tank? Full? Half full? Empty? Just ask, and a full tank is yours. Then check to see that your wisdom matches the criteria given above. If not, it might be a bad bunch and not from the Father above!
Out of the Chaos 