Intentional Faith

Today’s Text

Revelation 1:4-8 (HCSB)
4 John: To the seven churches in the province of Asia. Grace and peace to you from the One who is, who was, and who is coming; from the seven spirits before His throne;
5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by His blood,
6 and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7 Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, including those who pierced Him. And all the families of the earth will mourn over Him. This is certain. Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.”

Today’s Text

Psalm 93:1-5 (HCSB)
1 The Lord reigns! He is robed in majesty; The Lord is robed, enveloped in strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.
2 Your throne has been established from the beginning; You are from eternity.
3 The floods have lifted up, Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their pounding waves.
4 Greater than the roar of many waters— the mighty breakers of the sea— the Lord on high is majestic.
5 Lord, Your testimonies are completely reliable; holiness is the beauty of Your house for all the days to come.

Scriptural Reading for the Day

John 18:33-37 (HCSB)
33 Then Pilate went back into the headquarters, summoned Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
34 Jesus answered, “Are you asking this on your own, or have others told you about Me?”
35 “I’m not a Jew, am I?” Pilate replied. “Your own nation and the chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?”
36 “My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. As it is, My kingdom does not have its origin here.”
37 “You are a king then?” Pilate asked. “You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.”

William E. Gladstone, 19th century
We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace.

Scriptural Reading for Tuesday

Psalm 132:1-12 (HCSB)
1 Lord, remember David and all the hardships he endured,
2 and how he swore an oath to the Lord, making a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “I will not enter my house or get into my bed,
4 I will not allow my eyes to sleep or my eyelids to slumber
5 until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 We heard of [the ark] in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar.
7 Let us go to His dwelling place; let us worship at His footstool.
8 Arise, Lord, come to Your resting place, You and the ark [that shows] Your strength.
9 May Your priests be clothed with righteousness, and may Your godly people shout for joy.
10 Because of Your servant David, do not reject Your anointed one.
11 The Lord swore an oath to David, a promise He will not abandon: “I will set one of your descendants on your throne.
12 If your sons keep My covenant and My decrees that I will teach them, their sons will also sit on your throne, forever.”

Thanks to Bill Ireland for this suggestion:

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Rebuking Jesus

Mark 12:41-44

“Jesus sat down opposite the Temple treasury, watching people put money into the offering box. Many rich people gave large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to him, he said, ‘Truly this poor widow put in more than anyone; for they gave out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, gave all she owned, all she had to live on.'”

Reflection by Matthew Laney

Sometimes I think Jesus, being God’s son and everything, just doesn’t understand the problems of everyday people.

Take today’s scripture from Mark 12. There’s a part of me that wants to take Jesus aside and rebuke him. “Seriously, Jesus? You’re actually encouraging her to give ‘all she has to live on?’ The woman is already on welfare! That was her next meal! Now what’s she going to do?” The whole scene makes me think of a televangelist preying upon the elderly and then driving away in a gold Cadillac.

Then I imagine Jesus turning to look at me, his eyes full of love, love so gentle and pure it burns. Reflected in his eyes I see my abundance, my absurd number of possessions, my mortgage, my health club membership, my 401k, my… well, you get the idea. In short, I see my profound poverty; spiritual death by a thousand little cuts.

If I was feeling particularly cheeky in that moment I might remind Jesus that I am giving 10% of my income to charity and the church! But I know that is only a beginning. Though I have to make some lifestyle decisions to keep that commitment, I’m still “giving out of my abundance.” Not much sacrifice there.

For many of us, most of the time, myself included, our giving amounts to giving God our leftovers. After we’ve paid for everything else – some essentials, like food and shelter, plus a whole list of other things we think we need – from whatever’s left, we might give some of that away.

The truth is Jesus wants all of me and everything I have, “all I have to live on,” so that his gift of abundant life can live on in me.

Prayer

Holy and generous God, though giving 10% of our income often seems difficult to achieve, give us courage to embrace it as the first step to a life devoted wholly to you. Remind us that there is no hymn entitled “I Surrender Some.” All glory be to you God of amazing and abundant grace. Amen.

Scripture Reading for the Day
2 Samuel 23:1-7 (HCSB)
1 These are the last words of David: The proclamation of David son of Jesse, the proclamation of the man raised on high, the one anointed by the God of Jacob, the favorite singer of Israel:
2 The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me, His word was on my tongue.
3 The God of Israel spoke; the Rock of Israel said to me, “The one who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God,
4 is like the morning light when the sun rises on a cloudless morning, the glisten of rain on sprouting grass.”
5 Is it not true my house is with God? For He has established an everlasting covenant with me, ordered and secured in every [detail]. Will He not bring about my whole salvation and [my] every desire?
6 But all the wicked are like thorns raked aside; they can never be picked up by hand.
7 The man who touches them must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear. They will be completely burned up on the spot.

Live today with wonder like it was your first day and with gratitude like it was your last day. Then it will be a good day. May someone be blessed by you today.

A Closer Look

In and perhaps through this time of prayer, however, Hannah does experience transformation, as Brueggemann points out. Note the contrast between her bitterly tearful, hushed, anguished prayer in chapter one, and the “exuberant, energized” song of praise she sings in chapter two, what Brueggemann calls “Israel’s most dangerous song.” This is the song that will inspire the song of Mary, the Magnificat, which we still pray today, perhaps without noticing the kind of radical and discomforting transformation it describes, of the mighty brought down and the lowly lifted up. The lives of these women, and many like them on the margins long ago and today as well, have been transformed by God. Martin Copenhaver suggests that a story like Hannah’s (and surely, Mary’s) reminds us of an uncomfortable truth, that the amazing things that happen “in holy places” happen because of God, not because of anything we do. Actually, I think we can find a lot of comfort in that thought. It’s not all up to us, is it?

Hannah’s prayer is persistent and quite bold. Some prayer is persistent and quietly humble. I remember my oldest brother asking me how my granddaughter was doing (she struggles with a serious medical condition), and he said, very humbly, very gently, “I want you to know that I pray for her every day.” Every day. Not just in church, but every day. After the recent death of my mother, my sister and I were sorting through our parents’ “things” as they broke up housekeeping, and among them we found multiple versions of our dad’s daily prayer list, with many names added through the years. What a testament of faith and trust in God! God at the center of our lives, and our lives inside God’s own story. One of the finest pieces of literary extended prayer of a person on the margins is the journal of Celie in The Color Purple (again, by Alice Walker). In her most painful experiences (and even mired in doubt) and in her exuberant joy, Celie sees God as someone who listens to, and cares about, people like her. In the course of her long and often painful story, Celie seems to find her place in the story of God.

In our churches and in our homes, on our deathbeds and in hospital rooms, in swerving cars and moments of desolation and loneliness, we approach God with the prayers of our hearts. What a challenge it is to encounter one another in every moment of life, not knowing what is in the heart of another, but honoring their prayer and their longing and their pain nevertheless.