July 3, 2016

“After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’” Luke 10:1-11

“(Jesus…) commands that they take nothing with them. This means that the disciples – far more, by the way, than the usual twelve we think about – must depend on the generosity of others. For their meals … for a place to stay … for, well, just about everything.

Most of us find such dependence uncomfortable. It makes us feel like we’re not prepared, maybe unsafe, definitely vulnerable. I wonder if that’s the point. I mean, we are vulnerable. We forget this, too, going to great lengths to manufacture and perpetuate illusions of control, independence, and invulnerability. But any illness, any loss, any death or disappointment or tragedy reminds us painfully of just how incredibly vulnerable we are.

And so Jesus sends his disciples out in pairs and instructs them to rely entirely upon the hospitality of others. Why? Because this is our natural state: we are stronger when we stay together and our welfare is inextricably linked to that of each other. “No man,” John Donne wrote, “is an island.” The loss of any, he went on to say, diminishes each.” (David Lose, working preacher website)

I do not like being dependent upon others in any situation. It always makes me uncomfortable. I do not like thinking that others feel I am taking advantage of their generosity, their kindness, or their resources. And yet, Jesus sent his disciples, all 72 of them in this instance, out to spread the good news of the kingdom of G-d with the exact command that they depend upon the generosity, the kindness and the resources of others.

Our country is born on the idea that we fought for the independence we have from Great Britain…and thus was born the spirit of American individualism. And this idea of “individualism” is as much a myth of our culture as is our idea that we are a country that is not vulnerable to outside forces. The pilgrims and others who settled this land were incredibly aware that their survival depended on each other. The colonies they eventually established, after all, we called “commonwealths,” places where the good of any individual was wholly linked to the good of the entire group. And as Benjamin Franklin is quoted to have said, “We must hang together, or assuredly we will all hang separately.”

Today we have been sold a bill of goods that wants us to believe that we must always be looking out only for ourselves – that we will be better if we worry about number one, and make sure that we, individually, have what we need to survive. Isn’t it interesting to see how, like after the shooting in Orlando recently, people did not go their separate ways to try to cope, they flocked together in vigil to stand together in strength. This is why the gift Jesus gave to these 72 disciples, the gift of mutual dependence, was a gift that forced them to work together with teamwork and trusting obedience. Because when we work together, when we recall that G-d said it is not good for us to be alone, when we see our hope and welfare linked to that of those around us, then we not only can accomplish so much more than we possibly could alone, but we also discover that our names are written in the book of heaven, together, not separately.

Pastor Dave

July 2, 2016
Bible.is (iOS | Android | Web) (The World Map of Christian Apps: 48 tools every Christian should know about; by Jeffrey Kranz)

This family of Christian apps feature text, audio, and video Bibles in 1600+ languages (including multiple international sign languages). According to their site, Bible.is has the world’s largest Bible language library. This description comes directly from their website: “Launched for the iPhone in June of 2010 with just 218 languages, Bible.is now features 1192 languages and is available on the web and for both iOS and Android devices. Originally only functional in English, the app is now fully localized for a growing number of languages including Arabic, Mandarin, Cantonese, Portuguese, French, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, and Russian.

Faith Comes By Hearing
For more than 40 years, the ministry of Faith Comes By Hearing has been standing with poor and illiterate people of the world to provide them the promises of salvation, hope and comfort in the Word of God. From online technologies like Bible.is, to solar-powered audio Bibles, Faith Comes By Hearing continues to innovate and invite people to hear God’s Word for themselves.”

‘Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. Let anyone with ears listen!
“But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” Matthew 11:11-19

“Let anyone with ears listen!” Jesus says. That used to be a problem in the world, when there are so many languages used throughout the world. Did you now there are now currently 6500 languages spoken in the world today – and 2000 of those have fewer than 1000 people speaking that language anymore. How then, can we get the word of G-d as an aural experience to those people who need to hear the word of G-d? Well, one way is to use apps like the one mentioned in this devotion. Hearing the word of G-d is one of the means of Grace – to hear the Word read, preached and commented upon by mutual believers. This is one of the ways the Holy Spirit works in the world. But if there is no one to speak it to you in your language, then at least there is an “App For That”.

Pastor Dave