August 25, 2017 – Devotions – Your G-d Is Too Small — What Sort of People Does G-d Intend Us to Be?

“When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5)

What sort of people does G-d intend us to be? There is a great question, Amen? Yes, the easy answer to this would be that G-d wants us to be loving – to love G-d and to love one another. That has been the over-arching theme for the last two devotions. And that, in and of itself is very counter-cultural. But Jesus did not stop there. He went on to outline very distinct manners of being for each one of us in the “Beatitudes” from Matthew’s Gospel. But because this was written sometime in the first century CE, we need to understand them in the language that makes more sense to us today.

Most people think:
Happy are the “strong”: for they never let life hurt them
Happy are they who “complain and whine”: for they will get their own way
Happy are the “laid back”: for they never worry over their situation or sins
Happy are the “brilliant”: for they know what we do not know
Happy are the “slave-drivers”: for they get results
Happy are the “trouble-makers”: for people will notice them

Jesus said:
Happy are those who recognize their need for G-d: they are already in the kingdom of G-d
Happy are they who bear their share of the world’s pain: they will truly know more happiness than most
Happy are they who know and accept their limitations: they will find more in life than most
Happy are they who long to be “good at heart”: they will fully realize their life’s ambition
Happy are they who can forgive: they will know the love of G-d
Happy are they who are “genuinely G-dly”: in the end they will see G-d face to face
Happy are they who help others to live together: they will be known for doing G-d’s work

To live the life that Christ calls us to live is one of the earliest “counter-cultural” movements on earth. And that movement continues today. (Themes come from the book “Your God Is Too Small” by J. B. Phillips)

Pastor Dave

August 24, 2017 – Devotions – Your G-d Is Too Small — So What Is Really Wrong With the World?

“Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach…But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, false witness and slander.” Matthew 15:17-19

“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.” Luke 18:9-11

Wow, we could not have a more pertinent question than this right now — What is really wrong with the world? In the previous devotion, we spoke about what the answer to the question “What is the purpose of life?” – that answer was to love G-d and to love our neighbor. When we consider why Christ would feel the need to take 613 Jewish commandments (or Mitzvot) and reduce them to just 2, perhaps he was answering the question “What is really wrong with the world?” If we address the answer to this question in this manner, we can see that what is wrong with the world is the fact that we are not living by these two commandments. Instead of loving G-d with all their heart mind and soul, and loving their neighbor as themselves, humanity has turned in on itself. And in turning in on themselves, what is coming out is what is defiling humanity and the world. Jesus says “Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach…But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, false witness and slander.” Matthew 15:17-19

If we see that Christ has called us to step out of ourselves and to live for the others in our lives, especially those who are not like us, and to love them – then sin is not necessarily the “misdirection” of that love – sin is the deliberate refusal to allow love to flow at all – toward G-d or toward humanity. The times in the bible when we might see Christ as most angry were the times he witnessed the inability of humanity to love each other within their most innate human-ness – pushing the sick and lame out of community – forcing people to beg for their lives. And “self-love”, like what he described in the parable of the publican and Pharisee, was the enemy. What seems to be wrong with the world today is too many people are saying things like “Thank G-d I am not like those people, those sinners, and rogues and thieves, those people who are not worthy of my love, attention or devotion. And certainly G-d hates them too.” (Themes come from the book “Your God Is Too Small” by J. B. Phillips)

When we hate the other, and only love ourselves and those who look like us, it is not too hard to see what might be wrong with the world.

Pastor Dave