Come Home

Luke 15:1-3,11-32

Judy Lombardo

As parents, Dave and I always told our children that we loved them unconditionally, just as God loves us unconditionally.  What a reassuring feeling to have that promise. To know that whatever happens, however we waiver in our faith, we can always come home to God, that He is always there for us.  David, Deborah and Douglas knew that we would always be there for them, in good times and bad - to rejoice in college graduations and outstanding job opportunities and still stand by them (albeit disappointed) when we received a call from the high school guidance counselor advising us that one of them had cut school in order to buy beer for a party that evening.  How often children, upon becoming young adults, feel they no longer need church.  They sleep late on Sunday morning and we feel lucky if we get them to church on Christmas and Easter.  It is only after they become parents themselves that they realize what they have missed and what they want to share with their offspring - the comfort of knowing a loving God.    Now that our children are grown and are parents themselves, they have told their children this same message of unconditional love.   Through their religious studies, whether in church or synagogue, my grandchildren have learned that God will always be there for them.  What a wonderful gift.  And when they do wrong, their parents will be there to comfort them and get them back on the correct path, reassured that God is always walking beside them.

PRAYER: Precious Jesus, thank you for this message of unconditional love. Watch over us and help us to become vessels for you-to share with others your words and promise.   

Egypt's King

Gen. 37:3-4, 12-28

Nori Huckaby

Joseph was dearly loved by his father and lived a comfortable life before his brothers betrayed him and sold him into slavery.  When Joseph became a slave he lost almost everything he had had.  It’s hard to imagine a fate much worse than being betrayed by family members and stripped of all possessions and personal freedom.  But Joseph still had two of the most important things, God’s love and God’s plan for his life, which no one could take away from him.  Joseph’s faith in God helped him to endure many hardships and he discovered that his terrible misfortune was actually an avenue to a wonderful new life.

Prayer: Dear God, please give me strength in times of adversity and help me to understand your plan for my life.  

A Bargain

Luke 6:36-38

Louise Babirak

Once we know that our sins are forgiven and understand that the greatest gift from God is love, we realize that we have the responsibility to extend the same forgiveness and love to everyone in our lives. As God does not withhold His love and compassion; we should not. A forgiving, loving spirit reflects our understanding that we have received these gifts from the Lord.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, help me to remember the depth of love and forgiveness I show others is a reflection of yours towards me.

Note: This devotion originally published on March 1 matches the right scripture and author with the wrong devotion. The above devotion corrects this editorial mistake.

Charity

Luke 16:19-31

Bob Hummel

It is hard to imagine the agony in Port au Prince, Haiti.  So many dead!  For survivors, so much destruction and loss to fathom!    We gave.  We prayed.  And I believe that we as a Nation, as a Body of Christ, and as a Congregation, will continue to help.  And that is good.  And I hear on the news about other Nations, and an international community, helping the Haitians.  That too, is good.  But it can’t be enough.  There will always be inequalities in this world, and there will always be others who are not as fortunate.  How much should we share?  What are we to do?

Prayer:  Lord, your resurrection should convince us, that we should share what we can.  May your message, that we should love one another, guide us in our compassion and help for those who have less, as we share in the gifts that You have given us, even everlasting life itself.

Divine Sacrifice

Matthew 20:17-28

Mitchell Kiffe

This passage has a lot of cross-currents and clearly focuses on Jesus' divinity and holiness on the one hand, and our human frailty and pettiness on the other. Jesus announces to his disciples that He will be delivered to the Chief Priests and then be condemned, mocked, scourged, and crucified. Jesus also announces that he will be raised on the third day. What is the human response by two disciples and their mother? Do they comfort Him? Try to understand how they can help Him? No. Unfortunately the human response is a request that the disciples be placed at Jesus' right hand and left hand when He comes into the Kingdom!

Even trusted and faithful disciples exhibit self-centeredness and seek elevated stature rather than focusing on God and God's plan.

During Lent we should ponder Jesus' humility and supreme sacrifice and ask what we can do to grow our faith and to follow Him.

Prayer:  Dear Lord, we pray for humility. Help us to remember that you are the source of all good things in our lives. We pray that you will give us strength when it is our turn to suffer. Help us to serve others. Amen.

Rabbi

Matthew 23:1-12

Ellen Lokker

In this passage, Jesus teaches a timeless lesson about hypocrisy and conceit.  The Pharisees, who were successors to Moses as teachers of the law, had become the embodiment of hypocrisy.  Jesus instructs his followers to “do and observe” what the Pharisees say, but directs them not to act as the Pharisees do, “for they say things and do not do them.”  The Pharisees deliberately disregarded the laws they taught and imposed burdens on the people that they had no intention of fulfilling themselves.

Hypocrisy still plagues mankind today.  We have all heard the admonition to “do as I say, not as I do” when someone knows their own actions fall short of desired behavior.  Hypocrisy is most troubling in the religious arena.  We have all witnessed the public downfall of a religious leader caught in immoral behavior.  When the leader has strongly condemned that same behavior from the pulpit, it is often the hypocrisy that we find more troubling than the underlying offense.  Hypocritical leaders, as well as hypocritical lay people, tarnish the image of Christianity in the public’s mind and diminish the authority of the church.

Jesus teaches us in Matthew that hypocrisy is rooted in conceit.  The Pharisees, for example, routinely made elaborate displays of religiosity in their attire.  But Jesus reveals that, in their hearts, the Pharisees were motivated in all that they did by the desire for recognition among men.  They  “do all their deeds to be noticed by men” and  “love . . . being called Rabbi by men.”   

Jesus warns against these impure motives and admonishes his listeners not to adopt titles of honor in order to elevate one person above another.  Jesus reminds us that there is only one Rabbi, one Father, and one Leader:  Christ.   Jesus calls us to be servants to one another, explaining that the person who humbles himself will be the one that is exalted, not the other way around.

It is striking how much we need this message in the 21^st Century.  Can any of us read this passage without a glimmer of self-doubt as to what Christ sees in our heart?  Our culture rewards pride and self-promotion.  The desire for fame and recognition are driving forces now more than ever before.  The notion that a person who humbles himself and behaves like a servant will be the greatest is contrary to secular society’s fundamental message. 

PRAYER:  Dear Lord, give us the grace to be a servant to others today.  Help us to temper our desire for worldly recognition and free us from the driving force of conceit. Work though us so that others will know that there is only one Rabbi, one Father, and one Leader, who is Jesus Christ.

Look Up

Phil. 3:17 & 4:1

Brett McMillen

In the passage, Paul asks the Philippians to imitate him. I don’t think that I could be so confident and bold to ask others to imitate me. Being the perfect Christian role model is an impossible task. We are all sinners and each day we fall short of God’s plan.  I personally fall short in: not praying as often as I should, not always opening my heart to the Holy Spirit, and sometimes failing to treat other according to the Golden Rule.  If I were to ask others to imitate me, it would sound something like: ”Join me in a daily struggle to be a good Christian, let’s rejoice together in good thoughts deeds, and please forgive me the rest of the time.”

The book of Philippians is a letter from Paul, an accused prisoner of crimes against the government, written to a small group of followers that includes a gruff jailer, a Jewish merchant, and a sideshow fortuneteller.  When times are tough in my own life, I can look at the example of Paul to put things into perspective. Paul was imprisoned at a time in which Emperor Nero was feeding Christians to lions for entertainment.  His future was very uncertain, and yet throughout the letter Paul writes of joy and rejoicing even while he is in captivity.  Paul’s faith and positive attitude is inspirational.

PRAYER: I pray that I may have the faith of Paul, and rejoice in God’s love even in the darkest of times. May God grant me the wisdom and strength to live my life as God intended. God please give me the ability to have faith, help others, and that my actions will have a positive influence on those around me as continue to try to be a better Christian.