unwilling

35“It was this Moses whom they rejected when they said, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ and whom God now sent as both ruler and liberator through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36He led them out, having performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years. 37This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up a prophet for you from your own people as he raised me up.’ 38He is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living oracles to give to us. 39Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him; instead, they pushed him aside, and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, 40saying to Aaron, ‘Make gods for us who will lead the way for us; as for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’ 41At that time they made a calf, offered a sacrifice to the idol, and reveled in the works of their hands. 42But God turned away from them and handed them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘Did you offer to me slain victims and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 43No; you took along the tent of Moloch, and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; so I will remove you beyond Babylon.’ (Acts 7:35-43, NRSV)

Have you ever had someone who was trying to lead you but you and all those around you were unwilling to follow? Because the things and situations you remembered from before were better than what it seemed you were headed to? Even though you really didn’t know what was to come. You remembered the good times form before and wanted to go back, regardless of all the evil and oppression you lived through.

That is where the Israelites were, unwilling to follow Moses and the path God had given them. Why are we unwilling?

Why don’t we want to follow God? Fear? Are we afraid of what lies ahead even though it is God leading us there?

We should want to follow where God leads. How can we be willing to follow where God leads?

Would you miss my daily devos?

I have come to a time and a season that I wonder if there are people using my daily devotionals. Since Covid-19 started it seems there are other things I could be doing but this daily devotional has been a part of my ministry since February 2012.

So I come to you the people that are reading to ask for your input.

Would you miss this daily devotional?

Please answer the poll and comment. I will continue this if it is a part of your devotional life.

heavenly calling

Therefore, brothers and sisters, holy partners in a heavenly calling, consider that Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,2was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses also “was faithful in all God’s house.” 3Yet Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4(For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)5Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken later. 6Christ, however, was faithful over God’s house as a son, and we are his house if we hold firm the confidence and the pride that belong to hope. (Hebrews 3:1-6, NRSV)

We all have a heavenly calling and are a part of the house of God.

God will always be with us and give us the strength and words to see through everything that comes our way when we hold firm the confidence and pride that belong to hope.

So stay true to your calling and share the hope you have with all the world.

remind

25”I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. (John 14:25-26, NRSV)

The Holy Spirit lives in us and reminds us of all that Jesus taught us to do.

Have you ever been doing something and you think maybe I shouldn’t do this? Or this isn’t a good idea?

That is the Spirit reminding you what Jesus taught.

I’m reminded a lot. And I’m glad that I am reminded of what God wants me to do, and that God loves me even when I choose to do otherwise, even though I should do what I am reminded to do.

So do what you are reminded to do.

Spirit powers activate

4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.8To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. 12For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.13For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:4-13, NRSV)

We are all part of the body of Christ. We can not say because we aren’t a teacher we aren’t a part, or because we can’t prophesy we aren’t a part of the body. Everyone is needed.

God through the Spirit has gifted each of us for ministry and we all play a vital part of the plan.

So know you are needed to do your part.

The Spirit says

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:1-3, NRSV)

You can not say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

Meaning if you say that, then the Spirit is within you. Does that mean everything we do and say then is what the Spirit wants us to do? If we believe in free will then no. We can always follow our own way.

So I beseech you to follow the Spirit and head the leading of God.

“some” doubted…

16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20, NRSV)

This is the Gospel passage for Trinity Sunday this year. It is one of the few places in the Bible we get a mention of the Trinity. And by few I mean this and five other places there are trinitarian formulas. So the doctrine fo the Trinity is not developed explicitly in scripture. So that makes it difficult to preach and teach on the Trinity.

Other things that make it difficult to preach on the Trinity is there is nothing else we know as the Trinity. We can say that an egg is like the Trinity, there is a yolk, a white and a shell, 3 parts that make up one thing, but you can have an egg yolk without the white or the shell, and we can not have the Spirit without the Son and the Father. And we could use an apple, there is the skin, the meat, and the seeds, but again I can have one part of an apple and it is still an apple without the other parts.

So this passage is not quite enough to understand the Trinity. and I think that the Trinity is more than 3. One of my favorite icons is Andrey Rublev’s Icon of the Holy Trinity. I have several pictures and renditions of this in my office. It is a beautiful picture of God. It is also a picture of relationship, and that is what the Trinity is about, God is in communion with God and wants to be in communion with us. Communion comes from community. When we partake in communion we are participating in the community of believers that have participated, are participating, and will participate in communion. It is about community and relationship. And the best part of this icon is the bottom. You see the three of them are together over a meal possibly and at the bottom between the seats what do you see? If you look between the feet of the Father and the Spirit you will see an opening. You see the Trinity is not complete as three but needs you to join them. God is perfect as God is, but God wants us to be in community with God. God leaves space for all of us to join in.

And that brings us to the title of the devotion today, on Trinity Sunday when God invites you to join the community God has opened to us, we see that Jesus invited the eleven disciples to Galilee to the mountain He told them about. And Jesus joined them there and when they saw Him, the text says, “they worshipped Him; but some doubted.”  How many of us would doubt this? Jesus was dead. We saw Him die. He was on the cross and when He came off He was dead. He was laid in a tomb.

We all doubt and we think that doubt is bad.

I asked my friends on Facebook what they doubt but still have faith in. Some of them were silly like their kids would actually clean their rooms and frozen pizza. Some were serious like America and God. We wonder if the Sun actually shines behind the clouds, what happens after life here ends, that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, that common sense still exists. We doubt the church, and councils, and humanity. We wonder will this all work the way the Bible promises.

But you see this is the interesting thing about the text above, the word some in verse 17 is not there. Scholars put the some in because of the construction, but this construction isn’t found anywhere else. And another reason the some is there, is because the disciples couldn’t worship and doubt, but I do all the time, and actually, it helps me know I don’t have to have it all together. I don’t have to understand all of this. I can quesiton and wonder and still worship. You see the 11 that were with Jesus and watched Him do ministry for 3 years, saw Him die and met Him on the mountain, looked at Him and worshipped Him but doubted what was happening, all of them doubted what they were seeing and experiencing, yet they went into the world and changed it. To me that is hope, hope in I don’t have to have it all together, and even in my brokenness God still wants me in community.

So doubt and worship and know that God wants you.

 

Neither sees nor knows

15”If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.17This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. (John 14:15-17, NRSV)

You can’t see the Spirit but the Spirit is always with you. The Spirit resides in you and guides you, and intercedes when we can’t make the words or thoughts come together.

The Spirit is always with you.

How are you living with the Spirit?

I’m not ashamed

But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him. 13Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us. (2 Timothy 1:12b-14, NRSV)

I am not ashamed of Jesus Christ and the life He gave me.

I hold fast to the truth of love and grace and hope given to all of us through Jesus Christ from God.

We live in our eternal life now and share what God has blessed us with with all the world.

Are you ashamed?

Do not be ashamed

8Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, 9who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, 12and for this reason I suffer as I do.  (2 Timothy 1:8-12a, NRSV)

We should not be ashamed of the truth we know. We need to boldly proclaim the message of love and hope we have been given.

God saves us from the world around us and gives us life abundantly. We should tell everyone about this.

So do not be ashamed no matter what it gets you. Boldly proclaim God’s love for the world!