By faith

By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months when he was born, because they saw that the child was beautiful and they weren’t afraid of the king’s orders.
By faith Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter when he was grown up. He chose to be mistreated with God’s people instead of having the temporary pleasures of sin. He thought that the abuses he suffered for Christ were more valuable than the treasures of Egypt, since he was looking forward to the reward.
By faith he left Egypt without being afraid of the king’s anger. He kept on going as if he could see what is invisible.
By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, in order that the destroyer could not touch their firstborn children.
By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if they were on dry land, but when the Egyptians tried it, they were drowned. (Hebrews 11:23-29, CEB)

By faith Moses decided to believe the promises of God were true and to believe that God would always be with him.

Do you have this faith?

Do you believe God will be with you?

I do. I believe and have faith that God is with me and the promises are true.

Stand for loving all people and believe that God is always with you.

Loving People. Loving God.

Worry about yourself

Welcome the person who is weak in faith—but not in order to argue about differences of opinion. One person believes in eating everything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Those who eat must not look down on the ones who don’t, and the ones who don’t eat must not judge the ones who do, because God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servants? They stand or fall before their own Lord (and they will stand, because the Lord has the power to make them stand). One person considers some days to be more sacred than others, while another person considers all days to be the same. Each person must have their own convictions. Someone who thinks that a day is sacred, thinks that way for the Lord. Those who eat, eat for the Lord, because they thank God. And those who don’t eat, don’t eat for the Lord, and they thank the Lord too. We don’t live for ourselves and we don’t die for ourselves. If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to God. This is why Christ died and lived: so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. But why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you look down on your brother or sister? We all will stand in front of the judgment seat of God. Because it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God. So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. (Romans 14:1-12, CEB)

Worry about yourself.

Invite everyone and allow them to be who they are and know that God is working in them as God is working in you. We are not called to get any’s life together but our own. So do not tell someone else they are doing it wrong, just because it is wrong for you doesn’t mean it is wrong for them. We need to lift each other up and work for the inclusion of all people. So everyone is treated with equity and justice.

Worry about yourself and let God work in and through all.

Loving People. Loving God.

Like this:

“When you pray, don’t pour out a flood of empty words, as the Gentiles do. They think that by saying many words they’ll be heard. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask. Pray like this:
Our Father who is in heaven,
uphold the holiness of your name.
Bring in your kingdom
so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven.
Give us the bread we need for today.
Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you,
just as we also forgive those who have wronged us.
And don’t lead us into temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
“If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:7-15, CEB)

I have always wondered why we use the words we translated as Jesus saying here to the disciples as a prayer in worship weekly. Jesus didn’t say, pray these words for the rest of time, or even pray these words. Jesus said to pray like this.

And then used words to form a method of prayer.

Address God and give God honor.
Ask for God’s will to be done
Ask for what we need
Request forgiveness
And ask for help forgiving others.
Request assistance…

So let us pray:

Wonderful creator of all that exists, Be with us now and always and work in and through our lives so your love may be shown in this world. Give us daily what we need and forgive us when we stray and treat others badly. Help us to forgive and love everyone as you have forgiven and love us and guide us each day to share your love in our community. Amen.

Loving People. Loving God.

Work through

“Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him into slavery in Egypt. God was with him, however, and rescued him from all his troubles. The grace and wisdom he gave Joseph were recognized by Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over his whole palace. A famine came upon all Egypt and Canaan, and great hardship came with it. Our ancestors had nothing to eat. When Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there for the first time. During their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives—seventy-five in all—and invited them to live with him. So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had purchased for a certain sum of money from Hamor’s children, who lived in Shechem. (Acts 7:9-16, CEB)

This is Stephen telling the history of God to those who were persecuting him. And here we have the story of Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery. They wanted him gone because their father loved him the best. So they sold him off.

But the thing they intended for evil was used for good to save not only Joseph but them and all of Israel. Now yes it did end the nation up as slaves of Egypt but they all survived the famine…

You see God doesn’t stop evil from happening but is present in all things to work good for all.

Bad things don’t happen because God wants them to. Bad things happen and God works through them.

Loving People. Loving God.

love each other

This is the message that you heard from the beginning: love each other. Don’t behave like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he kill him? He killed him because his own works were evil, but the works of his brother were righteous. Don’t be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have transferred from death to life, because we love the brothers and sisters. The person who does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that murderers don’t have eternal life residing in them. This is how we know love: Jesus laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. (1 John 3:11-16, CEB)

Love each other. Simple, right?

I love the conversation around these verses when people will say that the author here was saying this about the community of believers. Like there really wouldn’t be disagreement amongst believers. But that also says that there really are people that God doesn’t love and those are the people who do not belong to our inner circle. By saying, love each other, only means those in our group mean that we are God. Or at the very least we are creating God in our image and saying that God only loves who we love.

If you hate anyone you are killing them. And if you kill anyone you have no place with God.

So it’s easy. Love everyone. Period.

Love each other.

Loving People. Loving God.

enough…

Early in the morning as Jesus was returning to the city, he was hungry. He saw a fig tree along the road, but when he came to it, he found nothing except leaves. Then he said to it, “You’ll never again bear fruit!” The fig tree dried up at once. When the disciples saw it, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree dry up so fast?” they asked. Jesus responded, “I assure you that if you have faith and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree. You will even say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the lake.’ And it will happen. If you have faith, you will receive whatever you pray for.” (Matthew 21:18-22, CEB)

I always get caught up on these passages. If you have faith and don’t doubt you will make the fig tree wither and the mountain move.

Well, I assure you I can do neither of these. Although I might kill a plant or two or ten with a black thumb. I am no gardener. But I have never looked at a fig tree and told it to wither and it withered, or told a mountain to move and it moved. Does that mean I am lacking in faith or full of doubt?

I will say there are times in my life when I know I lack faith. And there are times in my life when I am full of doubt. However, I do not believe either of these are factors in whether or not God is with me. God is big enough to walk with me in my lack of faith and through all the doubt I have.

So never see these if you have faith passages as saying your life is not enough. You are enough. Just as God made you. In your lack of faith and over achieving doubt. You are enough.

Loving People. Loving God.

Authority

Every person should place themselves under the authority of the government. There isn’t any authority unless it comes from God, and the authorities that are there have been put in place by God. So anyone who opposes the authority is standing against what God has established. People who take this kind of stand will get punished. The authorities don’t frighten people who are doing the right thing. Rather, they frighten people who are doing wrong. Would you rather not be afraid of authority? Do what’s right, and you will receive its approval. It is God’s servant given for your benefit. But if you do what’s wrong, be afraid because it doesn’t have weapons to enforce the law for nothing. It is God’s servant put in place to carry out his punishment on those who do what is wrong. That is why it is necessary to place yourself under the government’s authority, not only to avoid God’s punishment but also for the sake of your conscience. You should also pay taxes for the same reason, because the authorities are God’s assistants, concerned with this very thing. So pay everyone what you owe them. Pay the taxes you owe, pay the duties you are charged, give respect to those you should respect, and honor those you should honor. (Romans 13:1-7, CEB)

Everyone should place themselves under the authority of the government. Rulers only have authority because God gave it to them.

Given the current laws in the United States aimed at eradicating anyone who does not fit a gender binary, I have a hard time with this reading, knowing that God is a God of love.

I mean we need to follow the rules set by the government and be dutiful citizens for the good of all people. But when rulers are set on evil, how are we supposed to honor them by blindly allowing them to take away the rights of humans and not say something in return?

Love is the guiding factor in all things. Do the rulers and governments uphold humanity and love for all people, if not, it is not God ordained and is evil.

Love needs to be the focus and aim for all.

Loving People. Loving God.

live honorably

Dear friends, since you are immigrants and strangers in the world, I urge that you avoid worldly desires that wage war against your lives. Live honorably among the unbelievers. Today, they defame you, as if you were doing evil. But in the day when God visits to judge they will glorify him, because they have observed your honorable deeds. For the sake of the Lord submit to every human institution. Do this whether it means submitting to the emperor as supreme ruler, or to governors as those sent by the emperor. They are sent to punish those doing evil and to praise those doing good. Submit to them because it’s God’s will that by doing good you will silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Do this as God’s slaves, and yet also as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil. Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Have respectful fear of God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 2:11-17, CEB)

This is an interesting reading.

For the sake of the Lord submit to every human institution. They are sent to punish evil and praise those doing good. But what if they are not praising good and are upholding evil? Slavery on the North American Continent in the late 1800s and moving forward was a human institution that was pure evil. Are we to submit to that? And the genocide of the Native Peoples of the same continent by those who would say they discovered a new world was again pure evil that was a human institution. So by submitting to pure evil we will silence the ignorant talk of foolish people? It seems like the author of 1 Peter wants to keep the status quo and not rock the boat for justice. Because submitting to evil perpetuates evil.

We need to seek justice and fight against evil in every form. That is honoring God and loving God’s creation.

Loving People. Loving God.

love

Don’t be in debt to anyone, except for the obligation to love each other. Whoever loves another person has fulfilled the Law. The commandments, Don’t commit adultery, don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t desire what others have, and any other commandments, are all summed up in one word: You must love your neighbor as yourself. Love doesn’t do anything wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is what fulfills the Law. As you do all this, you know what time it is. The hour has already come for you to wake up from your sleep. Now our salvation is nearer than when we first had faith. The night is almost over, and the day is near. So let’s get rid of the actions that belong to the darkness and put on the weapons of light. Let’s behave appropriately as people who live in the day, not in partying and getting drunk, not in sleeping around and obscene behavior, not in fighting and obsession. Instead, dress yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, and don’t plan to indulge your selfish desires. (Romans 13:8-14, CEB)

There are 10 commandments and they are split into 2 groups. The first is about God and our relationship to God. The second group is about everyone else and our relationship with them.

So we are given commandments to help us love God and commandments to love everyone else. And Isn’t that what Jesus said the commandments were, love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul and love your neighbor as yourself.

The only thing we owe anyone is love. Not because they earned it, like us with God, but because God loves us and so we love everyone.

Love out Loud.

Loving People. Loving God.

Snakes…

“How terrible it will be for you legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. You say, ‘If we had lived in our ancestors’ days, we wouldn’t have joined them in killing the prophets.’ You testify against yourselves that you are children of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead, complete what your ancestors did. You snakes! You children of snakes! How will you be able to escape the judgment of hell? Therefore, look, I’m sending you prophets, wise people, and legal experts. Some of them you will kill and crucify. And some you will beat in your synagogues and chase from city to city. Therefore, upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been poured out on the earth, from the blood of that righteous man Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the temple and the altar. I assure you that all these things will come upon this generation. (Matthew 23:29-36, CEB)

If anything in all of the scriptures points to Jesus’ humanity, I would say this should be towards the top of the list. Here Jesus is calling legal experts and Pharisees, hypocrites and snakes. This is when we get into that fit of rage and go off on someone. We call them names and point fingers. This is not the speaking of a loving God or an advocate but someone who is fed up. To me, it shows we all have the ability to do what God calls us to do and love. Jesus in other parts of the scriptures forgives and heals and loves openly and accepts people where they are. So if Jesus can lose it here and still be loving, maybe all of us can still be loving even if we lose it every now and then.

So know there is always hope. And try not to call people snakes, but know if you do, you are in good company.

Loving People. Loving God.