Ephesians 1:1-2

Ephesians 1:1-2 

English Standard Version 

  What would you write?  If you were to write a letter to a group of believers, encouraging them in their faith, what would you say?  Paul likely wrote this from prison, trying to encourage the believers in unity, reminding them of Christ's holiness, and thus the call for them to live holy lives.  What would you say to such a people?  How would you put Christ on a pedestal, worthy of worship, while also lifting up the people so they are encouraged to emulate Christ.  They're not perfect, and cannot achieve perfection, but need to hear words of support as they struggle with real life.

  It's a hard thing to know exactly what to say.  We all read Paul's letters and think that we could never write anything so clear, so powerful.  I sometimes wonder if Paul would say the same thing -- he allowed the Holy Spirit to speak through him in amazing ways.

  What does it look like for us to do the same today?  How can we encourage someone else?  The Holy Spirit still speaks to us and through us, that the body of believers may be an encouragement.

Psalm 25:1-5

Psalm 25:1-5 

English Standard Version 

  It's hard to be led.  Don't you get anxious if you don't know where you're going?  When I'm sitting on a plane, the pilot usually comes on after they've shut the door and says they're excited to be flying us to Reno, and there's a moment where I wonder what I would do if they said a different city than the one listed on my ticket.  The door's shut and you're on the plane until they open it, but it'd be a weird few hours, thinking you were heading somewhere very different than you actually were.  We don't like giving up control, and to do so without knowledge... that's a hard step for us.

  When it comes to faith, we can easily acknowledge with our words that we trust God and will follow wherever God leads.

  But to actually lean into that, to do that with our hearts and minds, giving up control and accepting that we don't know where the path leads...  Not an easy step to take with our lives.

  But if God is the God of our salvation, then is there another option that leads to true life?  Any other path is simply fooling ourselves that we can save ourselves (which we often try and do).  Only God can save us.  Only God can deliver us.

  So will you truly trust God and lean into the divine mystery?

  Or hold onto the reins yourself, even though you know that you cannot get where you most need to be without the love and grace of God?

Soccer in the rain and the Gospel

Exodus 25:1-9

Exodus 25:1-9 

English Standard Version 

  I have always said that if I lived in downtown Cincinnati, I wouldn't be able to stop buying Reds season tickets so that I could drop in to baseball games whenever they were home.  If I were in walking distance, how could I not go to a game when they were right there?  They're so close... I would have to go.  I'd want to be in the stadium to experience the game.

  Scripture paints a picture of intimacy between God and the Israelites.  One of the first instructions that Moses receives is for an offering, all for the purpose of building a sanctuary, that God may dwell in their midst.  God wants to be near them.  God loves the people and wants there to be a place set aside to spend time with them.  And wouldn't it be even better if it were built out of a freewill offering, motivated by gratitude, given in thanks by the people?

  It makes me ask myself... how do I make time for God?  Where in my life am I creating space to spend time with the God who loves me, whom I love?  Where does that exist, and why do I let so many other things compete for space?  They are louder, but none are lovelier.  So many cause stress and heartache, and yet because they are more demanding, more pressing, I turn to them.  

  May we all pray for wisdom to discern, wisdom to discipline ourselves, that there may be a communion in our lives between us and God, that we may be enriched by God in our midst.