Your words may give grace ...

Hear the word of God; listen for ways that we can enact the truth in our lives today:

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.

Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. That is not the way you learned Christ! For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:11-32 – NRSV

Blessings,

Ron

Standing right in front of them ...

It is sometimes difficult to really hear the words of a song that we know well. Even though you may have heard many times the lyrics that we consider today, slow down to read and meditate on the words as if you were encountering them for the first time. There are many good songs from Acappella, but one stands out because of its words:

The Way, the Truth, the Life, the Victory

As the King of Kings was questioned by Pilate long ago,
He declared His kingdom different, not of this world;
A kingdom for the side of truth, like none has ever been -
Pilate asked, “What is truth?”
He was standing right in front of him.

Truth was standing right in front of him,
As plain as anything could ever be.
Truth was standing right in front of him,
He was standing there for all the world to see:
The Way, The Truth, the Life, the Victory.

Stephen, first beloved martyr, gave up his life for Him,
Being stoned by angry people filled with revenge.
Where was God when all this happened?
Stephen looked into the sky, he was never alone,
God was standing right in front of him.

Truth was standing right in front of him,
As plain as anything could ever be.
Truth was standing right in front of him,
Revealed to him for comfort and to see;
He was standing there for his delivery.

Now the quest for truth continues until this very day,
But the source that we should seek is not of this world:
A truth that is revealed by God, the Spirit's made it clear.
If you ask, “What is truth?” He is standing right in front of you.

Truth is standing right in front of you,
As plain as anything could ever be.
Truth is standing right in front of you,
Standing there for all eternity:
The Way, the Truth, the Life, the Victory!

He is standing right in front of you,
Showing love for open eyes to see.
Jesus is standing right in front of you,
Standing there for He will always be:
The Son of Man, the Son of God,
The King of Kings, the Lord of Lords,
The Way, the Truth, the Life, the Victory!

We might pray with the words of Clara Scott’s song:
“Open my eyes, that I may see,
Glimpses of truth thou hast for me …”

We might ask, “How are our boys to see this truth?”
I think the answer is,
“We have to live this truth right in front of them.”
We are not Truth as Jesus is Truth.
Yet if we are to be his people, we must reflect his image.
We must do this as accurately, as truthfully as possible.
We must enact his kingdom in our little spheres of influence
so that our boys get a glimpse of that kingdom and the God
who calls us to it.
We must do this standing right in front of them.

Holy God, use us to bring your kingdom, to enact your will.

Blessings,

Ron

Clear your blurred vision ...

Shiann brings today’s devotional thought by reminding us that one of the ways that we practice being a truthful people is by allowing God to heal our perspective through our hope and imagination:

Hear the words of Paul:

I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.

So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.

But there's far more to life for us. We're citizens of high heaven! We're waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He'll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.
Philippians 3:12-16 &20-21 from the Message

This scripture is so ripe with promise! May it be true that when I truly learn to keep focused on the goal, that God will “clear my blurred vision.” I have such need for that to happen! It is in the daily process where we work to bend our will that He changes our vision, changes our focus. Isn’t it beautiful that this is a work in tandem? It is not Him alone or me alone doing this great thing. He wouldn’t force it on me and I can certainly not do it without Him!

I long for the completion of the process here I am made whole. That longing can give birth to hope and imagination. Hope and imagination are risky tasks. I don’t frequently have the courage to embark on this journey. So, how hard must it be for one who has even fewer resources?

I wonder how often our guys imagine feeling whole. Only a few temperaments are inclined in this way. The others of us must learn it. Wholeness is a promise! It most certainly won’t look the way we think it should. It certainly will not be in the timing we think should be.

May God bless us with the courage and hope to look at ourselves and see where we are not on track, where His “powerful skill” can work to improve our hearts.

Shiann

Whose way is blameless ...

All of us have heard Amy Grant's song "Thy Word." About five or six years ago, the Edmond senior high youth chorus sang this song at LTC, and I still feel overwhelmed with joy thinking about it:

“Thy Word”
Amy Grant, from Psalm 119

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.

When I feel afraid,
And think I’ve lost my way.
Still, you’re there right beside me.
Nothing will I fear
As long as you are near;
Please be near me to the end.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.

I will not forget
Your love for me and yet,
My heart forever is wandering.
Jesus be my guide,
And hold me to your side,
And I will love you to the end.

Nothing will I fear
As long as you are near;
Please be near me to the end.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.
And a light unto my path.
You’re the light unto my path.

These words are the expressions of an individual before their God, praising the power of their God’s word. Yet not all is well: “ … and yet, my heart forever is wandering.” A part of the human condition is the struggle with a distracted, an impatient, or even an inconstant heart. Yet how much of this problem is a problem of solitude, of individualism, of separation from the people of God?

In fact, this psalm begins with plural pronouns, not singular ones. Is it too much to think that the psalmist is contrasting community with individualism? Here is how the psalmist begins:

Happy are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord.
Happy are those who keep his decrees,
who seek him with their whole heart,
who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways.
Psalm 119:1-3 – NRSV

Together, with accountability to the truth,
our walk can be blameless.
Together, we can walk in the truth of the law of the Lord.
Together, we can be happy in keeping his decrees
and seeking him with our whole heart (as one body).
Together, we will naturally seek to avoid wrong and
walk instead in his ways.

That is why the voice of those young people singing together was so powerful. Together they were affirming their solidarity, their accountability, their purpose in seeking and serving the truth. May God help us to follow their faithful and virtuous example.

Grace and peace,

Ron

Testing truth ...

Today, prayers to guide us toward seeking and keeping the truth:

From the cowardice that shrinks from new truth,
From the laziness that is content with half-truths,
From the arrogance with thinks it knows all truth,
O God of Truth, deliver us. Amen.
- Leslie Weatherhead

Almighty God,
who hast sent the spirit of truth unto us to guide us into all truth,
so rule our lives by thy power,
that we may be truthful in word, deed, and thought.
O keep us, most merciful Saviour, with thy gracious protection,
that no fear or hope may ever make us false in act or speech.
Cast out from us whatsoever loveth or maketh a lie,
and bring us all to the perfect freedom of thy truth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
- Brooke Foss Westcott

O Lord,
Bring us a level, durable and true,
whose sure and steady bubble
incessantly seeks its way up to you,
undistracted by slanted foundations,
unmoved by shifting sand and
swelling clays, somehow then
it finds its home and balance when
it rests, wholly transparent to you.

O Lord,
Grant us a square, to try and true,
whose sure arm angles right to you
unconvinced by knotty quirk
or thickened plaster;
it will recognize and approve
the true carpenter’s work –
only perfection at the cross
will be its master.

O Lord,
Lower us a bob, still and heavy,
to center us in the shower
of your heavenly blessings.
Straight to the point,
it chases no rabbits;
by its stillness and silence
it plumbs for us truth-seeking habits.

O Lord,
Give us the wisdom
to seek out your truth.
For just as good builders
trust varied tools
to test the truth of their work –
help us trust a diversity of voices
to discern the truth of your way
from our confusion of choices.

Through him who is the Truth,
the Way, and the Light.
Amen.

Blessings,

Ron

Whatever the Lord says ...

This week, we begin to consider the virtues that define a godly people. As a beginning place, we will consider the value of truth. Truth is connected to the virtues of truth-seeking, and truthfulness (both in speech and action). Let’s start with a favorite piece of history from the book of Kings:

It is an odd event. The king of Judah and the king of Israel meet to decide about matters of war. They choose to ask God what to do, and Ahab, the king of Israel, calls out his 400 prophets, who are unanimously for the attack. For some reason this is disturbing to Jehoshaphat. Does this unity of opinion seem unlikely? Are the prophets so obviously inclined to answer Ahab in the way that Ahab wishes to be answered? Something disturbs him, because he asks for another opinion: a 401st opinion.

The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, "Look, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king; let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably." But Micaiah said, "As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak."

When he had come to the king, the king said to him, "Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?" He answered him, "Go up and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king." But the king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?" Then Micaiah said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said, 'These have no master; let each one go home in peace.'" The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything favorable about me, but only disaster?"

Then Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the host of heaven standing beside him to the right and to the left of him. And the Lord said, 'Who will entice Ahab, so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' Then one said one thing, and another said another, until a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, 'I will entice him.' 'How?' the Lord asked him. He replied, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' Then the Lord said, 'You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do it.' So you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has decreed disaster for you."

Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came up to Micaiah, slapped him on the cheek, and said, "Which way did the spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?" Micaiah replied, "You will find out on that day when you go in to hide in an inner chamber." The king of Israel then ordered, "Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son, and say, 'Thus says the king: Put this fellow in prison, and feed him on reduced rations of bread and water until I come in peace.'" Micaiah said, "If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me." And he said, "Hear, you peoples, all of you!"
1 Kings 22:13-28 – NRSV

Isn’t it amazing that Ahab knows, even before he called Micaiah, that the prophet would deliver a contrary opinion? Ahab isn’t looking for truth; he is seeking affirmation. Doesn’t it strike you as odd that Ahab criticizes Micaiah by saying that he has to make him swear to tell the truth? Isn’t it ironic that, when the prophet of God delivers what Ahab wants to hear instead of his true opinion, Ahab catches it right away? Especially when 400 of his own have delivered a lie (from a false spirit) that fit Ahab’s fantasies?

Micaiah must be true to God; the prophet says that he must speak “whatever the Lord says to me.” The role of the prophet is truth-teller. Sometimes that truth involves the future, but in many cases, that truth is right in the midst of our current reality. The prophet’s voice is different because of perspective. He or she speaks from the viewpoint of God, and not that of human beings or any other spirits. Human beings require communities to discover and verify truth, but God can do this as a part of his nature. Consequently, one prophet who speaks with the voice of God from the perspective of God trumps 400 other prophets who speak from any other point of perspective. This is why John tells us to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1-2 – NRSV).

Seeking and speaking the truth is an adventure that is sometimes painful and dangerous, yet always rewarding. Let us be a people who value truth, and who dare to deal with it, no matter how difficult that challenge may be.

Grace and peace,

Ron