Tag: daily devotions

1 Samuel – Day 1

Old Testament: 1 Samuel 1 & 2

Poetry: Psalm 63

New Testament: 2 Corinthians 5

People have done so many word studies on the Bible that, based on the translation and the parameters, we know almost everything there is to know about word usage. Take, for example, this link : https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/ken.flerlage/viz/BibleWordAnalysis_0/Books

The guy who made this “tableau” was simply trying to understand all world religions, starting with the Bible; similar to the way someone might analyze the words of a politician to see if they should vote for him or her. What I found fascinating is that if you focus on 1-2 Samuel, the word “Samuel” is used 126 times. The guy the books are named after only shows up that many times, and only a little bit after he dies. I also don’t mean he is *mentioned* after he dies, I mean he literally *shows up*. However, besides “Lord” there is one word used more than any other:

David. 484 times. “Lord” is only used 517. 

Over the next two weeks, we are going to focus on the story of the kingdom of Israel and the earliest part of the story of their kings.

But today, as you read about Elkanah, Hannah, Peninnah, these baby-mamas and their baby-drama, it is important to set the scene for the next few books. The life of Samuel, born to Hannah and raised in the temple, was a time of transition. The people of Israel have been led for hundreds of years (something between 350-410 years) by judges. Judges were men and women who were divinely empowered to rule the people of Israel after they cried out to the Lord. And they ruled well. But the problem, as the Israelites will come to see it, is that Israel is not like the other nations. They wanted a king upon the earth, so that they could look like everyone else. But, in doing so, they rejected God, who was to be the only king who would reign over them.

So, through Samuel, God institutes the first kings of Israel. While this is not the path God wanted for his people (as we shall see), God, ever good and ever wise, allowed his people to make this choice and then used their choice, their rebellion, their sin, to be a way that he would show his glory. He took the people of Israel turning their back on him and worked it into his plan to bring about the Messiah. The judges ruled through empowerment, but the kings ruled through birthright. God indicated that the Messiah would be the child of King David. You have just finished reading Ruth, and God used this Moabitess in order to bring about the Great King of Israel, even the man after God’s own heart. God is in the business of using things we would never think to use in order to bring about greater things than we could ever imagine; he is an artist that strikes the canvas with a color that at first doesn’t look right, but with the right blending, the right technique, and the right eye, turns what seems to be a mistake into a work of art. 

We have two weeks to cover 1 Samuel, the Kingdom of Israel, and King David. 

Let’s begin. 

  1. Comparing Judges and Kings: While it’s true that God did not want his people to have a King (because they were rejecting God’s Kingship), the book of judges itself does not paint the kingship in a bad light. Read Judges 17:6, 18:1, 19:1, and 21:25. Why does the author use the specific refrain we read in those verses? What is the king implied to bring?
  2. Faith History: Jesus’s family tree includes the neglected Tamar, the harlot Rahab, the Moabite Ruth, the survivor of assault Bathsheba, and the many murderers, liars, cheats and swindlers that make up everyone’s family tree. What stories about your history can you bring to the foot of the cross because it doesn’t define you? God does not care where you came from, only the faith you have today.
  3. Personal History: While it should not cause us to misbehave on purpose, it is an encouraging thought that God can take even our mistakes and use them for our good. What are parts of your life that you would like to forget? Parts that when you tell your story you leave out? The power and goodness of our God and the love and grace of Jesus means that even those parts can become cause for joy about what God has done in spite of our evil, or the wickedness or brokenness of the world. 

-Jake Ballard

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A Hope that Makes You Bold

OlD Testament: Ruth 3

Poetry: Psalms 62

New Testament: 2 Corinthians 3

A major theme in 2 Corinthians 3 is boldness. 2 Corinthians 3:12 states:

“Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.”

In this verse we also see the word hope. Hope is different in the Bible than it is in the English language. Hope as an English word often conveys doubt, but almost always in the New Testament the word hope is the Greek elpis/elpizo. There is no doubt attached to this word. This means that when we see the word hope in the Bible, we know it means confidence and security.

So, if there is no doubt in this type of hope, let me ask you a question. What would change in your demeanor if you knew… I mean really knew that the hope you have is assured? If you already knew you won the game or aced the test, you would be bold and confident in what you are trying to do. Biblical hope is a reality, not just a feeling. It’s a sure foundation that we can build our lives on.

Kirk Cameron once asked the question, if you had the cure for cancer would you keep it to yourself, or would you share it? If you knew you could save someone’s life you would be more bold. As Christians we have the opportunity to save people by being bold with our faith. We are called to give an answer to anyone that would ask.

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

When was the last time you were bold enough to share your faith?

-Brooke Cisneros

Reflection Questions

  1. What would change in your demeanor if you knew… I mean really knew that the hope you have is assured? How would you explain your hope – and how it is different from a hope with doubt?
  2. When was the last time you were bold enough to share your faith?
  3. How can you boldly share your faith today? Will you?
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Delighting in Lies

Old Testament: Ruth 1

*Poetry: Psalm 62

New Testament: 2 Corinthians 1

One major theme in Psalms 62 is slander. According to Merriam-Webster slander is “the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another’s reputation.” In this Psalm, David is being slandered by his enemies. He shares in Psalms 62:3-4 about the way he is being slandered:

“How long will you assault me?

    Would all of you throw me down—

    this leaning wall, this tottering fence?

Surely they intend to topple me

    from my lofty place;

    they take delight in lies.

With their mouths they bless,

    but in their hearts they curse.”

Have you ever been the victim of slander, or even slandered someone else? Slander is a form of gossip. In my personal opinion, slander is one of the biggest issues we have in the church today. Slander is gossip personified—it’s deliberately telling information with the intent of harming someone else. Slander is not only an Old Testament issue, it’s talked about throughout the Bible. In Romans 1:28-32, Paul lists the traits of someone who is not close to God and slander is included within the list.

“They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;” (Romans 1:29-30)

We need to find ways to move away from these things. Colossians 3:7-8 states:

“You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.”

The only way we can move away from slander is with a new heart. Psalms 62 is a poem of instruction on trust. We need to trust that God will deal with our enemies, so we don’t need to take revenge. The Psalm tells us that we should trust in God, but if we trust in men or our negative emotions, we are depending on that which is lighter than breath. We must remember what is said in Psalms 62:12:

“You reward everyone according to what they have done.”

If we are slandering, God will not reward us but judge us.

-Brooke Cisneros

Reflection Questions

  1. How much do you value and appreciate the truth from others? Do you hold yourself to the same standard when it comes to gossip, lies and slander?
  2. How does trusting in God relate to your feelings and expectations, words and actions toward anyone you might consider your enemy?
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My Strength

Old Testament: Judges 16 & 17

Poetry: Psalm 59

New Testament: 1 Corinthians 14

In this devotion I want to delve into a chapter in Psalms. What we see is David sharing a dark time in his life, one of the things that makes it difficult is people turning on him. One of the hardest things in life is having people you trust betray you. Jesus dealt with this same thing when Judas betrayed him.

Have you ever had to deal with a betrayal? What did you do in that instance? Many people unfortunately want to take revenge. Others spin into a depression, but David gives us strong advice on how to handle adversity. He tells us to allow God to protect us and keep us strong. He likens God to a strong tower that we can take refuge in. In Psalm 59 David is in his house surrounded by Saul’s soldiers who were sent to kill him.

The Psalm is both a prayer and a praise for God’s saving help. Psalms 59 is an important chapter because it reminds us of God’s unfailing love. David was hunted by people whose love had turned into jealousy which drove them to try to kill him. David had trusted friends and the king who he considered a mentor who all turned against him.

As humans, relationships are so important and necessary. We all hope and strive for dependable, long-lasting relationships but that’s not always the case. We all have dealt with broken relationships. Maybe it was the loss of a friendship, a break up, a church split, or family estrangement. At some point everyone deals with finding out that someone was not a trustworthy, dependable person like you thought. This is the hard side of human relationships. Humans are far from perfect, people will disappoint you and you will disappoint others. Regardless of the state of your relationships in this world, God’s relationship to you is unchanging and unfailing.

-Brooke Cisneros

Reflection Questions

  1. Have you ever felt betrayed? What was your response?
  2. When have you turned to God for strength when human relationships disappointed you? What did you find in Him?
  3. What do you appreciate about God’s unchanging and unfailing character? How will you praise Him for this?
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Ultimate Good

Old Testament: Judges 14 & 15

Poetry: Psalm 58

New Testament: 1 Corinthians 13:8-13

            When we began this week on Sunday we read about Spiritual gifts in chapter 12. We saw that there is no “I” in “team” and that everyone in the church has gifts and needs to be using their gifts to help the church grow and carry out its mission.

            There is one key transitional sentence at the end of chapter 12 leading into chapter 13: “And I will show you a still more excellent way.”  The more excellent way is the way of love.  From Monday to Friday, we have looked at love, not as an abstract idea but as a concrete set of actions.  Love is made up of behaviors that are patterned after God.  When we love we show people who God is and what God does.

            Today, we look at how Paul closes out this “Love chapter” in verses 8-13:

            Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

            Here as Paul brings this section to completion he brings home the point.  It’s important to be gifted, to use your gifts and talents to serve in the Church and to serve God in the world, but as important as those gifts are, they are not the ultimate or final good, they are penultimate or next to last good.  To speak a prophetic word to exhort a congregation is important, to exercise the gift of speaking to the world in ways that are understood by people of different languages is valuable, and knowledge is a necessary good to a flourishing life and church, but all of these are penultimate good, not ultimate.  They will give way to the eternal, but love will outlast everything.  At the end of all things love for God is love.

            I’m getting older and I have some serious health challenges which remind me that I am a mortal person.  Unless Jesus Christ returns very soon I will one day join those who have gone to “sleep in the dust of the earth” (Daniel 12:2) awaiting the resurrection.  As I get closer to my personal end, I am more aware of that which is truly most important in life.  It’s not my accomplishments, it’s not how much money I’ve earned, at the end of the day what matters most is “Did I love?” Jesus summed up the entire teaching of God with 2 things: “Love God and Love others”.  Paul is adding more depth and clarity to what love looks like and what we all should aspire to be.  Every morning we should ask, “God, how can I love well today?” And at the end of the day ask “God, how well did I love today?”

Reflection Questions

  1.  When you hear the words “Love never ends” what comes to your mind?
  2. Why do you think Paul says that being loving is even more important than being gifted?
  3. When will you start to begin your days asking “God, how can I love well today?” And at the end of the day ask “God, how well did I love today?”

Pastor Jeff Fletcher

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Cheering for the Bad Guy?

Old Testament: Judges 10 & 11

Poetry: Psalm 56

New Testament: 1 Corinthians 13:6

            Usually, when we watch a movie we are introduced to a hero or heroic group to root for.  We want the “good guy” to win and the “bad guy” to lose.  We need to see Batman defeat the Joker or 007 to defeat the agents of SPECTRE.

            Occasionally, though, the filmmaker sneaks one by us and we find ourselves rooting for the anti-hero.  The show Breaking Bad did an outstanding job of getting us to root for Walter White who morphed from being an ordinary hard-working science teacher husband and dad to Heisenberg, the drug kingpin of the southwest who poisoned people with his methamphetamine creation.

            I recently saw someone post on Reddit that he realized later in life that the movie Top Gun had us rooting for Maverick instead of Ice Man when clearly Ice Man was the far better pilot and person. “Iceman was the only pilot that: actually obeyed the rules, was a skilled flier, never killed anybody in the entire movie and correctly identified all of Maverick’s faults.”  Yet we were all rooting for Maverick.

            To that, I will simply add that I can’t imagine why anyone would ever root for the evil New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, or Alabama Crimson Tide. (I’ll stop before I make some more lifelong enemies).

            The spirit of this age is constantly working to pull people away from finding joy in truth.  The Bible contains an epic story about our hero, a loving God who creates a place where everything is good and populates it with people in his divine image to care for the earth, who are opposed by those he created.  But God loves this creation so much that he will stop at nothing to find ways to rescue and restore that which is lost and broken and corrupt. 

            We are currently living amidst the ongoing battle against that which is true and right.  People are daily undermining what is good and just and loving and claiming that that which is evil and corrupt is good, and that which is good and holy is evil.

            For Paul, true love does not root for the villain or the anti-hero.  True love does not rejoice that evil is victorious.  True love finds its joy in the truth that is consistent with God and God’s love.

            Jesus predicted that before the end of this age, there would be a decrease in love.  In Matthew 24:12 Jesus says: “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.”  When people reject what is true and right, when people reject the ways that God lays before us to keep a rightly ordered society, it will result in a loss of love.  Lovelessness is the natural outgrowth of lawlessness.

            Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6).  If you want to have true life, you have to follow the path of Jesus, the path of truth.   Paul says essentially,  you can’t find love if you reject God’s truth.  You can’t truly love God and love people if you don’t love God’s truth.

            Today, ask yourself, “Are there things in my life that I know are the opposite of God’s truth?”  If you answer “yes”, you must be willing to reorient your life to pursue God’s truth and rejoice in God’s truth to practice true love.

Pastor Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. Why do you think increased lawlessness results in failure to love the truth?
  2. Why is society becoming more enamored with anti-heroes who are opposed to truth?
  3. How can you grow to love truth more in your life?
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“Karen”

Old Testament: Judges 8 & 9

Poetry: Psalm 55

New Testament: 1 Corinthians 13:5

            Happy hump day! We’re here in the middle of the work/school week.  Are you tired of hearing about love yet?  Like that TV advertising guy used to say: “But wait! There’s more.”

Sometimes, the best way to learn about what something is is to consider its opposite.

In verse 5 Paul gives three more examples of what love is NOT.:[Love] does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;

            For the past almost 40 years, I have lived with the most beautiful, amazing, wonderful woman.  This woman has patiently served alongside me as a pastor’s wife in places far from her family and friends.  She even let me drag her halfway across the world to England to start a church with a toddler in tow and she was “great with child” as in, about to pop. She has been a great wife to me and a mom to our 11 children.

            I love her more than anything on the planet and her name is Karen.  Sadly, the name Karen has, in recent years come to be associated with a certain kind of middle-aged woman who is, shall we say a bit entitled, difficult to please, and hard to get along with.  The woman who “asks to speak to the manager” is referred to as a “Karen”.  I like to tell people “My wife is named Karen but she is not a Karen.”

            Why do “Karens” cause endless eye rolls?  Because they are very insistent on getting their way, they tend to be easily irritated by normal human flaws and frustrating situations,  and they carry resentment towards those who upset them, they are not quick to forgive and give people a second chance.

            If the Apostle Paul was writing to today’s Christians he could simply say “Don’t be a Karen” and would easily get his point across.  Instead, Paul might say be an Annabelle, which means “loving” or for a male be an Amadeus, which means “love of God.” (Although for many Annabelle was ruined by the horror movie franchise bearing that name.  For older people like me the name Amadeus was ruined by the movie about Mozart- a talented musician and horrible person).

            Instead of being a Karen who insists on having her way, be an Annabelle who, as Paul says in Philippians 2:3 learns to “value others above yourselves.”  Instead of being a Karen who is irritable or easily angered be an Amadeus who is “slow to speak and slow to anger.” (James 1:19). Instead of being a Karen who is resentful, be a person who practices forgiving “70 times 7” as Jesus taught. (Matthew 18:22).

            By now you might be wondering, does Paul want me to become like, a whole different person by doing all these practical, loving things?  Paul wants us to allow the one perfectly loving person, Jesus, to radically take over our lives.  To be so full of God’s spirit and love that “to live is Christ.”

Pastor Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1.  Can you think of a time when you were around a “Karen”?  How did that make you feel?
  2. Can you think of a time when you acted like a “Karen”? How do you think it impacted others?
  3. What are concrete ways that you can show love by valuing others above yourself?
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True Love

Old Testament: Judges 6-7

Poetry: Psalm 54

New Testament: 1 Corinthians 13:4

            Hello, Happy Tuesday!

            Yesterday we saw that Paul is not interested in talking about love as an abstract concept. Abstract love is worthless.  True love is only proven to be of value by concrete actions. In today’s reading, 1 Corinthians 13:4 Paul starts giving concrete examples.

                  Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.

            We could pick out any one of those examples and do a deep dive into what patience looks like versus impatience or what kindness looks like versus cruelty.  But I think we could place them under one major subheading.  If love is the main theme of this chapter, the subheading over these 6 things is humility.  Humble people will tend to be more patient.  Think about it.  If I think I’m better or more important than the other person, I’m going to demand that my needs take priority and so I’m going to be impatient with the server in a restaurant, or the cashier at checkout, or the secretary at the doctor’s office.  Impatient people tend to think that their time is more valuable than anyone else’s so their needs should be met now.  And of course, if they are impatiently placing demands on other people they are not likely to be expressing them with kindness.  Patience and kindness are concrete examples of love in the form of humility. 

            The other four examples Paul gives, envy, boasting, arrogance, and rudeness are all the antithesis of humility.  They are all driven by pride.  “Why should my coworker get the promotion, she doesn’t deserve it.  I’m a far better employee than she is and I have several examples I’d like to give you about why I’m much better than she is.”

            I read a story earlier this week about a famous basketball player.  The NBA gives out individual accolades to players and they announced the top three finalists for defensive player of the year.  The reporter asked this player how he felt about not being one of the finalists for that award.  He proceeded to rant about how “The NBA just doesn’t like me.  I deserve that award more than any of them, I’m the best defensive player in the league.”  When I read his response I felt disgusted about his arrogance put on such vulgar display with his rude and demeaning words about literally everyone in the league. But this is how things are in the world.  We’ve come to reward boastful, rude, and arrogant people.

            Narcissism is no longer considered a character flaw but makes one a popular candidate seeking high political office. Have you seen how rude certain candidates are as they call others rude names like children on a playground?  Humility is seen by many in the world’s eyes as weakness.  But not in God’s eyes. James 4:6 says “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

            Jesus taught the importance of humility so clearly when he said “Blessed are the meek (humble) for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5

            He told a very vivid story comparing and contrasting a proud person and a humble person in Luke 18:9-14:  He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:   “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.   The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.   I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’   But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’   I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

            The world rewards the proud and arrogant boasters who brag about how great they are.  True love is evidenced by the humble who don’t think too much of themselves but rather show patience and kindness to others.  As the character Forrest Gump said: “I’m not a smart man, but I know what love is.”

Pastor Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. Can you think of someone who you would describe as humble?  What behaviors make you think of them as humble?
  2. Why does our culture seem to reward arrogance in places like sports or politics?
  3. CS Lewis said that “Humility is not thinking less of yourself but of thinking of yourself less.”   How can thinking of yourself less help you to love others more?
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Concrete Love

Old Testament: Judges 4 & 5

Poetry: Psalm 53

New Testament: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

For the rest of this week, we are going to be looking each day at small sections of one chapter in the Bible- 1 Corinthians 13. When I was a kid I was taught that 1 Corinthians 15 is the Resurrection chapter, Hebrews 11 is the Hope chapter, and 1 Corinthians 13 is the Love chapter.  If you’ve ever been to a wedding ceremony there is a good chance that you’ve heard all or at least a portion of this read as part of the ceremony.  Today we will look at verses 1-3:

            If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

            This is such a timely reading for me to consider.  For the past 3 years, I’ve been working toward receiving my Doctorate of Ministry from Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville.  It’s been a lot of hard work.  For my project I read hundreds of articles and books, conducted interviews, presented ideas to colleagues, tested ideas on various groups, and wrote, edited, re-wrote, and re-edited until I had a project to present to my committee.  Then after my committee read it, we met and I had to defend my project thesis orally.  Finally, on April 9 I passed.  On May 10 I’ll graduate and receive my official title D.Min, Doctor of Ministry in Integrative Mental Health Chaplaincy.  The afternoon I passed my wife Karen said “Hello, Dr. Fletcher.”  I said, “That’s the only time you’re ever going to call me that, right?”  She said, “Absolutely, I hope you enjoyed it.” 

            So, I’ve been feeling relieved, accomplished, grateful, and good about having achieved this milestone in my academic and professional career. 

            But God had a lot more to teach me.  And Brother Paul put his finger on it.  In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Paul is saying a lifetime of accomplishments, being a gifted speaker, full of knowledge, or being spiritually gifted with miraculous powers, in the absence of concrete acts of love, is just a bunch of noise.  You can get all the degrees and accolades and knowledge, but if you don’t put love into practice, it’s a bunch of noise and worthless.

            It reminds me of a story I once heard: There was a child psychologist who was famous and had written many best-selling books on parenting and how to raise children.  Recently, he had spent many hours constructing a new driveway at his home. Just after he smoothed the surface of the freshly poured concrete, his neighbors’ small children chased a ball across the driveway, leaving deep footprints. The man yelled after them with a torrent of angry words. His shocked neighbor heard these words and said to him, “You’re a psychologist who’s supposed to love children.” The fuming man shouted, “I love children in the abstract, not in the concrete!”

            Paul is saying in I Corinthians 13:1-3 that love in the abstract is worthless.

            A few days later, God showed me what love in the concrete looks like. I shared the following story on my Facebook page recently.  It resonated with a lot of people because it’s been shared hundreds of times and I’ve heard more responses to it than anything else I’ve ever posted on social media.  It illustrates to me what Love in the Concrete looks like:

I met Jesus yesterday.  Face to face.

He’s a cashier at a grocery store in Front Royal, Virginia.

I was on my way home from work after a busy Monday visiting sick patients at the hospital, supporting families as their loved ones face the end of life, helping people struggling with addiction and staff cope with the challenges of being full-time caregivers. I’m a chaplain and a pastor, that’s what I do all day. It’s what I’ve trained to do, studied, practiced. 

But then, yesterday, out of the blue, with no warning I met Jesus working the register at a grocery store.

First, I saw him patiently help the customer ahead of me.  The one who only had 3 items in her cart, was very confused trying to figure out how much she could spend because she needed to have enough left over.  He was gentle and patient with her.  He couldn’t be more than his late teens, maybe early 20s, but he was attentive and caring.  No eye rolls or looks of frustration, just caring for this confused and frustrated woman. (I was the one who was frustrated at how long it was taking).

Then it was finally my turn to check out.  He was a thin young man, wearing a cross made of horseshoe nails and wire.  He smiled and asked gently, “May I pray for you?”

That was unexpected and caught me completely off guard.  I said, “Yes, please.”   I was so moved that this young man would take the time to notice me and ask if he could pray for me.  This was more than a transactional relationship for him.  He was there to do more than simply earn his paycheck and go home.  He saw me as more than an object, a thing to help pay his bills, he saw me as a person, a human being made in the image of God, who has a life outside of this 5-minute transaction and has needs that can be helped by God’s intervention.  I was deeply moved. 

But he wasn’t finished.

“What would you like me to pray for?”  What should I say?  How specific should I be?  Should I say, “I’m currently under treatment for 2 types of advanced cancer and trying my best to keep going?”  Should I tell him about my concerns about family members that I love, my desire to help my Church grow, and all the needs of the people I visit and staff I serve in the hospital? 

There wasn’t time to go into all of that, so I simply said “My health.”

He stopped and said, “So you are having health problems.  I’ll pray for that.”

By then the tears were starting to well up in me and I hurriedly helped him bag my groceries so I could get out of there before I started ugly crying in the grocery store check-out line.

But he wasn’t done yet.

“What’s your name?”   That about finished me off.  He wasn’t just making conversation or using spiritual cliches like “I’ll pray for you” as well-intentioned people often do, but sometimes forget to actually do.  I knew that he really meant it.  He was and is praying for me, Jeff, who has health needs.  And based on what I saw, he’s already pretty close to God.  So I have a feeling God will listen attentively to his prayers.

As I sat in my car afterward waiting for the tears to subside, I had the overwhelming sense that I had just spent time with Jesus.

I met Jesus yesterday.

He works as a cashier at a grocery store in Front Royal, Virginia.

Since I shared this on Facebook I’ve had dozens of people who live locally write to me or tell me in the hospital that this same young man has left others equally in tears when he prayed for them and they, too, equally felt touched by Jesus.

This young man probably doesn’t have a doctorate in spiritual care, but you don’t need one of those to show people concrete love in the name of Jesus.  Go and be Jesus wherever you are today.

Pastor Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. Name a time when you were surprised by God’s love revealed to you in unexpected places.
  2. How would you describe the difference between abstract love and concrete love?
  3. The young man showed Jesus’ love while checking people out at the grocery store. Where can you show the love of Jesus today?
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Steadfast

Old Testament: Joshua 15 & 16

Poetry: Psalm 51

New Testament: 1 Corinthians 7

In today’s readings, again we find ourselves in Psalm 51, and while I’m not going to write about it all 6 days we will be reading it, based on some commentaries I’ve read, there are definitely those who could!

It’s hard for me to read Psalm 51:10-11 and not find myself humming the chorus you may also know, “Create in me a clean hea-a-art, o-o-o, God, and renew a right spirit within me. . .”  What I thought was interesting though was that reading along in my ESV, the words matched up exactly to the song I knew so I was absolutely stuck with the music running through my head.  The next time I read it I must have used NASB when I stumbled into “renew a steadfast spirit within me” which is when I realized Keith Green apparently didn’t use that version, it added a syllable, and threw me off! Different versions use different words, fine and dandy. But, I realized I just didn’t equate “steadfast” with “right” in my use of the words. It makes sense reading either one in the Psalm, but it led me to do a bit more of a word study I found interesting.

The word “steadfast” (or “right”) in verse 10 is used approximately 217 times in the Bible, but the only place it is translated steadfast is 6 times in the book of Psalms. Other translations of this word throughout scripture include: made ready, established, set, formed, reliable, trustworthy.  This helped me get a better grasp on the desirable type of spirit David was asking God to renew in him.

I also really liked how David wished to use his experiences of sin/guilt/repentance to help others and bring God glory as we see in verses 13-14. I am grateful David’s testimony lasted the centuries, and grateful for the testimonies I have heard in people throughout my life as well. We know as a society even from a more medical/psychological perspective that guilt and shame are two incredibly destructive emotions for mental and physical health for those of any age. Top of the list kind of emotions selected for those struggling with severe depression, suicidal thoughts, and other health problems. When we are stuck in a pattern of guilt and shame or know others stuck in that pattern, we need a sovereign God with a perfect plan of forgiveness and reconciliation to help just like David did. As we experience life including its mistakes and wrongs, like David, we want to share the mercy and hope we have been given with others in our lives.

As Psalm 51 ends, we see reference to Zion and the walls of Jerusalem prospering. It seems historically there have been some varying interpretations from theologians/commentators on these last two verses. Some hold the belief that just these two verses were added later during the time in exile after Jerusalem had been destroyed, and others suggest they were more prophetic words of David. Regardless of who wrote them and when they were written, I like that the Psalm ends with a tie to Jerusalem. A city that will continue to be in our news it seems throughout our lifetimes, and a hope of a New Jerusalem one day where there will not be sin, tears, pain, sorrow.  Until then, may we seek to be restored and upheld like Psalm 51 so beautifully describes.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.

                Cast me not away from your presence,

and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

                Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.

 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 51:10

-Jennifer Hall

Reflection Questions

  1. What can you learn from David’s Psalm 51 about sin, confession and repentance?
  2. What effects have you seen, including in your own life, of guilt and shame?
  3. How has David’s example helped you? How can you be an example to others in the way you respond to sin in your own life?
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