Daily Devotions

I see from the comments to Tuesday’s devotion that people are interested in learning more about the Grace Bags that we make here at Faith.  Here is some more information.

Grace Bags are large gallon-sized zip-lock bags filled with items that someone on the streets would need. These are designed to be kept in your car to hand out rather than money when you come upon someone on a street corner.

There is a mailing label sticker on the outside of the bags that say, “You are a beloved child of God.  I am praying for you as I drive away and I hope you will do the same for me”.  We teach out people to ask the name of the person to whom they hand the Grace Bag and then to pray for them by name as they drive away.

This prayer exchange teaches us that we are are not the only ones with something to offer. And this by far, is a more Christian way of responding to the needs of those on our streets.

Two members of our Social Ministry board do the monthly (or as needed) shopping for the Grace Bags.  Our middle school kids put them together one Sunday morning a month during their learning group time.  Each bag costs approximately $3.50 and we ask for a donation of $5 per bag from our people as they pick them up.  This allows this ministry to be self supporting.

Grace Bags are available every Sunday at our Visitor Information table.

The bags include:

♥ 1 – 16.9 oz bottle of drinking water

♥ 1 – 5 oz can of Vienna Sausages

♥ 1 – 4 oz can of fruit

♥ 1 – 7.5 oz Chef Boy-R-Dee meal

♥ 2 – 6 count cheese and peanut butter crackers

♥ 2 – .5 oz meat snack sticks (Jerky)

♥ 1 – Pocket size packet of tissues

♥ 1 – Pack of Juicy Fruit gum

♥ 2 – Individually wrapped hand-sanitizing wipes

♥ 1 – Restaurant pack of eating utensils with a napkin

♥ 1 – Prayer sticker on the outside of the zip-lock bag

If you would like more information, feel free to email Jennifer Finley, our Director of Youth/Family Ministries who brought this idea to Faith.  Email her at jennerfinley@yahoo.com

¹⁴ The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. ¹⁵ They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. ¹⁶ Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. ¹⁷ Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. ¹⁸ As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. ¹⁹ But Jesus refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” ²⁰ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed. Mark 5:14-20

We immediately notice two things about this story that surprise us.  First, when the locals come out to see the formerly possessed man “clothed and in his right mind” they are afraid and they “beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood.”

And second, while Jesus had been careful to tell those cured on the other side of the lake not to say anything to anyone, here he encourages the man to go home and tell his friends what the Lord has done for him.

At first glance it seems strange that the locals would react to Jesus with fear.  Unless you were the owner of the herd of pigs that had all drowned in the lake.  His pigs had been more carefully guarded, watched and tended to than the possessed man had been.  He had suffered a loss of stuff that seemed more significant than a stranger regaining his life.

Weird, isn’t it, how our priorities look when seen from a different point of view?

And to those who believe Jesus told the crowds in Galilee not to say anything for fear that there would be an effort launched to make Jesus king, here in the land of the Gerasenes there would be no such danger.  So Jesus encourages the man to freely tell his story.

That could be the reason…or it could simply be that Jesus left a missionary behind in a land he would only visit.  Soon he would travel back across the lake to his own land and his own people where he would continue what he had been called to do.

This whole story opens our eyes to the reality that, with God, nothing is impossible.  Jesus can do amazing things, from stilling storms to restoring life.  Yet our response to what Jesus can do will vary.  We can be amazed or we can be terrified.  We can respond from a place of faith or a place of fear.

And often, like the disciples who aren’t mentioned in this story, it can feel like we are just along for the ride.  We never know what to expect next.  But we follow with the awareness that God can do much more than we imagine, in corners of life we fear to tread, among people we have long since written off as hopeless.

Let us pray:  Dear Jesus, we wonder at this story of a man restored, of people asking you to leave their neighborhood, at a new witness to your healing love released to tell the story among his friends.  We pray that you continue to bring hope to the hopeless, life to the lifeless and welcome to the stranger.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. ² And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. ³ He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; ⁴ for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. ⁵ Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones.

⁶ When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; ⁷ and he shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” ⁸ For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹ Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” ¹⁰ He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. ¹¹ Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; ¹² and the unclean spirits begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.”

¹³ So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea. Mark 5:1-13

We start with the realization that Jesus didn’t accidentally find himself in the foreign territory of the Gerasenes. Anywhere they would have landed in their storm-tossed boat on the other side of the Sea of Galilee would have been in foreign territory. He went there on purpose.

No sooner is he out of the boat than Jesus runs into a hard case.  This man’s mental illness, his demon possession, is written in bold colors.  Yet he is familiar to all of us.  I grew up in a small town but we still had several characters in town who were …different.  You don’t have to drive far in a large city to see such characters as well.

There was a time when such people would have routinely been institutionalized.  But, for better or worse, those policies changed and many people without the capacity to take care of themselves, to manage their medications, or without family to help, ended up on the streets.  We see them daily.

Most of the time, we look the other way.  We might feel anything between pity, compassion, fear or disgust.  We impatiently wait for the light to turn green and we leave them behind.

Jesus, without fear, welcomed him.

It surprises us every time it happens but once again, the demons recognize Jesus for who he is.  They see him coming and they know their time is short.  They have the power to ruin people’s lives but they don’t have any power at all before Jesus.  Jesus casts the demons into a local herd of pigs and the man is returned to his senses.

One of the coolest things we do at our church is a ministry of our youth. Our middle and high schoolers put together what they call “Grace Bags”.  They are large ziplock plastic bags filled with food, water and the sorts of things a homeless person can immediately use.  They also include a message that says, “As we drive away we will pray for you.  Please pray for us as well.”  We ask our members to ask the names of those to whom they give the bags so they can pray for them by name.  People are encouraged to keep a couple bags in their cars.  We make these bags available after every worship service.  For a suggested $5 donation the ministry is self-financing. 

We can’t fix people’s problems.  Only Jesus can do that.  But we can help as we can. And we believe Jesus does that through us.

Let us pray:  Gracious Lord, you were surprised by a broken and tormented man that day along the shore.  We pray that people who suffer like that today might find the help they need and that we all might find a way to do our part.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

³⁵ On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” ³⁶ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. ³⁷ A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. ³⁸ But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. ⁴⁰ He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” ⁴¹ And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”  Mark 4:35-41

Strangely enough, I’m seeing this text differently today than I’ve seen it before.

Usually we see the disciples clinging to the ropes of a storm tossed ship, thunder and lighting, great sheets of rain, and Jesus sleeping contentedly in the back of the boat.  With an utter lack of deference, the disciples scream at Jesus – do you not care that we are perishing?  Then Jesus, with a quick word and a snap of his fingers, stills the winds and the waves.

Seen in this light, it is a wonderfully encouraging story.  It tells us that Jesus can do anything.  That, regardless of the storms of our lives, regardless how small our boat is on the vast sea, Jesus can handle it for us.  It is a scene that inspires painters and hymn writers. 

But today, being Monday and all, I’m seeing this story differently.  I’m noticing that Jesus is a carpenter, perhaps he builds boats but he doesn’t normally captain them.  Among his disciples are fishermen, men with experience on boats in any kind of weather.  This seems a scene where Peter would stand up – Don’t worry Jesus, we can handle this.  But that isn’t what happens.

What do they expect Jesus to do as they wake him up?  Maybe they don’t expect him to do anything.  Maybe they just want to make sure that, if the boat goes down, he knows what is going on and will be able to cling to the wreckage with them.

As it turns out, to the amazement of the disciples, Jesus handles the storm.  And then the story turns back on to us and it asks questions that I haven’t noticed before.

Do we still believe that Jesus can make a difference in the storms of our lives?  Are we willing then to speak up, to reach out in prayer, when it seems like Jesus is sleeping through our hard times?

Let us pray:  Dear Lord, life turns stormy for us when we least expect it.  We pray today for those whose boats are swamped, who feel overwhelmed by life.  We pray that we might sense you in the boat with us, that you might hear our cries for help and respond with peace and power.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

³³ With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; ³⁴ he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.  Mark 4:33-34

I was leading a Bible study at church last week when one of the women in the group said something along the lines of “why does God make things so complicated?”

A pastor in our synod who champions men’s ministries often says “men’s ministry isn’t rocket science.  It is harder than that.”

Get enough people in the room talking about why Jesus often taught using word pictures, using parables, and you will hear as many opinions as people.  Which is, I believe, the point.

If Jesus was simply about disseminating information I trust that he could have boiled things down, spoken plainly, assigned memory verses, given pop quizzes and produced disciples who could speak the party line plainly.  But he didn’t do that.  He didn’t need to do that.

There already was a group of people who had tons of processed information ready to go.  They were the scribes and the Pharisees, the experts in the law.  But all their information was only blinding them to God in their midst.

If Jesus was about creating the perfect religion then he could have developed new manuals on the liturgy with just the right words, the right body language, the right worship schedule.  But he didn’t do that.  He didn’t need to.

There were already plenty of priests in the temple who could handle such matters.  But they had long since lost the connection between holy moments and real lives.

Instead, Jesus taught in parables, in word pictures, in language with seeming simplicity over layers of profound complexity.  Jesus didn’t want to be figured out, he wanted to be followed.  Not just in words but in deeds.

But we like short cuts.  We like clearly marked paths and, even better, we like the kind of insider information that tells us precisely where to detour to beat the crowd to the goal.  We like to be out in front rather than staying with the group.  So we like the idea of the disciples getting the inside scoop.

Until we realize that we are those disciples.  In our worship and learning lives as Christians, we are viewing and reviewing the same information that Jesus gave those first disciples.  But what are we doing with it?

Could it be that Jesus is less interested in “know-it-alls” and more interested in “do-ers of what God has created you to the do for the sake of others?” 

Let us pray:  Gracious Lord, guide our minds, fill our imaginations, that we might be wholly yours.  Open our eyes, one step at a time, to the path before us.  Give us just the insight we need to do the next right thing.  Understand us in our frustration and help us follow as you lead the way.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

³⁰ He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; ³² yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”  Mark 4:30-32

Once again, the parable hits our imaginations and we follow it where it goes. 

I first learned the “Mustard Seed” around a campfire at a Bible camp.  There was something about the idea of something so little becoming something more substantial that caught my imagination. “It will grow, and grow and grow and grow.  Plant a mustard seed of faith and it will grow…”

Back in 1973 a British economist named E.F. Shumacher wrote “Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered”.  It was that little book that forever planted the idea of “enoughness” in my mind as an attainable Christian goal for every human being.  It brought clarity to the prayer “give us this day our daily bread”.

Even further back in the day, Brylcreem told us that a “little dab’l do ya”.

This simple concept – the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed – is full of hope.  Especially for us in a world dominated by “bigger is better”.

When we don’t see immediate results of our labors, we can take courage from the reminder that our time might not be God’s time and we can be reminded of the many ways that little seeds have been planted in our own lives that didn’t bear fruit for a long long time.

If we work for a large corporation, we can remember that our little personal contribution still matters to the whole.  A small business person, a family farmer or a teacher in a classroom can realize anew that their daily work still keeps whole the fabric of life.

Pastors and people in smaller congregations are constantly hearing about Saint Joel of Osteen and the millions who flock to his every word.  “Why can’t we do that, Pastor?” 

So yes, we take heart at the reminder of the mustard seed.

But we cannot miss the reality that the reason the mustard seed is so compelling is that it grows.  It grows and grows and grows.  The parable loses its power if Jesus lets the mustard seed rot in the ground as the smallest of all the seeds.

Seeds are meant to be planted. They are designed to grow.  Yes, smallness can be beautiful and a little dab’l do ya but such insight ought not dampen the fire in our belly to plant one more seed, touch one more life, speak good news into one more dark corner.  After all, the mustard seed only reaches its destiny as it provides a home to the birds of the air.

Let us pray:  Dear Lord, encourage us today with this reminder that your way of being in the world might appear small and insignificant.  Encourage us to trust the seeds of faith you have planted in our lives.  Use us to plant seeds of faith in others.  And remind us that you are up to so much more than we can see or imagine in blessing the world with your love.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

²⁶ He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, ²⁷ and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. ²⁸ The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. ²⁹ But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”  Mark 4:26-29

We played with bean plants in 7th grade biology.  I planted three in little dixie cups.  One I watered daily with water.  One I watered daily with Coke.  One I watered daily with coffee.  All three plants grew but the one fed with water grew the best.  What did I learn?  It is a good thing that God doesn’t water the earth using Coke.

The whole experiment was a mystery.  I just didn’t get caught up in the mystery of it.  I just took for granted that beans produce bean sprouts. 

There is so much we take for granted.

It is extremely hard for us to believe that there was a day when absolutely everyone with unquestioned confidence believed that the earth was flat and that, if you sailed to the edge (somehow avoiding the dangerous dragons and horrible sea creatures along the way) your ship would fall off into a deathly abyss.  They were clearly wrong but the belief was unquestioned.

It is equally unlikely for us today, reading reports from the latest space observing observatory gurus that they have located a planet eight times the size of earth around a star only 100 million light years from us that clearly shows signs of the potential for water, to react with something south of amazement.  Although what we just read was a very very well educated guess, it remains a guess.  But we accept it.

So much of life is absolutely mysterious.  We have no choice, absolutely no choice, but to live our lives by faith.  We have no alternative.  In a few minutes I’m going to get ready for work today.  This morning I will realize the degree of trust with which I live my life because I’m writing this now but most mornings I just take for granted that water will flow from my sink, that the stuff in the can will be safe for me to shave with, that my car with start and that the natives will drive within the lines on the freeway.

Every moment of every day we live in faith.  We live in systems inside of systems, connected to and dependent on people we will never know.  We live, we breath, we eat, we listen, we watch – like fish in the ocean, unaware of the water.

So it is that God’s presence fills our lives.  God’s kingdom, God’s influence, God’s creative, redemptive, inspiring power surrounds us.  All the time.  Everywhere.  Miracles, unexplainable realities, amazing relational systems, chance and coincidence and perfect timing – all around us all the time.

None of it accidental.  None of it meaningless.  All of it moving.  Moving toward completion.  Moving toward God.  All of it mystery.  Welcome to reality.

Let us pray:  Dear Lord, thank you for doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  Thank you for the gift of life, for the power of love and the promise of life.  Thank you for planting seeds of faith in us.  Shape us, use us, to your glory and the welfare of your world.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

²¹ He said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? ²² For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. ²³ Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” ²⁴ And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. ²⁵ For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”  Mark 4:21-25

This week we’ll spend some time listening to Jesus teaching in parables. 

Parables are little word pictures.  As we hear them a little flash happens in our minds and we instantly can “see” what Jesus is saying.  But then, like certain peppers in Mexican food, those pictures start to glow hotter and hotter until it dawns on us that we aren’t really as sure about what Jesus was saying as we thought we were.

FLASH and we see a lamp being carried into a dark room.  We see as much in the room as the lamp reveals.  We see where we are going but we don’t see the dark corners or behind the bed.  We don’t need to see back there.  We just need enough to get to the bed without stubbing our toe.

Yes, it is ridiculous to light a lamp and then cover it with a basket or stick it under the bed.  The nature of the lamp is to give light.  It makes so sense to obscure the light.

But then the parable starts to sizzle and grow.  Very quickly it dawns on us that there are many meanings to words like “light” and “darkness”.  They reach to realities like “sight” and “blindness”, to emotional experiences like “lostness” and “foundness”.  They point out the power of life realities like “secrets” and being “exposed”.

We hear these words and there is no question what we prefer.  We prefer sight to blindness, being found to being lost.  But then again….

Aren’t there certain secrets we prefer to just keep…secret?  Aren’t there some aspects of life we prefer not to have exposed?  Aren’t there some things we would rather not know?  Things we even pretend not to know?  And isn’t it is the case that we believe that “having more” protects us against the more unsavory experiences of life?

And just like that, Jesus has us.  Maybe we don’t have it as “all together” as we think we do.

Let us pray:  Dear Lord, your words penetrate the reality of our lives.  You are the doctor of our souls and we pray that we might be open to your probing, to your diagnosis, to your promise of healing and wholeness.  Light our way in life and help us walk well through the day now before us.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.