Love and Serve: Our Daily Servant Ministry to Reflect God's Love: Over 365 Daily Devotions

By Pastor Ross L. Worch

Love and Serve is composed of 377 devotions to give daily guidance in our servant ministry to reflect God's love to all around us. There are 366 devotions for every day of the year, plus eleven additional devotions for the Church year celebrations that move around the calendar because they are controlled by the changing date of Easter each year. That makes this devotional book useable year after year. By ecclesiastical rules, Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the first day of spring. There are thirty-five possible dates for Easter, from March 22 to April 25. The devotions for Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost can be plugged in each year on the specific date that applies for that year.

Love and Serve is really a group of 377 mini-sermons to help us turn God's Word into daily action. Each devotion is headed by words from the Bible, and the devotion answers the question, "What does this mean for us in the twenty-first century?" And each devotion ends with a short prayer that is intended to help us put our words into action. This love (agape) is the kind of unconditional love that God has for each of us and the way God wants us to love each other. Agape, when done as God intended, is a verb, an action word. God calls on us to be his ambassadors here on earth. We are to represent God to our neighbors. Love and Serve, used daily, can greatly assist in this endeavor. We are called upon to love God and neighbor and to do God's work with our hands. We are called to love and serve.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098092429

Book preview

January First

Faithful Resolutions

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

—John 15:12

Many folks make resolutions at the beginning of a new year. I saw a good resolution (on a church sign) some years ago. It said, Resolve to be more like Christ. Wow! If we could really pull that off, the world would certainly be a much better place! How about this resolution? I resolve to make my church a healthy church. You may think that is an odd-sounding resolution. What does the health of the church have to do with anything? you might ask. Pastor Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Church , presents some very innovative ideas for church growth. Folks often ask, What can we do to make our church grow? Rick says, That’s the wrong question. He says that the right question is, What is keeping our church from growing? He believes that church growth cannot be produced by humans. He says, Only God makes the church grow. He also says, "The key issue for churches in the 21 st century will be church health , not church growth." That is because the church is a body, not a business. It is an organism, not an organization. The church is alive. Therefore, it is natural for it to grow if healthy.

Too often we get caught up in worrying about attendance and money when we should focus on making the church as healthy as it possibly can be. Our task (as followers of Jesus) is to discover and remove any growth-restricting diseases and barriers so that natural, normal growth can occur. Church health can only occur when our message is biblical and our mission is balanced and centered on prayer.

This thought of church health reminds me of an email I received some years ago. It told of a little girl who was on her way home from church with her mother. The little girl said, Mommy, the preacher’s sermon this morning confused me. The mother said, And why was that? The girl replied, Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. Is that true? The mother replied, Yes, that’s true. Well, said the girl, if God is bigger than us, and God lives within us, wouldn’t God show through? Wow! The wisdom of a little girl helps us realize that God should be showing through us! God expects us to live lives in which God’s love shows through us in the things we do and say. There’s another good idea for a resolution. Let’s resolve to have God’s love show through us in this coming year and beyond!

Holy God, guide us in the year to come. Help us reflect your love to those around us as they see you in our words and actions. Amen.

January Second

Amazing Grace Isn’t Fair

(The hired hands grumbled) These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day… Jesus said, I choose to give the last worker as I gave to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?

—Matthew 20:12–15a

Well, no one told me life was going to be this way… It’s like you’re always stuck in second gear—you see it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month, or even your year. But I’ll be there for you… ’Cause you’re there for me too!

Do you recognize those words? It’s part of the theme song from Friends. It points out that everything isn’t always the way we think it’s going to be or at least the way we think it should be, is it? That theme song speaks very well to the fact that our lives aren’t always a bed of roses. Even when we read the Word of God, we sometimes shake our head in disbelief.

The parable of the vineyard workers from Matthew 20 often brings about that kind of reaction. You remember—that’s the parable where the persons who worked only a short time were paid the same as the ones who labored all day long in the sweltering heat. Many of us read or hear that story and feel like shouting out, "That’s not fair!

The main point of the Friends theme song is I’ll be there for you. No matter what—with the understanding that life isn’t always easy and certainly isn’t always fair. And therein lies the connection of this theme song and the gospel text about the vineyard workers. Jesus is telling us that he is there for us—whether we are a new believer or a lifelong believer. Jesus is telling us, I’ll be there for you—actually more emphatically, I am there with you!

How do believers rejoice in the grace given to them, but also rejoice in God’s grace given freely to others—even undeserving others, we might say jealously. We read that parable and say, The pay was all wrong! It just isn’t fair!

We think maybe there should have been a sliding scale for payment to make the wages fair. Well, this isn’t a parable about fair wages—this is a parable about the amazing grace of God! The message of Jesus is about undeserved grace in a quantity that boggles our minds. Do we really want a sliding scale of grace? No, we want the unlimited and undeserved grace of God because we know we are undeserving!

I’m hopeful that we can view this parable in a different light now. It is not about fairness. It is about the wondrous generosity and grace of God, not only to us, but to all people. If God’s amazing grace were fair, then none of us would get any of it! May we all pray, Thanks be to God for grace so amazing that it has room for me!

God of grace, help us to learn from you and be gracious and forgiving to those around us. We praise and thank you. Amen.

January Third

A Good (Godly) Resolution

Love the Lord your God…(and)…love your neighbor as yourself.

—Matthew 22:37a and 39b

Love one another as I have loved you.

—John 15:12b

Iknow it’s January 3, but maybe you haven’t made a resolution yet. Can you believe that we have started yet another year! I remember when I was a sophomore in high school (1963–64, and yes, I am an old person!), I read 1984 by George Orwell. 1984 seemed like a long way off back then—now it seems like it was a long, long time ago. But, we come to another new year, and I would imagine that many of us are thinking about trying to start this year off better than maybe we have in past years. Maybe a resolution (if actually kept) would be a good thing. But, how have we done on our resolutions from the past? My history is somewhat spotted at best. Sometimes quite good—other times not so good.

Sometimes I think we bite off more than we can chew! Maybe our resolutions were too hard to achieve, or we were just not really committed to them. I would imagine that the number one resolution in the United States each year is to lose x-number of pounds by such and such a date. Others may resolve to be a better person—to volunteer more, to walk every day, to stop and smell the roses, etc. etc.

We are capable, with God’s help, to change some of the things about us and/or our community. It can be done. Let’s first understand what we are talking about. The word resolution is defined in this manner: the state of being resolute. Resolute means firm or determined; unwavering. So, when we make a resolution, we are saying, I am going to be firm and unwavering in my determination to do such and such.

As followers of Christ (Christians), I firmly believe that if we have a healthy relationship with God, then all the other things in life will be better. If we keep God at the very center of our lives, then everything we do will be grounded in a godly place. Therefore, I suggest we go to Scripture for a couple of (seemingly) simple resolutions for this new year.

Jesus reduced the Ten Commandments to: Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Later he said, Love each other as I love you. The common thread is love! So, in this new year (and always actually), we would all do well to resolve these three things: love God, love neighbors, love each other the way Jesus loves us. We can even make it more simple than that. Start each day in this new year by asking, How can I reflect God’s love today to the people I meet and to the world? It’s all about love, my Christ-follower friends—it’s all about love!

God of love, inspire us each day to reflect your unconditional love to all we meet. Help us to do your work with our hands. Amen.

January Fourth

Know Your Place

(Jesus) told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor.

—Luke 14:7

In Luke chapter 14, Jesus teaches us about humility and hospitality. In verse 8 of that chapter, Jesus says, When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit at the place of honor. He is basically telling us, Sit at the lowest place, and maybe you will be moved up by the host. He is saying, Know your place. We may find this scripture text confusing and out of date because our societal norms are so different than in Jesus’s time, but if that’s what we think, we have missed the point.

In verse 13, Jesus says invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. In another place in Scripture, we are told, Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, Remember those who are in prison, and Be content with what you have. So, we are to know our place, but suddenly these words do not refer to where we sit, but to where we walk. We are invited to walk the path that Jesus chose. Jesus chose the path of suffering for the sake of the world, and we are encouraged to follow his example.

We are to know our place. We are forgiven people in an often unforgiving world. We are very rich people in a world where many are poor. We are given unending grace and mercy when many others never seem to feel these blessings. Our cup overflows when many have no cup at all. We are sisters and brothers who follow Christ. We must know our place, and then we must act as ambassadors of God. Our place is to do God’s will in and around our community. Our place is to care for the least, the lost, and the last. If not us—who? God has put us in this place—let’s get on with the tasks God has given us.

God of compassion, help us to understand our responsibilities as ambassadors (representatives) of you and your love. Give us the wisdom, knowledge, and the energy to do your will each day. Amen.

January Fifth

What Holds Us Back?

Jesus looked at them and said, With man it is impossible, but not with God, with God all things are possible.

—Mark 10:27

Mark 10:17–27 has the story of the rich man who asks Jesus, What must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus says that he must keep the commandments. The man says that he has done that since birth. Now, I suppose the rich man thought that Jesus would compliment him on his faithful and moral life and say something like, Well done, my brother. You have done all that is needed to inherit eternal life. However, that’s not what Jesus said, is it? Jesus said, You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me (Mark 10:21).

I think that it is common that we hear or read Bible stories such as this and say to ourselves, Wow, I’m glad I’m not rich! We (most often) don’t put ourselves in these Bible stories. That means that we really don’t understand the purpose of these stories. In this case, Jesus is not making a point regarding only folks who are rich. He is saying that each of us has something that is holding us back from following God as enthusiastically as we should. Like the man in the story, we may joyfully run after Jesus, only to find that often we are held back by our own desires and presuppositions. Jesus might well say to us, as he said to the rich man, You lack one thing. What might that be for us?

So, we each have to ask ourselves, What’s the one thing I would have trouble giving up for Jesus? What do I love even more than I love God? What things hinder our faithfulness? Each of us, no matter how faithful we are, has the potential to hold something back. We might want to keep one door of our heart closed to God.

Jesus said that if we want to follow him, we might have to leave some things—like selfishness—behind. That is not easy, however, because we are all human; and as humans, we are often very full of ourselves. It is tough to always be selfless—it’s downright impossible because we are sinful humans. But there is good news. We cannot do it on our own, and God, our Creator, realizes that. Therefore, we have the wonderful proclamation by Jesus from Mark 10:27, For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible. Those are words of salvation. We are not saved because we can do all that is required of us; we are saved because God loves us so much that Jesus redeemed us from our sinfulness! So, with Jesus in our lives, nothing need hold us back. Let it be so, Lord God.

God of possibilities, enable us to realize that with you, all things are possible. Give us the faith and wherewithal to share with and care for all those in our world. You bless us greatly, and we thank you. Amen.

January Sixth

Coming to the House

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem.

—Matthew 2:1

The sixth of January is an often forgotten and sometimes misunderstood Christian festival. It is called Epiphany. In the religious sense, Epiphany means the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. Manifestation is synonymous with reveal —God revealed God’s own Son to persons who were not Jewish. Those persons in this case were the magi. These magi were most likely astronomers/astrologers, perhaps from Persia or southern Arabia. It is unlikely that they were kings or wise men, as our Christmas carol and other Christmas stories seem to indicate. We also have no way of knowing how many magi there were—the Bible does not give any number. It does, however, say that there were three gifts; therefore, for centuries, many folks have surmised that there were three magi. We simply don’t know. What we do know is that they were not a part of the nativity scene. It’s sad to say that all of those front yard displays and tabletop nativity scenes are incorrect when they include the magi. They are not mentioned in Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus. Their story comes from Matthew 2:1–12. It says (in part), On entering the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and…worshiped him (v. 11). So, contrary to tradition, the magi did not visit Jesus at the manger on the night of his birth as did the shepherds. They came some months later and visited him as a child in his house.

The magi had seen a brilliant star. They came a long distance, from a foreign culture, not knowing exactly where they were going, but having enough trust in this holy sign to keep following it. That star did not disappoint them, finally leading them right to the house where they found the child Jesus. And, once they reached this house, they were able to do what they had traveled so far to do—they worshiped this king. He was not a king in the normal earthly sense of that word, but a heavenly king. As it says in the hymn Beautiful Savior, this child Jesus was the King of Creation. Like God, he always has been and always will be. The magi help us realize that he is worthy of our worship.

One thing the Epiphany hymn We Three Kings gets right is the refrain. It says, O star of wonder, star of light, star with royal beauty bright; westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light! That perfect light is Jesus Christ, and (like the magi) we must pay him homage. We worship the Light of the World, the King of Creation. We worship Jesus Christ the Lord. Thanks be to God for sending us Light!

We thank God for the King of Creation, who came to earth that he might live among us and die to pay the price of our salvation. Thank you, God, for the gift of everlasting life! Amen.

January Seventh

The New Great Depression

Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.

—Philippians 4:4

In the 1930s, the world suffered what has been called the Great Depression. It was a severe economic depression with catastrophic effects on millions of humans. Then, more recently, we had a depression in 2009. Some have called it the New Great Depression. The fact is, most likely we have all gone through some kind of hard times in our lives. So, what does that have to do with us as Christian citizens of the world? Hard times give us a challenging opportunity to live out our faith as followers of Jesus. Our scriptures speak to this concern.

St. Paul writes to the church at Philippi, Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice. Notice that we are told to rejoice always! That means in good times and in bad times. We realize that it’s pretty easy to rejoice when everything is going well, but it is much tougher to truly rejoice when we are experiencing bad times. Tough times really test our ability and resolve to be joyous (to rejoice always).

Paul further states in Philippians 4, Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all human understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (vv. 6–7). Listen to that—it’s really hard to pray and be thankful when our lives seem to be out of control!

It may be that our lives will change markedly in the future—we might have much less, or we might have health problems, but we must realize that we are still extremely blessed. Think of where we live and what we still have. Compared to most people in the world, we are rich, and God would have us always share with those that are in greater need. In 1 Thessalonians, Paul says, Be patient with everyone. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (vv. 14b–18). It is not necessarily easy, my Christian friends, but God never told us that caring and sharing and loving would always be easy. It is still the right (the godly) thing to do!

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13). That’s a great verse to remember and live by every day—good or bad! Be thankful in all things and extend the hand of Christian love to those around you each day!

God of love and joy, assist us in our daily desire to truly rejoice in all things. Help us pray unceasingly and care for the least, the lost, and the last. Amen.

January Eighth

Read the Whole Sign

So they asked him, What sign will you give that we may see it and believe you?

—John 6:30

Have you ever had trouble with directions? I realize that men, in general, have a reputation for not wanting to ask for or follow directions, but I think that each of us does really have an interest in getting where we want to go in the best possible way. I mention this because a good sense of direction and the ability to read the signs that are given to us are both very important in our faith journeys.

Many parts of Scripture give us directions (give us signs) to help us do what God would have us do in this world. But, do we always heed those directions? Do we always read the whole sign? I have a real-life example of such a thing. Back in June of 1997, my wife and I traveled around portions of central and southern Missouri to check out the churches to which we might be called. We were looking for a church called Sargent’s Chapel. We finally came to a sign that said, Sargent’s Chapel—Celebrating 125 Years, and it had an arrow pointing to the left. In this remote, southeastern part of Missouri, the back roads are very narrow. This road was more like a lane with no line painted down the middle. We drove very slowly along this lane, up and down and around this heavily forested area, and finally the road surface changed. It was now just dirt and gravel, and we figured we must have made a mistake. I thought, Sargent’s Chapel can’t be down there—so we turned around and went back.

We finally got back to the sign we had seen before, and we noticed that we had missed something very important at the bottom of the sign. It said, 6 miles. That’s huge! If we had noticed the distance to the church before, we wouldn’t have turned back when the road surface changed, because we wouldn’t have yet gone six miles. We hadn’t read the whole sign!

We did finally find the small church, but on the way back to our home, I began to relate this experience with our own personal faith journeys. Oftentimes we don’t read the whole sign, and we end up turning around and abandoning our faith when the road surface of life changes. We may have been going toward God, but then something happened in our lives—a bumpy time, a time of loss or struggle—and we give up on the path we have been following. We actually turn around and go away from God!

Our Bible is full of signs—they are directions for how to live righteous lives. Do we read the whole sign? Are we really in touch with what God wants us to do? Let’s not let the bumps in the road of life move us off of the course that leads to God!

Creator God, give us the ability to know and follow the path that leads to you. May we be the people that love you and humankind each and every day. With thanks and praise. Amen.

January Ninth

Invite Others

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, Follow me.

—John 1:43

Nathanael said to him (Philip), Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said, Come and see.

—John 1:46

We probably have all gotten many invitations in our lifetime. Often we get them to birthday or anniversary parties—or maybe Christmas or New Year parties. We are (and have been) invited many times. What do we think, however, about inviting friends and neighbors to our place of worship?

The word invitation is defined as "a request for someone’s presence or participation. In the Christian sense, I would modify that definition to say, a request for someone’s presence and participation. Christianity is an active, godly way of life that requires participation. At the beginning of this new year, let’s ask ourselves, How active are we for God? I have seen a bumper sticker that says, If You Were Accused of Being a Christian—Would There Be Enough Evidence to Convict You?" Would there? Do the people around us realize that we are Christians? Does it show in the things we do, in the way we talk, and in the way we live?

So, what does all of this have to do with inviting others? Well, there have been many surveys done regarding why it is that many people never attend church. Many nonattenders say, No one has ever invited me. So, it seems, the simplest form of evangelism is the invitation. How many people have each of us invited to our church in recent months/years? Some of you may say, I don’t feel comfortable inviting someone to church. Isn’t that the job of the evangelism committee? The fact is—many places in Scripture make it clear that we are all called upon to invite others. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be any formal, long, involved process.

In John 1, we have the story of Philip deciding to follow Jesus—meaning he listened to him preach and teach, and he saw him heal people. Philip then found his friend Nathanael and said to him, We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote. And Philip further said, Come and see. That’s a pretty short and simple invitation, but it is what we are asked to do. We can say that our church and our faith means the world to us—and then say, Come with me—and see for yourself. It’s simple and effective with the power of the Holy Spirit behind it.

We need to be God’s voice to those around us. It’s time for all of us to pledge to invite others to come and see!

Move me, Lord, to invite others to learn about your love and graciousness for all people. Help me invite. Amen.

January Tenth

Specialness

And it had been revealed to him (Simeon) by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

—Luke 2:26

Was (is) Jesus special? Was he really any different than any other human born on this earth? Many Bible readings tell us of this special child, born in Bethlehem. The angels declared his specialness to the shepherds. Mary and Joseph were both told that their baby Jesus was special. Simeon and Anna saw the baby Jesus in the temple, and they declared that he was the Messiah long awaited! And on January 6 (Epiphany), many places in the world celebrated the coming of the magi. Those folks from the east also declared this infant to be special—a gift from God, one who is worthy of homage.

So, have we gotten the message yet? Have we put all of this together in our hearts and minds and lives, and do we truly realize that this baby Jesus (and grown-up Jesus) is special? Do we need yet another testimony to put us over the top? Well, if we need more proof, we need go no farther than the first chapter of Mark or the third chapter of Matthew. Both of those gospel writers tell us of a pretty reliable source who testifies to the fact that this man Jesus is special. The source of which I’m speaking has been around forever! God the Father is the source, and he comes to the scene in these baptism narratives and tells us who this Jesus is.

Mark tells the story pretty simply as he says, In those days Jesus came from Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased’ (Mark 1:9–11).

So, now we have the highest authority in all of the universe—God the Father—saying that Jesus is special. So, are we now willing to believe this? God has told us that Jesus is special! My prayer is that we all acknowledge the specialness of Jesus, and in so doing, we take on the responsibility to do what Jesus told us to do. We are to love God and our fellow humans. And, the really good news of Scripture is that Jesus came to acknowledge our specialness as well. We are so special that Jesus died and was resurrected so that we might be saved! May that knowledge empower us to do special and loving things in God’s name!

Sovereign God, we can never thank you enough for sending your only Son to earth to redeem humankind from our sinfulness. You have shown unconditional love and grace that is truly beyond our comprehension. May we express our gratitude by living lives that reflect your love, each day. Amen.

January Eleventh

God’s Team

Faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

—1 Corinthians 13:13

That passage written above may be the second most well-known verse from the Bible (John 3:16 is certainly the most well-known). We are really drawn to that love passage, aren’t we? Chapter 13 speaks to us about the gift of love. A commentary I read on that chapter says, God gives us many gifts through the Holy Spirit, but the most important of these gifts is love, the kind of love that allows us to live and work in cooperation with one another. Our ability to work in cooperation with one another is the definition of what word? The word is teamwork . In this winter sports season, we still have pro football, basketball, and hockey—so teamwork may be very much on our minds. So, let’s delve even deeper into the words of 1 Corinthians 13:13.

We are called upon, by the Word of God, to gather together and to work together as believers who will spread the good news of Jesus Christ to those around us. In other words, we are called to work as a team. We are to draw strength and energy and ideas from each other. We are to combine our talents so that we can be most effective in making Christ known throughout the world.

Jesus set the perfect example for this. His ministry was not a solo act—if you will. He didn’t go on the road alone. Jesus surrounded himself with (at least) twelve disciples (and many, many others) to give him support and to help in the ministry that God sent him to share with the people of the world.

And what is it that makes this kind of teamwork possible? It is love! It is (in the language of the New Testament) agape. Agape is best described as the kind of love that God has for humanity. It is not an impulse from feelings—it is more a matter of behavior (actions) than feelings. Agape is an action noun—it is rightly even called a verb. True agape doesn’t exist without action! It is love that seeks to benefit all people. It is love that often runs against our natural inclinations (as in the command to love [agape] our enemies). Agape love makes us ready to serve any and all people—even those we don’t really like.

Paul tells us we all need love. That is actually another way of saying we all need God—since 1 John says (paraphrasing) God is love (agape). So if we have God, we have love; and if we have love, we have God. So, whether we realize it or not, those of us who love God are a part of a team. We need to use our team to do the will of God in this place and at this time. It is God’s work, but it needs the hands of our team!

Lord God, make us a team that will continue to serve you and all of humankind in ways that you will make known to us.

Make us a team of love, Lord! Amen.

January Twelfth

God and Goodness

The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

—Psalm 33:5b

How often do we look around and see the unbelievable goodness of God? We take so many things for granted, don’t we? If some morning the sun did not rise, what distress and anxiety it would cause, but since it rises and shines daily at the appointed time, many don’t even consider it a blessing. So it is with the rain from heaven, with the grain in the field, and with all that God has created. They exist in such abundance and are daily bestowed upon us so plenteously that we often fail to see them and be thankful for them—miracles that they are.

It is a fact that the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. All goodness comes from God. God is the source of all love, goodness, and life itself. We should be excitedly thanking God each day for the blessings that are so graciously bestowed upon us, and yet we often just don’t notice them. We are so used to getting wonderful things from God each day that they are often expected and then received without thanks. Our lives are often ruled by take and keep rather than receive and give.

The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. That’s Psalm 33:5b in the King James Version. I often like to look at Scripture texts in several translations to get a fuller meaning of the words. The New International Version says, The earth is full of his unfailing love. That’s good—I like that a lot. The New Revised Standard Version says, The earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. That’s very good as well, but I think it requires a definition of the word steadfast. It means fixed or unchanging; steady; firmly loyal or constant; unswerving. You have to admit—steadfast love is some really good and powerful love. The Living Bible expresses Psalm 33:5b like this: The earth is filled with his tender love. So, all versions agree—our world is filled with God’s love and goodness for us all. God is love, and the word good comes from God. So, God is the source of all love and the very definition of goodness. For that, I firmly believe, we should all be ever ready to say, Thanks be to God!

God of grace and goodness, you have made us in your image. Assist us, Lord, in living up to that image. Amen.

January Thirteenth

A Time for Hope

With God all things are possible.

—Mark 10:27

Those words came from Jesus when he was trying to tell the disciples that seemingly impossible things are possible with God. With God, all things are possible! Those are words that can be our guide as we enter this new year. Those are words that should be able to keep us all in a hopeful state of mind.

I would imagine that we have all had some kind of dilemma in which we have finally said, This is hopeless! Really? If we believe the words of Jesus—With God all things are possible—should we ever be hopeless? Is hopeless a word that faithful Christians have a need or a reason to use? We use the word hope all of the time in our society. We often say or hear others say, I certainly hope so. What exactly do we mean when we say that? I think our normal meaning is something like this: I have a strong wish that such and such will happen, but I realize that there is a possibility that it might not happen.

That is not the same meaning of the word hope when it is used in the biblical sense—when God or Jesus are the subject and the givers of that hope. Then the word hope is filled with assurance. We often call it the sure hope of God. When the word hope is connected with the promises of God, it is a surety. The promises of God are absolute—they will be fulfilled.

It is my belief that hope is one of the main differences between believers and nonbelievers. People who truly believe in Jesus as their Savior have hope in all situations, but nonbelievers who are confronted with a dire situation have no hope once all human efforts have been exhausted. The outlook for a nonbeliever in these types of situations is hopeless. There is no light at the end of the tunnel for them.

Part of the good news of the Gospel for us is that there is always light (the light of Christ) at the end of our tunnel. We know, because of our faith and because of the power of the Holy Spirit, that the seemingly impossible is possible. Jesus said it himself, With God all things are possible.

We Christians are to be people of faith, hope, and love. That sets us apart from those who have no faith and no hope. We have total faith in the promises of God even when our life seems like an uncontrollable storm that will sweep us away! That doesn’t mean that we will not sometimes feel overwhelmed by what happens in our lives sometimes. Our belief, however, gives us the sure hope that Jesus will step into our often turbulent lives and say (as he said to the waves on the stormy Sea of Galilee), Peace, be still! That knowledge can allow us to live each day with great hope for our future. Every day is a time for hope!

God of hope and life, we thank you for sending us the Light of the World. Help us to live as he taught us. Amen.

January Fourteenth

Life Abundant

I have come that you might have abundant life.

—John 10:10

Iheard this saying some years ago: Live like there’s no tomorrow, love like you’ve never been hurt, and dance like there’s nobody’s watching. Those seem like wise words to me. We would certainly live differently if we knew that we only had a few months to live—wouldn’t we? There would be no time for petty bickering or holding a grudge against anyone. I think we’d be more loving and caring and probably more appreciative of God’s wonderful creation.

If we were to love like we’ve never been hurt, we would love full-out—not holding anything back for fear of being rejected. That would be loving in a way that God loves us—fully, totally, and unconditionally. And we should dance like nobody’s watching. That means letting our feelings and emotions show without any concern for how it will look to others. We inhibit ourselves a great deal by worrying about how will this look? If you feel it, show it! Let the joyous energy that is within us show through. That kind of joy is a gift from God. There is no need to hide it.

Live, love, and dance freely and openly. There is a group in our society that seems to live like that. I think kids do that the best. We all seemed to be totally confident when we were young kids. Kids think they can do anything, and they are pretty much willing to try almost everything. If we ask a kindergarten class how many of them can sing, all of their hands fly up. Ask how many can dance? Again, everyone. How many can paint and draw? Yes for all! If we ask those same questions of high school seniors—we never find all hands raised for any of these talents. As we grow older, we limit ourselves by putting qualifications on the level of our abilities, and we don’t think we do some of those things well enough to truly claim them as a talent.

Jesus wants each of us to have abundant and joyous lives. How can we have the kind of life that Jesus wants for us? Certainly we are expected to read and heed the Word of God. In our New Testament, Jesus holds up children as examples for us from which to learn. Our young children and grandchildren can teach us a lot. They aren’t cynical. They are very trusting and joyful and energetic about each and every day. They open their eyes to the morning sun and think about all of the great possibilities this new day offers! They have great faith—a pure faith that is not mired down by questions like how could that be possible? They are still awestricken by God’s amazing creation. They trust in the wonder and mystery of God. It seems the more we act like the young children around us, the more abundant and joyous our lives will be!

Risen Savior, help us to live in a way that allows us to have the abundant life you came to earth to give us. All praise to you. Amen.

January Fifteenth

Give ’Em the Lima Beans

Just as you did it to one of the least of these…, you did it to me.

—Matthew 25:40

What kind of a giver are you? If we are folks who go to church regularly, I would imagine that we make some promises to God (usually through prayers). Our church has a prayer that says, We offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given us, our selves, our time, and our possessions—signs of your gracious love. That’s a pretty big promise. We are saying (in essence), Take me, God. Use me. I am yours. Do with me (and my stuff) as you will.

As is true with so many things in our lives—it’s easier said than done. We offer our time, talent, and treasures, and yet we often don’t really want to go that far. Most often we give some of the extra that we have. I call it surplus giving. God calls upon us to give of the firstfruits. That’s the good stuff, not just some of the extra stuff.

I have to confess to some of this surplus giving or give ’em what we don’t really want anyway giving. For me it comes from when I was growing up. I am the seventh of eight children in my family, and that fact made me hoard or hide some things so I didn’t have to share them. I figured that a whole Hershey Bar was much better than one-eighth of a Hershey Bar! I also didn’t want to give away things I really liked. I was glad to give away things I didn’t like anyway, but I didn’t want to give away things that I liked—things that were special to me. I’m not proud of this behavior, but these things did happen.

I vividly remember the times we would take canned goods to church for the Harvest Festival we had each fall. I would go to our cupboard and pick out the vegetables or soup that I didn’t like (or that can without a label). Give ’em the lima beans, I would think to myself. I hated lima beans. I figured it this way: the poor folks (the needy) were really hungry, and I was sure they would be glad to get any food—even lima beans.

That is surplus giving or grudging giving, not firstfruits giving. With that attitude, the prayer from above becomes, We offer grudgingly those things that we really don’t want or like anyway. That’s certainly not what our Lord God is looking for in us. As I stated above, Jesus said, Just as you did it to one of the least of these…you did it to me. So, doing it to one of the least is like doing it to Jesus. Knowing that, would I have been willing to give lima beans to Jesus? No! I would have wanted to give Jesus some of the things that I thought were the best—not just the things I didn’t like. Jesus and the needy are the same. The truth is—I was holding back. I think Jesus would say to us today, Don’t hold back from the people in need. Treat them as you would treat me. We find Jesus in the least, the lost, and the last.

Help us, God, to say and to mean, with love in our hearts, We give of the firstfruits with joy and thanksgiving! Amen.

January Sixteenth

Claimed for Ministry

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.

—Matthew 3:16–17

Who is this one for whom the heavens opened? His beginning was not auspicious, at least not as we might rate it today: a teenage mother, an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, stable-born in poverty, of a class vulnerable to the whims of the powerful.

His childhood, though we hear little of it, was probably the same. Unremarkable to outside observers, he learned to walk and talk, to obey and honor, to worship and to pray. But this apparently unremarkable boy bore promise in his soul, not just to him, but to all of us.

Once a young man, it was time for that promise to begin to reveal itself, to begin to unfold in the world, for the world. There had been mysteries before for those who were close to this young man: angels bringing messages, and wondrous, unexpected visitors bringing gifts. There had been a flight (no, not that kind of flight!) into Egypt, and finally safety.

John, the wild baptizer, presided over the water and wilderness. His was a ministry to the common people, and he scorned the religious leaders who came to him. His beginning was auspicious, the son of priestly lines, and now one making public pleas for repentance. Like his parents before him, his was a public life.

When Jesus appeared before him at the Jordan River, the public John deferred to him whose life thus far had been mostly veiled in normalcy. When Jesus rose up from the waters, his privacy was ended. This is my Son, the Beloved, God said. The heavens opened, and the voice declared that God’s very presence stood in the river water, dripping with promise and love for all of us. Jesus was publicly claimed for his ministry, as we all are when we emerge from the baptismal waters. Now we know. Now we praise. Now we have reason for hope. God is here—God is with us! Alleluia!

God of the universe, may we all realize that you have tapped each of us for ministry as well. Give us the tools—the words, the strength, the energy, the wherewithal—to do your work here on earth, with our voice, our hands, and our heart. Amen.

January Seventeenth

New Testament Fishing

I (Paul) planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow.

—1 Corinthians 3:6

Jesus said, Follow me and I will make you fish for people (Mark 1:17). Jesus uses the common experience of fishing to help explain what his followers are expected to do, but he throws an odd twist into the normal formula. He tells us we are to fish for people! Well, that could be interesting. Let’s think about this for a moment. Jesus goes up to a bunch of professional fishermen and tells them he will teach them about a new kind of fishing. Let’s call this New Testament Fishing.

This is a whole new way to fish, and it is actually much easier than the kind of fishing that requires normal fishing gear. There is no hooking and reeling in New Testament Fishing. To do this scriptural type of fishing, all you need is a love of Jesus Christ and a desire to let others know that Jesus loves them too.

New Testament Fishing can also be called invitation evangelism. This form of fishing for people is actually inviting folks to change their lives, just like the Galilean fishermen (Peter, Andrew, James, and John) were changed. We don’t lure people with bait in this style of fishing, but we do cast invitations out there that are bathed in love. We share with others what God has done for us. We help people realize how important God and Jesus and our worship experiences are for us, and then we simply say, Come and see. Come and see if you also are fed by the Spirit through singing, praying, praising, and worshiping God.

The key—in this New Testament Fishing—is to just be yourself (just be how God made you). There’s not some specific script that should be read. There are no magic words that must be spoken. The Holy Spirit moves within us to help us say the things that God would have us say. All we need to do is trust in God and get out there and fish for people.

And here is one of the really neat parts about New Testament Fishing—the results are not up to us! Jesus didn’t call upon us to be catchers of people. Jesus just asks us to throw out the line. We are to cast out the invitation and then let God go to work. We are called upon to be invitational evangelists, and then the results are up to God. Paul said it this way: I planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow.

How are we using the time God has given us? Let’s get involved in some New Testament Fishing!

Creator of the waters, we pray for the ability to go out into the world and fish for people. Make us joyous inviters. Amen.

January Eighteenth

Jesus Knows Me

Come to me all you who are weary and carrying a heavy burden, and I will give you rest.

—Matthew 11:28

Ihave gone to church my entire life. I was fortunate to be born into a family (the seventh of eight children) that made church attendance the norm. We always went to church. The only option we had was early service or late service? And, in between those two services was Sunday school (it was also required). So, ever since my baptism (at ten days old), I have been in church almost every weekend of my life. I mention that because all of that time in church and Sunday school has had a huge effect on who I am and how I live my life.

I have very fond memories of our Sunday school songs (I knew them all by heart long before I could read). My favorite song was Jesus Loves Me (probably the favorite of many of you as well). It starts: Jesus loves me, this I know—for the Bible tells me so. It really doesn’t get much simpler or more basic than that, does it? Through those few words, we are proclaiming that we know that Jesus does love us. How do we know that? The Bible tells us so. So, we are declaring our belief in Jesus and in the words of the Bible, which tells us about Jesus (and the Triune God). We, who believe in the Bible, realize that it is the Word of God. Knowing that, we recognize that we would do well to make ourselves very familiar with God’s Word. My ongoing concern is that none of us really understands or reads the Bible as much as we should. It is God’s instruction manual for living, and yet we often just leave it sitting on some shelf or table.

Some time ago, I saw a church sign that said, Jesus knows me, this I love. Wow, I really liked the way they turned around our well-known phrase and gave it a totally new meaning in the process. It is important that we all realize that Jesus loves us, and it is also essential that we realize that Jesus knows each one of us—as if we were an only child! That’s what we call a personal relationship with our Savior. We can be assured that our Redeemer knows each one of us by name. As tough as that is for our human minds to comprehend, it is still true. Jesus loves each of us, he is concerned about each of us, and he knows us just like we are each his sister or brother. That’s why Jesus says, Come to me all you who are weary and carrying a heavy burden, and I will give you rest.

Only the all-knowing, all-loving Son of God would be able to offer that rest to every human being. The fact is—each of us can confidently say, Jesus knows me, this I love! For that truth, we all should say, Thanks be to God.

God of Sabbath rest, you know me better than I know myself. Guide me through my days that I may make your love known in my own special universe. Amen.

January Nineteenth

Don’t Bury Your Talents

Well done my good and faithful servant.

—Matthew 25:23

You may be familiar with the parable of the talents, found in Matthew chapter 25. Jesus tells of a man who leaves some money (talents) with three of his servants (slaves). He gave five to one of them, two to another, and one talent to the third one. The first two invested wisely and gave back more. The third one, somewhat timid and scared, didn’t invest the money—he simply buried it, and therefore gave back only the same amount he had received. His master called him wicked and lazy, but to the other two servants, he said, Well done, my good and faithful servant.

I would imagine that we all hope to receive that very positive response from Jesus someday; we want to be called good and faithful servants. However, I think we often are concerned that we will receive, You wicked and lazy servant! And later the master says, As for this worthless servant, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30). Weeping and gnashing of teeth! We don’t ever want to hear that phrase in connection with us! It is (seemingly) a very bothersome phrase, and Matthew uses it six times (it’s only used one other time—in Luke). I believe that phrase is Matthew’s way of saying, There will be great sadness, when (or if) we are away from the presence of God. God is light, so being in the outer darkness is as far away from God as one can get. It’s like saying, Get that person out of my sight!

St. Paul speaks to this issue when he says, For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ…so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him (1 Thessalonians 5:9–10). If we put those two verses in the words of the parable of the talents, it might say something like this: For God has destined us not for being thrown into outer darkness, but for being saved through Jesus Christ, so whether we buried our talent or we invested it wisely, we may live with him.

This parable of Jesus is one in which he nudges us to not be complacent. Jesus is saying that Christians must be active, we must do loving things. We serve the Lord by serving humankind. Jesus is saying (in essence), Don’t just sit there—do something! Jesus indicates in this parable that just leaving things the way they are is insufficient. He would say to us (something like), Don’t bury the gifts my Father gave to you. Use them wisely, well, and often. Share them with others. Multiply them through your efforts on my behalf! We cannot let our talents lie idle, awaiting the return of Christ.

This must be mentioned. After Jesus says, Well done my good and faithful servant, he says, Enter into the joy of your master (Matthew 25:21). Jesus invites us to enter his joy—the joy of God. So, my Christ-follower friends, let’s not bury our talents. Instead, may we enter into the joy of Christ and then go and do God’s work—every day!

God of love, guide us to use our talents in your service. Amen.

January Twentieth

Hometown Boy Makes Good

Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to preach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

—Luke 4:14–15

Luke seems to be exaggerating. We know that humans can seldom, if ever, say that everyone praises someone. However, like Luke, we often say things like, Everybody there thought it was great! So, even though Luke may have exaggerated somewhat, the fact was that most everyone felt that Jesus was worthy of praise. So, Jesus was being accepted quite well in his home area of Galilee. Then, he went to Nazareth, where he had been raised. Luke says, He went to the synagogue… He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him (vv. 16b–17a). Now, let’s backtrack a bit. In verse 14, it says that Jesus was filled with the Spirit. Luke tells us that Jesus’s previous teaching, preaching, and miracles had shown to many people that he was filled with the Spirit. He had the power of God on his side. The word spirit as used in the Old Testament is the word ruah , the breath of God. So, we could say that—God’s unseen presence—the breath of God was empowering Jesus. The question is this: what does all of this mean to the people of Nazareth?

The fact is—Jesus shocks the people of his hometown. It happens after he reads the words of Isaiah 61:1–2. Those words described the actions of the one who would be called Messiah. So, Jesus finished reading and sat down and said, Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. Now the trouble starts! Those words of Isaiah had been written hundreds of years before Jesus read them, and everyone in attendance knew what they meant, so the people of Nazareth wondered, Is this man named Jesus actually saying that he is the Messiah! That was unthinkable! They expected someone more important and probably royal to be the Messiah! Certainly the kid from their hometown could not be the Messiah! And these folks weren’t just mildly angry—they wanted to throw Jesus off of the cliff outside of town. They wanted to kill Jesus! Miraculously though, Jesus passed through their midst and went on his way.

Maybe all of this astounds us. Maybe we can’t believe that the people of Jesus’s hometown didn’t believe he was the Messiah. Most everyone reading this would probably say, I believe that Jesus is my Savior. That’s all well and good, but the more important question is this: what are we doing about the fact that we believe Jesus is our Savior? Jesus expects us to do God’s work in the world. We are to love each other as Jesus