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"Running in Faith" is an electronic devotional guide written by members of Abiding Presence Lutheran Church. Each week, writers use their personal interpretation of scripture to write an inspirational message they hope will help readers take their Sunday faith into weekday lives. Your comments are appreciated and, when related to a particular devotion, passed to the writer. We hope you will share these devotions with friends and coworkers. We are always happy to add new names to our e-mail list. Please contact us if you wish your name to be added. |
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Devotion for the week of January 2, 2005
Now that the Lord is come, how do we carry forward into the days of this new year the good news of Christ's advent? Perhaps sharing our faith in daily life is neither as complicated nor as difficult as shy, hesitant and halting Lutherans are apt to assume. Maybe bearing witness to Christ our Savior is simply a matter of being who we are baptized people of God. Possibly, taking the Word become flesh into the daily rounds of 2005 is a matter of leading"a life worthy of the calling to which (we) have been called." An Amish school verse says: In an age that is burned by duplicity and longs for credibility, it's likely that children of God can bear compelling testimony by being"gentle, patient, meek and mild." In a time of spin, hypocrisy, lying, deception and deceit, effective ministry can be rendered in daily like when God's people are"honest, simple and true" in their words and deeds. Remembering God's watch over our thoughts, words and deeds, let us seek faithful, integrated lives of lowliness, meekness, patience, forbearance and peace-keeping, that we may bear witness to Christ on the road, at home, and in neighborhood, school, office, shop and store.
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Devotion for the week of January 9, 2005 I once accidentally encouraged a congregation to read the psalm 'responsibly', instead of the usual, 'responsively'! It may not have been such a bad mistake! In worship, we often speak the psalms without lovingly praying them. "If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal." (1 Corr. 13:1) The Psalms confess, lament, celebrate, give thanks, plead, beg, sing, and herald all the joys and sorrows of the human condition. Many people list the Book of Psalms as their favorite book of the Bible. Psalms also comfort by teaching... "We can never ransom ourselves, or deliver to God the price of our life; for the ransom of our life is so great that we should never have enough to pay it, in order to live forever and ever, and never see the grave. For we see that the wise die also; like the dull and stupid they perish and leave their wealth to those who come after them. Their graves shall be their homes forever, their dwelling-places from generation to generation, though they call the lands after their own names. Even though honored, they cannot live forever; they are like the beasts that perish. Such is the way of those who foolishly trust in themselves, and the end of those who delight in their own words. Like a flock of sheep they are destined to die; death is their shepherd; they go down straightway to the grave. Their form shall waste away, and the land of the dead shall be their home. But God will ransom my life; he will snatch me from the grasp of death." (Psalm 49: 6-15) Gerry Goebel notes that" ....ours is the cry of a hostage. We are held in ransom by Satan and we cannot hope to pay the price. We are imprisoned by the powers of darkness. No matter how major our sin or how minor, how many or how few; the wages of sin is death. A hostage cannot raise funds for his own release. At best, he can rely on his friends and family to pay his ransom. Yet, in our situation, what if all those we know are also held hostage to sin? What hope is left for us? Our hope is in the one who pays our ransom." Mark 10: 45 states, "For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many." Thanks be to God.
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Devotion for the week of January 16, 2005
As we face the Martin Luther King, Jr. observance once again, it is fitting and proper to do some historical probing to uncover overlooked persons and stories that were connected with the Civil Rights Movement's ministry of reconciliation. Lutheran Christians have been hesitant to tell the story of those within our church who have "walked the talk" of racial reconciliation. Part of the hesitancy is our good Lutheran sense of how we understand good works (i.e. they follow grace through faith). Part of the hesitancy is that we as a church have not always been at the forefront of courageous racial healing. Nevertheless, let me introduce to you Pastor Robert S. Graetz (1928- ). He was the only white pastor to serve on the Montgomery Improvement Association, one of the first major efforts to desegregate the bus transportation system. Contemporary historians credit the presence of Pastor Graetz, a white pastor, as a key reason for Dr. King's reconciliatory approach to racial and economic justice. Robert Graetz was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia, and educated in Columbus, Ohio, graduated from Capital University (1950) and received his seminary degree from Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary (1955). Graetz was called to serve Trinity Lutheran Church in Montgomery, Alabama from 1955-1958. He and his family were ostracized by other whites for his involvement in the Montgomery Improvement Association, and, on August 25, 1956, while the family was out of town, three dynamite sticks exploded in their front yard. In the face of the destruction, Mayor Gayle accused Pastor Graetz of bombing his own home in order to stimulate out-of-state contributions to the MIA. Later Graetz's car tires were slashed and sugar was placed in his gasoline tank. The harassment continued, and Graetz finally left Montgomery to become pastor of St. Philip Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio. Right after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled segregated busing laws unconstitutional, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had these kind words to say about Robert Graetz: "Rev. Robert Graetz, a young Lutheran minister, has been a constant reminder to us in these trying months that white people as well as colored people are trying to expand their horizons and work out the day-to-day applications of Christianity." (cited from The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. Volume III: Birth of a New Age-- December 1955-December 1956, p. 446). We give thanks to God today for Pastor Robert S. Graetz, member of the retired clergy roster of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, for his courageous witness to the gospel of reconciliation!
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Devotion for the week of January 23, 2005
The year 2005 has come! It is the end of January and we are "into tomorrow. " Many people have made resolutions, but they are sometimes too many, and often self-serving. Yet if there are specific goals which will allow the person to know himself better, he may gain insight into other people, and be of help to them in the process of change. A year can be a new beginning or it can continue old ways. We certainly need to look at our weaknesses and ask God's help to guide us in solving specific problems. Goals can be simple or complex. Examples of these might be to learn to listen better to others or to conquer the fear of trying new things. Once we have successfully come to terms with our own weaknesses, we can reach others. There are multitudes of ways to help others, but we need not look far to find small ways to begin. As Paul states in the Bible, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Why not begin with a smile to those around us, and brighten the world for those who receive the smile? Pray for guidance and for others in distress. Hold a door open for someone or say, "Thank you." if someone opens a door for you. Thank you and other "nice " responses often seem to be lost in our busy, modern world. Manners and courteous actions are not "old fashioned!" I really appreciate a door being opened for me when my arthritis makes walking and other normal actions difficult for me. I smile and say, "Thank you " from a full heart -- this makes me happy. I was in a subway in England a few summers ago when a heat wave hit the British Isles. The cars were jammed, but suddenly, a young man motioned to me to take his seat. I became aware that he was deaf, but he was certainly not blind, for he nodded in response to my smile and understood my "Thank you." Look about and enlarge this list as you become more aware of the needs of others in small but specific ways. The gift is given to the receiver, but the giver is also blessed. We can all gain strength, and the world will become a more positive place to live if we pray and listen for God's answers.
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Devotion for the week of January 30, 2005 This is my commandment, Over our back door, we have a plaque. It says: Love One Another. The saying is certainly not original. It appears in the Old Testament and throughout the New. Indeed, it is amazing how often the phrase one another appears in the Scriptures. Here is a sampling of one-anothering passages in God's Word.
Among other things, that means that you and I ... will let the word of God dwell in us richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in our hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. (Colossians 3:16
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