Running in Faith is an electronic devotional guide written by members of Abiding Presence Lutheran Church to help readers take their Sunday faith into weekday lives. Each Devotion represents the personal opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent Abiding Presence Lutheran Church. Permission is granted to link to this page and to use the Devotions for personal, non-commercial purposes only.

Week of August 5, 2007
Richard G.

Answering The Call

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road--the desert road--that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means "queen of the Ethiopians"). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."    (Acts 8:26-29, NIV)

I came to love this passage (actually all of Acts, but Acts 8 and 9 especially so) while serving the Lord through the Christian Motorcyclist Association (CMA). CMA members attend secular motorcycle events serving in various capacities. Some examples might be to provide first aide, motorcycle mechanics or detailing, helping with crowd control, setting up vendor booths at the beginning of a rally, and then taking them down at the end of the rally.

We established relationships through service. CMA is a national organization and chapters in New Jersey would help the same vendors who were just helped in Virginia by another CMA Chapter. One haggard motorcycle clothing vendor said to me at the Atco Drag Races in Berlin, NJ one late Sunday afternoon: "You know you guys are great! CMA helped me in California, Illinois, Virginia and now New Jersey. Thanks so much." My reply was "Our Lord called us to be here. We are glad to be in His service lending a hand where needed. Where are you headed now?" He said: "Mid-Ohio for a 4 day event. We setup Wednesday evening. Do you know anyone up there?" I replied: "Not personally, but I can assure you CMA will be there. I'll place a call to the chapter in the Mid-Ohio Track area and let him know you are on your way." I offered to send on his way with a "safe travels" prayer and he accepted.

Sometimes, the vendors or bikers we helped would open up and share their life's struggles. We would offer encouragement sometimes through prayer, or talk for a while and offer a Hope for the Highways Bible and guide them to some great passages, or arrange for counseling, but always by listening; I hear you brother. These were just encounters along a bleak and barren desert road. A road metaphorically similar to the road the Ethiopian traveled; a road used to search for answers.

Philip was at the right place and time through the work of the Holy Spirit. He listened to the Holy Spirit and acted. Additionally, he obviously knew the scriptures and their foretelling of the coming of the Messiah. He understood the passage the Ethiopian was reading aloud (Isaiah 53:7, 8) and how it applied to all mankind and was able to tell of the good news of Christ's resurrection. This was Philip's spiritual gift from God. However, Philip was probably not the only one helping the Ethiopian on his spiritual journey. Think of how the Ethiopian came to know of Judaism. How did he know where to go to worship and to try to find answers to the hard questions burning in his heart? Because Philip answered the call, the Ethiopian found the answer he was looking for and was ecstatic. Some scholars believe he spread the good news in Ethiopia.

The evangelistic model CMA follows is not restricted to bikers nor did CMA invent it. It is one of the ways in which the Holy Spirit works as shown here in the story of Philip and the Ethiopian. It applies to us all and in all walks of life. As members of the body of Christ, we can help individuals along their earthly or spiritual journey. Sometimes it means that we help someone out in need or do a kind deed. It may mean that you just listen to someone or cry with them. Listen to the Holy Spirit! Coming to the understanding that you are called by God, being used by God, for God's purpose is an awesome revelation and tremendously rewarding.

Dear Lord,
   Thank you for sending your Holy Spirit and calling me into your service. Continue to use me as your instrument for your purpose. May all praise and glory be to you! I pray in Jesus name, Amen.

Week of August 12, 2007
Pierre L.

Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength    (1 Corinthians 1: 20-25)

A new militant Anti-Christianism is afoot. Best-selling books by the likes of Dawkins, Dennett, and Hitchens and others ridicule and pillory Christianity. Christians are deluded, they aver. Christianity is an anti-scientific font of ignorance. Worse, it's at the root of much evil in the world: it fosters intolerance and hatred of non-Christians, and can be blamed for many wars and other horrors. Humanity would be much better off without it.

This is not the proper forum to offer a full-dress rebuttal of these best-selling caricatures of our faith. There have of course been horrible crimes committed by many who profess to be Christians, and many fundamentalist Christians find it impossible to reconcile their faith with modern science and so reject the latter. On the other hand, our faith has also been an enormous force for good, at the root of the very notion of human equality, and at the forefront of movements for social justice. Moreover, as Etienne Gilson, Pierre Duhem and others have argued, modern science is deeply indebted to Judeo-Christian rational inquiry and to the notion of a world created by a beneficent and rational law-giver. More importantly, we as Christians experience the work of God in our lives, our Lord who in His love transforms and sustains us.

In the face of the new Anti-Christianism, we can take comfort that our faith lives on, even though from its inception it has always seemed foolish to many. As Paul reminds us, "the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." The Word will stand long after the Dawkins, Dennetts, and Hitchens of the world have passed away.

Dear God, though your glory surpasses our understanding, strengthen our faith that we may understand you better, however foolish we may seem to those who reject your Word. Amen

Week of August 19, 2007
Linda T.

"For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them."      Romans  12:4-6

I love Vacation Bible School. To see the program at the end of the week, my children and all their friends singing and dancing, the lessons they've learned about the gospel - it always makes me smile. I smile at the joy of the children and the adults who have worked with them. And then I say a quick prayer of thanksgiving that another year has gone by and I have not had to teach VBS!!!

My role in VBS, you see, has been to be the snack assistant, which means that mostly I hang out in the kitchen, wipe down tables and pour snacks into cups. During the final evening program, however, I sneak out early to scoop ice cream into bowls to prepare for the ice cream social portion of the evening.

But even the festive chaos of the ice cream social is not my favorite part of VBS. My favorite part comes at the very end - as we clean up the leftover ice cream and throw away the plastic tablecloths after a week of hard use. There is no official clean up crew for VBS, and yet the clean up happens because people pitch in to do what needs to be done. This year several families stuck around to fold up tables and chairs so the floor of the fellowship hall could be cleaned and to return the chairs and hymnals to their proper places in the sanctuary. No one had to stay. The paid staff would have made sure that things were ready for Sunday worship. But people volunteered out of love and gratitude for the VBS program, for the staff and for this small opportunity to live out the gospel.

Our VBS program is wonderful because we have fantastic leaders, teachers and activity directors, but it demonstrates the ways we are church as we clean up the fellowship hall. My gifts don't generally run toward teaching songs with motions or making crafts out of popsicle sticks or games that involve beanbags. But I can scoop ice cream and move chairs and thus become part of the body of Christ we call Vacation Bible School.

Almighty God, your Holy Spirit equips the church with a rich variety of gifts. Grant that we may use them to bear witness to Christ in lives that are built on faith and love. Make us ready to live the gospel and eager to do your will, so that we may share with all your church in the joys of eternal life; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. (from ELW, p. 76)

Week of August 26, 2007
Tom W.

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'"     Matthew 3:1-3

         As we live out our lives from day to day, sometimes we are so wrapped up in our own little worlds that we do not see the big picture. In doing so, we risk the danger of missing what really matters. John the Baptist saw the big picture, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. In preparing the way of the Lord, John pointed to one far greater than he, proclaiming that Jesus Christ came into the world to free humankind from sin and death.
         Some years ago there was a very popular song entitled, "Born Free." Occasionally we still hear it today - "Born free, as free as the wind blows, as free as the grass grows, born free!" The music is very impressive, perhaps even inspiring, but the lyrics could not be farther from the truth. We are not born free. Rather we are born into sin and death from which we can in no way set ourselves free. God in Christ was willing to get down into the middle of the mess that humankind made of things and bleed a way out for us.
         As a father of four children I can tell you, flat out - there is no situation in this life in which I could, under any circumstances, willingly sacrifice the life of any one of them to save others. Certainly, there are circumstances in which I could sacrifice my own life to save others, but never the lives of my own children. John the Baptist knew that God the Father loved us so much that He was willing to have his only begotten Son die for us.

Almighty God, "teach me wisdom in my secret heart...fill me with joy and gladness...restore to me that joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit." (Psalm 51)