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 May 4, 2008
Tracie B.

I have sinned,
I am no longer worthy ...
Luke 15:18

These words are from the story we call the prodigal son or the forgiving father. The words are part of the speech that the younger son rehearsed before getting up the nerve to return to his home. He practiced these words of confession after squandering his early-received inheritance. He practiced and fine-tuned his speech in the hope that his father would forgive him enough to allow him to re-enter the household, if only as a servant. But we know the story. This child cannot deliver the speech he intended. He cannot get out his well-rehearsed words of confession.

The late Lutheran pastor and poet, Gerhard Frost, retells this story and its implication for us in his poem called, Homecoming.

Amen

Week of May 11, 2007
Rosemary S.

This is the day the Lord has made;
Let us rejoice and and be glad in it.
Palms 118:24

Each week, I receive an e-mail from Susan Wittig Albert, author of All About Thyme-A Weekly Calendar of Times & Seasonings, (abouthyme.com.) It gives a listing for each day of the coming week, some serious, others more frivolous. Who can ignore "National Chocolate Mint Day" or "National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day"? Feast days of the saints are included, along with some recipes to honor the holy ones. Gardening, cooking, and other life skills hints are given to inspire and educate. I especially liked the one for the first week in March which included tips on growing and the history and uses of rosemary, and a pod-cast, "Rosemary for Remembrance".

From the "first days" of Genesis, to the "last days" of Revelation, there are more than a thousand references to the word "day". In between, there are days of joy and days of sadness, days of peace and days of strife, good days and bad days. Psalm 90 tells us to "number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom". We are admonished to remember the days past (history) and to plan for the days to come (future). Rules are given for the days of rest and restitution, for feasting and fasting. Time was reckoned as, "in those days", "in these days" and "the days were accomplished that she should be delivered..."

All our days are numbered. Only God knows what that number is. If you knew how many days you had left, how would you spend them? Would you have a wild and crazy time, doing things that would give you a short-term thrill? Travel the world to see places you had only viewed in photos or books? Would you visit old friends and relatives, make peace with those from whom you are currently estranged? Spend hours with your closest loved ones? Do something brave and dangerous to help someone? Offer your "re-usable parts" so that someone else might have better quality life? Spend the time in prayer and study of the scriptures or try to bargain with God to let you off the hook, as Jesus did on Calvary? Each of us would probably make very different choices.

How will you use your allotted days ...

Day by Day, from the play Godspell
Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak, 1970

Week of May 18, 2008
Richard G.

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12 (NIV)

Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:36-40 (NIV)

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:9-13 (NIV)

In teaching his student to lead people by creating growth (conversely, if you are not creating growth, you are not leading), my leadership professor introduced the concept of spirit leadership. In the context of this writing, the spirit is not a warm fuzzy feeling, an aura or a ghost hovering around a room. It is the essence of being alive. In grade school (which was affiliated with my family's church), I learned that the spirit is what transformed our clay vessels, our physical bodies, into living entities. "Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life, and man became a living being." Genesis 2:7 (Amplified Bible). My professor said that through the spirit we do all things. One aspect of our spirit provides the drive and motivation to get things done. Our spirit is lifted when we hear a child laugh, we get a good grade on a test, receive a tax rebate or refund, someone pays us a compliment or we compliment someone else. Our spirit can be brought down when we hear of bad news, a loved one becomes ill, or when someone criticizes or insults us. An interesting observation is that the spirit of one individual affects the spirit of other individuals. Another person's positive spirit positively affects mine. Those with a negative spirit (or attitude) can negatively affect my spirit.

In the book, Oneness: Great Principles Shared by All Religions by Jeffery Moses, Mother Teresa opens with a short interpretation of the golden rule:

"I am sure that if we all understand The Golden Rule - that God is Love and he has created us for greater things, to love and be loved - we would then love one another as He loved each one of us. True Love is giving until it hurts. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put into the giving. Therefore, it is necessary to pray, the fruit of prayer is the deepening of Faith, the Fruit of faith is Love, Love in action is Service, and so acts of Love are acts of Peace, and this is the living of the Golden Rule."

During this season of Pentecost, think about those things that lift your spirit and which of those you experience. Think about the attributes of spirit that you admire; trust, hope, peace, enthusiasm, compassion, and love are a few that our class listed. Do those things that uplift the spirit of you and your neighbor and avoid those things that that might bring it down. This will cause each to grow by God's grace. When you create growth, one or more of these attributes are at work and you are leading. This is one of the beautiful outcomes of applying (Love in Action) the "Golden Rule".

Dear Lord,
Thank you for providing us with the tools to make a difference in this world, to love and create growth. Open my heart to opportunities for creating growth, for loving and acting in love. Help me to love everyone and act on that love with hope and compassion. In your name I pray. Amen

Week of May 25, 2008
Donald P.

I have learned the secret of being content
in any and every situation ...
Philippians 4:12 NIV

     Is contentment dangerous?
     Is there a characteristic of contentment that inherently diminishes expectations over time? Does a continuing sensation of satisfaction inwardly spiral to a relegation of resignation? I think if I were to try and describe it mathematically, it would be something like the inverse of incremental exponentials...never growing, always folding in upon itself. Natural law dictates that everything physically decomposes over time, even the most exalted mountains, stars and universe. Is contentment a personified extension of natural law?
     Why am I so concerned with this, this rambling philosophical discourse about contentment? The fact of the matter is that I am getting older and fear that I may be becoming frightfully dull...but more importantly, frightfully indifferent. My life circle is condensing. I am a decomposing mountain. The hedonistic passions of my youth are long gone, probably forever, and even my interpretation of happiness is somewhat withering (I mean, is happiness sipping a cold beer and watching a ballgame after mowing the lawn?). The admirable St. Paul told us that he had "learned to be content whatever the circumstances" (Phil 4:11). His "secret" was his extraordinary union with the living God...nothing could buffet him. However, there are few St. Pauls among us and my contentment is made of different stuff. Satan knows that my faith is a mere fraction of St. Paul's; his spiritual deception lulls me into ineptitude. And even worse, my thoughts become darker when I envision that the danger of contentment can expand beyond single persons to include congregations, and communities, and states...and even nations.
     So how can I swim upstream from this flush of depreciation? As with many problems, the simplest solution may be the best. I remember watching a Disney cartoon once with my children where Winnie the Pooh gives Piglet an empty honey pot as a birthday gift. It was "a place to put things in". Pooh was very pleased that he could give his friend such "a useful thing". So too, I get a great deal of happiness when I give unto others. My time, talent, and treasure are a "useful thing". When I extend my gifts towards the welfare of others, it gets my mind off ME and contributes to the overall flow of humanity rather than me splashing around in my own little tidal pool. Our Lord exclaimed, "Freely you have received, freely give". Of course, the human frailty is that we so often give to others conditionally ("Say, we gave a nice fruit basket to your sister last Christmas and she didn't get us nuthin'"). But we are all works-in-progress. In those extremely rare cases where we can give of ourselves completely and thoroughly... unconditionally...we begin to have the slightest understanding, just a tincture, of what our Lord has asked us to do. And we have a greater appreciation for what he has done for us...and how much he gives us...and how much he loves us.
     Therefore, the Fight Against Truth Decay requires a renewed devotion to Giving as a continuous way of life; a turning away from oneself and in so doing, turning oneself towards God and others. And to help us with this renewal, prayer, as a constant communication and evaluation process, is necessary for us to understand our purpose and augment our relationship with God. If we regularly exercise our giving nature, we can defeat the shrivel of contentment.

Dear Lord,
     Expand my spiritual horizons. Break my bonds of selfish contentment and make me a champion of giving. Turn my attentions away from "me" and turn me generously towards "he" and "she". I ask this in Jesus' name,Amen