How Are You Growing?
Good Morning Friends,
In the liturgical year we are in ordinary time…a time of growth. In keeping with this focus today’s devotional is about human development. And here we can see that we really grow in two ways…as individuals and as a body organized for a purpose. Both are needed. It is about how to build character so we can collectively love our neighbors in truth. But the journey is not without challenges for we grow toward heaven and toward earth. And sometimes life’s storms steer us off course. How Are You Growing?
Scripture: When the fourteenth night had come, as we were drifting across the sea of Adria, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. So they took soundings and found twenty fathoms; a little farther on they took soundings again and found fifteen fathoms. Fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come.
Acts 27:27-29 (NRSV)
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said, “When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.” When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. That is not the way you learned Christ! For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Ephesians 4 (NRSV)
Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, “We will not walk in it.”
Jeremiah 6:16 (NRSV)
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:21 (NRSV)
Message: Paul, I think, knew about shipwrecks. He knew that we are all precious cargo in a sinking ship. He knew that we must put wisdom into skillful action to survive. That is what wisdom really is all about. But sometimes we reject growing good. We reject sailing straight. We cultivate cultures that are damaging. We set a course headed in the wrong direction or are pushed by a storm onto the rocks. It may take a lifetime of longing to gain, but ultimately we hopefully find wisdom…a wisdom that hinges on obedience to our calling. Here proper choices become the golden nuggets of wisdom….gems for daily living to help us steer away from destruction. Just as precious metals and stones are searched for and dug up out of the ground, we are to search the scriptures and dig out its truths for our lives. We are to be purified through a process of sanctification. Here we discover that all the riches of assured understanding, all the knowledge of God’s mystery are to be found in Christ. In Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge for individuals and cultures. So get wisdom. It is more than intellectual attainment. It is a lifestyle and relationship that leads to holiness and communion with God. It is the indescribable inner joy that comes from knowing God and knowing the peace obedience brings. Like setting out to sea, the emotional storms can be dangerous. Thankfully Paul in his letter to the Ephesians teaches us a personal and practical way to master the destructive power of rejecting wisdom. It is a guide to dealing with our emotions…so we do not in anger sink each other’s ships…we do not create a disaster for everyone. Here we learn about the power of forgiveness. Here our minds are focused and the rage in us does not cloud our vision. Here friends in kindness call us to a personal repentance. For many times our lives are driven and controlled by our emotions and their effects on our lives. Because we so desire to control those things in our lives over which we have absolutely no control we extend our pain. And because emotions affect our bodies they change us. We begin to malfunction. Paul directs us to a solution of dealing with negative emotions. And in responding with wisdom we grow. Similarly the Jeremiah prophecy calls us to the path of national repentance and the promise of restoration so we might avoid collective destruction. Here Jeremiah is also directing us to obedience so we might find the power of God and His order. The two scriptures combine to help us discover how God blesses us when we choose the right course of action. They help to navigate the emotions in our lives so we might avoid personal and collective damage and so grow towards a more godly life. That sums up the message.
Pray we prepare ourselves spiritually to deal with what this sinful world has to offer. Pray our choices be constructive. Pray we pursue the dream God has given us. Pray we understand what is true, right and lasting. Pray we seek common sense and good judgment.
Pray we choose the right path. Pray our call be clear and true. Pray the light reveals the concealed. Pray we discover the perpetual light of eternity and are blessed by obedience to the way. Pray we are kind, tender-hearted and forgiving to others on the way. Pray that we experience the peace of God in our personal and in our community lives. Pray we discover His treasure in us. Pray we grow in truth and love as both individuals and communities that glorify God.
Pray we let go of the bitterness that robs us of love in our lives. Pray we understand each other. Pray we keep our commitments. Pray we understand that our hopes are constructed around promises. Pray we understand that keeping commitments builds trust. Pray we offer encouragement by pointing out the positive. Pray we ask for and offer forgiveness. Pray we are reconciled. Pray we realize that living a life with challenges makes us stronger.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 