Good Morning Friends,
We live in a world of hills and valleys in reality and metaphorically speaking as well. We have problems that are referred to as valleys and frankly they are often inevitable and impartial and sometimes unpredictable because we are human and that is just the way life is. But if we discern our reaction to God’s love in our struggles, it can change us, bind us together and build us up collectively while freeing us from the landscape in our own minds on the journey of life. And it is in this universal freeing love that we have hope in Jesus’ prayer we join with a purpose to be one. It is in the Spirit of walking through the valley of the shadow of death and not fearing because we have Christ’s love in us and with us if we have eyes to see our purpose even in the refining fire. So, friends, after the Pandemic and after the devastation of Hurricane Ian perhaps we are being called to in response to a dance and a new way of thinking. So, Are We Being Forged In Unity With Christ Though The Hardships Of Life’s Valleys?
Scripture: 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.
Ephesians 4:1-6 (NRSV)
He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? Thus, when you go with your accuser before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to settle the case, or you may be dragged before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you in prison. I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
Luke 12:54-59 (NRSV)
Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits; and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country.
Genesis 14:10 (NRSV)
From there I will give her her vineyards, and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she shall respond as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.
Hosea 2:15 (NRSV)
And they came to the Wadi Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them. They also brought some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Wadi Eshcol, because of the cluster that the Israelites cut down from there. At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land.
Numbers 13:23 -25 (NRSV)
Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
Joel 3:14 (NRSV)
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
Psalm 23 (NRSV)
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. Selah Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed. For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you.
Psalm 84 (NRSV)
Message: Ever look at a brick. They are all slightly different and have little holes in them. My relatives up North made bricks in a place called Little Egypt. They were promoted as a safer building material when fires burned down wooden structures. My Grandfather helped to build a church building from reused bricks, containing the blood and sweat of the parishioners who scrapped off the mortar, so they could be placed one on top of the other connected and made straight with new mortar. The history of it reminds me that we must stick together as a team…as bricks held together with His mortar. We must build each other up as a body made up of many parts forged in fire. We must be plumbed and justified to be safe and functional. But we also must be radically changed. And so, following the innovation of Christ we in our own unique development need to reflect the image of God in the Spirit of God’s sacrificial love. For it is the Holy Spirit comforting and convicting who builds community and cements unity, founded on the cornerstone that is Jesus… one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. This is about building unity in the body of believers whether it is seen or not…this is our work, and it needs a lot of love and creativity to reach the world. Friends, we have been called out as an assembly to a great hope of strength and unity in the Holy Spirit. We have been called out, so we might take our brick lives, forged in passion, and turn them into living stones bound to one another in love with Christ as the Cornerstone. Friends, only by knowing the Lord we can discern what is going on in this world and choose what is right over with is wrong…what is the way of the greater good. We must judge the world in the sense of discerning what is better and best…right and wrong and to do what is just in this world. Friends, Jesus is the light of the world, so we might see what is right. And here love and forgiveness, the innovation that Christ brings into the world, changes the status quo. And here, even in the valley of the shadow of death there is the light and presence of Jesus’ love casting out fear. If we are in the power and purpose of this radical innovation of existence we make meaning out of our lives, we jump over the next hurdle to new ground, we risk intelligently, we move forward in faith from mountaintop though valleys to the next mountain. Friends the world is divided into what we know and what we do not know, of hills and valleys and the innovation of the Holy Spirit can indeed bring unity and dignity even though it can still divide and polarize people because it transforms in a way that changes the way people have been living. And so, if we embrace this relationship of change some will not like it and yet we exist for this very purpose. So, friends, discover your value and uniqueness and share it in a way that glorifies God who gave it to you in the first place…love…truth…forgiveness.
And So, the Gospel reading today is intense, is a picture of the world burning up. But the thing is that fire is not always a destructive force. Moses saw a burning bush on a mountain. Elijah challenged the pagan priests to a divine duel by fire. The flames of an oil lamp provided their only light at night. Flames cooked their meals and warmed their children, fire tempered their metals, and hardened their pottery. So, fire was a coin with two sides; it can destroy, but it can save lives too. The message today is about the blessings in hardships. The valleys and mountains of life are not always without a purpose. Like fire they can be an encounter with God. When the Holy Spirit came in the upper room, the writer called it, “Like tongues of fire.” Jesus said, “I’ve come to bring fire…” Fire is hot, but fire can bring refinement. No matter what our circumstances are, no matter what the hardships that life forces on us, we can find God at work. Jesus said he came to send fire on the earth. The blessing of hardships is how fire refines us into inclusive people who choose the way of Jesus, the way of hope, mercy, faith, and love. The Bible has a lot to say about our journey in the hills and valleys of life, in our hardships. It has a lot to say about us being forged in the fire and not being consumed. It tells us that our daily decisions, no matter how small, usually shape a lifetime, and wisdom is found in making the most of each opportunity as we follow the Good Shepherd.
Pray we make wise choices in our valley of decision. Pray we have a Shepherd to show us the way out of the valley of despair. Pray our valley of trouble turn into a gateway of hope reconciling us to God. Pray we make it through the valley of the shadow of death for a reward that will last forever. Pray that we do not run away from our challenges even in our valley of failure. Pray we do not get stuck in the pits of life but realize that Jesus can show us the way out of embarrassment. Pray in our valley of fear of giants that we like Caleb and Joshua have enough faith and Spirit to trust God and overcome our inferiority complex to risk and see life’s hardships as an opportunity not an obstacle. Pray we face our valley of grief and barrenness realizing that we are not alone. Pray we face conflict like David in the battles of our lives. Pray in the valley of the shadow of death we turn our back on the shadows realizing that they are just shadows and cannot hurt us if we look to the light. Pray we realize that God has a good purpose for each valley in building our character like a refining fire.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 