ASLC Devotions -- Tuesday

Isaiah 2:12 For the Lord of hosts has a day
   against all that is proud and lofty,
   against all that is lifted up and high;^*

The turning is coming. God has a plan to turn things right. God has a plan to lift up those who have been bowed down in this world and to lower those who have placed themselves above their sisters and brothers. That's the essence of the gospel. That's God's message for the world. That's what Jesus came to proclaim, and it's what his mother Mary sang about before he was even born. Long before he was born, Isaiah sang about it. Isaiah sang about the day that the Lord would have to turn things right.

This morning I pray that that day is today.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Join us for worship Saturday evening at 5 and Sunday morning at 9. More information at http://www.allsaintspalatine.org

ASLC Devotions -- Monday

2 Chronicles 12:1 When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he grew strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord, he and all Israel with him.

Rehoboam was one of the ancient kings of Judah. Judah was one of the two kingdoms that grew out of the division of Israel after the good times of Kings David and Solomon. Rehoboam thought he was pretty great. He was the king. He'd defeated some internal rebellions. He'd built up some fortresses. He had it all together. And so he abandoned the law of the Lord.

Now the writer of Chronicles doesn't put it in the same cause and effect terms that I just did. Chronicles itself just says that WHEN the rule of Rehoboam was established and he grew strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord. Not BECAUSE the rule was established. But WHEN. So the writer of Chronicles doesn't make the strength a cause of abandoning the law of the Lord. But I'm telling you from my life experience and the life-experiences of thousands of others, that there was some cause there. When we think we've got it all together, why do we need the teaching of God? When we're strong and prosperous, why do we need God? If we've got it all figured out, then what need do we have of God?

So if you're having a good day today, if things are going smoothly... just be careful that you remember that it's all a gift from God.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Join us for worship Saturday evening at 5 and Sunday morning at 9. More information at http://www.allsaintspalatine.org

ASLC Devotions -- Friday

1 Peter 4:9-10
⁹Be hospitable to one another without complaining. ¹⁰Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.

When I look out at the world, whether it's from the pulpit on Sunday morning, or simply observing the world, I'm always delighted to realize just how gifted everyone is. Each of you has a gift. Every single one of you. And, it's up to each of us to use that gift (or gifts) to serve one another with it.

We're called to be good stewards in all areas of our lives, and perhaps the first step to being a good steward is to recognize that you have gifts to share. Recognize your gifts, and share them.

Peace,
Pastor Jenn

ASLC Devotions -- Thursday

1 Peter 3:8
⁸Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind.

For the many students and teachers heading to Illinois classrooms for school today (and others around the country and world heading to school around this time, too), we lift a prayer of blessing for your days, that they would be graced with such a verse as this one.

Peace,
Pastor Jenn

ASLC Devotions -- Wednesday

John 1:45-46
⁴⁵Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” ⁴⁶Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

I love the simplicity of Philip's response to Nathanael: Come and see. All too often we think that our witness needs to be complicated and in-depth, when really the simplest of invitations works wonders. What Nathanael sees when he goes with Philip convinces him that Jesus is indeed the awaited Messiah.

There is a time and place for in-depth response to people's questions about what we believe and the certainty of our faith, but often an invitation to come and see speaks  more clearly than anything else we could say.

Peace,
Pastor Jenn

ASLC Devotions-- Tuesday

Ezekiel 20:21
²¹But the children rebelled against me; they did not follow my statutes, and were not careful to observe my ordinances, by whose observance everyone shall live; they profaned my sabbaths. Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness.

Several times in this passage, both before and after the verse quoted above, the Lord says, "Then I thought..." and finishes it by saying, "But I didn't." In similar fashion to all the ways that we want the Lord to smite those who do not follow the statutes and commands, it's the big wind up to what we think will be a ka-pow, and actually ends up being just a big sigh. There are all of these things that the people do wrong, and you really think that God's going to knock them out of the park... and then doesn't.

We're thankful for the ways that God honors the covenant that God makes, because as God's people, we struggle to keep our end. And God's forgiveness and love keeps coming back, over and over and over and over... Amen.

Peace,
Pastor Jenn

ASLC Devotions -- Monday

Ezekiel 20:12
Moreover I gave them my sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, so that they might know that I the Lord sanctify them.

I have always found reading and writing about the sabbath, and sabbath-keeping, to be challenging. Mostly, I guess, because I'm not especially good about keeping sabbath and making it holy. After all, there's just a lot that needs to get done -- and who will do it, if I don't? Maybe because I grew up continuously reading Little House on the Prairie books, the idea of sabbath as sitting still all day and limiting my activity to reading scripture sounds neither plausible nor very restful to me. However we end up defining what it means to keep the sabbath, though, this verse from Ezekiel above is incredibly helpful to me -- and somehow I had missed it.

Instead of getting caught up in the discussion of what is allowed and what isn't, look again at the reason that God gives for the sabbath: so that they might know that I the Lord sanctify them. So that they might know that I make them holy. Well, now, isn't that a lovely thought? The sabbath is a gift, a sign (like the rainbow!), so that we might know that God has made us holy. 

Peace,
Pastor Jenn

ASLC Devotions -- Friday

Acts 17:1-3 After Paul and Silas^* had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three sabbath days argued with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah^* to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, ‘This is the Messiah,^* Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you.’

Paul went into a synagogue in Thessalonica and for three straight sabbath days used the scriptures to proclaim the message that Jesus is the Messiah. He proclaimed a message that an executed criminal was the Messiah that these people had been waiting for. And he used their own Bible, on their own holy days, in their own holy building, to do it.

Takes a bit of moxie. Takes quite a bit of the Holy Spirit. And if the Holy Spirit can call and empower Paul to do this... do you think maybe the Holy Spirit can inspire you to invite your neighbor to worship with you? I wonder.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

For more information about all of the ministries of All Saints, visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org  To share your story or your responses to this devotional, visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.

ASLC Devotions -- Wednesday

Psalm 32:7 You are a hiding-place for me;
   you preserve me from trouble;
   you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.

It's the summer blockbuster season at the movies. One type of movie that comes out a lot in the summer is the big suspense, slasher movie. "I Know What You Did Last Summer." "Night on Elm Street." I've never really liked that kind of movie. But I have an image in my head of what they're all basically like. Someone is running screaming at the top of their lungs away from someone "out to get them." Trying desperately to reach the safe place. Maybe it's a closet. Maybe it's the police station. Who knows.

I've never had a slasher chasing me. Have you? But I know what it's liked to be stalked. By fear. By self-doubt. By worries. By a lack of enough. Maybe you have too.
But we've got a hiding place more effective than any closet or police station. God is our hiding-place. And God is stronger than anything that might be chasing you.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

For more information about all of the ministries of All Saints, visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org  To share your story or your responses to this devotional, visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.

ASLC Devotions -- Tuesday

Psalm 32:1 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
   whose sin is covered.

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Martin Luther wrote in his Small Catechism that "we ask in this prayer that our heavenly Father would not regard our sins nor deny these petitions on their account, for we are worthy of nothing for which we ask, nor have we earned it. Instead we ask that God would give us all things by grace." 

We ask that God would not regard our sins, that our sins would be covered. God indeed does cover our sins. God puts a blanket over our sin and hides it from God's own eyes. God pretends that God can't see our sin. For our sake. As a gift. Nothing we deserve, but everything God does. Indeed, we are happy!

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

For more information about all of the ministries of All Saints, visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org  To share your story or your responses to this devotional, visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.

ASLC Devotions -- Monday

Jeremiah 23:32 See, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, says the Lord, and who tell them, and who lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or appoint them; so they do not profit this people at all, says the Lord.

Maybe you are not as concerned as Jeremiah and others in the Bible seemed to be with trying to separate true prophets from false prophets. It's not something that keeps me up at night. But we do wonder how do we recognize God's voice when we hear something? How do we know if we're following God's voice or just our own whims and desires? We don't have the burning bush experiences or the voice in our dreams, generally. So how do we know?

I like something in this verse as a measure: "they do not profit this people at all." So if you're trying to figure out whether something is God's will for your life or just your own, try out these questions: does it profit you? Is it good for you? Also, God says through Jeremiah that it should profit "this people" PLURAL. So... is the thing good for the community and not just you? If the answer to either of these questions is no, you can be sure it's not God's voice. It's not a definitive test, but some questions that point us in the right direction.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

For more information about all of the ministries of All Saints, visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org  To share your story or your responses to this devotional, visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.

ASLC Devotions -- Friday

Hebrews 10:39
³⁹But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved.

Be Bold! (Be bold!) Be Strong! (Be strong!) For the Lord thy God is with thee! 

With a campfire refrain, the strumming of guitars and scream-singing campers, we lifted our voices with the admonition to be bold! and to be strong! Indeed, we are not those who shrink back. We are, instead, the ones who are bold and strong because we know that God is with us.

We know that God is with us. We have faith that God is with us. What a powerful statement that can carry us through our lives, no matter the trouble and tribulations that we might face. So, go ahead, be bold. Be strong.

Peace,
Pastor Jenn

ASLC Devotions -- Thursday

Hebrews 10:35-36
³⁵Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward. ³⁶For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

Often scripture talks about faith as a race to be run and won, or a fight to be fought. Endurance is lifted up as something of value, and I don't disagree. Sometimes living a life of faith can be difficult, though that statement feels horribly trite from a middle-American perspective. When, really, have we ever been persecuted because of our faith?

But there are still times in our lives when we must draw from the deep well of confidence, not in ourselves, but the confidence that we have in our Lord, and the promises that God has made to us.

Peace, and confidence, to you.
Pastor Jenn

ASLC Devotions -- Wednesday

Psalm 89:1-2
I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever;
     with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;
     your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

One of the (many) things that I love about worship is that we sing together as a congregation, all of us. Whether our voice is sure and strong, or it warbles a bit and strays from the tune, our voices rise, praising the Lord. The psalms are the songs of scripture, and the steadfast love of God that Psalm 89 references carries many of the songs that we sing. 

This summer at All Saints we have had the opportunity for "hymn sings," and I have enjoyed hearing the favorite hymns that people have requested. The next time you're in worship, sing out, sing loud, sing with the passion that comes from praising God. Our song is proclamation, and our song is our witness to God's faithfulness and work in our lives.

Peace,
Pastor Jenn

ASLC Devotions-- Tuesday

2 Chronicles 34: 22-23
22 So Hilkiah and those whom the king had sent went to the prophet Huldah, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (who lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter) and spoke to her to that effect. ²³She declared to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you to me,

There is, of course, a larger story present her that continues after the declaration, "Thus says the Lord..." The prophet Huldah continues that the Lord will send all sorts of calamities upon the people, but because you  have had a penitent heart, you and your people will die in peace and not see the distress brought upon the people. Of course that story is important.

However, because it is also important (I think) to see the occasions when women have a voice in scripture, these words come from the Lord's prophet, Huldah, the wife of Shallum, keeper of the wardrobe.

Preach it, Huldah, preach it.

Peace,
Pastor Jenn

ASLC Devotions -- Monday

2 Chronicles 33:12-13
¹²While [Manasseh] was in distress he entreated the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. ¹³He prayed to him, and God received his entreaty, heard his plea, and restored him again to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord indeed was God.

The earlier verses in chapter 33 tell us that Manasseh ruled for 55 years and that during that time he did much evil. He built altars for foreign gods within the temple of the Lord, and he misled the nations. And when the Lord tells him to stop, he does not heed the advice. Generally, I've discovered, that's a bad idea. So, the story continues that the armies advanced and then there was some distress, which is where these verses pick up.

There are many occasions in our scriptures when God hears the pleas of people who have done evil and restores them. And, like a child who doesn't see the obvious plot, nearly every time I think to myself, "Seriously, God? Did you not just read the same verses that I read? This character Manasseh has been messing with your world for 55 years condensed into 11 verses, and it only takes one entreaty for you to reverse and restore the whole thing? I mean, really, God, where is the justice?" 

O, Lord, hear the entreaties of our hearts that have been hardened. Restore us daily to your kingdom. Remind us that you, indeed, are God.

Peace,
Pastor Jenn

ASLC Devotions -- Friday

Acts 7:2 Brothers^* and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran.

God, the God of glory, the God who created the heavens and the earth, appeared and spoke to Abraham.

Stephen, who's giving a speech I've excerpted here, thinks it's important to point out that God spoke to Abraham when Abraham was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. I think it's important too. Because God spoke to Abraham when he was a long way from the promised land. God started this whole project with someone who was outside. God didn't wait for Abraham to move before God appeared to him. God likes to start thing with outsiders. God likes to talk to those who are outside what people would normally expect. God seems to prefer to deal with those who are in some way surprising for their involvement. People like you, perhaps!?

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

For more information about all of the ministries of All Saints, visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org  To share your story or your responses to this devotional, visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.

ASLC Devotions -- Thursday

Romans 9:4-5 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah,^* who is over all, God blessed for ever.^* Amen.

God's promises are always true. God always keeps God's promises. Thousands of years ago, thousands of years before Christ, God promised to Abraham that his descendants would be God's people. God promised that Israel would be God's chosen people, and that God's promises of life and hope would be for them. Those promises still hold true after Christ. Christianity doesn't mean that Jewish people need anything else. They've got the promise. They've got God's presence with them as their God. It was promised by God thousands of years ago and the promise is still alive today.

So why am I telling you this? Why does it matter for most of the people reading this message who are not Jewish. It matters for lots of reasons, for how we Christians relate to our Jewish sisters and brothers. But most of all, it matters because we need to know and to be reminded that God's promises are always true. God always keeps God's promises. Amen.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

For more information about all of the ministries of All Saints, visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org  To share your story or your responses to this devotional, visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.

ASLC Devotions -- Wednesday

Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
   those who build it labour in vain.
Unless the Lord guards the city,
   the guard keeps watch in vain.

I love lists. Give me a good checklist and an hour to work with it and I'm a happy guy. I love to make lists, I love to work lists. I love to make plans, I love to work plans. Good stuff happens when I have a list and when I have a plan. I don't think I'm alone. There's something innate in us humans that causes us to plan. It's one of the gifts of being human. My dog doesn't make many plans. He looks around for food droppings and barks at anything that passes. That's his life, and I don't want it. To be human is to be able to plan and do complex things.

To be human in relationship to God is to be able to plan and do complex things and to know that God might just have a different plan in mind than we do. To be human in relationship to God is to have your daily checklist and to know that God might put a person in your path who wasn't on your list but who needs your help. That's what it means to me to allow the Lord to build the house so I don't build it in vain. I do my plans, I do my lists. And i Know that God's got other lists in mind. I pray that my list looks a little bit like God's list. Then we're really cooking.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

For more information about all of the ministries of All Saints, visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org  To share your story or your responses to this devotional, visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.

ASLC Devotions -- Tuesday

Ecclesiastes 4:5-6 Fools fold their hands
   and consume their own flesh.
Better is a handful with quiet
   than two handfuls with toil,
   and a chasing after wind.

The writer of Ecclesiastes (possibly Solomon) was not a happy guy: or at least not in a happy mood when he wrote this book. Probably the most common phrase in the whole book is "I saw that this also is vanity and an unhappy business." He basically goes through all the things that people spend their time and their energy on and says that it's a bunch of vanity and chasing after wind. I don't disagree with him, but I kind of just want him to lighten up a little bit.

In the passage above, he's talking about all the time and energy that we humans spend working and trying to get more stuff. He's just said that all work comes from one person's envy of another. We work because we want something that we see someone else has. A promotion, a better office, a  car, a vacation home. There's truth to that. Perhaps there's something to the sentiment that "better is a handful of quiet than two handfuls with toil." Maybe we need to learn to rest and be happy with the gifts that God has already given us. Maybe.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

For more information about all of the ministries of All Saints, visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org  To share your story or your responses to this devotional, visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.

ASLC Devotions -- Monday

Ecclesiastes 2:13-14 Then I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness.
The wise have eyes in their head,
   but fools walk in darkness.
Yet I perceived that the same fate befalls all of them.

The book of Ecclesiastes is in part kind of a thought experiment about what brings true joy and meaning to life. It's a set of questions that we all deal with through our lives, whether we acknowledge the questions that obviously or not. Sometimes we don't know that we're trying to find joy and meaning in our lives, but if we sit back and think about it, that's really what it's about.

So the writer of Ecclesiastes, traditionally thought to be King Solomon, known as the wisest person in the history of humanity sets out to figure out what is really worth something in life.

And he acknowledges that wisdom is really good. Wisdom is a good thing. If you have to choose between being wise and being a fool, go with being wise. It's kind of like being in the light as opposed to being in the dark.
And yet it's not everything. As he says, "the same fate befalls all of them." The wise still die. The wise still lose things. The wise still experience sadness and loss, just like fools. So wisdom is valuable. But it's not everything. The only thing that brings value and meaning to life is a relationship with the God of the wise and the foolish. In God our lives are wrapped up into meaning and value.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

For more information about all of the ministries of All Saints, visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org  To share your story or your responses to this devotional, visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.