Revelation 17:13-14 These [ten kings] are united in yielding their power and authority to the beast; they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.’
There are a lot of things about God's plan for the end of this world that I don't know. Looking back at that sentence of the screen, I can safely say I've never written a more obvious sentence. I don't know what the end is going to be like. I don't know when it's going to come. I don't know how God is going to come. There are some clues in Scripture, but they are often muddy and shrouded in mystery and symbolism. And generally those clues are more about what people saw happening around them nearly 2000 years ago than they are about any future God has in store.
But as I read Revelation, there is one thing that's pretty clear: God's intended future is bad news for kings. If you rule over a kingdom or think that you're pretty powerful and important, God will one day have a different message for you. That much is clear.
And that is good news. It's good news for those of us who feel powerless more than we feel powerful. God will free you. It's good news for all of us because if I had to choose a king to make the right decisions, I think I'm going to go with God. Call me crazy.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
For conversation, visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com. For worship, visit All Saints Sunday morning at 8:30 or 11.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
ASLC Devotions -- Thursday
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Hope is an important thing in the Christian tradition, and in the Christian way of life. Paul, writing to the Romans, wanted them to understand and to get the power of hope for their lives in the faith. Sometimes the best way to communicate how important something is is not to write about it, but just to keep using the word. It's a pretty good clue for readers that it is important. So Paul uses the word hope twice in this brief sentence. Hope is used as a basic descriptor of who God is. As you might say "Pastor Seth the bearded," Paul says "the God of hope." Hope is that central and basic to what God is about in the world. And Paul wishes that his readers would "abound in hope." So God is a God of hope and we are to abound in hope. The life of faith is about walking in hope and trusting in the God of hope.
Trust in hope. Walk in hope. Live in hope. Be in hope. Abound in hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. The God of hope. Hope.
In Christ (and hope),
Pastor Seth
For conversation, visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com/
Hope is an important thing in the Christian tradition, and in the Christian way of life. Paul, writing to the Romans, wanted them to understand and to get the power of hope for their lives in the faith. Sometimes the best way to communicate how important something is is not to write about it, but just to keep using the word. It's a pretty good clue for readers that it is important. So Paul uses the word hope twice in this brief sentence. Hope is used as a basic descriptor of who God is. As you might say "Pastor Seth the bearded," Paul says "the God of hope." Hope is that central and basic to what God is about in the world. And Paul wishes that his readers would "abound in hope." So God is a God of hope and we are to abound in hope. The life of faith is about walking in hope and trusting in the God of hope.
Trust in hope. Walk in hope. Live in hope. Be in hope. Abound in hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. The God of hope. Hope.
In Christ (and hope),
Pastor Seth
For conversation, visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
ASLC Devotions -- Wednesday
Psalm 26:1 Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
For the past two days, we've been reading passages from Obadiah: we've been reading about a people (the Edomites) who were guilty of sin because they sat on the sidelines and watched, and even helped, the Babylonians to conquer Israel and Jerusalem. Today we read a prayer from the psalmist that sounds more like something that might be prayed by the Israelites in that situation. I've done nothing wrong, Lord, and still I'm being hurt. Help me.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Ultimately, there is not a satisfying answer to that question. What our tradition does give us is the gift of prayer and promise. When bad things are happening to us, we can pray for God to help. We can pray for God to help others who are in difficult circumstances. And promise. We are promised that the bad things are never the end of the story. Though they come, our story never ends there. The Lord will answer this prayer from Psalm 26 and vindicate.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Holden Evening Prayer is tonight (Wednesday) at 7 pm. For conversation, visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com/
for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
For the past two days, we've been reading passages from Obadiah: we've been reading about a people (the Edomites) who were guilty of sin because they sat on the sidelines and watched, and even helped, the Babylonians to conquer Israel and Jerusalem. Today we read a prayer from the psalmist that sounds more like something that might be prayed by the Israelites in that situation. I've done nothing wrong, Lord, and still I'm being hurt. Help me.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Ultimately, there is not a satisfying answer to that question. What our tradition does give us is the gift of prayer and promise. When bad things are happening to us, we can pray for God to help. We can pray for God to help others who are in difficult circumstances. And promise. We are promised that the bad things are never the end of the story. Though they come, our story never ends there. The Lord will answer this prayer from Psalm 26 and vindicate.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Holden Evening Prayer is tonight (Wednesday) at 7 pm. For conversation, visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
ASLC Devotions -- Tuesday
Obadiah 11 On the day that you stood aside,
on the day that strangers carried off his wealth,
and foreigners entered his gates
and cast lots for Jerusalem,
you too were like one of them.
We continue from yesterday's reading with the vision for the people of Israel from Obadiah about the people of Edom. Remember that Edom had sided with the Babylonians, the big bullies, and helped them to conquer Israel, and had sent their own armies to help in the defeat of Jerusalem. And that's a problem for God. Even if they hadn't helped at all, but had stood by and watched, that's a problem for God.
When we stand by and watch injustice, we are guilty of that injustice. When we can and don't do anything about the hundreds of millions of starving people in the world, we are guilty of that injustice. When we can and don't do anything about violence and neglect and war, we are guilty of that injustice. We are just as guilty as if we participated. Like Edom, sometimes we stand on the sidelines and watch. And like Edom, we are guilty. What can you do today to stand with those who fight for justice?
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Remember to join together for Holden Evening Prayer tomorrow (Wednesday) evening at 7 pm. For conversation about the devotional messages, visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com/
on the day that strangers carried off his wealth,
and foreigners entered his gates
and cast lots for Jerusalem,
you too were like one of them.
We continue from yesterday's reading with the vision for the people of Israel from Obadiah about the people of Edom. Remember that Edom had sided with the Babylonians, the big bullies, and helped them to conquer Israel, and had sent their own armies to help in the defeat of Jerusalem. And that's a problem for God. Even if they hadn't helped at all, but had stood by and watched, that's a problem for God.
When we stand by and watch injustice, we are guilty of that injustice. When we can and don't do anything about the hundreds of millions of starving people in the world, we are guilty of that injustice. When we can and don't do anything about violence and neglect and war, we are guilty of that injustice. We are just as guilty as if we participated. Like Edom, sometimes we stand on the sidelines and watch. And like Edom, we are guilty. What can you do today to stand with those who fight for justice?
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Remember to join together for Holden Evening Prayer tomorrow (Wednesday) evening at 7 pm. For conversation about the devotional messages, visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com/
Monday, October 12, 2009
ASLC Devotions -- Monday
Obadiah 1:1
The vision of Obadiah.
Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom:
We have heard a report from the Lord,
and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
‘Rise up! Let us rise against it for battle!’
Obadiah had a vision. And he shared it with the people. The people of Edom, the people who are the primary subject of the vision, would not have wanted to hear Obadiah's vision. They probably would have dismissed it as the crazy rantings of a nutcase. The vision consists primarily of pretty graphic promises of how the kingdom of Edom and the Edomites are going to be brought down from their mighty perches and destroyed. There's a reason that the book of Obadiah isn't featured heavily in children's Bibles.
But the Lord's message through Obadiah wasn't FOR the Edomites. It was for the Israelites, about the Edomites. The Edomites were not Israelites. They were a neighboring small kingdom. They had sided with the mighty Babylonians and helped them destroy Jerusalem. To get a small piece of the pie, they had sided with the big bully on the block and conquered Jerusalem. And the promise of God is: that's not the end of the story. The victory of the bullies is not the end of the story. The victory of those who side with the bullies is not the end of the story. God has another ending.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Remember to join together for Holden Evening Prayer this Wednesday at 7 pm. Also, discuss this reflection, and others, at http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com
Friday, October 2, 2009
ASLC Devotions -- Friday
Romans 8:7 But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit* is life because of righteousness.
Is it in you? At church we have a huge cardboard cutout of Tiger Woods (from our golf outing this summer) and Tiger asks the question "Is it in you?" I think he's asking something about Gatorade. Or competitive fire. Or electrolytes. Or something.
But when you come to worship this Sunday, take a look at Tiger. Take a look at the question "Is it in you?" And answer yes.... Christ is in you. Put there in your baptism and it can never be taken away. No matter what they say. No matter what they do. You are a child of God. You've got Christ in you.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
To "talk back," visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com. Remember to come and worship this Sunday at 8:30 and 11, with education hour at 9:45.
Is it in you? At church we have a huge cardboard cutout of Tiger Woods (from our golf outing this summer) and Tiger asks the question "Is it in you?" I think he's asking something about Gatorade. Or competitive fire. Or electrolytes. Or something.
But when you come to worship this Sunday, take a look at Tiger. Take a look at the question "Is it in you?" And answer yes.... Christ is in you. Put there in your baptism and it can never be taken away. No matter what they say. No matter what they do. You are a child of God. You've got Christ in you.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
To "talk back," visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com. Remember to come and worship this Sunday at 8:30 and 11, with education hour at 9:45.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
ASLC Devotions -- Thursday
Galatians 3:27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
When I look at myself in the mirror each morning I see the faults. I see the graying (or blonding) hairs in the beard. I see the pounds that shouldn't be there. I see the bags under my eyes. I see the faults. And, being perfectly honesty, I often see the faults in other people too. I see their strange sense of fashion. I see their personality quirks and their irritableness. I see what bothers me about them.
It's a good reminder that when God looks at us, God doesn't see those things. We've been clothed with Christ. When God looks at us, all that God sees is Christ. God sees purity that isn't there. God sees innocence that's been lost. God sees worthiness that was never there. It's a good reminder. And for some mornings... for today.... that's enough.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
To "talk back," visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com. Remember to come and worship this Sunday at 8:30 and 11, with education hour at 9:45.
When I look at myself in the mirror each morning I see the faults. I see the graying (or blonding) hairs in the beard. I see the pounds that shouldn't be there. I see the bags under my eyes. I see the faults. And, being perfectly honesty, I often see the faults in other people too. I see their strange sense of fashion. I see their personality quirks and their irritableness. I see what bothers me about them.
It's a good reminder that when God looks at us, God doesn't see those things. We've been clothed with Christ. When God looks at us, all that God sees is Christ. God sees purity that isn't there. God sees innocence that's been lost. God sees worthiness that was never there. It's a good reminder. And for some mornings... for today.... that's enough.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
To "talk back," visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com. Remember to come and worship this Sunday at 8:30 and 11, with education hour at 9:45.
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