Job 19:7 Even when I cry out, “Violence!” I am not answered;
I call aloud, but there is no justice.
Job now speaks for himself in the context of losing everything and his "friends" telling him that he must have done something to deserve it. Job cries out. Job cries out in pain and agony. And Job is answered by silence.
At least in the short term.
At the end of the book, God shows up. God shows up and speaks with Job. God will show up and speak with you too. I don't know when. It might be today, and it might be a long time from now. But if you are crying out for justice. If you are crying out for release, God will answer.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot for conversation and http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for more details on all our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday and 9 am Sunday.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
ASLC Devotions -- Monday
Job 18:5 Surely the light of the wicked is put out,
and the flame of their fire does not shine.
If you've never read the book of Job, do it. It's great. Here's the basic outline: Job loses everything... his house, his family, his kids, his money, his cattle. He's the prototypical country music singer. And the question of the book of Job is "Why?" Why do these bad things happen? After all these bad things happen, three of Job's friends show up. And they provide possible answers to the why question.
The above quote is from the answer of Job's friend Bildad. Bildad says "Surely the light of the wicked is put out." Essentially he says... all these bad things are happening to you. You must deserve it. You must have done something bad. Bildad believes that bad things are a sign that God is punishing you.
Trust me for now, but read the book later... at the end of the book God shows up. And God tells Bildad to shut his mouth. We're left with some level of question about why exactly bad things happen, but God is perfectly clear that the answer is not Bildad's. So today when your coworker tells you about her aunt who has been hospitalized, please don't say "What did you do to deserve that?" Whatever the answer is to suffering, that ain't it.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot for conversation and http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for more details on all our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday and 9 am Sunday.
and the flame of their fire does not shine.
If you've never read the book of Job, do it. It's great. Here's the basic outline: Job loses everything... his house, his family, his kids, his money, his cattle. He's the prototypical country music singer. And the question of the book of Job is "Why?" Why do these bad things happen? After all these bad things happen, three of Job's friends show up. And they provide possible answers to the why question.
The above quote is from the answer of Job's friend Bildad. Bildad says "Surely the light of the wicked is put out." Essentially he says... all these bad things are happening to you. You must deserve it. You must have done something bad. Bildad believes that bad things are a sign that God is punishing you.
Trust me for now, but read the book later... at the end of the book God shows up. And God tells Bildad to shut his mouth. We're left with some level of question about why exactly bad things happen, but God is perfectly clear that the answer is not Bildad's. So today when your coworker tells you about her aunt who has been hospitalized, please don't say "What did you do to deserve that?" Whatever the answer is to suffering, that ain't it.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot for conversation and http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for more details on all our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday and 9 am Sunday.
Friday, June 11, 2010
ASLC Devotions -- Friday
Acts 11:29 The disciples determined that according to their ability, each would send relief to the believers living in Judea;
A severe famine had struck the land in the time when the church was just growing. It hurt the people of Judea most. Those who had just come to hear about this Jesus all around the world heard about how the believers in Judea were suffering. And the Bible, with its typical understatement, reports a miracle.
No, it wasn't a miracle like someone who died walked again. It wasn't a miracle like the blind receiving sight.
Except that it was. People came to see a need. People came to see that they had ability to alleviate that suffering. And they did. It was a miracle. It was a miracle then just like it's a miracle each and every time it happens today.
Thank you for being a part of a miracle. It's a miracle when we send thousands of dollars to our sisters and brothers in Haiti, and in China, and in New Orleans, and in Palatine. Thank you for being part of a miracle.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Join us for worship at 5 pm on Saturday and 9 am on Sunday. Comment on this and other messages at http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com and find more information on all of our ministries at http://www.allsaintspalatine.org
A severe famine had struck the land in the time when the church was just growing. It hurt the people of Judea most. Those who had just come to hear about this Jesus all around the world heard about how the believers in Judea were suffering. And the Bible, with its typical understatement, reports a miracle.
No, it wasn't a miracle like someone who died walked again. It wasn't a miracle like the blind receiving sight.
Except that it was. People came to see a need. People came to see that they had ability to alleviate that suffering. And they did. It was a miracle. It was a miracle then just like it's a miracle each and every time it happens today.
Thank you for being a part of a miracle. It's a miracle when we send thousands of dollars to our sisters and brothers in Haiti, and in China, and in New Orleans, and in Palatine. Thank you for being part of a miracle.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Join us for worship at 5 pm on Saturday and 9 am on Sunday. Comment on this and other messages at http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com and find more information on all of our ministries at http://www.allsaintspalatine.org
Thursday, June 10, 2010
ASLC Devotions -- Thursday
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
It sounds so simple, doesn't it? Submit yourself to God. Resist the devil. Resist evil. Sure. No problem. Check that off my list for the day.
Of course it isn't simple. It's hard work. It's constant work. It takes constant reminders. That's why we talk about the disciplines of faith, the life of faith, walking in the path of faithfulness. It isn't simple, but know today that I'm praying for you that you'd submit yourself to God. And I hope you'll pray for me too.
Let this be your prayer and motto for today: "Lead me, guide me along the way. Lead me, O Lord, lead me."
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Join us for worship at 5 pm on Saturday and 9 am on Sunday. Comment on this and other messages at http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com and find more information on all of our ministries at http://www.allsaintspalatine.org
It sounds so simple, doesn't it? Submit yourself to God. Resist the devil. Resist evil. Sure. No problem. Check that off my list for the day.
Of course it isn't simple. It's hard work. It's constant work. It takes constant reminders. That's why we talk about the disciplines of faith, the life of faith, walking in the path of faithfulness. It isn't simple, but know today that I'm praying for you that you'd submit yourself to God. And I hope you'll pray for me too.
Let this be your prayer and motto for today: "Lead me, guide me along the way. Lead me, O Lord, lead me."
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Join us for worship at 5 pm on Saturday and 9 am on Sunday. Comment on this and other messages at http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com and find more information on all of our ministries at http://www.allsaintspalatine.org
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
ASLC Devotions -- Wednesday
Psalm 68:5 Father of orphans and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
Your palms are sweating. Your breath catches. You look around and all it seems that you see are cold and unfeeling eyes. Nobody seems to notice you. Nobody seems to notice the trouble you feel inside. If they do notice, you imagine you see them licking their chops, ready to chew you up and spit you out.
Maybe it's your first job interview in years. Maybe it's that meeting with the corporate vice president you is about to announce who's been downsized. Maybe you're meeting with the banker. Or facing the ACT test. Whatever the specifics, we all know what it feels like to feel like we're alone. It feels, bodily. You can feel the alone-ness and the threat throughout your body. We all know the feeling of terror and fear that comes from facing life-changing or life-ending problems by ourselves.
"Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation." Those who seem alone are never alone. Thanks be to God.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Join us for Holden Evening Prayer this evening at the home of Dutch and Carole Graesser. 7 pm at 18 Willow Bay in South Barrington.
is God in his holy habitation.
Your palms are sweating. Your breath catches. You look around and all it seems that you see are cold and unfeeling eyes. Nobody seems to notice you. Nobody seems to notice the trouble you feel inside. If they do notice, you imagine you see them licking their chops, ready to chew you up and spit you out.
Maybe it's your first job interview in years. Maybe it's that meeting with the corporate vice president you is about to announce who's been downsized. Maybe you're meeting with the banker. Or facing the ACT test. Whatever the specifics, we all know what it feels like to feel like we're alone. It feels, bodily. You can feel the alone-ness and the threat throughout your body. We all know the feeling of terror and fear that comes from facing life-changing or life-ending problems by ourselves.
"Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation." Those who seem alone are never alone. Thanks be to God.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Join us for Holden Evening Prayer this evening at the home of Dutch and Carole Graesser. 7 pm at 18 Willow Bay in South Barrington.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
ASLC Devotions -- Tuesday
Psalm 104:9 You set a boundary that the waters may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.
In the ancient world the natural world was seen as divine. All of nature and parts of nature. The sun was worshiped. The moon was worshiped. The rivers were worshiped. Most of these things were worshiped because they were scary and threatening. The belief was that we worship them so they won't hurt us. Offer sacrifices to the ocean god to keep the ocean from killing us. Makes sense really.
The genius of our faith heritage is that we worship one God, one God who loves us and cares for us. Our one God is so powerful that God can hold back all the other things that once were thought of as scary gods. God holds back the waters so they can't hurt us again.
Now, we don't worry so much about the water and the sun and the moon. But we worry about the oil spills and the terrorists, we worry about hunger and mortgage payments. If God can hold back the waters, then surely God can hold back your scary things as well.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Join us for Holden Evening Prayer tomorrow evening at the home of Dutch and Carole Graesser. 7 pm at 18 Willow Bay in South Barrington.
so that they might not again cover the earth.
In the ancient world the natural world was seen as divine. All of nature and parts of nature. The sun was worshiped. The moon was worshiped. The rivers were worshiped. Most of these things were worshiped because they were scary and threatening. The belief was that we worship them so they won't hurt us. Offer sacrifices to the ocean god to keep the ocean from killing us. Makes sense really.
The genius of our faith heritage is that we worship one God, one God who loves us and cares for us. Our one God is so powerful that God can hold back all the other things that once were thought of as scary gods. God holds back the waters so they can't hurt us again.
Now, we don't worry so much about the water and the sun and the moon. But we worry about the oil spills and the terrorists, we worry about hunger and mortgage payments. If God can hold back the waters, then surely God can hold back your scary things as well.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Join us for Holden Evening Prayer tomorrow evening at the home of Dutch and Carole Graesser. 7 pm at 18 Willow Bay in South Barrington.
Friday, June 4, 2010
ASLC Devotions -- Friday
Acts 26:9-10
9 ‘Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.* 10And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death.
Paul's confession continues as he defends himself to King Agrippa. While yesterday and today's readings aren't consecutive, the message behind Paul's discourse is consistent. Again and again he tells people that he himself pursued and condemned the people who spoke the very message that he is now preaching.
It's difficult to change our tune, so to speak, to admit that we were wrong or to adopt a new way of thinking or believing. Perhaps one of the hardest things about it is that we can't just proclaim our new faith or belief once, but we witness to everyone who knew us. When's the last time you had to admit you were wrong? We can joke about never being wrong in the first place, so never having to admit or confess our wrongs, but when we're honest, we all have times when we must admit that we're wrong, and that we've changed our ways.
Peace,
Pastor Jenn
9 ‘Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.* 10And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death.
Paul's confession continues as he defends himself to King Agrippa. While yesterday and today's readings aren't consecutive, the message behind Paul's discourse is consistent. Again and again he tells people that he himself pursued and condemned the people who spoke the very message that he is now preaching.
It's difficult to change our tune, so to speak, to admit that we were wrong or to adopt a new way of thinking or believing. Perhaps one of the hardest things about it is that we can't just proclaim our new faith or belief once, but we witness to everyone who knew us. When's the last time you had to admit you were wrong? We can joke about never being wrong in the first place, so never having to admit or confess our wrongs, but when we're honest, we all have times when we must admit that we're wrong, and that we've changed our ways.
Peace,
Pastor Jenn
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