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