ASLC Devotions -- Tuesday, April 17

Daniel 6:18-23

¹⁸Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him. ¹⁹Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. ²⁰When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?” ²¹Daniel then said to the king, “O king, live forever! ²²My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.” ²³Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den.

Perhaps one of the more familiar stories, at least by general outline, from the book of Daniel is this one. Daniel gets thrown into the den of lions because, like his friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, he won’t follow a king’s decree of worship. So, into the lion’s den goes Daniel. He puts his trust in the Lord and God sent an angel to shut the mouths of the lions overnight, saving Daniel.

It is at once a story that comforts us with miraculous protection and inspires miraculous trust. I truly hope that I never end up in a small space with hungry lions, but I cling to this image of God’s angels closing the mouths of the lions. And, like his friends before him, Daniel was steadfast in worshiping his God – regardless of the trials the world set before him.

Peace,

Pastor Jenn

ASLC Devotions -- Monday, April 16

Daniel 3:24-26

²⁴Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up quickly. He said to his counselors, “Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” ²⁵He replied, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a god.” ²⁶Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire.

The story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego is among my favorites. (You can read the whole thing in Daniel 3:1-30.) My affection for the story can be traced back to a children’s book of Bible stories I had. The tale of these three men was illustrated with them in the flaming furnace – a moving picture that I could alter if I pulled a tab on the side of the page to show the angel in the fire with them. We hear it read at the Easter Vigil and I wait eagerly for it each year.

These three men refused to worship the golden statue that the king had built and he had them thrown into the fire. But they did  not die – though the guards who threw them into the fire died! They did not die, and Nebuchadnezzar was so astonished (who can blame him!) that he changed his decree – all should worship the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

I’m struck every time I read it by the details – the overarching decree of the king, the heat of the furnace, the various instruments that make noise. But tucked in the middle of the story is the simple statement of faith that the three make: “¹⁷If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. ¹⁸But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.””

They didn’t walk into the furnace testing God, but rather saying – regardless of what happens, our faith and trust in God will not be changed. Take strength from that witness.

Peace,

Pastor Jenn

ASLC Devotions - Friday

 Acts 4:31  When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.

We continue with our story of what life was like for the disciples just after Easter, in the early days of them forming this new organization called "church." They gathered together to pray, to give thanks to God for deliverance and to ask for God's protection and help against various enemies that surrounded them.

And what a prayer it was! "When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken." The promise of God is that when we pray as the church, the world shakes. It may not be literal and physical... no - it's much more powerful than that! Ask Dr. King. Ask Dietrich Bonnhoeffer. Ask the people of God who have seen God's deliverance for thousands of years. When we pray, the world shakes.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Come and see and hear more of the Easter story this Sunday at 8:30 and 11. Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org  

ASLC Devotions - Thursday

Acts 2:42  They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

After all the hooplah of Easter we sometimes lose track of the disciples. What did they do after Easter? After they met the Lord in the locked room, then what happened? After they finished up breakfast on the beach (stay tuned the next few Sundays for these stories!), where did they go?

After the Ascension and the Great Commission, they were in Jerusalem. This wasn't really home for at least the majority of them. Mostly, these were small-town guys and gals: they were from Galilee. So they gathered in the big city. And as much as we aren't quite sure what they did, I think they were a bit unsure what to do with themselves. I mean, Jesus was alive but what were they supposed to do about it?

Acts tells us what they did: they gathered together. They formed community. They built on their community. They reminded each other what was important (devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship) and they worshiped together (broken bread and prayers). This is a good pattern for us after Easter too. Let's devote ourselves this season to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayers.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Come and see and hear more of the Easter story this Sunday at 8:30 and 11. Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org  

ASLC Devotions - Wednesday

Mark 16:8  So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.  

Mark invented the literary form of Gospel. Such a thing never existed before he sat down to write the book we know as Mark. He wrote it like an adventure story, like a hero story. He tells us about the wonderful things Jesus did and taught. Then he tells us about the end of Jesus' life - he tells us about the arrest and about the cross: in great detail.

Then he tells us about the empty tomb, but he never shows us the risen Jesus. He never has Jesus appear - we know some of those stories, but they're in different people's story. Mark ends with this strange statement that the first witnesses chose not to be witnesses: they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Now of course we assume they changed their mind and told someone - otherwise we wouldn't know about it. But I love this ending. I love hearing that the first witnesses were too afraid to say anything. Because it puts the question to us: are you afraid? Will you tell? Whom will you tell? What will you tell them? What have you seen this week? And who needs to hear about it?

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Come and see and hear more of the Easter story this Sunday at 8:30 and 11. Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org 

ASLC Devotions - Tuesday

Genesis 2:2  And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 

Do you ever wonder what the day after that first Easter was like in heaven? I know I do. I mean, after six days of creating things way back in the beginning of time, God was wiped. God needed a break. And so, God rested on the seventh day from all the work that God had done.

I don't mean to say that creation isn't difficult, but imagine how God would have felt after the emotional trauma of the first Holy Week. After watching Jesus cry in the garden, watching him be betrayed, arrested, condemned and killed. And then God steps in with one final "Not so fast." Then God steps in to say this isn't the end of the story. How much energy do you think it takes to raise someone from the dead?

Thankfully, I'll never know the answer to that question. It's not my job to raise people from the dead. God's already got that taken care of. So if God needed a break, then God took a break I'm sure. And while that's happening, we here on Earth are left to sing and shout our Alleluias!

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Join in the continuing Easter celebration this Sunday: 8:30 and 11 worship. Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org 

ASLC Devotions - Monday

Genesis 1:3  Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light 

With a word, the darkness was banished.
With a word, light shone out.
With a word, fear and despair were banished.
With a word, hope sprung out.

With a word, mourning and death are no more.
With a word, Jesus comes out from the tomb and we know that everything is different. With a word, everything has changed and we can breathe again.
With a word. A simple word. An "a" word. Alleluia!

Christ is risen.
Alleluia! 

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Easter isn't over. We keep Easter going for 50 days in the church. So come back and renew the celebration on Sunday at 8:30 and 11 am.