ASLC Devotions -- Friday

Paul's words to the church in Ephesus:

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

One of the greatest frustrations in my life as a Christian, let alone as a pastor, is division and divisiveness in the body of Christ. And so I need to remember (maybe you do too) that there IS one body, whether we act like it or not. There IS one Spirit, whether we pray together or not. There IS one God and Father of all.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Join us for worship this weekend at 5 pm Saturday and 9 am Sunday. Bring all your wheeled toys (bicycles, motorcycles, tricycles, scooters) and helmets/pads to worship on Saturday for a blessing of the bicycles.

ASLC Devotions -- Thursday

Ephesians 1:17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him

Paul prays that the Ephesians would receive the gift of the spirit. On Sunday we celebrated the gift of the Holy Spirit to the first church and the gifts that the Holy Spirit continues to bring to the church today. Paul prays though that the spirit, the Holy Spirit, would bring some pretty specific gifts to the people of Ephesus. Paul prays that they would receive not just some nebulous, nice-sounding spirit. Paul prays that they would receive a spirit of wisdom and revelation. Those are pretty specific gifts.

The spirit of revelation is the gift of the spirit that allows things to be revealed to us. I'm not talking about some kind of sci-fi special effects revelation where you see the future. The spirit of revelation is what allows you to see and understand that God is at work when an alcoholic neighbor admits the need for help. The spirit of revelation is what allows you to see and understand that God is at work when people come together to pray for peace in time of war. The spirit of revelation is what allows you to see and understand that God is at work in the world and in your life. So I pray that you would have a spirit of revelation today. May it be so!

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Remember our summer worship schedule begins this weekend with worship at 5 pm on Saturday and 9 am on Sunday. Also, remember to bring bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, tricycles, helmets and pads to worship on Saturday for a blessing of the bicycles.

ASLC Devotions -- Wednesday

Psalm 48:12-14 Walk about Zion, go all around it,
   count its towers,
consider well its ramparts;
   go through its citadels,
that you may tell the next generation
  that this is God,
our God for ever and ever.
   He will be our guide for ever.

Telling the story is what the life of faith is all about. The psalmist wants the people to walk around and take a good look at Zion (Jerusalem) and take in all the fortifications, take in all the strength of the holy city. Why? So they can tell the next generation about how good and strong and faithful God is. Encounters with God in the Bible are riddled with this justification and this call to tell people about it. God saved the people from slavery so they could tell the nations about God. Jesus healed the blind man so that his (Jesus') glory would be revealed. We exist to tell the story. We are saved to tell the story. We are healed to tell the story.

What story is your life telling today?

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Visit http://www.allsaitnspalatine.org for more information on all of our story-telling ministries. Remember that our summer worship schedule begins this weekend: Saturday at 5 pm and Sunday at 9 am. Bring your bicycles, tricycles, scooters, and motorcycles (or helmets) to worship on Saturday evening for a blessing of bicycles!

ASLC Devotions - Tuesday

Ezekiel 11:16 Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far away among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a little while^* in the countries where they have gone.

It's hard for us to understand and we don't like to think about it, but the Bible is pretty clear that when the Israelites were defeated and conquered and led off to slavery, God was in control. God let it happen or God planned for it to happen, or God worked it into God's plan. Whatever. But Ezekiel bears witness to the enduring faithfulness and love of God, even in the midst of that horrible situation. Even when the people are in exile, even when the people are far from everything comfortable, even when it seems (rationally so) that God has left the people for dead, God is still there.

The people may have had to leave their home for a while. The people may have had to have been distant from the place where God promised to dwell with them for a while. But God's flexible. God went with them. "I have been a sanctuary to them for a little while in the countries where they have gone." If the people couldn't be in God's house, God was in their house. Or tent. Or prison cell. It's nothing we'd want. It's nothing we'd wish for. But wherever you go, God will be with you. As a sanctuary for you.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Remember we move to our summer schedule this weekend. Saturday at 5 pm or Sunday at 9 am. Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for more information

ASL Devotions -- Monday

Joel 2:25 I will repay you for the years
   that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
   my great army, which I sent against you.

It's dangerous to take one verse out of the whole Bible and create whole scenes of what God is like from them. We can't extrapolate whole characteristics of God from one verse. That being said, I'm going to give it a try.

That being said, this verse has always fascinated me. It's one of many promises of the prophets. The prophets spoke mostly in times when people were in very difficult circumstances. Their farms were destroyed. Their cities were destroyed. Many of them were in slavery. Everything was gone. And the prophets promised that God would restore things.

But Joel took it a step further here, at least as I read this. Joel promises not only that God would give back the farms and restore the land that has been destroyed by the locusts. But the God talked about by Joel believes in restorative justice. Not only will God give us the farms back. God will repay us for lost profits for the years that the farms were barren. God always takes things a step further than we might have expected. Take your idea of what would be fair and what would be right. Multiply it by a million. Now MAYBE you can see God's sense of things from where you're at.  Even God's restoring of fortunes is bigger than our imagination.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Remember that this weekend begins our summer worship schedule. Worship Saturday evening at 5 and Sunday morning at 9.

ASLC Devotions -- Friday

^{Galatians 6:9-10
9}So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. ¹⁰So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.

If I ever had to pick a good theme for what it means to be part of a Christian community, say a church, I think verse 10 would be a good place to start. Whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all... How does what we do promote the 'good of all' within the family of faith? 

It can be a difficult question to keep in mind, just like any of the other (admittedly catchier) themes like "WWJD?" or even The Golden Rule, especially when we're wrapped up in a passionate discussion. And yet, it's in that moment especially when we need to keep the good of all in mind. Let's not get tired of doing what's right.

Peace,
Pastor Jenn

ASLC Devotions -- Thursday

Galatians 5:22-25
22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. ²⁴And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

There are a few options if you're looking for a list of the "fruits of the Spirit." Perhaps my favorite part of this list is the final admonition -- if we live by the Spirit, let us be guided by the Spirit. I can start out the morning with full intentions to live out these fruits of the Spirit. But how does the joke go? I fail before I've even gotten out of bed...

These are not gifts or fruits that we can live into on our own. Left to ourselves, we probably resort to the contrasted "works of the flesh." However, through our baptism which unites to the death and resurrection of Jesus, we no longer have to strive for the fruitful living on our own. 

(fruitful) Peace,
Pastor Jenn