Category: Devotions

Read Psalm 84.

This is one of the psalms that the Hebrews would have sung as they made a pilgrimage to worship in Jerusalem. We can almost picture them making their way across the arid desert, dreaming of a time when life-giving water would spring up and gentle rain would fall.

We all have times when our souls feel parched and sun-scorched. What soothes your spirit in these times? What nourishes and refreshes your soul? Teresa of Avila says this: “God produces this delight with the greatest peace and quiet and sweetness in the very interior part of our selves…This water overflows through all the dwelling places of the soul.”

Today, sit beside a source of water – even if it is a bowl of water you have filled. Close your eyes and dip your hands into the coolness of the water. What does it sound like? How does it feel? Take in a few deep breaths as you focus on the sensation of the water flowing over your hands. Imagine the lifegiving water of Jesus flowing over your spirit and give thanks.

Read 1 Kings 8:22-30 (31-53).

Mindful of God’s covenant with his father, David, Solomon is committed to walking steadfastly and faithfully before the Lord. Prior to this reading, he has built the temple and settled the ark in the holy of holies within the temple. The understanding was that this lavish location is now where God would dwell, but Solomon, in all his wisdom, knows that God will not be contained. “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less the house that I have built! (vs. 27).”

Sometimes we act as if encounters with God only happen in the building – that the only suitable place for worship, confession, and Christian accountability is within the walls of the church. If we pay attention, though, we can see the hand of God all around us: in the early morning birdsong, in laughter shared with a friend, in the sweetness of a summer peach, in an afternoon nap.

Today, look for evidence that “God is on the loose,” as I’ve heard it said. Offer a prayer of thanks each time you notice something.

Read John 6:51-58.

There’s a book with the title, “Adventures in Missing the Point.” This phrase often comes to mind when Jesus’ contemporaries – whether it is his disciples or the Jewish leaders – don’t quite get what Jesus is saying. In this case, the Jewish leaders are taking Jesus’ words literally. We can almost hear them saying, “Yuck! Eat his flesh and blood? No way! That goes against every law and tradition we’ve ever known! I knew this guy was kind of weird, but…wow.” We know, of course, that’s not what Jesus was saying. Yes, he is foreshadowing the sacrifice of his physical body for the life of the world. But more importantly, he’s saying who he is and why he has come to live among us as one of us.

Jesus is the Son of God, sent to offer eternal life that begins this very moment. Notice that Jesus uses verbs in the present tense. This life that Jesus offers isn’t just something we can look forward to once we die. We can take part in the unfolding of this abundant, everlasting life right here, right now. The abiding Christ in each of us becomes evident in lives marked by hopefulness, joyfulness, gratitude, peacefulness, compassion, etc.

What evidence is there in your life that Christ abides in you and that you abide in him? Can you think of someone whose life exudes the abiding of Christ? What does it feel like to be around this person?

Offer a prayer of thanks and blessing for this person, committing yourself to abiding in Christ meaningfully and visibly in the same way.

Read Ephesians 5:15-20.

In the Wesley Study Bible, we read this comment on these verses: “For Paul, no one is eternally secure until they are secure in eternity.” To that end, he advises we should live as if we’ve already arrived – not wasting time with foolish things like getting drunk, but filling ourselves with the Spirit, singing, offering worship and praise, and giving thanks at all times.

What other foolish things might Paul advise you not to waste your time with? Can you hear him saying, “Don’t waste your time with being angry?” “Don’t waste your time with holding grudges?” “Don’t waste your time worrying about having the nicest car in town or the cleanest house of everyone you know?” “Don’t waste your time obsessing over whether you can still fit into the same size jeans you wore when you were 18?” What would it look like if you used the same amount of time singing, offering praise, and being thankful?

Today, find a song that fills you with the Spirit and sing it as an offering of thanks and praise. No matter how good or bad your voice is, I’m certain God, like any good parent, will treasure it!

Read Psalm 111.

Even though this is the psalm assigned to this week, it’s almost impossible to read it without also reading Psalm 112. Both are acrostic poems of 22 lines, each line beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Psalm 111 celebrates all that God has done: provided food, kept covenants, and redeemed God’s people. It also highlights what attributes characterize God: gracious and merciful, faithful and just, holy and awesome. It ends with, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.” Psalm 112 begins with, “Praise the Lord! Happy are those who fear the Lord, who greatly delight in his commandments.”

The connection seems obvious. It is almost like the psalmist is saying that because the Lord is gracious, merciful, and just, keeping the covenant of being our God, we can uphold our end of the covenant. We can be God’s people, exhibiting those same traits in our own lives and doing the work that God sets out to do through us. We can love because God first loved us. We can forgive because we have been forgiven. We can be merciful because we have been shown mercy. We can be faithful because God has been faithful to us.

Take a few minutes today to write your own acrostic. It could be the whole alphabet or spell out a special word. Have each line begin with something that God has done or with an attribute of God.

Read 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14.

Solomon recognizes that it is through the power and influence of God that he is now king. Knowing he is favored by God, knowing he is righteous and faithful, and knowing whose son he is, Solomon could have asked for anything. His request tells us what is most important to him and what he believes will make him a great leader: the wisdom to know the difference between right and wrong. God grants his request, elevating him to the standard by which all wisdom is measured. He woke from his dream and immediately went about using and developing the wisdom for which he had asked.

If you suddenly found yourself in a powerful position of leadership and could make one request of God, what would you ask? What qualities in a leader do you respect? When you have had leadership roles at work, in the church, or in an organization, how do you think people would have described your leadership style?

Today, pray for leaders at all levels of the government, the church, and any organization with which you are involved.

Read John 6:35, 41-51.

When Jesus says, “I am the bread of life,” those hearing him just don’t get it. They cannot seem to move their brains beyond a literal, physical understanding of what he is saying to a spiritual one. We get it. It takes much more effort to dive underneath the surface of what we see or hear or read. To do so means asking questions about the context, wondering about underlying messages or overarching themes, and being willing to look from different angles or vantage points.

When Jesus says, “I am the bread of life,” what does that mean to you? Imagine a loaf of bread, warm from the oven. What comes to mind – the smell, the texture, the taste, nourishment? How does Jesus’ sacrificial love for us offer the same gifts? What do you think Jesus means in calling himself the bread of life? How might a relationship with him satisfy areas of your life that feel empty?

Offer a prayer of thanks for the life-giving love of Jesus.

Read Ephesians 4:25-5:2.

Paul has just instructed the faith community to put away their former life and to clothe themselves with their new self. This renewed, restored way of being is what he then describes in our reading for today. So much of the way we see people (including ourselves, sometimes!) interacting in the world goes against what Paul is advising. He is commending truthfulness, an appropriate response to righteous anger, and speaking only what is useful in building others up. He advises kindness, tenderheartedness, forgiveness, and living a life of sacrificial love like Jesus did.

Especially with social media, talk radio, and the 24-hour news cycle, it is easy to fall into the habits of our old selves – vilifying, knocking down, demonizing, striking out, name-calling – and thinking these behaviors are normal or justified. In what situations do you find yourself acting in ways that do not live up to the standards Paul uses in this reading? Who are the people that you struggle to be kind or tenderhearted or forgiving towards? How might it affect the way you respond to these people if you considered your thoughts, words, and actions to be a ‘fragrant offering and sacrifice to God’ (5:2)?

Today in prayer, ask for the Spirit to infuse you with a desire to imitate Christ in all you think, do, and say.

Read Psalm 130.

In lectionary year B, this psalm comes up twice in 6 weeks, so if you feel like you’ve read this one recently, you’re right. Maybe those who developed the cycle of suggested readings thought this was important enough to include twice. Rather than rehashing, here’s what I wrote in June: The depths from which these cries come are created by the psalmist’s sin. Often, that is what sin feels like – a dark hole, a pit, a void. Still, there is hope. There is a Lord who hears our cries, whose love is steadfast, and who has the power to redeem.

Is there a place in your life that feels especially hopeless? What are you waiting and watching for the Lord to do in this situation? Repentance involves turning from destructive ways and back towards the life-giving ways of God. From what do you need to repent? Does an assurance of forgiveness make repentance any easier?

Today, offer a prayer of confession and find assurance in the promise of steadfast love and forgiveness.

Read 2 Samuel 18:1-33.

To understand what is happening here, we must consider the whole story of David and his son Absalom. Theirs is family dysfunction at its worst. There are issues around favoritism, rivalry, violence, rape, and schemes for revenge. Absalom has taken counsel to have David killed and ends up being killed by David’s right-hand-man, Joab (even though David has publicly instructed him to protect his son). Joab seems willing to do what he thinks should be done to protect the life and to avenge the honor of king David. David’s deep grief over his son’s death tells us he felt differently than Joab.

Can you think of a time when what you thought was best for a friend or family member turned out to be wrong? Has there been a time when you have given bad advice or gone against a person’s wishes to manipulate a situation towards the way you thought it should go? If you realized you had unintentionally caused harm in the life of someone you care about, how would you go about making amends – or would you at all? If someone came to you and apologized for making a bad situation in your life worse, how would you respond?

Today, offer a prayer of thanksgiving for those people who “have your back,” even though they may not go about that perfectly and commit yourself to being a friend who listens and responds in ways that are healing and positive.