Scripture: Amos 7:7-15
There are many important people in my life. People that have inspired me and taken me by surprise. One example is my step-dad, I have always considered him to be one of my heros. When ever I was in a bind he always seemed to know what to do. I went off the road once when it was icy out, (this was actually a common occurance) and I called home on my cell phone only to hear my mom tell me he was aready on his way. The amazing thing ishe knew where I was and had the tools to fix the fence I went through already. I lived in a small town so I am sure someone called before I got to a place with cellular signal. Another time I was helping him move heavy sides to a grain trailer. He was running the tractor and I was hooking up he chains. Well the chain broke and this huge piece of metal came crashing down on my back, before I even knew what hit me, my dad had thrown the thing off of me. Luckily I was not injured, that part is a miracle but my dad was a hero in my book.
My dad taught me a great deal. He taught me what it ment to be a follower of Jesus. He lived the life as a Christian witness, every time we went to the local gas station he encouraged the people that were working. He never once argured or judged them but was friendly and encouraged them to come with him to church. After several years some of these guys are going to tha little church in the middle of nowhere that I call home. He would also preach occasionaly when our pastor was on vacation.
My other dad, that is right I am lucky enough to have a biological father and a step father that were very involved in my life two, would do similar things. He would play his guitar for camps, and churches when ever he was asked, sometimes I would get to go along. He would go out to run the sound system for community events, and would also fill the pulpit if asked.
Both would not say they were anything more than simple men. Although they are both great men. When I read about Amos I am often reminded of my dads. They would speak whe needed, act when they should, but they never really thought they were fully called into a ministry of preaching the gospel. Amos did not get to speak a very encouraging message unfortunatly, it was well received by those that heard it.
The Lord gave him a vision of a wall with a plumb line in the hand of God. The line was a standard, used to ensure the wall was straight. It is clear that God was going to judge the nation of Israel. The king and priests were upset and told Amos to go somewhere else to speak, but that would not matter Amos was not the judge God was. Amos said I’m not a prophet or even a son of a prophet. What is he saying? Well simply speaking he is saying I have nothing to judge you on I saw a vision and that’s it. He goes on to say I’m just a herdsman and a dresser of trees. Meaning that he is a simple man living a simple life, not wishing to be or be seen as anything more than a simple man.
My dads are simple men but they are also powerful preacher in word and deed. They step up when they need to. That is a hero, that is what caused me to consider my own life with God more seriously. What would cause ordinary men to step up to do somethin they normally would not do? Well long story short we do not know who is watching. We do not even know why they are watching. These people are the people we are working with at our jobs, the ones that are scanning our items at the store, and the people caught with us in traffic. How are we as commom people responding? It is the ordinary people that affect us the most. Not the preacher or the prophet, but the people that live the life with God wherever they are. The ones that preach the gospel with how they react.
Today as you pray and walk a life with and toward Christ, let us remember who is holding the plumb line. We should also check yourself to that line. People are watching us and our actons are preaching louder than any preacher’s words. That’s kindof scary I know. We cannot live up to that standard, but Christ can. So letus live a life reflecting Christ.
Scripture: Ezekiel 2:1-5
They will know. Sometimes I wonder if I am doing what I am suposed to do. I’m not looking for encouragement, I am just saying I do not always see how the ministry I am involved in affects the world and community I live. I think this is fairly common. We want to make a big difference, but the truth is we live in a culture thatis in open rebelion against God. There are several reasons why, many of them fall squarely on the shoulders of the Church also.
Sometimes we as members of the Church focus so much on the amount of people in our buildings that we forget the true point. Our job is to do as the Spirit leads. Ezekiel said when the Spirit entered him It set him on his feet. Why would the Spirit want him to stand? Well basic Newtonian physics explains this, object at rest stay at rest and objects in motion stay in motion until another force is acted on them. So the Spirit is acting on the restful body to put it in motion, there’s another law about that but to be honest I do not really care all that much. Ezekiel was put on his feet so he could move. Moving is pretty hard to do if you are sitting down.
God is moving us for a reason. It is not exactly what most of of think though, we are not called to win the lost or to save the sinner. If you have ever really thought about that do you hear how we replace God by saying words like that? We are called, prompted, and set on our feet to be the messangers of grace. True religion is to feed the hungrey, cloth the naked, and a bunch of other things, we could probably add to that list a few more items not yet thought of by first century dsciples like help the addicted. While doing the activities God calls us to we are to also speak accordingly. Not so they can be saved, but so that they will know.
They will know that God has sent a prophet. They will know that God cares. They will know that God lives, if we allow His Spirit to fill us and we then allow His Spirit to lead us. I have grown up hearing stories of people that have done this my entire life. As a Quaker our testomony is that God is present today and our ever present teacher and guide. We proclaim that we do not need a mediator other than this inner voice, or the Light Within. This Light will lead us to act or speak, to move or to stay still. Many Friends in ancient or contemporary times have spoke of their experiences in listening to the Spirit, and I still sit in awe of what God has done in the world because of seemingly in significant people doing what God leads. Of course Quakers do not have a monopoly on the Spirit of God. I have also read stories of the Saints of old doing similar things, and there are great testimonies of people even today being lead to do great things. Most of these people are rarely recognized and most do what they do without even realizing that their actions are divinely guided. But the people they reach out to in love and grace know.
They know because God is working in their lives. God is speaking to their hearts, and causing them to face their rebelious spirit. The world hates these men and women, these saints of ancient and contemporary history because they are causing them to question themselve over right and wrong. The world gets angry and bitter and they lash out in violent words and actions. Yet they know. They know if we do what we do and speak what we speak under the guidence of God.
Today as you pray I encourage you to consider what you are doing, why you do them, and if your actions are focused on promoting the love of God or selfish gain. After that just sit for a while in silent reflection and listen for the Inner Light to prompt you to action. I will guess you will not hear a voice like Ezekiel but after you get into a disipline of this, you will begin to sense the leading and see your actions more clearly.
Just remember we do so that they may know, that’s all we can do. God will handle the rest.
Scripture: 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27
How many times do we mourn over the defeat of our enemies? Today I consider the downfall of several people in the wars that my nation is currently engaged in. We saw the downfall of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden and many of our patriots were partying in the streets. Politically part of the United States is in shock as the Supreme Court upheld a law that they disliked, while others celebrate. My personal opinions are my own and I will not discuss them here. But what I want to bring up is how well are you losing and winning?
David spent many years running from Saul. He was ordained king over Israel yet refused to take the throne because to David, Saul was the king and he believed he did not have the right to remove him from power. I find this striking in many ways. I have been promoted a few times in my jobs, and I could not wait to take on the new role, to be honest I was rather put off when one promotion was delayed. Not David, he waited years to step into his next role.
When the time for his rise finally came, his first act as king was to lead the nation in the lamentations over the death of Saul and his son. Would I do this in my own life? Would I honor those I so strongly opposed in life? As I have proceeded with my personal journey with Christ I have noticed many changes in my life. At one point I would have been the first to throw a party for the demise of my foe, not so much now.
I have to admit that I was excited to hear about the capture of my nations enemies, but I was also disturbed. We lose something of our humanity when we neglect to honor the humanity of others. In school after a sporting event we would shake the hands of the opposing team, somtimes it was difficult to do but I now find that task as being one of the greatest lessons of life. David captured this idea of sportsmanship into the largest aspect of life. He did not push his victory into the face of the opponents but honored them. What would this look like for our own nation? How could we honor the life of our enemies without highlighting or degrading your own position? How do we celebrate a loss in our own position? Is it even possible to do this?
I do not have the answers I only have questions and
imperfect attempts. Part of me does not even want to try, but even Jesus wept at the failing of those that opposed Him. I do not think it supposed to easy, life is not easy. David stood at a crossroad in history, and the nation was eased into the new day by him honoring the foe. They emerged stronger after the loss of a king, the only answer is that he lead them honorably. Today I encourage you to honor those around you as you pray and walk through life with Christ.