spiritual disciplines

And the Walls Fall down (Sermon November 17, 2013)

Scripture: Luke 21:5-19

Have you ever wondered how people set their priorities? Nearly every day at my other job I see people making…well poor decisions. Many times these people will try to get away from the consequences of their poor decisions by making the claim that they have kids and should not have to face the discipline required. The sad thing is that in probably 99% of the cases the people involved were not making decisions based on taking care of their children but were satisfying their own desires. How do they set their priorities?

When I worked for the Salvation Army in Arkansas City, I would watch people come in for assistance with brand new cars still bearing a temporary tag saying that they did not have the money for rent. The one that really caught my eye was when a new Mustang pulled in, with two kids in car seats in the back. Then there were the countless cars that would make their way to Oklahoma on payday to visit the casino only show up needing help with bills on Wednesday.

Yes I am being a bit judgmental but these are the choices that I have observed as I have worked, choices that are based on priorities that I just do not quite understand. Then there is my own life. I have often found myself eating lunch at work, which is a good thing because one must eat to survive, but there are days where my choice for lunch is ice cream. Yes I hate to admit it, because such a well educated son of a nurse should probably be eating a well balanced diet, including fruits and vegetables but at times ice cream just feels right. That is just another example of a misplaced priority. We could probably spend a good hour giving examples of questionable priorities and make our own judgment on them, but that would be a meaningless and unbeneficial task. I mention it only because in each case I can find a fallacy in their priority, but I am not able to look into their minds to see their decision making process. In most cases I am fully unable to make any judgment because of that, the only case I can make a judgment is in the case of work when poor decisions of individuals have the potential of costing the company money.

Priorities are a way to examine our personal lives. Friends have a long history of asking pointed questions to assist us in determining Godly priorities. That is the point of the Queries in the various Faith and Practices of the Yearly Meetings across the country. These are a set of questions that we ask ourselves that are based on observations and scripture. They are not a set of rules to live by, but instead they are aspects of our lives that have been shown experientially to promote spiritual growth and a more satisfying life. By making it a discipline to occasionally asking and answering these questions in a contemplative state of mind and are honest with ourselves and with God, we can often find what areas in our spiritual life we may need to focus more of our attention.

Priorities are not only found in our personal individual lives, but extend beyond ourselves and infiltrate our communities as well. These corporate priorities can greatly effect how individuals relate and interact with each other. What are the things a community or a company value? The answer to this question, if we are again honest, will often determine how the individuals involved relate to each other. Core values, goals, and priorities are areas we may not often consider as being so important in our lives but if one is misplaced or too out of balance to the others, future choices and decisions will be greatly affected.

The people of God find themselves in one of those corporate priority-balancing acts. They do not even realize that they are struggling with maintaining a good healthy balance in their priorities but as history shows there was something tipping the scales. The people were gathered around Jesus in Jerusalem, in or near the temple. Jesus just finished teaching those around him about giving offerings to God, and they listened. Then they begin to look around and make comments to Jesus about how wonderful the temple was, how beautiful the stones were and the abundance of gifts dedicated to God. It was a beautiful temple. This temple dedicated to the God of Israel was considered the greatest monument in the Roman Empire.

We cannot fully grasp the splendor of the Temple because there is nothing quite like it in our contemporary world. It covered an area about the size of six football fields, the stones used in construction were perfectly smooth, cut, and placed. Stones weighing from two to 100 tons placed perfectly on top of each other to at least one hundred feet above the foundation. The stones themselves are so amazing that legends have emerged saying that angels of God helped place them. Perfect stones, we know that they had to be perfect because to this day you can visit the places where they quarried the stones and see the ones rejected. They have recently found tombs of temple priests buried around a large pane of glass that archeologists have concluded was a piece of glass that was originally made for the temple but was rejected because it had a flaw, this is the largest slab of glass ever found. It had its own water supply, with a system of aqueducts and pipes that stretched for over fifty miles, and the main entryway had a width equivalent to a four-lane highway. Within was the central bank of Jerusalem, with its own currency that would change money for the millions of people entering the facility three times a year. If you can think of the greatest most amazing building you can think of it would pale to the temple of God.

They were proud of their temple, it was the crown of civilization, attracting people from all corners of the world just to look. But Jesus said to them, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.” I want you to imagine the greatest building you can, the monument that represents and is the greatest source of pride for our culture. Imagine it in its entire splendor, which is basically a shack, compared to the temple, but still amazing. I recently watched a movie about an invasion of the United States by a terrorist group from North Korea, in that movie they infiltrated and basically destroyed the White House, and even though it was a movie my stomach was in knots and my heart raced. This movie depicted the falling of our nation through the destruction of just a few monuments in one city. That is basically what Jesus is telling them but multiplying one hundred full. The very identity and pride of their culture would fall. How would you react?

Instantly the people hearing this entered panic mode, and rightfully so, the temple was not just a small structure that could be easily toppled. There are not many fortresses build more solid than the temple. For the temple to fall it would mean that the entire nation would basically be eradicated. Fear gripped the people; Jesus was saying that the end was near. They ask when it will be? And He tells them not to be led astray.

The fact that fear entered into their hearts is a sign that these greatly religious people had their priorities out of balance. They based everything on the temple. Their hope, their security, their future all found their foundation in that great monument. To even think of life without that symbolic building shook them to the core. Their faith was found in the temple and not in the God that was worshiped inside. Their priority was to maintain the temple, because without that they would be lost.

Misplaced priorities. The Titus, who was the son of Emperor Vespasian, destroyed the great temple of God in 70 AD. The destruction was complete, the great treasury that minted the temple currency was emptied, and all the wealth of the Jewish people was carried to Rome. This great wealth was used to fund the great building projects of Rome; the most notable was the Colosseum. The wealth of Israel left the people. The gifts dedicated to God instead went to honor the perverse lusts of Rome.

Misplaced priorities. This was not the first time this sort of thing happened, it was not even the second time, but the third time this sort of thing happened. Three times rulers from a foreign land entered the Temple of God and desecrated it, and twice it was destroyed. Three times the gifts dedicated to God were taken from the people and given to others. Three times. The prophets of old gave them warnings, warnings that were not listened to. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Hosea, and Micah all spoke of justice and mercy as being more important to God than sacrifice. Each of these prophets spoke prior to the first temple falling. Daniel warned them of the second instance of desecration, and Jesus speaks of the third. Justice, mercy and love are what God desires.

This is a passage of judgment to all mankind not just the people of first century Israel. Where are we placing our priorities? Jesus did not condemn the fact that the temple was so beautiful but that the temple was so adorned at the expense of mercy. Jesus came to live among mankind to bring them back to God. He came to show us a new way of life. A life devoted to worship, prayer, and service to others. He made it his custom to worship at the place of meeting where ever that place was, he did not care if it was the greatest and best, but instead that it was real. He withdrew often to the isolated and desolate places to pray alone, to personally spend time with His father, taking only His closest companions to share in this time. And he dedicated his life to ministering to the needs of those around him.

This lifestyle of worship, prayer, and service keeps our priorities in balance. The temple fell because the people focused too much of their efforts on one area, they focused all their time and treasure on worship and neglected service. They neglected service because they failed to truly engage in the conversational prayer, where they would be lead by God to do His will. They failed to show mercy in their great efforts to honor God in worship. They failed to live the love of God with others and God took all they had and gave it to the ones that outwardly displayed what was corrupting the souls of the people claiming to serve Him.

I have spoken often of this lifestyle, the lifestyle I believe that Jesus is calling us each into. I speak about it because it is so important. Jesus said later in this passage that the people would face persecution from those around them, even those closest to them, but he says that it will give them an opportunity. It will give them an opportunity to live the lifestyle Jesus is calling them. It will give them an opportunity to testify and to speak, that He will give them the wisdom and the words to speak when that day comes. We will see those opportunities only if we keep our priorities in balance. We will be able to engage in those conversations only when our spiritual lives are in balance. If we neglect one aspect of this lifestyle no matter how strong we think we are we will fall and all we have will be given to others. We find our strength in worship, we find our purpose and calling in prayer, and speak it in service.

This is a hard passage to speak on, because it speaks of the failure of mankind. But there is hope. The temple fell to Babylon but it was rebuilt. Antiochus desecrated the temple but Judas Maccabee restored it. The Romans tore down the great temple of Herod and crucified Christ, but Jesus rose from the grave and sent the Spirit of God to make his new dwelling place in the hearts of mankind. We may and often fail but we have a God of Grace, he lifts us back up and gives us yet another chance. He is calling us each to take the chance, to join Him in what He wants to do in our community, He wants us to join Him in making all things new, and to bring the kingdom of God to those around us. We do this by Loving God, Embracing the Holy Spirit, and Living the love of Christ with others. Through worship, prayer, and service.

As we enter into this time of open worship, let us consider in who, what, or where we are placing our priorities and consider if maybe we have misplaced them. And let us consider what Jesus is calling us to in our future as members of and as Willow Creek Friends.

Persistent Prayer (Sermon October 20, 2013)

Scripture: Luke 18: 1-8

Prayer is a very serious and somewhat mysterious thing for most people. We are taught to pray in many ways. Even though there are countless scriptures and books to help us in this area, many of us would when asked would still say that we are not sure how to pray, others of us may be uncomfortable in saying certain things in prayer, while still others feel very uncomfortable praying with others around. How could this important discipline, I would argue the most important discipline in the walking with Christ, be such a difficult subject for Christians?

Jesus I have mentioned several times, over the past few months, provided an example to his followers of a holy lifestyle. He made it his custom to worship, he withdrew to the isolated places to pray, and he would minister to the people around him. This holy rhythm of life is something I hope we all will grab hold of and incorporate in our lives, because with this rhythm we will begin to see how God can work through us.

Jesus made it his custom to worship. This is an area of the holy lifestyle that we can really understand. It is a visible area that is the most visible aspect of the holy lifestyle. The custom of worship is the gathering of the followers of Christ into meetinghouses, or churches where we read scripture, sing hymns and song of praise, and are encouraged to continue in our daily walk. Because this is the most visible aspect of the Christian community it is often seen as the most important. We invite people to join us for worship. The faithful obtain degrees and take classes to improve the worship experience. We invest great sums of money to the building and upkeep of worship spaces and instrumentation. Often we focus so much in this area of the holy lifestyle that we judge the effectiveness of a community of believers by the attendance of these meetings for worship, we judge the quality of the community by the messages presented by the pastors and priests, and the spirit of the worship by the excitement of the music performed. Jesus did not really pay attention to these things. If he was in a community and it was a day for worship his custom was to go, he did not care if it was the biggest worship community or if it had the best of anything, He worshiped.

Worship is important, making the place of worship inviting and accommodating is important. Insuring that the message and encouragement of the leader is as honest and as theologically and biblically sound is important. Putting forth the best efforts possible as we join together in praise is important, but this is not the most important aspect of life with Christ. This is just one small part of the whole. We should not judge a community of believers solely on these things because as Christ shows us throughout his life the most important aspect of worship is that you make it your custom.

The second most visible aspect of the holy lifestyle exemplified by Jesus is ministry. We see the energy of worship within meetinghouses; we also see what is done outside the meetinghouse. Friends historically have not called their Sunday, or first day, morning sessions of worship, worship services. This is because worship and service are two very different things. Worship happens within the community but service happens when one leaves the meeting for worship and enters into the world again. Service, ministry, or living the love of Christ with others, is where God uses us to help redeem the world. Often it is said in the prophetic writings of the Old Testament that justice is what God requires not sacrifice. Most of the Mosaic laws deal in these areas, how do we live life-honoring God with others. Of the ten commandments the majority are focused on the interpersonal relationships with others, just consider it thou shall not steal, kill, commit adultery, bear false witness, covet, and honor your parents each deal with human relationships. According to the teachings of Jesus in his sermon on the mount, to truly live these commands there is more required of us than just not doing them. Jesus goes as far as to say love your enemies and do good to those that do all manner of evil against you. To honor God in service we must practice ministry. We must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the incarcerated, provide hospitality to the travelers, and more. It is not enough to not kill someone, but to protect. Social Justice is not only a good thing for us to pursue but it is our jobs as follower of Christ. We should be doing all that we can to ease suffering in our communities.

Often worship communities can focus on service and neglect worship, or focus so much on worship that they fail to serve. This battle between worship and service has been fought by the faithful since the beginning of faith. This is why the prophets wrote that God desires justice instead of sacrifice, because the faith community was focusing on one end of the spectrum to heavily.

This brings us to the essence of the scripture and topic today; the third aspect of Jesus’ holy lifestyle is prayer. Which again raises the questions of what is prayer and how do we do it. I say prayer is the most important discipline of the Christian life for a reason, because prayer is what connects worship and service. When we pray we take the songs, scripture, and encouragement of the worship service and we withdraw and allow the Spirit of God to help us make those things real in our lives. When we pray we converse with the divine, asking for our needs and listening for the encouragement to move personally. This is why prayer is such a mystery; this is why we struggle with prayer, and why everyone throughout history has struggled with prayer. This is why there are teachings on prayer, and books written on prayer, because communication and relationships are difficult.

Jesus tells a story of a widow that persistently pursues justice from a judge that does not fear God and has no respect for mankind. Just think for a bit about that one statement, this was a parable told to people that lived nearly 2000 years ago, and it is a statement that many of us today identify with. This tells us something very important about prayer. The widow continues to pursue justice even in a world that has no respect for faith or humanity. She pursues justice, even though atheism and selfishness surrounds her. Persistence is important in a life of prayer. Jesus tells us that not only should we pray but we also need to develop a discipline and incorporate a lifestyle where prayer is part of our rhythm. Even if we do not get what we think is required immediately we should continue to pray. Often we stop praying because we do not see results, some lose their faith altogether because they prayed and God did not grant their request. They may quote verses like, “Knock and it will be opened, seek and you will find, ask and it will be given to you,” and “everything you ask in my name you will be given.” Yet at times we do not get what we desire. Is this because we do not have enough faith? Did we not pray correctly?

Jesus also teaches us something else about prayer. We must listen. Yes I may be reading into the passage a bit on this point, but come with me because I think it is there. We raise our concerns and we then must wait to listen. Jesus says that the woman went to the judge and for a while he refused, that means that at some point in time the woman stopped talking and began to listen to the other party in the conversation. So many times when we knock on heaven’s door we fail to wait for the door to open. We make a request, expect results without waiting for a reply. What happens if we fail to listen? We often miss something vital. It just might be that there is something deeper that must be dealt with before the initial request can be worked out. The woman allowed the judge to refuse. The request was rejected because the proper form was not brought; it was rejected because a license was not applied for. There could be any number of real world reasons that a particular request would be rejected but if we do not listen we would never know.

The next aspect of prayer that is taught is that prayer moves us. This woman is actively pursuing justice in her case. She raises her concern, the request is rejected, she leaves, and returns again to make a request. Often the answers to our prayers begin with us taking steps. This is where listening is very important. This is the process of discernment. We pray and we wait. Maybe we need more information so we are moved to seek out advice. Again we pray and wait. After doing this we soon realizes that we are several steps closer to that request, that deep-rooted desire in our heart, becoming a reality. We remain persistent. We are moved step by step until we look back to examine our lives and realize we are where we need to be.

Worship, Service, and prayer the holy rhythm exemplified by Christ. Each building the other and each will not stand-alone.  Without worship and the teaching we would not know the mind of God or know how to ask in his name. Without service our worship is just an empty ritual without power.  Both without prayer are lacking spirit and relationship. Worship is the beginning, Prayer allows things to grow, and service maturity. Without prayer service is like a teenager wanting to be seen as an adult, but still acting like a child. Without worship pray is barren. It is that central point of prayer that connects life.

As we prepare for our time of open worship, how we as Friends express the intimate relationship and communion with God. I would like to show a video that was produced by a team of middle school students a few years ago. This video shows how a group of Friends in a healthy rhythm of Christ’s holy lifestyle shows each aspect of Worship, prayer, and service. A video that depicts the life of a few good Quakers one an author and scholar, one a businessman, and one a school administrator as they approach a concern in the world around them. Each in their own lives and in their communities saw an injustice, prayed, and was moved to serve. After the video we will move into open worship and let us reflect on our own rhythm of life. Could we do what these men do? Are we focused too much in one area or another? Or are we seemingly lost? Take this time to knock, ask, seek and find.

The Blessed and Cursed (Sermon September 29, 2013)

Scripture: Luke 6:19-31

There are days when I really wish there were not rules. Like when the road is totally clear of all traffic and yet I am required to drive at a regulated speed. Then there are silly things at work, they are called guidelines or best practices, that require certain things out of me that must be recorded, many of which actually seem to slow me down. But generally these regulations and best practices are put into place by organizations to provide for the general welfare of that organization. The thing about many of these guidelines, rules, and laws is that you can break them countless times without hurting a single person, but then one day in a moment something happens and suddenly the guidelines seem to make total sense. For me the seemingly open road was suddenly filled with numerous deer. The speed limit is in place not because the government wants to be jerks and keep us from making it to places on time, but because as speeds increase there is a greater chance we will not be able to avoid accidents.

It is often hard for us as individuals to accept many of the rules we have in our society. At times we wish to throw off the regulations entirely but because we have grown accustom to that safety we forgot why it is certain things were originally put in place. I mention the chafing of regulations today because immediately when reading this passage of scripture our minds are directed into areas of judgment. I do not desire to speak on areas such as these because I frankly find that focusing on judgment tends to have an opposite effect on people than what is intended, the same effect that the regulation on speed has on the many drivers on the roads.

We meet today two men. One is rich and the other is poor. At first glance we may see that Jesus is condemning wealth and honoring poverty, which is an interpretation that can be made in this passage. But if we were to just stop there I believe we would miss the point. There is a reason Jesus so often honors the poor, not because the lack of means is a great place to find one’s self in, but because there is a perspective that can be seen through the eyes of the poor that is rarely seen by those of means. That perspective is need.

The poor are often in need. At any given moment they could lose the roof over their head, their forms of transportation, or the ability to eat. This perspective of need prompts us to seek relief. This is something that people of means rarely have to face. And when we do not need, our perspective can be skewed. We have two extremes in the conditions of the people in this parable of Jesus’, comfort and discomfort.

The first person that we meet is the rich man. This man is dressed in purple and fine linen, and he feasts every day. I want us to really consider what Jesus is saying about this man. Not only is he a wealthy individual but an individual that has so much wealth he must come up with ways to spend the money he has. Dyed fabrics in the ancient world were things of luxury. If you owned a garment that was dyed it would probably be something worn only for the most special of occasions. Now with that being said, dyed fabrics were not uncommon. The color of the dye is what sets one apart from the masses. It would be common to have natural colors in clothing because often dyes were made from natural occurring minerals or plants that would stain the fabrics. It is fairly easy to obtain an orange tint to fabrics by letting it soak in an iron rich soil solution. The problem with these is that the color fades. The rich and dark blues and purples are very special. We can get a blue with indigo the dye that is commonly found from a plant. Indigo was an expensive dye, but that is not the purple or blue that Jesus is referring to in this passage. It is one of a more sacred and rich variety. It is a royal or Tyrian purple. This dye is so special because of where it is found. It comes from a mucus membrane in a specific species of sea snail. People would dive into the see to gather the snails, they then would have to remove the membrane and then mix it in the dye solution. It was very labor intensive and thus expensive. It is prized because as the sun hits the dye it does not fade away like the dyes derived from plants, but instead gets richer and brighter. This was a type of dye that was used to make the stripes on the Hebrew prayer shawls and other ritualistic garments. So cloth of this variety was used to distinguish the separation of the sacred and the secular, the righteous from the sinner. To have a robe made entirely of this rich dyed fabric is making a profound statement, usually such wealth as this was reserved only for royalty or the royal courts, or in the case of the Hebrew people the Priestly class.

I mention this to establish something that this rich man was most likely a profoundly religious man, because of the cloth used to clothe his body, and because Jesus is speaking this parable to Pharisees. Jesus does not stop with the clothing, but he then speaks about the man’s diet. Jesus says that this man had luxurious feasts daily. The term feast implies that there was some sort of celebration. Scripture records several types of feasts, wedding feast and several holy feasts like that of Passover or the feast tabernacles. The first century people did not feast often; most could not even afford meat to eat regularly so a feast was a scared and holy thing. Luxurious meals were often attached to sacrifices offered in worship both among the gentile cultures as well as in the Holy Temple of Jerusalem. Again Jesus is inferring to the crowd that this man was a religious man one that the community would see as being blessed by God.

Then the second man we meet is Lazarus, a poor man. This man longed to be able to eat the crumbs left around the table but instead he sits at the gate covered in sores. This man was so badly cared for that only the dogs came by to bring cleansing to the wounds, which is not exactly a balm of comfort.

Let us imagine the two men for a bit. One a religious leader wearing sacred cloth and eating celebratory meats of worship daily, and the second a wounded and broken man. They both die seemingly on the same day. Lazarus is carried by the angels to be with Abraham, and the rich man is buried and tormented in Hades. Wait the rich and righteous man goes to hell? That is what Jesus says. Yet the poor man is whisked away by angels to the Bosom of Abraham.

Blessed are the Poor because they will be comforted, woe to the rich for you have already been comforted.

This passage is one that is difficult to speak on, because it can judge each of us in some way. I believe that through it Jesus is teaching the discipline of simplicity and contentment, as well as ministry and blessing. It speaks of lavish displays of righteousness and a heart that is void of light. Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth, but woe to the laughing now for they will weep and mourn.

The poor man Lazarus was content in his place. I see this because he allowed the dogs to minister to him as he sat at the gate. He knew that there was no other help around, he could have tried to scare the dogs away but he let them come and offer whatever comfort and companionship they could offer. Yet the rich man was not ever satisfied, daily he had to feast. Contentment is often a misunderstood term. Often it is seen as lacking ambition and at times fatalistic, those that are content have no desire to move beyond their current state and just stop where they are. But I challenge that because Paul says in his letter to the Philippians, that he is content in whatever state his is in, he has not given up but he has adjusted his life to be satisfied with little so that he can be a blessing to others. If he is well off he praises God because he has more to share, if he is poor he is satisfied because he has enough and praises God still. The poor man is content, sure he longs for food, but in his need he becomes a blessing to the dogs. The rich man in all his wealth has a poor man needing assistance sitting at his door yet in all his righteousness is not moved to offer him a morsel.

Woe to the rich, for they have already received their comfort. Behind the Kingdom of God, Jesus speaks more often about wealth and money as he taught through Israel. Eleven out of the Thirty-nine parables are about money and on average one in seven verses in the Gospel of Luke is about money in some form. This should tell us something about the subject, money is a tool that can consume us or can be used to bless others. But in most of those cases there is a central theme, God does not care about how much money we have but how we are using it.

In Luke the Gospel where Jesus is recorded as speaking the most about wealth Jesus encourages the wealthy members of society to use what they have to bless those that have little. He encourages them to give them jobs, and to provide assistance to those that cannot work. He told the rich young ruler to sell all he has and give it to the poor. He is calling us all to readjust our lives to live on less, so that we can be in a better position to help more. Only when we are released from the bondage of currency can we be free to serve God. James the brother of Jesus said that that is the true purpose of religion.

The rich man of the story is consumed in himself, rich foods rich clothing. This is a prophecy against the consumption aspects of our culture; every aspect of our economy is based on consuming goods and services. Rich or poor we consume. Every facet of our culture is consumed by greed, envy, and selfishness in some form or another. CEO’s want more profits, labor wants more wages, and assistance programs want more to offer. We think we need and some of us might actually be in need, but overall the issue is that we are not content. We can never be content when we are focused on consumption.

Which is why we need to rediscover the discipline of simplicity that the Society of Friends was known for. True simplicity is not cheap; cheap is an imposter to simplicity. Simplicity is to use wisdom where cheap is to cheat. Simple is sacrifice for the good of others where cheap is to sacrifice for the good of self. Cheap is consumption where simplicity is blessing. We cannot follow Jesus and have our lives based on consumption because in the kingdom of God the relationship with others and being a blessing to others is more important than our own pleasures and status.

Both of the men in the story die and one is comforted and the other is tormented. The rich man looks across into the distance and cries out for mercy yet there is no comfort. He cries yet there is a chasm of separation that cannot be crossed. He then pleads that Lazarus would go back and warn his brothers, and Abraham says to the man that if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets than even someone returning from the grave would not convince them.

It is a sad story, a story of judgment and condemnation, but also one of hope. It is one of hope because there is one that has returned from the grave that has bridged that chasm of separation, and can bring comfort. Repent for the kingdom of God is near is the gospel, the good news brought by the one that brings hope. Repent or turn. The Kingdom of God is the most often mentioned thing by Jesus. The Kingdom of God is not like the kingdoms of mankind because the kingdom of God is based on different things. Jesus is not a king in the same sense as the leaders of our world. He is not a tyrant because tyrants consume, but instead he lifts his subjects into his glory. His inheritance is shared with all of those who call on his name, and turn from a lifestyle devoted to worldly consumption and realigning themselves with the things valued by God.

What does God value? God values us. He created us in his image, he set us above all of creation, and he created us to walk in the cool of the evenings with him. God values the relationship, and we honor the things valued by God when we use all that we have been given to bring blessing to those valued by God. Rich or poor, in want or in plenty we honor God by being content with what we have and striving to be greater blessings to the world around us as we proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Jesus came to bridge that gap separating us from the comfort of God. And we can live today in His kingdom when we turn and begin to use our minds, bodies, souls, and strength to build and honor the lives of those around us. When we use the talents and gifts of the Spirit to bring honor and glory to the things God values, and when we lay the chains of currency at his feet.

Today as we enter this time of open worship, I ask what kind of people are we and which side of the chasm do we dwell? Will we be a people of blessing or of comfort?