Simple Spirituality: Submission

     Even as a child I was stubborn. I liked to follow my own rules. I didn't like to submit to authority. But at the same time I remember craving the safety that comes with submission. The safety that comes from trusting that another person has your best interest in mind.
    Submission is hard, and it is made more difficult by people exploiting the concept and using it to abuse other people. But there are blessings that come when you submit to those who have your best interest at heart. My entire job as a pastor is submitting - submitting to the will of Christ. As an ordained elder my call is to submit to the bishop when he or she asks me to move for the mission and ministry of the church. Prayer can even be an act of submission when you truly ask that not your will, but Christ's be done.
    What are some of your struggles and stories around submission? What does submission look like in your life?

Submission Devo

June 26th, 2016

Devotional

“Simple Spirituality: Submission”  - 1 Peter 2:18, Phil 2:8

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Master” - 1 Peter 2:18

Amongst the words I dislike most in the English language “submission” is near the top. For centuries, this word has been abused under the guise of Biblical authority, all the while those using it in this way, haven’t really examined what submission means. In reality submission has to do with our relationship to Christ and begs us to examine ourselves, asking if we allow Jesus Christ to be master of our life in every way. Master is another one of those prickly words, especially for those who were in relationships where their freedom was deigned so another could prosper. For example, the passage we read this morning from 1 Peter had been used to justify both slavery in the United States and the abusive treatment of slaves. But what is Peter truly trying to communicate? That we are to serve God in all circumstances, not for our glory, but for God’s. That, brothers and sisters is submission. Not simply prostrating ourselves before Christ when we need something, but submitting our life for his glory each and every moment of each and every day. Peter isn’t telling masters to be harsh, nor is he condoning slavery. Instead, he is uplifting the imagery of the slave and saying that it doesn’t matter what circumstances there may be - if a master is good or harsh - in the end it doesn’t matter because Christ is the master of all and all will be held accountable to him.

What are some of your struggles around the word “submission”?

How do you respond to the word submission? 

Prayer: Lord, help us to find the true meaning of the word submission. Help us to oppose cultural misunderstandings or abuses of the word - not as an excuse not to submit, but rather to gain the freedom of true submission to Christ with our lives. This we ask for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Obedient” - Phil 2:8

In God’s version of submission, we submit because God knows what is best for us. God only has our best interest in mind. While others may use the word “submit” to make us into their own personal doormat, God is telling us to surrender what we hold on to most tightly in order to find the gift of life. For when we find our life in the God who gives us life, movement, breath, and being, we find that we are more free than we ever imagined we could be. God’s submission is deeply rooted in the love that only God can have for each and every one of us. The love that Paul describes in his letter to the Philippines that Christ showed by humbling himself for us and was obedient to the Father to the point of death, all to show us how deeply we are loved. 

Submission is our response to this great gift of unsurpassable love. But here is the kicker - God doesn’t force us to submit - to lay down our lives for the sake of the Kingdom. Instead we are given the choice to obey and submit, or to turn away. It is our choice because we have free will, also a gift from a loving God.

What does obedience to Christ look like in your life?

How are love and obedience to God connected for you along your spiritual journey?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that often are disobedient. We don’t know why we should follow your leading in our lives. We don’t know why we should practice spiritual disciplines - so at times we just don’t. Thank you for offering us the gift of submission so that we can see it as an act of love in our lives. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Blessing and Honor” - Rev 5: 6-13

Have you ever noticed how many silly things we fight about in this world, both inside and outside of the church? Have you ever wondered why we fight? Under the glassy veneer of whatever reason we give for heatedly disagreeing is the sad truth that we fight because we all feel that we need to get our way. Submission allows us to humbly give away what we think is best in order to embrace what God knows is best, even if it means that we don’t get our own specific way. Submission teaches us the grace in not having to have the absolute last word on a given matter. 

Pastor Shane Stanford in one of his books told the story of consulting with a church that was about to shut its doors because the church members were divided on whether to paint the sanctuary or not. It had been years since the sanctuary had been painted, yet the church was broken into two camps - those who were pro-painting and those who were against. Those who didn’t want to see the worship space painted claimed that their father and grandfather, now deceased, had painted it by himself years ago. Shane took a deep breath and asked why their father did that, to which the family leader replied “to glorify God”. And Shane asked, “what would he want you to do now?”. There was silence before the whispered answer, “pick up a paint brush and paint the sanctuary to glorify God,” Argument over. 

How much time we waste drawing our lines in the sand and refusing to ask if we are submitting to God. And lest we too hastily think that this story was exaggerated, think back to a time when you were part of an argument, even as an observer, over something that could have been better resolved by bringing the perspective back to its proper place, back to God. The reality is that we don’t like to submit, especially when God is calling us outside of our comfort zone. But the more that we practice the discipline of submission, the easier it becomes, as we can remember how faithful God has been to us in the past and will be in the future, as this passage from Revelation reminds us.

How can we better submit to one another out of love in the local church?

What would it look like if we used the barometer of glorifying God as our measuring stick for service and discussion in our every day lives?

Prayer: Lord, sometimes we would rather get our way than submit to yours. Sometimes we are so caught up in our own ways that we trample over our brothers and sisters. Forgive us we pray. Help us to glorify you in all that we do and say this day. Amen. 

Thursday: “Christ the Head” - Eph 5: 26-30

Submission is also not simply about obeying - for we can obey our Lord and Savior without submitting to him. For submission is a matter of the heart. Outwardly, we may do what God has called us to, but inwardly, deep in our heart, we rebel. We begrudgingly obey. Submission is not only about picking up our cross and following Christ, but the attitude we do this with. 

One final note, when we submit to Christ we also find ourselves submitting to the example of wise Christians who are trying to teach us. People who time and again have followed the voice of God in their own lives and have shown a firm pattern of submission. Allowing ourselves to be mentored, discipled, and guided, is a mark of submission taking root in our lives. Another word for this is teachability. Being not only trainable, but eager to learn.

How are submission and obedience different?

Who has taught you what submission to Christ looks like by the way they have lived their lives?

Prayer: O God, place people along our paths to teach us the discipline of submission. Open our eyes and hearts to receive the Christian example of submission and use us to be an example to others. This we pray in Jesus’s name. Amen. 

Friday: “Love” - 1 John 4:19

At the end of the day, submission is never going to be popular in our culture. It has been too broken from its original intent, and has made folks like the self-denial of submission with self-hatred. But hatred is not to be found in submission, for it is a reflection of God’s loving best intentions for us. Submission asks us, are we going to follow the way of God or not? Do we want to follow God in the deepest place of our spirits? Are we committed to the way of Christ? Do we resist opening up our ears to Christ’s call because we are afraid of what we will hear? Do we act as if the Lord is our supreme and true leader? Do we trust God wants what is best for us?

How can you remind yourself to ask if you love God enough to submit when facing difficult decisions or situations?

What would it look like for you to submit to God in all things, in order to put the Kingdom of God first?

Prayer: God, open us up to receive and share your love. All us to follow you all the way, during easy times and hard times, during the good and the bad, all for the glory of your Kingdom. Amen.

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to pray over next week’s topic and text: The Gospel of Matthew: Temptation - Matthew 4: 1-17.

Family Activity: Let each person in the family take a period of time being the “boss”. What was it like when you were the boss? What was it like when others were the boss? How can we let God be “the boss” or leader of our lives?

Simple Spirituality: Simplicity

    Simplicity is about more then having less material possessions or even how we spend our money. Simplicity is about how we approach our lives. 2 Cor 8:9 speaks of Jesus choosing to become poor so that we may become rich is areas like faith, hope, love, and salvation. Jesus choose the seek a different way of living so that we may live, choose to live as Ghandi described "living simple so that other's may simply live."
    Simplicity means thinking about things beyond how we see them - seeing how what we do and what we buy effects other people half way around the world. Simplicity means being engaged with the pain of those around us. Simplicity means praying simple, heart felt prayers, instead of cluttering up our prayer lives with words. Simplicity means examining our time to see if there is room for God to move in a powerful way.
   Simplicity is about our entire way of being. Would you describe the way you live as simple? Why or why not?

Simplicity Devo

June 19th, 2016

Devotional

“Simple Spirituality: Simplicity”  - Proverbs 11: 28, Luke 16:13, and 2 Cor 8:9

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Needs” - 2 Cor 8:14

Sometimes it is hard to think about the needs of others. Other times the needs of the world and those around us seem so overwhelming that we can’t move. Since college, I have been sponsoring children through Compassion International. Once in a while, I will receive information about where my sponsor children live - statistics and pictures and descriptions of average living conditions. It can be heartbreaking, and make me wonder how much of an impact I’m really making sponsoring one child from one country.

The apostle Paul is encourage the people in the church of Corinth to be generous in today’s scripture passage. He doesn’t command their generosity, but instead to prompt them to continue to reach out to those around them in need, including those that they started to sponsor the previous year. He reminds them, that at this time in their lives, they have abundance, so they should give out of that, for they may some day be on the receiving end of those that need help.

Living into simple spirituality, especially in terms of simplicity, asks that we make margins in our lives where we can give out of our abundance. Make space in our lives to feel the needs of others and respond instead of becoming overwhelmed. In the words of Ghandi, “living simply so that others may simply live.”

What does living simply mean for you?

How do you create space in your life so you can be generous?

How do you respond to the needs of others without becoming overwhelmed?

Prayer: Lord, sometimes the needs around us seem so great that we become stuck. We cannot give because we are concerned that it will not make a difference, will not be enough. Inspire us, like the Corinthians, to not be afraid to give, not be afraid to respond and meet the needs of others. Use whatever we have to offer to touch the lives of others and share your love. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Good Shepherd” - John 10: 11-18

Many Christians find comfort in the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Perhaps because of the popular painting of Jesus holding a small lamb. Perhaps because the idea of protection that comes from a Shepherd. For me, the image of the Good Shepherd speaks of God providing for us, tenderly caring after our needs.

When I was studying in Australia, one of the classes I took was about Australian culture. For this particular class we traveled all sorts of places in the state we were staying - including a sheep farm. One of the things that struck me about sheep is that they didn’t seem to know what was best for them. They would wander where they shouldn’t be - putting themselves in danger. They didn’t like to be sheered - even though it allowed them to move more nimbly and find relief from the heat. They needed a Shepherd to care after their every need in order to survive.

Such care is true for us as well. Living simply reminds us that all we have is from God’s hand alone. It reminds us that we are blessed with breath and life because of God. Simplicity brings us back to the root of our faith - that God is the Good Shepherd. 

How do you remind yourself that all you have is because of God?

What does the image of the Good Shepherd mean in your spiritual journey?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that sometimes we forget that we are blessed with what we have because of you. Sometimes we act like we have earned whatever we have or as if we have provided for ourselves. Forgive us, O Lord. Draw us back to the way that leads to life abundant. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Rich or Righteous” - Proverbs 11:28

When I was younger, I had a problem with necklaces. The problem was that  I had a gift for getting them tangled in lots of knots. Knots that my parents would often spend countless hours trying to workout with the aid of toothpicks at our kitchen table. For as soon as one knot was freed, it seemed like another would quickly appear. 

So it is with many of our lives. As soon as we start to untangle ourselves, seeking simplicity in one area of our lives, we find just how much we are bound up in other. Perhaps as you loosen your attachment to items you realize just how much your heart is tied up in the concepts of owning or having. Or maybe as you seek to free your schedule, you realize just how much time you spend not with family or friends, but doing things that don’t really matter in the end, wasting time. Or maybe as you seek to eat more simple food, you realize just how much you overindulge, not just in eating, but in speaking or entertainment. Our lives are complicated and the discipline of simplicity asks us to confront that complication directly instead of using it as an excuse, thus freeing us to be generous. Hence, our need for the wisdom of Proverbs to learn to trust God through simplicity and dependance instead of trusting in the ways of the world. 

What do you trust in - God or riches? How does your life reflect this trust?

Prayer: Lord, sometimes we get things all tangled up inside. We misplace our priorities or look to the ways for the world to define us. Free us, O Lord. Allow us to be like the righteous who flourish like green leaves. May the roots of our faith run deep. Amen. 

Thursday: “Who is Your Master?” - Luke 16:13

In the verse from the gospel of Luke today we find Jesus telling his disciples that you cannot serve two masters. He is speaking about the danger of serving money instead of God, but really in today’s world we serve oh so many masters. To figure out just who you serve, look at your checkbook and your calendar. Or think about the very personal question of “what do you squander?”. Many of us like to keep up the facade of serving God only, but when we get to the heart of the matter, we see that our stewardship of time, talents, money, and resources often disappear in favor of self-promotion. We squander what we have been blessed with so that we make sure that we have enough, in the meantime setting aside more money for retirement than we could ever need or buying food in excess so that it goes to waste. 

Of course, we didn’t start out our spiritual journey wanting to serve two or more or many masters. We started out wanting to serve Christ. But somewhere, often around the middle of our spiritual pilgrimage, we stop living for Christ and more persistently live for what the world has defined as success. We feel like we love God, but when actually start to examine our daily lives, we don’t find a whole lot of places where we have left room for God to be present and in control. We find our time and treasurers tied up in work, not because we believe that God has given us work and purpose, but so that we can earn more to spend more, never really having time to enjoy the simple pleasures of life that God is trying to bless us with.

How do you know what Master you serve with your life?

What do you sometimes squander? How can you bring these areas before God’s control?

Prayer: O God, raise us up in our faith to serve you and you alone. Examine in our hearts and reveal to us any hidden areas we may keep from you, areas where we may slip into the lordship of another, and let us present them to you. For you alone are our one true God. Amen.

Friday: “For Our Sake” - 2 Cor 8:9

The enemy to simplicity is envy. When we start to look around, comparing ourselves to others, we find ourselves wishing that we had more opportunities like that person or more money like our neighbor. Envy blocks us from having gratitude for what we have. When we have envy in our hearts, we become anxious in our spirits, and let that envy and anxiety dictate our behaviors instead of God’s desires for us. 

Another enemy to the simple life is not having people around us who champion or encourage simplicity. All too often we are bombarded by ads that tell us that we need to have more, be more, and do more. When we have the right people around us, they can remind us just how foolish of a life that type of attitude is setting us up for. Instead, they can remind us of our need to let go in order to live an un-abandoned life for God. 

How can 2 Cor 8:9 help combat the envy you may feel?

How can 2 Cor 8:9 help create a spirit of generosity within you?

Prayer: God, you sent Jesus Christ to us to save us. Jesus choose to set us free from a life of salary to the world and our sin. Free us now to be generous and share that message of love and grace with the world. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

Pray over next week’s text and sermon: “Simple Spirituality: Submission - 1 Peter 2:18 and Phil 2:8”

Family Activity: What would it look like to make your family calendar simpler? Or clean out a room in your house together? What do such changes teach us about our spiritual lives? 

June 26th, 2016

Devotional

“Simple Spirituality: Submission”  - 1 Peter 2:18, Phil 2:8

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Master” - 1 Peter 2:18

Amongst the words I dislike most in the English language “submission” is near the top. For centuries, this word has been abused under the guise of Biblical authority, all the while those using it in this way, haven’t really examined what submission means. In reality submission has to do with our relationship to Christ and begs us to examine ourselves, asking if we allow Jesus Christ to be master of our life in every way. Master is another one of those prickly words, especially for those who were in relationships where their freedom was deigned so another could prosper. For example, the passage we read this morning from 1 Peter had been used to justify both slavery in the United States and the abusive treatment of slaves. But what is Peter truly trying to communicate? That we are to serve God in all circumstances, not for our glory, but for God’s. That, brothers and sisters is submission. Not simply prostrating ourselves before Christ when we need something, but submitting our life for his glory each and every moment of each and every day. Peter isn’t telling masters to be harsh, nor is he condoning slavery. Instead, he is uplifting the imagery of the slave and saying that it doesn’t matter what circumstances there may be - if a master is good or harsh - in the end it doesn’t matter because Christ is the master of all and all will be held accountable to him.

What are some of your struggles around the word “submission”?

How do you respond to the word submission? 

Prayer: Lord, help us to find the true meaning of the word submission. Help us to oppose cultural misunderstandings or abuses of the word - not as an excuse not to submit, but rather to gain the freedom of true submission to Christ with our lives. This we ask for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Obedient” - Phil 2:8

In God’s version of submission, we submit because God knows what is best for us. God only has our best interest in mind. While others may use the word “submit” to make us into their own personal doormat, God is telling us to surrender what we hold on to most tightly in order to find the gift of life. For when we find our life in the God who gives us life, movement, breath, and being, we find that we are more free than we ever imagined we could be. God’s submission is deeply rooted in the love that only God can have for each and every one of us. The love that Paul describes in his letter to the Philippines that Christ showed by humbling himself for us and was obedient to the Father to the point of death, all to show us how deeply we are loved. 

Submission is our response to this great gift of unsurpassable love. But here is the kicker - God doesn’t force us to submit - to lay down our lives for the sake of the Kingdom. Instead we are given the choice to obey and submit, or to turn away. It is our choice because we have free will, also a gift from a loving God.

What does obedience to Christ look like in your life?

How are love and obedience to God connected for you along your spiritual journey?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that often are disobedient. We don’t know why we should follow your leading in our lives. We don’t know why we should practice spiritual disciplines - so at times we just don’t. Thank you for offering us the gift of submission so that we can see it as an act of love in our lives. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Blessing and Honor” - Rev 5: 6-13

Have you ever noticed how many silly things we fight about in this world, both inside and outside of the church? Have you ever wondered why we fight? Under the glassy veneer of whatever reason we give for heatedly disagreeing is the sad truth that we fight because we all feel that we need to get our way. Submission allows us to humbly give away what we think is best in order to embrace what God knows is best, even if it means that we don’t get our own specific way. Submission teaches us the grace in not having to have the absolute last word on a given matter. 

Pastor Shane Stanford in one of his books told the story of consulting with a church that was about to shut its doors because the church members were divided on whether to paint the sanctuary or not. It had been years since the sanctuary had been painted, yet the church was broken into two camps - those who were pro-painting and those who were against. Those who didn’t want to see the worship space painted claimed that their father and grandfather, now deceased, had painted it by himself years ago. Shane took a deep breath and asked why their father did that, to which the family leader replied “to glorify God”. And Shane asked, “what would he want you to do now?”. There was silence before the whispered answer, “pick up a paint brush and paint the sanctuary to glorify God,” Argument over. 

How much time we waste drawing our lines in the sand and refusing to ask if we are submitting to God. And lest we too hastily think that this story was exaggerated, think back to a time when you were part of an argument, even as an observer, over something that could have been better resolved by bringing the perspective back to its proper place, back to God. The reality is that we don’t like to submit, especially when God is calling us outside of our comfort zone. But the more that we practice the discipline of submission, the easier it becomes, as we can remember how faithful God has been to us in the past and will be in the future, as this passage from Revelation reminds us.

How can we better submit to one another out of love in the local church?

What would it look like if we used the barometer of glorifying God as our measuring stick for service and discussion in our every day lives?

Prayer: Lord, sometimes we would rather get our way than submit to yours. Sometimes we are so caught up in our own ways that we trample over our brothers and sisters. Forgive us we pray. Help us to glorify you in all that we do and say this day. Amen. 

Thursday: “Christ the Head” - Eph 5: 26-30

Submission is also not simply about obeying - for we can obey our Lord and Savior without submitting to him. For submission is a matter of the heart. Outwardly, we may do what God has called us to, but inwardly, deep in our heart, we rebel. We begrudgingly obey. Submission is not only about picking up our cross and following Christ, but the attitude we do this with. 

One final note, when we submit to Christ we also find ourselves submitting to the example of wise Christians who are trying to teach us. People who time and again have followed the voice of God in their own lives and have shown a firm pattern of submission. Allowing ourselves to be mentored, discipled, and guided, is a mark of submission taking root in our lives. Another word for this is teachability. Being not only trainable, but eager to learn.

How are submission and obedience different?

Who has taught you what submission to Christ looks like by the way they have lived their lives?

Prayer: O God, place people along our paths to teach us the discipline of submission. Open our eyes and hearts to receive the Christian example of submission and use us to be an example to others. This we pray in Jesus’s name. Amen. 

Friday: “Love” - 1 John 4:19

At the end of the day, submission is never going to be popular in our culture. It has been too broken from its original intent, and has made folks like the self-denial of submission with self-hatred. But hatred is not to be found in submission, for it is a reflection of God’s loving best intentions for us. Submission asks us, are we going to follow the way of God or not? Do we want to follow God in the deepest place of our spirits? Are we committed to the way of Christ? Do we resist opening up our ears to Christ’s call because we are afraid of what we will hear? Do we act as if the Lord is our supreme and true leader? Do we trust God wants what is best for us?

How can you remind yourself to ask if you love God enough to submit when facing difficult decisions or situations?

What would it look like for you to submit to God in all things, in order to put the Kingdom of God first?

Prayer: God, open us up to receive and share your love. All us to follow you all the way, during easy times and hard times, during the good and the bad, all for the glory of your Kingdom. Amen.

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to pray over next week’s topic and text: The Gospel of Matthew: Temptation - Matthew 4: 1-17.

Family Activity: Let each person in the family take a period of time being the “boss”. What was it like when you were the boss? What was it like when others were the boss? How can we let God be “the boss” or leader of our lives?

Simple Spirituality: Community

    There is nothing simple about community - it is an organic creation that is always in flux, for we can only get out of community what we dare to put into it. Take worship for instance. Worship could just be a place where you go once a week and sneak out of without interacting with another person. Or worship could a community, a fellowship where you grow with other believers. Worship could be all about having your needs met, or it could be a place where you share yourself entirely, a place of sorrow and celebration.
    The Christian community has much higher ideals to live into then some other communities that exist, because we are placed together in order to build up the Kingdom of God. We are a place that is to live into God's ideas for community. Perhaps that is why I sometimes am troubled by signs that say "All are welcome here" in front of churches. I desperately want that to be true of the local church with that sign, because it is true of God - all are welcome to God. Yet, I've seen too many church communities that have become exclusive - too many church communities that turn others away that are not like them.
   We are tasked as Christian community with reflecting the heart of God in the world. How has the spiritual practice of community impacted your life?

Community Devo

June 12th, 2016  

Devotional

“Simple Spirituality: Community” - Matthew 25: 42-43 and 1 Cor 12: 12-31

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “One Body” - 1 Cor 12: 12-13, Luke 10: 25-28

“We are the body of Christ! The hand clapping, toe tapping, heart pumping, mouth tasting, arm embracing, justice seeking, hymn singing, love making, bread baking, risk taking, body of Christ.” This statement is from my favorite call to worship. I like it because it explains that the body of Christ is something we experience and that we are truly a part of. That we are members of one body.

The apostle Paul is writing to a church that is divided. Some people believe that they are better than others because of their status in society, wealth, or previous background. There was fighting at the communion table. People were disregarding the sins of a few and focusing on the sins of others. In other words, Corinth was turning into a dysfunctional church. They didn’t see the necessity of their brother and sister and it was causing distress. 

Paul wanted to remind the church that their were baptized by one Spirit and under the leadership of one Lord. The church is one of the only places I can think of where we are valued as both individuals and part of a group. God loves us individually as children, has crafted each of us even before we were born and knows us, yet calls us to be part of something bigger than our individual selves in the work of the Kingdom of God. In fact, God invites us not only to be part of this particular body of Christ here in this community, but as part of the body of Christ in many churches in this county, and the body of Christ across the United States and around the world. In fact the body of Christ working to realize the Kingdom of God on earth is bigger than what we can possibly comprehend in our minds, yet we are called to be part of it! We are called to be part of Christ’s beautiful body.

What does it mean to be part of the body of Christ? 

What do we profess when we share in communion together? 

How do we need each other?

Prayer: Jesus, we confess that sometimes we act just like the church in Corinth - we forget that we are members of one body. We forget that we need each other. Reveal to us this day the beauty of the body of Christ, dear Lord, and help us live into this body for your honor and glory. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Belonging” - 1 Cor 12: 14-19

Paul is facing an obvious problem, people don’t realize how big the body of Christ is. They are saying to one another that some are not important, that some aren’t needed. And that critique from other’s was leading people to not see their worth or value in the body of Christ. Because they did not have the same gifts to offer as others they felt as if they did not belong. 

While we may not communicate this message as blatantly today, people still get the message that they do not belong, that they have no value or are not worthy. By telling people you would rather do a task for the church on your own. That you don’t need their help or their gifts. By telling young people that they aren’t allowed to participate in worship in certain ways. The list goes on and on. The result is that slowly, over time, people stop offering to participate in the body. Stop coming. Start thinking that they don’t know enough or aren’t good enough to contribute to the Kingdom of God. And friends, that breaks my heart. 

We are united by the broken body of Christ for something bigger than ourselves, but sometimes that means we need to get out of God’s way. It means we need to realize that we are of value and not second guess God’s call on our lives or the gifting we have been graced with. It means that we realize we cannot do everything alone, and that we need all, yes all, of the body of Christ working together or we will miss out on missional opportunities.

Have you ever received the message you did not belong to the body? How did you respond?

In what ways can we communicate that everyone belongs to the body better? 

Prayer: Lord, sometimes we do not reflect your heart and message as the church. Sometimes we exclude from your community instead of helping others see how they belong and how they are treasured by you. Make us be a place where all are truly welcomed in your name. Amen. 

Wednesday: “ Many Members, Many Gifts” - 1 Cor 12: 20-25, Matthew 6:33

I rejoice in the fact that we are all different and have different gifts. I believe God provides within our local body every person and thing we need to reach this county for Jesus Christ. I believe that in the Church Universal we have all the people and things we need to transform the world for Jesus Christ. I have often churches bemoan and say “if only”. “If only” we had more people, more resources, more money. But brothers and sisters, if we neglect this body, the body we have been gifted with, by saying that we are not yet good enough or have enough for the mission of Jesus Christ then we are not living up to the call of the Kingdom. And more will not come. 

People are perceptive. One of the statistics thrown around a lot about new people entering into a church community is that they will decide in the first five minutes if they are going to return at any point in time. Five minutes. Its because in those five minutes people can perceive if people love and respect one another. They can tell if people feel appreciated or dejected. Because nothing is heavier then a sense of hostility amongst church folks. Because that sense of being told “I don’t need you” hangs in the air long after an incident of rejection. Visitors can tell better than people who have been part of a local church for a long time if this community is a place where people find wholeness. If members are actually connected like muscle and bone. If people truly suffer and rejoice together.

How can we rejoice in the gifts that each person offers?

Prayer: Lord, help us to rejoice that we are part of your body. Help us to rejoice in the many gifts that are represented in our congregation. Help us value each other as you value us, Almighty God. Amen. 

Thursday: “Suffer and Rejoice Together” - 1 Cor 12: 26, Matthew 25: 42-43

Perhaps one of the greatest tragedies of the church happens when we do not share what we are going through with one another. How  are we to live into suffering and rejoicing with one another when we keep secrets from one another about our lives? We are depriving the body! You may be having a really rough day right now. Maybe you just got a diagnosis that you want to keep to yourself. But if you don’t share it how can anyone come beside you and encourage you, pray for you, be your family? Or maybe you just had a baby and are feeling completely overwhelmed! Why not ask for help from one of the wise mothers in the body? The reason we reject sharing our trials and joys is because it requires honesty and humility. The author Lauren Winner wrote "Community doesn't come about simply by having hard, intimate conversations. Having hard, intimate conversations is part of what is possible when people are already opening up their day-to-day lives.".We need to start sharing our day to day lives. Doing life together like a true family.

Do you feel safe to share your day to day life with your church community? Why or why not? How can we improve in this area?

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for the times we have failed to share our lives with one another. Forgive  us for the times we have not been a community safe enough for others to share with us. Make us a place where we can suffer and rejoice together, truly upholding each other. Amen. 

Friday: “What’s Your Gift?” - 1 Cor 12: 27-31, Luke 4: 18-19

Being part of a body means that we know ourselves enough to be able to give of ourselves. Have you ever really noticed that giving of yourself is really hard if you don’t know who you are? Even worse, when you don’t know who you are, you easily become jealous of other people. You find yourself wanting the gift or talent that another person has instead of rejoicing in your own gift and sharing it with others. Paul uses this obtuse image of the entire body being an eye or an ear, earlier in 1 Cor 12. I don’t know about you, but if I saw a giant eye or ear, I would be pretty freaked out. Yet for some reason, we try to live in this balance between being independent and being just like everyone else. How does that work? It doesn’t. God has created you to be unique, but to fit perfectly with everyone else. To be your own bright color in the rainbow. Or to be your own puzzle piece that fits with everyone else to make the picture complete. If you were meant to be a center piece of the puzzle and you desire to become a corner, you aren’t going to fit into the puzzle anymore. You must know your gift and where your gift fits into the body.

What is your spiritual gift?

How is your spiritual gift used in the body of Christ? 

Prayer: Lord, reveal to us the gift that you have given us. Reveal to us the way you want to use us in the body of Christ. Knit us together as a community, gifted for your use and glory alone. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Simple Spirituality: Simplicity” - 2 Cor 8:9

Family Activity: Read the story Stone Soup together. How do the different gifts fit together in the story. What do you think your gift is? How can we celebrate your gift as the Church? 

Simple Spirituality: Humility

     Humility is a hard spiritual practices - it just doesn't come naturally to us. Oh we are good about pride - good at thinking that we know the best or are the best. And we are good at being self-righteous, thinking that we are morally superior. But when we aren't careful, without a healthy dose of humility, our pride and self-righteous behavior can lead us down the unrighteous path. Without humility we can start to go down the road that tells us that we have it all together, and we don't need anyone's help, including God's.
    The truth is that all of our sin has consequences, including the sin of pride - both individually and as the church. Individually, it can lead us to believe that we are enough on our own, which can lead us to just believe in God enough or just follow God enough to pacify our Creator - which is of course not what God intended. As a church, it can lead us to think more about keeping our doors open for the sake of our own notoriety instead of pleasing God. As a church it can block us from taking risks that God is prompting us to take because we "know" that it won't work or we've "tried that before."
     We need humility to keep ourselves in check. We need humility to remind us that we are humans and not gods. We need humility to remind us that we are part of the body of Christ working towards Kingdom goals together. How do you live into the spiritual practice of humility in your own life and in the life of your local church?

Humility Devo

       June 5th, 2016  

Devotional

“Simple Spirituality: Humility” - James 4: 10, John 21: 4-7

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Thinking We Know it All” - Matthew 12: 22-24

One of the marks of pride that we often overlook is self-righteousness or thinking that we know it all. Now, there are certainly times that we are educated in specific areas more than other people, and should be listened to, but no one knows everything about ever topic. The self-righteousness of the Pharisees can be seen in today’s scripture passage as Jesus healed a man in an amazing way and the crowds rightly recognized his power and place as they asked “Can this be the Son of David?” The crowd collectively got it right! But the Pharisees could not accept Jesus because he didn’t act as they expected the Son of David to act, so instead they accused him of being the Devil, thus assuring their power and privilege.

Sometimes it is hard to recognize our own self-righteousness, our own pride. Sometimes we need a trusted friend to point it out to us, or to show us how the crowd was right. May we be open to being humbled for the sake of the Kingdom. 

When is a time you thought you were right and found out you weren’t? How did you react?

What makes it  easy for you to become prideful? How do you practice the spiritual discipline of humility in your own life? 

Prayer: Jesus, we confess that sometimes we are wrong. Sometimes even when we think we are right, we miss the point you are trying to make, or miss your presence in front of us. Open up our spirits to being humbled so that the root of the sin of pride does not destroy us. Purify us, O Lord. Amen. 

Tuesday: “The Greatest” - Matthew 18: 1-5

Most of us have grown up being told that we can be great if we only try, or perhaps this is something you have communicated to your children or grandchildren. There is nothing wrong with trying to encourage children to go after their dreams, but we need to be clear that there is a difference between being great and being the greatest. Only God can be the Greatest, yet the disciples quickly forgot that in today’s scripture passage. They started asking Jesus who was the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven - they missed the point of all that Jesus had been trying to teach them over the years. 

So Jesus took a small child, one who would have been looked down upon in ancient society, and said that the one who could humble themselm like a child was the greatest - the one who could set aside power and knowledge, and instead seek to have a pure heart.

How can we have the humility of children today? How do you keep yourself humble?

Prayer: Lord, life can lie to us sometimes. If we listen to the world that surrounds us, we think that we need to be the greatest, which can quickly lead us to forgetting that you alone are the Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Keep us humble, O Lord. Keep our perspective pure. May we worship you alone as Above All. Amen.  

Wednesday: “ Save the Lost” - Luke 19:1-10, James 4: 10

Every time I read and study the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus, I seem to pick up on something new. But one thing that I always appreciate is that Zacchaeus understood that he was in need of being saved. He understood that while his life looked successful to those outside looking in, he knew that he was empty inside. He knew that he was in need of a Lord.

Sometimes we can trick those looking at our lives from the outside into thinking that we have it all together. But we know that we are in need of Savior. James tells us to humble ourselves before the Lord, which is exactly what Zacchaeus did. He didn’t promise Jesus that he would change in order to trick him or to show off. He changed in response to meeting his Savior that day, as he stripped away his pride and picked up humility in its place. 

Tell about a time you knew that you were in need of accepting a Savior. 

How do you humble yourself before the Lord?

Prayer: Lord, you are the only are worthy of our praise. Help us, O Lord, to humble ourselves before you. Help us to recognize that we don’t have it all together and that we are in need of a Savior. Thank you, O Lord! Amen. 

Thursday: “Hidden Treasure” - Matthew 13: 44

Humility is a hidden treasure that helps put us on the path to spiritual refreshment. We live in a world that tells us to claw our way to the top, while God invites us on the path that leads to life abundant. We live in a world that tells us our worth comes from others honoring us and being proud of us, while God tells us our worth comes from being a child of God. We live in a world that tells us that we need to know it all, while God invites us to rest in the knowledge of God alone. 

Humility is not a trait that many people in the world uplift today, other than perhaps false humility that is simply another form of pride. But humility allows us to recognize God working in and through us to do things bigger than we could ever do on our own. Humility allows us to set ourselves aside for the sake of the Kingdom of God. 

What have you learned about humility from the world? What have you learned about humility from God? How do the two relate?

How does humility allow you to more fully recognize God at work in your life? 

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for the times we have failed to be humble. Forgive us for the times that we have claimed that we have done it all on our own, when really it was you working through us. Use us, O Lord, for your Kingdom purposes. Amen. 

Friday: “When Did We Do That?” - Matthew 25: 31-46

The parable of the sheep and the goats is one of the most troubling to me in scripture because neither set of people remember doing what Jesus said they did. They did not remember turning people away or accepting them. They do not remember when they saw someone who needed food or clothing or how they responded.

But the sheep group - they at least responded as Jesus would have. They responded in a way that reflects the heart of God. The humility that they show in this passage is authentic, they aren’t pretending to forget doing these things all for the sake of making themselves look better. These are simply things they did without thinking, things that came out of having a Christ like heart. 

The discipline of humility is hard at first, until it simply becomes part of who we are. Humility is not about downplaying or bearding ourselves - its about having the heart of Christ take root in us to the point where we naturally become the hands and feet of Jesus. 

Write down your thoughts about this parable. How does it reflect humility? How are humility and service in Christ name connected? 

Prayer: Lord, free us to serve others in your name. Free us to have your heart in our heart. Free us to care as you care for this world. Use us, in the power of your name, Lord Jesus. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Simple Spirituality: Community” - Matthew 25: 42-43 and 1 Cor 12: 12-31

Family Activity: Keep a gift journal. Every day write down something you were gifted to do and  thank God for giving you the ability to have and use that gift.