October 9th, 2016
Devotional
“Shiny Gods: Money, Work, and Debt” -Deut 28: 12-14
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: “Greed” - Luke 12: 13-15
“Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.” We often think about greed that comes like the green-eyed monster - suddenly and with lots of emotion tied to it. I still remember reading the Bernstein Bears book about greed when I was little and being struck by how quickly the characters felt greed in the story. But greed can also come upon us gently, gradually, as we look at what our neighbor has and start to covet it. Or as commercial after commercial comes at us on the TV, radio, and even on billboards telling us that what we have is not the best, is not enough.
We need to be on the lookout for all kinds of greed - the kind the creeps upon us slowly, the type that comes upon us suddenly, and everything in between. Note what Jesus says next after warning folks to be on the look out against greed - “for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” All too often we measure our worth off of what we have and how it compares to others, but for Christians our worth in firmly planted in being a child of God, and that knowledge alone.
What does greed look like in your life? How can you be on the lookout/ guard against greed?
Prayer: Jesus, sometimes we get caught up in the advertisements and media hype that tell us that we are what we own. Free us from this belief and break us from the bondage that comes from trying to own more than our neighbor in order to prove how good we are. Help us be secure in the fact that we are you children and remember that is what matters most. Amen.
Tuesday: “Building Bigger Barns” - Luke 12: 16-21
I recently heard a sermon on this parable that compared building bigger barns to owning a storage unit. Storage units are billion dollar a year industries, with one out of every ten Americans renting one. When we run out of room for our possessions in our attics and basements and closets, we start to look for extra space through storage units - most of which we never actually go and use throughout the year, once the items are safely boxed up.
In this parable the foolish man was given an abundance of crops - so much so that he could no longer fit them in his current barns. So his first thought was not to share, but rather to knock down in current barns, rendering them useless, and build bigger ones. How often are we like the man in this parable? First and foremost, not being thankful for the abundance of what we have or thinking of ways to share it, but rather coming up with better ways to protect it for our own future use? What will happen to all that we have accumulated when we are gone?
Do you consider yourself a “bigger barns” person or someone who shares? How so?
What will happen to all you have accumulated when you are no longer on this earth? How is this a reflection of your faith life?
Prayer: Lord, we confess that at times we love to accumulate. We have accumulated more than we could ever use, and some which we no longer even have room to store. Prompt us to be generous in our abundance, O Lord, sharing it with those who have need so that your name may be proclaimed and glorified. Amen.
Wednesday: “ Will Open” - Deut 28: 12-14
Sometimes when we are reading scripture we get so caught up in the promise that we forget the context and the timeframe. In Deuteronomy, God is talking to a people who have been owned for years as slaves. God is addressing a people who never had anything of their own and is promising them abundance in the promised land - promising them that they will not return to their previous circumstances if they are faithful to the commandments.
But this promise is also based on the natural seasons. When it is the rainy season they will have rain, when it is the season of harvest they will have much to gather. One of the problems today is that we try to rush past the seasons. We want what we want now. And when we don’t get it immediately we jump from one job to another or one place to another, instead of waiting upon the season of blessing. We try to rush the hand of God and as a result, we lose out on the promised blessings.
Have you ever tried to rush God? What was the result?
Prayer: Lord, sometimes we are an impatient people. Sometime we get so caught up in our needs, wants, and desires, that we miss the beauty of your perfect timing. Help us be patient, O Lord, for the seasons of blessing and harvest in our own lives and be faithful in the times in between. Amen.
Thursday: “Every Seven Years” - Deut 15:1
In the scriptures there are two wonderful concepts concerning debts that we cannot quite fathom in modern America. The first was the sabbatical year. Every seven years there was to be a remission of debts and some of the land was to lay fallow - be at rest - in order to have an abundance of crops the following years. Then every fifty years there was to be a year of Jubilee - when everything was to be returned to the original owners - especially the land that was sold to pay off previous debts.
What would it look like if we had a plan to pay off our debts in seven years or less? For many of us that is unfathomable, just as someone forgiving our debts every seven years would be. The problem is that we give into our impulses to have what we want now without ever really coming up with a plan as to how we are to pay for it. Debt is not meant to be the standard for living or rule over us to the point where we worry about it. We are to live free of debt.
What debt do you have in your life? What is your plan for paying off this debt?
Prayer: Lord, we are a people of impulse instead of planning. We see something that strikes our eye and we decide that we need it now instead of waiting and saving for it. Then we don’t have a plan as to how to pay for all that catches our eyes. Help us, Lord, break the cycle of debt in our lives and bring freedom. Amen!
Friday: “Slave to the Lender” - Proverbs 22:7
Proverbs tell us that the borrower is a slave to the lender, and for many people in modern America that lender is our credit card company. We don’t read the fine print concerning credit cards that says we will pay a 14+ percent interest on our purchases that will jump to 24+ percent if we miss a payment, even by accident. Rev. Mike Slaughter asks why we would give the credit card company that much interest willingly, when our savings accounts generates less than 1 percent interest.
The problem with being a slave to the lender is that we order what we do in order to deal with our debt instead of seeking first and foremost to serve God with our time, money, and work. When we wake up paralyzed about how to address the debt crushing us we are not free to go whoever God made send us. Instead, we need to live within our means and borrow as little as possible, even if it seems countercultural.
How do you deal with the debt you carry from the money you have borrowed? Do you feel this does or does not make you a slave to the lender as Proverbs states?
Prayer: Lord, make us a slave to none but you. Help us to live our lives with as little baggage as possible so we can swiftly respond t your call upon our lives. Use us, Lord, we pray. Amen.
Saturday: Preparing for the Word
You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Shiny Gods: Be Faithful, Save, and Give” - 2 Cor 9: 6-12
Family Activity: Talk to your children about how to save for what they want to buy. What is hard about saving? What does it feel like when you can finally get something you saved a long time for?
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