John 4:15-26, James 15:13-20, Ecclesiastes 9, Jeremiah 30-31

Recall:
But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.

“It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.”
John 4:23-24 (The Message)

Reflect:
Wow, if you weren't careful you'd mistake Jesus for some hippie new-ager. Of course, this is Eugene Peterson's paraphrase, but it seems to capture the spirit of the passage. Who we are and the way we live--that's what is important to God. It captures the essence of the book of James a bit. Faith without works is dead. The purpose of our faith is a transformed life--a life that is lived differently and that makes a difference.

Respond:
God, continue to form me into an honest worshiper. I want to be formed in integrity through and through. I want to become single-minded, the same all of the time so that I can be pointed toward God and point others toward God in all that I do.

John 4:1-14, James 5:7-12, Ecclesiastes 8, Jeremiah 26-29

Recall:
John 4:13-14
Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.” (The Message)

James 5:7-8
Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master’s Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time. (The Message)

Ecclesiastes 8:1
Who is like the wise man?
And who knows the interpretation of a thing?
Wisdom makes one’s face shine,
and the hardness of one’s countenance is changed. (NRSV)

Jeremiah 29:10-14
This is GOD’S Word on the subject: “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.
“When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.

  “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.

“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” GOD’S Decree. (The Message)

Reflect:
An embarrassment of riches this morning. Such words of encouragement, even in the usually quite unencouraging book of Jeremiah. Such a promise--when you seek me, you will find me. There are continuous streams of living water available for the asking--but only to the extent that I ask for them, seek them.

The process can sometimes be slow and arduous. Not because God is a stingy God, but because the process of me wiping the sleep from my eyes can be so involved. That is where James' advice comes into play. Be patient, steady, and strong. The Master will come!

Ecclesiastes 8:1 is a new wisdom description for me--I don't remember ever reading it before. But what encouraging words! Wisdom can soften the heart and face.

Respond:
The hunt is on! It seems that just about every moment of my life should be spent in either seeking God or sharing with my family, church, and community what I have found.

We have, in our faith tradition, a viable, workable plan to transform our lives--streams of living water, the power to transform hearts and even faces--the keys to the Kingdom!

God, forgive me for the moments that I have frittered away this week, moments that I could have been drawing water from you, or pouring it into others. Thank you for always being here with me, always ready to reveal yourself to me, always ready to respond when I call out to you--even as imperfect and half-hearted as that call often is.

John 3:22-36, James 5:1-6, Ecclesiastes 7:15-29, Jeremiah 23-25

Recall:

“Doom to the shepherd-leaders who butcher and scatter my sheep!” GOD’S Decree. “So here is what I, GOD, Israel’s God, say to the shepherd-leaders who misled my people: ‘You’ve scattered my sheep. You’ve driven them off. You haven’t kept your eye on them. Well, let me tell you, I’m keeping my eye on you, keeping track of your criminal behavior. I’ll take over and gather what’s left of my sheep, gather them in from all the lands where I’ve driven them. I’ll bring them back where they belong, and they’ll recover and flourish. I’ll set shepherd-leaders over them who will take good care of them. They won’t live in fear or panic anymore. All the lost sheep rounded up!’ GOD’S Decree.” Jeremiah 23:1-4

“Have any of these prophets bothered to meet with me, the true GOD?
bothered to take in what I have to say?
listened to and then lived out my Word? Jeremiah 23:21
Reflect: In the midst of God's complaints in Jeremiah was one that jumped out at me. Eugene Peterson's paraphrase of it is powerful. God is speaking to false prophets, those who butcher and scatter the sheep. There have been many of those, I think, over the centuries up until now. It is so easy for us as leaders to take our awesome calling for granted, to forget to keep an eye on the sheep, at best. And at worst to lead them astray.
Respond: God, I want to be found worthy. When you gather your sheep, I want you to be confident enough in me to set me over them. I want to listen to you and then live out your word.

Hearing God, through the disciplines, through meditation, is necessary before I dare open my mouth.

John 3:16-20, James 4:11-17, Ecclesiastes 7:1-14, Jeremiah 19-22

Recall: This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. John 3:16 (The Message)
Reflect: "A whole and lasting life"--GEEZ, that is what so many are longing for. Is it what I am offering to people in my ministry?
Respond: "What is it about my relationship with Jesus that the world cannot live without?" After someone has heard me or watched me, is that question answered for them? My relationship with Jesus gives my life wholeness and purpose. Jesus is the horizon, what I can look at and keep perspective no matter what else is going on in my life.

John 3:1-15, James 4:1-10, Ecclesiastes 6, Jeremiah 16-18

Recall:
James 4:7-10
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Reflect:
I was going to just put vs. 7-8 and 10. But that's not really honest to the text. I'm all for turning toward God and humbling myself. But verse 9 is a downer. "Lament and mourn and weep." My culture doesn't need to be told to do that. I wonder if Jerusalem in James' time had to be.

Or maybe, my culture does need to mourn and weep. Come to think of it, we don't actually do that. We have a low-grade depression, we bitch and moan, we have a bad attitude, but I don't think we actually lament. Maybe if we were to really cry about what hurts, to lament over the wrongs, it would free us from the general feeling of malaise that seems to haunt so many so much of the time.

Respond:
I'm turning, God. Not as fast as I would like, maybe not even as fast as I could, but I am turning toward you. Thanks for turning towards me. Continue to purify my heart until you and your kingdom are preeminent. As trite as it sounds, let what breaks your heart break my heart.

I don't ever mourn. I deal. Should I stop and lament the pain present in this world? Should I weep over the shortcomings in my own life?

John 2:12-25, James 3:13-18, Ecclesiastes 5, Jeremiah 14-15

Reading:
John 2:12-25, James 3:13-18, Ecclesiastes 5, Jeremiah 14-15
Recall:
Then GOD said of these people:
“Since they loved to wander this way and that,
never giving a thought to where they were going,
I will now have nothing more to do with them—
except to note their guilt and punish their sins.” Jeremiah 14:10

Therefore thus says the Lord:
If you turn back, I will take you back,
and you shall stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
you shall serve as my mouth. Jeremiah 15:19

Reflect:
Sometimes I get so caught up in (and irritated with) the anthropomorphised God language of the prophets that I miss the wisdom in them. The words from Jeremiah jumped out at me: "...they loved to wander this way and that, never giving a thought to where they were going..." What an apt description of many in our culture. What an apt description {cringe} of my life sometimes.

Does God have nothing more to do with me when I get off track? Of course not. That is just how the ancients saw it. But it is a good description. It feels like God has "nothing more to do with me--except to note my guilt and punish my sins."

When I "turn back," when I turn toward God, if I meditate upon and utter what is precious--surprise, surprise--God seems to "take me back."

Respond:
"Born to wander, Lord I feel it, born to leave the God I love." Train my wandering heart, O God. Sharpen my focus. I long to live and operate and parent and minister in your power and strength. I want to love with your love. I want to lead with your authority.

I sound like a broken record sometimes. Consistency is rewarded. Well, maybe rewarded is the wrong word. Consistency produces results. The time I spend, on a consistent basis, in scripture, meditation, prayer, physical exercise, etc. produces results and produces a change in perspective. That extra hour at the beginning of the day is really tough to eek out, but it's absolutely necessary for effectiveness.

John 2:1-11, James 3:1-12, Ecclesiastes 4, Jeremiah 12-13

Recall:

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
It's better to have a partner than go it alone. Share the work, share the wealth. And if one falls down, the other helps, But if there's no one to help, tough! Two in a bed warm each other. Alone, you shiver all night. By yourself you're unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn't easily snapped.

Jeremiah 12:5
"So, Jeremiah, if you're worn out with this footrace with men, what makes you think you can race against horses?"

Reflect:
Two ideas jumped out at me in these passages. First, the necessity of partnerships, of operating in community. The wisdom of the teacher resonates 4,000 years later. We each need the encouragement and cooperation of the other. Of course, that is the idea of the church.

And I wanna run with the horses! Jeremiah was complaining. God, ever the task-master in her/his desire to see us become everything we were created to be, says "Whoa buddy, if you can't even handle this what's going to happen when the going really gets tough?!" Love it.

Respond:
Awesome God, unrelenting in your desire to see me shine with your radiance, never let me off the hook. What is there to do but become a conduit of your love and light an power to my family, my church, and my community?

I need to continue to orient my life toward my Creator--through engaging scripture, through meditation, through my actions. I need to be prepared to run with the horses.

And I need to bring people with me. Investing my time and my life into others, partnering with people in ministry.

John 1:43-51, James 2:14-26, Ecclesiastes 3:16-22, Jeremiah 10-11

Read:
John 1:43-51, James 2:14-26, Ecclesiastes 3:16-22, Jeremiah 10-11

John 1:46 "Nathanael said to him, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' Philip said to him, 'Come and see.'"

James 2:15-17 "If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,' and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead."

Reflect:
"Come and see." Philip didn't need to argue with Nathanael. He didn't nee to "defend Jesus." All he had to do was show Nathanael Jesus. Actions are important. If one's actions show people Jesus then there isn't a need for a whole lot of talking and arguing. If Jesus is real to me and my actions confirm that, then all anyone has to do is "come and see."

Respond:
God, thank you for revealing this truth to me from scripture. May my life so radiate with you that people can come and see the difference you can make in a life.