Prayer for Boldness

FOCUS TEXT

Acts 4:23-31 (please read the whole chapter for reference)

After they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, ‘Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and everything in them, it is you who said by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant: “Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand,and the rulers have gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah.” For in this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.

DAILY BYTE

Let us reflect today on the prayer of Jesus’ disciples. Scripture tells us that God used Peter to heal a crippled man who sat at the entrance of the temple. After this took place Peter and John proclaimed God’s Word to those who where standing by. The disciples were arrested for preaching that in Jesus Christ there was resurrection and life. After being questioned, and seeing the support of the people and the evident sign of God’s power in the man who had been healed, the chief priests had to release the disciples. However, they commanded the disciples not to teach at all in the name Jesus.

After sharing what had happened with their friends, the disciples prayed saying: “...grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” The disciples pray for boldness to speak the Word of God effectively. They pray asking God that as they speak God’s Word, God would stretch out God’s hand and heal and allow signs and wonders to be performed through the name of Jesus.

How interesting it is to find that the disciples pray for boldness when Peter and John have already been exceedingly bold. Earlier in this chapter Peter had boldly accused the authorities of crucifying Jesus. Peter spoke God’s Word boldly in the face of death (risking execution). It is also interesting to note that after they prayed they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Yet, we read earlier in this chapter that Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke to the elders and chief priests. Also, a couple of chapters back, we read that the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit at the day of Pentecost. So, why pray for boldness if they had already been bold? Why does Scripture say that they were filled with the Holy Spirit again if they had already been filled on the day of Pentecost?

These questions are relevant to us today. Because those of us who have been redeemed by God through Jesus Christ have already been sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). We are the temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).But that does not mean that we do not need to be filled with the Holy Spirit constantly. You and I must pray for God to fill us with the Holy Spirit. The disciples prayed for boldness because the boldness to speak God’s Word comes from the Holy Spirit. They were again filled with the Holy Spirit after praying because they needed to continually be filled with God’s power in order to proclaim God’s Word effectively.

Do you remember the words of Jesus about the Holy Spirit? Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit is the one who guides us to all truth, the one who will convince our world o f sin, and the one who will glorify Jesus (John 16:7-15), he tells us that the Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask (Luke 11:13), and he tells us that we receive power to witness when the Holy Spirit comes upon us (Acts 1:8).

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, our world needs to hear God’s Word proclaimed. Those around you hunger for God’s Word even if they don’t realize it. You and I have a privilege that has not been given to the angels in heaven. That privilege is to communicate God’s saving message to the world. Do not be afraid to pray for the Holy Spirit to fill your life. Ask the Father for the Holy Spirit to fill you continually. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to all truth. Ask the Holy Spirit to empower you to speak God’s Word with boldness for the glory of God.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Jesus, our redeemer, we glorify your name for helping us understand who the Holy Spirit is.Father,we praise you and ask you for your Holy Spirit to continually fill our lives. Holy Spirit of God, we worship you and ask that you empower us to speak the Word of God boldly. We pray for your fruit to be so evident in our livesthat those around us will taste and see that the Lord is good. Father, we pray that as we proclaim your Word, you stretch out your right hand to heal those who hear and that through Jesus Christ, you perform sings and wonders that glorify your name. Amen.

Prayer for Eyes to Open

FOCUS TEXT

2 Kings 6:13-17

He said, “Go and find where he is; I will send and seize him.” He was told, “He is in Dothan.” So he sent horses and chariots there and a great army; they came by night, and surrounded the city. When an attendant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. His servant said, “Alas, master! What shall we do?” He replied, “Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than there are with them.” Then Elisha prayed: “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw; the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

DAILY BYTE

Today, as we continue focusing on prayer, I invite you reflect on the prayer of prophet Elisha for his attendant. Scripture tells us that the Aramean king sent a great army to seize prophet Elisha who had stood against Aramean interests. When the Aramean army surrounded the city where Elisha was staying, Elisha’s attendant became very afraid because of the great numbers of the army that came against them. After comforting his servant and assuring him that they did not stand alone against this army, Elisha prayed to God saying, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see. ”Then God opened the eyes of Elisha’s attendant so that he would see the army of the Lord who stood with the Lord’s servant. I can imagine the amazed expression on the face of Elisha’s attendant when he saw God so evidently at work in situation that seemed hopeless.

In our daily lives we encounter situations that seem hopeless. At times we face these situations ourselves. We also witness how other people we know face hopeless situations, or hear about hopeless situations in our communities, cities, nations, and around our world. Our human eyes lack the spiritual foresight that is needed to see God at work in the world. God is a God who is presently involved in our world. Our God is not a distant God but our God is a God who actively engages our world. Though our physical eyes cannot see God’s hand moving and setting things in their proper place, we can pray for our spiritual eyes to be opened. The Holy Spirit can guide us to discern God’s action in our lives, the lives of others, our community, and our world. Just remember, when you face a situation that seems to be hopeless, pray for God to show you how God’s hand is moving in that particular situation. Our hope is in God. Our hope is Jesus Christ, and hope in him does not disappoint.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Father, we thank you because even though our physical eyes do not see how you actively engage this world, we know that your hand is always present and working in us and around us. We pray for your forgiveness when we give into hopelessness and desperation. We pray for your Holy Spirit to grant us discernment to see the world in the way that you see it. Help us turn to you constantly and especially during situations that seem hopeless. Through Jesus Christ we pray, amen.

A King’s Invitation to Prayer

FOCUS TEXT

Jonah 3:1-10

The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.” When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

DAILY BYTE

Today we continue our focus on prayer. We will reflect on the King of Nineveh’s decree that called his people to repentance and prayer. After prophet Jonah had refused God’s call to proclaim God’s Word in Nineveh, he does obey God’s voice the second time it commands him to do so. Jonah rises and proclaims the message that God entrusted him to communicate to the people of Nineveh. God’s message through Jonah has an immediate effect. Scripture tells us that the people of Nineveh believed God’s message, that they humbled themselves before God and repented of their sin. Upon listening to God’s message, the king of Nineveh emitted a decree calling his people and the animals under their care to a time of fasting and mourning. In his decree he urges his people to cry mightily to God. God’s message proclaimed to Nineveh moves the people of that great city to turn from their evil ways and repent before God. God our Lord then shows the people of Nineveh great mercy.

Jonah’s message was one of judgment. He initially refused to communicate it to Nineveh because, knowing that they were an evil people, he did not want God to spare them. Jonah is eventually faithful and proclaims God’s Word to Nineveh. You and I have also been entrusted with God’s Word. The message that God has placed in our hands is one of love and mercy. The message that God has given us has an incalculable capacity to transform, heal, and restore. When Jonah proclaimed God’s message to Nineveh, the people were moved to prayer. The people in the highest echelons of power in Nineveh were moved to repentance and prayer.

Our nations and cities need to hear God’s message, the message that God has entrusted in our hands. You and I enjoy the blessed privilege of being able to communicate with God openly and freely and thus enjoy a relationship with God. We must be willing to share God’s loving message of mercy with those around us, we must be intentional and persistent in doing so. How wonderful it would be for those who hear God’s message through us to be moved to prayer. How wonderful it would be for God’s loving message of mercy to reach those who are in the high echelons of power in our cities and nations. How wonderful it would be for us to see our people, the people of our cities, our nations, and our world believing in God’s word and being moved to repentance. May God lead us to proclaim God’s loving message effectively to those around us.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Father, we praise you for you are a God who is great in mercy and slow to anger. We pray for your Holy Spirit to guide us to be able to proclaim your loving Word effectively with those around us. We pray for those who are in positions of authority over us, especially those whose decisions have a direct effect on our society and our world. May your Holy Spirit turn their hearts towards you. May our people, our nations, and our world be transformed by your love. Through Jesus Christ we pray, amen.

Ezra’s Prayer

(This week’s BDC is written by Edgar Vergara, the Duke student at MRMC this year)

FOCUS TEXT

Ezra 9:5-8

At the evening sacrifice I got up from my fasting, with my garments and my mantle torn, and fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the Lord my God, and said, “O my God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our ancestors to this day we have been deep in guilt, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as is now the case. But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, who has left us a remnant, and given us a stake in his holy place, in order that he may brighten our eyes and grant us a little sustenance in our slavery.

DAILY BYTE

This week we will focus on the theme of prayer. We will reflect on five prayers found throughout the Bible which are not commonly used, but that hold wonderful lessons for us learn. Today’s prayer is the prayer of Ezra. In this passage we find Ezra at the end of a time of fasting and grief due to the difficult situation facing the people of Israel. Ezra tells us that after his time of fasting he fell on his knees and spread his palms in prayer before the Lord. Ezra surrendered himself to God in prayer. It is clear that Ezra prayed earnestly and passionately. Ezra sincerely prayed for God’s forgiveness and restoration over the people of Israel.

It is interesting to note that Ezra begins his prayer in the first person singular voice but quickly turns to the first person plural voice. This tells us that Ezra was acknowledging the sin of all his people, not just those who were present with him at the time, but the sin of all his ancestors. In his prayer Ezra assumed the historic and collective sin of his people, recognized it before God and asked for forgiveness. Another important thing to note is that Ezra named the consequences of sin among his people and also pointed to the hope that arose from receiving God’s favor.

We are often overwhelmed by the brokenness of our world. We become frustrated with the injustice and pain around us. We become frustrated with the corrupt systems of power that are so prevalent in our society. We are frustrated by the state of our nations, cities, and neighborhoods. We are frustrated by the way things are. We wish things were different, that things would change, and understandably so.

Today I invite you to reflect on the example of prayer that Ezra gives us. We must realize that the broken state that our world is in is the direct consequence of sin. It is the consequence of collective sin that has taken place generation after generation. We must understand that the current state of our nations, cities, and neighborhoods is the consequence of sin. And more importantly, we must always remember that our God profoundly loves this world. God’s love for this world is a testament of God’s favor and a source of hope for all peoples. God loves this world so much that God gave his only son to bring salvation to it. You and I are called to be agents of this saving love.

Perhaps it is time that you and I pray in the same way that Ezra prayed. Perhaps we need to pray for God’s forgiveness and repent before God for the collective and historic sin that has corrupted our world. Like Ezra, we must assume our share in the sin that has corrupted our land. Let us be bold and ask God in prayer to use us as instruments of God’s healing and restoration for this world. Of course this is not an easy task. It is a task that is vast and that requires a sincere and constant effort. Where could we possibly begin? Following Ezra’s example, falling on our knees and praying earnestly for forgiveness and restoration to come to our land.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Father, we often feel frustrated because of the brokenness around us. The injustice and pain we find at the turn of every corner often overwhelms us. At times indifference overtakes us because of our impotence and helplessness. At times we guard ourselves and lead enclosed lives behind the walls of our homes and our churches and fail to share your love with those around us. We pray that you help us understand that the brokenness around us is the direct consequence of sin. We pray for your forgiveness, we assume our responsibility in the sin that has corrupted this world. We pray for your Holy Spirit to guide us and use us as instruments of your healing love. Through Jesus Christ we pray, amen.

Prodigal Praise

DAILY BYTE

As we conclude this week’s devotions, I’d like to share a recent personal experience where slowing down and becoming more attuned to God’s presence brought an experience of deep gratitude and joy.

A couple of weeks ago I was sitting in the Botanical Gardens in the midst of a massive wind storm that swept through Durban. It was exhilarating. This incredibly powerful wind suddenly gusting with full voice, then fading momentarily to a mere murmur, before bellowing forth unashamedly once more. As I sat there listening attentively to all this, conscious of God’s majestic presence, I suddenly realized that the very trees around and above me were singing.

I could hear unmistakable percussive sounds marking out a rhythmic beat. There were lilting harmonies, great guttural expulsions of noise, sudden startling crashes (which were branches falling around me), and gentle whisperings. As the tree above me caught the wind it would swell into a deep resonant baritone, and then wait while other trees nearby answered back. It was a great chorus of voices, more than I could count, making magnificent music together.

At times it sounded like the ebb and flow of the ocean. At times it was like the gurgling of a mountain stream. At times I could hear what sounded like thunder, or maybe the galloping of wild horses, and hidden almost imperceptibly in this great cacophony, in the rustling of the trees was the sound of birds singing.

One biblical scholar has suggested that God sang creation into being, declaring that it was very good. If that is true, then what I heard that day sounded like a little piece of creation singing back joyously, ‘Yes. It is very good indeed.’

Of course, it’s not just the trees in the Durban Botanical Gardens on a windy day that sing out in beauty and love. Everything with the breath of life within it seems peculiarly shaped to be an instrument of praise.

The biologist Lewis Thomas tells us that termites make percussive sounds that play a significant part in their social cohesion. The trumpeting of elephants is certainly not just a figure of speech. Right now, massive humpback whales are singing long and complex and beautiful songs under the ocean that can be heard for hundreds of kilometers all around. And even in the most distant reaches of the universe, the scientists tell us, stars are bursting into existence, releasing radio waves and other forms of multi-frequency energy that if we could hear, would fill our ears with every conceivable note and tone. When the scriptures speak of the morning stars singing together, maybe it’s not just beautiful poetry. Maybe it’s expressing what God actually hears.

The point of all this is that we live in a world where the praises of God are already being offered in glorious and exuberant profusion. We live in a world of prodigal praise. Indeed, the prodigal praise of all creation points us to our life’s deepest purpose, that we too have been created to praise. All around us there is a cadence of grace, enfolding us and holding us. Which means that the reorienting of our lives towards God is never any further away than a single breath, if we allow that breath to join in the worship of God that constantly rises all around us.

By slowing down, listening, looking, we come to experience things of God that we otherwise would simply miss. It’s the simple invitation of grace that lies open and accessible to us all – in every moment of every day in every place.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord, I was made to be an instrument of worship that would resound with prodigal praise to the glory of your name. Help me to rest more in you, and so allow your hands to hold me and play me, that my very life would add to the magnificent music of creation that echoes all around. Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING

Psalm 146:1-2

Praise the Lord, O my soul.
I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

Paths & Roads

DAILY BYTE

Today, in continuing the thought begun yesterday, I’ll be leaning on the reflections of two other writers I’ve already made reference to this week.

First, a short anecdote from Tom Smith. He writes:
“At least once a year I take a group of men into the wilderness spaces of South Africa - mostly the Drakensberg. It is always a fascinating experience. When we leave Johannesburg, we leave the city by way of the highway called the N3. As we travel on it the highway makes way for country roads. Country roads make way for dirt roads. When we start our hike, these dirt roads that vehicles can use make way for roads that are only fit for off-road vehicles. These then make way for roads that can only be accessed by foot and then when we get into the deep alpine wilderness, the path disappears all together.

When we leave the city it always strikes me how the conversations and attention level of the group is affected by the medium we use to travel. In the vehicle on the highway the chatter is usually incessant. As we transition onto the smaller roads and open the windows, it is as if we emerge out of a city hibernation and start to notice again. Once we’re in the wilderness our verbosity comes to a screeching halt, for it is mostly inadequate to describe the grandeur and magnificence of what is around us.”

Secondly, I’d like to share this insightful piece by Wendell Berry, as he reflects on the difference between a path and a road.

“The difference between a path and a road is not only the obvious one. A path is little more than a habit that comes with knowledge of a place. It is a sort of ritual familiarity. As a form, it is a form of contact with a known landscape. It is not destructive. It is the perfect adaptation, through experience and familiarity, of movement to place; it obeys the natural contours; such obstacles as it meets it goes around.

A road, on the other hand, even the most primitive road, embodies a resistance against the landscape. Its reason is not simply the necessity for movement, but haste. Its wish is to avoid contact with the landscape; it seeks so far as possible to go over the country, rather than through it; its aspiration, as we see clearly in the example of our modern freeways, is to be a bridge; its tendency is to translate place into space in order to traverse it with the least effort. It is destructive, seeking to remove or destroy all obstacles in its way. The primitive road advanced by the destruction of the forest; modern roads advance by the destruction of topography...

I only want to observe that [the road] bears no relation whatever to the country it passes through. It was built, not according to the lay of the land, but according to a blueprint. Such homes and farmlands and woodlands as happened to be in its way are now buried under it... Its form is the form of speed, dissatisfaction, and anxiety. It represents the ultimate in engineering sophistication, but the crudest possible valuation of life in this world.”

In the light of these reflections we could say that the way of Jesus is much more like a path than a road. Which means that it’s a journey that isn’t focused on speed, comfort and convenience – as if its only objective were to get us to some destination (heaven perhaps?) as quickly as possible. Rather, the journey that Jesus calls us to is long and winding and sometimes tough going. It’s a journey that recognizes the varying contours of this life, with all its ups and downs, and is resolutely committed to going wherever life’s path may take us, confident that this is where God can be found.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Thank you Lord that while the way of Jesus is not always easy, comfortable or convenient, it is always good. Thank you that I do not have to follow this path alone, but that in Jesus I have a friend, a traveling companion and a guide. Amen

SCRIPTURE READING

John 14:6

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Footpath Faith

DAILY BYTE

I must acknowledge that the core idea for today’s devotion arose from a reflection written by Tom Smith. In his reflection, Tom suggests that the medium with which we travel will determine to a large extent our experience and appreciation of our surroundings, and that this has tremendous implications for the way in which we undertake the journey of faith.

Let me try to illustrate the point. Imagine you’re driving along a road through the Kruger National Park like a real Park Mamparra, speeding along at 100 km/h. What are you going to see? Or more importantly, what will you fail to see - not because it isn’t there, but because the way in which you’re traveling makes it virtually impossible to notice? A magnificent elephant would be little more than a blur of colour, and even if you caught a glimpse of it, what chance would there be to experience and appreciate what an elephant is really like?

Now imagine you’re walking through the same Park along a bush path (hopefully with an authorized guide). And suddenly, up ahead in a clearing you spotted an elephant. How would your experience of the elephant be different? To what extent does the medium with which you are traveling – a footpath – influence the nature of your encounter?

Many people are eager to encounter an elephant, but only from the relative safety of a car, with an open road behind and in front of them to speed away, if things get a little too close for comfort. The medium with which they are traveling gives them a greater measure of control in the manner in which the encounter will unfold.

In a similar way, the medium we use to undertake the journey of faith will determine to a large extent the nature of our encounter with the holy. What do I mean by this? Well, many people make sporadic forays into the territory of the Spirit – perhaps by going to church on a Sunday, or attending a small group meeting, or maybe by reading these Barking Dog-Collar devotions. These sorts of activities are good, and the extent to which they enable us to slow down and take the time to become aware of God’s awesome presence all around us, make them an important part of the life of faith. But all too often ‘spiritual’ activities like these are little more than a momentary slowing down to see what there is to see of God, before putting the foot on the accelerator again and returning to the breakneck pace of life in which the beauty of God’s presence all around becomes nothing more than an indistinct blur.

In contrast to this, Jesus calls us to follow him, as he makes his own wandering way through the world. It’s really a call to a footpath kind of faith, in which the totality of our lives becomes the territory in which God can be encountered. There is something unpredictable, engaging and risky about traveling in this way. It brings a greater openness to being surprised by breathtaking beauty, or indeed terrified by the immensity of holy mysteries that we stumble upon so unexpectedly. As we follow a footpath faith we gradually become aware that everything around us is filled with the presence of God, and every moment in our often full and demanding lives is a precious opportunity for God to be known. Maybe then we’ll be less anxious to rush on to the next thing, and can become more present to God’s Presence in our midst.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord, forgive me for the times when I rush on by without noticing you in the midst of my life. Forgive me for thinking that I can encounter you on my own terms, and for trying to limit you to what I can manage or control. Help me to step out on a footpath kind of faith that is willing to follow Jesus wherever he might wander, and lead me along the contours of grace that traverse every part of my life. Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING

Matthew 4:21-22

Going on from there he saw two other brothers, James & John, in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Speed Kills

DAILY BYTE

Speed is the slang word for a chemical drug that consists of amphetamine or methamphetamine. It’s a powerful stimulant that’s often used in the clubbing scene to keep people alert and awake, but its temporary pick-me-up type effect on the nervous system means that it is used in a variety of other settings too. For instance, I once spoke to a recovering speed addict who said that she was tempted to start using again during one of my slightly-longer-than-usual sermons!

As a drug, Speed is aptly named, because of the rush that it literally delivers. It does so by increasing the levels of dopamine and serotonin in the brain, accelerating the action of these key neurotransmitters. This leads to an increase in perceived energy levels, heightened awareness and feelings of euphoria.

All of which sounds pretty terrific. But when you follow the road that Speed takes you on – the initial rush, the increased tolerance, the dependence, the addiction – when you follow that road you discover that it leads, quite literally, to a dead end. It destroys life. It’s true – speed kills.

But it’s not just the chemical variety of speed that people get addicted to. We live in a world that is obsessed with getting things done faster and faster all the time. Efficiency, productivity, minimizing down-town, maximizing output – these are the standards by which we are judged in this rat-race-ish world. And without even realizing it we trade Life for something-less-than-Life.

But every now and then someone comes along who challenges the conventional wisdom of the day. Wendell Berry is one such person. He is an author and poet who is fiercely critical of the short-sighted progress of technological advancement and our society’s endless obsession with doing things faster and faster. His ideas run counter to the mainstream thinking of our contemporary culture, and he is often derided as a result. But what he says cannot be so quickly dismissed.

He’s somebody who walks the talk. For instance, although he has written over 40 books, he refuses to buy a computer. Instead, he writes his manuscripts in long-hand with a pencil, and then gets someone to type them out for him. Now before you laugh this off as hopelessly outdated and embarrassingly archaic, listen to what he says. He writes:

“I acknowledge that, as a writer, I need a lot of help. And I have received an abundance of the best of help from my wife, from other members of my family, from friends, from teachers, from editors, and sometimes from readers... But a computer, I’m told, offers a kind of help that you can’t get from other humans; a computer will help you to write faster, easier, and more. Do I, then, want to write faster, easier, and more? No. My standards are not speed, ease, and quantity. I have already left behind too much evidence that, writing with just a pencil, I have sometimes written too fast, too easily, and too much. I would like to be a better writer, and for that I need help from other humans, not a machine.”

My purpose here is not to argue for or against the merits of using a computer. But rather for us to reflect on what is truly important. Wendell Berry suggests that speed, ease and quantity are not the best yardsticks by which to measure our work and the productive contribution we make to the world. That in fact, these values can choke the life out of us, and rob us of much of Life’s beauty and passion.

This is an arresting thought. Maybe before rushing into the rest of your day you’d like to pause for a moment and reflect a little more deeply on it. In what ways are you experiencing the truth that ‘speed kills’ – in your lifestyle, your work, your relationships, your spiritual life? How are rushing past Life and missing it in the process? What would it take for you to slow down today?

PRAY AS YOU GO

Slowly pray this meditative prayer, based on Ps 46:10, pausing between each line:
Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.

Life in the fast lane

The devotions this week are a re-run of those used previously, by special request.

DAILY BYTE

Near to where I live the M13 highway heads inland from 45th Cutting just outside Durban towards Pinetown. Before it reaches Pinetown, the M13 winds through a fairly picturesque area (as far as highways go) of indigenous bush before merging with a double-lane offramp flowing from the N3.

In my experience, the traffic from the N3 offramp is usually traveling considerably faster than the traffic on the M13, and because this faster traffic merges from the left hand side, it leads to an interesting scenario. You can be taking a leisurely drive along the M13, pretty much minding your own business and enjoying the scenery, when suddenly you find yourself in the fast lane of a multi-lane highway, with cars rushing up behind you, flashing their lights and hooting at you to move over or get a move on.

Whenever it happens to me I never fail to reflect on how this is true of so much of life – how easily I find myself traveling in the fast lane, and I’m not even sure how I got there. Think for a moment how this might be true for you, with the demands of work, marriage, kids, friends, church and family requiring more and more from you. And when you manage to catch your breath for just a moment and reflect on the breakneck pace of your life, you realize that you’re living in the fast lane, that’s it’s pretty much “go go go” all the time, and you’re not even sure how this happened.

The 59th Street Bridge Song by Paul Simon & Art Garfunkle begins with the memorable words, ‘Slow down you move too fast.’ The song goes on to paint a somewhat idyllic picture of a more gentle paced life, that is the exact opposite of life in the fast lane. Consider these words in the final verse:

Got no deeds to do, no promises to keep
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me
Life, I love you, all is groovy!

At this point we say, ‘Aha! Wishful escapist fantasy.’ (And certainly, any song with the word ‘groovy’ in it would probably fall into that category.) And I guess that it is, for who of us can honestly say, ‘Got no deeds to do, no promises to keep.’ Given this reality, is there any hope for us to live a less frantic, frenetic life that doesn’t require a complete abdication of all of our roles and responsibilities?

That is the theme that will be explored in our devotions this week. For the scriptures are clear that there is more to life than rushing from one thing to the next. Indeed, the compelling witness of our faith tradition is that woven into the sacred rhythms of a balanced and abundant life are times for rest and reflection and renewal, which are not only possible but essential if we are to live healthy, productive, sustainable and faithful lives.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Gracious God, sometimes my life gets completely out of control as I rush from one thing to the next, constantly dealing with all kinds of demands and juggling many different responsibilities. Remind me that there is more to life than racing along in the fast lane all the time. May this week be an opportunity to examine the busyness of my life in the light of your word, that I may live more truly the life that you call me to. Amen

SCRIPTURE READING

Hebrews 4:1, 9-10

“Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it... So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labours as God did from his.”

Bearing much fruit...

DAILY BYTE

There is much debate about the Holy Spirit among Christians. Different denominations and religious groups have contrasting opinions about the Holy Spirit. Within our own local congregations there is debate about the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives. Without getting into the particulars of this debate, let us rather focus on what the Spirit of God produces in our lives. The Apostle Paul tells us that the fruit of the Spirit in our lives is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The question we must ask ourselves is: To what degree is the fruit of the spirit evident in our life?

When I was a child, I used to love a grapefruit tree that we had on our back yard. The grapefruit that it produced were big and bright yellow colored. I loved the contrast between the bright yellow grapefruit and the green leaves of the tree. My uncle Manuel, who lived next door to us, would love to come into our backyard and pick some grapefruit. At the time I was about six years of age and I remember being angry at him for picking the beautiful yellow grapefruit. I would tell him not to do so because if the grapefruit were picked, the tree would no longer look beautiful.

If we allow the Holy Spirit work in our lives, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control will surely grow in our lives. These fruits of the Spirit are for those around us to pick and eat. When they do, those around us will be able to taste and see that the Lord our God is good. We must do our best to cultivate our lives in such a way that the fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in us is plentiful. But we must also make it available so that those around us can taste God’s love and goodness through the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Father, we thank you for your Holy Spirit and for the fruit that your Holy Spirit produces in our lives.We pray that you guide us to cultivate our lives in such a way that we will bear much fruit in order that those around us will see you in our lives. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ our redeemer. Amen.

FOCUS TEXT

Galatians5:19-26

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.

How much more...

DAILY BYTE

I do not have the blessing of being a father. My wife Kena and I have been married for six years and we have not yet been blessed with children. However, I do have the blessing of enjoying a good relationship with both my mother and father. They have been God’s loving instruments of blessing in my life. Those of you who are parents know what it is like to have a child ask for something from you, and all of us who were once children know what it is like to ask for something from our parents or caregivers.

When Jesus walked this earth, he taught us to ask our heavenly Father, who is good, for the Holy Spirit. He said that if we who are evil, know how to give good things to our children, than surely our heavenly Father would give us the Holy Spirit if we asked him. If a child asks us for a piece of bread, none of us give that child a scorpion or a snake. If we, who are evil, my sisters and brothers in Christ, are willing to give good things to children, how much more will our heavenly Father give us, his children, if we simply ask?

Asking is such a simple thing. Jesus told us that if we would only ask, we would receive, that if we simply knocked on the door it would be opened. The Holy Spirit is available to you and me today. The Holy Spirits gives us the power to lead lives that glorify God. There are obvious things in our lives that do not glorify God. These are patterns of behavior, attitudes, and habits that both hurt us and those who are around us. If these patterns of behavior dominate our lives, it becomes very difficult for us to testify of God’s love to others. The Holy Spirit is available to us to help us overcome these patterns of behavior. If you and I simply ask our heavenly Father for his Holy Spirit to empower us to overcome in our daily battles, our burden will be lighter. All we must do is simply ask. Ask for more of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Ask for the Holy Spirit to empower us to lead lives that glorify God, and thus be able to effectively witness of God’s love to those around us.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Father, we praise you for we are able to come to you confidently in prayer. Your son Jesus thought us to ask you for the Holy Spirit. We recognize that we have missed the mark. We recognize that there is sin in our lives and pray for your forgiveness. We thank you for your redeeming work through Jesus Christ that allows us to be forgiven. Now we pray for more of your Holy Spirit in our lives. Let your Holy Spirit guide us to lead lives that glorify your name. Let your Holy Spirit empower us to witness of your profound love to those around us. Amen.

FOCUS TEXT

Luke 11:9-13

“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Before and After

DAILY BYTE

As we continue to celebrate the season of Pentecost, let us continue to reflect on how the Holy Spirit empowers us to proclaim God’s loving mercy to the world. Yesterday we saw how the Apostle Peter, after being empowered by the Holy Spirit, stood up in front of thousands of people and proclaimed God’s powerful deeds through Jesus Christ. Today, I invite you to look at Peter before he was empowered by the Holy Spirit. We read in the Gospel that after Jesus was arrested, Peter followed him from a distance. Once they arrived at the house of the Chief Priest, another disciple helped Peter gain entrance into that house. When Peter was outside, a girl who was the servant of the High Priest recognized Peter as one who had been with Jesus. Peter, after being confronted by the girl and after the girl told those around that Peter was a follower of Jesus, denied his Lord. Peter could not hide the fact that he had been with Jesus. There was something in him that evidently showed that he was one of the followers of Jesus. Yet, due to fear of being arrested, tortured, and probably executed, he vehemently denied Jesus.

So, what is differentbetween the Peter who denies his Lord out of fear, and the Peter who stands up to proclaim Jesus Christ in front of a multitude. The answer is simple: The Power of the Holy Spirit. After being empowered by God to proclaim God’s mighty deeds in and through Jesus Christ, Peter no longer allows fear to deter him from proclaiming Jesus as his Lord. The Peter before the Day of Pentecost, denied Jesus in front of a handful of men and a servant girl. But the Peter of the Day of Pentecost was willing to risk it all, stand up in front of thousands of people and proclaim Jesus Christ openly.What a drastic change.

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ. The same Spirit that caused this change in Peter and that led the other Disciples to spearhead a movement through which God transformed our world, is the same Spirit that lives in us and whose power is available to us. You and I have access to the precious transformative power of God’s Holy Spirit. What a blessing and privilege, but also what a great responsibility. We must realize that if we spend time with Jesus, people around us notice and we will be presented with opportunities to proclaim God’s deeds of power through Jesus Christ. May God forgive us for denying Jesus, and may God empower us to proclaim Jesus in a lovingly bold way.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Father, we thank you for sending your Spirit upon this earth to transform our lives, our society, and our world. We pray for your forgiveness for denying your Son Jesus Christ. We pray for your Spirit to empower us to proclaim your love to those around us. Teach us, guide us, and show us effective ways in which we can witness of your love for this world in an effective way. Amen.

FOCUS TEXT

Matthew 14:66-72

While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.’ But he denied it, saying, ‘I do not know or understand what you are talking about.’ And he went out into the forecourt. Then the cock crowed. And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, ‘This man is one of them.’ But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.’ But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not know this man you are talking about.’ At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ And he broke down and wept.

In order that you may proclaim...

DAILY BYTE

Yesterday we reflected on Pentecost Sunday and the worship experience that we enjoyed at Manning Road Methodist Church. Indeed it was a day to remember. Today we continue to reflect on the Day of Pentecost on which God sent down the Holy Spirit over all flesh as the prophet Joel had prophesized. This landmark event that we find in the book of Acts is seen as the inauguration of the Church. When the Apostle Peter proclaimed for the first time the mighty deeds of God that were manifested in the life, passion, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Today, our God reminds us through the same Apostle Peter that we are a chosen people, a people who have been shown mercy and who are claimed by God. What wonderful thing. We are the people of God. You and I, and all of those who have been redeemed by God through Jesus Christ are God’s own people called out of the darkness into admirable light. You and I, and millions of other people on this earth are privileged and richly blessed.

There is a worship song in Spanish that is quite popular and that remind believers that we are God’s own people, a people that have been called by God to proclaim God’s mighty deeds of power in and through Jesus Christ. I respectfully invite you to reflect on this truth today. How is it that you and I can proclaim God’s deeds of power? And more importantly, how can we do so in an effective manner? You and I have undoubtedly been called to do this. God has shown us mercy and claimed us for God’s self. But we must always remember our duty to be merciful towards others and to be beacons of god’s marvelous light. Let us be in prayer throughout the day and ask for God’s Holy Spirit to guide us and show us the way. May our Lord reveal new things to you to day!

PRAY AS YOU GO

Father, you have shown us mercy through Christ Jesus your son. You mercy towards us is manifested in many different forms. We pray that you guide us through your Spirit to be merciful as you are merciful. We praise you for you call us your people. We are a people that you have called out of the darkness into the wonderful light of Jesus Christ. Our duty is to answer your call by proclaiming your mighty acts in Jesus Christ. Help us be light amidst this dark world. Grant us the power of your Spirit to be able to lead lives that glorify you and witness of your love for this world. Amen.

FOCUS TEXT

1 Peter 2:9-12

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honourably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honourable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge.

From every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages...

(This week’s BDC is written by Edgar Vergara, the Duke student at MRMC this year)

DAILY BYTE

As I write this, I enter the fourth week of my time in South Africa. One of the main reasons why I decided to apply to serve a Field Education Placement for Duke Divinity School in this beautiful country was my desire to be immersed in a culture that is richly diverse and to observe how it deals with its diversity. I am particularly interested to see how South Africa’s diversity is addressed and embraced by the Methodist Church. I praise God for my opportunity to be here at Manning Road Methodist Church. Yesterday’s worship experience here at MRMC was one I will never forget. As we celebrated the Day of Pentecost, we had an opportunity to both reflect and embrace the diversity of the body of Christ. Our worship in the different services held rich portrayals of some of the different languages, cultures, and worship styles that we find within the body of Christ.

Since diversity in worship is a passion of mine, participating in worship throughout the day yesterday was an edifying experience that I enjoyed thoroughly. However, I understand that for many, a multicultural and multilingual worship experience can be uncomfortable or cumbersome. This is understandable, and I have seen it at the many different settings where I have had the privilege of serving. So, I respectfully invite you to reflect on the experience you had worshipping during Pentecost yesterday. How did God bless your life during worship? Where and how did you see Christ? How did the Spirit of God work in you, or how did you see the Spirit at work during worship? Personally, as we worshipped yesterday, I could not help but remember Revelation 7:9–12 which speaks of a great multitude from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, who, together with the heavenly court, cried out in praise of the One who sits on the throne and of the Lamb. I sincerely believe that yesterday at MRMC, we saw a little bit of heaven here on earth. We did so because our focus was on worshipping the One who sits on the throne, and not on ourselves. We did so because we focused on worshipping the One who has redeemed us into a people who, while embracing and celebrating diversity, have been made alike through the precious blood of the Lamb.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Father, we thank you for your Son who has redeemed us. It is through his blood that you have claimed us for yourself and granted us the privilege of witnessing of your love to this world. Father, thank you for your Holy Spirit who leads us to live lives that shout: ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb... Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.’

FOCUS TEXT

Revelation 7:9-12

After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, singing, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.’

Waiting for Good

DAILY BYTE

We have seen the wise men demonstrate for us this week that praise is the one and often only response that we can offer to God freely and authentically, even when it is dark, because praise does not only indicate elation and ecstasy.

Praise must also mean faith in a tiny, seemingly unrealistic promise of a world renewed and restored by the power of a loving and almighty God. Praise is not only for the good times, times of plenty, times of prosperity and good health, but it is for all times, the ones that bring us happiness and the ones that cause us pain.

For little children born into squalor and for each of us here today, we must learn to praise God holding the joys and the sadnesses in both hands. We met one of these children amidst the devotions for this week. His name is Lindokuhle.

So, as we prepare for the weekend and Sabbath rest, let us, as Lindokuhle’s name encourages, "wait for good" in the spirit of faith.

For goodness is what God has promised us in the birth of Jesus.

Let us join with all of creation, young and old, rich and poor, flying things and creatures of the deep, singing praises to a God who loved us so much that He risked everything to come down to us.

And though it was dark and there was little hope for light in sight, those who journeyed to see him found ample reason for praise.

Does your life still seem dark? Is there little hope for light in sight? If you take some time to think about the good that entered the world in the humble form of Christ and if you contemplate the striking creativity of God’s created young and old, flying things and creatures of the deep, do you think there may be something good waiting for you? Do you think you can hang on and wait for the good promises of God in your life?

Is it possible that God is there waiting for you? Is this not the ultimate reason for praise?

PRAY AS YOU GO

Pray this prayer of waiting for good, written by Walter Brueggemann from his book, Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth: Prayers of Walter Brueggemann:

God, we are strange conundrums of faithfulness and fickleness. We cleave to you in all the ways that we are able. We count on you and intend our lives to be lived for you, and then we find ourselves among your people who are always seeking elsewhere and otherwise. So we give thanks that you are the God who yearns and waits for us, and that our connection to you is always from your side, and that it is because of your goodness that neither life nor death nor angels nor principalities nor heights nor depths nor anything in creation can separate us from you. We give you thanks for your faithfulness, so much more durable than ours. Amen.

FOCUS TEXT

Psalm 148:13-14

Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above earth and heaven. He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his faithful, for the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the Lord!

A United Front of Praise

DAILY BYTE

This is the world we live in:

A world where 15 million children were left without parents by the end of 2007 because of HIV/AIDS.

A world where leaders prevent food and aid from coming into their countries to feed thousands of starving people because of nothing more than pride and self-deceit.

A world where the Son of God could be born in a place as lowly and wretched as a squatter camp.

In a world such as this, praise is an audacious action. Praising God flies in the face of reason and good sense.

How can we praise when all around us poverty, disease, and violence threaten to knock the life out of us and those that we love. In a time and place when many are asking – no – demanding, "Where is God" in this mess of a world, how can we be so foolish as to praise God?

And yet, we do! When we worship, we make a point of setting aside time to come together, as people from many different families, places, and life experiences to do nothing else but praise God! Psalm 148 says, “Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and women alike, old and young together!” All of them are called to praise the name of the Lord!

People with HIV, leaders who starve their people, people who live in squatter camps, people who sit next to you in church on Sunday. Praise is not exclusive. There is no entrance fee. The act of giving praise to God is free and open to all. It is something we are all called to do, and it is something that brings us together, as human beings with one central goal. Praising God moves us beyond ourselves and connects us to God and to one another in ways that we would not normally be connected.

As such a family, we will feel both joy and pain, but we will never experience these things alone because we have been knit together. I am often overwhelmed by funerals – not just because the focus is on death and grieving – but because so often, people sing praise to God with more passion and richness than at any other time. At the heart of peoples’ sorrow about the brokenness of the world seems to lie a deep need to praise in spite of it, to join together in lifting up voices in sheer releases of praise.

I remember very little about my mother’s funeral, but what I do remember is standing at the front of the church with my family, facing the casket and the altar, with several hundred people standing behind like an army. And after the sound of the first chord from the organ, a wall of sound burst forth behind me, enveloping me and all my sadness, sending it up in a cloud of praise to God.

I turned around to look and saw people positively bellowing out their praise. Whether it is a way of protesting to God or simply giving thanks, praise is our expression to God of how we see the world and how we desire to see it, describing how God made the world and how God desires it to become. Praise is allowing our voices to burst forth through all of the madness and maintain that we are still alive, we are going to stick together, and we will not be silenced!

PRAY AS YOU GO

Pray this scripture this week, as I reminder of our united, persistent, voice of praise!

Psalm 149:6

Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!

Amen.

The Birth of Praise

DAILY BYTE

My struggle about praise in the midst of darkness recently came to a head when I went deep into a squatter camp to deliver a present to a baby boy. The young mother met me at my car just outside of the camp, the baby wrapped in a blanket to shield him from the Cape Town wind, which I hear was unseasonably strong for December. Holding my package tightly, I began to follow her home, weaving in and out of shacks built so closely together that my shoulders almost touched the outside walls. It stank of improper sewage and the air was close to suffocating, as if too many people were trying to breathe the available oxygen so that there was a shortage. Through the dirt and the mess, I continued on following her, clutching my gift and hoping this maze of a journey would swiftly come to an end, realizing though that our destination would not offer much more.

The sun had been shining when I left my car, but as I passed over the threshold into her meager home the air turned dark and still, as if I were entering a cave. I presented my gifts: baby clothes, a few bibs, rash ointment, and held the child, Linbokuhle, whose name means, "waiting for good."

As I looked down at him I realized that I was in the presence of new life, full of possibility and promise, born in a lowly shack in a cramped squatter camp because there was no room "in the inn." As I made my way out to my car, I wondered if this was how the wise men felt... Bearing their gifts, they traveled far, motivated by a star, by a promise of a new king. But when they got closer and closer the scenery changed and their surroundings looked less and less fitting of such potential, of such promise.

Being wise though, they were not deterred by the humility of what they found, for they could see past the surface, past the smell, past the poverty. When they praised God at Jesus’ birth, their praise sprung from a place of great darkness. Yet, because it was of God their praise promised to burst beyond the bounds of darkness into the light of the new day, which would surely follow.

The wise men came to praise the living God and discovered that in order to praise him where he was, they must journey to a place that had no apparent joy or hope, a place where most “respectable” people would never go, a place not fitting for any of us to lay our heads, let alone the savior of the world... but it was there where true praise of God took place. Found in the tension of a broken, inhospitable world and a new life, full of potential, holding that child, my own praise was born.

Where is praise being born in your life? Where are you looking for God?

GUIDING SCRIPTURE

Matthew 2:9b-11a

And there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage.

PRAY AS YOU GO

O almighty God, by the birth of your holy child Jesus you gave us a great light to dawn on our darkness. Grant that in his light we may see light. Bestow upon us that most excellent gift of love to all people, so that the likeness of your Son may be formed in us, and that we may have the ever brightening hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
- Revised from The Book of Worship, 1965

In the Midst of Darkness

DAILY BYTE

Praise of the Lord is a fitting response to the ways God relates to us, as ordinary people. In the greatest gesture of love and solidarity ever known, God became one of us... a simple human being, vulnerable to pain, sickness, temptation, and even death and all because God wanted to be one with us... to feel what we feel, to mourn what we mourn, to struggle, and to need.

In this gesture God added a dimension to God's limitless capacity for understanding, fulfilling the very essence of the meaning of compassion: to suffer with.

When we read Psalm 148, and when we consider what it means to praise, we think of emotions like joy, elation, utter happiness, sometimes even euphoria. In my mind I actually see dancing and jumping up and down and hands raised up.

Yet, I wonder if there is not another aspect to what it means to praise. When we face the realities of our current situations, both in our larger community and also as individuals, we are certain to feel the tension between the elated praise called for in the psalm and the complexity of emotions we experience when we consider the brokenness of our world.

Some of us may have been blessed with elation over these past few days and may be ready to dance and sing in thanksgiving, but others of us may be caught in cracks of despair dealing with family illness, serious financial woes, or just plain loneliness.

If we consider what life is like for our brothers and sisters to our north in Zimbabwe, we feel this tension between praise and brokenness. For in order to praise the Lord rightly and honestly we must examine this shadow side, this dimension of praising, which on the surface is bereft of joy and happiness. What does it mean to praise God in the dark?

For a little more than two months I have been a minister in the historically black township of Guguletu, outside of Cape Town. In many ways these last two months have been a time for me to learn what it means to praise God in the dark.

A Sunday does not go by when tears do not spring to my eyes as I listen to these peoples’ hymns and prayers, to the rhythm of their dance and the jingle of the bell. And what a brilliant, heavenly sound they make. These grannies, young adults, and children have no problem praising God in the dark, since in a way they know better than me that true praise must emerge from darkness. Otherwise, it is incomplete. In these last few months, I have been the one struggling to praise God in the face of hopelessness.

What darkness do you find in your life? How do you praise in the midst of it?

GUIDING SCRIPTURE

1 Peter: 9

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light.

Ultimate Praise

DAILY BYTE

The devotions on Psalm 148 for this week are compiled by the Rev. Mel Baars and the Rev. Anna Layman.

Pray through this psalm twice now, and the second time, allow your heart to land on one specific praise that you particularly relate to at the moment. What about your life or the earth right now makes you want to praise God? In the challenging world we live in, sometimes it can be really difficult to identify praiseworthy things, and sometimes we simply forget to praise what’s right in front of our noses. If there seems to be nothing to give praise for, pray anyway, asking God to show you something about your life or the world that is worth praising!

~ Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all this angels; praise him, all his host! Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created. He established them forever and ever; he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed. Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command! Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds! Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and women alike, old and young together! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above earth and heaven. He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his faithful, for the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the Lord! ~

What came to mind that is worth praising? A sparkling constellation in the sky outside your window? Recent rainfall that has watered your plants so that you don’t have to do it yourself? A truly magnificent person in your life? A feeling of God’s faithfulness to you?

Psalm 148 is the ultimate song of praise. In it, we are told to praise from the very heights of heaven and from the depths of the earth... young and old... birds of the air and creeping things... all seeming opposites. In Hebrew poetry, this is a place in the text that indicates everything or everyone without actually saying “everything” or “everyone.” The psalms are poetry, after all.

The words must paint a picture for us so that we are able to grasp the enormity of these claims! From the highest point of heaven to the lowest places on earth, uncharted depths of sea... Every person from the mightiest king to a humble man or woman who has been alive but seconds to the oldest human being… Everything and everyone in between - "Praise the Lord!" Every facet, every nook and layer, all things seen and unseen, all of creation is commanded to praise the living God.
So even if you feel like you or your life is insignificant – even if you feel like there is nothing in your life worth praising, think again. If God is saying to everyone everywhere that we must praise him, where is the praise in your life?

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord, teach us to praise you. Open our eyes to the wonders you are working in our lives. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord - Praise the Lord!
Amen.

Entertaining Angels

DAILY BYTE

We say that we want to become a people who are hospitable – that hospitality is a Christian value. So, if we say this, we need to take some daring steps toward opening our doors wider to welcome others. In her book, Just Hospitality: God’s Welcome in a World of Difference, Letty Russell says that the “basis of this practice of hospitality is that we were once strangers, exiles, and nobodies and are now welcomed by God so that we might welcome others.”

God welcomed us and in doing so, God teaches us to share the same welcome with other people.

Take a good look at your life and the people around you and ask yourself, who do I need to offer to stay with me – maybe not literally stay in your home, but who might God be asking you to welcome, spend some time with, eat with, be with in life – so that you can learn from the resurrected Christ in them.

And so that they can show you more of who you truly are.

Hebrews says that strangers in our lives have often turned out to be angels, and that when we welcome them, often we welcome God’s surprising presence and work in our midst. Who might the angels be for us that we are entertaining unawares?

Sarah and Abraham entertained some strangers who told them they would become parents in their old ages – parents of a nation! Jacob wrestled and spoke with a stranger, receiving a new name, Israel, and a new life soon after, reconciled with his brother. Mary Magdalene entertained a stranger by the Garden Tomb who turned out to be Jesus Christ.

What opportunities to entertain angels might you be overlooking? It may be awkward. It may not mean that we conform to all our social norms. But, we may, just may, find that when we spend our lives welcoming strangers who are different from ourselves, we realize we’re actually talking to Jesus.

FOCUS READING

Hebrews 13:1-3 (NRSV)

Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Jesus, before we judge others, reject them, ignore them, or snub them in any way, teach us to look for your face in theirs, hear your voice in theirs, and share your love with them. Amen.

The Hospital in Hospitality

DAILY BYTE

Have you ever noticed that the word, Hospitality – has at its root, the word, ‘hospital’?

A hospital is not a place where you go for vacation. It’s generally not a place to visit for fun. It’s a place where you go to stay to receive healing.

We’ve been discussing the practice of Christian hospitality this week, and we find that hospitality is about staying with people in a safe space where together, you can share healing.

And thank goodness we are called to create this safe, hospitable place, as people of faith because at one point or another in our lives, we, ourselves, are the stranger. Right now, you and I might be in the “in crowd,” comfortable in the knowledge that we are known and appreciated by the people around us. But, at one point or another in our lives, we are the one who knows no one. We are the outsider. Do you find yourself to be an insider or an outsider right now? Perhaps you are both...

Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks said after the September 11 attacks, “I used to think that the greatest command in the Bible was ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ I was wrong. Only in one place does the Bible ask us to love our neighbour. In more than thirty places it commands us to love the stranger. Don’t oppress the stranger because you know what it feels like to be a stranger – you were once strangers in the land of Egypt. It isn’t hard to love our neighbours because by and large, our neighbours are people like us. What’s tough is to love the stranger, the person who isn’t like us, who has a different skin colour, or a different faith, or a different background. That’s the real challenge. It was in ancient times. It still is today.” (from Letty M. Russell, 101-102).

In order to love people, we need to stay with them – not just visit them – and not just bump into them on a Sunday in the church pews. I was reminded this week that many people who attend church together barely know each other’s names – we certainly rarely stay with each other, knowing more of one another than what we wear to church on a Sunday. I was also reminded that as “church people,” we can be very particular about holding our place in the church – whether by holding onto positions of authority (no matter how small they may seem) or by holding onto our literal spot in the pews. I was reminded by some people who are relatively new to the church community I’m a part of that this can be rather intimidating to a stranger...

To someone walking in from the road, are you a part of a hospitable community? Do you open the row you sit in at church, your home, and your life to others?

Perhaps if we do, we will have more of a chance to see Christ in each other – instead of just seeing the face of someone unknown to us...

FOCUS READING

Deuteronomy 10:19 (NKJV)

Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Stay with Me

DAILY BYTE

Yesterday, we heard the story of the disciples who walked with a stranger along the road to Emmaus. And that stranger seemed to know an awful lot about the truth of the scriptures they believed in, who they were, and what their history was. And I guess they listened to him – I guess they listened pretty well – because when they got to what could have been the end of their walk together and the stranger started to walk on ahead as though he wasn’t going to stop with them – they stop him.

And they say, “stay with us.” Stay with us. It’s almost evening and the day is now nearly over. Stay with us.

So, when they ask him to, this stranger who has so many things to teach them agrees. He doesn’t just visit for a little while on the road and then keep on walking. He stays.

Earlier on this week, I told you about my teacher, Jonathan and his wife, Leah, a white couple who had purposefully been going to St. John’s Baptist Church, a church he describes as being led and attended by black people in Durham, North Carolina. They had been attending this church for a while, when as Jonathan was walking down the street, he saw another member from the church. He describes the scene in his book, Free to be Bound: Church Beyond the Color Line. He yelled out, “Hey there!” and called her by name. And she hollered back, “Well, hey!” And stopped in the middle of the street, propped her hand on her hip and said, “Ya’ll gonna keep comin’ back, ain’t you?” with a wry grin. And Jonathan responded, “If you don’t mind.” “She slapped her knee and cackled, ‘It’s all right with me, honey!”

Because you see, Jonathan had realized that he had something to learn – a whole new world to understand – from people who were different than he was. And when he asked to stay, his “visit” turned into an openness to a new life for everyone involved.

On the road to Emmaus, the disciples visit with Jesus for a little while, but it’s only when they ask him to stay and sit at the table with him, that they realize who he is!

It’s only when he stays that they realize they’ve been talking to Jesus the whole time.

And then – while that truth is still ringing within them – he vanishes “from their sight.”

And they are left with the second resurrection truth that every single stranger they meet from now on along the road, holds the presence of Christ. The truth that they will only know this and learn from each other, if they ask the stranger to stay with them. Have you ever asked Jesus to “stay” with you in the form of a stranger?

GUIDING SCRIPTURE

Luke 24:28-35 (NRSV))

As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’ That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Just Visiting

DAILY BYTE

While searching on the internet this week for images that illustrate Christian hospitality, I came upon a cartoon of a couple shopping in a mattress store. The woman comments to the store clerk, “We’re shopping for a mattress for our guest room. We don’t want anything too comfortable...”

As a culture, we tend to be okay with people coming to visit for short periods of time, but we’re not too keen when people stick around for a while. We even have a name for this – when people “overstay their welcome...”

Yesterday, we talked briefly about the phenomenon of “visiting” people who are different than we are to have “cultural experiences.”

I’m not saying these visits are wrong – they are definitely a step in the right direction. We can’t know or understand others without spending some time with them. But it seems there are a few further steps on the road that we’re called to as disciples of Jesus Christ.

On the road to Emmaus in the Gospel of Luke, the disciples are walking along deep in discussion and they come upon someone unknown to them. This unknown person asks them to be let in to the conversation – he says – what are you talking about, as you walk along?

And in chapter 24, verse 17 it says they stopped walking then – they stopped in their tracks and Cleopas calls it like he sees it – he says – you’re obviously not from around here! Cleopas calls the unknown person a stranger and asks if he’s the only person anywhere around who is an outsider – who doesn’t know what’s happened. And then Cleopas and his friend start to tell this stranger a long story about the crucifixion and the way that people from their group of friends had found the tomb empty – things they somehow expect the outsider to know but that he couldn’t possibly have known unless he was in their group himself when they discovered these things.

But then, the stranger surprises them. This stranger that they’ve bumped into on the road starts telling them how it really is. He tells them that they’re actually missing the point of how the Messiah was going to redeem Israel. He goes back and preaches to them about the whole history of their people and faith – he goes back to the beginning with Moses and all the prophets, interpreting things about the Messiah in all the scriptures. He basically says – oh yeah? – you think you’re the ones in the know? You have no idea – you have no idea what I, this stranger – can teach you about your own life – and about this particular situation you’re in. Let me give you a “cultural experience.”

Have you ever encountered someone different than you who was able to shed light on who you are? What strangers are you meeting on the road, and are you listening to what they have to say?

FOCUS READING

Luke 24:13-27 (NRSV)

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’ They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?’ He asked them, ‘What things?’ They replied, ‘The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.’ Then he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

Cultural Experiences

DAILY BYTE

This week, we’ll explore the challenge and joy of Christian hospitality in the diverse world in which we live. It’s a heck of a challenge, but the scriptures also tell us that when we engage in it, a whole new world is opened up to all of us!

One of my tutors from seminary was a guy named Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and he and his wife, Leah, were very concerned with issues of hospitality, social justice, and reconciling with people across racial lines. So, when they moved to Duke University in Durham, North Carolina so that Jonathan could start his studies in theology, they asked around to find out where the dividing lines between black and white people were in the community.

It didn’t take them long to figure it out, as Durham has an often stark and deeply rooted history of racial division – so much so that many African American folk who work at Duke today still call it the ‘plantation’…. So, it didn’t take Jonathan and Leah very long to figure out where the white folk lived and where the black folk lived. As it turned out (as it so often does) they lived in communities sandwiched next to each other, and so Jonathan and Leah took an opportunity to go live on the border – on the street that acts as a dividing line between the two neighborhoods. And they did more than just eat and sleep there. They started attending a black Baptist church named St. John’s in a predominantly black neighborhood named Walltown.

When they arrived, they were, unquestionably, a bit of an anomaly, but in the book he’s written about his experiences – Free to be Bound: Church Beyond the Color Line – he also says that the people were used to white visitors. They weren’t all that surprised that he and Leah had pitched up for a while.

It’s very en vogue isn’t it, for us to have “cross-cultural experiences.” Many believe and profess that the way to break down cultural and racial barriers is to start relationships with people who are different from ourselves. We preach this often, and in many ways, it is true – we certainly can’t have reconciliation without relationship.

But Jonathan goes one step further, challenging us to remember that in Durham, North Carolina – and I believe his challenge can be translated to most any context (you may just need to change the names of the races or cultural groups) – “whites and blacks…have never suffered a lack of relationship.”

“Residents of Walltown who have for three or four generations cleaned toilets, swept floors, and changed bedsheets at Duke University know a lot about relating to white folk. What they know more than anything is that white folks don’t stick around. However generous and kind they may be on their visits, white folks are always ‘just visiting’” (91-92). I find myself in similar “visiting” situations often – do you? I find myself “experiencing” other cultures and then going home often - Do you?

FOCUS READING

Galatians 3:28 (NIV)

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.