Isaiah 58:6 (NIV): 6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
A prayer offered by Walter Brueggeman:
Save us, Lord, from a religion that ignores the cries of the exploited and oppressed. Lead us into a deeper faith that challenges injustice and makes the sacrifices that must be made to build a society that is ever more truly human. Amen.
Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities that may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
You have ordained a new order in which the first are last and the last are first. Turn us away from the false values of the world, that we may pursue your priorities, that which makes you happy: steadfast love, justice, and righteousness. Amen. (Walter Brueggemann, A Way Other Than Our Own)
I am working my way through Exodus currently and in Chapter 5 there is this thought that comes to me: We hear a word of “DELIVERANCE” or “FREEDOM” and think, “It must be NOW!”
Continue reading “We want the JOY of deliverance, but not the PRICE”The rebukes of Jesus to his disciples constantly challenge me. I am especially challenged when he points out their “little faith” or “no faith.”
In Matthew 17, after Jesus has come down from the transfiguration event, the disciples have been confronted with a situation they can’t handle. The trouble they have is they experienced the spiritual battle with demons before and had cast out demons, but now this particular situation wasn’t working out the same.
Continue reading “Regaining the power of the Church”Working my way through Matthew, I found this note in Matthew 4, when Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness: Continue reading “Are we stopping short of the full work of God in us?”
My daily reading takes me through four major portions of Scripture each day. One of my Old Testament readings this month has been a journey through Jeremiah. This has ignited my thinking once again into a long process the Lord has taken me through over the past 3 or so years I’ve called “Living in Babylon.” This is something that was a bit dormant in my spirit last year, but it is flaming into fire again this year.
Continue reading “Echo Chambers and the American Church”