Stillspeaking Daily Devotional

Sep 7

September 7: “Blessed”

Having trouble viewing this message? View it in your browser. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=KTPTqd65hMioM4lqZS9Zng September 7, 2011 “Blessed” Luke 6:20 “Blessed are you who are poor… ” Reflection by Donna Schaper As we face the so-called debt crisis, and its debt “service,” I keep thinking of the beatitude that says, “Blessed are the poor.” It obviously means a blessing for those in debt. Being “under water” in our own homes, being out of pocket, paying off credit card debt or national debt are all more like curses than blessings. The curse comes from the exaggeration of the economy’s importance in our lives. It is important, but it’s not as important as it thinks it is. One of the hardest things I face now as a pastor is the way my unemployed congregants blame themselves for being out of a job. Strangely, our cultural economy has decided that people who are poor or unemployed are “bad.” Their poverty must be their fault, which is one of the most convenient myths bankers and billionaires ever fictionalized. Forgiveness of debt might be the route to the blessing Jesus promised. It might start at home, as the Lord’s Prayer wisely means when it says, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” Blessing might be something that has to start in your heart first, before it goes to S and P or Equifax for a rating. Our debts, in the form of self-blame and over-use of economic language, are forgiven. What is bad news for bankers is good news for the poor. Right now I feel the energy of most Americans resembles an unexploded bomb, a barn-bound horse, a root-bound plant. We are all wound around the economy as though it were our lifeblood. We are looking for a rebirth of wonder and blessing. What might change us would be to understand debt as fundamentally a spiritual problem. How do you pay off debt? You forgive it in another. You receive the blessing, then, of the poor. Maybe you even stop being so afraid of being poor and become poor. Your favorite word is “Blessed.” Prayer God of debtors, we pray for a release from banks and blame for blessing. Amen. About the Author Donna Schaper is the Senior Minister of Judson Memorial Church in New York City. Her latest work is 20 Ways to Keep Sabbath, from The Pilgrim Press. Check out her work at www.judson.org. Ecommerce/1731154920?VIEW_PRODUCT=true&product_id=39561&store_id=1401 http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=Ep97eUBSanXvHh3u-q_tGg The Daily Devotional is now on Facebook. Become a fan! http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=wiu0RQlixIPIwXti5OWinQ Sign up to receive Daily Devotionals http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=6_5L—Ig8VGRMKVz7ajHfA More items written by the Stillspeaking Writers’ Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=-pux5XATutUsNybd2sl2gA Facebook Fan Page http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=AaE-UpdZc9IVCKSpS9x9ig Forward to a Friend http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=qxF3IBjylmtJn7IRdi_xPw Signup for the Daily Devotional http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=3WyE8WWOdHVcKLp1COfQGA Writers Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=OSo3BO0yztSVICk6_Z8pRg The Stillspeaking Daily Devotional is a free service and is supported by your gifts to Our Church’s Wider Mission. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America,adapted. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=f41r0tLGiKP4j6_5oF0jIg Unsubscribe or edit your settings http://act.ucc.org/site/CO?i=fq4-zChilrl8-ppfrDanpRz9cvd3o1Am&cid=1072 www.judson.org. Ecommerce/1731154920?VIEW_PRODUCT=true&product_id=39561&store_id=1401 http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=Ep97eUBSanXvHh3u-q_tGg The Daily Devotional is now on Facebook. Become a fan! http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=wiu0RQlixIPIwXti5OWinQ Sign up to receive Daily Devotionals http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=6_5L—Ig8VGRMKVz7ajHfA More items written by the Stillspeaking Writers’ Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=-pux5XATutUsNybd2sl2gA Facebook Fan Page http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=AaE-UpdZc9IVCKSpS9x9ig Forward to a Friend http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=qxF3IBjylmtJn7IRdi_xPw Signup for the Daily Devotional http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=3WyE8WWOdHVcKLp1COfQGA Writers Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=OSo3BO0yztSVICk6_Z8pRg The Stillspeaking Daily Devotional is a free service and is supported by your gifts to Our Church’s Wider Mission. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America,adapted. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=f41r0tLGiKP4j6_5oF0jIg Unsubscribe or edit your settings http://act.ucc.org/site/CO?i=fq4-zChilrl8-ppfrDanpRz9cvd3o1Am&cid=1072

Sep 4

September 4: Easy Victims

Having trouble viewing this message? View it in your browser. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=IKd6LfloHtCplqVtaBABGg September 4, 2011 Easy Victims Excerpt from Matthew 18:15-20 http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=jJu9_270Isw8b-IiCKsfPQ “If your brother or sister sins against you go and correct them…” Reflection by William C. Green Correction here is what reconciliation requires. And we’re to take the initiative. But when I’ve been hurt by someone I don’t think I should initiate reconciliation. Besides, why should they be interested in being corrected? It seems pointless. It’s easier to stay angry and convince myself I don’t need them anyway. Being a victim and trying to forget is easier than doing something about it. Meanwhile, the gospel is all about God’s initiative in bridging the breach between ourselves and God, and ourselves and one another. “Gospel” is derived from the old English, “God’s spell.” Under the influence of God’s spell we see more clearly than ever love we haven’t deserved, grace we couldn’t bring on ourselves, and hope when we’d given up. Blessed by initiatives we could not take or deserve-expressions of grace not always recognized or appreciated at the time-we in turn are to take comparable initiatives with others Few of us have been physically assaulted. But all of us have been psychologically assaulted. We’ve all been trampled on, run over, put down, publicly humiliated, and ridiculed quietly or noisily. Pained as we are, under the spell of love and strength greater than all that, we don’t withdraw or just endure the hurt. We face it, aiming to settle matters that cause offense. Taking this initiative it will be far easier to live with whatever outcome ensues. Prayer Almighty God, knowing your love when I was at fault, may I take the same initiative with others when I’m hurt. About the Author William C. Green, a United Church of Christ minister, is the Director of Long Looking, a consultancy service specializing in fundraising and education for congregations. He is the author of 52 Ways to Ignite Your Congregation: Generous Giving. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=mfxz0Gn2ekrubrEqWjB3RQ http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=Ybm-e1Np7omnI8Gbjgx88w The Daily Devotional is now on Facebook. Become a fan! http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=sqBDFwJxiQuXu1GJTpitLA Sign up to receive Daily Devotionals http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=QpidFQIS54OvKyHk7H3-4Q More items written by the Stillspeaking Writers’ Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=krkRhr3EIj7km6nwf_yGew Facebook Fan Page http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=NIue7mm30iAIwKoOqlMSxA Forward to a Friend http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=Sy6ynfVghFhRK61_yczqPQ Signup for the Daily Devotional http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=YXrpTwLP6og9TEz1mlGoCg Writers Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=OAkjnW24GMxei_jHd9u80Q The Stillspeaking Daily Devotional is a free service and is supported by your gifts to Our Church’s Wider Mission. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America,adapted. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=ZYIRgZwFCAvL-VX-6zk7zw Unsubscribe or edit your settings http://act.ucc.org/site/CO?i=WUXFv1-Zd4xugfgxJPT9o1JSQ6NxXvph&cid=1072

Sep 3

September 3: Hindsight is 20/20

Having trouble viewing this message? View it in your browser. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=wiq8dq3qUjyPukmCXwU6Aw September 3, 2011 Hindsight is 20/20 Excerpt from Matthew 23:29-36 http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=0sm9Tc0ASoRDWj2Snua2Yw “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’” Reflection by Felix Carrion Even the scribes and Pharisees engaged in “Monday morning quarterbacking” and “hindsight is 20/20” claims. According to them, had they been around when the prophets were killed they would have had no part of it. They are pretty sure of this. Although the exchange in this passage is between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees, its larger context has to do with the treatment of the early converts to Jesus at the hands of the spiritual authorities. The writer of this passage knows that their present-day actions betray their claims of innocence. Even as the ink dries the gospel reminds the readers of what happened to Jesus and of the attacks against the apostles and missionaries of the early church at the hands of some of the religious leaders. When watch documentaries about the Civil Rights marches and am inspired by the courage and determination of the marchers, I would like to think that had I been old enough to be there I would have been one of them. But how can I know for sure what I would have done? The only way to know whether or not a “hindsight is 20/20” claim is true is to judge by what one does today. When folks are persecuted, tortured and kill today because of their religious, gender, ethnic and/or sexual orientation and identity, in our country and around the world, where are we and what are we doing about it? We are reminded by the text that beginning with Abel through the present day there is no lack of betrayal and violence. We have the opportunity now to show up, to make our voices heard, and to break the long chain. Prayer O God, judge whether or not my claims and actions are true, and please let me know what you see. Speak in my heart your truth about me, and grant me the fortitude to do the right thing. Amen. [object Object] About the Author Felix Carrion is Coordinator of The Stillspeaking Ministry, United Church of Christ. The Daily Devotional is now on Facebook. Become a fan! http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=Hn-L86ZPfLSu1KGnZmMqXA Sign up to receive Daily Devotionals http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=2IkzQE1JdkBGsuXUnT4WvA More items written by the Stillspeaking Writers’ Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=NDMfwN8Q5jvT6KAmy709nA ? Facebook Fan Page http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=HDBK9a5ur7TcHcd759IFXw Forward to a Friend http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=fZc_wYOrzwKQXnbQPloCiw Signup for the Daily Devotional http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=00VJCjaigEPsPyNORRMmFg Writers Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=r0T2kf18OX7Ca-3eYKuEwQ The Stillspeaking Daily Devotional is a free service and is supported by your gifts to Our Church’s Wider Mission. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America,adapted. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=QnNZgE539ze459HiqE9Scg Unsubscribe or edit your settings http://act.ucc.org/site/CO?i=9f6uVDNULNXBR-k-JdUSmpZ3pPaSflHT&cid=1072

Sep 2

September 2: Worship Style

Having trouble viewing this message? View it in your browser. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=NnPrz84dT1k7f0xHMJXYoA September 2, 2011 Worship Style Excerpt from Exodus 10: 21-29 http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=xsqAHNqxIdqYqnO_h8obsw “Then Pharaoh summoned Moses, and said, ‘Go, worship the Lord. Only your flocks and your herds shall remain behind … .’ But Moses said, ‘You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings to sacrifice to the Lord our God. Our livestock also must go with us … for we must choose some of them for the worship of the Lord our God, and we will not know what to use to worship the Lord until we arrive there.’” Reflection by Christina Villa In this passage from Exodus, Pharaoh tells Moses the people can go, but they can’t take their livestock with them. The problem is they’re going to need some of those animals to sacrifice in worship, since that’s how they did things. Without them, says Moses, “we will not know what to use to worship the Lord.” Excluding animal sacrifice, there are still certain things many people believe you have to have, or do, in order for worship to be worship. Exactly which things those are is a matter of opinion. In some circles, it’s considered shallow to be overly concerned with worship style, and backward to insist that things be done a certain way. I’m all for being open to new and different ways of doing worship. But custom and tradition in worship are more than style. They are lessons in faith repeated, week after week. Some of us need to hear and see the same thing repeatedly to get it through our heads and keep it in our hearts. For this reason, worship traditions and customs develop and stick around-for years, decades, centuries. Without them, many of us, including me, would not know “what to use to worship the Lord.” So I can empathize with Moses’ worry. It reminds me of those lists of Houses of Worship that hotels used to post in their lobbies. Or the signs along local roads coming into town that told you where the churches of various denominations were located. This information was for travelling people, like the Israelites, assuring them they would be able to worship the Lord wherever they went. Prayer Even when I haven’t left home, I often feel like a travelling person, unsure of what I’m going to find around the corner. So thank you for the church and its traditions, anchors for the wandering soul. About the Author Christina Villa is on the staff of the United Church of Christ in Cleveland, Ohio. Want to learn about Exodus? Look for Tony Robinson’s forthcoming “Exodus: A Stillspeaking Bible Study,” available this November. The Daily Devotional is now on Facebook. Become a fan! http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=Z_JlrgS17wp3vTDFItjy6w Sign up to receive Daily Devotionals http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=mjl2u5Lr98LJ6Xqvm8UOSA Archives http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=jG1ArxGPK1DIf62yJ6ySwA Facebook Fan Page http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=xuugE22HFgFCe_3z2LBs_Q Forward to a Friend http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=_O0IQsw2adlDMvIK2i9kEA Signup for the Daily Devotional http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=PXymuOoq_giY_ehqy-LjYQ Writers Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=7cMUGmFF2YDOhk5EW2V3BA The Stillspeaking Daily Devotional is a free service and is supported by your gifts to Our Church’s Wider Mission. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America,adapted. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=4V0jWuqisbyUqXYkez_WDA Unsubscribe or edit your settings http://act.ucc.org/site/CO?i=POe4VM0ZbTqqcawi2wcnQ6HkVGPV8fJH&cid=1072

Sep 1

September 1: Free to Worship

Having trouble viewing this message? View it in your browser. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=86r00xUOducZ6FJ2whdKpg September 1, 2011 Free to Worship Exodus 9:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.’” (NIV) Reflection by Kenneth L. Samuel In the southern church I serve in Georgia, congregants are sometimes disturbed when they hear “too much politics from the pulpit.” “Just stick to the gospel,” they say. “All we want to hear is what saith the Lord!” I suspect that my church is not unlike many. In the minds of many Christians, there is a vast divide between sacred worship on Sundays and the everyday political debates that plague us. But our faith is built upon God’s direct intervention into a political debate that took place in Egypt centuries ago. The issue was whether the Hebrew slaves, who held up Egypt’s economy with their free labor, should be liberated. God anointed and empowered Moses and the freedom fighters in Egypt, and after some 400 years of political, social and economic enslavement, the children of Israel were set free. The political climate in Egypt leading up to the liberation of the Hebrew slaves must have been tense, to say the least, but God was certainly the instigator of it all. So what does this have to do with worship? God said to Egypt: “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.” This doesn’t mean that oppressed people can’t worship God. It means that all people should be free to bow to no other god but God. No person should have to bow to any god of racism, imperialism, sexism, heterosexism, nationalism or materialism. God wants all people free to worship God and God alone. Worship, at its best, is a celebration of God’s liberating activity in the world. When we are liberated from every dimension of personal, inter-personal and political distress, we are made free to bow before no other god, but God. Political? Yes. Divine? Resounding yes! Prayer Dear God, empower our struggles against every exalted oppression that rivals your place on the throne. Make us free to worship you and you alone. Amen. [object Object] About the Author Kenneth L. Samuel is Pastor of Victory for the World Church, Stone Mountain, Georgia. The Daily Devotional is now on Facebook. Become a fan! http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=hdgMVl2Mjr5zx3kYIeEAig Sign up to receive Daily Devotionals http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=IlFKPwsLE1-Z4csR1K9mjw More items written by the Stillspeaking Writers’ Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=qvIAiAot7pFwBniwBwU0VA Facebook Fan Page http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=etzPJR6Ob_754fJzKrOrfQ Forward to a Friend http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=4sHtA0q-E9rQdzogZYFvOQ Signup for the Daily Devotional http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=cPBeT0fpZsDr3xPYIIwoTQ Writers Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=8Du3PJl8YTe8xnb1BdtT5Q The Stillspeaking Daily Devotional is a free service and is supported by your gifts to Our Church’s Wider Mission. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America,adapted. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=8e0yFHcvkviYPIuV3kizqg Unsubscribe or edit your settings http://act.ucc.org/site/CO?i=D9l89uVUOq8iuCNr_4f9_Z62KZn9pBgH&cid=1072

Aug 31

August 31: Spiritual but Not Religious? Please Stop Boring Me.

Having trouble viewing this message? View it in your browser. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=exIrnVsfIm3SxYyIZzydVA August 31, 2011 Spiritual but Not Religious? Please Stop Boring Me. Matthew 16:18 “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Reflection by Lillian Daniel On airplanes, I dread the conversation with the person who finds out I am a minister and wants to use the flight time to explain to me that he is “spiritual but not religious.” Such a person will always share this as if it is some kind of daring insight, unique to him, bold in its rebellion against the religious status quo. Next thing you know, he’s telling me that he finds God in the sunsets. These people always find God in the sunsets. And in walks on the beach. Sometimes I think these people never leave the beach or the mountains, what with all the communing with God they do on hilltops, hiking trails and … did I mention the beach at sunset yet? Like people who go to church don’t see God in the sunset! Like we are these monastic little hermits who never leave the church building. How lucky we are to have these geniuses inform us that God is in nature. As if we don’t hear that in the psalms, the creation stories and throughout our deep tradition. Being privately spiritual but not religious just doesn’t interest me. There is nothing challenging about having deep thoughts all by oneself. What is interesting is doing this work in community, where other people might call you on stuff, or heaven forbid, disagree with you. Where life with God gets rich and provocative is when you dig deeply into a tradition that you did not invent all for yourself. Thank you for sharing, spiritual but not religious sunset person. You are now comfortably in the norm for self-centered American culture, right smack in the bland majority of people who find ancient religions dull but find themselves uniquely fascinating. Can I switch seats now and sit next to someone who has been shaped by a mighty cloud of witnesses instead? Can I spend my time talking to someone brave enough to encounter God in a real human community? Because when this flight gets choppy, that’s who I want by my side, holding my hand, saying a prayer and simply putting up with me, just like we try to do in church. Prayer Dear God, thank you for creating us in your image and not the other way around. Amen. [object Object] About the Author Lillian Daniel is the senior minister of the First Congregational Church, UCC, Glen Ellyn, Illinois. She is the author, with Martin Copenhaver, of This Odd and Wondrous Calling: the Public and Private Lives of Two Ministers http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=q0SAoBL98xOTYAgTQ_NZrA . The Daily Devotional is now on Facebook. Become a fan! http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=lgP-wmiGBj1CCNJcAa5frA Sign up to receive Daily Devotionals http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=WYYh2wGHS7O9TrpAK-1ZTg More items written by the Stillspeaking Writers’ Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=vT5y1e5sLkPwNiY-yizvkg Facebook Fan Page http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=J5SfIUIXfLl1QPWspi757A Forward to a Friend http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=DAKvpcQb4Kk8Jo7Kp44_zQ Signup for the Daily Devotional http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=wCOouft9ki-d4h4ENzm51g Writers Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=n0oA1FFQ5IdowdbwufkqgA The Stillspeaking Daily Devotional is a free service and is supported by your gifts to Our Church’s Wider Mission. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America,adapted. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=c_jEyICZd46YAkZ5z6QtOg Unsubscribe or edit your settings http://act.ucc.org/site/CO?i=T_wXfAu4-GxiAgDj1hNj92mXlfq9BE26&cid=1072

Aug 30

August 30: Open Doors

Having trouble viewing this message? View it in your browser. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=7deryMEfcoG4Mit0mgffpw August 30, 2011 Open Doors Excerpt from Revelation 3: 7-13 http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=6UXWAFnVoztUrdaYvDExlA “See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.” (NIV) Reflection by Kenneth L. Samuel The book of Revelation was written by the disciple John to Christians who were experiencing severe persecution by first-century Roman emperors determined to destroy the church of Christ. With doors of social acceptance, religious tolerance and political favor being closed violently in their faces, John proclaims to Christian believers that “God has set before you an open door!” Really? How realistic is it to believe that God will open doors in contexts of systemic confinement, disenfranchisement and oppression? I grew up in the slums of New York City - the South Bronx. It was an economically depressed community, full of drugs, delinquency and crime. But in that concentrated ghetto of closed doors, God sent me a teacher by the name of Ms. Hutchinson, who taught and mentored me from grade 7 to grade 9. Upon my completion of the 9th grade, under Ms. Hutchinson’s tutelage, I was able to apply for and receive a scholarship to a private, prestigious college preparatory school in the hills of northern New Jersey. Upon graduation, I received four-year scholarship offers from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. and Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. God does open doors. This summer, a group of about 30 of my church members and friends journeyed to Senegal and The Gambia, West Africa on a cultural excursion. In The Gambia, we visited an orphanage that educates and serves children with special needs. The Gambia is a developing country with not very many doors of educational and economic advancement open to the vast majority of its citizenry. But after our visit, our church made a commitment to adopt that orphanage and to give what we can to provide consistent financial and material support so that it can keep its doors open for the impoverished children of The Gambia with special needs. God does open doors. The church I serve is itself located in an area of metro-Atlanta that has seen doors of business development and employment opportunity close consistently over the past ten years. Like many black and Hispanic urban areas across the country, we are experiencing the consequences of diminished resources for investment in transportation, infrastructure and education. But in partnership with a local community college, our church has recently launched a program that offers free GED prep classes to the growing number people in our community who have slipped through the public education system without a high school diploma. God does open doors. Are there any doors of opportunity, advancement or blessedness that God could open through you today? Prayer Lord, we are grateful for the doors of opportunity that you have opened for us. Now please give us the opportunity and the desire to open doors for others who would otherwise be locked in or left out. Amen. [object Object] About the Author Kenneth L. Samuel is Pastor of Victory for the World Church, Stone Mountain, Georgia. The Daily Devotional is now on Facebook. Become a fan! http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=lLiPoL9VJERdycBp_gKmuA Sign up to receive Daily Devotionals http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=GNwk4sNKxDZhxHTMQUqlJA More items written by the Stillspeaking Writers’ Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=PoTwxgoEyelOg2k86tZJdw Facebook Fan Page http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=YlzaGRhjCay8jECrTf6HwA Forward to a Friend http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=gnyNTvxrBpa1cyuKq2_5EQ Signup for the Daily Devotional http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=HIXCaT_q0oUuX4882Ql3XQ Writers Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=tGd58vo6wgt1LtykNJSHww The Stillspeaking Daily Devotional is a free service and is supported by your gifts to Our Church’s Wider Mission. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America,adapted. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=qWDZWgI1WoX6mjk5ToUPVw Unsubscribe or edit your settings http://act.ucc.org/site/CO?i=JrWhbYy1LGDhTlcGPfyAhdcFKKKwotRT&cid=1072

Aug 29

August 29: Falsely Accused

Having trouble viewing this message? View it in your browser. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=TxNgnZS8_UEZ1WLt-agaaQ August 29, 2011 Falsely Accused Excerpt from Acts 25: 1-12 http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=HmbcVrK2BnZY5EOMIn6JsA “Now if I am in the wrong and have committed something for which I deserve to die, I am not trying to escape death; but if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can turn me over to them. I appeal to the emperor.” Reflection by Christina Villa Being falsely accused of wrongdoing is a miserable experience for anyone, and acutely so for children. If you want to see indignant, blame a 7-year-old for something he didn’t do. Maybe the reason kids get so infuriated is that they have no court of appeal. Parents, baby-sitters, teachers, and principals are the Supreme Court justices of childhood. To be accused is to be convicted. Paul was sophisticated enough to know that he needed a change of venue before he faced the charges against him. He spoke up on his own behalf and was allowed an appeal to a higher court. Today, of course, Paul would call his lawyer. Unless he couldn’t afford one, and then, if he lived in this country, he’d be appointed a public defender. Public defenders are often looked at askance by the public. How can they defend all those obviously guilty people? (A question not as frequently asked of celebrity criminal defense attorneys.) There may not be a saint like Paul among the accused who find themselves in a public defender’s office, but who knows? There are certainly at least a few now and then who are falsely accused. The falsely accused have truth on their side, but that’s clearly not enough. The 7-year-old doesn’t know this yet. Often, religious people call for justice as if it were simply a matter of pointing out the truth. Paul knew a lot better than that. Prayer Dear God, watch over those who are being blamed for something they didn’t do and strengthen those who defend them. Amen. About the Author Christina Villa is on the staff of the United Church of Christ in Cleveland, Ohio. The Daily Devotional is now on Facebook. Become a fan! http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=90-cWnqTjI92xeD44M9xsQ Sign up to receive Daily Devotionals http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=GQF4OnYvLzQajMHGjlYQzA Archives http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=v-uL2A3geee_SW6t-TAM8A Facebook Fan Page http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=8kszr4ORVBWjtGM5HK5tKQ Forward to a Friend http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=yvv2VsE8PgCwAjEIbRVWOw Signup for the Daily Devotional http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=IQ-lGYSsk-ek9kFbhle_mg Writers Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=kBq6GvnzYZzeyh6NTGtEEQ The Stillspeaking Daily Devotional is a free service and is supported by your gifts to Our Church’s Wider Mission. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America,adapted. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=KQOdGFzBrR9tPcSMzWBDRA Unsubscribe or edit your settings http://act.ucc.org/site/CO?i=BqIQGpf5UT_n-Q8zp4a9rgp_aE0Rjeka&cid=1072

Aug 28

August 28: Hard Choices

Having trouble viewing this message? View it in your browser. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=b4Eag4p-citagw9ZUZXgag August 28, 2011 Hard Choices Excerpt from Acts 21:17-26 http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=OMrr71UlBLqRhotEtnl4PQ “They have been told about you that you teach all the Jews living among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs… So do what we tell you… . Join these men, go through the rite of purification with them, and pay for the shaving of their heads. Thus, all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself observe and guard the law.” Reflection by Ron Buford My mother used to say, “I’m not one to throw a brick and hide my hand.” Well … sometimes, you may need to hide your hands and perhaps not throw any bricks at all. Whichever course we choose, the important thing, as Stephen Covey writes in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, is to always keep your purpose in mind. What is the best way to reach your goal? In this biblical narrative about Paul and the early church in Acts, we see the early “Christians,” who were in fact practicing Jews who believed Jesus was the Messiah, in conflict with Jews who did not believe and were honestly seeking to keep their faith from being corrupted. And then along comes Paul, rapidly converting Gentiles into fellowship without making them go through circumcision and other established purification rituals traditionally required of gentiles wanting to become Jews. By what authority did he do this? Apostles who believed Jesus was the Messiah agreed on a shrewd strategy. Hoping to distract Paul’s accusers concerning his embrace of the Gentiles, they told Paul to come to temple dressed and shaved like a strict keeper of the law. They told him to “hide his hand.” In this instance, it didn’t work, and Paul was arrested. The Book of Acts, chapters 20 to 28, shows Paul facing hard choices and shrewdly flipping between hiding his hand and being as direct as my mother, but always keeping his purpose in mind. Prayer UCC forebear and great 20th century theologian Reinhold Niebuhr introduced the world to the now famous Serenity Prayer, which is perfect when we face hard choices: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.” Amen. Ron Buford About the Author Ron Buford, former coordinator of the UCC’s God is still speaking campaign, consults with religious and nonprofit organizations, leads workshops, and preaches in churches across the U.S. and U.K. Ron also appears in the DVD-based progressive theology series, Living the Questions 2.0. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=qmQuMVoYkXsPYqCNeXUB9A The Daily Devotional is now on Facebook. Become a fan! http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=QDwwOgVRdgd_Qirf6kRGuw Sign up to receive Daily Devotionals http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=7WXLoH91jVvmq5oTt-FfoA More items written by the UCC Writer’s Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=r5vSmTtwZF7oOR9C2zCfEw http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=p4lWgOcFs3M_WSaPPruawA Facebook Fan Page http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=32BnDGEd7cC1em7h8PwOfg Forward to a Friend http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=OZ-lboTcAgE4Yg0H1BxCbw Signup for the Daily Devotional http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=iFx77cDRYSFDEwLArc9T-A Writers Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=A8SrEcai8j_htuJDYsCrWw The Stillspeaking Daily Devotional is a free service and is supported by your gifts to Our Church’s Wider Mission. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America,adapted. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=E9FuDFpyTjFL8nDlEnbEQg Unsubscribe or edit your settings http://act.ucc.org/site/CO?i=fx3AnbwIVQYwmYLNKKPRhorsPafsUonL&cid=1072

Aug 27

August 27: A Rhapsody to Jesus

Having trouble viewing this message? View it in your browser. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=MCCoBsC9u_9TsA_3MuLXng August 27, 2011 A Rhapsody to Jesus Excerpt from Matthew 8:14-17 http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=ni85TedlACjnR0V366zPDg “When Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever; he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were possessed with demons; and he cast out the spirits with a word, and cured all who were sick. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, ‘He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.’” Reflection by Felix Carrion What was it about Jesus that in his presence people found healing? Could he see penetratingly into opaque matter? Did his hands channel non-detectable frequencies to heart and body? Were his words the language of a lost world? Was his science the special skill of the metaphysician at work? Did he know the realm of demons and spirits like the back of his mind? Had he cast out fear before casting out other possessions? Did he believe like no other Isaiah’s message, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases”? I don’t know. This much I do know: “People found healing in the presence of Jesus. Still do.” Prayer O God, help me to believe in Jesus today in ways like never before. Amen. [object Object] About the Author Felix Carrion is Coordinator of The Stillspeaking Ministry, United Church of Christ. The Daily Devotional is now on Facebook. Become a fan! http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=MX6eE0z-59BF1vNZy3uKow Sign up to receive Daily Devotionals http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=s90ZE6MGeUcYBQAuXALTew More items written by the Stillspeaking Writers’ Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=3os1ZGsDQDehusSE3G5KTA Facebook Fan Page http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=cHbxH-Ll2NbsStb_bLZLdQ Forward to a Friend http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=L6XRnFvXt8QIkvwO76Rx6g Signup for the Daily Devotional http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=qqwbVK5hJX8BeIRtMT3t9w Writers Group http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=oj9hEgireU7dJCTjQxTKwg The Stillspeaking Daily Devotional is a free service and is supported by your gifts to Our Church’s Wider Mission. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America,adapted. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=WnUb2Ly_yXvu5h1hSSGwoA Unsubscribe or edit your settings http://act.ucc.org/site/CO?i=ALV5GJqhNrsygFnkVofyJTs26aVO-u9y&cid=1072