Author: Jennifer Armstrong

Today’s reading:  Psalm 105

Are you familiar with the claim, evidence, and reasoning (CER) framework?  It usually begins to show up in middle school when students learn how to make a hypothesis and support their conclusions with data.  The model goes like this:

Claim – Make a one-sentence statement that answers the question at hand.

Evidence – Provide quantitative and/or qualitative evidence to support the claim.

Reasoning – Explain how/why the evidence supports the claim

As I studied our text for today, Psalm 105, I kept coming back to the CER framework.  The entire chapter follows this model.

Claim (verses 1-2) – The Lord is worthy of our praise.

Evidence (verses 5-41) –

• • God made a covenant with Abraham to make him a great nation.
  • God made an oath with Isaac (Abraham’s son) to be with him and bless him.
  • God promised Jacob (Isaac’s son) he would protect him wherever he went.
    • He allowed no one to oppress Jacob’s family as they wandered from nation to nation.
    • He called down a famine on the land, but sent Joseph (Jacob’s son) to protect them.
  • God made his people fruitful, too numerous for their foes.
  • God sent Moses as a servant, along with Aaron, to lead his people.
  • God performed miracles among the Egyptians to get them to release his people.
    • Covered the earth in darkness.
    • Turned the water to blood.
    • Infested the land with frogs, flies, and gnats.
    • Destroyed the land with hail.
    • Infested the land with locusts.
    • Killed the firstborn of every Egyptian family.
  • God’s people safely escaped Egypt.
  • God guided and cared for his people as they wandered in the wilderness with a cloud by day, fire by night, quail and manna to eat, water to drink.

Reasoning (verses 42-45) – God saved the Israelites so they would follow his ways.  Because God was faithful to deliver on his promises throughout history, he was worthy to be praised.

God was faithful then and is faithful now.  He kept his promises then and keeps his promises now.

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom (Psalm 145:3).

 

Today’s Reading:  Revelation 4

Do you like to be on the winning team?  I never had much athletic talent, so I’ve never actually been on the team that won.  But if you know me at all, you know I love most sports.  Even if “my team” isn’t playing, I’ll pick a favorite side and have fun cheering them on to victory.  Case in point – last night we got our first look at this year’s College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings.  My team isn’t on the list (and won’t be on the list even if they win out).  But, it is still fun.  If it the top four hold, I have to decide whether I cheer for UT where my friend’s son is in school or OSU because of my Big Ten loyalties.  Either way, I want to be on the winning side.

In obedience to God’s instruction (Revelation 1:1-2), the apostle John recorded the visions God shared with him about the end times in the book of Revelation.  Like B.J mentioned yesterday, this book can be a bit scary because it serves as a warning to all about what is to come.  Revelation, however, is also mean to be a message of hope.  Hope that comes from the assurance that good ultimately triumphs over evil.  While Satan and his allies will rage battle against God, Revelation gives us a picture of Jesus as the conquering King. Team Jesus wins!

Our text for today is Revelation chapter 4.  The main point of this short 11 verse chapter comes right at the end in verse 11.  All creatures in heaven and earth will praise and honor God because he is the creator and sustainer of everything.  This is the victory cheer.  I’m so glad to be on the winning side as Jesus reigns victorious forever.

You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being (Revelation 4:11).

 

 

 

Today’s reading:  Amos 7

Have you ever heard the saying, “never let the truth get in the way of a good story”?  It is election season, and I contend a lot of politicians subscribe to this theory.  Most of them don’t really intend to be untruthful, but often they are quick to omit or exaggerate details in order to make a story better or more impactful than it would otherwise be.

As you know from our study over the last few days, Amos was a humble shepherd.  He was not from the lineage of prophets or priests, but God used him as a messenger to warn the Israelites about their impending judgment.  Eventually, however, Amos’ message of God’s truth got in the way of someone else’s good story.

In chapter 7, we are introduced to Amaziah, the chief priest.  Although Amaziah held a position of influence in Israel’s religious community,  maintaining his position was more important to him than listening to God’s truth and doing what was right.  Because Amaziah was threatened by Amos’ message of God’s judgment, he tried to chase Amos away.

Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there” (Amos 7:12).

While Amos didn’t waver from speaking God’s message of truth, Amaziah’s self-centered behavior cost him his land, his family, and ultimately his own life.

Do you know anyone like this?  Someone who prioritizes their position at work, in the community, or even in the church ahead of telling the truth and helping others?  I do.  This behavior is rampant in 21st Century America.  In fact, I would say it is something that most everyone struggles with at one time or another.  Today, let us walk away from Amos 7 with this clear message:

God is serious about truth telling.  Don’t let prestige, authority or money get in the way of speaking the truth and doing what is right.  The stakes are too high.

Today’s Reading:  Ecclesiastes 3

There is a time for everything…

On August 17th it was time to take my son to college.  We rented a van, packed it full with everything we thought he might need, and headed out.  After a few hours setting up his room, we went to dinner, took him back to his dorm and left for home.  I was a little choked up when we left, but overall we’d had a great day and I held it together pretty well.

The next morning I needed to return the van at 8am.  B.J. had meetings (and my second driver now lives in Missouri), so I dropped the van at Enterprise and decided to just walk home.  Earlier that morning, my friend Teresa had sent me a short podcast called 239: A Sending Prayer for College Freshmen .

I crossed the street, got on the Constitution Trail and turned on the podcast.  On August 18th it was my time to cry.  I probably listened to that podcast at least five times as I cried the entire hour it took me to walk home.  When my heart was too sad to even find the right words to talk to God, the words of this prayer by Emily P. Freeman were just what I needed.  Thank you Lord, your timing is perfect.

They’ll move out of home this week and will bring their bags filled with clothes and their boxes filled with books. But you see what they bring in their hearts – anticipation, adventure, love, regret, anxiety, motivation, and hope.

They are a mix of excited, ready, terrified, and wide-eyed freedom.

As they look for a fresh start, remind them of your faithfulness every morning no matter where they call home.

As they look for community, remind them you are always with them no matter where they go.

As they look for adventure, remind them how you walk on water, turn water to wine, feed thousands from just a few pieces of bread. Remind them how you bring life straight up out of death, beauty straight out of ashes.

May they be open to the greatest adventures found in your divine presence and the greatest love that comes from your heart.  

When insecurity, comparison, disappointment and failure knock on their door, may they begin to understand this is part of growing up.  They’re not doing it wrong, they’re just human.  

May they be quick to listen, open to apology and swift to forgive.

Weave your wisdom into the fibers of their soul, bearing the fruit of confidence, clarity, contentment and a light heart.

May they not despise their humanity, rather may they embrace it.

May they not despise their body, rather may they learn to receive and respect their shape as a gift.

May they not despise their weakness, rather may they see how weakness brings a daily reminder to trust.

May they not fear failure, rather may they thrive in the midst of it.

May they not be quick to judge, rather may they be patient and curious.

Help them to find true friends and be a true friend in return.

Help them find their voice and to use it to be an advocate for themselves and for others.

Help them to see with eyes filled with compassion, equity, justice and love.

Replace their shame with courage.

Replace their confusion with peace.

Replace their fear with a love that moves within them, and around them, beyond their ability to understand.

May your grace surprise them kindly along their way.

Amen.

Today’s reading:  1 Corinthians 1:1-17

I was out running the other morning and Tim McGraw and Tyler Hubbard’s 2021 song Undivided started to play.  I don’t know enough about either artist to know whether they are Christfollowers or not, but the song has a catchy tune and an uplifting message.

I think it’s time to come together
You and I can make a change
Maybe we can make a difference
Make the world a better place
Look around and love somebody
We’ve been hateful long enough
Let the Good Lord reunite us
‘Til this country that we love’s
Undivided

In our scripture for today, Paul was writing to the Corinthian Church to encourage them and address a few problems he heard they were having, one of which was divisiveness.  The Corinthian church was a diverse group of Christfollowers that included wealthy merchants, common laborers and even former temple prostitutes.  They found themselves quarreling about a lot of things from loyalty to certain leaders (Paul, Apollos, Peter, Jesus) to which spiritual gifts were more important.

After an opening greeting and thanking God for the gifts he had given the Corinthian Church, Paul began his message by calling his audience “brothers and sisters”.  This was likely to emphasize that, despite their varied backgrounds, members of the Corinthian church were all part of the same family – the family of God.  Paul asked them to stop arguing and focus on what truly mattered, rather than the small differences that were taking them off course and driving them apart.

 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought (1 Corinthians 1:10).

Paul’s message to the Corinthian church is very timely for us 21st century Christfollowers.  We come from a lot of different places, some of us grew up in the church and some of us didn’t.  We don’t all look the same, sound the same, or share common experiences.  But even if we don’t agree on every detail, we can be united and work together in harmony if we agree on the one thing that really matters – Jesus Christ is Lord.

...yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live (1 Corinthians 8:6).

Today’s reading:  Luke 11:29-54

Your eye is a lamp for your body.  A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul.  But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness.  Make sure that the light you think you have is not really darkness.  If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as through a floodlight shining on you (Luke 11:34-36).

If you know me at all, you know I like sunshine.  June, when the sun rises before 6am and doesn’t set until after 8pm, is my favorite month of the year.  I like warm vacations at the lake or the beach.  I hate to shiver and have no interest in cold or snow…EVER.  As I was reading our scripture for today, it is no surprise that I was drawn to verses 34-36 (in the New Living Translation).  Sunshine into your soul…filled with light…your whole life will be radiant.  Sign me up for that!

The Bible tells us Jesus is the light.  We can be filled with the light by drawing near to him and choosing to walk in his ways over our own ways.  Selfish desires and sin blot out the light of Christ’s presence and make us much less responsive to his leading.

If I want more sunshine, if I want to be filled with light so my radiance influences others for good, what then do I need to do?  Invest in my relationship with Jesus by studying his word, spending quality time talking to him and investing in relationships with other Christfollowers.  Think about it, it is impossible to have a close relationship with someone when you don’t spend quality time with them.  The same is true for Jesus.  By filling my mind with things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8), I won’t have enough room in my brain (or time) to think about selfish and sinful things.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:6-7).

Today’s reading:  Joshua 22:10-44

Catastrophize – (v) to imagine the worst possible outcome of an action or event (Miriam Webster).

Are you guilty of catastrophizing?  If your team goes down by 10 points, do you find yourself saying, “the game is over”, even though it is still in the first half?  If you get one piece of negative feedback at work, are you convinced your career is over?  When you get a splitting headache, do you automatically think it is a brain tumor?  If you answer yes to any of these questions, you might be guilty.

Catastrophizing can lead to some negative consequences both for you and those around you.  For example, it can cause you to waste a lot of time (and money) dealing with “emergencies”.  It can also cause unnecessary anxiety or low self esteem, as you are prone to dwell on negativity.  Even worse, it can lead to troubles in close relationships as your friends/family are forced to endure many unnecessary crisis situations with you.

Our scripture for today is about the Israelites moving into the promised land.  If you remember from Joshua 21, the tribes of Rueben, Gad and half of the Manasseh tribe all received land on the East side of the Jordan River.  So, they settled in first, before the rest of the tribes got to their new homes.  In the beginning of Joshua chapter 22, Joshua charged these three tribes to never lose sight of their journey, to remember how (and who) got them to this point, and then sent them on to their new homes.

Be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul (Joshua 22:5).

In response to Joshua’s guidance, these three tribes went to their new homes and built an altar to honor God.  What do you think happened when the remaining tribes saw it?  You guessed it, they jumped to the wrong conclusion (e.g. catastrophized the situation).  They concluded these three tribes were trying starting their own religion and were rebelling against God.  They were ready to start a war.

Fortunately Phineas, a wise priest, led a of group of people to go confront the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh to figure out what was going on.  When they explained the altar was meant to honor God, not to make pagan sacrifices, everyone was good.  Gosh that seemed easy, all it took was a simple conversation.

How often in our lives do we jump to the wrong conclusion or catastrophize a situation?  Instead of confronting those involved, we make up stories, worry, and ultimately let the situation drive a wedge in our relationships.  I know confronting sticky situations takes a lot of courage, but a simple conversation can prevent a lot of heartache.  Let’s get to talking.

Today’s Reading:  Deuteronomy 5:1-22

Earlier in my career, I got to lead the design and implementation of a few enterprise programs that enabled my employer to comply with different laws and regulations.  Every program was a little different, as each had its own unique set of challenges.  But all of them eventually led us to the same question – “How much is enough?”  Our business partners who were responsible for executing the programs always asked more detail.  They wanted a checklist that told them exactly what to do. That way, they always had an answer for every circumstance and were less likely to make a wrong decision.  From an enterprise view, however, the law of diminishing marginal returns usually applied.  While enough rigor to produce compliant outcomes was a must, we didn’t need to measure and monitor every little thing in order to drive the right behavior.

Today’s scripture in Deuteronomy 5 is the Ten Commandments.  Verse 22 of this passage caused me to reflect on the question – “How much is enough?”

These are the commandments the Lord proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me (Deuteronomy 5:22).

Did you catch the end of the first sentence?  “And he added nothing more” tells us that God concluded ten commandments were enough to drive the right behavior.  We have five commandments about how we relate to God and five commandments about how we relate to other people.

In Matthew 22, Jesus affirmed that loving God and loving other people were [are] the key principles of God’s plan for our lives.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-49).

If Jesus is truly the Lord of our lives, ten commandments are enough to give us the guidance we need.

 

 

 

 

Today’s reading:  1 Thessalonians 5

My son Freddy leaves for college in three weeks.  From talking to several of my friends, I am finding there is a big difference between boys and girls when it comes to preparing to move away from home.  My friends with daughters tell me their girls have been preparing for months by getting their parents to buy matching bedding, decorative pictures, and every expensive toiletry under the sun.  Like me, my friends with sons have had the opposite struggle.  We can’t get our boys to do much of anything.

Week before last, we pinned Freddy down and made him work through the University’s access checklist so we could get into to his online account.  Did you know they don’t send tuition bills, or even copies of the bills, to parents anymore?  Fortunately the first time around the University also sent an email to the parents to tell us the first payment was due.  Whew, we almost missed that one!

Last night I sat down with Freddy to work the University’s move-in checklist and place a big Target order.  First thing he tried to tell me was that he didn’t need soap.  He claims that he uses shampoo to wash everything.  Nonetheless, I bought him two bottles of bodywash.  Next thing he tried to tell me was that he didn’t need a first aid kit.  We landed on one box of band aids being good enough to start.  Then he tried to tell me he didn’t EVER use Kleenexes (He said, “you know those things don’t work Mom.”).  What?  What do you think Kleenexes are designed to do, and for what have you been trying use them?  I convinced him to take one box for when he gets a cold.  Oh boy.  Three hundred and fifty dollars later, we almost have everything he needs.  While the checklist was super helpful, working through it with Freddy didn’t give me a whole lot of confidence he is really “ready” to move out.

Our scripture for today is the last chapter of Thessalonians 5.  It is also about being ready, specifically being ready for Christ’s return.  Paul wrote this first century letter to the church in Thessalonica to encourage them and give them assurance Jesus was really coming back.  He started the chapter with a reminder that no one knows the exactly when Jesus will return and compared it to a thief.  (Like working through the move-in checklist with Freddy, I’m not sure the opening of this letter gave the Thessalonian Christians much confidence.)

Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2).

Fortunately, after reminding them of this potentially scary reality, Paul goes on to encourage the church with practical reminders of how to prepare for Christ’s return.  These reminders were relevant for the Thessalonian christians and are relevant for us today.

• Warn those who are idle and disruptive (1 Thessalonians 5:14)
• Encourage the disheartened (1 Thessalonians 5:14)
• Help the weak (1Thessalonians 5:14)
• Be patient with everyone (1 Thessalonians 5:14)
• Do what is good for each other (1 Thessalonians 5:15)
• Be joyful always (1 Thessalonians 5:16)
• Pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
• Be thankful (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
• Validate teaching against the Bible (1 Thessalonians 5:20,21)
• Avoid evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22)

There is nothing we can do to earn salvation or earn God’s favor, so don’t let Paul’s reminder to the Thessalonians scare you or overwhelm you.  Rather, use these simple reminders to help you take your focus off yourself and the things of this world.  Use them to help you draw near to God and focus on emulating Christ.  Then you will be ready!

 

Today’s Reading:  Ephesians 4:17-32

A couple weeks ago, my 18 year old told me he’d had a fight with his friend about a controversial issue.  He went on to explain their disagreement and share more details about his point of view.  I walked away from that conversation with mixed emotions.  On one hand, I felt good because his theology was in line with the Bible and I was thankful that he had the courage to stand up for it.  On the other hand, I was worried his delivery may have over shadowed his message.  See my 18 year old son is very outspoken about his convictions, but has very little patience for listening to different points of view.  Discussions about controversial topics, even those about which we generally agree, often turn heated at our house.

The New International Version translation of the Bible titles Ephesians 4:17-21, our scripture for today, as “Instructions for Christian Living”.  Verses 29-32 made me think of Freddy and his loud mouth.  Unfortunately I also found them deeply convicting.  Let’s take a closer look.