DAY 282 - Tyranny of the Tangible

Matthew 6:24-33 (RSV) ²⁴ "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. ²⁶ "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? ²⁸ And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' ³² For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.  
 

Jesus speaks directly to how we view money when He says we cannot serve God and mammon. Mammon may have been a Babylonian god, and in Jesus’ day mammon was a nickname for money and wealth, referring to the power of money. Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Do we believe Him? I am not sure we can always recognize when we are trying to serve both God and mammon. Money has a way of sneaking into our life so slowly that almost unconsciously we come to depend on it rather than on God. “Do not be anxious,” Jesus said. The word literally means “torn apart.” And that is what happens when we try to serve God and mammon. When worry and conflict over money enters our life, it is a symptom of a divided heart. Worry and conflict about money is a red flag over our life warning us that something is wrong in our spirit. We are split and divided in our devotion.

You cannot serve God and mammon. It is not a command. It is simply a statement of fact. Faith is a confidence in God that believes the promises of God. Little faith means that our confidence is not big enough to include money. This little faith is an inner attitude. It is a mind-set that colors not only the way we see God but the way we see money.

A faith that is big enough is simply one that includes confidence in God in the way we deal with money. This is the confidence we see in Jesus. He lived freely and openly, without anxiety over money. He did not grasp at the things money could buy but allowed those gifts to come to Him as God intended. Do we have a faith big enough to include God in the management of our money for His glory and for our soul’s satisfaction? It is not an easy task but it is not a worrisome task either. If we are going to use a lot of energy over money how better to use it than seeking God’s guidance.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope October 31, 1993

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 281 - Right Connections

Psalm 116:1-9, 12-13, 18-19 (NIV)  I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. ² Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. ³ The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow. ⁴ Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me! ” ⁵ The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. ⁶ The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me. ⁷ Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. ⁸ For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, 0my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, ⁹ that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. ¹² What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me? ¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.¹⁸ I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, ¹⁹ in the courts of the house of the Lord—in your midst, Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.

I will lift up the cup of salvation.  Cup is a word meaning “experience” in much the same way we say “I am filled with joy or thanksgiving.” The Psalmist is saying not only was deliverance experienced, but that experience was carried and presented to God in praise. The Psalmist turned to God in times of trouble, which is a good thing, but it is what the Psalmist did in the end that is important. Trouble comes and trouble goes; deliverance comes and deliverance goes. But, what is important is what is rendered to God in the end: praise. Praise is the way we acknowledge the permanence of God amid the temporary experiences of our lives.

Praise takes the temporary experiences of life and makes them building blocks in our relationship to God. The experiences of troubles ebb and flow. The experience of deliverance comes and goes. But when all of those experiences are offered to God in praise, we renew that permanent bond of truth between ourselves and God that is sometimes forgotten in the good times and neglected in the bad times. I will lift the cup of salvation, the Psalmist says. I will offer my experience in praise. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord.

We express commitment as we offer praise, as we fulfill our vows, and in doing these things the bond between ourselves and God is not only strengthened but opened. What we believe depends on what we expose our life to on a regular basis. Through the reading and hearing of Scripture, from time spent in prayer, and through worship with others we lift up the cup of our experience. We fulfill our vows and we connect with God. We need to express our commitment, even when we do not feel like it, and especially when there is no other reason for expression except for the importance of that commitment itself.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope October 10, 1993

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 280 - It’s Worth It

Deuteronomy 8:1-10 (NIV) Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. ² Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. ³ He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. ⁴ Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. ⁵ Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. ⁶ Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. ⁷ For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land —a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; ⁸ a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; ⁹ a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. ¹⁰ When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

Whatever we are doing with our life, whether struggling with the issues of being single, or struggling to make our marriage work, whether striving to move up the corporate ladder or to move on to retirement the final question is, “Was it worth it?” Was it worth the energy, the effort, the sacrifices, the total cost to our life? Paul says that these struggles are “worth it” when they are a part of our effort to lead a life worthy of God who has called us. You are called. You are called to participate in the ruling action of God through the conspiracy of the insignificant. You are called to catch a few glimpses of glory, those moments in life that make all the other moments worthwhile. 

Most of the time we really do not see how a word of kindness, or a moment of listening, or the effort to try one more time really makes a bit of difference. Sometimes we see it in our families. Sometimes we see it in our work. Sometimes it is a kind of private moment we have between God and ourselves, but it is where the action is. It is where the ruling action of God is penetrating and prevailing in our homes, in the community, in the places where we work, and in our churches.

God calls us to participate in this ruling action, and, if we take our clues from Jesus, we know that the ruling action will usually take place through small acts of obedience and through seemingly insignificant people. We are constantly being confronted with the opportunities and challenges to participate in the ruling action of God, to become a part of the something greater. Will we look at our responsibilities as a way of participating in the ruling action of God?

We are called, and whether or not we answer that call determines whether or not we will come to that day when we say, “Yes, it was worth it.” It has been worth it all, whatever the cost, to answer God’s call. 

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope August 22, 1993

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 279 - Bad Enough

Romans 5:6-11 (NASB) ⁶ For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. ¹¹ And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Are we basically good people who just need a little help from our friends and maybe from God, or are we desperately corrupt people who need much more? Are we basically good or basically bad? Where shall we look for answers? Often we will hear we are basically good people who need to be liberated from the bad advice or abusive treatment received in our past. If we turn to Scripture, we find positive statements about the nature of our humanity … that in the beginning God created us in the image of God.

But, the dominant message of Scripture is about our corruption. While we were helpless, Paul says, and then underscores the statement twice, while we were sinners … while we were still enemies. The words of Jesus, the words of the prophets, the wisdom of the Psalms all echo similar messages and seem to say that we are basically a corrupt people who need saving. We may want to weasel around it, but can we deny what is taught in scriputre? Even some of the critics of Scripture say it teaches a very dismal truth about human nature, and they dismiss it as too negative.

Evidence may be mixed, but there is one more bit of evidence we need to see, and it is the evidence of Jesus. In Him we see all of the evidence in a new way. If all we needed was a little help from our friends and from God, Jesus could have confined His ministry to teaching and healing. He would have taught us the way to be good, and He would have helped us and shown us. He could have lived out His days helping people achieve their innate goodness. But He believed we needed more.

Questions about our basic goodness and badness are more accurately answered when we wonder not simply about ourselves, but about Jesus. Was He right? Did He know something about us that was hidden from us? Did we need, do we need His dying for us? This is the paradox of Good News. We see our corruption only after we discover ourselves cherished by God and loved enough by Jesus for Him to die for us.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope June 20, 1993

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 278 - How Is Your Spirituality

I Corinthians 2:6-16 (NASB) ⁶ Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; ⁷ but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; ¹¹ For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, ¹³ which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. ¹⁴ But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him…

How is your spirituality? Granted, this is not the kind of question you are likely to be asked at a party, or even in the vestibule of the church. The question may pose a special problem for those of us who have not emphasized the spiritual life the way we should, and who tend to use our head before we engage our heart. Perhaps we can connect mind and heart together in remembering and recognizing this reality called spirituality. Spirituality is usually known in the heart before it is recognized and realized by the mind.

Paul speaks of the natural person as one without the gift of spirituality, someone who has a “this world only” mind-set, whose goal in life is to get all the goodness of life that this world has to offer. Some are non-religious and have no interest in the things pertaining to God or to the spirit. Some are anti-religious and see religion as the spoiler of fun and fulfillment. They especially see religious institutions as repressive and restrictive of the good life, and perhaps not without some justification. And, some natural people are religious but their god is a serviceable god whose main role in life is sparing them the inconveniences and hardships of life. 

But the spiritual person receives the Spirit which is from God. And in receiving that Spirit they sample a new reality called spirituality. Spirituality is an awareness of our connectedness to God and some kind of awareness that this connectedness should be influencing and shaping our life. Paul implies that all of us are given the same evidence and experience. The difference lies in the response to the evidence and experience given, the decision to accept or reject. Do we accept and savor and allow the Spirit into our soul, aware of God’s work?

How is your spirituality? Connected? Real? Loose? Vague? Alive and well or teetering on the breaking point? However we answer that question may we accept whatever gift of the Spirit God wishes to impart to us.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope June 13, 1993

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 277 - A Matter of Life and Death

Luke 12:15-21 (NIV) ¹⁵ Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” ¹⁶ And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ ¹⁸ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. ¹⁹ And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ ²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ ²¹ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Romans 8:5-6 (NIV) ⁵ Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

Living according to the flesh sounds a little menacing, but it seldom looks that way. Jesus described such a person. The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? Jesus does not say that the man was greedy, or dishonest, or immoral, but only that he was a fool. His foolishness laid in the trust he placed in his barn. He lost his life in his livelihood.

The mind governed by the flesh is death – it is a living death while the body still breathes. In its milder forms the focus on the flesh and reliance on self-will leads us to an empty life, to the feeling that we are going through the motions but not really living. In its more stressful form this living death is a struggle. It may be felt as the struggle to survive, to be happy. We wonder what we can do to push the right buttons, to say and do the right things that will make life work out the way we want. And we do this until we are weary and worn out. The one thing we do not do is question our right to rule. But the self cannot deliver us from the damage done to us by the self. To even state the dilemma sounds confusing.

To live according to the Spirit is to recognize that life is the work of God, we are dependent on God, and life comes from being responsive to Him. To live by the Spirit is to be alive to the existence of a world unseen, to realize that the common ways of life are continually penetrated by the Presence of God. To set our mind on the Spirit does not mean that we think about God all the time. It means we submit to God. To set the mind on the Spirit means that in whatever we are doing there is space in our mind and heart for God to speak and act as we do our work, as we interact with family and friends, and as we enjoy some time for fun.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope May 30, 1993

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 276 - Worth the Effort

Mark 1:16-18 (NIV) ¹⁶ As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” ¹⁸ At once they left their nets and followed him.

Philippians 3:13-16 (NIV) Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Paul says that the goal of life is neither material success nor moral perfection, but rather as being what Christ saved us for and being who Christ wants us to be. Though we may not fully attain it, the goal is worth the effort, worth the work, worth the sacrifice.

God gives our goal one piece at a time, and comes to us not as a blue print but as a list. A blue print lays everything out for us. We would like that sort of instructions for life, but even if that’s what we received from God it probably would not match the hopes and desires of our hearts. God does give us the next item on His list for the fulfillment of our life. And that next item may seem very mundane and ordinary, but it is a part of the larger goal.

It was in this way that Jesus called the disciples. The work He called them to did not seem that spectacular. They did some very ordinary things. They walked with Him and listened to His words. They did what He told them. It may have all seemed too simple and perhaps even a little uncertain.

And so it happens to us. A chance meeting with someone who presents us with a new opportunity for work, a remark is just what we needed to hear, or an idea dawns on us, and the call of God is heard. The next step is taken. And that sense of fulfillment that eludes us in the search for success is found and savored. It is given as a gift in the midst of a rather routine day.

We press on toward the goal, for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We take the next step, and then the next, and the next, and that is enough. We don’t have to arrive. We don’t have to get there. We only have to move in the right direction, in response to the call of God as best we understand it at the moment. And, even if we don’t fully understand, we press on. Forgetting what lies behind, forgetting past failures and past successes, we press on to the next God has in store for us.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope May 23, 1993

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell