"Meditation – 60 Days of Prayer" for Thursday, 21 April 2016 of The Upper Room of Nashville, Tennessee, United States

"Meditation – 60 Days of Prayer" for Thursday, 21 April 2016 of The Upper Room of Nashville, Tennessee, United States

THURSDAY, APRIL 21
READ HOSEA 11:1-11
HOSEA 11: Israel Played at Religion with Toy Gods

1-9 “When Israel was only a child, I loved him.

    I called out, ‘My son!’—called him out of Egypt.

But when others called him,

    he ran off and left me.

He worshiped the popular sex gods,

    he played at religion with toy gods.

Still, I stuck with him. I led Ephraim.

    I rescued him from human bondage,

But he never acknowledged my help,

    never admitted that I was the one pulling his wagon,

That I lifted him, like a baby, to my cheek,

    that I bent down to feed him.

Now he wants to go back to Egypt or go over to Assyria—

    anything but return to me!

That’s why his cities are unsafe—the murder rate skyrockets

    and every plan to improve things falls to pieces.

My people are hell-bent on leaving me.

    They pray to god Baal for help.

    He doesn’t lift a finger to help them.

But how can I give up on you, Ephraim?

    How can I turn you loose, Israel?

How can I leave you to be ruined like Admah,

    devastated like luckless Zeboim?

I can’t bear to even think such thoughts.

    My insides churn in protest.

And so I’m not going to act on my anger.

    I’m not going to destroy Ephraim.

And why? Because I am God and not a human.

    I’m The Holy One and I’m here—in your very midst.

10-12 “The people will end up following God.

    I will roar like a lion—

Oh, how I’ll roar!

    My frightened children will come running from the west.

Like frightened birds they’ll come from Egypt,

    from Assyria like scared doves.

I’ll move them back into their homes.”

    God’s Word!

Soul-Destroying Lies

Ephraim tells lies right and left.

    Not a word of Israel can be trusted.

Judah, meanwhile, is no better,

    addicted to cheap gods.

Saying that God hurts, Hosea places an amazing concept before us. The Invincible God experiences pain. The Designer God, Author of the Universe, feels the agony of human refusal to return love, the love that helps and heals the child. God hurts, ultimately, because God’s child hurts and attracts more hurt.
The child attracts hurt by chasing puny gods that entice but harm. Greed, as seen in the corporate malfeasance that led to the 2008 economic collapse, is one of those gods. Another is biased justice, as viewed in the current practice of meting out capital punishment almost exclusively to the financially disadvantaged. Individual unwillingness to for- give serves as another puny god that calls forth God’s judgment. Any act of lust, serving gods that abuse others while serving selfish needs, makes a demand of God.
What demand? These idol-worshiping behaviors demand the God-gift of wrath. God’s rage serves as much more than an envious response of a spurned parent. Anger expressed at mistreatment elevates the dignity of the oppressed one and serves notice that victimization cannot and will not be silently tolerated. God’s fury demands a defending response to pain, a response that stops the unkindness.
God longs for our love, for us to be reconciled to God by loving treatment of one another. Hosea reminds us that God’s heart breaks when we fail to love and that God will gift our failure with an angry response. It is not a threat. It is a promise! Amazingly, even with the promised anger, God dares to bring us home. Astonishing love it is—a love to be grateful for but not to be taken for granted.
God of love, help us to love as you ask and as you have shown. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.[Vance P. Ross]

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"Meditation – 60 Days of Prayer" for Friday, 22 April 2016 of The Upper Room of Nashville, Tennessee, United States

FRIDAY, APRIL 22
READ LUKE 15:3-10
LUKE 15: The Story of the Lost Sheep

1-3 By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, “He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends.” Their grumbling triggered this story.

4-7 “Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Celebrate with me! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ Count on it—there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.

The Story of the Lost Coin

8-10 “Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: ‘Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!’ Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.”

Several months ago in worship, preparing to take Holy Communion, I was painfully aware of a recent sin. I didn’t feel ready to give that sin up, and I knew it. So I prayed, “O God, I don’t feel worthy to take Communion this morning. . . . ” Quick as a flash I heard God say in my heart, “Oh? And all the other times you have been?” I was startled.
Are we worthy? Never. Are we welcome? Always. That is the nature of God’s dealing with us.
In Wesleyan terms, we call God’s ready welcome prevenient grace. This grace bears us toward God even before we decide to begin the journey. It is God wooing us, beckoning to us, searching for us.
God does not usually come into our lives like a demolition expert, razing old structures with one spectacular explosion. That might actually be easier—to walk away from one way of life with its problems and spoiled relationships and to start over fresh. But more often, God changes us the way opening windows changes stale air inside a house—little by little, displacing the old with something fresher, healthier, more appealing.
And God persists. Like a shepherd with willful and stupid animals, God follows us into our ravines, saving us so that eventually we may cooperate in the process of our being saved. We may pat ourselves on the back for our resolve to be better, but there is a prior question: What (or Who) made us dissatisfied with where we were? God, our faithful lover. And when we turn from self-destructive ways and choose something healthier, who is our happiest cheerleader? Again, God.
O God, for your grace that seeks me even when I don’t want to be found, I give you thanks. Amen.[Mary Lou Redding]

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PO Box 340007

Nashville, Tennessee 37203, United States
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