"Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, for we have endured much contempt. We have endured much ridicule from the proud, much contempt from the arrogant." -- Psalm 123:3-4

When you choose to follow Christ, it's not an issue of if you will be ridiculed, but when.  Are you prepared to be looked down upon for such "foolishness"?  Are you prepared to be left out of some circles because of your beliefs?  Can you stomach the laughter of powerful and successful people over your choice to follow?  To be a Christian requires you to recognize that not all will understand your decision, and you could lose friends and other relationships over it.  It shouldn't be so, but sadly, in some cases it is. If you are experiencing this sort of social persecution, be understanding and patient.  Love these people who laugh at you anyway.  Clearly they do not know this God you profess.  Once they do, they will laugh no more.

Readings:  2 Samuel 23:24-24:25; Acts 3:1-26; Psalm 123:1-4; Proverbs 16:21-23

"Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language." -- Acts 2:5-6

It should seem no miracle today for people of different languages to communicate the language of God to one another.  The language barrier we may have with people of different cultures and nationalities cannot hold when we express to others the essence and nature of God.  Like music, which is understood by people of different countries, love is also understood by those who speak different languages.  While it would be nice to learn different languages-- and we should-- we don't have to wait to speak them before communicating God's love to the world.  Our job first and foremost is to love.  By this they will know that we are his disciples.

Readings:  2 Samuel 22:21-23:23; Acts 2:1-47; Psalm 122:1-9; Proverbs 16:19-20

"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." -- Proverbs 16:18

We must remember that we live tenuous and fragile lives that guarantee nothing.  In good times, we tend to feel strong, indestructible, and permanent.  We get boastful and take on a strut and a bit of swagger, and we know we can't fall, and feel no need for God.  But fall we do.  A turn in our health, career, relationships, or reputation can knock us back to bottom.  Stunned, we don't understand what happened.  Embarrassed, we shun showing our faces in public.  We stop calling our friends (or they stop calling us)... and we turn, after a long absence, back to God again.  In him, we find a strength we had not known even before our fall.  We are born again and we rise up.  When this happens, let's be sure not to confuse God's strength as our own.  This is the very thing that leads to the fall in the first place.  Stay humble.  Stay clear.  It is by the grace of God that we live, breathe, and move in and through this space and time.

Readings:  2 Samuel 20:14-22:20; Acts 1:1-26; Psalm 121:1-8; Proverbs 16:18

"Again Jesus said, 'Simon son of John, do you truly love me?' He answered, 'Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.' Jesus said, 'Take care of my sheep.'" -- John 21:16

To say you love God, or are a follower of Jesus, but then to treat the people around you poorly makes apparent that you have little regard for those you profess to be your God and your Lord.  If you are a Christian, or even just a believer in God, how you act toward others matters.  How can you believe in God and then not love others?  How can you love without showing care and concern and provision for those in need?  Who are you?  What do you really believe?

Readings:  2 Samuel 19:11-20:13; John 21:1-25; Psalm 120:1-7; Proverbs 16:16-17

"Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.' Thomas said to him, 'My Lord and my God!' Then Jesus told him, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'" -- John 20:27-29

Thomas was given an incredible gift that makes many of us jealous.  To be able to see the risen Jesus in the flesh... to be able to place our fingers in nail wounds... to know that it is so...

But we don't get such a gift.  We get one even better: faith.  To know something requires no faith.  But to live one's life around a belief system requires enormous faith.  Consider the power of belief for a second in the context of work... if you spend time each day being busy around some activity for the sake of a paycheck, you will do it.  It will become monotonous and you may even grow to resent and hate your work because it takes you from the life you would rather be living.  But if you approach your work with the understanding that it means something, and you believe in what your doing, whether you get paid or not doesn't matter.  You do it because you love it.  While not the same in terms of faith in God, it does illustrate the power of faith.  It has a fuel about it that propels us toward a hope-filled future and carries us past the mundane and the meaningless.   It clarifies our values and aligns our living with purpose and gives power.  I wonder what life would be without faith.  Does anyone know?  Even the nonbeliever shows faith in their non-belief.

Readings:  2 Samuel 18:1-19:10; John 20:1-31; Psalm 119:153-176; Proverbs 16:14-15

"Kings detest wrongdoing, for a throne is established through righteousness. Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value a man who speaks the truth." -- Proverbs 16:12-13

We live in an age where politics can be pretty dirty.  The smear that is common in elections is detestable and counter to the spirit of God.  And yet we tolerate it.  Sometimes, if it's in our candidate's favor, we applaud it.  It's time for leaders again to rise who model character and honesty.  It's time to restore trust among a divided people and come back together as one nation.  But it must be a grass-roots effort.  The candidates will pander and say things the people want to hear.  Hate-filled rhetoric must become wrong again to our ears.  And it has to start in our living rooms and around our kitchen tables.  We cannot expect others to do what we refuse to do ourselves.  In many ways, we lead our leaders.  How are you modeling Christian leadership in your home, workplace, and community?

Readings:  2 Samuel 17:1-29; John 19:23-42; Psalm 119:129-152; Proverbs 16:12-13

Pilate said, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law." "But we have no right to execute anyone," the Jews objected. -- John 18:31

The Jewish leaders wanted Jesus dead.  But they feared the Roman government too much to exact justice themselves.  So they passed Jesus over to Pilate, who wanted no part of it.  While Pilate would have been glad to just let them handle it, he was still a politician, and catered to the crowds.  Later in the conversation, between Pilate and Jesus, Jesus lets him off the hook saying that the ones who handed him over were more guilty of the sin than Pilate was.  So Pilate washed his hands of it, and was able to keep a clear conscious.  There Jesus hung on the cross, dying.  In my mind, I imagine Pilate saying to himself, "look what the people have done"... and the people saying... "look what Pilate has done"...  who takes ownership?  Do we resemble any of the characters in this story?  How quick are we to blame?  How much responsibility do we take for the state of our world?  Our homes?  Our jobs?  Our relationships?  Do we recognize the impact we have on the world and people around us?

Readings:  2 Samuel 15:23-16:23; John 18:25-19:22; Psalm 119:113-128; Proverbs 16:10-11