"A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold." -- Proverbs 22:1

Recently, chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke was quoted as saying that one's quality of life should not be measured in terms of money.  Instead, it should be measured in other relational intangibles (paraphased by me).  I agree.  While dollars and cents are useful and can make things a bit easier at times, it is your reputation and your relationships that carry the most value.  Relational equity can get you much further in gathering support than paying for people's help.  By loving others, you will be loved.  By trusting others, you will be trusted.  By giving to others, you are bound to receive in times of need.  Invest in the people in your life.  The rest will follow.

Readings:  Job 16:1-19:29; 1 Corinthians 16:1-24; Psalm 40:1-10; Proverbs 22:1

"But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools." -- Psalm 39:7-8

We humans are a predictable lot.  We want to believe that what we do has no consequences.  If it feels good, we should do it.  If we want it, then we need it now.  If nobody's hurt by it, what's the problem?  The problem is that too often, our transgressions-- our moral failings-- our sins-- catch up with us.  We do that which we know we shouldn't, and then realize it can't be undone.  In desperation, we turn to God, praying that it never happened, that it's all just a dream and we will wake up and it will all have gone away.  But the reality is that with freedom comes responsibility.  With freedom comes the opportunity to make right choices, and to make mistakes.  When we make our decisions prayerfully, we do so recognizing that we have the power to really mess things up. But by including God in our choices, we are less likely to bring irreparable harm to the relationships in our lives.  By acting impulsively and without consideration, however, we place all that we value at risk. 

Don't put yourself in the position of desperately turning to God in trouble.  Turn to God before trouble ever comes.

Readings:  Job 12:1-15:35; 1 Corinthians 15:29-58; Psalm 39:1-13; Proverbs 21:30-31

"Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then...

... you will lift up your face without shame;
you will stand firm and without fear.
You will surely forget your trouble,
recalling it only as waters gone by.
Life will be brighter than noonday,
and darkness will become like morning.
You will be secure, because there is hope;
you will look about you and take your rest in safety.
You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid,
and many will court your favor."

-- Job 11:13-19

"Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached?" -- 1 Corinthians 14:36

Today, I'll share a quote I recently saw from my friend Paula that spoke to this oh so well...

"You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people that you do." quoted from the book "Bird By Bird" by Anne Lamott.

Let's be careful not to assume that we know God's thoughts.

Readings:  Job 4:1-7:21; 1 Corinthians 14:18-40; Psalm 37:30-40; Proverbs 21:27

"If the Lord delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand." -- Psalm 37:23-24

There is incredible power to resoluteness.  There can be enormous momentum developed when the way and the path are certain.  When you understand who you are and what you are called to do, you are free to focus on the path that God has set before you and not be distracted by frivolous detractors.  When you walk confidently in the ways of God, which are always good... when you make decisions from a place of love, compassion, and grace... and when you seek his way above all others... you can walk with certainty.  Walk not with arrogance, self-righteousness, or pride, but with a humble sureness that your life matters and that you can make a difference for God.

Readings:  Job 1:3-3:26; 1 Corinthians 14:1-17; Psalm 37:12-29; Proverbs 21:25-26

"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." -- 1 Corinthians 13:12-13

CS Lewis speaks of "shadowlands"-- that place of being where we sense reality, but it's not fully present.  Hearkening back to Plato, it's clear Paul knew his classical philosophy.  And yet the notion is valid-- that we sense what is good, what is right, what is desirable in God's eyes... and we can know wrong when we see it too.  But where does that come from?  How do we come to have such a compass?  We are limited in our experience of the world.  We have only 5 senses that we know of, and by studying nature, we have come to find that things exist that we cannot experience without the aid of instrumentation.  Dogs smell things we can't.  Birds see things we can't.  Insects experience reality completely differently than we do.  And yet, we kid ourselves into thinking we can see it all, smell it all, feel it all, hear it all, and taste it all.  But we can't.  For now we know only in part.  Then (after this world passes) we shall know fully... even as we are fully known.

Readings:  Esther 8:1-10:3; 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13; Psalm 37:1-11; Proverbs 21:23-24

"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-- whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-- and we were all given the one Spirit to drink." -- 1 Corinthians 12-13

Life does not occur in a vacuum.  We live interconnected and intimately woven with all the people around us.  Consider the simplest of things--  I can make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich only because wheat farmers grew wheat, peanut farmers grew peanuts, and vintners grew grapes.  Additionally, bread makers had to make bread, peanut butter makers had to make peanut butter, and jelly makers made jelly.  Then they had to be packed and labeled, transported, and placed on the shelf to sell.  I counted on the manufacturer of my car to get me to the store, the roads to drive on, the store itself and its employees to run it before I could trade my cash for it.  But I had to work to earn that with which to buy it.  So it took the community I work for hiring me in order for that to happen as well, which required my teachers and parents to educate me and send me to school in order to learn what I know in order to do what I do... and they were all dependent on the people who did what they did to allow them to get where they were in order to teach, influence, and prepare me...

Do you see how even the simplest of things don't just "happen"?  When speaking of the body of Christ, it takes all of us working in the same direction toward the same end to make change happen in this world in the name of Jesus Christ.  You are a vital part of it.  Use your gifts faithfully today and every day.  By doing what seems so simple to you, may just be saving someone else's life.

Readings:  Esther 4:1-7:10; 1 Corinthians 12:1-26; Psalm 36:1-12; Proverbs 21:21-22