Devotion 6.17.15

The First Amendment to the US Constitution:  Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

It is our favorite amendment, and logically it is one we hate vehemently.  It has given us brave speeches which created a firestorm of controversy but which proved, in the long run, to have changed our course of thinking and acting.  Art is included in speech, a form of speech, and as such, we have seen beautiful works of art, and some so controversial that we have prayed for the heavens and the earth to open and swallow up the creator of such works.  We are rare in that very few, if any, western nations have such a guarantee as the right to speak freely.  It gets tested almost daily in many instances.  Yet, in truth, this is an earthly issue, for many have continued to speak in places that assure persecution.  Martin Luther said the pope was not God, that works were not the method for salvation, and that there were many areas the Catholic church needed to reform, and for his thoughts, he was sought after for a certain death.  Deitrich Bohnhoeffer was critical of the churches capitulation to the Nazis and came to America to avoid imprisonment (which he eventually faced and was executed).

The truth, whether in a "free" environment, or in one of persecution, finds its way out.  The interaction between John and Christ is interesting in that it demonstrates true conviction and bravery in an environment they knew would be hostile to the truth (both were executed). "After me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 3:11)  Christ, after being baptized and tempted, begins to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." (3:17)

This had to completely throw off the leaders of the day, religious and secular.  Who are these trouble-makers?  What is this they claim to offer and who are they claiming to be?  We pray that regardless of our freedoms, we maintain the truth in love.  We pray we speak the truth.  The truth may create discomfort, but it also heals and forgives. We pray for the Spirit to use us, regardless of circumstances, to extend that truth to all.  We also pray for our brothers in the faith who speak the truth in hostile lands, that God keep them safe from harm and that their message is received.

Hope Men's Ministry

Devotion 6.16.15

The pinch hitter.  The worst position in baseball.  Basically you are firing the next hitter and saying, "We believe this buy has a better chance, statistically, to hit in this situation than you," OR you are saying, "You aren't pitching in the next inning" (that's in the NL, the AL gave up that situation years ago).  Regardless, when you go in, all eyes are on you.  You are there as a substitute for the batter.

So, to a far more significant scenario for us.  Christ.  A man without sin stands up willingly and says, "I'll stand in for them."  In Matthew 3, John calls on Israel to repent.  John tells them that the kingdom of heaven (Christ) is near.  John, as a prophet, tells them what Christ will do.  Then Christ, Him who is without sin, stands before John to be baptized (3:13).  John, very aware of the situation, protests, "I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?" (3:14)

Jesus sets and example for us.  He stands up and responds to John's call for repentance and says, "I'll be baptized and repent."  The irony is he has nothing to repent for.  His is free of sin.  He is obedient to the Father.  He basically commands John, who protests, to do this now to fulfill all righteousness (3:15).

Jesus will stand in for us again, on the cross.  He will make the ultimate sacrifice for us and defeat death for us.  We remember our baptisms as we thank God for the gift of faith and the forgiveness of sins.  Pray a prayer of thanksgiving for this life-giving faith we have received through nothing we have done, but rather through Christ and God's forgiveness.

Hope Men's Ministry

Devotion 6.15.15

Two seats, formerly in the Astrodome, now reside in my house.  They weren't seats where we normally sat (Upper Deck and Mezzanine levels).  They are from the outfield, center field specifically, referred to as "Bleacher Seats."  We sat there a couple of times, but in the primitive days (before large diamond vision screens and such), that was a long way from home plate and it was like watching baseball from the back of the game.

I sat in one and watched the Astros when we returned from our trip and the Astros scored eight runs in the first inning as I sat and watched.  This will be a long season if I have to sit in this in order for them to win, I thought to myself.  Oh the things these seats could share if they could talk.  Clearly they could walk me through all the highs and lows of being a stadium seat with baseball, football, basketball, rock concerts, rodeos, motor cross, races, indoor track and field, and other large venue events.  Along with my other memorabilia, my collection is beginning to grow.  I've even begun to talk to my son about how he and his sister will have to decide how to divide it up when I die.

We do like the things of this life.  No matter how hard we try, we become attached to this earthly life.  What's interesting is that John the Baptizer (or Baptist) has a distinct role in the life of Christ, serving as a prophet to pave the way for Christ as he told Israel to repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 3:2)  What Matthew notes that is of interest is John's wardrobe and lifestyle, saying that "John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey."  (3:4)

Clearly John was focused and not of this world.  Earthly things mattered little given this brief description of him. His focus was on repentance and setting our sights on the coming kingdom, Christ.  We pray we have a level of focus and dedication to Christ and His Word. 

Hope Men's Ministry

Devotion 6.5.15

We like to name drop.  Who is more connected than whom and how.  It's like the game of Top the Bat.  "I have a friend who works in the governor's office who can personally take care of this."  "Oh? I'm friends with his commissioner of education."  "My friend works next door to his chief of staff."  "Oh? I hunt with a guy who was in the army with him and the governor calls him periodically."  And so it goes.  We like to be connected, be it politics, sports, Hollywood, and other such places where being connected puts us "in the know."

Connections are a source of influence and power.  We like to pose in some ways as people who possess such, at work, in our circles, or other places where it can be displayed.  Paul does such in Acts 22 when he is taken away to be beaten and flogged.  "Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?" (v 25)  That questions sent the centurion and the tribune into a tailspin. 

Christ, on the other hand, never uses his earthly status mentioned in Matthew 1.  He never really pulls the "son of David, son of Abraham" lineage out as the council is seeking his arrest, "trial," and execution.  That it was known and documented in Matthew (and Luke) bears meaning, but that he did not use it to his advantage tells us much about our savior, the Christ.  He speaks volumes in his resistance and discipline by not saying, "Excuse me, but are you aware of my lineage?"  When asked about being the king of the Jews, his response is, "You have said so."  (Matthew 27:11)  Such mastery is worthy of learning.

We pray we exhibit the humility and discipline our Christ did.  We pray that we seek him, and that only through him do we draw meaning and purpose. 

Hope Men's Ministry

Devotion 6.2.15

What's in an introduction?  Some people need no introduction.  "Oh, that's Dr. and Mrs. Hasenfeffer. He's the famous heart surgeon who did Big Named Celebrity's surgery."  "See over there, that's Tim Travesty, greatest running back of all time until his knee gave out in the big game."  Others of us require an introduction and how we are introduced depends on the event.  "Please no, call me Bill, not Dr. Johnson," changes to, "While teaching this class, you will call me Dr. Johnson."  In writing, it varies depending on purpose and audience.  In short, it is all very confusing.

Matthew, on the other hand, introduces his gospel this way, "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." (1:1)  Just the introduction strongly infers two notions, the audience knows the lineage fairly well or they would otherwise hear that Christ came directly from David who came directly from Abraham.  However, that Matthew took the time to state it directly and then follow (v 2 - 17) with the lineage spelled out tells us it is important to link Christ as a descendent to both David and Abraham.

Why such an introduction to the readers of the gospel then and to us?  Lineage is important in this case because it spells out the promise to Abraham (father of Israel - Genesis 12) and David, the line of the coming messiah (2 Samuel 7).  So, it teaches the hearers and readers of this gospel that Christ is the "anointed one," the promise fulfilled.

We learn that even a short line is vastly important in scripture.  We pray that God give us the time to look at his Word and to hear, listen, and learn from it.  We praise God for sending us his Son, the Christ.

 Hope Men's Ministry

Devotion 6.1.15

Jeff Foxworthy made himself famous with, "You might be a redneck if...." We were treated to lines about what qualifies you as a redneck that dealt with all sorts of examples.  In a discussion once with a good friend, we were attempting to determine who had more redneck lineage.  The discussion ended in us conceding a tie.  My family tree is as redneck as his. We had an abundance of evidence that could make three albums of country music to our credit (you know what comprises country music - cheating, hurt, betrayal, love gone bad, divorce, getting dumped for another, fighting, lawlessness and maybe a crime or two... the list is endless).

Matthew uses the opening of his gospel as a detailed account on the lineage of Christ.  And to our surprise, Christ's lineage is comprised of all sorts of people, some with some less than honorable pasts.  Abraham was the father of Isaac (Matthew 1:2).  Abraham, the man who was given a covenant by God, who couldn't wait on God's time as recorded in Genesis, so he conspired with this wife Sarai to have a child with his servant Haggar.  Ishmael is born illegitimately, to fulfill the covenant God had made in Abraham's eyes because he and Sarai were old and did not trust in God. Isaac would be born to Sarai and Abraham later.  Isaac, the father of Jacob (1:2).  We remember that story as well. Esau was the oldest entitled to the birthright according to custom, but Rebekah (Isaac's wife) and Jacob conspire to trick Isaac into giving the birthright to Jacob.  Jacob, then has a family with sons, including Joseph, whose brothers jealously conspire to give the appearance of a violent death and sell Joseph into slavery.  Finally, we see "David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah..." (1:6).  Remember that story?  David got Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, pregnant, and tried to get Uriah to make love to her to believe it was his child.  When Uriah was more worried about his troops than anything else, David sends him into fierce battle to fight and hopefully die.  When he does, David brings her in.  David is called on the carpet by God through Nathan and the child born to adultery dies, but they went on to have Solomon who would become king.

Such a sordid family tree for the Christ, our Christ and savior.  Such a genealogy made of such misfits and criminals.  Our savior?  Christ?  Yes, our savior, the Christ.  We learn from this genealogy that God makes perfect from the imperfect.  God's plan is not thwarted by our plans. 

We pray we seek God's plan but we praise God for his plan of perfection coming from our imperfection.

Hope Men's Ministry

Devotion 5.28.15

On the LBJ Ranch in Stonewall (near Fredericksburg), there is a Lutheran church that stands on the other side of the river from the ranch home.  When the park ranger was talking about the ranch to us, she was asked if LBJ was a Lutheran.  "LBJ," she said smiling, "Was pretty much whatever religion he needed to be."

I laughed because having heard LBJ talk, seen him speak, watched him on TV, and now in biography and film, I'm certain that he took advantage of whatever leverage was necessary to get a bill passed, to make a nomination work, and basically, to get his way. 

We may have convinced ourselves that we are not like that, a chameleon who changes color when the time is necessary to do so, but we are. We go in and out of this world daily.  Prayers in the morning, time with God.  Get into car, lose everything I gained when I prayed.  We have our feet in two worlds - earthly and heavenly, and we find ourselves attempting to compromise both as necessary.

Christ is told by a teacher of the law in Matthew, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."  Christ replies, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay."  (8:19 - 20)  Animals have a place to call home, so the creature comforts we find ourselves in are difficult to part with.  When we say we want to follow Christ, Jesus wants us to know the path we've chosen.

What do we need to give up to follow Christ?  What is standing in our way of serving him and serving our earthly desires?  Pray that when called upon to serve, we give up our earthly comfort and choose Christ.

Hope Men's Ministry