Pastor Steve Richards

Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea – the LORD on high is mighty. (Psalm 93:4)

Yesterday morning, I took this photo from the beach along Park Point in Duluth. Lake Superior was unusually calm, and yet if I had taken the photo from the other direction, you would see a large pine tree that had washed up on shore. The same water that was calm and tranquil is also mighty in power. Like the Psalmist, the water reminds me that God is.

God is the creator of the universe, full of power and majesty. That same God wants me to know him and wants me to listen to him. I remember when I was a young child and how empowering it felt when an older student would know my name and acknowledge my presence. I was suddenly somebody. I wanted to be more than I was, and I was ready to be like that older student. In a way that’s how it is when I behold the awesome beauty and power of a lake like Superior and realize the God who is responsible for this also wants to acknowledge me. I want to be more. I want to follow this God.

In John 17:26, Jesus prayed: “I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them…” And this morning, I am so grateful that the love God has for Jesus is the love that God has for me. Today, I’m ready to live in that love. It makes me want to be more. I want to follow a God like that.

Today’s readings: Jeremiah 18-20; Psalm 93; John 17

Picture this: In the middle of the night a violent storm blows up. The wind howls, the thunder cracks, the lightning flashes. A little child in her bed cringes beneath the cover, scared half to death. But she musters up enough courage to run into mommy and daddy’s room and crawl into bed with them. Now she knows she is safe. Let the wind roar and the thunder crash. Nothing can harm her. Snug and warm, she falls asleep.

Jesus promises an Advocate, one who stands in the gap between the trouble of this world and the righteousness of God. “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Today’s readings: Jeremiah 16-17; Psalm 96; John 16

This is one of my favorite photos, taken more than twenty years ago. Today is the birthday of our oldest daughter. Although she lives too far from us to be with us today, coincidentally, I spent last night in a hotel just three blocks from the hospital in which she was born. She was born early on a Monday morning. It was a moment I will never forget. The moment I saw her for the first time I did not want her to be out of my sight. When the nurse took her from the room to clean her, I went along. I would not let her out of my sight. Today we live 1200 mile apart, but it is as if we are every bit as connected today as we were in that hospital room 28 years ago. Today it is an unseen bond formed all those years ago.

In Jeremiah 13, Jeremiah is told to buy a linen belt and put it around his waist. The belt represents a bond, a sacred bond that connects Judah and Israel to God. Jeremiah is shown that what happens to the bond is similar to what happens to a linen belt when it is not cared for properly. It is easy to forget the importance of the bond and how bound together we are with God. God chose us. God chose me.

In a wedding ceremony, I always instruct the couple to guard their relationship as their most precious possession. The rings that they exchange symbolize the relationship and their commitment to it, but the unseen bond is of far greater value than the rings themselves.

How am I caring for the relationship? Jeremiah is instructed to bury the linen belt and return later to dig it up. Such is the nature of a relationship when it is mistreated, ignored or taken for granted. My thoughts, today, are on the relationship between a father and his daughter.

And the sacred bond that exists between God and me. How am I caring for the bond between us? John 15:8 got my attention. “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” All day today, I want to honor the relationship – “to my Father’s glory.”

Today’s readings: Jeremiah 13-15; John 15

Love is shown in the unexpected. Maybe love means more when it is unexpected.

Reading today from Jeremiah, it is a message we’ve heard over and over again. The people turned away from God and have not returned. The prophet asked, “When you fall down, don’t you get up?” Not when the people fell and did not intend to get up. But in Jeremiah 9, the unexpected: “Since my people are crushed, I am crushed.” God feels our pain. God anticipates our pain even before we feel it. What kind of God is this?

Then John 13 starts off with this verse: “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” And we watch as Jesus does the servant task. He washes the feet of the disciples – not because he had to do it and not even because anyone would expect him to do it. It was the unexpected expression of love. And it was not a hard task to do. How hard is it to wash feet? And yet, no one else did it.

Is it remaining after the meeting to clean the table and turn off the lights? Is it picking up trash that you notice in a stranger’s yard? I heard recently how a business man went into the restroom on an airplane during the flight, found it to be a mess and cleaned it. There are times when I have done something as an expression of love and waited for someone to notice. I don’t think love was really part of my motive (maybe love of self). Jesus said, “I have set you an example… Love one another.”

What’s the one thing today that I would not be expected to do but could be an expression of love? It is doing what disciples do.

Today’s readings: Jeremiah 7-9; John 13

What am I seeing and not believing? Jeremiah gives us a picture of God who is heartbroken. Look at all that God has done for the people of Israel and like an unfaithful spouse they have had affairs with other gods. They don’t even see the coming destruction and how God could be their refuge. Jeremiah sees and tries to get the attention of the people so they can see as well. But the people refuse to believe what can be seen.

And what do I believe that cannot be seen? Lazarus is raised from death. Resurrection is not just an idea whose time will come long after we all have died. Resurrection can happen and does happen in real time. But for what purpose? Jesus says, “If you believe, you will see the glory of God” (John 11:40). Many see the signs and do not believe. Others believe and end up seeing. How cool is that?!

I recall a verse that we read just a month ago. “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) What could I see today that I could not see if I did not believe?

Today’s readings: Jeremiah 3-4; John 11

After reading today’s scripture, I went for a walk and happened to see a bee. I spent a few minutes watching the bee. As they say, “busy as a bee”. That bee never stopped. It was busy, consumed with its life giving and life sustaining activity by moving from flower to flower. Get too close or threaten the bee’s activity and the bee will sting. The bee is prepared to sacrifice its own life if anything or anyone tries to stop its activity. From the time I wake up in the morning until the time I go to sleep at night, my life is also consumed with life. I hope my activities are life-sustaining and life-giving, but I know that often is not the case.

I concluded my walk in a prayer time. There are certain prayers that I pray every day to help me focus and listen for God’s direction. As I entered that prayer time, I had been thinking about a task that I need to do today that I don’t like to do. The task is necessary. If I avoid the task, it will only get harder to do. As I prayed, I focused not on my need and the task at hand, but I gave thanks for God and what I know about God and how I want my life to be open and available to God. And as I prayed, I found my focus shifting to what God wants and God’s task at hand. Suddenly I was experiencing life at an entirely different level.

I write all this as an outcome of today’s scripture: Life. Jeremiah received a Word from God: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” God had been with Jeremiah (and also me) even before Jeremiah (and me) knew there was a God. God’s focus is life, giving life and sustaining life. It is why the message of the prophets was relentless in calling the people back to God. And then John provided a picture of Jesus as the shepherd, always focused on the sheep. “I have come that you may have life and have it to the full.” And that’s what I want. I already have life, and I keep busy at it. What I want is a life full and overflowing.

The call today to Jesus’ true sheep is to listen for his voice, and to find in him and him alone the life which is overflowing life. As I found through prayer and scripture again this morning, that’s what God offers if I will only take the time to listen.

Today’s readings: Jeremiah 1-2; John 10

The past day and a half most of our staff participated in a retreat. We’ve had a number of staffing changes, so for several staff persons, it was their first time to be together with the rest of our staff. We had a good and meaningful time of building relationships and looking at our primary mission. As I read today’s scripture, I also reflected on how a group of people can look at the same thing and see very different things. I’ve read whenever there are eyewitnesses to an event or a crime, the eyewitnesses can see the same thing at the same time and report details so different that it would be hard to believe the eyewitnesses had been at the same place. What do we see?

In John 9, what do we see? The story introduces a man born blind. When Jesus sees the man, Jesus tells all who are listening that “the works of God might be displayed.” I’m paying attention now, because I too want to see the works of God. This is a blind man. Everyone knew he was blind. He had always been blind. So when Jesus heals his blindness, we are supposed to see that Jesus is the light of the world. But that’s not what everybody saw. The Jewish leaders saw some kind of scam. They knew Jesus could not be the light of the world. Either the man had not been blind or he must have been in cahoots with Jesus. By the end of the story, it seems a blind man could see what seeing people could not. And the most blind of all were those who were certain about what they were seeing.

It causes me to be just a little bit more cautious – and humble. I don’t always see what I think I see. Sometimes I even see what no one else has seen. What’s the point of the story from John 9? I think Jesus wants us to see! Being a Christian is often confusing. People are constantly telling us what we see and don’t see. Like the man in this story, there is one thing I know for certain: “I was blind but now I see!”

Then I recall Zephaniah 2:3 – “Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land… Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger.” Could humility be the means by which Jesus gives me the ability to see? As I read and reflect and listen for God’s Word, what I’m seeing for my life today is “Seeing is humility.” What do you see?

Today’s readings: Zephaniah 1-3; John 9

“Do you want to get well?”

Do you? The pool of Bethesda was well-known for its healing properties. Supposedly the water would bubble up periodically and the first person to enter the pool when that happened would be healed. Or so went the legend. The pool attracted a lot of people who were sick or somehow disabled. The man in John 5 was an invalid and had been by the pool for 38 years. So when Jesus saw the man, why was this the first thing that Jesus said to him? Surely, not because Jesus could not see that the man was an invalid. Just laying by a pool for 38 years might be enough to make an otherwise healthy person too weak to walk. At the end of the story, we discover that the man was an invalid because of his sin – his own action or inaction. Jesus was not saying that sin is always the cause of illness, but he seems to be saying that sometimes it is.

Do our own actions or inactions sometimes make us sick – physically, emotionally, spiritually? When asked if he wanted to get well, the man did not answer Jesus’ question. Instead, he provided a list of reasons why he had been by the pool all those years. Do we ever make excuses instead of taking action that would bring healing and wholeness to our lives?

What’s amazing about this story is that Jesus did not do anything out of the ordinary. All Jesus said was “get up”. You know someone, don’t you, who is sick and could be well if only he or she would do something. But what about you? The observers in this story were the Jewish leaders who had passed this man for 38 years and probably shook their heads at his inability or unwillingness to get up. After a while everyone in this story got used to way it was. The man was the sick man by the pool who complained but never did anything. The Jewish leaders saw that it was that man’s problem and if he had been by the pool for 38 years, he would probably always be by the pool. We just get used to the way things are even when those ways are not life-giving or life-affirming. So, do you want to get well?

Today, I hear the words from Jesus: “Get up!”

Today’s readings: Nahum 1-3; John 5

Signs and symptoms: the difference between the two may be subtle. I think of signs as those things that point me in a direction, indicate where I should be going, and help me to know when I am on the right path. Symptoms, on the other hands, tell me when something is not right, when I’ve been in the wrong direction and if I don’t make a change there will be even greater trouble. I didn’t check the dictionary for the definition of a sign and a symptom, and my sense of these two words may not match your definition, but as a result of the scripture for today I’m thinking about signs (pointing forward) and symptoms (resulting from past decisions). There have been plenty of times in life when I wish I had paid attention to the signs rather than responding to the symptoms.

In reading from the Old Testament today, we hear the story of Manasseh, king of Judah, who spends much of his life doing evil in the sight of God. But when captured and taken to Babylon, now suddenly he turns to God. The symptoms (imprisonment) got his attention. Prayer comes easy when we are at a point of crisis. What’s the saying: there are no atheists on the battlefield. Manasseh’s prayer is answered and for the rest of his life, he is humble before God. And as the king, Manasseh could turn the hearts of an entire nation – but not for long. When Manasseh dies, his son reverts back to evil ways. He didn’t see the signs.

In the fourth chapter of John, there are two stories and in each, Jesus provides signs. A Samaritan woman and a royal (Roman) official are shown the way to life. Each is given a sign. She is offered living water. His son is healed. And we discover the purpose of the signs is to point us to God – to believe. Jesus says, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.”

Sometimes it takes symptoms, because I didn’t pay attention to the signs. Today, I’m reminded that I must watch for the signs, because sometimes the symptoms come too late.

Today’s readings: 2 Kings 21; 2 Chronicles 33; John 4

It is easy to get lost. Years ago, I purchased a set of cross country skis and one afternoon I left the house to try them out. I went to a park I had hear about outside of a nearby town. There were only a couple of cars in the parking lot when I put on my skiing and started down a trail into the woods. It was beautiful and quiet. I was enjoying every moment and whenever I came to another trail, I would take it. It never even occurred to me that I would not find my way back to the parking lot. But as the sun began to set, I realized that I had no idea where I was and I had not seen another person the entire time I had been skiing. I had not told anyone where I was going. This was before cell phones. I came as close to panicking as I ever have. It took me most of an hour and most of that time praying, but I finally found my way back to the parking lot. It was scary how easy it was to get lost.

Most of us never intend to get lost. We get distracted by life – both the good and the bad. We set off in pursuit of what seems the right thing at the time. It may make sense to us, or maybe we just aren’t thinking. It can take a long time until we know how lost we really are. It is scary how easy it is to get lost, especially when I assume it cannot happen to me.

Peter himself was once led astray. Even Jesus went into the wilderness and was tempted. Surely this was a story that Peter heard Jesus tell many times. If I think it can’t happen to me, I am fooling myself. I know better. Peter knew the believers were susceptable. They could get lost and a great many did. In 2 Peter 2, he was saying, “be on guard”. And as I read the chapter, these words catch hold of me: “the Lord knows how to rescue the goldly from trials”.

So what do I do? What do I do to keep from getting lost? I hear an answer from what I read in Isaiah 55:10-11. “As the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” This is the Word of God for the people of God. Every day – and I have discovered that means every single day, I must listen for the Word from God that is found in scripture.

Because it is scary how easy it is to get lost.

Today’s readings: Isaiah 53-56; 2 Peter 2