Logs

You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. -Matthew 7:5 GNT

The dictionary offers this definition for the word pharisaical: a person "marked by hypocritical censorious self-righteousness". I think that this captures the essence of what Jesus speaks to in this verse and the ones that precede it. In truth there is no one qualified to judge another person. Logs obscure our vision. Logs of sin. Logs of bad attitudes.

And most importantly these logs seem to be invisible to the one who is blinded by them. For sure others can see the logs. The hypocrisy is in full bloom. Self-righteous behaviors are seen by others but seem transparent when the one afflicted looks into the mirror. Personally, the removal of my own embedded logs have been so painful. I was such a young pharisee. I judged so much when I was younger. It took a lot of painful experiences to find the grace of God.

Lord, help us to daily remove the splinters from our inner eyes before they become logs.

... this devotion is part of an ongoing series on words in the bible.
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Generously

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. -2 Corinthians 9:6 NIV

I once fully embraced the tithing dogma. I think that I liked the certainty of it. To be in leadership in the church of my younger years one had to commit to it. Yet I think that it spoke to dark place in my ego that made me feel a bit superior to those who did not tithe. I mean really, once I gave my ten percent I had fulfilled my obligation. Such a limiting perspective.

In contrast this idea of giving, living and being generous is so much more challenging. It seems to stretch every part of me because generosity is not just about money. It cannot be calculated with our heads. It is a heart issue. It is fluid. Comparatively speaking, one can give a little and still be generous. Giving generously embraces a beautiful life attitude.

You have been so generous Lord. Help us to be mirrors of that generosity.

... this devotion is part of an ongoing series on words in the bible.
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Gifts

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. -1 Corinthians 12:4 NKJV

I love the double gifting represented by spiritual gifts. Each is given to us and so that we can give it to somebody else. Wisdom is given and then given away. We are helped and our response is to help. The gift is never an end unto itself. It is a vehicle of serving and blessing that is transferred from one person to another. It is the work of the Holy Spirit.

The apostle tells us that "There are diversities of gifts". I love that. Once I thought that spiritual gifts were somehow limited to those delineated in the bible. Now I understand that these gifts are as diverse as God himself. Gifts change with the seasons of our lives. Often they deepen as we walk with God. Any so often we are surprised when they come.

Thank you Lord for the gift of your Spirit and the many gifts of grace that accompany that gift.

... this devotion is part of an ongoing series on words in the bible.
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Health

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. -3John 1:2 NKJV

In writing to Gaius, John seems to understand the multifaceted aspects of what it means to be healthy. Psychē, the Greek word translated soul, is used 105 times in the New Testament. Sometimes it is rendered soul. In other places life. Good health seems to encompass the inner and outer aspects of our bodies. One can be healthy in body but sick in soul.

Yet I think that health is a somewhat relative term. We are all unhealthy in some way. No one is perfect in body or psychology. We are all works in progress. Some of us wear glasses. As we age our bodies slow down. Sometimes our minds fail us. It is why it is important to pray for each other. Not from a position of perfection but from one of weakness.

We acknowledge our need for your healing touch Lord. Please bring health to our bodies and our souls.

... this devotion is part of an ongoing series on words in the bible.
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Justified

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. -Romans 5:1-2a NIV

Justification is the declaring of a person to be just or righteous. It is a word that seems to be rooted in the biblical concept of justice. Justice that involves reconciliation instead of retribution. Forgiveness. Fellowship. Peace. It is the justice afforded by the grace of the One who has the right to prosecute but chooses to waive prosecution.

This justification is not sought directly. It is a byproduct of saying yes to the Holy Spirit. In an instant, in an exercise of microscopic faith, one is born anew as a justified human being. Connected to the divine. In a holy relationship. Given grace to live in a manner pleasing to God. So much more than anyone deserves or can expect. Justified.

Lord, help us to live justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly at your side.

... this devotion is part of an ongoing series on words in the bible.
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Death

For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. -1 Corinthians 15:53 NLT

Unlike many views of life after death, this verse speaks to the finality of a life that has not been transformed by the Holy Spirit. It begs the question of why some embrace the idea that untransformed lives will survive death and live forever - albeit not in the same "place" as those transformed by God. These seem to embrace immortality without transformation.

So why do I feel a need to speak to the finality of death? Partly because of the way that I have seen the teachings of Plato enter this conversation about death. He was one of the first to teach an immortality that is not rooted in transformation. Humans are not born immortal. In my view immortality begins with a spiritual birth and transformation. It always has.

Thank you Lord for the gift of eternal life and for the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

... this devotion is part of an ongoing series on words in the bible.
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Righteousness

For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. -Matthew 5:20 NIV

The Sermon on the Mount often contrasts the external and internal compliances of Mosaic Law. In this sermon Jesus alludes to how sins like murder and adultery begin in the heart and sometimes cause external acts. And in this verse above he continues the thought that divine righteousness is not attained by external obedience to the letter of the Law.

Religious people, even learned leaders like teachers, sometimes forget that righteousness (that is not self-righteous) is an issue of the heart. It begins when righteousness is birthed in us when we are spiritually born. This newly born righteousness is alive. It is nurtured and matured as we grow in Christ. It surpasses all other forms of righteousness.

Center me Lord by your righteousness in me. Cause me to live in a righteous way that pleases you.

... this devotion is part of an ongoing series on words in the bible.
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