Ottberein United Methodist Church of East Salem

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 The random Bible devotion for today is Revelations 1:9-20. Something we can forget is that John of Patmos was not from Patmos and did not really want to be on Patmos. Yet, here he was far from home and unable to return. It was not a pleasant time for him, but through this, God sent the Word through him for the church. From this we can remember that God is at work during difficult times. Even if we are suffering, God can be at work and work through us.

Tuesday, October 27, 2020 The random Bible devotion for today is Philippians 4:2-9. Sometimes we need a boost, and here we get one. We hear the familiar exhortation to rejoice, rejoice in the Lord always. More than that, we are reminded to not be anxious, but to give it to God in prayer.... Sometimes we need to hear these words again. It is easy to forget these words when we are down in the dumps or struggling, but it is something we should remember. When we are down, give it to God in prayer. And rejoice, for God will hear your prayers.

Monday, October 26, 2020 The random Bible devotion for today is Acts 22:30-3:11. Sometimes saying the right thing has the desired effect, and Paul understands things very well. Here, Paul, arrested and facing trial, knew what to do. Not everyone had a belief in resurrection. That was a distinction between the Pharisees and Sadducees. Pharisees believed in resurrection while the Sadducees did not. Paul knew this, and God used this.... For us, it is a reminder that we do not always need the perfect words. Sometimes we do not know what we should say. Sometimes we can shoot ourselves in the foot, but sometimes speaking the truth to the right people can lead to amazing results.

Friday, October 23, 2020 The random Bible devotion for today is Mark 11:20-26. This is part of the cursing of the fig tree from earlier in Mark. Here, passing the tree again, Peter points out that the tree had withered. Part of me wants to say, Of course it withered, Jesus cursed it. Now, we must remember that the tree was cursed because it looked like it had fruit but did not. This was an analogy for those with the outward signs of faith, but have no fruit, no faith.... Here is the completion of the curse, what happens when one does have faith. Here, Jesus points out that prayer backed by faith will be answered. Now, would a literal mountain jump into the sea? Well, I do not think that was Jesus’ point. Jesus is pointing out that outward appearance of faith is meaningless, but actual faith has power. It is a reminder that the unseen, the internal faith, as evident by fruit, can make changes in the world. This is something to remember.

Thursday, October 22, 2020 The random Bible devotion for today is Amos 2:6-16. I know this has been a doom and gloom series of devotionals, but sometimes that is just where I end up when I am flipping through the Bible.... Here we see where Israel messed up. What is interesting is, that after God reminds them of the great works of the past, God tells them how they messed up. What is important is one can read how deliberately they acted to offend God. It takes effort to force a Nazirite, a person dedicated to God for a period of time or a life, who has strict rules, to break those rules. It is not something that is done accidentally. That tells us something about God and forgiveness. God does not get angry at people who make mistakes or missteps. God seems to get upset at those who deliberately go against the Divine will and ways; the people who purposely set out to offend and rebel against God. In some ways, we can accept that Divine judgment, because we can see it is purposeful rebellion, not mistakes. And in that, we can see that His love is still there for those who strive to love God, have faith in Christ, and seek to do His will.

Wednesday, October 21, 2020 The random Bible devotion for today is Ezekiel 6. Ever have to give someone bad news? It is not a pleasant task, yet it must be done. As an old sergeant once told us, bad news never gets better with time. In other words, just say it. I wonder what Ezekiel must have felt with his prophecy. His message is harsh. It is not a message anyone wants to hear, yet, Ezekiel gives this message.... Sometimes we do not want to hear the bad news. We do not want to hear the truth, but we need to hear it. If we are not living as God wants us to live, then we need to know where we fall short so we can make the necessary changes in our lives. So, in some ways, the bad news is good. For when we know what we need to change, we can rejoice in knowing that God still cares and still wants us, and we can make the changes to return to Him.

Tuesday, October 20, 2020 The random Bible devotion for today is Isaiah 16. Prophecies of destruction are always difficult. We do not want to think of God condemning or destroying. Because of the discomfort, we often ignore these passages. We gloss over them, and we do not preach them. Yet, there is something here. There is meaning in these passages for us.... In many ways, when we look at what is happening with Moab, they were not innocent. In some ways, outside of faith, we could say they would get what they deserve; reap what they sow. That is not the faithful way of looking at this. We can see that God sees and understands what is happening. This is not outside of God’s sight or concern. Nor is it outside of God’s ability to resolve. In that, we can find hope that God cares and can make changes in this world.

Monday, October 19, 2020 The random Bible devotion for today is Psalm 37. Sometimes we face challenges in the world. Whether they come from others or from within, when these challenges come up, we can struggle. We can sense abandonment or loneliness. We know in faith to trust in God, but that does not always come to mind. In these moments, we need reminders of God’s sovereignty in the world and God’s role in our lives.... Psalm 37 does this for us. We get a reminder of God’s role in our lives. We can read of the worldly struggles, but also what God will do and what we need to do. Psalms such as this one can be a great comfort to us when times are hard, but also when things are going well.

The random Bible devotion for today is 1 Chronicles 26:20-32. In some ways, this seems to be very familiar in churches. One family has a role and they seem to pass that role from generation to generation. This happens a lot in smaller churches. I do not want to say that it is a Biblical means of determining leadership, but here we have it. In some ways, this does make sense. We are often similar in outlook, talents, and interests to one or both of our parents, and interests can be passed like recipes from generations to generations. And in some ways, God may be using this. It can be a way that roles in the church and faith can be filled as generations come and go. For us, it may not be a rule, but it can be an amazing way God is at work.

The random Bible devotion for today is Deuteronomy 33. This passage makes me dwell on blessings at the time of death. That is something that, as far as I know, we do not think about. When we are looking at the end, we tend to try to come to peace with what is happening, or with one another, or to say goodbyes. I have yet to see or experience a moment of blessing before one passes. Yet, maybe that is something that would be helpful. This is not the only time that this blessing comes up in the Bible, and when you think about it, that is something we often do in church. The benediction of the service is often a blessing. It is the why of closing and sending off. When we see this, we can see that this is a way of saying goodbye, but in a more hopeful, joyful way.

The random Bible devotion for today is Exodus 34:1-28. There is something striking in these verses for me. Moses had broken the first set of tablets and was told to carve new ones out and return to Mount Sinai. I would almost expect God to reiterate the Ten Commandments at that point, yet that is not what we get. We have them in Exodus 20. Here, we start to get more rules. God is giving instructions to Moses. In hindsight this makes sense. It would not take 40 days and 40 nig...hts to give the Ten Commandments. There is more given - more God needed to give to Moses and the people. In reflecting on this, it is hard to find a deeper meaning. All I can think is how sometimes we are given more than what we expect. I have to wonder if Moses just expected to get the Ten Commandments again, but instead got much more. When have we gotten more than what we expected?

The random Bible devotion for today is James 3:1-12. We can easily get into trouble with our words. It is all too easy to say something that we regret, and it is often difficult to undo damage we do. James reminds us that it is important to tame the tongue for that very reason. It is also important to tame it because of where it leads us. This goes beyond gaffes. We forget that our words can lead us places. Words can create new relationships but can also cause divisions. In a world of social media, it is really something on which we should think. What are the effects of our words, and how will they affect me?

The random Bible devotion for today is 2 Timothy 4:9-18. We often talk about sharing our lives with one another. Here at the end of the Second Letter to Timothy, we see Paul do that. We see that he is talking about others, what they are doing, and even who to avoid. It is a lot like a conversation, and very personal. This is a reminder for us of what we should be doing. We should be sharing the mundane parts of our lives. We should warn others when something went wrong as well as tell others about the good we encounter. Our lives of faith should not just be focused on Scripture, spiritual matters, or God, but should also include our lives on Earth.