Posts by Steve Rogers
Other Gods
Rooted in the first of the Ten Commandments God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai, Judaism has a central tenet known as the Shema: “Hear O Israel there is one God. The Lord is our God . . .” However, when we look carefully at God’s wording of the First Commandment: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2-3 NIV).…
Options
Who doesn’t feel under the pressure of the noise and endless options that seem to be the norm for our modern lives? Is there ever a moment when there is not a list of things taking up space and wanting our attention? It’s the harassment of obligation and worry that drives us to twitch, stomp, and run like horses plagued by bot flies. Horses will group together, tails swishing, or roll in the dirt to find relief. We look for…
To Be Honest
Recorded in numerous places in both the Hebrew section and Christian section of the library we call the Holy Bible are accounts of people who in raw emotion poured out their hearts to God. We read of deep pain, anger, and an anguish of soul expressed to the Almighty with the desperation of nowhere else to turn. Prompted by the death of a loved one, or starvation, or defeat in battle, or persecution and injustice, we see it demonstrated in…
A Word About Help
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1 Recent events in my life have gotten me thinking about the help that comes our way when needed. It comes from varying directions and sources, ranging from family, friends, medical professionals, inspirational readings and meditations, and more. Some that can go unrecognized are provided from a desk and computer in an insurance claim processing place somewhere. Just because I had a bad gall bladder, a whole…
A Warning
Judas and the other disciples were in agreement. That expensive bottle of ointment the woman poured over Jesus’ head in Bethany had been wasted. It should have been sold with the money given to the poor. After all, wasn’t care for the poor a central theme of Jesus’ message? Matthew tells the story. “Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment,…
Ashes to Ashes
The low church Protestant tradition I was raised in did not follow the traditional church calendar and Lectionary. We did not observe Lent and thought those folks walking around with ash crosses on their heads on Ash Wednesday were a bit weird. I have come to believe that was my loss. Once I took the time and care to learn the history and meaning of such observances, I have come to appreciate the symbolism and devotional meaning of them. Today…
Delight Yourself
Psalm 37 is one of my favorite Psalms. It appeals to my sense of fairness and gives counsel for how to keep my head on straight and my heart in the right place when things seem not to be going as they should. “Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and…
Who Let the Peace Out?
One of my favorite words of wisdom in the Scriptures is: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful (Colossians 3:15 NIV).” It’s the word rule that grabs my attention. It means “to be in charge” or “to make the call,” much like the umpire in a baseball game I watched recently. Whenever I am faced with a difficult decision, it is the choice that…
Pause and Pray
To be honest, I haven’t been a big fan of prayer techniques. My attitude has been when I want to pray, I’ll do it with my words when I want and where I want. The downside of that has been an undisciplined prayer life. That’s not a good attitude to have about communication in any relationship. Imagine the husband that declares, “I told you I love you at our wedding. If it changes, I’ll let you know.” Such a cavalier…
Saved?
“Are you saved?” the street evangelist asked me. Raised in the church as the pastor’s son, I knew what he was asking, but in the moment it wasn’t a matter I was giving much thought to. In our tradition back then, one dipped in and out of salvation depending on how successfully they lived the “Christian” life. For us that meant thinking only holy thoughts, daily prayer and Bible reading, no bad words, no dirty jokes, no smoking, drinking or…
Ahead
Speaking of all the notables in the Hebrew Scriptures who had lived and died with unrealized goals, the writer of Hebrews made this observation in Hebrews 11:13-16: These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that…
Joy/Rejoicing
Unless we’ve been startlingly entertained by a choir of angels overnight, I’m guessing our joy level is going to be low on the dipstick this Monday morning. Days are dark. “Covid” seems like it is every other word in the newscast. Winter weather is creeping lower on the weather map. And, dang it, our clothes are shrinking again. So what are we going to do about it? I suppose we could all do fifty jumping jacks while singing “Don’t Worry…