Between the services and after the 10 am service the Health Fair will take place in the Fellowship Hall.

15 Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. 17 Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. 18 Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.

Clouds figure prominently in the scriptures at times.  The readings for Jesus’ ascension talk about his being taken up in a cloud.  Today’s reading speaks of Moses being near to God, while up in the cloud on Mount Sinai.  The clouds were part of the heavenly realm, the place where God lived.

Most of us only experience clouds when we are driving through fog, which is a cloud on the ground.  At those times we cannot see the danger behind us or in front of us.  We need to slow down to a reasonable speed, and we depend on others doing the same in their cars or trucks.

My son is an airline pilot who flies a smaller regional jet, which means his flights are shorter than many cross-country flights.  Sometimes he is flying through the clouds, completely dependent on his instruments.  He likes that.  He has learned to trust his instruments and his ability to read them.

We know that God is not just up in the clouds.  God is in each one of us and God is all around us.  Still, we should imagine that we are in the clouds, just like Moses on Mount Sinai.  We should listen with our minds and our hearts and our souls for what God is saying to us.  We should trust that God is speaking to us.  Just as my son needs to listen for what his airplane’s instruments are “saying” to him, we need to listen for what God is saying to us.  My son had to practice learning how to fly “on instruments.”  We need to practice listening for God’s guidance.

I have learned that, for me, the protecting presence of God is felt in my gut.  Sometimes I am about to make a decision, but I get an uneasy feeling in my stomach.  Maybe it is in my mind, but I feel it in my stomach.  When I get that feeling, I know that God is there and is protecting me from a wrong decision.  My “cloud” is not up on a mountain, but it is in my stomach.  I am thankful for God’s presence there.

Where is God’s “cloud” presence for you in your life?  I am sure God is there somewhere for you.  When you look up in the sky today and see the clouds, may you also sense the “cloud” presence of God in your daily life.

PRAYER     Dear Lord God, thank you for your guiding presence in our lives.  Help us to listen carefully for your loving advice.  May we recognize that we are not alone, but that you are with us each moment of each and every day.  In your name we pray, Amen.

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

In the church calendar this is the day of the Ascension, and this is one of the texts assigned for the day.  We make a mistake if we think of Jesus’ ascension being like an ascension of our human body.  Jesus’ resurrected body was different from our physical, earthly bodies.  We have several examples in the appearance narratives where the disciples don’t recognize the resurrected Jesus or they doubted what they were seeing.

Another focus of this text is the declaration that the disciples, with the power of the Holy Spirit, will go to work and be Jesus’ witnesses.  They will be witnesses to the ends of the earth.  They did that, and it is still being done today.

I remember a sermon on this text that focused on the message of the two men in white robes, who said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?”  The sermon suggested that we can spend too much time focusing on worship or other special spiritual disciplines.  The disciples were being told that it was time to go to work as Jesus’ witnesses.  That is our job, too.

Bible study is good.  An individual’s time of prayer is good too.  Worship is supposed to be uplifting.  Yet, these activities are not the totality of our Christian life.  Our Christian life includes the love that we share with others.  It includes our supporting our neighbors in need.  It includes our speaking of the importance of Jesus in our lives.  These activities of the Christian life are not accomplished by us on our own.  We have God’s own Spirit, the Holy Spirit, present to help us.

PRAYER     Dear Lord God, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit.  May it empower us to accomplish more good things than we can accomplish on our own.  In your name we pray, Amen.

18 You shall put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and fix them as an emblem on your forehead. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 20 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to your ancestors to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.

When this reading came up three years ago, I included in this devotional a picture of “phylacteries,” which is the term for what the Hebrew people wore on their hands or on their foreheads.  It was a small leather container that could contain the Ten Commandments.  More important than what was on their hands or on their heads was the fact that the words of the LORD, the commandments which Moses passed on to them, were in their hearts and souls.

We have our own things to remind us of God’s word to us.  I still wear my WWJD bracelet, and other people wear crosses.  I have at times carried a small little “cross in my pocket.”  It was made of lightweight metal or resin.  Many people are moved by the “Footsteps” poem.  I have that on a plastic card, which I received from a daughter, and it has been in my wallet at times.  Just as with the Hebrew people, it is also true for us.  More important than what we wear or carry is having God’s word in our hearts and souls.  It should be internal to us and fully a part of us.

The commands of God, the “words of mine,” were given to benefit the people.  It was to provide them a healthy community in which to live.  In that community there was to be no stealing, no murder, no adultery, no lying, and God and God’s name would be honored.  The “words of mine” that we Christians treasure are the words and deeds of Jesus that remind us of just how much God loves us.

In a world that can push us around and make us feel badly about ourselves, we have the words of Jesus to tell us that we are a beloved child of God, and that Jesus lived and died for us.  We still have the commandments to guide us in our daily lives.  May the words of Jesus and the commandments be in our hearts and souls.  Our lives will be better for it.

PRAYER     Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for your love for us.  May we share that love with all whom we meet today.  Guide us to say and do the right things that will lift up the spirits of others and make this world a better place for all.  In your name we pray, Amen.

13 If you will only heed his every commandment that I am commanding you today — loving the LORD your God, and serving him with all your heart and with all your soul — 14 then he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, and you will gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil; 15 and he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you will eat your fill. 16 Take care, or you will be seduced into turning away, serving other gods and worshiping them, 17 for then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain and the land will yield no fruit; then you will perish quickly off the good land that the LORD is giving you.

The focus on rain in this passage intrigues me.  Earlier verses in this chapter describe how the Promised Land was different from Egypt.  In Egypt they could irrigate their land from the Nile River.  In the Promised Land there were hills and valleys, and irrigation was not possible.  The people would be dependent on the rains, and they understood that God was in control of the rainfall.

We have an “established” lawn at our house.  We never water it.  Last summer, we did not get much rain after July.  I did not have to mow our lawn from the end of July until this spring in April.  Right now, it is looking very nice.  There seems to be a balance in the rainfall that we receive.  Months that are dryer than normal are followed by months that are wetter than normal.  What we now call a drought is not at all what was experienced in the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s.

Last year, Texas was going through a severe drought.  Have you noticed how much rain they have received recently?  A few years ago, Georgia was going through a drought.  They seem to have recovered too.  There seems to be a balance in the amount of rainfall we receive.  It does not seem to depend on our following God’s commandments.  God seems to be gracious to us despite our unfaithfulness.

We need to follow God’s commandments because it is the right thing to do.  We need to follow God’s commandments because they help us to have happier lives.  We need to follow God’s commandments because they are based in love and help us to share God’s love.  The commandments are good for us and good for all.

PRAYER     Dear Lord God, we thank you for the rains that come.  They are a sign of your steadfast love for us.  May we enjoy the rains, and use the water responsibly.  Continue to motivate us to follow your commandments.  In your name we pray, Amen.

11 But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

The letters to Timothy are letters to a younger colleague of St. Paul.  Theses verses are part of the last words of this letter.  I can imagine them being spoken at a commencement, “Fight the good fight of the faith.”  I can also imagine them being spoken to a child as he or she heads off to school for the day.

One of my pastor friends has told how he did not grow up with many rules about what he should do and should not do.  When he was headed out for some fun with his friends, his parents simply said to him, “Remember that you are a [last name].”  Each one of us could insert our own last name.  When we go out in the world, whom do we represent?

Each one of us also goes out in the world bearing the name of Christ.  We have made a confession of our faith.  We are to “fight the good fight of the faith,” pursuing righteousness, godliness, and all those other things that are mentioned.

It is Monday morning.  We don’t know what this week will hold for any of us.  There are likely to be surprises.  One thing is certain.  Each one of us is a man of God or a woman of God.  God has high hopes and expectations of us for how we will represent God in the world.

PRAYER     Dear Lord God, grant your Spirit to each one of us.  May we be faithful to you in all that we do today.  In your name we pray, Amen.

42 So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

This is one of the passages of scripture that I first learned about in seminary.  It was described as one of the key passages in Mark, a passage that can help a reader understand the whole gospel of Mark.  The meaning is completely contained in verse 45, and that one verse is loaded with many things.  As some professors used to say, “Let me ‘unpack’ that verse.”

Son of Man is the title that Jesus seems to use for himself.  The background for the title is in the book of Daniel, chapter seven.  A heavenly being that appears like a human being is given authority over all the kingdoms of the earth.  His kingdom shall never end.

While this “Son of Man” has authority over all, he does not “lord it” over others.  Instead of seeking to be served, he chooses to serve, and sets an example for all his followers, that is, for all the people in his kingdom.

He even gives his life “as a ransom.”  It is as if we have been kidnapped and are held in bondage.  Through the gift of his life he provides the ransom that frees us.  Jesus understands that it is his calling to give his life for us and for all.

Our calling is not to duplicate what Jesus did, but our calling is to be servants to each other.  We are called to live for each other.  We don’t have to give up our lives, because Jesus already gave his life for us.  But, we can live our lives as servants, making smaller sacrifices for each other.

PRAYER     Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for the sacrifice you made for me and for us all.  Guide me today to make smaller sacrifices for others.  In your name we pray, Amen.

9 About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat; and while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 Then he heard a voice saying, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.” 15 The voice said to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” 16 This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven.

We usually think of Paul as the missionary to the Gentiles, the non-Jews.  In this passage from Acts we have described the revelation to Peter that there was no longer any need to distinguish in dietary habits between what was clean and unclean.  Among other things, Jews would not eat pork, and they would not mix dairy products with the meats they would eat.  This set the stage for Peter evangelizing the Gentiles, too.

Most of us don’t abide by any dietary rules for religious reasons.  We may be allergic to some foods because of allergic reactions to peanuts or gluten, but those are because of our individual body’s chemistry.  Some of us may still abide by a Catholic tradition to eat no meat on Fridays, just fish or eggs, and we enjoy the fish fry that can take place on Fridays.

In the ancient world there were many things that could be used to keep races and ethnic groups apart.  Food was one of them.  Now, we can use the experience of different foods to bring us together.  Kolackys, lutefisk, and ebelskiver are three foods that are not part of my ethnic heritage, but I enjoy two of those three.  (Sorry, lutefisk.)  Corned beef and cabbage is something I enjoy, even though my background is not Irish at all.  I am not Italian either, but I enjoy Italian food, too.  The variety of foods we can enjoy now can also lead us to enjoy the people who are different from “our group.”

The point of this passage in Acts is that the missionary outreach of the early Church was to non-Jews, as well as to the Jews.  We are being called to reach beyond our own ethnic groups and see people from different backgrounds as members with us of the same, one family of God.  Who knows whom we will meet today?  Let us not see them first as a stranger, but first as our brother or sister in God’s family.

PRAYER     Dear Lord God, there is still so much in our world that can divide us, one from another.  Let your Spirit work to bring us together.  In your name we pray, Amen.