Category: 843 Acres

Scripture Focus: Ephesians 5.21-25
21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 
22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

Reflection: Beyond “Plain Reading”
By John Tillman

We often describe the Bible as a park in the midst of the city — a place of restoration and peace amidst the concrete-coated, steel-and-glass struggles of life.

Some Bible passages, however, are less like peaceful parks and more like battlegrounds. When passages have been weaponized and abused, how can we stop hearing them as weapons but as God’s word?

Today’s passage and other Pauline passages about women are such cases. One chapter of Confronting Christianity is “Doesn’t Christianity Denigrate Women?” In it, Rebecca McLaughlin mentions that Ephesians 5.22 repulsed her at first. It seemed hierarchical and prime for abuse.

One reason many think such passages are abusive is how some Christian voices interpret them. Using a “plain reading” they say Paul tells women to sit down. To shut up. To go home. Are they right?

We need to go beyond “plain reading” because the Bible is not plainly written. Peter points out that the difficulty of interpreting Paul leads to destruction. (2 Peter 3.15-17) Treating the Bible as clear-cut instructions which need no interpretation is foolish. Treating our interpretations as infallible is arrogant.

“Plain reading” conveniently lets us carry our prejudices and culture into scripture rather than reading the text in the context and culture of the writer. We better understand Paul’s words in the context of his actions. Are men to be lifted up and women to be pushed down? Did Paul intend that? Did Paul believe it? Did Paul enact it?

Paul’s treatment of women interprets his words about women. What women did in Paul’s ministry tells us how “submissive” women behave and what they do. Phoebe the deacon, Junia the apostle, Lydia the business owner and church founder, Priscilla the theological teacher…these are not rebels or heretics. They are women following Paul’s words, obeying his intent.

We need to read scripture humbly, contextually, and repeatedly. Don’t give up on passages that have been abused or argued over. The Bible has pearls of great price, treasures hidden in fields, and riches of wisdom to be mined. You’ll rarely strike gold with the first turn of a shovel or solve thorny theological problems with the first turn of a page. (Or 400 words of a devotional.)

We’ll find what Paul means by walking in the steps of Paul and of Jesus. With humility and patience, battlefields can once again become peaceful parks.

From John: To go more in depth on this issue and other challenging topics, I recommend McLaughlin’s book, Confronting Christianity. I am, through my church, helping lead a book club of atheists, agnostics, and deconstructed people discussing the book and it is an excellent place to start for those exploring challenging questions about Christianity.

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading
Jesus taught us, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off in his joy, sells everything he owns and buys the field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls; when he finds one of great value he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it.”  — Matthew 13.44-45

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Joshua 14-15 (Listen 9:20)
Ephesians 5 (Listen  3:42)

Read more about None Excluded or Excused
For Paul, ministry was collaborative. Paul’s ministry team included all races, men and women, young people and elders, slaves and free, rich and poor.

Read more about No Asterisks
Deborah’s judgeship doesn’t deserve an asterisk…God did not “settle” for Deborah. He chose her.

Scripture Focus: Ephesians 4:1-2
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

From John: Our friend and fellow writer, Jon Polk, no longer lives on the other side of the world. We are sad for their time there to end but joyful they will be near to us. As we welcome Jon back to Texas from Hong Kong, we share today his excellent reflection from a few years ago, considering today’s reading in light of events of Saint Francis’s life.

Reflection: From Privilege to Prisoner to Priest
By Jon Polk

St. Francis of Assisi is generally known for his peaceful disposition and love for animals and nature. The Prayer of St. Francis (authorship uncertain, but often attributed to Francis) begins…

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.

However, this devoted follower of Christ, widely regarded for his vow of poverty, did not begin life in a humble way. Francis was born in Italy around 1181 to a wealthy cloth merchant and his beautiful French wife. By age 14, Francis, spoiled by luxury, dropped out of school and gained a reputation as a rebellious teen, known for drinking, partying, and vanity.

His privileged upbringing afforded him training in archery and horsemanship and when war broke out in 1202, he joined the cavalry. Having no combat experience, Francis was easily captured by opposing forces and imprisoned for a year before ransom was negotiated.

But during his time as a prisoner of war, Francis began to receive visions from God and arrived home a changed man. He turned his heart towards God and spent time in prayer, seeking direction.

Eventually, he felt the call of Christ to serve the Church and to live a life of extreme poverty—fully devoted to Christianity. He is considered by many to be one of the purest examples of living the Christian life, other than Jesus himself.

Certainly, Francis embodies Paul’s encouragement to the Ephesians to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received” and to “be completely humble and gentle.”

Francis’ deep dedication and gratitude to God is seen expressed in these excerpts from a song he composed, Canticle of the Sun. May these words guide our worship and service to Christ.

Most High, all powerful, good Lord,
Yours are the praises, the glory, the honor,
and all blessing.
To You alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no man is worthy to mention Your name.
Blessed are those who endure in peace
for by You, Most High, they shall be crowned.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will
find in Your most holy will,
for the second death shall do them no harm.
Praise and bless my Lord,
and give Him thanks
and serve Him with great humility.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. — Psalm 19.14

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Joshua 12-13 (Listen 8:18)
Ephesians 4 (Listen  3:58)

Read more about Choosing and Being Worthy Overseers
We may be shaped more by secular political media than by Christian voices or our local church…are we choosing our “overseers” wisely?

Read more about Anger Industrial Complex
Anger can form grooves, patterns, in our lives that affect our identity, transforming us into people of anger, rather than people of God.

Scripture Focus: Ephesians 1.17-21
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

Reflection: Ask and Keep Asking
By John Tillman

Writing Ephesians, Paul is “an old man” (Philemon 9). He is in chains. Execution and death lie ahead. Yet, in many of his letters from this time, Paul sounds enduringly hopeful.

Paul’s eyes are not set on his current circumstances or on the current state of the church. They are set on the heavenly realm. He speaks little of earthly sufferings, focusing attention on spiritual blessings.

By the sovereignty of Rome, Paul was predestined for trial, suffering, and, eventually, execution. But by the sovereignty of God, Paul was predestined to adoption to sonship through Jesus, to redemption and forgiveness, and to bringing Gentiles into the family of God. By the Holy Spirit’s prompting, Paul’s speaking, and the Ephesians’ hearing, they believed and were included in Christ as heirs to his promises.

There are different types of sovereignty at work in our lives. We live under the sovereignty of governments and employers. There are penalties and benefits predestined by their laws and policies. When we work according to our employment policies, we receive promised wages. Whether we believe in paying our taxes or not, if we don’t pay them, we are predestined for trouble.

By God’s sovereignty, not only the Ephesians but we are included in Christ by hearing and believing the gospel of salvation. (Ephesians 1.13) Like them, we who believe are marked, sealed, and predestined for the glory that is to come.

And like the Ephesians, we also have farther to go. Paul thanked God for their faith but prayed that through the Holy Spirit they would know God better.

Pray this prayer based on Paul’s:
Lord, help us to ask and keep asking that through the Holy Spirit you would grant us greater wisdom, greater enlightenment, greater hope, and greater power.
In this world that seeks to do us harm, these are our daily bread. We cannot survive without them.
Whatever the world has destined for us, Lord, work out everything in conformity with the purpose of your will.
Your Holy Spirit guarantees that we are your possession. We do not belong to the world.
Through whatever suffering, whether loss of life or comfort, let no harsh treatment make our speech harsh or our hearts hard.
Let your resurrection power not only resurrect our bodies should we die, but resurrect our compassion, our love, our goodness, our humility, and our generosity while we live.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Help me, O Lord my God; save me for your mercy’s sake. — Psalm 109.25

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Joshua 9 (Listen 3:46)
Ephesians 1 (Listen  3:10)

Today’s Readings
Joshua 10 (Listen 7:23) Ephesians 2 (Listen  3:04)
Joshua 11 (Listen 3:52) Ephesians 3 (Listen  2:41)

Read more about The Consequence of Carelessness
There are times when the monotony of life creates an apathy toward caution.

Read The Bible With Us
There is joy to be found in the scriptures. Read the Bible with us at a sustainable, two-year pace.

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