Forward Movement is an official, non-profit agency of the Episcopal Church whose mission is to create compelling content for Christian living. Since 1935 we have published the quarterly devotional Forward Day by Day, as well as pamphlets, booklets, and books that encourage and nourish people in their lives of prayer and faith.
SATURDAY, June 20
Psalm 90. Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to another.
I searched today's readings for a sense of hope and found only judgment: the ark is taken and Eli's sons are killed; Ananias and Sapphira are struck dead for lying; judgment is unleashed, even on nursing mothers. It occurred to me that lessons such as these are reminders that sin and pain are always part of life.
Our task is not to dwell on them, however, but be instructed by them. That instruction takes a loving heart as well as an informed mind.
This is important to understand. Damage done to human hearts and minds by clergy or teachers more willing to scare the hell out of them--to "save their soul"--is unworthy of the gospel commission. Fear does not a disciple make. We are commanded to love one another. Inviting others to experience God's love and grace is the way disciples are made.
Summer is here; a gentle, slower time. A perfect time, perhaps, to invite to church someone you know who has no church of their own. Even someone who may avoid church like the plague because of some fearful thing said to them years ago. Invite them to "come and see" a worshiping community that looks to God in love and hope.
PRAY for the Diocese of Winchester (Canterbury, England)
Ps 87 * 136; 1 Samuel 4:1b-11; Acts 4:32-5:11; Luke 21:20-28
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