Wednesday - January 31, 2024

The Reverend Dr. Neil G. Thomas

SCRIPTURE


Mark 5. 1-20


Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed Man


They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.


When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”


Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”


“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.


A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.


Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.


As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.


WORDS OF HOPE


At first glance, this scripture seems a little weird. Jesus arrives on the other side of the sea and is confronted by a man who has made his home among the tombs, among the dead. This is his environment and his expectation based of his circumstances and Jesus meets him. Mark says that the man fell to his knees at the sight of Jesus and is confronted by his own question, “What do you want from me?” In the ensuing conversation Jesus offers him freedom from the impure spirits that had tormented him and sends them into surrounding pigs who run off, rushing down a steep bank and into a lake where they are drowned.


Those who witnessed these events, those who saw the impact of Jesus’ encounter with the man were both confused and perhaps frightened, asking Jesus to leave their region. The man is left to witness to his own people just what Jesus had done for him and, with his testimony, the people were amazed.


Of course, as with all Scripture you must be able to contextualize them within the times that they are written. Pigs are not kosher and the book of Deuteronomy states that the Israelites shall not eat their flesh or touch their dead carcass. In their tradition they are unclean, and it is understandable why pigs are used in this miracle.


The bigger story, for me, in this miracle is in the question that the man asks of Jesus, ““What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” While this is a question from within him, from the “legion”, this is a question that is vital for us all.


We are so often taught a theology of asking God for things. This is not a bad thing. In my daily prayers I often find myself asking God for things, for answers, for other people to be blessed. However, it is less regular that I sit in my own life and ask God to tell me what God wants from me. Is this your story as well?


The more I thought about this today, the more I realized that perhaps, if I spent more time asking God this question, perhaps I would have more clarity for my life and my vocational work.


Believe me, I am grateful to a God who has often rescued me from numerous situations that could lead me on a destructive path or a path that is not beneficial. I am grateful to God who has offered me ways to follow the call that I believe that God has placed in front of me. I am grateful to God who reminds me every day that my everyday actions can make a difference. Today, I am convicted by the question what more can I do for God and what does God want from me.


The conclusion of this story is a testimony to what happens when you are listening to God’s response to our question. For the man in the story, he found wholeness and healing. He found a new life that bore testimony to others, leading them to belief in Jesus.


Friends, our story is a testimony for others and Jesus calls us to live our story – a story that is still evolving and not yet finished. However, this story has an impact and will help others to see your changed life. This is the miracle.


In the words of one of my favorite hymns, Amazing Grace, “I once was lost but now I’m found.”


May we take a moment, amid our asking God for blessings, to also ask God, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?”


PRAYER


God, thank you for your faithfulness toward me, hearing my prayers and responding to my needs. Hear me today, O God, as I ask You – What do you want from me? Amen.


DEVOTION AUTHOR


The Reverend Dr. Neil G. Thomas

Senior Pastor

Pronouns: he/his/him

Need Some Inspiration? Read our Daily Devotions

Friday - November 6, 2026

By Tomas Riggs • November 6, 2026
SCRIPTURE  John 8:6b-8 Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. WORDS OF HOPE Having raised a daughter and a non-binary child, there were several times when my parental instincts and my feminism and allyship clashed. This happened frequently during their middle school and high school years. Often, I found myself unlearning the man I was taught to be. As a feminist, I wanted to raise children who were outspoken and independent, who took ownership of their choices, and who weren't afraid to challenge a misogynistic culture. However, I learned, sometimes rather harshly, that raising independent children means accepting that they won't always agree with me or follow my perfectly good advice. Never was this struggle more real than when it came to the clothing they chose to wear. When they walked into the room wearing something revealing, provocative, gender-bending, or simply different, decades of cultural conditioning came rushing back. I believed they deserved autonomy over their bodies and the freedom to express themselves. Yet, there I was, struggling to practice what I believed. In John 8, religious leaders set a theological trap for Jesus. Men stood ready to stone a woman to death because they accused her of adultery. And there was Jesus, drawing in the dirt (what WAS he drawing, anyway?). But notice what Jesus didn't do. He didn't say a word to the woman about what she was wearing, how she got there, or what she might have done to deserve this. Instead, Jesus turned the attention back to the men holding the stones. He made them take a good, hard look at themselves. Too often, our instinct is to ask someone to change their behavior rather than confront the culture that makes us uncomfortable. Sadly, many Christians have become quite skilled at using scripture as a weapon to police everyone else's behavior while conveniently overlooking their own. But Jesus was radically serious about self-examination. Remember the plank in your own eye before worrying about the speck in someone else's? He was repeatedly gentle with those who recognized their shortcomings and remarkably harsh toward those who considered themselves righteous enough to judge others. All people deserve safety and respect, regardless of what they wear. No one should have to make themselves smaller, less visible, or less expressive to accommodate someone else's discomfort. I had to learn that my discomfort wasn't necessarily evidence that my children were doing something wrong. Sometimes it was evidence that I still had some unlearning to do. Perhaps that's the challenge of this story. It's easy to identify with the woman surrounded by judgmental people. It's much harder to recognize ourselves among the men holding stones. Jesus didn't ask the woman to make herself more acceptable to the men holding the stones. He asked the men to examine themselves. Maybe that's where our own unlearning begins. PRAYER Mother, Father, non-binary God, help us recognize the judgments and assumptions we carry, especially those we have mis-taken for love, protection, or righteousness. Give us the humility to examine our own hearts before questioning the choices of others. Teach us to put down our stones and honor the sacred worth of every person. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Thomas Riggs

Thursday - November 5, 2026

By Weber Baker • November 5, 2026
SCRIPTURE  Luke 22:47-53 While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus said to him, “Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?” When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, “Lord, should we strike with the sword?” Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as though I were a rebel? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour and the power of darkness!” WORDS OF HOPE To begin, I need to point out that the above passage of scripture is one of three versions of this particular story. In the gospel of John, it specifically named Peter as the one who draws his sword; and Malchus as the one who is struck. In Matthew’s version is the famous “those who live by the sword shall die by the sword.” Matthew also tells us that that disciple abandoned Jesus when he was arrested. I chose this particular one because it is the only one in which Jesus heals the man who is struck. Today is the International Day Against Violence and Bullying. And when I read about this day this passage, or rather all of these passages, dealing with Jesus’s arrest, came to mind. Clearly violence is here in the passage. A sword is drawn, a person is struck; but Jesus admonishes his followers that violence is not the answer. And he then heals the wound. Bullying is here too in all three versions. It clearly states that a crowd approaches Jesus, not just the high priest, his servants, or temple guards alone. In my mind, this is a form of bullying. Those who have come to arrest Jesus want to make sure that his followers can be contained. They want to make sure that Jesus is intimidated. That of course does not work on Jesus because Jesus knows what is to come. But as Matthew tells us; “you worked on the disciples.” So, what can we take from this and use in our own lives? Though it is hard to stand up to a bully or bullies; if we know where we come from, and we know where we’re going, and we are certain of our place in God; we can be more like Jesus. We can be more like the disciples were after the Pentecost. We can stand against violence and bullying. And just as Jesus does with Malchus we can bring healing to those we see who are bullied. PRAYER Great God, you have commanded that we love one another. Bring us to that place of love in whatever circumstances we find ourselves so that we may project that love to all around us so that those who would harm us or try to intimidate us are rendered powerless. And bring us in that love to a place where we neither commit violence nor try to intimidate others so that we may truly and follow the Way of Jesus. DEVOTION AUTHOR Weber Baker. Order of Saint Francis and Saint Clair

Wednesday - November 4. 2026

By Hardy Haberman • November 4, 2026
READING “Just because it's common sense, doesn't mean it's common practice.” - Will Rogers WORDS OF HOPE Today is “Use Your Common Sense Day” and also the birthday of humorist Will Rogers. His observations and many columns for the New York Times in the 1930’s still endure as delightful skewers of the famous and the infamous of the era. One of the things that made his humor so endearing was his ability to cut through the clutter of the news and political rhetoric and get to the underlying truth which was often the seed of the humor itself. He was particularly poignant when it came to his views on religion. He wrote this quote around the time of the Scopes trial in Tennessee. “The Lord put all these millions of people over the earth. They don’t all agree on how they got here, and ninety percent don’t care. But He was pretty wise when He did see to it that they all do agree on one thing. (whether Christian, Heathen, or Mohammedan) and that is that the better lives you live the better you will finish.” If that’s not great common sense, I don’t know what is. PRAYER May we all use our God-given common sense when faced with difficult times. Sometimes that means doing what Will Rogers suggested, “The best way out of a difficulty is through it.” Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Hardy Haberman

Tuesday - November 3, 2026

By Charlie C. Rose • November 3, 2026
SCRIPTURE  1 Corinthians 1.30 By God’s doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption. WORDS OF HOPE There are days when I feel numb. This election season has done that to me. The campaigns and hype have been emotionally draining, and they left me feeling empty, waiting for some good thing to happen. I avoided the news as a rule. My opinion about too many things was easily reduced to how I would vote. I voted early and I hope on this Election Day you will follow through on that important privilege as well, if you haven’t already. But today’s Scripture isn’t a review of political ramblings. It’s about Christ being present throughout all of our profound emotions that come and go with or without much effort. Emotions often exist as a summation of life experiences, the triumphs, and disappointments; the random joy, anger, and sadness that define life on earth. I confess I’m usually an optimistic brain type. Like Lady Gaga’s “Born That Way”. We have a certain predetermined overriding attitude that makes us naturally feel one way or the other. We each have our recipe of chemicals within each of us that both gives us insight in our fellow Earthlings, and a glance into our often-predetermined moods. I like to think I’m in control of that, but am I? Truth is, I know too well what situations I’ve created, the failures and successes of personal history that brought me to this day, resulting in what my thoughts and actions create. I own my creation no matter how tough or how lax I’ve been on myself and I live the life I created. I must face my own profound happiness, anger, and sadness. I accept that my mood is the sum-total of unique randomness. In the Gospels, the Son of God faces the same issues. Christ is not a time traveler, but a voice for all time. Christ’s wisdom and insight into our humanity is profundity in itself. The mystery of the Word that became flesh is a wonderful, but abstract idea, giving a path to helping us deal with the unexplained or follies of living. If we dare listen to that Word, we are given God’s Door for an exit; an exit from emotional strife, dependency, sadness, the complexities of life and the ability to let go of the tiny details and embrace simplicity itself. The redeeming Christ gives us permission to love, to forgive, to create, and the most elusive thing granted to all of us, just to BE. PRAYER Thank you that regardless of environments, circumstances, or the state of our current emotional lives, your love and wisdom are always there to guide us and to redeem us. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Charlie Rose Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

Monday - November 2, 2026

By Dan Peeler • November 2, 2026
SCRIPTURE  Joshua 4.8-9 The Israelites took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant had stood. And they are there to this day. WORDS OF HOPE Today’s Scripture reading is an excerpt from the narrative about memorializing God’s parting of the Jordan River before the Holy Ark of the Covenant. The story ends saying the cairn (a human-made stack of stones) is “there to this day.” That would have been written between 600-500 years before the birth of Christ. The stacking of the stones would have occurred about 500 years earlier. There’s no sign of the stone marker now. Building monuments to our achievements or significant historic incidents is an ancient human practice. They always last many years or even generations after their builders, but whether torn down by other people or by time, they never stand forever. Our generation continues the tradition, from small historic markers along the road to massive sculptures like Mount Rushmore, we are surrounded by our own versions of the cairn of Joshua. One of my historian cousins was once employed to search the countryside for sites of incidents worthy of historical markers. One of her markers stands on an early 1800’s cemetery near my house. The gravestones are mostly illegible, and my cousin is gone as well, but her diligent work still stands. My cousin’s name was Kay. She left behind many miles of markers celebrating the history made by other people, but not one to herself. Kay was a lifelong member of the largest Presbyterian in Dallas and involved in every humanitarian endeavor the church had to offer. She chaired countless ministries to foreign countries, serving the poorest of the poor and helping them help themselves by working with women’s cooperatives in Guatemala and Mexico, selling their hand made textiles at mission markets across the region. She would also always bring home loads of beautiful woven crafts and home decorations which she would market through several churches and benevolent organizations, with 100% of the profits going to the villages. Kay’s marker was her life, her spirit more durable than any stone, and she will be remembered for generations by the people Jesus loved the most. Her spirit is alive in her daughters as well. It seems to be a generational blessing in that branch of my family, and I have no doubt it will continue long after her daughters’ works are completed. Joshua honored the works of God with a stone memorial. Kay honored the works of God by doing them. There are powerful people in Washington DC today eager to clutter the environment with stone memorials to themselves. I pity them. Everything they build will crumble, but the works of the spirits of people like my Cousin Kay will live forever. PRAYER God who inspired our ancestors, we thank you for the lives and legacies of people like my Cousin Kay and for the spiritual monuments they left behind. May their examples continue to be the foundations for the markers we each have the opportunity to build every day. Amen. DEVOTION AUTHOR Dan Peeler Order of St. Francis and St. Clare

Friday - October 30, 2026

By Charlie Rose • October 30, 2026
SCRIPTURE  Joshua 1.9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” WORDS OF HOPE Tomorrow is All Hallow’s Eve, so it’s time to unpack your Playsuit. Did you ever have one of those? The Sears catalog when I was a child had what they called “Playsuits,” their versions the big-name superheroes like Superman or whatever cartoon character that was popular on TV at the time. Plus, a host of other occupational outfits like police and firemen, doctors and nurses. Boring. That said, I always loved the generic superhero suits. They had a day-glo green “spider guy” who vaguely resembled a makeshift sort of alien Spider-Man. In fact, there were all kinds of generic knockoffs for frugal shoppers like my mother. Generic Captain America, a watered-down version of Daredevil, which we all knew used to be Batman but was painted red instead to get another use of the same mask mold. Then there were costumes marketed specifically to satisfy churches that insisted on calling Halloween a “Harvest Festival” because they thought the designation “Halloween” was of the Devil. In a super conservative Christian home, you might be sent out as Jesus or maybe Moses. God knows merchants could have raked it in if they had thought about calling their mummy costume Lazarus. How embarrassing for those kids whose parents weren’t as well-versed in their Bible knowledge to know the Good Book is full of bad guys and makes plenty of mentions about witches, ghosts, monsters like Leviathan, and whole colonies of giants bigger than Goliath. Halloween was a big deal in my Christian-Lite home. It still wasn’t as big as Christmas, and it had not become the obsession it has become today. Nowadays, for fear of the actual monsters behind some strangers’ doors, Halloween for kids has evolved into benevolent parking lot events such as trunk or treat, often scheduled in full daylight. Great for safety, but in my generation’s estimation, Spooky music and bounce-houses do not a Halloween make. Today’s kids will never know what we had back then. Halloween was cool. There were rules to creatively dressing up if you wanted to earn your candy. There. I said it. Halloween was earned and every Bit-O-Honey and Tootsie Roll you got were the fair wages of participating in ghoulish delight. It was a fun sort of pretend scary. And whether we were aware of what walking around to scare off the evil spirits meant, we were carrying on the original traditions in All Hallows’ Eve’s history of purifying the place for All Saints’ Day. I’m not saying the holiday is no longer fun. It is. Plenty of haunted houses and parties happen still. But it’s become another heavily commercial holiday, cashing in on pre-made stuff and less on home-grown creativity and bowls full of spaghetti worms. I do miss those spaghetti worms! PRAYER Thank you for holidays that bring us closer together, and for the one we call Halloween that teaches us creativity, laughter, and especially love, can conquer all our fears. Amen DEVOTION AUTHOR Charlie Rose Order of St. Francis and St. Clare
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