Circleville UMC

09/02/2026

Let’s examine this moment for a minute. Moses is out in the world, walking the countryside, going about his business of tending the sheep. Maybe his mind is wandering as he walks along, maybe he is focused on the sheep - counting them or just checking them out as they walk, looking for any abnormal behavior that might signal a problem. Regardless of his mindset, we do know he is open to any changes in the landscape. He is paying attention to his surroundings. I think this is a necessary condition for learning to recognize the divine in this world. We have to pay attention. We cannot be so consumed with our work or play that we are unaware of what is happening around us. We need to keep our eyes open.

The burning bush is a piece of the Divine shining in this world – if Moses had walked on by, he would have missed this whole opportunity to fulfill his destiny as the savior of his people. This could easily happen to us as we get consumed with our agendas for our lives, our plans, our activities. We need to be open to new sights, new opportunities. We need to be open to the possibility for divine revelation.

The second part of this moment is that Moses takes the time to turn away from his shepherd duties and approach the unusual sight. He is willing to forgo his plans and accept the plans of the Divine. He allows himself to be led by the Spirit of the moment. This willingness to be led – to let go of your own ideas – requires humility. It requires accepting that you don’t know everything, that your way is not always the best way - that maybe someone else knows what is best for you. Remember that it is only after Moses turns toward the burning bush that God calls out to him. This is important. The burning bush is a shining forth of the Divine. God’s revelation of himself. Our response is to notice and approach. He will not call our attention to himself. It is easy to miss these revelations. Maybe there are thousands of opportunities every day! – who knows?

08/19/2026

I think this is why Jesus is so upset with the Pharisees – they just don’t get it! They think it’s about hands when really, it’s about hearts.

It’s not about what you DO, but about what you THINK. What you THINK determines what you DO but what you DO doesn’t always change the way you THINK.

Of course you can’t regulate what people think.

Jesus said he didn’t come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it and one way seems to be to turn it inside out and make it govern the whole being.

He doesn’t just want a bunch of automatons, going through the motions he wants fully intentional loving disciples whose hearts have been purified in accordance with God’s Law.

I think that’s why Jesus sums up the Law by saying: Love God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). It’s that simple – love. No hundreds of rules to follow, no arguing about what is clean and unclean or what constitutes work on the Sabbath. Just love. Love comes from within. When love is present in our hearts it governs our actions and so YES! it could be this simple.

There’s this great quote from Saint Augustine: “Love God and do whatever you please. [Love God and do whatever you please: for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved.]

Augustine was a smart man, one of the greatest theological minds the world has ever seen, and he had studied the words and works of Jesus thoroughly so that he could come to this conclusion.

So, if in doubt whether something is right or wrong – ask yourself – does it come from a place of love?

an examination of the Law and Faith

07/20/2026

John Wesley writes that people are in one of three states with regard to their salvation: natural, fearful or adopted.

There are a few in the world who love God and a few more who fear him, but the majority of people on this earth neither have the fear of God before their eyes or the love of God in their hearts. These are those that Wesley terms ‘natural’ men. A ‘natural’ man is one who is sinful but blissfully unaware that his soul is sick. He lives in a state of ignorance of spiritual things, he does not discern good nor evil – in fact, he will tell you that morality is relative and defined by the dominant culture. He denies the existence of absolute good. Remember that Christians see the absolute Good as God and so the ‘natural’ man denies the existence of God or anything that transcends this earthly plane.

Paul tells us in his first letter to the Corinthians: “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14, NKJV). The ‘natural’ man does not understand spiritual things because his spiritual senses are shut to the workings of the Holy Spirit. He is asleep, he is blind, and therefore, he is ignorant. And because he has no spiritual sense, he claims it is all foolishness. Religion doesn’t make any sense to him; it’s just made-up stories. Why does anyone need God when we are like gods unto ourselves? He concludes only fools believe in God.

He tells himself that he is a good person and perhaps even believes that if there is a God since God is merciful and loving that he will be forgiven without even admitting his faults! Such a one as this is unaware of his soul’s condition…we would say he is asleep. How does he awake to the Truth of God? I have talked before about God’s prevenient grace. God is continually sending grace out to those who have lost their way in this world. The Spirit is constantly seeking to connect with that spark of divinity within each of us to reveal the Way with the light of Christ. Each person carries that divine spark in their soul and if they are open to the working of the Spirit of God then they may be awakened to the love and mercy that God has to offer. But if they refuse to listen and only hear the message of the world which tells them that they do not need God….they will remain in slumber.

Romans 8:14-17

07/13/2026

And we can even fast forward this family drama into the 21st century - because presumably God knew where all this would lead - and ask the question why would God choose Israel?

This tiny nation, springing forth from that contentious Jacob whom God renamed Israel, exists seemingly at the nexus of the Middle East – a highly contested area – yet wields no real power in the world – any power it might claim lies vested in its powerful allies. One day this nation may be overtaken by one or another of its neighbors and the Jewish people with their hopes and dreams yet once again may be dispersed and not much would change for the other 99% of the world.

So why wouldn’t God choose Rome or Egypt or Great Britain?

Surely God’s purposes would be better served by a more powerful nation.

Of course, we are not at the END of the story so we don’t know what the future will bring for Israel - or any of us really - but based on historical data and trends I don’t see Israel ever breaking out of its Arab prison and becoming a world power.

So why would God choose Israel?

Genesis 25:19-34

07/08/2026

Again and again God provides.

God provides the land, God provides the heirs, God provides the salvation – everything at the right time with divine blessing.

We are told that Hagar and Ishmael made their home in that wilderness and Ishmael became an expert with the bow.

This seemingly barren land can SUPPORT LIFE! Even in the driest desert – life blooms and grows.

06/16/2026

The first thing that strikes me about this passage is the hospitality of Abraham. These men were UNKNOWN to Abraham and yet he rolled out the red carpet. I think we can learn a lot about hospitality from this passage.

Once Abraham saw the three men, he went out to meet them, leaving his tent and the shade of the oak tree, he didn’t wait until they came close, he rushed out to show his good intentions by bowing low before them.

They have traveled many miles through the desert and so he offers water to wash their dusty tired feet and rest and refreshment under the oak trees where he made his home. He asks Sarah to make some bread and selects a choice calf, tender and good, to be prepared for the guests. This is all before he knew they brought glad tidings.

This really reminds me of the father of the prodigal son and how he lavished his returning son with love despite his actions.

Abraham’s expansive hospitality is also reflected in the actions of Jesus. As an itinerant preacher Jesus didn’t have a home to invite people into and demonstrate hospitality, even so, there are clear examples of him welcoming and eating with all types of people in the gospel accounts like Matthew, a tax collector, despised by his people, who became one of his closest companions. He shared water and conversation with a Samaritan woman, something unheard of at that time. He washed his disciple’s feet, taking on the role of a servant. And one of the clearest examples is when he feeds 5,000 people with 5 loaves and two fish - they were hungry and so he filled their stomachs. He didn’t say, “not my problem” – instead his great compassion moved him to action.

Following Christ in the footsteps of Abraham

06/12/2026

I think when we picture the biblical patriarchs we think of nomads riding camels and living in tents and while that is technically true we tend to forget how developed the cities of that ancient place were.

Ur in the time of Abraham was a cosmopolitan city of more than 100,000 inhabitants. The defining architecture was a ziggarut – a type of blocky pyramid. It was an important trade center, with a seaport and hand dug canals giving access to both the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. Archaeologists have found artifacts there from far off places such as Afghanistan, India, Asia Minor and the Levant, hinting at the wealth and importance of TRADE in this ancient city. Ur was part of the Babylonian empire ruled by a written code of law drawn up by King Hammurabi. They used clay tablets and a language made of cuneiform symbols to write things down. Some of those tablets have been discovered and are preserved in museums granting us a glimpse into the life of those who lived so long ago.

Haran – where Abraham was residing with his family when God called him - is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth. Founded in the 18th century BC by settlers from Mesopotamia it is still a hive of human habitation. Haran is famous for its unique beehive-shaped mudbrick houses that originated in the 3rd century BC and which have been rebuilt in the same style many times during the intervening centuries.

The main thing I want to focus on today about Abraham is that God promised to bless Abraham and make him a blessing to others and this is not because Abraham is BETTER than anyone else. It’s not because he was a more RIGHTEOUS person than any other.

Following Christ in the footsteps of Abraham

06/02/2026

HERE was a NEW puzzle and a very CHALLENGING one!

In fact, I can say with total certainty after many hours of twisting this colorful cube in both fascination and frustration that THIS puzzle is beyond my ability to solve. In the past, I have managed to solve one face at a time pretty readily and even occasionally made it to two faces of solid color, but the other 4 faces remain beyond my ability to perceive the movements necessary and set RIGHT the proper pattern.

Now you might think this disappointment of a solution would put me OFF puzzle solving, but THERE you would be wrong. I still strive after solutions which escape me – I have found it to be the driving force in my intellectual life. Now, I have moved beyond material puzzles and I am striving after solutions to the GREATEST puzzle of all, not one I expect to solve in my lifetime but the ultimate puzzle of GOD.

Part of the puzzle of God is what is God’s relationship to humankind – as the Psalmist asks, what are humans that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? (Psalm 8:4)

We can start to unravel this puzzle by examining our scripture from Genesis – the creation story.

Discipleship in the Age of the Holy Spirit

05/26/2026

When Jesus lived on Earth, he promised his disciples that after he left them he would send another Advocate, a helper for them and this is the Spirit (John 14). We are not living in the time of Jesus, but in the time of the Spirit. We talk a lot about God and Jesus. I think generally we think of the Old Testament as a book about God and the New Testament as a book about Jesus and that is a fairly accurate description, but where can we find the Spirit in the Bible? Honestly, the whole book is about the Spirit because you cannot separate God from Jesus or the Spirit from either of them - but the Spirit is the hardest part of God to understand.

You will find the Spirit of God mentioned in Old Testament passages such as Genesis 1:2: “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters” (RSV). The Spirit of the lord was present in many of the people God called to serve as judges, warriors and kings like Joshua, Gideon, Samson and Saul (Numbers 27:18, Judges 6:34, Judges 13:25, 1 Samuel 10:9,10). In the New Testament we read about the Spirit of God descending like a dove on Jesus at his baptism (Matthew 3:16) and John the Baptist says, ““I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11) Pentecost is the baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire that John referred to.

Acts 2:1-21

05/12/2026

When I was reading one of my devotionals last week the author had a list there of some people in the Bible who had suffered unjustly. On this list was Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers (ok), Ruth and Naomi being widowed and left without a male family member in a patriarchal society (yeah) and also Paul, who was struck blind on that Damascus road (what?!) Was that really a bad thing? I mean, I always thought of it as a GOOD thing – a necessary event which transformed Saul into Paul.

Reading that one line opened a CRACK into unjust suffering that I hadn’t seen before. Because no one thinks undeserved suffering is GOOD – right? But what if it serves a good purpose?
That brings us to Jesus. Jesus suffered. I don’t think anyone would argue that. Also, he didn’t DESERVE it. I mean he wasn’t even preaching treason - give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and all (Matthew 22.21). Heresy also would have been difficult to prove – which is why the Sanhedrin didn’t even try and left it up to Pilate to do their dirty work. Jesus DIED because some felt threatened by the NEWNESS he brought to their faith. They feared CHANGE so they clung to TRADITION rather than let the Holy Spirit do its renewing work.

Peter talks about the suffering of Jesus in our scripture lesson but that’s not what I want to focus on today. I want to call your attention to verse 18 where it reads, “he was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.”

Jesus was crucified so that he could be Resurrected.

Acts 17:22-31