Daily Devotions

In Psalm 119:36-38 we read, “Turn my heart to Your testimonies and not to dishonest gain. Turn my eyes away from gazing at vanity but revive me in Your ways. Fulfil Your word to Your servant, which leads to reverence for You.”

Earlier in the week we considered spiritual blindness as a block to spiritual generosity. Today, the text from the psalms seems to speak of spiritual distortion.

The telephone game is often used to teach people about problems in communication. The original message gets distorted because one of the messengers mishears what is said. If you play the game with children, though, you know that they will often intentionally change the message. This ruins the whole exercise. 

In similar fashion, some distortions in the way people think about the gospel are due to problems with their hearing and such auditory distortion often leads to a distorted vision. Other distortions are the result of an individual or group intentionally changing the message. Paul devotes much of his writings to correcting both kinds of these errors. But he is most passionate about the ones that are intentional distort the truth.

I wonder, was Paul's passion for seeing the truth a result of his Damascus Road experience, where out of his temporary loss of vision he came to see a truth and a generosity of spirit that had an impact upon so many. 

In 2 Corinthians 9:10-11 he writes, “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”

Maker of the fields, forests, and streams,

Your generous goodness comes to us new every day.

By the movement of your Spirit over our waters,

    at our tables, and among our gatherings,

help us to acknowledge your goodness,

give thanks for your gifts,

extend our table to the stranger,

and care for the land and water we share on this good earth,

through Jesus Christ, the fruitful vine,

our living water, and our bread of life. Amen.