John and Kathy Deisher

One Call, One Harvest, 50 Teams

scripture

The Larger World

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[A note to my readers. During this time of “shelter-in-place” I thought I would write a series of devotionals aimed for those in vocational ministry. I recently re-read Eugene Peterson’s book “Working the Angles” and thought that this would be a great time to refocus on my ministry priorities. There is some good stuff in there for those who are not in vocational ministry, but it is geared particularly to those who are. –jd–]

  • Read

John 20:30-31 “Jesus worked many other miracles for his disciples, and not all of them are written in this book. But these are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. If you have faith in him, you will have true life.”

  • Meditate

I remember taking my first seminary class on the writings of John. It was an eye-opening experience as we experienced his Gospel and Epistles together. But one passage stuck out to me more than any other—John’s reason for writing his Gospel.

John wrote his Gospel because he was trying to connect his readers with a larger world. Yes, Jesus did miracles, so many that John selectively chose those he would include. But what he chose to include he chose for one reason and one reason only.

Jesus is the Son of God, and faith in him brings true life.

It is the message in a bottle. You thought this was life. You are surrounded by others just like you. You wake, go to school or work, toil in your labor, come home, sleep, and do it all over again.

One day, walking on a beach, you discover a bottle washed up on the shore. It has a message inside which you quickly extract and read.

“Help is on the way.”

What help? Why do I need help? I’m like everyone else? We’re okay.

But that simple message in a bottle begins to stir something in your mind. A question forms—“What if I am not okay?”. You begin to wonder if this life is all there is.

Scripture is that message in a bottle that tells you this life is not all there is, and that help is on the way. And as we read it, we connect to that true life through faith in Jesus Christ.

  • Pray

Father, I need help. Help my faith to grow so that I may experience the fulness of life you have prepared for me. As I read your word, list that desire to grow, to realize I need your help to grow, rise up in me. Amen.

  • Contemplate

1. Meditate on John 20:30-31 today. What does it mean to have “true life” in Christ?

2. Grab a concordance and look up all the times John uses the word “life” in his Gospel. Take a few minutes and read those passages today.

(This devotional series is based on my notes from “Working the Angles” by Eugene Peterson)

Conversation with God

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[A note to my readers. During this time of “shelter-in-place” I thought I would write a series of devotionals aimed for those in vocational ministry. I recently re-read Eugene Peterson’s book “Working the Angles” and thought that this would be a great time to refocus on my ministry priorities. There is some good stuff in there for those who are not in vocational ministry, but it is geared particularly to those who are. –jd–]

  • Read

Leviticus 26:12 “I will walk with you—I will be your God, and you will be my people.”

  • Meditate

Like many people, I keep a journal. It has taken different forms over the years, from legal pads to notebooks to OneNote files. I enjoy going back and looking through them from time to time. Often, I look at what was happening and carry on a conversation with my distant past in my head. I see now know how the situations I was facing have resolved, the decisions I was going to make have played out, and I reassure my written past that we survived. I know the whole story.

When we read Scripture, we are entering into a conversation with God, and into the story of men and women who were facing situations and decisions as they lived their lives. We see the beginning of the story as well as the ending. We know what has occurred and how the matter has been settled. We see the development of the characters and understand that everything in this conversation has significance.

In these stories, we find ourselves. We learn that nothing in the world of Scripture can be made sense of apart from God, and nothing in our world can be made sense of unless we walk with him. In reading Scripture, we are engaging in an active conversation with God between the biblical past and our present situation.

In times of crisis, in times of pain, in times of frustration, we have to remember that we know the whole story. We have conversed with God, and in him it all makes sense.

  • Pray

Father, forgive me for reading scripture as some historical document and not as your living conversation with me. As I read, I see you at work. I can see the whole story. In my life right now, I don’t see the whole story, but I know you are at work. I trust you that this all makes sense. Amen

  • Contemplate

1. As you read the Bible today, find yourself in God’s conversation with his people. What is happening in your life right now that parallels the passage? Ask God to help you make sense of the things you are facing.

2. Keep a journal. If you don’t have one, start it. If you do have one, continue it. From time to time look back over your history and see how God has been faithful to you.

(This devotional series is based on my notes from “Working the Angles” by Eugene Peterson)

What is in Us?

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[A note to my readers. During this time of “shelter-in-place” I thought I would write a series of devotionals aimed for those in vocational ministry. I recently re-read Eugene Peterson’s book “Working the Angles” and thought that this would be a great time to refocus on my ministry priorities. There is some good stuff in there for those who are not in vocational ministry, but it is geared particularly to those who are. –jd–]

  • Read

Colossians 4:16 (ESV) “And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.”

  • Meditate

Paul probably never imagined that 2000 years after he wrote the words above to the church that we would still be reading his letter. But he did know one thing, what he was writing was important and needed to be read. It was not important because he wrote it, though. What he wrote was important because it called us to attend to God in his speech and in his actions.

As vocational ministers, we know that reading the scripture is important. After all, we need to preach and teach a couple of times a week. And when we talk to people, a good Bible verse goes a long way to help bring the right level of piety to our words.

But the truth is that reading scripture is not enough. We need to listen to the scriptures. This is an important part of our role as members of the community of faith. 

For when we come to Scripture, we find out what is going on in us. From the original speaker, the Book comes to us, the listener, and tells us how God is interacting with us.

Listening to scripture is not the same as reading scripture. It moves us from seeing the words on the page to seeing God at work in our lives.

Reading scripture is good. Listening is better.

  • Pray

Father, as I read your scriptures, let me truly listen to what you are doing in my life. Let me see you at work, interacting with me today. Amen.

  • Contemplate

1. As you read scripture today, pause after each thought and see if you can find where God is interacting in your life the same way he was interacting with the original speaker.

2. As a vocational minister, read Paul’s letter to the church at Colossi. As you read, look for how God is interacting with your life just as he interacted with Paul as he cared for God’s people.

(This devotional series is based on my notes from “Working the Angles” by Eugene Peterson)

Lines & Angles

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[A note to my readers. During this time of “shelter-in-place” I thought I would write a series of devotionals aimed for those in vocational ministry. I recently re-read Eugene Peterson’s book “Working the Angles” and thought that this would be a great time to refocus on my ministry priorities. There is some good stuff in there for those who are not in vocational ministry, but it is geared particularly to those who are. –jd–]

  • Read

Psalm 103:21 “Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will!

  • Meditate

Imagine a triangle. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

Got it? Good. Now imagine that the three lines of the triangle represent the visible roles we fill as vocational ministers. Let’s label those lines: preaching, teaching, and administration.

This is what we do. This is what people see. And, in some cases, these roles are how we define ourselves.

But what makes a triangle different from just three random lines? It is that they are connected at angles. Go ahead, take a look at your imaginary triangle. See those angles? Tri-ANGLES?

I want to talk about those angles. Much of what I will be writing in the next few days comes from Eugene Peterson’s insightful book, “Working the Angles”. We want to move from focusing on those three public roles, the lines, to what connects them, the angles.

What are those angles that keep our public ministry together? They are prayer, scripture reading, and spiritual direction. They are found in our private lives. Without those three, preaching, teaching, and administration fall apart. These are angles that are the foundation of being a minister who does the will of God.

So, let us bless the Lord and do his will.

  • Pray

Father, I desire to bless you with my life and ministry as I do your will. My prayer is that I learn to focus well on these angles that hold together the roles I fill. Give me ears to hear, eyes to see, and a heart to receive your words.

  • Contemplate

1. Have you allowed your identity as a minister of God to be in your public roles, forgetting to take care of those angles? Ask for God’s forgiveness as we go through this series.

2. Take the time to begin to look at your daily schedule and see how you can begin to work on these angles of ministry.

(This devotional series is based on my notes from “Working the Angles” by Eugene Peterson)