This Reflections, Whispered Secrets, was published by The Center for Congregational Ethics for the daily devotional reading based on Luke 11:53-12:3 from the Revised Common Lectionary Year A for June 24, 2023.

Juries and trials are part of the everyday news. Lawyers make their best case, judges guide the process, juries decide. When called up to serve, I mistakenly thought I would be dismissed from jury duty because I was a Baptist minister. During jury selection, the federal judge commented he wanted “a true cross-section of citizens.”  I served on one of those secret federal grand juries for 18 consecutive months. We set a record for the most days in session in the Northeastern District of Oklahoma. I learned that whispers in secret can become embarrassingly public and sometimes deadly.

The U.S. Constitution requires that any charge made against someone by federal law enforcement must be reviewed by a jury of their peers. Of the original ten constitutional amendments called The Bill of Rights, Amendments 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, address juries and trials. All types of federal crime came before us, ranging from simple possession of drugs to corporate fraud, and public corruption to violations of international sanctions.  We were serious and pushed back against the prosecutors when we felt they were not making their case.  For me, the experience was sad in many ways.

Facing the fear in the eyes of the disciples and the hate in the hearts of the religious leaders, Jesus turns to give a personal word of realism to those nearby:  Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. This is a word of understanding for the believer and practicing hypocrite alike. Character matters. Truth brings light. Hypocrisy is infectious. Guard your heart.

Darryl S. DeBorde is pastor of the Braden Park Baptist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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I was asked last Sunday to provide the list of Prayers God Always Answers that I talked about in the morning message. This is a summary based on Psalm 119:145-152.  The opening verse, I call with all my heart; answer me O Lord, and I will obey your decrees, sets forth the issue of unanswered prayer. I have felt that the traditional response that God answers with Yes, No or Wait, while true, rings inadequate and unsatisfying to many. I shared a brief sermon I preached called Three Prayers God Always Answers: Forgive Me, Save Me, and Use Me. Each of these prayers cut to the heart of our relationship with God and others. 

I have concluded that God is listening to every prayer, for God knows the motive of our hearts. Here are other prayers God always answers:

Hear Me Prepare Me Bless Me

Help Me Equip Me Comfort Me

Show Me Lead Me Fill Me with Your …

Guide Me Strengthen Me   Spirit, joy, peace, 

Teach Me Empower Me Heal Me

Most of our praying, though, consists of a grocery list of things we want from God. Oswald Chambers is quoted as saying: “As long as we get from God everything we ask for, we never get to know Him; we look at Him as a blessing machine. Your Father knows what you have need of before you ask Him. Then why pray? To get to know your Father. It is not enough to be able to say. ‘God is love.’ We have to know that He is love.” The psalmist requests in verse 149, Hear my voice in accordance with your love; preserve my life, O Lord.  Jesus’ example in the Garden teaches us to pray, Thy will be done. 

The hardest questions are always about the prayer Heal Me. God does answer that prayer. Many people confuse biblical healing with being cured. The healing we most need may be far deeper than a dreaded diagnosis. Jesus healed multitudes of people, but all of them have died. For the believer, death is the ultimate healing.  All of this, by the way, can become very self-centered if we are not careful. That is why we should intercede on behalf of others, by name if possible. The prayers of the righteous avail much.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Seek the Father’s heart. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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This is a reprint from the time of Covid, April 27, 2021

As the designated adventurer at our house, I am the grocery shopper for more than a year now. I have learned that pimentos are never located on the olive aisle and that Velveeta cheese is located wherever the last tired stocker set them down because it is not a cheese. I have learned to eat my shopping mistakes. Try as I might, apparently chocolate dipped ice-cream bars do not qualify as a shopping mistake. The actual worst of my grocery mistakes was just a few weeks ago. My assignment was to get a can of old-fashioned quick cooking steel cut oatmeal. I honestly thought I did. But I didn’t. I got old-fashioned steel cut Irish Oatmeal in a can, 1 pound and 12 ounces net weight. It did not say quick cooking or fast cooking or 10-minute quick oatmeal. Dorothy noticed immediately. It was decided that we would press ahead. There was a winter storm in the forecast.

Upon reading the fine print on the back of the can we learned that the shortcut method was to boil water in a pot, add the oatmeal, stir and boil for 5 minutes. Cover the pot and store it in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, put the pot back on the stove, bring it to a boil and stir it for another 9-12 minutes. By my estimation, the quick-cook method takes about 25 hours. We opted for the traditional method—30 minutes on the range. I also noticed that the recipe kept referring to this as porridge. I remember porridge as something Little Orphan Annie had to eat, with a big frown on her face. Porridge is oatmeal, flax and other bird seeds boiled in a big pot, which is stirred constantly until you are done. It suggests you add buttermilk or honey and brown sugar suitable to taste. Our pot of porridge lasted for days. We tried syrup and apple sauce with cinnamon on it and we tried smothering it with various flavored yogurts. Our final attempt was to use a large amount of pumpkin pie filling. That actually tasted best. By the way, porridge diluted to a thin, watery state is called gruel. It was used to help the sick get well. It tastes worse than it sounds.

We make mistakes. We try to hide them, own them, or make up for them. The best policy is to admit them, deal with them, and learn from them. We still have a pound or so of the oatmeal left in the can. It will keep.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Press ahead.  And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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I went to Will Rogers High School for an after-school meeting today. As I approached the receptionist’s desk, I noticed a teacher walking his big black and yellow dog without a leash down the main hall. The dog was prancing around all curious about everything but stayed out of trouble. I visited with the receptionist who I’ve known now for six years. I made it to my meeting room and found the dog was entertaining those who came early. 

The dog was a robot. You may have seen pictures of these robot dogs used by scientists and police in other states. This one was on loan to the school for a few days from the University of Tulsa. I asked if the dog could take some papers out of my hand. Of course it could. It walked over to me, sized up the situation, opened its mouth, and took the papers from my hand. I moved away and it followed me and returned my papers without a wrinkle or a tooth mark. The robots are here, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is in the news.

Fear not, we have had one hundred years of science fiction books and movies preparing us for life with robots possessing more knowledge than we could ever fathom. So I did about two and a half hours of research last week on the current state of AI, leaving me totally prepared to face the future. I listened to discussions about AI. I watched a person build an app for his computer using step by step AI. That was tedious, even for him. AI is only as good as the person who uses it. The difference with today’s AI is the speed with which it makes its calculations and the vastness of its information base. 

The Hollywood writers are on strike in part because AI can use any writer’s creations, without credit or compensation. Teachers are worried that students will just let AI write their essays and research papers, effectively cheating their way through school. Today’s AI is another disruptive force for society to deal with. All advances in any technology are disruptive. All have been misused and have the potential to hurt people, like nuclear energy or your cellphone. AI will reveal the true character of a person. Will you be honest, or will you cheat? Will you be authentic, or will you be an imposter? AI is not the issue. Our sinfulness is.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Character matters. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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I took a university class entitled, Reading the Bible as Literature. Our textbook was a Bible that had no chapter numbers or enumerated verses. Some of the books of the Bible had been edited to eliminate repetitious material. Overall, though, the point was to read and study the various books of the Bible just as if these were novels, short stories, or poetry found in an advanced English literature course. It was an English course, not a course in Religion. Our professor was Dr. Joseph King, a man who was well into his 70’s at the time. His enthusiasm and keen wit kept me fascinated with his insight into the styles, structures, and metaphors of this diverse book we honor as The Bible.

Dr. King cautioned the ministerial students in the class to be careful when handling the biblical material. He believed a sin of the “religious” was to just “study the words as a duty,” but never truly experience the stories as masterful art and beauty. None of the books of the Bible were originally written with chapter numbers or verses. These were added as aides to corporate worship and personal reference. All the letters of Paul were just that, letters. They were read out loud in their entirety before the congregations that received them. I tried that in church one Sunday. Some people were kind in their comments. 

Psalms and Proverbs are one kind of literature—wisdom, the Kings and the Chronicles another—history. The Gospels tell the stories of Jesus while Daniel and The Revelation tell of the last times. Jeremiah and Amos call God’s people to repent while Isaiah and Hosea demonstrate God’s faithfulness and mercy. Each of the books of the Bible can stand alone as expressions of God’s story and our story. Sin and sorrow, pain and death are hard taskmasters. Anger and revenge, pride and power destroy us from within. But redemption, repentance and love offer a tender path worth walking each day. 

There is a special power that comes with reading the Scriptures out loud and listening to it read by someone else. Faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17 NIV)  

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Take pleasure in your Bible reading. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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