Malachi 3:17-18

“On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him.

And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

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“They” means the faithful remnant of believers. As far as we know, God hasn’t changed the stark outcomes for servants or the wicked.

Free will allows us choices and forgiveness. Your decision?

*Allison May Kiphuth is an artist, sternman, and collector of things who lives in a tiny house in Monhegan, Maine. Her dioramas in antique boxes, unboxed diorama scenes, and watercolor and ink studies of natural objects enchant viewers. Discover her current work at linktr.ee/alliemaykiphuth or her website https://www.allisonmaykiphuth.com/

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Psalm 90:1-4, 12

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”

A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.

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Christmas is an offer to engage with God because giving and receiving matter.

Teach us to number our days,

that we may gain a heart of wisdom. [v.12]

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Readers, listeners, and followers alike--Thank You! I appreciate your support for my Flash💥Devos + Podcast! As a thank-you gift for November, here’s my review of my friend Andrew’s latest book, just published in October. Andrew’s years of researching and writing “Reviving the Golden Rule” created this remarkable work of scholarship that relates to our world today. The content here could be a life-changing present for a loved one--or someone who’s hard to love.

A Review of Andrew DeCort’s Reviving the Golden Rule: How the Ancient Ethic of Neighbor Love Can Heal our World

by Marianne Abel-Lipschutz

Andrew DeCort’s latest book, Reviving the Golden Rule, explores the many reasons why we love or hate our neighbors. It’s an encyclopedia of the ways love wins. “Neighbor love is the core and culmination of God’s will for humanity,” DeCort believes. You can come back to this book repeatedly for encouragement, strategy, and lessons in the subtle ways we all fall short.

Building on literature of visionaries across faiths and centuries, DeCort traces human detours along with stories of nonviolent love and humility, transformational spiritual practices that change communities. “My hope is that this book can serve as a school for love and revive neighbor love as the most healing movement in human history.”

He has done his own fearless moral and ethical inventory and been transformed by devastating personal experiences to come to a truer sense of self as a passionate believer in Jesus. DeCort’s studies of the nuances of othering and dehumanization are insightful and are themselves devastating, as these warped beliefs shape the horrors we see today.

For example, he talks about how we dehumanize others – even parts of our own nature– and reject them with our words and actions. These habits of othering act as gateways to such behaviors as what philosopher Judith Butler named “ungrievability.” DeCort explained, “ungrievability means that if you’re grieving, I don’t care. Your pain doesn’t matter to me. What happens to you doesn’t matter. We begin to tolerate levels of suffering that are actually seen as necessary.”

Othering heightens the paradox of neighbor love. “When we see others as morally related to ourselves and equally worthy of love, the whole purpose of divine revelation has come to life in us. There is nothing more important than neighbor love for Christian ethics, and everything else flows in and out of it.”

In fact, there’s been a significant misunderstanding of what we call the Great Commission, DeCort asserts. “This final invitation from Jesus to continue his work on earth is all about neighbor love, baptism, and belovedness. It’s an invitation to actually embody and practice what he taught across every boundary of identity and difference… That’s not a list of doctrinal statements.”

“I’ve written this book to revive the dead dogma of neighbor love and to reawaken us to the living truth that it was since the beginning—a radical vision and practice of being human,” DeCort claims. “If that belovedness and that practice of radical love isn’t crossing every boundary like Jesus said, then we’re no longer extending the movement that Jesus launched.”

DeCort’s desire for honest witness inspired him to invite famous atheists to review his book. They commended it. “It was essential to me for the book to be tested, so I looked for someone who has deep disagreements with what I’m writing,” he explained. “I wanted someone to sniff it out and see, is this book actually talking about authentic neighbor love or is it still this pious game that Andrew is playing?”

This book is no intellectual game. It’s a serious endeavor, a remarkable work of scholarship, and a generous gift to all who want to live more fully and love the world into a better shape. “Neighbor love makes humanity shimmer and shine in full color like precious diamonds as if for the first time. How was it that I went through life and couldn’t see the glory all around and within me? I am born again, and neighbor love sets me free.” These words close his book, opening a new door for our collective future. Keep this mighty book handy in the days and years ahead.

Paperback: IVP Academic, 2025Buy Now: [ BookShop ] [ Amazon ] [ Kindle ] [ Audible ]

First published in the Englewood Review of Books, November 12, 2025

https://englewoodreview.org/andrew-decort-reviving-the-golden-rule-review/

Psalm 118:19-21

Let the doors of Creator’s right ways

open to me. I will go through them

and give thanks to Grandfather.

This is where Grandfather’s good road

begins, the upright in heart will

enter here.

I will give thanks to you, for you

heard my prayers and came to

rescue me.

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Thanksgiving celebrates the reciprocal nature of God’s love. Doors open; we enter with grateful praise. We wander; Grandfather finds us. It’s our choice to accept rescue.

Everyone’s been saved from something. Who or what obligates you to deeper commitment today?

Deuteronomy 3:27-28

“Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross this Jordan. But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.”

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Next generations might be older or younger. Everyone has a future. By discipling and coaching others now, you can co-create the future you can imagine but will not see.

Help others cross their Jordan in good faith.

Through their artistic and community based practices, *Olly Costello explores themes of interconnectedness, spiritual ecology, emergence, accountability, Prison Industrial Complex Abolition, Transformative Justice and belonging. “I hope my work can be a small contributing part of creating our new culture, grounded in honoring the inherent sacredness of all beings and pushing us beyond violent cultures.” Discover their inspiring work on Substack @ollycostello and their website https://ollycostello.com/

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Psalm 51:10-12

Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me from your presence

or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation

and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

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This beautiful prayer remains “the classic example of repentance in the Old Testament.” Later, Jesus modeled these truths and explained the rewards.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

Look around when you’re in trouble. Who do you see?

“Dreaming of Home,” Maria explained, “contains a nest inside a thicket of branches forming her torso. Her head is balanced upon the branch tips and is open (empty?) allowing for something alive to be planted inside. The little birds perched upon her and the nest inside remind me that life goes on for the other life forms that don’t consume the news about the goings on of those weird mammals that seem to control everything.” The piece is part of “Hope in High Branches,” her new series that is “a product of my grappling with the concepts of ‘home’ and ‘nesting’ in these scary times.”

*Maria Wickwire creates ceramic sculptures in northwest Washington. Her works reveal feminine archetypes, she writes, “hoping to encourage healing and forgiveness in our sometimes splintering world.” Find Maria on socials and at Mariawickwire.com

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1 Thessalonians 5:14-15

“Now, my sacred family members, we call on you to give firm and wise counsel to those whose hands do nothing. Comfort those whose hearts are on the ground. Help the ones who are weak, and be patient with everyone. Make sure no one gives back to anyone evil for evil. Seek to walk in a good way with each other and with all people. “

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Pray for the well-being of everyone in your life.

What would shift if you regarded everyone as your sacred family members?

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Acts 5:38-39

“For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these people; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

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God’s action can be obvious, like a turquoise sky or the flight of a skimmer along the crest of an ocean wave. Sparring with God’s creative nature proves exasperating.

It’s not an easy way out but obedience can generate a wise collaboration with God.

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Romans 2:3-4

“Tell me, when you do the same kinds of things that you judge others for, do you think what you have done will be hidden from the eyes of the Great Spirit? Or do you hold bitter thoughts about Creator’s kindness, patience, and willingness to bear with others?”

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We silly humans judge our Creator for excessive patience, unreasonable forgiveness, and outrageous mercy.

Accept Creator’s kindness. Allow yourself to be drawn back toward the right path today.

Dear friend *Bruce Swanson snapped our image for today’s Flash💥Devo. “On the final portion of my morning’s hike, I was hitting about three miles an hour when my eyes caught this lying on the forest floor. Our leaves have changed and some soul found these and arranged them,” he wrote. “It gladdened my heart.”

2 Thessalonians 2:15-17

So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Parent, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope,

comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.

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What we write or speak--rightly or wrongly--launches gospel traditions into the future.

Good news strengthens the beloved community for everyone’s benefit.

*Marcia Milner-Brage creates in the San Francisco Bay area. “Mostly, I draw from direct observation--people, things, and places. (In art lingo: portraits, still lifes and landscapes.) Thus, I name my world.” For “Bus Garage,” she explained, “It was Sunday, so the open garage was totally filled with yellow school buses. Schools had been in session for 3 weeks.” Find more of her great work on https://www.flickr.com/photos/marciamilner-brage/

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