Admonish, Encourage and Help

The People of God Set Priorities
Bearing One Another's Burdens
Consolation Granted through Prayer

1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 The Message

The Way He Wants You to Live

^12-13 And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. Overwhelm them with appreciation and love!

^13-15 Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders ("idle and disruptive," NIV version) to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.
^16-18 Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.
^19-22 Don’t suppress the Spirit, and don’t stifle those who have a word from the Master. On the other hand, don’t be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what’s good. Throw out anything tainted with evil.

For Reflection

In short the will of God is for us to be supportive.  We are to warn (I prefer recommend.), encourage reach out to pull not push, patient, and attentive to needs.  Knee jerk reactions are to be avoided.  Instead, anticipate goodness.

Such action does not make one weaker, but, stronger in one's ability to help.  Being supportive does  not mean that one is unwilling to make judgments.  It means that the action on judgments is in the spirit of love, compassion and respect. 

Pray

for the wisdom to serve the Spirit in humility with love, compassion and respect. 

Support the Weak

The People of God Set Priorities
Bearing One Another's Burdens
Consolation Granted through Prayer

Acts 20:28-35 The Message

²⁸ “Now it’s up to you. Be on your toes—both for yourselves and your congregation of sheep. The Holy Spirit has put you in charge of these people—God’s people they are—to guard and protect them. God himself thought they were worth dying for.
^29-31 “I know that as soon as I’m gone, vicious wolves are going to show up and rip into this flock, men from your very own ranks twisting words so as to seduce disciples into following them instead of Jesus. So stay awake and keep up your guard. Remember those three years I kept at it with you, never letting up, pouring my heart out with you, one after another.
³² “Now I’m turning you over to God, our marvelous God whose gracious Word can make you into what he wants you to be and give you everything you could possibly need in this community of holy friends.
^33-35 “I’ve never, as you so well know, had any taste for wealth or fashion. With these bare hands I took care of my own basic needs and those who worked with me. In everything I’ve done, I have demonstrated to you how necessary it is to work on behalf of the weak and not exploit them. You’ll not likely go wrong here if you keep remembering that our Master said, ‘You’re far happier giving than getting.’”

For Reflection

Nowhere more explicitly stated is our commission to be the stewards of each other, the sheep looking after the sheep.  Our work in Christ is on behalf of the weak, of those most vulnerable, of those who live lives in constant fear, of those who's reliance on self has failed them, of those who are the victims of life's cruel circumstances.  Our life's work is to care for each other, both those outside of our fellowship and those who live within the fellowship of the Spirit.

Pray

Kneel before God.  Pray prayers of confession, repentance, obedience, praise and thanksgiving.  Pray to serve God by being the harbinger of hope living in grace.

Oh Lord, We Rely on You

The People of God Set Priorities
Bearing One Another's Burdens
Consolation Granted through Prayer

2 Chronicles 14:1-15 The Message

King Asa

14 Abijah died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Asa became the next king.

For ten years into Asa’s reign the country was at peace.
^2-6 Asa was a good king. He did things right in God’s eyes. He cleaned house: got rid of the pagan altars and shrines, smashed the sacred stone pillars, and chopped down the sex-and-religion groves (Asherim). He told Judah to center their lives in God, the God of their fathers, to do what the law said, and to follow the commandments. Because he got rid of all the pagan shrines and altars in the cities of Judah, his kingdom was at peace. Because the land was quiet and there was no war, he was able to build up a good defense system in Judah. God kept the peace.
⁷ Asa said to his people, “While we have the chance and the land is quiet, let’s build a solid defense system, fortifying our cities with walls, towers, gates, and bars. We have this peaceful land because we sought God; he has given us rest from all troubles.” So they built and enjoyed prosperity.
⁸ Asa had an army of 300,000 Judeans, equipped with shields and spears, and another 280,000 Benjaminites who were shield bearers and archers. They were all courageous warriors.
^9-11 Zerah the Ethiopian went to war against Asa with an army of a million plus three hundred chariots and got as far as Mareshah. Asa met him there and prepared to fight from the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah. Then Asa prayed to God, “O God, you aren’t impressed by numbers or intimidated by a show of force once you decide to help: Help us, O God; we have come out to meet this huge army because we trust in you and who you are. Don’t let mere mortals stand against you!”
^12-15 God defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah; the Ethiopians ran for their lives. Asa and his men chased them as far as Gerar; so many of the Ethiopians were killed that there was no fight left in them—a massacre before God and his troops; Judah carted off loads of plunder. They devastated all the towns around Gerar whose people were helpless, paralyzed by the fear of God, and looted the country. They also attacked herdsmen and brought back a lot of sheep and camels to Jerusalem.

 
For Reflection

Even under God, peace seems to be a fleeting moment, a moment to be cherished, a moment for renewal, a moment for reflection on the sovereign reign of God.  Peace is a time to reject complacency.  Peace is a time to build upon the grace of God. 

Peace is a time of treacherous plenty.  Peace lulls us into self-absorption.

Peace is a time for remembering our history without God.  Peace is a time for preparation for times which are not peaceful. Peace is a time for remembering in whom we place our trust.

 

Pray

that you will place your trust in God.  Pray that in the good times of you life, you will remember that God has brought you out of darkness in to the light of peace.  Pray so that God is in the forefront of your hope.

Our Refuge and Strength

The People of God Set Priorities
Bearing One Another's Burdens
Consolation Granted through Prayer

Psalm 46 The Message

A Song of the Sons of Korah

46 ^1-3 God is a safe place to hide,
    ready to help when we need him.
We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom,
    courageous in seastorm and earthquake,
Before the rush and roar of oceans,
    the tremors that shift mountains.

Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
    God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

^4-6 River fountains splash joy, cooling God’s city,
    this sacred haunt of the Most High.
God lives here, the streets are safe,
    God at your service from crack of dawn.
Godless nations rant and rave, kings and kingdoms threaten,
    but Earth does anything he says.

⁷ Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
    God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

^8-10 Attention, all! See the marvels of God!
    He plants flowers and trees all over the earth,
Bans war from pole to pole,
    breaks all the weapons across his knee.
“Step out of the traffic! Take a long,
    loving look at me, your High God,
    above politics, above everything.”

¹¹ Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
    God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

 
For Reflection

Fear and the reflection of fear, worry, stand between the stalwart confidence in God's protection and our willingness to take matters into our own hands.  God has dominion over all and is the faithful steward of his whole creation.  Get out of the traffic in you own life and stand to the side in awe and wonder at God's rejuvenating power.

 

Pray

that you will not loose confidence in Gods promise of protection.  Pray that you will set aside worry and fear knowing that God makes all things right.

All Done Decently and in Order

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Seek the Good of  Others

1 Corinthians 14:37-40 The Message

^37-38 If any one of you thinks God has something for you to say or has inspired you to do something, pay close attention to what I have written. This is the way the Master wants it. If you won’t play by these rules, God can’t use you. Sorry.
^39-40 Three things, then, to sum this up: When you speak forth God’s truth, speak your heart out. Don’t tell people how they should or shouldn’t pray when they’re praying in tongues that you don’t understand. Be courteous and considerate in everything.

 
For Reflection

Sometimes I prefer to use an alternate translation.  In this case the NIV version makes more sense, than, "Sorry..."  It is, "But if anyone ignores this they themselves will be ignored."  To my way of thinking, God uses all, good and bad to God's ends.  

My prayer is that I do and say things that are fitting and orderly, courteous and considerate.  I pray to be humble.  I pray to be loving and supportive.   How about you?

 

Pray

to find your way in the Kingdom of God.  Pray that your ears hear the whispers of the Spirit.  Pray that your tongue speaks your heart and preserves the right for others to choose. 

So All Learn and Are Encouraged

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Seek the Good of  Others

1 Corinthians 14:27-33 The Message

^26-33 So here’s what I want you to do. When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight. If prayers are offered in tongues, two or three’s the limit, and then only if someone is present who can interpret what you’re saying. Otherwise, keep it between God and yourself. And no more than two or three speakers at a meeting, with the rest of you listening and taking it to heart. Take your turn, no one person taking over. Then each speaker gets a chance to say something special from God, and you all learn from each other. If you choose to speak, you’re also responsible for how and when you speak. When we worship the right way, God doesn’t stir us up into confusion; he brings us into harmony. This goes for all the churches—no exceptions.

For Reflection

How do you prepare for worship?  What do you contribute to the learning of all?  How well do we listen to each other? How well do we listen for the will of God?  How do we grow in Grace?

Pray

to learn more about who you are in Christ.  Pray to listen for the will of God in your life.  Pray to let the Spirit whispered wisdom guide you.

Devoted to Good Works

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Seek the Good of  Others

Titus 3:8-14 The Message

^3-8 It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.
^8-11 I want you to put your foot down. Take a firm stand on these matters so that those who have put their trust in God will concentrate on the essentials that are good for everyone. Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere. Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him. It’s obvious that such a person is out of line, rebellious against God. By persisting in divisiveness he cuts himself off.

^12-13 As soon as I send either Artemas or Tychicus to you, come immediately and meet me in Nicopolis. I’ve decided to spend the winter there. Give Zenas the lawyer and Apollos a hearty send-off. Take good care of them.

¹⁴ Our people have to learn to be diligent in their work so that all necessities are met (especially among the needy) and they don’t end up with nothing to show for their lives.

 
For Reflection

Vengeance and retribution still seem to be major motivations for human interaction in all the world, "tit for tat", "eye for an eye", promises of violence.  When will it stop?  When will we say to each other, "enough,"  When will we learn to accept differences and the strength those differences offer to all of human kind?  When will the silent majorities in all nations, in all cultures, who are the victims of torment not of their making look forward to peaceful lives?

 

Pray

Kneel before God.  Pray prayers of confession, repentance, obedience, praise and thanksgiving. Pray for diligence in your righteousness, prayer and service to God.

Doing the Right Thing

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Seek the Good of Others

James 4:13-17 The Message

Nothing but a Wisp of Fog

^13-15 And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, “Today—at the latest, tomorrow—we’re off to such and such a city for the year. We’re going to start a business and make a lot of money.” You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, “If the Master wills it and we’re still alive, we’ll do this or that.”

^16-17 As it is, you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil. In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for you, is evil.

 
For Reflection

Muslims rarely speak of the future without uttering "inshallah".  This Arabic word meaning "God Willing," is also commonly used by Christians in the Middle East, Africa, and Portuguese and Spanish speaking people.  James, obviously understands this common expression.  He uses it to remind the faithful that God is always in charge and that some events are a result of human will and not  the will of God.  Not to acknowledge God's sovereignty, may result in the mistaken idea that human kind are the masters of their fate; thus separating themselves from God and God's ultimate intention, God's will, for all in the Kingdom of God.

 

Pray

that you will realize the differences between the actions of human free will and the will of God.  Pray that you will accept the sovereignty of God and seek God's will for your life.  Pray that you will become increasingly grateful for God's intention for peace, forgiveness and justice.

Imitate What Is Good

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Seek the Good of Others

3 John 1:2-12 The Message

^1-4 The Pastor, to my good friend Gaius: How truly I love you! We’re the best of friends, and I pray for good fortune in everything you do, and for your good health—that your everyday affairs prosper, as well as your soul! I was most happy when some friends arrived and brought the news that you persist in following the way of Truth. Nothing could make me happier than getting reports that my children continue diligently in the way of Truth!

Model the Good

^5-8 Dear friend, when you extend hospitality to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers, you make the faith visible. They’ve made a full report back to the church here, a message about your love. It’s good work you’re doing, helping these travelers on their way, hospitality worthy of God himself! They set out under the banner of the Name, and get no help from unbelievers. So they deserve any support we can give them. In providing meals and a bed, we become their companions in spreading the Truth.

^9-10 Earlier I wrote something along this line to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves being in charge, denigrates my counsel. If I come, you can be sure I’ll hold him to account for spreading vicious rumors about us.
As if that weren’t bad enough, he not only refuses hospitality to traveling Christians but tries to stop others from welcoming them. Worse yet, instead of inviting them in he throws them out.
¹¹ Friend, don’t go along with evil. Model the good. The person who does good does God’s work. The person who does evil falsifies God, doesn’t know the first thing about God.
¹² Everyone has a good word for Demetrius—the Truth itself stands up for Demetrius! We concur, and you know we don’t hand out endorsements lightly.

 
For Reflection

Who are your contemporary models of Christian practice?  How do you select them?  Paul suggests that hospitality to all whom you encounter is a good Christian practice.  

How do you define good?  Model those who are supportive, who are humble, who are gentle in judgment, who are guided by love which resides within them.  Model those fearless in grace.

Pray

that you will aspire toward righteousness.  Pray that you will model those who make wise judgments and are not judgmental.  Pray that you will be a humble servant of God ready to sacrifice yourself for your God.

Overcoming Temptation

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Overcoming Temptation

1 Corinthians 10:12-22  The Message

^11-12 These are all warning markers—danger!—in our history books, written down so that we don’t repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel—they at the beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.
¹³ No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.
¹⁴ So, my very dear friends, when you see people reducing God to something they can use or control, get out of their company as fast as you can.
^15-18 I assume I’m addressing believers now who are mature. Draw your own conclusions: When we drink the cup of blessing, aren’t we taking into ourselves the blood, the very life, of Christ? And isn’t it the same with the loaf of bread we break and eat? Don’t we take into ourselves the body, the very life, of Christ? Because there is one loaf, our many-ness becomes one-ness—Christ doesn’t become fragmented in us. Rather, we become unified in him. We don’t reduce Christ to what we are; he raises us to what he is. That’s basically what happened even in old Israel—those who ate the sacrifices offered on God’s altar entered into God’s action at the altar.
^19-22 Do you see the difference? Sacrifices offered to idols are offered to nothing, for what’s the idol but a nothing? Or worse than nothing, a minus, a demon! I don’t want you to become part of something that reduces you to less than yourself. And you can’t have it both ways, banqueting with the Master one day and slumming with demons the next. Besides, the Master won’t put up with it. He wants us—all or nothing. Do you think you can get off with anything less?

 
For Reflection

To what extent are you worshiping a god of your making.  Even as Christians we personalize our god.  However holding only individual conceptions of God is like a blind person touching the tail of an elephant and declaring an elephant is a snake.  Individually we are limited in our understanding of God.  Together in the fellowship of the faithful, we have a more complete understanding.  We, in fellowship with each other and the Holy Spirit, become unified in Christ and Christ will raise us to meet the expectations for stewards in God's Kingdom.

 

Pray

that you will seek to grow in understanding, obedience, and grace in the Spirit of God.

Deterrents from Evil

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Overcoming Temptation

1 Corinthians 10:1-10  The Message

10 ^1-5 Remember our history, friends, and be warned. All our ancestors were led by the providential Cloud and taken miraculously through the Sea. They went through the waters, in a baptism like ours, as Moses led them from enslaving death to salvation life. They all ate and drank identical food and drink, meals provided daily by God. They drank from the Rock, God’s fountain for them that stayed with them wherever they were. And the Rock was Christ. But just experiencing God’s wonder and grace didn’t seem to mean much—most of them were defeated by temptation during the hard times in the desert, and God was not pleased.

^6-10 The same thing could happen to us. We must be on guard so that we never get caught up in wanting our own way as they did. And we must not turn our religion into a circus as they did—“First the people partied, then they threw a dance.” We must not be sexually promiscuous—they paid for that, remember, with 23,000 deaths in one day! We must never try to get Christ to serve us instead of us serving him; they tried it, and God launched an epidemic of poisonous snakes. We must be careful not to stir up discontent; discontent destroyed them.

For Reflection

Faith is a gift from God.  Religion is made for the convenience of human kind.  We often confuse the two by thinking that they are one and the same.  How many religious deviations from the faith have distorted the Christianity?  We all can name several.  But God-centered faith, and Christianity have survived because God has turned us away from the corruption of faith and offered unconditional love and reconciliation.  Praise God for God's abiding faith in human kind and God's eternal invitation to the Kingdom.

Pray

Prayers of thanksgiving for the faith God has invited us to enjoy.  Praise God for steadfast love and grace.  Pray that you will be an obedient servant of God.

Holding Firm to the End

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Overcoming Temptation

Deuteronomy 4:25-31 The Message

^25-28 When the time comes that you have children and grandchildren, put on years, and start taking things for granted, if you then become corrupt and make any carved images, no matter what their form, by doing what is sheer evil in God’s eyes and provoking his anger—I can tell you right now, with Heaven and Earth as witnesses, that it will be all over for you. You’ll be kicked off the land that you’re about to cross over the Jordan to possess. Believe me, you’ll have a very short stay there. You’ll be ruined, completely ruined. God will scatter you far and wide; a few of you will survive here and there in the nations where God will drive you. There you can worship your homemade gods to your hearts’ content, your wonderful gods of wood and stone that can’t see or hear or eat or smell.
^29-31 But even there, if you seek God, your God, you’ll be able to find him if you’re serious, looking for him with your whole heart and soul. When troubles come and all these awful things happen to you, in future days you will come back to God, your God, and listen obediently to what he says. God, your God, is above all a compassionate God. In the end he will not abandon you, he won’t bring you to ruin, he won’t forget the covenant with your ancestors which he swore to them.

For Reflection

Bad things happen.  It is not God who is punishing you.  Rather, it is you who have chosen to separate yourself from God.  As a result of your choice, you suffer.  Not because it is God's intention, but because a life separated from God is a life devoid of hope.  By the grace of God, you are not abandoned but eternally welcome in the Kingdom of God.

Pray

Pray that, having strayed from the righteous course, you will remember that you are always welcome in the house of God.  Confess your transgressions and repent. Praise God for God's compassion and grace.

Turning Away from Following God

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Overcoming Temptation

Deuteronomy 7:1-6 The Message

7 ^1-2 When God, your God, brings you into the country that you are about to enter and take over, he will clear out the superpowers that were there before you: the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Those seven nations are all bigger and stronger than you are. God, your God, will turn them over to you and you will conquer them. You must completely destroy them, offering them up as a holy destruction to God.

Don’t make a treaty with them.
Don’t let them off in any way.
^3-4 Don’t marry them: Don’t give your daughters to their sons and don’t take their daughters for your sons—before you know it they’d involve you in worshiping their gods, and God would explode in anger, putting a quick end to you.
⁵ Here’s what you are to do:

Tear apart their altars stone by stone,
smash their phallic pillars,
chop down their sex-and-religion Asherah groves,
set fire to their carved god-images.

⁶ Do this because you are a people set apart as holy to God, your God. God, your God, chose you out of all the people on Earth for himself as a cherished, personal treasure.

For Reflection

Is this passage really about a ruthless god or is it a myth intended to instruct believers in the risks of adopting the faiths of others?  The pressure to conform to cultural pressures has always and will always be one of the most faith corrupting influences one faces.  How do you differentiate God derived influences from cultural influences? 

Pray

for the wisdom to differentiate between cultural pressures to act and God-centered influences.  Pray that you will have the courage to act in ways counter to your culture when it conflicts with a God-centered life.  Pray for the wisdom to follow a life influenced by the obedience to the principles of justice, peace, love and reconciliation.

Turning Aside from God's Commands

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Overcoming Temptation

Exodus 32:1-10  The Message

“Make Gods for Us”

32 When the people realized that Moses was taking forever in coming down off the mountain, they rallied around Aaron and said, “Do something. Make gods for us who will lead us. That Moses, the man who got us out of Egypt—who knows what’s happened to him?”

^2-4 So Aaron told them, “Take off the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters and bring them to me.” They all did it; they removed the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took the gold from their hands and cast it in the form of a calf, shaping it with an engraving tool.
The people responded with enthusiasm: “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from Egypt!”
⁵ Aaron, taking in the situation, built an altar before the calf.
Aaron then announced, “Tomorrow is a feast day to God!”
⁶ Early the next morning, the people got up and offered Whole-Burnt-Offerings and brought Peace-Offerings. The people sat down to eat and drink and then began to party. It turned into a wild party!
^7-8 God spoke to Moses, “Go! Get down there! Your people whom you brought up from the land of Egypt have fallen to pieces. In no time at all they’ve turned away from the way I commanded them: They made a molten calf and worshiped it. They’ve sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are the gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt!’”
^9-10 God said to Moses, “I look at this people—oh! what a stubborn, hard-headed people! Let me alone now, give my anger free reign to burst into flames and incinerate them. But I’ll make a great nation out of you.”

 
For Reflection

"When the cat's away..."

We humans are an impatient bunch.  We often respond to the voices in our midst who are ready to offer an easy road, a quick fix, a false promise of security and hope. And we like braying asses follow singing off key songs in drunken folly.

Eternity is God's time.  We have only today.  We are indebted to God for our lives.  So live as though you are grateful, in humble obedience in patient expectation in the hope that never ends.

 

Pray

Pray that you will not abandon the faith that has led you to the Kingdom.  Pray that you will have the confidence in God's promise that overrides all temporal issues.  Pray for patience.  Expect grace.

Accountable to God

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Love Builds Up

Romans 14:7-12 The Message

^6-9 What’s important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God’s sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you’re a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It’s God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That’s why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.
^10-12 So where does that leave you when you criticize a brother? And where does that leave you when you condescend to a sister? I’d say it leaves you looking pretty silly—or worse. Eventually, we’re all going to end up kneeling side by side in the place of judgment, facing God. Your critical and condescending ways aren’t going to improve your position there one bit. Read it for yourself in Scripture:

“As I live and breathe,” God says,
    “every knee will bow before me;
Every tongue will tell the honest truth
    that I and only I am God.”

So tend to your knitting. You’ve got your hands full just taking care of your own life before God.

 
For Reflection

So, what else should be said.  Live a God-centered life of humility and peace, building up the Kingdom of God.

 

Pray

Kneel before God.  Pray prayers of confession, repentance, obedience, praise and thanksgiving.  Pray to serve God.

Honoring and Giving Thanks to God

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Love Builds Up

Romans 14:1-9 The Message

Cultivating Good Relationships

14 Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.

^2-4 For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume he should only be a vegetarian and eat accordingly. But since both are guests at Christ’s table, wouldn’t it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn’t eat? God, after all, invited them both to the table. Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God’s welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.
⁵ Or, say, one person thinks that some days should be set aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other. There are good reasons either way. So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience.
^6-9 What’s important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God’s sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you’re a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It’s God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That’s why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.

For Reflection

In diversity there is strength.  In diversity there is weakness.  How can both statements be true?   As Paul has put it, in the body of the church there are many parts, each with its primary function in the body of the whole.  Working together the church is a powerful force in realizing the Kingdom of  God.  Working at odds to each other the various factions become cancerous sores, rotting the body and thwarting the progress toward the Kingdom.

The problem lies not in the diversity, but rather, in those who cannot accept the differences and fail to realize that God invited all to God's feast.  In God, Paul explains, each person is free to follow his or her convictions of conscience.  Each plays an equal role in God's plan.  With God as our master, we are freed from the petty tyrannies of being different from each other.

Pray

Kneel before God.  Pray prayers of confession, repentance, obedience, praise and thanksgiving.  Pray to be free to accept the differences among the faithful.  Pray that you will defend the right of free choice to follow God's will.  Pray that God will use your life in service to the Kingdom.

Grow in Grace and Knowledge

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Love Builds Up

2 Peter 3:14-18 The Message

^14-16 So, my dear friends, since this is what you have to look forward to, do your very best to be found living at your best, in purity and peace. Interpret our Master’s patient restraint for what it is: salvation. Our good brother Paul, who was given much wisdom in these matters, refers to this in all his letters, and has written you essentially the same thing. Some things Paul writes are difficult to understand. Irresponsible people who don’t know what they are talking about twist them every which way. They do it to the rest of the Scriptures, too, destroying themselves as they do it.

^17-18 But you, friends, are well-warned. Be on guard lest you lose your footing and get swept off your feet by these lawless and loose-talking teachers. Grow in grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Glory to the Master, now and forever! Yes!

For Reflection

Our faith in God and in Christ Jesus is not a static thing.  We grow and mature both physically, emotionally, intellectually.  In short, from our birth to our death we evolve.  Who we are now is not who we have been, nor are we who we will become. 

Our faith also changes and matures. With each new challenge we grow.  With exposure to the scriptures and the points of view from Peter and Paul and all of those prophets and scholars who have followed in their footsteps to spread the Gospel and interaction in the fellowship of believers, we grow in grace and knowledge of the Kingdom of God. 

Change is not the enemy of faith; stagnation is.

Pray

for the wisdom that can be derived only from study, open and free discussion, participation in the fellowship of believers and constant prayer.

Faith and Knowledge

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Love Builds Up

1 Peter 1:2-12 The Message

1 ^1-2 I, Peter, am an apostle on assignment by Jesus, the Messiah, writing to exiles scattered to the four winds. Not one is missing, not one forgotten. God the Father has his eye on each of you, and has determined by the work of the Spirit to keep you obedient through the sacrifice of Jesus. May everything good from God be yours!

A New Life

^3-5 What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole.

^6-7 I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.
^8-9 You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don’t see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you’ll get what you’re looking forward to: total salvation.
^10-12 The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life God was preparing. The Messiah’s Spirit let them in on some of it—that the Messiah would experience suffering, followed by glory. They clamored to know who and when. All they were told was that they were serving you, you who by orders from heaven have now heard for yourselves—through the Holy Spirit—the Message of those prophecies fulfilled. Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this!

 
For Reflection

Having heard the Gospel, are you ready to believe?  Are you ready to live the faith?  Are you ready to walk through the shadows of death on the path of righteousness?  Do you trust God enough to face the uncertainties of the future with courage and conviction that all will turn for the good?

 

Pray

so that your belief will deepen.  Pray that you will have the courage to follow your belief in God.  Pray that God will guide you in your path of righteousness.  Pray for the hope that can come only from obedience to the living God.

Human Commands and Teachings

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Love Builds Up

Colossians 2:16-23 The Message

^16-17 So don’t put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days. All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ.
^18-19 Don’t tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They’re a lot of hot air, that’s all they are. They’re completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us.
^20-23 So, then, if with Christ you’ve put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? “Don’t touch this! Don’t taste that! Don’t go near this!” Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention? Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and ascetic. But they’re just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important.

For Reflection

I am thankful that when I was a child I was blessed with parents who exercised their responsibility to teach me how to live a fruitful life.  My mother and her two sisters raised me to be God fearing, and to be compassionate.  The early training was rules based with a good dose of structure and enforcement. As I grew older the discipline evolved into discussion in the gray area of morality.

As I look back, the one constant was their faith and the value they placed upon living a God-centered life. They would not have named their lives God-centered.  They were not perfect in their practice of their faith.  However, guiding most of their important life choices was a strong confidence in principles of love, compassion and justice which was always more compelling than any culturally derived standards.

There was no illusion of piety in our house.  There was no attempt of elevating one's self at the expense of others.  Were they perfect?  Not by a long shot.  They were dysfunctional in many ways.  They, like all of us, bore the scars of life's cruel turns.

Living a God-centered life is not about rules.  Such devotion to The Way is not trouble free, nor does it guarantee a trouble free existence.  However, living a God-centered life is a life filled with hope and the power to override our dysfunctions.

Pray

that you will have the courage to find hope in times of troubling circumstances.  Pray, confessing your weakness and asking God to strengthen you.  Pray that you will not be influenced by those who criticize you for not following "good Christian practices".  Pray that you will remain true to the only rule that matters, the rule of love.

Glorify God with Your Body

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Glorify God with Your Body

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

The Message

¹² Just because something is technically legal doesn’t mean that it’s spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I’d be a slave to my whims.
¹³ You know the old saying, “First you eat to live, and then you live to eat”? Well, it may be true that the body is only a temporary thing, but that’s no excuse for stuffing your body with food, or indulging it with sex. Since the Master honors you with a body, honor him with your body!
^14-15 God honored the Master’s body by raising it from the grave. He’ll treat yours with the same resurrection power. Until that time, remember that your bodies are created with the same dignity as the Master’s body. You wouldn’t take the Master’s body off to a whorehouse, would you? I should hope not.
^16-20 There’s more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, “The two become one.” Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever—the kind of sex that can never “become one.” There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for “becoming one” with another. Or didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.

 
For Reflection

I have often thought there is something physically recognizable in those people who have a deep commitment to God. It is like meeting face to face with God.  What kind of God do others see in the church body?  What kind of God do others see in you?

 

Pray

to seek wisdom, work compassionately, forgive and seek justice in all things.  Pray, study and become a vessel for God's grace.

Washed, Sanctified and Justified

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Glorify God with Your Body

1 Corinthians 6:1-11

The Message

6 ^1-4 And how dare you take each other to court! When you think you have been wronged, does it make any sense to go before a court that knows nothing of God’s ways instead of a family of Christians? The day is coming when the world is going to stand before a jury made up of followers of Jesus. If someday you are going to rule on the world’s fate, wouldn’t it be a good idea to practice on some of these smaller cases? Why, we’re even going to judge angels! So why not these everyday affairs? As these disagreements and wrongs surface, why would you ever entrust them to the judgment of people you don’t trust in any other way?

^5-6 I say this as bluntly as I can to wake you up to the stupidity of what you’re doing. Is it possible that there isn’t one levelheaded person among you who can make fair decisions when disagreements and disputes come up? I don’t believe it. And here you are taking each other to court before people who don’t even believe in God! How can they render justice if they don’t believe in the God of justice?
^7-8 These court cases are an ugly blot on your community. Wouldn’t it be far better to just take it, to let yourselves be wronged and forget it? All you’re doing is providing fuel for more wrong, more injustice, bringing more hurt to the people of your own spiritual family.
^9-11 Don’t you realize that this is not the way to live? Unjust people who don’t care about God will not be joining in his kingdom. Those who use and abuse each other, use and abuse sex, use and abuse the earth and everything in it, don’t qualify as citizens in God’s kingdom. A number of you know from experience what I’m talking about, for not so long ago you were on that list. Since then, you’ve been cleaned up and given a fresh start by Jesus, our Master, our Messiah, and by our God present in us, the Spirit.

For Reflection

The courts of the material world are not about truth and justice.  They are about violations of the law and punishments.  They are not about justice, compassion, healing and reconciliation.  What is fair in the eyes of the court is neither fair nor just.  If so, then why would one apply the standards of a fallible court to the disputes within the family of God?  Disputes among the faithful are not settled by arguments of law.  Rather, they are settled by overtures for reconciliation, forgiveness and repentance.

Pray

that you will seek justice rather than retribution in disputes.  Pray that you will find pathways to reconciling differences, building compassion, and developing commitment to God's will.

Dissociating from Immorality in the Body

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Glorify God with Your Body

1 Corinthians 5:9-13

The Message

^9-13 I wrote you in my earlier letter that you shouldn’t make yourselves at home among the sexually promiscuous. I didn’t mean that you should have nothing at all to do with outsiders of that sort. Or with crooks, whether blue- or white-collar. Or with spiritual phonies, for that matter. You’d have to leave the world entirely to do that! But I am saying that you shouldn’t act as if everything is just fine when a friend who claims to be a Christian is promiscuous or crooked, is flip with God or rude to friends, gets drunk or becomes greedy and predatory. You can’t just go along with this, treating it as acceptable behavior. I’m not responsible for what the outsiders do, but don’t we have some responsibility for those within our community of believers? God decides on the outsiders, but we need to decide when our brothers and sisters are out of line and, if necessary, clean house.

For Reflection

Does this passage speak more to us than, "Protect your reputation?"  Excommunication, the ultimate house cleaning, was recently used by the Roman Pope.  What responsibility do we have?  What action should be taken, personally or communally? How does one approach another in the spirit of compassion and love?  How does one help another to see the folly in his or her way without driving the other away from communion in the fellowship and away from God?  When is standing on authority counter-productive? Hard questions beg to be answered.

Pray

confessing your own sins and seeking repentance.  Pray for those who are slipping away from their relationship with God.  Pray for God's council.  Pray that you will find creative ways to heal.

Building up the Beloved

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Glorify God with Your Body

2 Corinthians 12:14-18

The Message

^14-15 Everything is in readiness now for this, my third visit to you. But don’t worry about it; you won’t have to put yourselves out. I’ll be no more of a bother to you this time than on the other visits. I have no interest in what you have—only in you. Children shouldn’t have to look out for their parents; parents look out for the children. I’d be most happy to empty my pockets, even mortgage my life, for your good. So how does it happen that the more I love you, the less I’m loved?
^16-18 And why is it that I keep coming across these whiffs of gossip about how my self-support was a front behind which I worked an elaborate scam? Where’s the evidence? Did I cheat or trick you through anyone I sent? I asked Titus to visit, and sent some brothers along. Did they swindle you out of anything? And haven’t we always been just as aboveboard, just as honest?

For Reflection

Suspicion, innuendo, misrepresentation of fact, exaggeration of potential harm, alleging false conclusions, all are means to divide and manipulate perceptions.  The church is not immune to the manipulations of its membership.  When will we learn to give up the need for control to God?  When will we understand that God wants us to build, not destroy?

Pray

that you will work to build the church by acts of faith, kindness, compassion, justice and trust in the Lord.