Righteousness that Comes fom Faith

The Inescapable God
God Reveals


Romans 10:5-13 (The Message)
 ^4-10The earlier revelation was intended simply to get us ready for the Messiah, who then puts everything right for those who trust him to do it. Moses wrote that anyone who insists on using the law code to live right before God soon discovers it's not so easy—every detail of life regulated by fine print! But trusting God to shape the right living in us is a different story— no precarious climb up to heaven to recruit the Messiah, no dangerous descent into hell to rescue the Messiah. So what exactly was Moses saying?

   The word that saves is right here,
      as near as the tongue in your mouth,
      as close as the heart in your chest.
It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—"Jesus is my Master"—embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!"
 ^11-13Scripture reassures us, "No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it." It's exactly the same no matter what a person's religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. "Everyone who calls, 'Help, God!' gets help."

For Reflection
Who do you trust?  Why? What have you seen?  What have you heard? What is the trusted person's reputation among others?

Ultimately your trust in others is a matter of faith.  So too, trust in God is a matter of faith.  What have you seen that supports your trust in God?  What have you heard?

Pray to live a life of trust in God.  Offer prayers of thanksgiving for the offer of salvation that is yours just for the asking.  Pray that your words become a flesh offering to God.

The Law with Grace and Truth

The Inescapable God
God Reveals
John 1:14-18 (The Message)

 ¹⁴The Word became flesh and blood,
      and moved into the neighborhood.
   We saw the glory with our own eyes,
      the one-of-a-kind glory,
      like Father, like Son,
   Generous inside and out,
      true from start to finish.
 ¹⁵John pointed him out and called, "This is the One! The One I told you was coming after me but in fact was ahead of me. He has always been ahead of me, has always had the first word."

 ^16-18We all live off his generous bounty,
      gift after gift after gift.
   We got the basics from Moses,
      and then this exuberant giving and receiving,
   This endless knowing and understanding—
      all this came through Jesus, the Messiah.
   No one has ever seen God,
      not so much as a glimpse.
   This one-of-a-kind God-Expression,
      who exists at the very heart of the Father,
      has made him plain as day.

For Reflection
I have always been enamored with the term "The Word."  Bibically, the term has infinite meaning.  The term is the first overture from God to return to His fold.  God as a word is unknowable.  God in the flesh defines the word.  God, John writes, is a plain as day.  Through the grace and truth exemplified in Jesus Christ, the Law is made an instrument of justice and reconciliation -- humankind reconciled to god and to one another.  What has your study of Jesus (however informal) revealed to you about the nature of God?  How has that revelation guided your life?

Pray that you will grow in the knowledge of God each day.  Pray that you will practice the word of God so that others cannot escape seeing God in you?

The Tablet of Your Heart

The Inescapable God
God Reveals


Proverbs 7:1-5 (The Message)
 ^1-5 Dear friend, do what I tell you; treasure my careful instructions.
Do what I say and you'll live well.
   My teaching is as precious as your eyesight—guard it!
Write it out on the back of your hands;
   etch it on the chambers of your heart.
Talk to Wisdom as to a sister.
   Treat Insight as your companion.
They'll be with you to fend off the Temptress—
   that smooth-talking, honey-tongued Seductress.

For Reflection
Think about something that is precious, something that you treasure.  Where is it right now? How do you protect it?  What you have learned about your God is precious.  How do you protect your special knowledge of God?  How do you guard against the temptations of life that would lead you astray?

Pray That your relationship with your God is "etched on the chambers of your heart."  Pray for the wisdom to judge the path of righteousness and the courage to follow it.

Your Law is My Delight

The Inescapable God
God Reveals

Psalm 119:73-77 (The Message)

 ^73-80 With your very own hands you formed me;
      now breathe your wisdom over me so I can understand you.
   When they see me waiting, expecting your Word,
      those who fear you will take heart and be glad.
   I can see now, God, that your decisions are right;
      your testing has taught me what's true and right.
   Oh, love me—and right now!—hold me tight!
      just the way you promised.
   Now comfort me so I can live, really live;
      your revelation is the tune I dance to.
   Let the fast-talking tricksters be exposed as frauds;
      they tried to sell me a bill of goods,
      but I kept my mind fixed on your counsel.
   Let those who fear you turn to me
      for evidence of your wise guidance.
   And let me live whole and holy, soul and body,
      so I can always walk with my head held high.

For Reflection
I am a child of God.  Who are you?  God formed me.  God gives me wisdom.  God tests me.  God comforts me.  God lives in me.  How about you?

Pray for Holy guidance, wisdom and the patience to wait for God's word.  Pray that you remain fixed on God's counsel.

God's Revelation to Moses

The Inescapable God
God Reveals


Exodus 3:1-6 (The Message)
 ^1-2 Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the west end of the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn't burn up.  ³ Moses said, "What's going on here? I can't believe this! Amazing! Why doesn't the bush burn up?"
 ⁴ God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, "Moses! Moses!"
   He said, "Yes? I'm right here!"
 ⁵ God said, "Don't come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You're standing on holy ground."
 ⁶ Then he said, "I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob."
   Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.

Exodus 3:13-15
 ¹³ Then Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the People of Israel and I tell them, 'The God of your fathers sent me to you'; and they ask me, 'What is his name?' What do I tell them?"
 ¹⁴ God said to Moses, "I-AM-WHO-I-AM. Tell the People of Israel, 'I-AM sent me to you.'"
 ¹⁵ God continued with Moses: "This is what you're to say to the Israelites: 'God, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob sent me to you.' This has always been my name, and this is how I always will be known.

For Reflection
What does Moses' encounter with God reveal about God's identity?  What if God calls your name, how will you react?

Pray for all those whom God has called to lead his people out of misery.  Pray that you will heed God's call.

God Will Relieve Out Misery

The Inescapable God
God Reveals


Exodus 3:16-22 (The Message)
 ^16-17 "Now be on your way. Gather the leaders of Israel. Tell them, 'God, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, appeared to me, saying, "I've looked into what's being done to you in Egypt, and I've determined to get you out of the affliction of Egypt and take you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, a land brimming over with milk and honey."'
 ¹⁸ "Believe me, they will listen to you. Then you and the leaders of Israel will go to the king of Egypt and say to him: 'God, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness where we will worship God—our God.'
 ^19-22 "I know that the king of Egypt won't let you go unless forced to, so I'll intervene and hit Egypt where it hurts—oh, my miracles will send them reeling!—after which they'll be glad to send you off. I'll see to it that this people get a hearty send-off by the Egyptians—when you leave, you won't leave empty-handed! Each woman will ask her neighbor and any guests in her house for objects of silver and gold, for jewelry and extra clothes; you'll put them on your sons and daughters. Oh, you'll clean the Egyptians out!"

For Reflection
OK.  Here is a chance to think metaphorically.  What is revealed in this story that has meaning for you today?  What is your Egyptian experience?   What have you suffered?

Pray for the end of persecution in all of its contemporary forms.  Pray for those who lead others out of the darkness of their lives into the light revealed in Christ.

God Knows Our Suffering

God Reveals
Exodus 3:7-12 (The Message)

 ^7-8 God said, "I've taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I've heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
 ^9-10 "The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I've seen for myself how cruelly they're being treated by the Egyptians. It's time for you to go back: I'm sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel, out of Egypt."
 ¹¹ Moses answered God, "But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?"
 ¹² "I'll be with you," God said. "And this will be the proof that I am the one who sent you: When you have brought my people out of Egypt, you will worship God right here at this very mountain."

For Reflection
Time and time again no matter how often the people of Israel separate themselves from Him, God pulls them back into his grace and protection.  At times selecting the most unlikely candidate as his agent for the salvation of His people, God delivers.    What is revealed in the story of Moses that has meaning in your life?  Think of those who have brought messages that revealed God's intention for you.

Praise God for the revelations of his will in your life.   Thank Him for the messengers that have brought you to grow in the life God intends for you.