Before the Foundation of the World

God's Creative Word
The Word Was in the Beginning
Wisdom's Part in Creation

Ephesians 1:3-10

The Message

The God of Glory

 ^3-6How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son. ^7-10Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.

For Reflection 

We are part of God's grand plan for his creation.  We are free to choose -- to know good and evil.  In Christ we know good.  In Christ we reject evil.  God provides the path to righteousness and the wisdom to choose Him.

Pray

that you will choose God.  Pray that you will have the wisdom to listen to the wisdom of the scriptures.  Pray that you will embrace God's protection.  Pray that you uplift others to God.

The Gifts of Wisdom

God's Creative Word
The Word Was in the Beginning
Wisdom's Part in Creation

Proverbs 8:12-21

The Message

 ^12-21 "I am Lady Wisdom, and I live next to Sanity;
   Knowledge and Discretion live just down the street.
The Fear-of-God means hating Evil,
   whose ways I hate with a passion—
   pride and arrogance and crooked talk.
Good counsel and common sense are my characteristics;
   I am both Insight and the Virtue to live it out.
With my help, leaders rule,
   and lawmakers legislate fairly;
With my help, governors govern,
   along with all in legitimate authority.
I love those who love me;
   those who look for me find me.
Wealth and Glory accompany me—
   also substantial Honor and a Good Name.
My benefits are worth more than a big salary, even a very big salary;
   the returns on me exceed any imaginable bonus.
You can find me on Righteous Road—that's where I walk—
   at the intersection of Justice Avenue,
Handing out life to those who love me,
   filling their arms with life—armloads of life!

For Reflection 

God is the source of all wisdom.  His wisdom is a blessing for us.  His wisdom was alive at creation.  In a world of easy answers, a world of conflicting voices, a world of seductive reason, a world in demand of evidence based everything, is there room for spiritual based wisdom?  We yearn for wisdom that can only be captured  in one way:  in the company of the scriptures, the fellowship of believers, and the Holy Spirit.  God's wisdom allows us to find the truth of our existence and contribute in righteous ways.

Pray

that you will seek in all ways the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.  Pray that you will listen for God's gentle guidance.  Pray that you will face all people in humility and bath in the truth that is Jesus Christ.

The Call of Wisdom

God's Creative Word
The Word Was in the Beginning
Wisdom's Part in Creation

Proverbs 8:1-11

The Message

Lady Wisdom Calls Out

 ^1-11 Do you hear Lady Wisdom calling? Can you hear Madame Insight raising her voice?
She's taken her stand at First and Main,
   at the busiest intersection.
Right in the city square
   where the traffic is thickest, she shouts,
"You—I'm talking to all of you,
   everyone out here on the streets!
Listen, you idiots—learn good sense!
   You blockheads—shape up!
Don't miss a word of this—I'm telling you how to live well,
   I'm telling you how to live at your best.
My mouth chews and savors and relishes truth—
   I can't stand the taste of evil!
You'll only hear true and right words from my mouth;
   not one syllable will be twisted or skewed.
You'll recognize this as true—you with open minds;
   truth-ready minds will see it at once.
Prefer my life-disciplines over chasing after money,
   and God-knowledge over a lucrative career.
For Wisdom is better than all the trappings of wealth;
   nothing you could wish for holds a candle to her.

For Reflection
Words.  Sometimes I wonder about our ability to use language.  We are not hardwired to each other or to God.   Really, all we can do is create metaphors for our realities.  The word seems at times to be the essence of existence.
Plato understood when he said that the reality exists in archetypes.  We only catch a glimpse and our words are only a weak substitute for the real. In Plato's day, reality was unknowable.  Even by combining opinions and visions of what people thought was real, the truth of reality was impossible to discern.

John 1:1

New King James Version

The Eternal Word

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

• After  the Christ event, truth became knowable.  What difference would it make in the way you interact with others if you believed the words you use were holy and a representation of God?

Pray

that you will treat your words as windows into God's will;  listen to the words of the world with God's ear. listen to the words of scripture; listen to God's whispered wisdom.

Supporting Your Faith

FAITH IN ACTION:
LIVING AS FAITHFUL PEOPLE
God's Redemption
Fruits of Redemption

2 Peter 1:3-8

The Message

Don't Put It Off

 ^3-4Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust. ^5-9So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

For Reflection
It's all common sense.  But, a very specialized common sense.  It is a common sense given us by the transformational power of the Holy Spirit.  All we need is complete trust in the Lord.  It is a common sense that needs continuous development in the fellowship of believers.  Grow into the lives we were promised.

Pray
that you will continue to grow into grace.  Pray that you will continue to seek communion with the Holy Spirit.  Pray that you will mature with Christ at your side.

Faith Working through Love

FAITH IN ACTION:
LIVING AS FAITHFUL PEOPLE
God's Redemption
Fruits of Redemption

Galatians 5:2-6

The Message

 ^2-3I am emphatic about this. The moment any one of you submits to circumcision or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment Christ's hard-won gift of freedom is squandered. I repeat my warning: The person who accepts the ways of circumcision trades all the advantages of the free life in Christ for the obligations of the slave life of the law. ^4-6I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love.

For Reflection

"Faith expressed in love."

My wife and I decided to have a sandwich for dinner at a local bar.    We were seated next to the pool tables.  The bar was a local pub where people went after work to have a beer and play a little pool.  Some women and men even brought their own pool cues.

Both of us were dressed for work when business casual was not always the code.  We both ordered water and hamburgers.  One of the men playing pool missed a shot and expressed his disappointment vulgarly.  He turned toward my wife and  I and apologized.  It was as though I had "PREACHER" tattooed on my forehead.

I have noticed others responding to me in an almost instant rapport.  Could it be that God's grace is visible on those of faith?  It doesn't always happen that way. Could it be that God needed to let his grace flow.  I bet you have experienced this same sort of thing.

Pray
that you will not limit your response to life to following the rules.  Confess your deviations from the rules and from expressions of love.  Know that you are forgiven and God will use you life in the realization of His kingdom.  Hallelujah!

Chosen to be Obedient

FAITH IN ACTION:
LIVING AS FAITHFUL PEOPLE
God's Redemption
Fruits of Redemption

1 Peter 1:1-5

The Message

 ^1-2I, 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

 ^3-5What 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,

For Reflection
I have never been one to respond blindly to authority.  So, when I first encountered the concept of obedience, it disturbed me.  But, the fact is that in order to be freed to become what God wished me to become I had to accept the paradox that to become free I had to become loyally obedient to God.  Freedom results from obedience to God's law and his promise.  It is a freedom worth the sacrifice of the only thing I possess -- my independent self.  Giving up one's reliance on one's self for reliance on God's promise is a sacrifice worth making and reasserting each day.

Pray
that you will continue to reject the temptation to return to the self you had been.  Pray for the courage to sacrifice your self each day so that you can live the life promised.

Renewed by the Holy Spirit

FAITH IN ACTION:
LIVING AS FAITHFUL PEOPLE
God's Redemption
Fruits of Redemption

Titus 3:1-7

The Message

He Put Our Lives Together

 ^1-2Remind the people to respect the government and be law-abiding, always ready to lend a helping hand. No insults, no fights. God's people should be bighearted and courteous. ^3-8It 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.

For Reflection
You and I are living in the hollow of God's hand. Of what do we have to fear?  To whom do we have to justify ourselves?  We are justified by God's faith in us and our faith in God.  We are free to be all that we were meant to be -- patient, kind, generous, faithful, and gentle in response to God's promise.  Listen to the Holy Spirit.  God will guide and protect you.  This is the life we are intended to live.

Pray
praising God for his grace.  Pray prayers of thanksgiving for the power of his transforming love.  Pray that we will not become trapped in the drama of the moment and forget that we are children of God.