God's Presence Comforts and Assures

The Inescapable God
God Sustains
Psalm 63 (The Message)

A David Psalm, When He Was out in the Judean Wilderness

 ¹ God—you're my God! I can't get enough of you!
   I've worked up such hunger and thirst for God,
      traveling across dry and weary deserts.

 ^2-4 So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open,
      drinking in your strength and glory.
   In your generous love I am really living at last!
      My lips brim praises like fountains.
   I bless you every time I take a breath;
      My arms wave like banners of praise to you.

 ^5-8 I eat my fill of prime rib and gravy;
      I smack my lips. It's time to shout praises!
   If I'm sleepless at midnight,
      I spend the hours in grateful reflection.
   Because you've always stood up for me,
      I'm free to run and play.
   I hold on to you for dear life,
      and you hold me steady as a post.

 ^9-11 Those who are out to get me are marked for doom,
      marked for death, bound for hell.
   They'll die violent deaths;
      jackals will tear them limb from limb.
   But the king is glad in God;
      his true friends spread the joy,
   While small-minded gossips
      are gagged for good.


For Reflection
How do you live in the midst of trouble? How do you frame your circumstances? To what extent is your suffering a result of your fear?  Do you sometimes wish for quiet moments in which you snuggle your head into the neck of our Lord as He strokes your hair and says, "There, There, I am with you.  It's going to be just fine."  Cry out to God. He will comfort you.  He will provide sanctuary.

Pray
offer up to God a situation which is troubling you.  Listen for God's answer.  Watch for signs of His promise to comfort you and assure you that the circumstances will be resolved. Pray for patience and a mind open to see and accept God's resolution.  Offer prayers that others will experience God' comfort and assurance.

Praising in God's Presence

The Inescapable God
God Sustains
2 Samuel 22:2-7 (The Message)
 ^2-3 God is bedrock under my feet,
      the castle in which I live,
      my rescuing knight.
   My God—the high crag
      where I run for dear life,
      hiding behind the boulders,
      safe in the granite hideout;
   My mountaintop refuge,
      he saves me from ruthless men.
 ⁴ I sing to God the Praise-Lofty,
      and find myself safe and saved.
 ^5-6 The waves of death crashed over me,
      devil waters rushed over me.
   Hell's ropes cinched me tight;
      death traps barred every exit.
 ⁷ A hostile world! I called to God,
      to my God I cried out.
   From his palace he heard me call;
      my cry brought me right into his presence—
      a private audience!
 
For Reflection
 Samuel recognizes the refuge God provides. He rejoices in it.  He is amazed by God's willingness to protect him. Realizing that he is engulfed by treacherous forces, he cries to God for help and God delivers -- one-on-one.

Pray
prayers of praise and thanksgiving for the divine protection God offers each of his people.  Pray that you have courage to act in God's name in the face of these God crushing times.

Refreshing at God's Presence

The Inescapable God
God Sustains
Acts 3:17-26 (The Message)
 ^17-18"And now, friends, I know you had no idea what you were doing when you killed Jesus, and neither did your leaders. But God, who through the preaching of all the prophets had said all along that his Messiah would be killed, knew exactly what you were doing and used it to fulfill his plans.
 ^19-23"Now it's time to change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing to refresh you, and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely, Jesus. For the time being he must remain out of sight in heaven until everything is restored to order again just the way God, through the preaching of his holy prophets of old, said it would be. Moses, for instance, said, 'Your God will raise up for you a prophet just like me from your family. Listen to every word he speaks to you. Every last living soul who refuses to listen to that prophet will be wiped out from the people.'
 ^24-26"All the prophets from Samuel on down said the same thing, said most emphatically that these days would come. These prophets, along with the covenant God made with your ancestors, are your family tree. God's covenant-word to Abraham provides the text: 'By your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.' But you are first in line: God, having raised up his Son, sent him to bless you as you turn, one by one, from your evil ways.


For Reflection
 What did they do when they killed Jesus?  They set in motion the most dramatic, earth shaking overture for reconciliation.  They set in motion a most powerful invitation to participate in the Kingdom of God.  They set in motion a way for all people to be received in the grace of God.  They set in motion an opportunity for you and I to become the peace makers, those who foster justice, and the vessels through which God works to restore the promise in the Kingdom of God.  Are we up to the task?

Pray
for the peacemakers.  Pray for those who accept nothing short of a just community.  Pray for those who work tirelessly for the Kingdom of God.  Pray for we who struggle daily with our obedience to God's call.

Fleeing from God's Presence

The Inescapable God
God Sustains
Jonah 1:1-10 (The Message)

Running Away from God

 ^1-2 One day long ago, God's Word came to Jonah, Amittai's son: "Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They're in a bad way and I can't ignore it any longer." ³ But Jonah got up and went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God. He went down to the port of Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board, joining those going to Tarshish—as far away from God as he could get.  ^4-6 But God sent a huge storm at sea, the waves towering.
    The ship was about to break into pieces. The sailors were terrified. They called out in desperation to their gods. They threw everything they were carrying overboard to lighten the ship. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship to take a nap. He was sound asleep. The captain came to him and said, "What's this? Sleeping! Get up! Pray to your god! Maybe your god will see we're in trouble and rescue us."
 ⁷ Then the sailors said to one another, "Let's get to the bottom of this. Let's draw straws to identify the culprit on this ship who's responsible for this disaster."
    So they drew straws. Jonah got the short straw.
 ⁸ Then they grilled him: "Confess. Why this disaster? What is your work? Where do you come from? What country? What family?"
 ⁹ He told them, "I'm a Hebrew. I worship God, the God of heaven who made sea and land."
 ¹⁰ At that, the men were frightened, really frightened, and said, "What on earth have you done!" As Jonah talked, the sailors realized that he was running away from God.
 
For Reflection
 
You can run, but, you can't hide.  God is always by your side. He will find a way until you say, "I give up! I will drink from Your cup. I hear your call. I no longer stall. I enter the sun. Your will be done!"

Pray
for courage to face our living God and accept His call for action.  Pray that those whom you touch will respond to the call and participate in the Kingdom of God.

Hiding from God's Presence

The Inescapable God
God Sustains
Genesis 3:2-8 (The Message)
 ^2-3 The Woman said to the serpent, "Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It's only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'Don't eat from it; don't even touch it or you'll die.'"
 ^4-5 The serpent told the Woman, "You won't die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you'll see what's really going on. You'll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil."
 ⁶ When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she'd know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.
 ⁷ Immediately the two of them did "see what's really going on"—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.
 ⁸ When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God
 

For Reflection

But they did die to the life and relationship which God intended and now must be born again in reconciliation with God.  This passage reveals the essence of our status in God's kingdom.  We, because of our own action separate ourselves from God.  But God invites us to reunite with him.  All is forgiven. All we must do is confess our sins and repent.  God knows everything.  We cannot hide from Him. He will persist in seeking reconciliation.

Pray
in praise of our loving God.  Pray that all those who hide from God realize the value of god's great promise and come to live in the hollow of God's hand.

God's Rule over the Nations

The Inescapable God
God Reveals
Psalm 47 (The Message)

A Psalm of the Sons of Korah

 ^1-9 Applause, everyone. Bravo, bravissimo! Shout God-songs at the top of your lungs!
   God Most High is stunning,
      astride land and ocean.
   He crushes hostile people,
      puts nations at our feet.
   He set us at the head of the line,
      prize-winning Jacob, his favorite.
   Loud cheers as God climbs the mountain,
      a ram's horn blast at the summit.
   Sing songs to God, sing out!
      Sing to our King, sing praise!
   He's Lord over earth,
      so sing your best songs to God.
   God is Lord of godless nations—
      sovereign, he's King of the mountain.
   Princes from all over are gathered,
      people of Abraham's God.
   The powers of earth are God's—
      he soars over all


  For Reflection
Since the Christ event, we are no longer bound to interpret these lines as referring only to Israel. To do so would be to limit our conception of God. We would also be wrong headed if we thought that we, Americans, or Christians were the only ones that were protected by God.  As God looks at the Earth He sees no political boundaries; no divisions of faith practices.  He sees all of his people who are in the process of becoming reconciled to Him.  Think about what it means to ally one's self with a God of all the Earth, indeed, all the universe.  How does that concept change your view of yourself and your role in the Kingdom?

Pray
for the wisdom and courage to put God first when faced with hard choices.  Pray for an understanding what it means to live under the reign of God.

The Lord Loves Justice

The Inescapable God
God Reveals
Psalm 3 (The Message)

^1-2 God! Look! Enemies past counting! Enemies sprouting like mushrooms,
   Mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery:
   "Hah! No help for him from God!"

 ^3-4 But you, God, shield me on all sides;
   You ground my feet, you lift my head high;
   With all my might I shout up to God,
   His answers thunder from the holy mountain.

 ^5-6 I stretch myself out. I sleep.
   Then I'm up again—rested, tall and steady,
   Fearless before the enemy mobs
   Coming at me from all sides.

 ⁷ Up, God! My God, help me!
   Slap their faces,
   First this cheek, then the other,
   Your fist hard in their teeth!

 ⁸ Real help comes from God.
   Your blessing clothes your people!

For Reflection
 To what extent are you fearless before the mobs coming at you?  Are you trusting enough in God's will to sleep in the presence of your enemies?

Pray
for God to ground your feet, to lift your head high.   With all your might shout up to God.  Listen to His answers as they thunder from the holy mountain.

The Lord Delivers

The Inescapable God
God Reveals
Psalm 3 (The Message)

^1-2 God! Look! Enemies past counting! Enemies sprouting like mushrooms,
   Mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery:
   "Hah! No help for him from God!"

 ^3-4 But you, God, shield me on all sides;
   You ground my feet, you lift my head high;
   With all my might I shout up to God,
   His answers thunder from the holy mountain.

 ^5-6 I stretch myself out. I sleep.
   Then I'm up again—rested, tall and steady,
   Fearless before the enemy mobs
   Coming at me from all sides.

 ⁷ Up, God! My God, help me!
   Slap their faces,
   First this cheek, then the other,
   Your fist hard in their teeth!

 ⁸ Real help comes from God.
   Your blessing clothes your people!

For Reflection
 To what extent are you fearless before the mobs coming at you?  Are you trusting enough in God's will to sleep in the presence of your enemies?

Pray
for God to ground your feet, to lift your head high.   With all your might shout up to God.  Listen to His answers as they thunder from the holy mountain.

The Lord Rules Over All

The Inescapable God
God Reveals
2 Chronicles 20:5-12 (The Message)
 ^5-9 Then Jehoshaphat took a position before the assembled people of Judah and Jerusalem at The Temple of God in front of the new courtyard and said, "O God, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven above and ruler of all kingdoms below? You hold all power and might in your fist—no one stands a chance against you! And didn't you make the natives of this land leave as you brought your people Israel in, turning it over permanently to your people Israel, the descendants of Abraham your friend? They have lived here and built a holy house of worship to honor you, saying, 'When the worst happens—whether war or flood or disease or famine—and we take our place before this Temple (we know you are personally present in this place!) and pray out our pain and trouble, we know that you will listen and give victory.'
 ^10-12 "And now it's happened: men from Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir have shown up. You didn't let Israel touch them when we got here at first—we detoured around them and didn't lay a hand on them. And now they've come to kick us out of the country you gave us. O dear God, won't you take care of them? We're helpless before this vandal horde ready to attack us. We don't know what to do; we're looking to you."


For Reflection
 
OK! I guess it's time for some controversy.  I have been reading an historical novel about the revolutionary war that centered on a specific battle in Maine. It struck me that both sides, the British and the Americans, evoked the name of God as their champion.  Each was convinced that the same God was on their side. Could it be possible that even though the British lost, both could be right?  Could it be that the American experiment in governance and justice was worth the human sacrifice on all sides?  The UK and the US have reconciled and the United States has been a benchmark for the world.  Can we, like the old testament writers, see God's hand in the Revolutionary War?  Where is God's hand in the present conflict? Does God take sides?

Now we feel helpless before the threat  against a peaceful and just world by war lords in many nations, some of whom evoke the name of God as their champion.  As God's children, how do we respond?

Pray
to be able to see God's will.  Pray that you trust in the will of God even though you are not able to understand it.  Pray to trust in the saving Grace. Pray for God's call and listen to His instruction.

There is None Like God

The Inescapable God
God Reveals
Jeremiah 10:6-10 (The Message)
 ^6-9All this is nothing compared to you, O God.
   You're wondrously great, famously great.
Who can fail to be impressed by you, King of the nations?
   It's your very nature to be worshiped!
Look far and wide among the elite of the nations.
   The best they can come up with is nothing compared to you.
Stupidly, they line them up—a lineup of sticks,
   good for nothing but making smoke.
Gilded with silver foil from Tarshish,
   covered with gold from Uphaz,
Hung with violet and purple fabrics—
   no matter how fancy the sticks, they're still sticks.
 ¹⁰But God is the real thing—
   the living God, the eternal King.
When he's angry, Earth shakes.
   Yes, and the godless nations quake.
 
For Reflection No matter how well you dress it up; no matter how wonderful things you associate with it: no matter how many bobbles or how much bling you add, "The woman named Tomorrow sits with a hairpin in her hair ...and drawls what of it?...and the golden girls came singing: We are the Greatest city, the greatest nation: nothing like us ever was.   ...and the only listeners are...the rats...and the lizards." (Carl Sandburg's Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind)

A grim prediction. that.  But no more grim than the the way we dress up false promises of a brighter tomorrow if we just participate in the latest health fad, blindly accept the latest government fix-it program, or consume the advertiser's product.  To what extent do you rely on the promise of God's offer of salvation?

Pray
for the wisdom to penetrate the false promises for a better life with out God.  Pray for the courage to trust in God's promise.

God Provides Refuge

The Inescapable God
God Reveals Psalm 46:1-7 (the Message)

A Song of the Sons of Korah

 ^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.


For Reflection
 
This psalm is a song of praise and hope.  Praise for the power of God and hope nailed in unfailing trust in God.  Take time today to reaffirm your trust in God. In these troubling times, when war, extremism, and economic uncertainty threaten us.  There is no answer to solve our troubled world but to place trust in God and answer his call for reconciliation.

Pray
for all who suffer in the name of God.  Pray for deliverance from the evils of our times.  Pray for steadfast trust in the Lord.  Pray for eyes open to our loving God's will.

God Before and After Us

The Inescapable God
God Reveals Isaiah 52:7-12 (The Message)

 ^7-10How beautiful on the mountains
   are the feet of the messenger bringing good news,
Breaking the news that all's well,
   proclaiming good times, announcing salvation,
   telling Zion, "Your God reigns!"
Voices! Listen! Your scouts are shouting, thunderclap shouts,
   shouting in joyful unison.
They see with their own eyes
   God coming back to Zion.
Break into song! Boom it out, ruins of Jerusalem:
   "God has comforted his people!
   He's redeemed Jerusalem!"
God has rolled up his sleeves.
   All the nations can see his holy, muscled arm.
Everyone, from one end of the earth to the other,
   sees him at work, doing his salvation work.
 ^11-12Out of here! Out of here! Leave this place!
   Don't look back. Don't contaminate yourselves with plunder.
Just leave, but leave clean. Purify yourselves
   in the process of worship, carrying the holy vessels of God.
But you don't have to be in a hurry.
   You're not running from anybody!
God is leading you out of here,
   and the God of Israel is also your rear guard.
For Reflection "Grab your coats and get your hats.  Leave your worries on the door step. Life can be so sweet on the sunny side of the street....
I used to walk in the shade with my blues on parade. But I'm not afraid. This Rover's crossed over."

I'm not sure that songwriters Dorothy Fields and Jimmy Mchugh had salvation in mind when they wrote these lyrics, but it sort of fits, doesn't it?

Louis Armstrong is one of my favorites. There is great joy and celebration in this early rendition.  In my mind,  the emotion this tune evokes in me is similar to that which is felt when I know that God is near and guiding me.  "Don't look back.  Don't contaminate yourselves with plunder." Think on God's gifts as you listen to Louie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECYuEEzRWdE


Pray
for the joy of knowing God's grace.  Sing His praise.

Our Rescuing God

The Inescapable God
God Reveals
 
2 Corinthians 1:8-11 (The Message)
 ^8-11We don't want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia province. It was so bad we didn't think we were going to make it. We felt like we'd been sent to death row, that it was all over for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he's the God who raises the dead! And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he'll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation—I don't want you in the dark about that either. I can see your faces even now, lifted in praise for God's deliverance of us, a rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part.


For Reflection
Americans pride themselves in being self-made.  We honor those who have "pulled themselves up from their own boot straps."  Maybe it is because that idea is so well embedded in our culture that we have difficult trusting God to get us out of the messes in which we become mired.  Certainly, it is by our action that we unstuck ourselves.  But, it is God that helps us when we have nowhere to turn.

Those who are afflicted with an addiction do not seek and cannot respond to help until they hit rock bottom.  There, in the darkest times of their lives, when frustrated by the fact that they have no other alternatives, they reach for help and can accept it.

Where do you place your trust?  To what are you addicted?  When will you ask for help?

Ask and God will provide.

Pray
for all of us who are addicted.  Pray that we will see the folly of continuing a path that always ends in the same unsatisfying result.  Pray that you will see that to which you are addicted, that which is keeping you from placing full trust in God.   Ask and listen quietly, God is answering you.

Our Comforting God

The Inescapable God
God Reveals
 
2 Corinthians 1:3-7 (The Message)
 ^3-5All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.  ^6-7When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also our hard times. When we see that you're just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know you're going to make it, no doubt about it.


For Reflection One gnawing characteristic of human kind is that we all go through hard times, even those of us who know God and have his counsel.  Suffering hard times tests our mettle and at times we find it difficult to see God standing next to us with His arm aroung our shoulders.  Hard times are not always (like Job) God's doing .  Hard times are always opportunities for growth.  How would we understand those who let hard times get the best of them if we had not experienced suffering? Jesus suffered to show us how God suffers.  We suffer to show others that we understand their suffering.  We suffer with God at our sides so that we can show others the healing, comforting arm of God.

Pray
for those who suffer without knowing that God is at their side.  Pray that you will be a source of help and comfort for those who suffer.

Our Strong Yet Gentle God

The Inescapable God
God Reveals
Isaiah 40:6-11 (The Message)

^6-8A voice says, "Shout!"
   I said, "What shall I shout?"
   "These people are nothing but grass,
   their love fragile as wildflowers.
The grass withers, the wildflowers fade,
   if God so much as puffs on them.
   Aren't these people just so much grass?
True, the grass withers and the wildflowers fade,
   but our God's Word stands firm and forever."
 ^9-11Climb a high mountain, Zion.
   You're the preacher of good news.
Raise your voice. Make it good and loud, Jerusalem.
   You're the preacher of good news.
   Speak loud and clear. Don't be timid!
Tell the cities of Judah,
   "Look! Your God!"
Look at him! God, the Master, comes in power,
   ready to go into action.
He is going to pay back his enemies
   and reward those who have loved him.
Like a shepherd, he will care for his flock,
   gathering the lambs in his arms,
Hugging them as he carries them,
   leading the nursing ewes to good pasture.

.
For Reflection For over 2000 years the word through Christ has had life beyond humanity. It is because each of us believers have, through voice or action, preached the word.  We "preachers" come and go, but the word lives forever.  The Master comes in power through us.  Live a life that spreads the Living Word.  Firm, but gentle, God protects all of us smelly lambs.

This week take time to reflect on your life.  Try to identify the times you think God has worked through you.

Pray
to act in ways that show God you are thankful for his protection.  Pray that all will find refuge in the hugging arms of our Lord.

God's Law Sustains

The Inescapable God
God Reveals Psalm 19:7-14 (The Message)
 ^7-9 The revelation of God is whole
      and pulls our lives together.
   The signposts of God are clear
      and point out the right road.
   The life-maps of God are right,
      showing the way to joy.
   The directions of God are plain
      and easy on the eyes.
   God's reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,
      with a lifetime guarantee.
   The decisions of God are accurate
      down to the nth degree.

 ¹⁰ God's Word is better than a diamond,
      better than a diamond set between emeralds.
   You'll like it better than strawberries in spring,
      better than red, ripe strawberries.

 ^11-14 There's more: God's Word warns us of danger
      and directs us to hidden treasure.
   Otherwise how will we find our way?
      Or know when we play the fool?
   Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!
      Keep me from stupid sins,
      from thinking I can take over your work;
   Then I can start this day sun-washed,
      scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
   These are the words in my mouth;
      these are what I chew on and pray.
   Accept them when I place them
      on the morning altar,
   O God, my Altar-Rock,
      God, Priest-of-My-Altar.

For Reflection
  "A mighty fortress is our god."  The law of God presents an object of meditation.  As all law, it is filled with potential conflicts. As God's instruction, the law instigates obedience, faith in the "rightness" of human decisions, and realization of God's forgiveness.  God's law is perfect, but our attempt to follow it is quite imperfect.  By His grace, our imperfection becomes acceptable.  It is the fact that we practice the law that makes us acceptable, not that we achieve perfection.

Pray
May the words of our mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord our Rock and our Redeemer.

The Law as Covenant

The Inescapable God
God Reveals
Jeremiah 31:31-37 (The Message)
 ^31-32"That's right. The time is coming when I will make a brand-new covenant with Israel and Judah. It won't be a repeat of the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant even though I did my part as their Master." God's Decree.  ^33-34"This is the brand-new covenant that I will make with Israel when the time comes. I will put my law within them—write it on their hearts!—and be their God. And they will be my people. They will no longer go around setting up schools to teach each other about God. They'll know me firsthand, the dull and the bright, the smart and the slow. I'll wipe the slate clean for each of them. I'll forget they ever sinned!" God's Decree.
 ³⁵God's Message, from the God who lights up the day with sun and
   brightens the night with moon and stars,
Who whips the ocean into a billowy froth,
   whose name is God-of-the-Angel-Armies:  ³⁶"If this ordered cosmos ever fell to pieces,
   fell into chaos before me"—God's Decree—
"Then and only then might Israel fall apart
   and disappear as a nation before me."
 ³⁷God's Message:
   "If the skies could be measured with a yardstick
   and the earth explored to its core,
Then and only then would I turn my back on Israel,
   disgusted with all they've done." God's Decree.

For Reflection We are the new covenant.  The new law is written on our hearts. He has forgotten that we have sinned. The law resides in us. Our measure is not the number or value of good deeds we preform. It is rather our response to the law of God that resides in us.  This new covenant will last until the cosmos falls apart. and perhaps beyond.  Literally, to infinity!

Pray
that you realize the potential of God in you. Shout with joy in celebration of the Living God (Or if you are more conservative, grin from ear to ear.)

The Law as Witness

The Inescapable God
God Reveals Deuteronomy 31:19-26 (The Message)
 ^19-21 "But for right now, copy down this song and teach the People of Israel to sing it by heart. They'll have it then as my witness against them. When I bring them into the land that I promised to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey, and they eat and become full and get fat and then begin fooling around with other gods and worshiping them, and then things start falling apart, many terrible things happening, this song will be there with them as a witness to who they are and what went wrong. Their children won't forget this song; they'll be singing it. Don't think I don't know what they are already scheming to do, and they're not even in the land yet, this land I promised them."
 ²² So Moses wrote down this song that very day and taught it to the People of Israel.
 ²³ Then God commanded Joshua son of Nun saying, "Be strong. Take courage. You will lead the People of Israel into the land I promised to give them. And I'll be right there with you."
 ^24-26 After Moses had finished writing down the words of this Revelation in a book, right down to the last word, he ordered the Levites who were responsible for carrying the Chest of the Covenant of God, saying, "Take this Book of Revelation and place it alongside the Chest of the Covenant of God, your God. Keep it there as a witness.
.
For Reflection Do you have a favorite hymn?  Sing it or hum it at least once each day this week. Keep the tune in your mind as a witness to the revelation of the gospel.

Pray
for a singing heart.  Pray that the meaning of the Gospel resides in you and guides your every thought and deed.  Teach this song to children as a living prayer.

The Law as Obedient Love

The Inescapable God
God Reveals Deuteronomy 30:1-10 (The Message)
 ^1-5 Here's what will happen. While you're out among the nations where God has dispersed you and the blessings and curses come in just the way I have set them before you, and you and your children take them seriously and come back to God, your God, and obey him with your whole heart and soul according to everything that I command you today, God, your God, will restore everything you lost; he'll have compassion on you; he'll come back and pick up the pieces from all the places where you were scattered. No matter how far away you end up, God, your God, will get you out of there and bring you back to the land your ancestors once possessed. It will be yours again. He will give you a good life and make you more numerous than your ancestors.  ^6-7 God, your God, will cut away the thick calluses on your heart and your children's hearts, freeing you to love God, your God, with your whole heart and soul and live, really live. God, your God, will put all these curses on your enemies who hated you and were out to get you.
 ^8-9 And you will make a new start, listening obediently to God, keeping all his commandments that I'm commanding you today. God, your God, will outdo himself in making things go well for you: you'll have babies, get calves, grow crops, and enjoy an all-around good life. Yes, God will start enjoying you again, making things go well for you just as he enjoyed doing it for your ancestors.
 ¹⁰ But only if you listen obediently to God, your God, and keep the commandments and regulations written in this Book of Revelation. Nothing halfhearted here; you must return to God, your God, totally, heart and soul, holding nothing back.

For Reflection I have recently acquired a more intimate knowledge of God's work with those who have strayed.  Battered women, homeless, substance abuse and other maladies like poverty and families torn in bitter divorces are lead to the saving grace of God through church centered multi-denominational mission programs. Such experience is evidence that all one has to do is ask and salvation will be given.  The road to salvation is not always an easy one, but it is rewarding.  None of us can avoid the callused scars brought on by living out our humanity. But we all can receive the soothing salve of God's love.

Pray
That you will take the time to listen to God.  Pray for those who need to find a stable set of love rules as those by which God would have us live. Pray that God will use you to to help others live righteous lives. God restores all who ask and repent.

The Law as Revelation

The Inescapable God
God Reveals
 
Deuteronomy 29:25-29 (the Message)
 ^25-28 Your children will answer, "Because they abandoned the Covenant of the God of their ancestors that he made with them after he got them out of Egypt; they went off and worshiped other gods, submitted to gods they'd never heard of before, gods they had no business dealing with. So God's anger erupted against that land and all the curses written in this book came down on it. God, furiously angry, pulled them, roots and all, out of their land and dumped them in another country, as you can see."
 ²⁹ God, our God, will take care of the hidden things but the revealed things are our business. It's up to us and our children to attend to all the terms in this Revelation.

For Reflection What is the Revelation which is spoken of in these passages?  What does it have to say about the sovereignty of God?  What does it have to say about the limits of our sovereignty? How do we attend to the terms of our God's covenant?

Pray
Pray that we repeat the sins of our ancestors. Pray for guidance in obedience to the law of the Covenant.

God's Majesty and Human Dignity

The Inescapable God
God Reveals Psalm 8 (The Message)

A David Psalm

 ¹ God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.

 ² Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;
      toddlers shout the songs
   That drown out enemy talk,
      and silence atheist babble.

 ^3-4 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
      your handmade sky-jewelry,
   Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
      Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
   Why do you bother with us?
      Why take a second look our way?

 ^5-8 Yet we've so narrowly missed being gods,
      bright with Eden's dawn light.
   You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,
      repeated to us your Genesis-charge,
   Made us lords of sheep and cattle,
      even animals out in the wild,
   Birds flying and fish swimming,
      whales singing in the ocean deeps.

 ⁹ God, brilliant Lord,
      your name echoes around the world.

For Reflection Some interpret these lines as a statement of human power. Perhaps it does define the limit of our power as stewards, caretakers, of God's creation; made in the image of God , but not quite God.  Echos of Genesis 1, these passages restate what it means to be made in the image of God.  Humans suffer (as God frequently suffers) in carrying out their responsibilities.  Look to ministry of Jesus to define the what human dominion is intended to be, ruling as a suffering servant.  Think on these passages this weekend.  Make a list of those things that seem to warrant celebrations of your stewardship.

Pray
Offer prayers of praise for the gift of sovereignty.  Pray that you continue to become a more effective suffering servant of the Creator.