Praising God in Word and Life

Jesus Is Lord
Exalting Christ
Proclaiming Christ

Psalm 119:169-176

The Message

^169-176 Let my cry come right into your presence, God;
    provide me with the insight that comes only from your Word.
Give my request your personal attention,
    rescue me on the terms of your promise.
Let praise cascade off my lips;
    after all, you’ve taught me the truth about life!
And let your promises ring from my tongue;
    every order you’ve given is right.
Put your hand out and steady me
    since I’ve chosen to live by your counsel.
I’m homesick, God, for your salvation;
    I love it when you show yourself!
Invigorate my soul so I can praise you well,
    use your decrees to put iron in my soul.
And should I wander off like a lost sheep—seek me!
    I’ll recognize the sound of your voice.

For Reflection

Why does it seem that we give credit to God when things are going well and heap tons of blame on God when things go poorly?  Why, when tragedy strikes, does God become the original born loser?  Perhaps it is because in both cases God is proclaimed as sovereign.

Whether in Praise or Blame, God is honored.  Praise from the grateful lead others to comfort in the hollow of His hand.  Blame provides cause to extend comfort in His name.  God is proclaimed in both cases.  Let every tongue speak the name of God.

Pray

Re-read the psalm verses again.  Believe the words.  Belove God.

Following the Commands of Christ

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
Christ's Love for the Church

1 John 3:18-24

The Message

When We Practice Real Love

^18-20 My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.

^21-24 And friends, once that’s taken care of and we’re no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we’re bold and free before God! We’re able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we’re doing what he said, doing what pleases him. Again, this is God’s command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command. As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us.

For Reflection

Belove God.  Belove Jesus.  Practice love.  End self-debilitating practices.  Live your life deeply in Him.

Pray

that you will thank God every day, every hour, every second that He is in charge of your life.  Pray for courage to rise above the human culture.  Pray for courage to face each day as God intends for you.

Abiding in Christ's Love

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
Christ's Love for the Church

John 15:9-17

The Message

^9-10 “I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.
^11-15 “I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.
¹⁶ “You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.
¹⁷ “But remember the root command: Love one another.

For Reflection

Christ is the reference for all Christian behavior. He asks us to put our lives on the line in love for God, for Him and for each other.  If you know Jesus, you know God and His plans for us.  Live and love as though you know and love God.

Pray

that you will remember to love one another.  Pray that you will study the life of Christ and make His life the goal of your life.

The Example of Jesus Love

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
Christ's Love for the Church

John 13:1-9

The Message

Washing His Disciples’ Feet

13 ^1-2 Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come to leave this world to go to the Father. Having loved his dear companions, he continued to love them right to the end. It was suppertime. The Devil by now had Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, firmly in his grip, all set for the betrayal.

^3-6 Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, “Master, you wash my feet?”
⁷ Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I’m doing, but it will be clear enough to you later.”
⁸ Peter persisted, “You’re not going to wash my feet—ever!”
Jesus said, “If I don’t wash you, you can’t be part of what I’m doing.”
⁹ “Master!” said Peter. “Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!”

For Reflection

One can't remember the birth of Christ with out also remembering the re-birth of Christ.  We celebrate from now to Easter the Christ event -- birth to resurrection.  This image of Christ, humble enough to wash the feet of those whom he loved, this Christ, who offers to cleanse the soul, this Christ who shows us the hope in a transformed live devoted to peace and justice, this Christ who lives to show us the path to reconciliation, this Christ who was to die at the hands of human corruption, fear, and greed, this Christ who was to rise and live again among us, this is the remembrance we celebrate.  This is the remembrance which guides or obedience to God.

Pray

Pray that the Christ event will inspire all people to live God-centered lives.  Pray for your continuing commitment to the Kingdom of God.

God's Gift of Love

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
Christ's Love for the Church

John 3:16-21

The Message

^16-18 “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
^19-21 “This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.”

For Reflection

God loved His divinely created world,  a world which is in perfect harmony and justice.  He sent his Son into our imperfect world of humanly created culture, injustices and strife to show the escape route.  God in Christ promises a better life in the age to come and in the present age.  Beloving God and beloving Jesus is the path into a transformed life which seeks harmony and justice in this world.

Pray

prayers of thanksgiving for the God above all gods who invites us all into reconciliation and life transformed by God's love for us and our love for God.  Pray that in this Advent Season, you will re-commit your self to the present age and participate in the age to come.  Pray for courage and obedience to God.

God is Love

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
Christ's Love for the Church

1 John 4:7-12

The Message

God Is Love

^7-10 My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.

^11-12 My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!

For Reflection

"How can a God of Love allow such tragedies?"  Many have expressed this feeling following the mass murder of children in Newtown Connecticut.  Indeed, this is a question which is impossible to answer.  I don't know.  All over the world people endure tragedy. It is a human condition.  Sometimes the reasons are clear.  Often times they are not.  One can not explain rationally the irrational.

I do know that God weeps with us and comforts us.  He knows that we can over come grief and out of tragedy will rise an awareness of the Spirit moving among the affected replacing despair with hope and scorn with love.  On the eve of Christ's birth, Herod ordered the murder of children, and yet, the Angels sang of joy for the hope for salvation -- a transformed life to be lived in His kingdom on earth.

Pray

that all people touched by evil and tragedy will be comforted.  Pray for those whose suffering motivates rage and derangement.  Pray for those who commit evil acts and perpetuate injustice.  Pray for the enemies of God.

We Have Seen His Glory

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
Live in the Light

John 1:6-14

The Message (MSG)

^6-8 There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light.

^9-13 The Life-Light was the real thing:
    Every person entering Life
    he brings into Light.
He was in the world,
    the world was there through him,
    and yet the world didn’t even notice.
He came to his own people,
    but they didn’t want him.
But whoever did want him,
    who believed he was who he claimed
    and would do what he said,
He made to be their true selves,
    their child-of-God selves.
These are the God-begotten,
    not blood-begotten,
    not flesh-begotten,
    not sex-begotten.

¹⁴ The 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.

For Reflection

God became flesh and dwells among us as Jesus Christ.  Look into the eyes of a believer.  There you will see God. look into the lives of the righteous, there you will see Christ.  Walk among the faithful, there you will find the Spirit.  

Pray

that you will always remember that God is with you; Christ walks beside you and the  Spirit guides you.   

We Have Seen His Star

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
Live in the Light

Matthew 2:1-11

The Message

Scholars from the East

2 ^1-2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory— this was during Herod’s kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, “Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We’re on pilgrimage to worship him.”

^3-4 When word of their inquiry got to Herod, he was terrified—and not Herod alone, but most of Jerusalem as well. Herod lost no time. He gathered all the high priests and religion scholars in the city together and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
^5-6 They told him, “Bethlehem, Judah territory. The prophet Micah wrote it plainly:

It’s you, Bethlehem, in Judah’s land,
    no longer bringing up the rear.
From you will come the leader
    who will shepherd-rule my people, my Israel.”

^7-8 Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, “Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship.”

^9-10 Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!
¹¹ They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.

For Reflection

Instructed by the King but comissioned by God, these men protected the Christ.  We, instructed by God, must be obedient only to Him.  

Pray

That you, in gratitude to the living God, will be obedient to Hiis will. 

Be Careful How You Live

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
Live in the Light

Ephesians 5:15-20

The Message

^11-16 Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.

Wake up from your sleep,
Climb out of your coffins;
Christ will show you the light!

So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!

¹⁷ Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.
^18-20 Don’t drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ.

For Reflection

I am going to borrow a phrase from Janet Chisom, our associate pastor.  "How does repentance look?"  It looks like you act.  How does righteousness look?  It, too, looks like you act.  It looks like the choices you make.  It looks like the actions of one who hopes for the realization of God's Kingdom.

Pray

that you avoid a careless life.  Pray for the wisdom to embrace those actions which are consistent with your faith.  Pray so that you can embrace God-centered choices.

Putting Away the Old Ways

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
Live in the Light

Ephesians 4:25-32

The Message

²⁵ What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.
^26-27 Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.
²⁸ Did you use to make ends meet by stealing? Well, no more! Get an honest job so that you can help others who can’t work.
²⁹ Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.
³⁰ Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.
^31-32 Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.

For Reflection

OK!  This is not hard.  Tell the truth. Avoid anger that leads to revenge. Be honest, Cut the potty mouth. Live as the Spirit moves you. Be gentle, sensitive and forgiving.

Pray

that you will strive for patience, hope for righteousness, and live for god's promise.

The Way of Darkness

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
Live in the Light

Ephesians 4:17-24

The Message

The Old Way Has to Go

^17-19 And so I insist—and God backs me up on this—that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. They’ve refused for so long to deal with God that they’ve lost touch not only with God but with reality itself. They can’t think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion.

^20-24 But that’s no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.

For Reflection

We live in a New Testament world -- in the hollow of God's hand, loved, protected, and guided in His grace.  He speaks to each of us individually.  He offers a choice.  Shall we choose to follow contemporary culture or the culture of the Kingdom of God. He offers us a new life in Him.  How much of the old life do you still hang on to?  What  is it that you can not let go?  How does that seduce you away from the life in God which you have chosen?

Pray

that you will give up on modern cultural expectations and give in to the culture of God's Kingdom.  Pray that you will place your life in God's hands.  Pray for the trust and courage to risk a God-centered life.

One Body

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
One in Jesus Christ

Romans 12:3-8

The Message (MSG)

³ I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.
^4-6 In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.
^6-8 If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face. 

For Reflection

Praise God for the talents He has given you.  Each is unique.  Each is of equal value in God's eyes.  Each is to be valued equally by each other.

 Pray

that you will use the talents in gratitude for God's gifts and grace.  Pray that others will recognize the talents God has given to them and use them in the fulfillment of God's Kingdom on Earth.

One in Spirit

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
One in Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 12:4-13

The Message

^4-11 God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:

wise counsel
clear understanding
simple trust
healing the sick
miraculous acts
proclamation
distinguishing between spirits
tongues
interpretation of tongues.

All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.

^12-13 You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.

For Reflection

Why is it that we often fear that which is different?  Does our arm out of fear, ridicule our hand for having fingers?  Do we hold our finger nails to a higher standard because we fear they may end as poorly as our thumb nails?

Do we speak ill of our heart because it behaves differently than our lungs?  Do we ostracize our brain because we don't fully understand it?

Of course not.  In fact to pose these questions seems silly.  Then, why do we do we not find it silly to evaluate others according to their talents, or social status, or wealth, or philosophy or religion, or political positions, or color of their skin, or country of origin, or hair color, or size, or culture or ...?

If God sees no significant difference in these things, why should we?  If God distributes talents to all people why should we denigrate those whose talents and purpose we cannot understand?

Pray

that you will remember that we are all made in the image of God.  Thank God for the differences that fulfill His intentions for His Kingdom.  Praise God for the unique talents He has given you.  Pray that ail people will see God, the father, the spirit and the son in each life they encounter.  Pray that you will love those who cannot see God in themselves.

One God

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
One in Jesus Christ

Exodus 20:1-7

The Message 

20 ^1-2 God spoke all these words:

I am God, your God,
    who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
    out of a life of slavery.

³ No other gods, only me.

^4-6 No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever, whether of things that fly or walk or swim. Don’t bow down to them and don’t serve them because I am God, your God, and I’m a most jealous God, punishing the children for any sins their parents pass on to them to the third, and yes, even to the fourth generation of those who hate me. But I’m unswervingly loyal to the thousands who love me and keep my commandments.

⁷ No using the name of God, your God, in curses or silly banter; God won’t put up with the irreverent use of his name.

For Reflection

We are plagued by so many gods (ambition, wealth, position, acceptance, greed, etc.).  You could name hundreds more. They are so ubiquitous in our culture that we are unaware that we are seduced by these.  Let us not speak the god speak of wealth, acceptance, or any of the other culture born gods.  Speak the vocabulary of God.  Speak love.  Speak obedience. Speak in witness to God.

Pray

that you will recognize the false gods that seduce you away from the one God to whom you owe your life and your ability to love.  Pray that your loyalty to God will give you strength of will to be obedient only to God's will.

One Faith

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
One in Jesus Christ

Philippians 1:27-30

The Message 

^27-30 Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ. Let nothing in your conduct hang on whether I come or not. Your conduct must be the same whether I show up to see things for myself or hear of it from a distance. Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people’s trust in the Message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest before the opposition. Your courage and unity will show them what they’re up against: defeat for them, victory for you—and both because of God. There’s far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There’s also suffering for him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting. You’re involved in the same kind of struggle you saw me go through, on which you are now getting an updated report in this letter.

For Reflection

No one knows when the second coming of Christ will take place.  Some believe that the second coming is metaphoric, that it occurs when one believes and acts like a child of God.  It is the time when one recognizes the presence of the Spirit within and is obedient to that call.

God lived, loved, suffered, and died as a human in Christ.  We too, live, love, suffer and die.  As Christ was not alone, we are not alone.  We are free, as Christ was, to choose a God-centered path.  How are you choosing to live your life?

Pray

prayers of thanksgiving tor the opportunity to choose righteousness.  Pray that all people will recognize the Spirit in them and follow it's whispers.  Pray that you will always singular in message and vision.  Pray for the courage to trust in God.

One in Christ Jesus

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
One in Jesus Christ

Galatians 3:23-29

The Message (MSG)

^23-24 Until the time when we were mature enough to respond freely in faith to the living God, we were carefully surrounded and protected by the Mosaic law. The law was like those Greek tutors, with which you are familiar, who escort children to school and protect them from danger or distraction, making sure the children will really get to the place they set out for.
^25-27 But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ’s life, the fulfillment of God’s original promise.

In Christ’s Family

^28-29 In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ’s family, then you are Abraham’s famous “descendant,” heirs according to the covenant promises.

For Reflection

In the image of God we were designed to mature.  God granted the blessing and curse of freedom.  A curse, because we could turn away from God.  A blessing because we could choose to follow God's intentions for His creation.

Like good parents treat their children, God gave us limits and rules establishing standards for our behavior.  As teenagers often do, we matured to young adulthood when rules were no longer understood in absolute terms.  We began to understand both the strength in the law and its limitations.  God saw it was time to change strategies.  So, through Jesus Christ, God demonstrated how love moderates the rules.  He then treated us as individuals guiding and whispering to each of us -- a direct and personal relationship.

We are still trying to grow into adult relationships with God.  It is sometimes hard.  However, it is always worth the struggle.  God is the head of our family, a mentor and friend who will never forsake us.

Pray

that you will fill the robes of adulthood in the image of Jesus Christ.  That you will always remember that you are a welcome and equal member in the household of God.  Thank God for His devotion to you . Pray that you will remain obedient to God's will.

Discovering the Gift of Salvation

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
One in Jesus Christ

Ephesians 2:1-10

The Message

He Tore Down the Wall

2 ^1-6 It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.

^7-10 Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

For Reflection

Remember this, "...the world doesn't know the first thing about living..."  (This is the only way I know how to shout on paper.)  Difficulty always arises when one's faith bashes up against the rocks of modern life.  We all have scars from those encounters.  Yet, many times we succumb to the pressures of our culture and place greater value on it than on our God-centered culture.  It is not easy to deny the world's pressures to avoid Godly paths.

However, the reward in doing so is great.  God will do the making and the saving. Oh, what a relief it is!

Pray

that you will give up on modern cultural expectations and give in to the culture of God's Kingdom.  Pray that you will place your life in God's hands.  Pray for the trust and courage to risk a God-centered life.

Praying for Spiritual Power

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
One in Jesus Christ

Ephesians 3:14-21

The Message

^14-19 My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

^20-21 God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

For Reflection

If witness is the core of Christian action, prayer is the core of Christian preparation.  Re-read verses 14-19.  listen with great care to Paul's confession which under girds his prayer for intercession. 

Pray

that you will get down on your knees and confess your weaknesses before God.  Pray for strength of spirit. Ask God to lead you to a grounded faith formed by study, prayer and expression. Pray for the courage to experience the breadth, length, depth and heights of a life lived in the fullness of God's hands.  Sing Hallelujah!

Making Known the Wisdom of God

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
One in Jesus Christ

Ephesians 3:7-13

The Message

^7-8 This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God’s way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.
^8-10 And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!
^11-13 All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we’re free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don’t let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud!

For Reflection

God hands us all manner of gifts.  With those gifts we are both blessed and charged with the task to use these gifts in obedience to God's will. 

It is sometimes a surprise that those gifts with which one is most uncomfortable are often the gifts God wants one to use the most.  Paul had the gift of a brilliant mind and an ability to engage others.  God also lead him to education and position.  When it was time, He asked Saul to be reborn into Paul and speak of things formally unknown to him.  Even though Paul knew he was doing and writing about that which he knew little, he was obedient to God and God made the unknowable plain.

In Christ the truth is knowable.  Walk in the path God has set for you and He will work His mystery in and through you.

Pray

for the courage to follow Gods will in your life.  Pray that you will respond to God's direction when His secret agenda for you is revealed.  Pray that you will trust in Him, say what needs to be said, and bold in the journeys God sets before you.

Sharing in the Promise

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
One in Jesus Christ

Ephesians 3:1-6

The Message

The Secret Plan of God

3 ^1-3 This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you’re familiar with the part I was given in God’s plan for including everybody. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just wrote you in brief.

^4-6 As you read over what I have written to you, you’ll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God’s Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I’ve been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.

For Reflection

All of us are invited into the mystery that is God.  Now, in our time, God has opened the mysteries of His Kingdom for all who are willing to exchange their self-centered lives for lives centered in the grace of God.  God invites us all to participate in his promise.  Our reward is hopeful expectations.

Pray

prayers of thanksgiving for God's invitation to salvation.  Pray that all people will witness, understand, accept and practice the power and grace in obedience to God's will.

Reviving the Humble and Contrite

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
One in Jesus Christ

Isaiah 57:14-21

The Message

¹⁴ Someone says: “Build, build! Make a road!
    Clear the way, remove the rocks
    from the road my people will travel.”

^15-21 A Message from the high and towering God,
    who lives in Eternity,
    whose name is Holy:
“I live in the high and holy places,
    but also with the low-spirited, the spirit-crushed,
And what I do is put new spirit in them,
    get them up and on their feet again.
For I’m not going to haul people into court endlessly,
    I’m not going to be angry forever.
Otherwise, people would lose heart.
    These souls I created would tire out and give up.
I was angry, good and angry, because of Israel’s sins.
    I struck him hard and turned away in anger,
    while he kept at his stubborn, willful ways.
When I looked again and saw what he was doing,
    I decided to heal him, lead him, and comfort him,
    creating a new language of praise for the mourners.
Peace to the far-off, peace to the near-at-hand,” says God—
    “and yes, I will heal them.
But the wicked are storm-battered seas
    that can’t quiet down.
    The waves stir up garbage and mud.
There’s no peace,” God says, “for the wicked.”

For Reflection

He lives in the elite realms of our societies.  He lives in the bowels of the earth.  He, living in each of us recreates each of us anew.

He leads us to comfort, healing and peace in the midst of our churned up garbage and mud.  The wicked are locked, hopelessly, in a stormy sea of their own making. Yet in that boiling mess, God's hand reaches in to offer new life in grace. 

Pray

for those who know no peace.  Pray for all who know God to humble themselves and know the peace an obedient life can bring.

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
Spiritual Blessings in Jesus Christ

Luke 1:67-79

The Message

^67-79 Then Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
    he came and set his people free.
He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives,
    and in the very house of David his servant,
Just as he promised long ago
    through the preaching of his holy prophets:
Deliverance from our enemies
    and every hateful hand;
Mercy to our fathers,
    as he remembers to do what he said he’d do,
What he swore to our father Abraham—
    a clean rescue from the enemy camp,
So we can worship him without a care in the world,
    made holy before him as long as we live.
And you, my child, “Prophet of the Highest,”
    will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,
Present the offer of salvation to his people,
    the forgiveness of their sins.
Through the heartfelt mercies of our God,
    God’s Sunrise will break in upon us,
Shining on those in the darkness,
    those sitting in the shadow of death,
Then showing us the way, one foot at a time,
    down the path of peace.

For Reflection

The path of peace is within your grasp.  All that is necessary is that you believe.

Pray

that your belief in God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit will grow stronger each day.  Pray that you will believe that your sins and the sins of the world are forgiven.  Pray that all people will realize that God offers a new beginning each second; each hour; each day.

Blessed by the Word of Truth

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
Spiritual Blessings in Jesus Christ

Colossians 1:3-8

The Message

Working in His Orchard

^3-5 Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgivings. We can’t quit thanking God our Father and Jesus our Messiah for you! We keep getting reports on your steady faith in Christ, our Jesus, and the love you continuously extend to all Christians. The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope.

^5-8 The Message is as true among you today as when you first heard it. It doesn’t diminish or weaken over time. It’s the same all over the world. The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you. From the very first day you heard and recognized the truth of what God is doing, you’ve been hungry for more. It’s as vigorous in you now as when you learned it from our friend and close associate Epaphras. He is one reliable worker for Christ! I could always depend on him. He’s the one who told us how thoroughly love had been worked into your lives by the Spirit.

For Reflection

We often think of prayer as intercessory on behalf of others or for ourselves.  Think for a moment what prayer does for you.  In the act of praying, we indicate our commitment to our faith.  Frequent praying over all things, great and small, reinforces our faith and enables us to see God's hand more clearly.  Offer prayers of thanksgiving often. It is the act of praying that multiplies and strengthens your lines of purpose in the Kingdom of God.

Pray

Pray often.  Pray several times a day just for the little things that go well.  Pray so that you will assign to God all of you blessings.  Pray so that you will be able to see God more clearly at work in your life.

Blessed by God's Revelation

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
Spiritual Blessings in Jesus Christ

Daniel 2:17-23

The Message

^17-18 Daniel then went home and told his companions Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what was going on. He asked them to pray to the God of heaven for mercy in solving this mystery so that the four of them wouldn’t be killed along with the whole company of Babylonian wise men.

Dream Interpretation: A Story of Five Kingdoms

^19-23 That night the answer to the mystery was given to Daniel in a vision. Daniel blessed the God of heaven, saying,

“Blessed be the name of God,
    forever and ever.
He knows all, does all:
    He changes the seasons and guides history,
He raises up kings and also brings them down,
    he provides both intelligence and discernment,
He opens up the depths, tells secrets,
    sees in the dark—light spills out of him!
God of all my ancestors, all thanks! all praise!
    You made me wise and strong.
And now you’ve shown us what we asked for.
    You’ve solved the king’s mystery.”

For Reflection

If you think about it, I am sure that you will realize that you, like Daniel, have also had dream visions.  Oh, you may not ascribe these problem solving visions to God, as Daniel did, but you have had the experience of awakening knowing what needed to be done to solve a problem that has been tormenting you.  Scientists ascribe such phenomenon to the natural function of the brain during sleep and note that it is not uncommon.

The science, while it may be a rational explanation and fully supported by neurological data, is not the most important point.  Daniel thanked God for the blessing of the solution.  It was Daniel's faith that led him to interpret the dream and assign its revelation to God.  And so can we, even in this age of science and reason, thank God for the Dream State. 

Pray

that you, convinced that God will help you, will wake to new and God-centered solutions.  Pray that you will always remember to thank God for His revelations however they arrive.  Praise Him because He made you capable of discernment, judgment, and wisdom.

Blessed by God's Gift of Grace

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
Spiritual Blessings in Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 1:4-9

The Message

^4-6 Every time I think of you—and I think of you often!—I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There’s no end to what has happened in you—it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives.
^7-9 Just think—you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that.

For Reflection

If God never gives up on you, why, then, would you ever give up on yourself?  the only one that limits your practice of the Way, is you.  Have confidence.  Have trust.  Have courage.  God will go it with you.

Pray

that you will have the confidence to walk the path that God intends for you.  Pray that you will live as though you bask in the grace of God.  Pray that others will see God's grace at word through you.

Blessing by God's Forgiveness

Jesus Is Lord
Victory in Jesus
Spiritual Blessings in Jesus Christ

Psalm 32:1-7

The Message

A David Psalm

32 Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be—
    you get a fresh start,
    your slate’s wiped clean.

² Count yourself lucky—
    God holds nothing against you
    and you’re holding nothing back from him.

³ When I kept it all inside,
    my bones turned to powder,
    my words became daylong groans.

⁴ The pressure never let up;
    all the juices of my life dried up.

⁵ Then I let it all out;
    I said, “I’ll make a clean breast of my failures to God.”

Suddenly the pressure was gone—
    my guilt dissolved,
    my sin disappeared.

⁶ These things add up. Every one of us needs to pray;
    when all hell breaks loose and the dam bursts
    we’ll be on high ground, untouched.

⁷ God’s my island hideaway,
    keeps danger far from the shore,
    throws garlands of hosannas around my neck.

For Reflection

In this season of Advent, remember that we celebrate the truth of God's love for us incarnate in our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Christ is the sign of the truth of God's desire to be one with Him. It is the flesh and blood presence of His unconditional love.  The Christ event frees us all.

Pray

that you will always remember the sacrifice God made to convince you of his truth.  Pray that you will never forget that your sins are wiped away by His grace.  Pray for all people that they may know the sanctuary that is our God.

We Would Like to Hear

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Paul Evangelizes in Rome

Acts 28:16-22

The Message

^14-16 And then we came to Rome. Friends in Rome heard we were on the way and came out to meet us. One group got as far as Appian Court; another group met us at Three Taverns—emotion-packed meetings, as you can well imagine. Paul, brimming over with praise, led us in prayers of thanksgiving. When we actually entered Rome, they let Paul live in his own private quarters with a soldier who had been assigned to guard him.
^17-20 Three days later, Paul called the Jewish leaders together for a meeting at his house. He said, “The Jews in Jerusalem arrested me on trumped-up charges, and I was taken into custody by the Romans. I assure you that I did absolutely nothing against Jewish laws or Jewish customs. After the Romans investigated the charges and found there was nothing to them, they wanted to set me free, but the Jews objected so fiercely that I was forced to appeal to Caesar. I did this not to accuse them of any wrongdoing or to get our people in trouble with Rome. We’ve had enough trouble through the years that way. I did it for Israel. I asked you to come and listen to me today to make it clear that I’m on Israel’s side, not against her. I’m a h'ostage here for hope, not doom.”
^21-22 They said, “Nobody wrote warning us about you. And no one has shown up saying anything bad about you. But we would like very much to hear more. The only thing we know about this Christian sect is that nobody seems to have anything good to say about it.”

For Reflection

In spite of the criticism, in spite of the lies, in spite of the manipulations by conspirators who strike out of self-interest, in spite of those who misinterpret the gospel, there are those who clamor to hear. Are you ready to hear the truth?  Are you ready to tell the truth?  Are you ready to live the truth?

Pray

that you ready to hear and understand the truth that under-girds the gospel.  Pray that you will be be ready to witness to the truth.