The Messiah Will Reign Forever

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus and the Davidic Covenant
An Eternal Kingdom

Revelation 11:15-19

The Message

The Last Trumpet Sounds

^15-18 The seventh Angel trumpeted. A crescendo of voices in Heaven sang out,

The kingdom of the world is now
    the Kingdom of our God and his Messiah!
He will rule forever and ever!

The Twenty-four Elders seated before God on their thrones fell to their knees, worshiped, and sang,

We thank you, O God, Sovereign-Strong,
    Who Is and Who Was.
You took your great power
    and took over—reigned!
The angry nations now
    get a taste of your anger.
The time has come to judge the dead,
    to reward your servants, all prophets and saints,
Reward small and great who fear your Name,
    and destroy the destroyers of earth.

¹⁹ The doors of God’s Temple in Heaven flew open, and the Ark of his Covenant was clearly seen surrounded by flashes of lightning, loud shouts, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a fierce hailstorm.

 
For Reflection

God's Kingdom has always been, is now and will continue to be.  It is like stepping from one universe into another.  It takes courage to pass through the needles eye, but having arrived, all things good are possible.  We are all only one step away from transformation.  We all are only one step away from a righteous existence. We all are only on step away from the unbounded joy of basking in the brilliance of the Lord.  We are only one step away from the wisdom to judge the living from the dead, to see life as God sees it.

We all are invited to get in step with God.  All we have to do is say yes, and commit ourselves to the service of God.

 

Pray

God's Steadfast Love and Faithfulness

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus and the Davidic Covenant
An Eternal Kingdom

Psalm 98

The Message

98 Sing to God a brand-new song.
He’s made a world of wonders!

He rolled up his sleeves,
He set things right.

² God made history with salvation,
He showed the world what he could do.

³ He remembered to love us, a bonus
To his dear family, Israel—indefatigable love.

The whole earth comes to attention.
Look—God’s work of salvation!

⁴ Shout your praises to God, everybody!
Let loose and sing! Strike up the band!

⁵ Round up an orchestra to play for God,
Add on a hundred-voice choir.

⁶ Feature trumpets and big trombones,
Fill the air with praises to King God.

⁷ Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause,
With everything living on earth joining in.

⁸ Let ocean breakers call out, “Encore!”
And mountains harmonize the finale—

⁹ A tribute to God when he comes,
When he comes to set the earth right.

He’ll straighten out the whole world,
He’ll put the world right, and everyone in it.

 
For Reflection

Every prayer should begin with an acknowledgment of God's power and praise as mighty as clashing cymbals.  God as been faithful to His promises.  God's compassion shows the depth of His love.  How can one move through God's creation and not vibrate in the womb of His righteousness.

 

Pray

prayers of praise and thanksgiving.  Pray with song and dance. Pray with your commitment and service to God's household.

God's Heritage

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus and the Davidic Covenant
An Eternal Kingdom

Psalm 94:8-15

The Message

^8-11 Well, think again, you idiots,
    fools—how long before you get smart?
Do you think Ear-Maker doesn’t hear,
    Eye-Shaper doesn’t see?
Do you think the trainer of nations doesn’t correct,
    the teacher of Adam doesn’t know?
God knows, all right—
    knows your stupidity,
    sees your shallowness.

^12-15 How blessed the man you train, God,
    the woman you instruct in your Word,
Providing a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil,
    while a jail is being built for the wicked.
God will never walk away from his people,
    never desert his precious people.
Rest assured that justice is on its way
    and every good heart put right.

 
For Reflection

Just as a child who covers his eyes with his hands thinking that he cannot be seen, many of us deny God when the evidence surrounds us. There are prophets who we are unwilling to hear.  There are witnesses we refuse to believe.  There are spirits we are unwilling to touch.  There is the blood of Christ we unwilling to taste; signs and fingerprints to which we are blind. Blessed are those who quietly work for compassion and justice.

 

Pray

for those who are willing to be heard.  Pray for those who are willing to be touched.  Pray for those whose spirit is undeniable.  Pray for those who hear but do not listen, who see but do not comprehend, and who experience but are afraid to accept.

An Eternal Throne

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus and the Davidic Covenant
An Eternal Kingdom

Psalm 45:1-9

The Message

A Wedding Song of the Sons of Korah

45 My heart bursts its banks,
    spilling beauty and goodness.
I pour it out in a poem to the king,
    shaping the river into words:

^2-4 “You’re the handsomest of men;
    every word from your lips is sheer grace,
    and God has blessed you, blessed you so much.
Strap your sword to your side, warrior!
    Accept praise! Accept due honor!
    Ride majestically! Ride triumphantly!
Ride on the side of truth!
    Ride for the righteous meek!

^4-5 “Your instructions are glow-in-the-dark;
    you shoot sharp arrows
Into enemy hearts; the king’s
    foes lie down in the dust, beaten.

^6-7 “Your throne is God’s throne,
    ever and always;
The scepter of your royal rule
    measures right living.
You love the right
    and hate the wrong.
And that is why God, your very own God,
    poured fragrant oil on your head,
Marking you out as king
    from among your dear companions.

^8-9 “Your ozone-drenched garments
    are fragrant with mountain breeze.
Chamber music—from the throne room—
    makes you want to dance.
Kings’ daughters are maids in your court,
    the Bride glittering with golden jewelry.

 
For Reflection

For as much as we love each other, we should love God many times more.  Loving God more than any thing in our presence is a guard against being pulled away from God and toward the temporal present.  Love the right and hate the wrong will please God and you will want to dance in God's presence.

 

Pray

that your love for God will become impenetrable armor against the matters of the present world.

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus and the Davidic Covenant
An Eternal Kingdom

Psalm 2

The Message

2 ^1-6 Why the big noise, nations?
Why the mean plots, peoples?
Earth-leaders push for position,
Demagogues and delegates meet for summit talks,
The God-deniers, the Messiah-defiers:
“Let’s get free of God!
Cast loose from Messiah!”
Heaven-throned God breaks out laughing.
At first he’s amused at their presumption;
Then he gets good and angry.
Furiously, he shuts them up:
“Don’t you know there’s a King in Zion? A coronation banquet
Is spread for him on the holy summit.”

^7-9 Let me tell you what God said next.
He said, “You’re my son,
And today is your birthday.
What do you want? Name it:
Nations as a present? continents as a prize?
You can command them all to dance for you,
Or throw them out with tomorrow’s trash.”

^10-12 So, rebel-kings, use your heads;
Upstart-judges, learn your lesson:
Worship God in adoring embrace,
Celebrate in trembling awe. Kiss Messiah!
Your very lives are in danger, you know;
His anger is about to explode,
But if you make a run for God—you won’t regret it!

For Reflection

Why is it that we humans think that we are in charge, that we can possess the world, that we can control our destinies?  Have we learned nothing from our past?  Dominators and domination systems have always failed.  Attack after attack on the righteous have failed to thwart God's plan for reconciling humans to God. The Kingdom of God has been, is now and will be.  

Pray

Pray for the tyrants so they will see the wisdom in righteousness.  Pray for the persecuted so that they will find hope in the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Pray for the martyrs whose courage inspires us.

Control Your Speech

Jesus and the Just Reign of God
Live Justly in the Reign of God
Control Your Speech

James 3:1-12

The Message

When You Open Your Mouth

3 ^1-2 Don’t be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards. And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you’d have a perfect person, in perfect control of life.

^3-5 A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!
^5-6 It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.
^7-10 This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue—it’s never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!
^10-12 My friends, this can’t go on. A spring doesn’t gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don’t bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don’t bear apples, do they? You’re not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?

 
For Reflection

We all teach, formally or informally, in words or in action.  The rhyme, "Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me." has never been true.  Words hurt.  Words cause violent acts.  Words cause wars.  Words dehumanize us.

Words can also up lift us.  Words can be an instrument of love, justice and compassion.  Our words should express our treatment of people who are made in the likeness of God.  Speak with love in the best interest of all. Use words that give evidence to the goodness of the Spirit who resides in you.

Micah 6:8

Authorized (King James) Version

⁸ He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good;
and what doth the Lord require of thee,
but to do justly, and to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with thy God?

 

Pray

that your words will reflect the goodness in you.  Pray that you will go forth in the spirit of the Living God and do justice, love kindness, and walk in humility with God.

Words Guided by Wisdom

Jesus and the Just Reign of God
Live Justly in the Reign of God
Control Your Speech

Proverbs 18:2-13

The Message

² Fools care nothing for thoughtful discourse;
    all they do is run off at the mouth.

³ When wickedness arrives, shame’s not far behind;
    contempt for life is contemptible.

⁴ Many words rush along like rivers in flood,
    but deep wisdom flows up from artesian springs.

⁵ It’s not right to go easy on the guilty,
    or come down hard on the innocent.

⁶ The words of a fool start fights;
    do him a favor and gag him.

⁷ Fools are undone by their big mouths;
    their souls are crushed by their words.

⁸ Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy;
    do you really want junk like that in your belly?

⁹ Slack habits and sloppy work
    are as bad as vandalism.

¹⁰ God’s name is a place of protection—
    good people can run there and be safe.

¹¹ The rich think their wealth protects them;
    they imagine themselves safe behind it.

¹² Pride first, then the crash,
    but humility is precursor to honor.

¹³ Answering before listening
    is both stupid and rude.

 
For Reflection

On television, radio, in printed media and the unaccountable and too numerous internet sites, we are bombarded with self-serving babble, innuendo, inference, half truths and outright lies.  Truths are argued in technical language only a few can fully comprehend.  Words and images are capable of great harm and great good.  Today, as perhaps never before we are faced uncountable numbers of information and so few references for understanding.  We seem to be caught in a whirlpool of of babble.

Words are sacred.  This realization is crucial -- even more so in an increasingly secular society.  Of course we need to watch our words so that they do no harm.  But we also have a responsibility to judge the words and actions of others so that we are not caught up in the truthlessness of our culture where say anything to achieve an end is common place.  God provides the standards for measuring truth and acting in truth.  Does the message lead to justice?  Does it reveal compassion?  Is it merciful?  Does the communication meet the standard of liberty, love others as you do love yourself. Does the message lead us toward the God of our faith, or does it separate us from the Kingdom of God?

Pray

for the wisdom to separate the Godly intentions from the unGodly.  Pray for those whose talk is self-serving at the expense of others.  Pray that your talk is filled with God-centered love and humility. Pray that God will help you hold your words sacred in God's service.

Words That Lead to Worship

Jesus and the Just Reign of God
Live Justly in the Reign of God
Control Your Speech

Genesis 24:42-54

The Message

^42-44 “Well, when I came this very day to the spring, I prayed, ‘God, God of my master Abraham, make things turn out well in this task I’ve been given. I’m standing at this well. When a young woman comes here to draw water and I say to her, Please, give me a sip of water from your jug, and she says, Not only will I give you a drink, I’ll also water your camels—let that woman be the wife God has picked out for my master’s son.’
^45-48 “I had barely finished offering this prayer, when Rebekah arrived, her jug on her shoulder. She went to the spring and drew water and I said, ‘Please, can I have a drink?’ She didn’t hesitate. She held out her jug and said, ‘Drink; and when you’re finished I’ll also water your camels.’ I drank, and she watered the camels. I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel whose parents were Nahor and Milcah.’ I gave her a ring for her nose, bracelets for her arms, and bowed in worship to God. I praised God, the God of my master Abraham who had led me straight to the door of my master’s family to get a wife for his son.
⁴⁹ “Now, tell me what you are going to do. If you plan to respond with a generous yes, tell me. But if not, tell me plainly so I can figure out what to do next.”
^50-51 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is totally from God. We have no say in the matter, either yes or no. Rebekah is yours: Take her and go; let her be the wife of your master’s son, as God has made plain.”
^52-54 When Abraham’s servant heard their decision, he bowed in worship before God. Then he brought out gifts of silver and gold and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive gifts to her brother and mother. He and his men had supper and spent the night. But first thing in the morning they were up. He said, “Send me back to my master.”

 
For Reflection

God provides. You can count on it.  Prayer is answered.  God's will for you will become realized.  Have trust. Have courage. Have patience.  Wait on the Lord.  God provides what we need.

 

Pray

for that which is needed.  Pray for confidence in God.  Pray for courage and patience.  Pray that you will respond to God, who gives unconditionally by offering your self as a living sacrifice to God's promise.

Words That Lead to Mourning

Jesus and the Just Reign of God
Live Justly in the Reign of God
Control Your Speech

Nehemiah 1

The Message

1 ^1-2 The memoirs of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah.

It was the month of Kislev in the twentieth year. At the time I was in the palace complex at Susa. Hanani, one of my brothers, had just arrived from Judah with some fellow Jews. I asked them about the conditions among the Jews there who had survived the exile, and about Jerusalem.
³ They told me, “The exile survivors who are left there in the province are in bad shape. Conditions are appalling. The wall of Jerusalem is still rubble; the city gates are still cinders.”
⁴ When I heard this, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God-of-Heaven.

^5-6 I said, “God, God-of-Heaven, the great and awesome God, loyal to his covenant and faithful to those who love him and obey his commands: Look at me, listen to me. Pay attention to this prayer of your servant that I’m praying day and night in intercession for your servants, the People of Israel, confessing the sins of the People of Israel. And I’m including myself, I and my ancestors, among those who have sinned against you.

^7-9 “We’ve treated you like dirt: We haven’t done what you told us, haven’t followed your commands, and haven’t respected the decisions you gave to Moses your servant. All the same, remember the warning you posted to your servant Moses: ‘If you betray me, I’ll scatter you to the four winds, but if you come back to me and do what I tell you, I’ll gather up all these scattered peoples from wherever they ended up and put them back in the place I chose to mark with my Name.’
^10-11 “Well, there they are—your servants, your people whom you so powerfully and impressively redeemed. O Master, listen to me, listen to your servant’s prayer—and yes, to all your servants who delight in honoring you—and make me successful today so that I get what I want from the king.”
I was cupbearer to the king.

 
For Reflection

It has been a bad news week.  I empathize with Nehemiah.  It has been one of those times when raw bones of humanity break through the smooth skin of a peaceful life and remind us of our humanity.  Shock and sadness mixed with remembered joy spur guilt and regret.  God makes life at these times bearable.  Confession and prayers of intersession comfort us. 

Pray

for all those who mourn.  Pray that those wounded by life's armament will find solace and hope in the promise of everlasting life. 

Lying and Flattering

Jesus and the Just Reign of God
Live Justly in the Reign of God
Control Your Speech

Psalm 12

The Message

A David Psalm

12 ^1-2 Quick, God, I need your helping hand!
The last decent person just went down,
All the friends I depended on gone.
Everyone talks in lie language;
Lies slide off their oily lips.
They doubletalk with forked tongues.

^3-4 Slice their lips off their faces! Pull
The braggart tongues from their mouths!
I’m tired of hearing, “We can talk anyone into anything!
Our lips manage the world.”

⁵ Into the hovels of the poor,
Into the dark streets where the homeless groan, God speaks:
“I’ve had enough; I’m on my way
To heal the ache in the heart of the wretched.”

^6-8 God’s words are pure words,
Pure silver words refined seven times
In the fires of his word-kiln,
Pure on earth as well as in heaven.
God, keep us safe from their lies,
From the wicked who stalk us with lies,
From the wicked who collect honors
For their wonderful lies.

 
For Reflection

With so much lying, flattery and half-truths rampant in our society, who can you believe?  Once the lie is told, once the empty flattery is discovered, and the half-truths revealed, how do we learn to trust?  This is the evil in the lie.  This is the false image in the flattery.  This is the seduction in the half-truth. 

Pray

"that our God will make you fit for what he’s called you to be, pray that he’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something."

Living Your Life in Christ

Jesus and the Just Reign of God
Live Justly in the Reign of God
Treat Everyone Equally

Colossians 2:1-7

The Message

2 I want you to realize that I continue to work as hard as I know how for you, and also for the Christians over at Laodicea. Not many of you have met me face-to-face, but that doesn’t make any difference. Know that I’m on your side, right alongside you. You’re not in this alone.

^2-4 I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we’ve been shown the mystery! I’m telling you this because I don’t want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or “the Secret.”
⁵ I’m a long way off, true, and you may never lay eyes on me, but believe me, I’m on your side, right beside you. I am delighted to hear of the careful and orderly ways you conduct your affairs, and impressed with the solid substance of your faith in Christ.

From the Shadows to the Substance

^6-7 My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

For Reflection

There's that word again, mystery.  To what extent can you accept God's mystery?  We find our God of love, compassion, grace, and justice deeply embedded in mystery.

I suppose, in modern language, we must suspend belief in the realities of this world for the belief in a world as God wishes it to be.  Bathe in the mystery. Believe in the unseen, the inexplicable and the speculative.  God has been revealing God's self and God's creation and will continue to do so in the here and now and in the future.  God reveals the substance of God's mystery slowly, in God's time as we are able to understand and accept God's reality. 

Pray

that you will be open and ready to receive God's revelations.  Live in the moment of God's time.  Pray that you will let your life be the living word of God revealing the substance of God's mystery to all.

An Example of Great Faith

Jesus and the Just Reign of God
Live Justly in the Reign of God
Treat Everyone Equally

Luke 7:1-10

The Message

A Place of Holy Mystery

7 ^1-5 When he finished speaking to the people, he entered Capernaum. A Roman captain there had a servant who was on his deathbed. He prized him highly and didn’t want to lose him. When he heard Jesus was back, he sent leaders from the Jewish community asking him to come and heal his servant. They came to Jesus and urged him to do it, saying, “He deserves this. He loves our people. He even built our meeting place.”

^6-8 Jesus went with them. When he was still quite far from the house, the captain sent friends to tell him, “Master, you don’t have to go to all this trouble. I’m not that good a person, you know. I’d be embarrassed for you to come to my house, even embarrassed to come to you in person. Just give the order and my servant will get well. I’m a man under orders; I also give orders. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes; another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
^9-10 Taken aback, Jesus addressed the accompanying crowd: “I’ve yet to come across this kind of simple trust anywhere in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know about God and how he works.” When the messengers got back home, they found the servant up and well.

For Reflection

What are the characteristics of this Roman that one would call him one of great faith?

• He has declared allegiance to the god of the Roman Empire, the Caesar.
• He has killed or ordered the killing of people for the sake of the Roman Empire.
• He probably worships other Gods.
• He was loyal to those who served him well.
• He was desperate.
• He was humble.
• He believed in the power of Jesus to heal.
• He willingly gave up his self-pride, self-trust, self-worth and dignity.
• He asked for help.
• He gave himself to the compassion and power of Christ. 

Pray
that you will have the the strength of faith demonstrated by this selfless act of a Roman soldier.

Completing What's Lacking in Faith

Jesus and the Just Reign of God
Live Justly in the Reign of God
Treat Everyone Equally

1 Thessalonians 3:4-13

The Message

^3-5 Not that the troubles should come as any surprise to you. You’ve always known that we’re in for this kind of thing. It’s part of our calling. When we were with you, we made it quite clear that there was trouble ahead. And now that it’s happened, you know what it’s like. That’s why I couldn’t quit worrying; I had to know for myself how you were doing in the faith. I didn’t want the Tempter getting to you and tearing down everything we had built up together.
^6-8 But now that Timothy is back, bringing this terrific report on your faith and love, we feel a lot better. It’s especially gratifying to know that you continue to think well of us, and that you want to see us as much as we want to see you! In the middle of our trouble and hard times here, just knowing how you’re doing keeps us going. Knowing that your faith is alive keeps us alive.
^9-10 What would be an adequate thanksgiving to offer God for all the joy we experience before him because of you? We do what we can, praying away, night and day, asking for the bonus of seeing your faces again and doing what we can to help when your faith falters.
^11-13 May God our Father himself and our Master Jesus clear the road to you! And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you, just as it does from us to you. May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers.

For Reflection

Being a Christian, you are in for a heap of trouble.  Christians are a bother!  They are always going against the grain.  All this talk about economic justice.  It's not my fault those people are too lazy to work.  Why should I encourage  their slacker behavior with dole and do-gooding?

And, deprived?  Who's deprived?  I'll tell you what they are.  Depraved, immoral druggies, living a life of sin.

I'm not to blame for these stupid people who don't know enough to pick themselves up by their own boot straps.  God helps them thats helps themselves.  It's in the Bible!

That's Tempter talk.  Do what ever it takes to discredit such dehumanizing practice.  Show the world that contrary to common belief, life is not a zero sum game.  In order to win no one has to lose. 

Pray

May God our Father himself and our Master Jesus clear the road to you! And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you, just as it does from us to you. May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers.

Faith Distracted by the Love of Money

Jesus and the Just Reign of God
Live Justly in the Reign of God
Treat Everyone Equally

1 Timothy 6:6-12

The Message (MSG)

^6-8 A devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that’s enough.
^9-10 But if it’s only money these leaders are after, they’ll self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after.

Running Hard

^11-12 But you, Timothy, man of God: Run for your life from all this. Pursue a righteous life—a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses

For Reflection

Let's just clear the air on this point!  Money is not inherently evil.  It is not a sin to be rich!  For that matter, neither is it a sin to be poor.

What is a sin, however, is to let the love of money drive your life.  It separates you from God.  That is the sin. 

Pray

for those whose passion for money corrupts their souls.  Pray that they will find the value of active compassion, living a God-centered life.  Pray that they will see clearly the value of pursuing economic and social justice.  Pray that you will pursue a righteous life in humble service to God.

The Work of Faith with Power

Jesus and the Just Reign of God
Live Justly in the Reign of God
Treat Everyone Equally

2 Thessalonians 1:3-12

The Message

Justice Is on the Way

^3-4 You need to know, friends, that thanking God over and over for you is not only a pleasure; it’s a must. We have to do it. Your faith is growing phenomenally; your love for each other is developing wonderfully. Why, it’s only right that we give thanks. We’re so proud of you; you’re so steady and determined in your faith despite all the hard times that have come down on you. We tell everyone we meet in the churches all about you.

^5-10 All this trouble is a clear sign that God has decided to make you fit for the kingdom. You’re suffering now, but justice is on the way. When the Master Jesus appears out of heaven in a blaze of fire with his strong angels, he’ll even up the score by settling accounts with those who gave you such a bad time. His coming will be the break we’ve been waiting for. Those who refuse to know God and refuse to obey the Message will pay for what they’ve done. Eternal exile from the presence of the Master and his splendid power is their sentence. But on that very same day when he comes, he will be exalted by his followers and celebrated by all who believe—and all because you believed what we told you.
^11-12 Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time—pray that our God will make you fit for what he’s called you to be, pray that he’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you. Grace is behind and through all of this, our God giving himself freely, the Master, Jesus Christ, giving himself freely.

For Reflection

How often have you thanked God for being you?  I'm not sure I ever have.  God made me who I am.  God threw me into my life so that I could exercise my potential as a God worker.  As a steward in God's kingdom, I am commissioned, empowered and charged with working for justice and an the triumph of love and compassion; charged to inspire hope.  And so are you! 

Pray

"that our God will make you fit for what he’s called you to be, pray that he’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you. Grace is behind and through all of this, our God giving himself freely, the Master, Jesus Christ, giving himself freely."

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ

Jesus and the Just Reign of God
Live Justly in the Reign of God
Treat Everyone Equally

Romans 13:8-14

The Message

^8-10 Don’t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code—don’t sleep with another person’s spouse, don’t take someone’s life, don’t take what isn’t yours, don’t always be wanting what you don’t have, and any other “don’t” you can think of—finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can’t go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love.

^11-14 But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!

For Reflection

Put on the cloak of the Lord,  Wear the armor of God proudly,  March to the order of God.  Make the small stuff of obedience commonplace, habitual, automatic goodness.  Take on greed and break its strangle hold on the world.  Fight with arrows of truth. 

Pray

that you will be passionate about obedience to the Way.  Pray for wisdom to listen to God's call.  Pray for strength to follow God even into the fire of counter culture wisdom.

God Shows No Partiality

Jesus and the Just Reign of God
Live Justly in the Reign of God
Treat Everyone Equally

Acts 10:34-43

The Message

^34-36 Peter fairly exploded with his good news: “It’s God’s own truth, nothing could be plainer: God plays no favorites! It makes no difference who you are or where you’re from—if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open. The Message he sent to the children of Israel—that through Jesus Christ everything is being put together again—well, he’s doing it everywhere, among everyone.
^37-38 “You know the story of what happened in Judea. It began in Galilee after John preached a total life-change. Then Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this because God was with him.
^39-43 “And we saw it, saw it all, everything he did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem where they killed him, hung him from a cross. But in three days God had him up, alive, and out where he could be seen. Not everyone saw him—he wasn’t put on public display. Witnesses had been carefully handpicked by God beforehand—us! We were the ones, there to eat and drink with him after he came back from the dead. He commissioned us to announce this in public, to bear solemn witness that he is in fact the One whom God destined as Judge of the living and dead. But we’re not alone in this. Our witness that he is the means to forgiveness of sins is backed up by the witness of all the prophets.”

For Reflection

Life is not fair!  Systems are not fair! Opportunities available to some and not to all is not fair.  Birth rights are not fair.  Inequitable distribution of goods and services is not fair. Advantages denied to some and given to others is  not fair. 

Make your own list of unfairness.  God will not be on that list.  The Christ event has shown us how to live lives within the fairness of the Kingdom of God.  God has shown us what justice means.  God has shown us how to achieve justice.  God gives us hope in a God-centered life. 

Pray

that the people in God's Kingdom will never give up the quest for justice.  Pray that you will work individually and collectively to seek just ends.

Showing Partiality Is Not Good

Jesus and the Just Reign of God
Live Justly in the Reign of God
Treat Everyone Equally

Proverbs 28:18-22

The Message

¹⁸ Walk straight—live well and be saved;
    a devious life is a doomed life.

Doing Great Harm in Seemingly Harmless Ways

¹⁹ Work your garden—you’ll end up with plenty of food;
    play and party—you’ll end up with an empty plate.

²⁰ Committed and persistent work pays off;
    get-rich-quick schemes are ripoffs.

²¹ Playing favorites is always a bad thing;
    you can do great harm in seemingly harmless ways.

²² A miser in a hurry to get rich
    doesn’t know that he’ll end up broke.

For Reflection

Sounds a lot like Ben Franklin!  One possible commonality that links these verses to each other is that action has consequence some of which is intentional and some of which is unintended. Consequences can be favorable or untoward.  I suppose the connection to the title is verse 21.  One can not always predict with accuracy the full result of any action and so it is probably best that one regards his or her judgments and action as temporal and be willing to change in the face of results.  It is always best to judge on the basis of known facts rather than inferences however tempting or reliable those inferences may be. 

Pray

for the wisdom inherent in a God-driven life.  Pray that the judgments you and others make is based on the merits of each case.

Judging on the Lord's Behalf

Jesus and the Just Reign of God
Live Justly in the Reign of God
Treat Everyone Equally

2 Chronicles 19:1-7

The Message

19 ^1-3 But Jehoshaphat king of Judah got home safe and sound. Jehu, son of Hanani the seer, confronted King Jehoshaphat: “You have no business helping evil, cozying up to God-haters. Because you did this, God is good and angry with you. But you’re not all bad—you made a clean sweep of the polluting sex-and-religion shrines; and you were single-minded in seeking God.”

⁴ Jehoshaphat kept his residence in Jerusalem but made a regular round of visits among the people, from Beersheba in the south to Mount Ephraim in the north, urging them to return to God, the God of their ancestors.
^5-7 And he was diligent in appointing judges in the land—each of the fortress cities had its judge. He charged the judges: “This is serious work; do it carefully. You are not merely judging between men and women; these are God’s judgments that you are passing on. Live in the fear of God—be most careful, for God hates dishonesty, partiality, and bribery.”

For Reflection

The underlying theme of stewardship permeates these passages.  We are to act on God's behalf in all things worldly.  In disputes among each other we are to display the justice that is derived from our obedience to God and driven by a passion for fairness.   As God saw that which was both good and bad in Jehoshaphat, we should also find mercy in sensitivity to human frailty. 

Pray

that you will be saved from looking at the world in black and white.  Pray that you will have the compassion to be fair in you judgment and to avoid being judgmental.

Judging Rightly and Impartially

Jesus and the Just Reign of God
Live Justly in the Reign of God
Treat Everyone Equally

Deuteronomy 1:9-18

The Message

^9-13 At the time I told you, “I can’t do this, can’t carry you all by myself. God, your God, has multiplied your numbers. Why, look at you—you rival the stars in the sky! And may God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, keep it up and multiply you another thousand times, bless you just as he promised. But how can I carry, all by myself, your troubles and burdens and quarrels? So select some wise, understanding, and seasoned men from your tribes, and I will commission them as your leaders.”
¹⁴ You answered me, “Good! A good solution.”
¹⁵ So I went ahead and took the top men of your tribes, wise and seasoned, and made them your leaders—leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, officials adequate for each of your tribes.
^16-17 At the same time I gave orders to your judges: “Listen carefully to complaints and accusations between your fellow Israelites. Judge fairly between each person and his fellow or foreigner. Don’t play favorites; treat the little and the big alike; listen carefully to each. Don’t be impressed by big names. This is God’s judgment you’re dealing with. Hard cases you can bring to me; I’ll deal with them.”
¹⁸ I issued orders to you at that time regarding everything you would have to deal with.

For Reflection

The only ones that are unhappy about unfair or unequal treatment are those who feel they were treated unfairly.  Those who are treated preferentially don't usually complain.  As stewards in God's kingdom, each of us is obligated to treat each other with equity.  Moses's charge to his judges is wise and a lesson for us all.  Judges are elected because of their reputation for wisdom, understanding and experience.  Each case is to be judged on its own merit without regard to tribal associations. 

Pray

that you will exercise the quality of judgment you would expect from others.  Pray for humility.  Pray that you will be a compassionate, wise and just judge in obedience to God's will.