Rebuild God's House

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Obey the Lord

Ezra 1:1-10

The Message

Cyrus King of Persia: “Build The Temple of God!”

1 ^1-4 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—this fulfilled the Message of God preached by Jeremiah—God prodded Cyrus king of Persia to make an official announcement throughout his kingdom. He wrote it out as follows:

From Cyrus king of Persia, a Proclamation: God, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has also assigned me to build him a Temple of worship in Jerusalem, Judah. Who among you belongs to his people? God be with you! Go to Jerusalem which is in Judah and build The Temple of God, the God of Israel, Jerusalem’s God. Those who stay behind, wherever they happen to live, will support them with silver, gold, tools, and pack animals, along with Freewill-Offerings for The Temple of God in Jerusalem.

^5-6 The heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites—everyone, in fact, God prodded—set out to build The Temple of God in Jerusalem. Their neighbors rallied behind them enthusiastically with silver, gold, tools, pack animals, expensive gifts, and, over and above these, Freewill-Offerings.

^7-10 Also, King Cyrus turned over to them all the vessels and utensils from The Temple of God that Nebuchadnezzar had hauled from Jerusalem and put in the temple of his gods. Cyrus king of Persia put Mithredath the treasurer in charge of the transfer; he provided a full inventory for Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah, including the following:

30 gold dishes
1,000 silver dishes
29 silver pans
30 gold bowls
410 duplicate silver bowls
1,000 miscellaneous items.

 
For Reflection

Only the best was good enough for the Temple.  Gifts given freely to honor God and hallow God's name.  Take a good look at yourself in the mirror.  How well do you care for the temple you have become?  Have you given only the best of yourself to the image before you, the residing place of God?  How much have you given to your understanding of scripture?  How much time have you given to righteous endeavors?  How have you reflected the name of God in all that you think, say and do?

 

Pray

Kneel before God.  Pray prayers of confession, repentance, obedience, praise and thanksgiving.  Pray to serve God with the best of yourself.

Carried Away into Captivity

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Obey the Lord

2 Kings 24:8-17

The Message

Jehoiachin of Judah

^8-9 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king. His rule in Jerusalem lasted only three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem. In God’s opinion he also was an evil king, no different from his father.

^10-12 The next thing to happen was that the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked Jerusalem and put it under siege. While his officers were laying siege to the city, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon paid a personal visit. And Jehoiachin king of Judah, along with his mother, officers, advisors, and government leaders, surrendered.
^12-14 In the eighth year of his reign Jehoiachin was taken prisoner by the king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar emptied the treasuries of both The Temple of God and the royal palace and confiscated all the gold furnishings that Solomon king of Israel had made for The Temple of God. This should have been no surprise—God had said it would happen. And then he emptied Jerusalem of people—all its leaders and soldiers, all its craftsmen and artisans. He took them into exile, something like ten thousand of them! The only ones he left were the very poor.
^15-16 He took Jehoiachin into exile to Babylon. With him he took the king’s mother, his wives, his chief officers, the community leaders, anyone who was anybody—in round numbers, seven thousand soldiers plus another thousand or so craftsmen and artisans, all herded off into exile in Babylon.
¹⁷ Then the king of Babylon made Jehoiachin’s uncle, Mattaniah, his puppet king, but changed his name to Zedekiah.

 
For Reflection

Physical abduction is not the only way we can be carried away into captivity.  We can also be seduced into engrossment in our material and cultural lives. Thus, we become captive to our will for pleasure, success and belonging to the culture which has seduced us. Our willing participation strips us of all which has real value, our sense of our Godliness.  We change our name as puppet kings; deluded into thinking we are responsible, in charge. And all those who sing our praises and compliment our successes bind us to this doomed enterprise.  Our temple of the Godly has been looted and destroyed.

 

Pray

That you will reject the cultural demands which seduce you away from a righteous path.  Pray that you will have the wisdom to live in this cultural but not be of this culture.  Pray that you will embrace the culture of the Kingdom of God.

Given into Enemy Hands

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Obey the Lord

2 Chronicles 36:15-21  (The Message)

God, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent warning messages to them. Out of compassion for both his people and his Temple he wanted to give them every chance possible. But they wouldn’t listen; they poked fun at God’s messengers, despised the message itself, and in general treated the prophets like idiots. God became more and more angry until there was no turning back—God called in Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who came and killed indiscriminately—and right in The Temple itself; it was a ruthless massacre: young men and virgins, the elderly and weak—they were all the same to him.
And then he plundered The Temple of everything valuable, cleaned it out completely; he emptied the treasuries of The Temple of God, the treasuries of the king and his officials, and hauled it all, people and possessions, off to Babylon. He burned The Temple of God to the ground, knocked down the wall of Jerusalem, and set fire to all the buildings—everything valuable was burned up. Any survivor was taken prisoner into exile in Babylon and made a slave to Nebuchadnezzar and his family. The exile and slavery lasted until the kingdom of Persia took over.
This is exactly the message of God that Jeremiah had preached: the desolate land put to an extended sabbath rest, a seventy-year Sabbath rest making up for all the unkept Sabbaths.

 
For Reflection

Humans are capable of great  destruction, mercilessness and injustices.  No less now than in Biblical times.  These tyrannies, are a result of greed and desire for self-fulfillment.  They are a result of Godlessness.  They are a result of unkept Sabbaths. 

 

Pray

That you hold the Sabbath close and observe it as a remembrance of God and God's intentions for reconciliation and the healing of human kind.  Pray for those who reject God in favor of self-fulfillment.

The Fall of Jerusalem

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Obey the Lord

Jeremiah 52:1-11

The Destruction of Jerusalem and Exile of Judah

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he started out as king. He was king in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah. Her hometown was Libnah.

As far as God was concerned, Zedekiah was just one more evil king, a carbon copy of Jehoiakim.
The source of all this doom to Jerusalem and Judah was God’s anger. God turned his back on them as an act of judgment.
Zedekiah revolted against the king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar set out for Jerusalem with a full army. He set up camp and sealed off the city by building siege mounds around it. He arrived on the ninth year and tenth month of Zedekiah’s reign. The city was under siege for nineteen months (until the eleventh year of Zedekiah).
By the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, on the ninth day of the month, the famine was so bad that there wasn’t so much as a crumb of bread for anyone. Then the Babylonians broke through the city walls. Under cover of the night darkness, the entire Judean army fled through an opening in the wall (it was the gate between the two walls above the King’s Garden). They slipped through the lines of the Babylonians who surrounded the city and headed for the Jordan into the Arabah Valley, but the Babylonians were in full pursuit. They caught up with them in the Plains of Jericho. But by then Zedekiah’s army had deserted and was scattered.
The Babylonians captured Zedekiah and marched him off to the king of Babylon at Riblah in Hamath, who tried and sentenced him on the spot. The king of Babylon then killed Zedekiah’s sons right before his eyes. The summary murder of his sons was the last thing Zedekiah saw, for they then blinded him. The king of Babylon followed that up by killing all the officials of Judah. Securely handcuffed, Zedekiah was hauled off to Babylon. The king of Babylon threw him in prison, where he stayed until the day he died.

 
For Reflection

Right up there with the argument is it nature or nurture that most influences human behavior is the biblical argument, is it God who punishes or is punishment a natural result of being Godless?  What do you think?

 

Pray

that you will seek to obey the Lord.  Pray that you will accept God's grace when you fail to meet God's expectations for you.  Pray for our leaders that they may follow the will of God.

Obey the Lord

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Obey the Lord

The Message
Luke 19:41-48

When the city came into view, he wept over it. “If you had only recognized this day, and everything that was good for you! But now it’s too late. In the days ahead your enemies are going to bring up their heavy artillery and surround you, pressing in from every side. They’ll smash you and your babies on the pavement. Not one stone will be left intact. All this because you didn’t recognize and welcome God’s personal visit.”
Going into the Temple he began to throw out everyone who had set up shop, selling everything and anything. He said, “It’s written in Scripture,

My house is a house of prayer;
You have turned it into a religious bazaar.”

From then on he taught each day in the Temple. The high priests, religion scholars, and the leaders of the people were trying their best to find a way to get rid of him. But with the people hanging on every word he spoke, they couldn’t come up with anything.

 
For Reflection

Jesus wept because he realized the impact of the corruption both in the popular culture and the faith culture.  Yet, it was not enough to turn the tables.  Jesus taught; explaining righteousness as an alternative to manipulating the law.  Then as now, the revelations of the gospel are the drive for personal and corporate transformation into reconciliation with each other and with God.

 

Pray

that you will be obedient to the intent of God's law.  Pray that you will act compassionately, justly and humbly.

They Shall Not Be Moved

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus' Use of Scripture
The Greatest Commandment

Psalm 15

The Message

A David Psalm

15 God, who gets invited
    to dinner at your place?
How do we get on your guest list?

² “Walk straight,
    act right,
        tell the truth.

^3-4 “Don’t hurt your friend,
    don’t blame your neighbor;
        despise the despicable.

⁵ “Keep your word even when it costs you,
    make an honest living,
        never take a bribe.

“You’ll never get
blacklisted
if you live like this.”

For Reflection

How many times does the telling take for us to be moved into action?  Just do it!

Pray

that you will respond to God's call to be a steward of God's Kingdom.  Pray that you will be moved to action. 

Sin against a Neighbor of God

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus' Use of Scripture
The Greatest Commandment

1 Kings 8:31-36

The Message

^27-32 Can it be that God will actually move into our neighborhood? Why, the cosmos itself isn’t large enough to give you breathing room, let alone this Temple I’ve built. Even so, I’m bold to ask: Pay attention to these my prayers, both intercessory and personal, O God, my God. Listen to my prayers, energetic and devout, that I’m setting before you right now. Keep your eyes open to this Temple night and day, this place of which you said, “My Name will be honored there,” and listen to the prayers that I pray at this place.

Listen from your home in heaven and when you hear, forgive.

When someone hurts a neighbor and promises to make things right, and then comes and repeats the promise before your Altar in this Temple, listen from heaven and act accordingly: Judge your servants, making the offender pay for his offense and setting the offended free of any charges.

^33-34 When your people Israel are beaten by an enemy because they’ve sinned against you, but then turn to you and acknowledge your rule in prayers desperate and devout in this Temple,

Listen from your home in heaven, forgive the sin of your people Israel, return them to the land you gave their ancestors.

^35-36 When the skies shrivel up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, but then they pray at this place, acknowledging your rule and quitting their sins because you have scourged them,

Listen from your home in heaven, forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel.

Then start over with them: Train them to live right and well; send rain on the land you gave your people as an inheritance.

For Reflection

Listen to your home in Heaven.  You know what God expects of you  - active love, justice and compassion.  So what's the hold up?  God gives you infinite second chances.  Start again, and again and again.  Teach people to love by your example.

Pray

that you will seek the truth in God and work to practice it.

Relating to Your Neighbor

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus' Use of Scripture
The Greatest Commandment

Leviticus 19:11-17

The Message

¹¹ “Don’t steal.
“Don’t lie.
“Don’t deceive anyone.
¹² “Don’t swear falsely using my name, violating the name of your God. I am God.
¹³ “Don’t exploit your friend or rob him.
“Don’t hold back the wages of a hired hand overnight.
¹⁴ “Don’t curse the deaf; don’t put a stumbling block in front of the blind; fear your God. I am God.
¹⁵ “Don’t pervert justice. Don’t show favoritism to either the poor or the great. Judge on the basis of what is right.
¹⁶ “Don’t spread gossip and rumors.
“Don’t just stand by when your neighbor’s life is in danger. I am God.
¹⁷ “Don’t secretly hate your neighbor. If you have something against him, get it out into the open; otherwise you are an accomplice in his guilt.

For Reflection

Be Honest.  Tell the truth. Be forthright. Be fair to all. Be just.  Be compassionate. Be loving.  Be helpful.  In short, be the living Spirit of God who resides within you.

Pray

that you will fulfill the expectation God has for you.  Pray that you will listen to the whispers of God who has given you all that there is to have.  Pray that you will use these gifts in service to God.

Serving God with Heart and Soul

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus' Use of Scripture
The Greatest Commandment

Deuteronomy 10:12-21

The Message

^12-13 So now Israel, what do you think God expects from you? Just this: Live in his presence in holy reverence, follow the road he sets out for you, love him, serve God, your God, with everything you have in you, obey the commandments and regulations of God that I’m commanding you today—live a good life.

^14-18 Look around you: Everything you see is God’s—the heavens above and beyond, the Earth, and everything on it. But it was your ancestors who God fell in love with; he picked their children—that’s you!—out of all the other peoples. That’s where we are right now. So cut away the thick calluses from your heart and stop being so willfully hardheaded. God, your God, is the God of all gods, he’s the Master of all masters, a God immense and powerful and awesome. He doesn’t play favorites, takes no bribes, makes sure orphans and widows are treated fairly, takes loving care of foreigners by seeing that they get food and clothing.

^19-21 You must treat foreigners with the same loving care—
        remember, you were once foreigners in Egypt.
    Reverently respect God, your God, serve him, hold tight to him,
        back up your promises with the authority of his name.
    He’s your praise! He’s your God!
    He did all these tremendous, these staggering things
        that you saw with your own eyes.

For Reflection

What does God expect from us?  Respect. Reliability, Reverence, Participation in God's will for human kind, Seeking Justice and being Just, Humility, Hospitality, Kindness, Compassion, Love for God, self and others, Living a good life in the hollow of God's hand, in short, being a good steward of God's Kingdom.

Pray

That in every thought and deed you hallow the name of God.  Praise and offer thanksgiving for the gift God has freely given and you are free to accept.

Love and Commandment Keeping

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus' Use of Scripture
The Greatest Commandment

Deuteronomy 7:7-16

The Message

^7-10 God wasn’t attracted to you and didn’t choose you because you were big and important—the fact is, there was almost nothing to you. He did it out of sheer love, keeping the promise he made to your ancestors. God stepped in and mightily bought you back out of that world of slavery, freed you from the iron grip of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know this: God, your God, is God indeed, a God you can depend upon. He keeps his covenant of loyal love with those who love him and observe his commandments for a thousand generations. But he also pays back those who hate him, pays them the wages of death; he isn’t slow to pay them off—those who hate him, he pays right on time.
¹¹ So keep the command and the rules and regulations that I command you today. Do them.
^12-13 And this is what will happen: When you, on your part, will obey these directives, keeping and following them, God, on his part, will keep the covenant of loyal love that he made with your ancestors:

He will love you,
he will bless you,
he will increase you.

^13-15 He will bless the babies from your womb and the harvest of grain, new wine, and oil from your fields; he’ll bless the calves from your herds and lambs from your flocks in the country he promised your ancestors that he’d give you. You’ll be blessed beyond all other peoples: no sterility or barrenness in you or your animals. God will get rid of all sickness. And all the evil afflictions you experienced in Egypt he’ll put not on you but on those who hate you.

¹⁶ You’ll make mincemeat of all the peoples that God, your God, hands over to you. Don’t feel sorry for them. And don’t worship their gods—they’ll trap you for sure.

For Reflection

The blessings of obedience to the word of God know no limitation.  The consequence of disobedience is likened to death.  Life in the hollow of God's hand or death in the hand of the material world,  which do you choose?

Pray

that you accept God's blessings humbly and with a sense of obligation to foster compassion, justice and peace.

Be Perfect

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus' Use of Scripture
Jesus Teaching on the Law

Matthew 5:38-48

The Message

Love Your Enemies

^38-42 “Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, gift wrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

^43-47 “You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.
⁴⁸ “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”

For Reflection

When we feel threatened we are tempted to become defensive.  Our defensive behavior then is reflected in the other's defensive response.  The result is an unproductive escalating spiral of defensive reaction.  Such action if not resolved, ends up in driving people apart.  Live creatively, not destructively.  Be supportive.

Pray

for the courage to react supportively.  Pray that you will find creative ways to invent God-centered responses to threats.

Testing and Fear

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus' Use of Scripture
Jesus Teaching on the Law

Exodus 20:12-21

The Message

¹² Honor your father and mother so that you’ll live a long time in the land that God, your God, is giving you.

¹³ No murder.

¹⁴ No adultery.
¹⁵ No stealing.
¹⁶ No lies about your neighbor.

¹⁷ No lusting after your neighbor’s house—or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don’t set your heart on anything that is your neighbor’s.

^18-19 All the people, experiencing the thunder and lightning, the trumpet blast and the smoking mountain, were afraid—they pulled back and stood at a distance. They said to Moses, “You speak to us and we’ll listen, but don’t have God speak to us or we’ll die.”

²⁰ Moses spoke to the people: “Don’t be afraid. God has come to test you and instill a deep and reverent awe within you so that you won’t sin.”
²¹ The people kept their distance while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.

For Reflection

To fear God is to be in reverent awe of God.  We are all tempted at one time or another to defy at least one of the laws of Moses.  God knows the human condition. God knows that sometimes we make untoward decisions.  God knows that sometimes we are challenged to choose between undesirable consequences.  God knows and God forgives.

Pray

Be in awe of the God of grace.  Pray prayers of thanksgiving and praise.  Pray that when tested you will choose from a God-centered base.  Pray that you will have the courage to choose, even when the apparent choices are not desire able.  Pray for forgiveness when you are unable to meet the demands of the test.

Relating to Your Neighbor

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus' Use of Scripture
Jesus Teaching on the Law

Leviticus 19:11-17

The Message

¹¹ “Don’t steal.
“Don’t lie.
“Don’t deceive anyone.
¹² “Don’t swear falsely using my name, violating the name of your God. I am God.
¹³ “Don’t exploit your friend or rob him.
“Don’t hold back the wages of a hired hand overnight.
¹⁴ “Don’t curse the deaf; don’t put a stumbling block in front of the blind; fear your God. I am God.
¹⁵ “Don’t pervert justice. Don’t show favoritism to either the poor or the great. Judge on the basis of what is right.
¹⁶ “Don’t spread gossip and rumors.
“Don’t just stand by when your neighbor’s life is in danger. I am God.
¹⁷ “Don’t secretly hate your neighbor. If you have something against him, get it out into the open; otherwise you are an accomplice in his guilt.

 
For Reflection

Be Honest.  Tell the truth,Be forthright, Be fair to all. Be just.  Be compassionate. Be loving.  Be helpful.  In short, be the living Spirit of God who resides within you.

 

Pray

that you will fulfill the expectation God has for you.  Pray that you will listen to the whispers of God who has given you all that there is to have.  Pray that you will use these gifts in service to God.

Fulfilling the Law

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus' Use of Scripture
Jesus' Teaching on the Law

Matthew 5:14-20

The Message

^14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

Completing God’s Law

^17-18 “Don’t suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures—either God’s Law or the Prophets. I’m not here to demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all together, pull it all together in a vast panorama. God’s Law is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after stars burn out and earth wears out, God’s Law will be alive and working.

^19-20 “Trivialize even the smallest item in God’s Law and you will only have trivialized yourself. But take it seriously, show the way for others, and you will find honor in the kingdom. Unless you do far better than the Pharisees in the matters of right living, you won’t know the first thing about entering the kingdom.

For Reflection

You can run, but you can't hide.  No matter what you do the light of God shines in your eyes.  You can not help yourself.  If you believe and take your faith seriously, you can no easier hide the truth from the world than you can hide yourself from God.  Take on the cloak of humility and Christian hospitality.  Proclaim  your commitment to God's will for humanity boldly in action.

Pray

that you will proclaim God's will for the world in your every word and deed.  Pray for the world to see it self as God sees it.  Pray that all in your sphere will see God in you and respond to God's overture for reconciliation.

We Uphold the Law

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus' Use of Scripture
Jesus Teaching on the Law

Romans 3:21-31

The Message

God Has Set Things Right

^21-24 But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.

^25-26 God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it’s now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.
^27-28 So where does that leave our proud Jewish insider claims and counterclaims? Canceled? Yes, canceled. What we’ve learned is this: God does not respond to what we do; we respond to what God does. We’ve finally figured it out. Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade.
^29-30 And where does that leave our proud Jewish claim of having a corner on God? Also canceled. God is the God of outsider non-Jews as well as insider Jews. How could it be otherwise since there is only one God? God sets right all who welcome his action and enter into it, both those who follow our religious system and those who have never heard of our religion.
³¹ But by shifting our focus from what we do to what God does, don’t we cancel out all our careful keeping of the rules and ways God commanded? Not at all. What happens, in fact, is that by putting that entire way of life in its proper place, we confirm it.

For Reflection

What is the difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law?  Can someone obey the letter of the law without obeying its intent?  I was once given a traffic ticket following an accident at an intersection.  The officer cited me for failure to follow the intent of the stop sign.  Even the judge was confused by the citation.  "Did he stop?" he inquired of the officer at my hearing.  "Yes,"replied the officer.  "Help me understand," replied the judge.

Jesus came to help us understand that at times the letter of the law is not equal to its intent.  Christ did not come to rescind the law, He came to help us understand the intent of the law and to extend that intent beyond the Jewish culture to the world. 

Pray

that  you will follow the laws of Moses.  Pray that you will have the wisdom to also follow the intent of the law as Christ has shown us.  Pray that we of faith will not use the law in judgment, but rather, as an opportunity to offer the reconciliation in a life lived in the hollow of God's hand.

Commandments Learned by Rote

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus' Use of Scripture
Jesus Teaching the Law

Isaiah 29:13-21

The Message

^13-14 The Master said:

“These people make a big show of saying the right thing,
    but their hearts aren’t in it.
Because they act like they’re worshiping me
    but don’t mean it,
I’m going to step in and shock them awake,
    astonish them, stand them on their ears.
The wise ones who had it all figured out
    will be exposed as fools.
The smart people who thought they knew everything
    will turn out to know nothing.”

^15-16 Doom to you! You pretend to have the inside track.
    You shut God out and work behind the scenes,
Plotting the future as if you knew everything,
    acting mysterious, never showing your hand.
You have everything backward!
    You treat the potter as a lump of clay.
Does a book say to its author,
    “He didn’t write a word of me”?
Does a meal say to the woman who cooked it,
    “She had nothing to do with this”?

^17-21 And then before you know it,
    and without you having anything to do with it,
Wasted Lebanon will be transformed into lush gardens,
    and Mount Carmel reforested.
At that time the deaf will hear
    word-for-word what’s been written.
After a lifetime in the dark,
    the blind will see.
The castoffs of society will be laughing and dancing in God,
    the down-and-outs shouting praise to The Holy of Israel.
For there’ll be no more gangs on the street.
    Cynical scoffers will be an extinct species.
Those who never missed a chance to hurt or demean
    will never be heard of again:
Gone the people who corrupted the courts,
    gone the people who cheated the poor,
    gone the people who victimized the innocent.

For Reflection

if we attended Sunday School as children, we probably have experienced the memorization of Scripture.  How many of you remember all those scripture passages?  My guess is that few of us have remembered a few of  them solely because those passages were refreshed by participating in a community of believers.

Are you as intimidated as I am by those who quote passages for seemingly all occasions?  Are you surprised when those most adept at justifying actions by quoting scripture seem to be off the mark.  I call them well schooled but uneducated in the meaning of the Gospel.

Those who corrupt with the word are soon found out when measured by the standards of compassion and justice.  Their version of hope is filled with empty promise.

Pray

that you will see beyond the word into its meaning for a life of compassion as strong as that of Christ.  Pray for the wisdom to look deeply into scripture for God's will for the Kingdom.  Pray that you will perform your part well as a servant of God.

I Came to Give Abundant Life

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus' Use of Scripture
Jesus' Mission on Earth

John 10:1-10

The Message

He Calls His Sheep by Name

10 ^1-5 “Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good—a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it.”

^6-10 Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

For Reflection

In this modern age there is no limit to the numbers of people that offer self-help advise.  There are, however, very few that offer the sacrifice of self.

Our lives can not be made whole unless we answer the call of the Shepherd.  You will know his voice because He knows your name.  In the soul of who we are is the implanted will to return to God.  It is the cause of our unrest, our unsatisfied needs.  Those who do not respond to the call of God are like those who seek unsuccessfully to satisfy their longing with food, drugs, money, success or the accolades of others.  Soon the longing returns and must be fed again.

Pray

that you will feed only on the bread of salvation.  Pray that others will realize the satisfaction of feeding from the hand of God.  Pray prayers of praise and thanksgiving for the abundance found in a life of serving the Father.

I Came to Draw all People

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus' Use of Scripture
Jesus' Mission on Earth

John 12:27-33

The Message

^27-28 “Right now I am storm-tossed. And what am I going to say? ‘Father, get me out of this’? No, this is why I came in the first place. I’ll say, ‘Father, put your glory on display.’”
A voice came out of the sky: “I have glorified it, and I’ll glorify it again.”
²⁹ The listening crowd said, “Thunder!”
Others said, “An angel spoke to him!”
^30-33 Jesus said, “The voice didn’t come for me but for you. At this moment the world is in crisis. Now Satan, the ruler of this world, will be thrown out. And I, as I am lifted up from the earth, will attract everyone to me and gather them around me.” He put it this way to show how he was going to be put to death.

For Reflection

As the Father asked of His Son, we are asked to hallow God's name.  Even if in the act of obedience we are storm tossed, ask not to be removed from the suffering but, rather, be strengthened by it and committed to God's will.

Pray

that all you say and do will hallow the name of God.  Pray that all who see you and hear you will strengthened and filled with the hope of a new world, a right relationship with God.

I Came to Bring Light

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus' Use of Scripture
Jesus' Mission on Earth

John 12:44-50

The Message

^44-46 Jesus summed it all up when he cried out, “Whoever believes in me, believes not just in me but in the One who sent me. Whoever looks at me is looking, in fact, at the One who sent me. I am Light that has come into the world so that all who believe in me won’t have to stay any longer in the dark.
^47-50 “If anyone hears what I am saying and doesn’t take it seriously, I don’t reject him. I didn’t come to reject the world; I came to save the world. But you need to know that whoever puts me off, refusing to take in what I’m saying, is willfully choosing rejection. The Word, the Word-made-flesh that I have spoken and that I am, that Word and no other is the last word. I’m not making any of this up on my own. The Father who sent me gave me orders, told me what to say and how to say it. And I know exactly what his command produces: real and eternal life. That’s all I have to say. What the Father told me, I tell you.”

For Reflection

To look at Jesus is to look at God.  To understand Jesus is to understand God's will for our lives.  Knowing Jesus and taking the Gospel seriously but rejecting Him is to know God and rejecting God.  This is my definition of sin.
The Good News is that even those who reject God can be transformed by the Holy Spirit through confession and repentance.  Non are ever lost to God's overture for reconciliation.

Pray

for those who have seen the Light and have not taken it seriously.  Pray for those who having seen the light and rejected the offer for salvation.  Pray the you will take seriously God's will for your life.

I Came to Do God's Will

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus' Use of Scripture
Jesus' Mission on Earth

John 6:35-40

The Message

^35-38 Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you don’t really believe me. Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don’t let go. I came down from heaven not to follow my own whim but to accomplish the will of the One who sent me.
^39-40 “This, in a nutshell, is that will: that everything handed over to me by the Father be completed—not a single detail missed—and at the wrap-up of time I have everything and everyone put together, upright and whole. This is what my Father wants: that anyone who sees the Son and trusts who he is and what he does and then aligns with him will enter real life, eternal life. My part is to put them on their feet alive and whole at the completion of time.”

For Reflection

What is the will of God?  We assign all kinds of inexplicable events (sometimes unwisely) to the will of God.  Was it the will of God that our friend died an untimely death, or that one so young is suffering with brain cancer, or our nation was attacked because of our immoral behavior?

Somehow I doubt it!  As John has put it, what God wants is that all will be reconciled to God.  With the example of Christ and with His advocacy for us and guidance from the Holy Spirit, we humans can be transformed into a God-centered life. As stewards of Gods creation, God's will is that we act with the love and compassion of the Father,  follow the Father's wisdom, live justly and work for justice.  God's will is that we do our part, trusting God, so that at the completion of our time we have been faithful servants and at the completion of God's time we are all alive and whole.

Pray

Kneel before God.  Pray prayers of confession, repentance, obedience, praise and thanksgiving.  Pray to serve God.

I Came from the Father

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus' Use of Scripture
Jesus Mission on Earth

John 16:25-33

The Message

^25-28 “I’ve used figures of speech in telling you these things. Soon I’ll drop the figures and tell you about the Father in plain language. Then you can make your requests directly to him in relation to this life I’ve revealed to you. I won’t continue making requests of the Father on your behalf. I won’t need to. Because you’ve gone out on a limb, committed yourselves to love and trust in me, believing I came directly from the Father, the Father loves you directly. First, I left the Father and arrived in the world; now I leave the world and travel to the Father.”
^29-30 His disciples said, “Finally! You’re giving it to us straight, in plain talk—no more figures of speech. Now we know that you know everything—it all comes together in you. You won’t have to put up with our questions anymore. We’re convinced you came from God.”
^31-33 Jesus answered them, “Do you finally believe? In fact, you’re about to make a run for it—saving your own skins and abandoning me. But I’m not abandoned. The Father is with me. I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.”

.

For Reflection

Some times we just need to be hit in the face with the idea so that it overcomes our reticence to accept what is obvious.  The disciples did not want to understand how this journey was to end.  They had no idea that it would live beyond the life of Christ.  Nor did they want to face the possibility of their death by association.

What kind of good news is it that you have been selected to follow in the foot steps of one who was so feared, so demonized, and despised.  Even knowing the truth from Christ's mouth did not encourage sufficient trust, assurance and peace to face the godless world and displace their fear.

 

Pray

for courage to face a godless world equipped only with faith,hope and trust in God as revealed in Christ.

Embrace Trials and Testing

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus' Use of Scripture
Jesus Resists Temptation

Revelation 3:8-13

The Message

⁸ “I see what you’ve done. Now see what I’ve done. I’ve opened a door before you that no one can slam shut. You don’t have much strength, I know that; you used what you had to keep my Word. You didn’t deny me when times were rough.
⁹ “And watch as I take those who call themselves true believers but are nothing of the kind, pretenders whose true membership is in the club of Satan—watch as I strip off their pretensions and they’re forced to acknowledge it’s you that I’ve loved.
¹⁰ “Because you kept my Word in passionate patience, I’ll keep you safe in the time of testing that will be here soon, and all over the earth, every man, woman, and child put to the test.
¹¹ “I’m on my way; I’ll be there soon. Keep a tight grip on what you have so no one distracts you and steals your crown.
¹² “I’ll make each conqueror a pillar in the sanctuary of my God, a permanent position of honor. Then I’ll write names on you, the pillars: the Name of my God, the Name of God’s City—the new Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven—and my new Name.
¹³ “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches.”

For Reflection

Now, as always, the Spirit is blowing through the churches.  As in a rush of Wind Words, Christians are moving away from the pretensions of love -- disguised messages of hate.  The press for reformation is underway in the rhetoric of change: inclusion, vs. exclusion, humility vs. righteous indignation,  righteousness vs. rightness, restoring the Gospel of healing.  Be encouraged by the struggle. Be confident in God's will for restoration.

Pray

for the church. Pray for the winds of change.  Pray for a more humble church.  Pray for the church to focus on healing.  Pray for righteousness.  Pray to heed the Wind Words.

Guarded in All Your Ways

Jesus' Fulfillment of Scripture
Jesus' Use of Scripture
Jesus Resists Temptation

Psalm 91:1-13

The Message

91 ^1-13 You who sit down in the High God’s presence,
    spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow,
Say this: “God, you’re my refuge.
    I trust in you and I’m safe!”
That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps,
    shields you from deadly hazards.
His huge outstretched arms protect you—
    under them you’re perfectly safe;
    his arms fend off all harm.
Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night,
    not flying arrows in the day,
Not disease that prowls through the darkness,
    not disaster that erupts at high noon.
Even though others succumb all around,
    drop like flies right and left,
    no harm will even graze you.
You’ll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance,
    watch the wicked turn into corpses.
Yes, because God’s your refuge,
    the High God your very own home,
Evil can’t get close to you,
    harm can’t get through the door.
He ordered his angels
    to guard you wherever you go.
If you stumble, they’ll catch you;
    their job is to keep you from falling.
You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes,
    and kick young lions and serpents from the path.

 
 For Reflection

Stand in the sanctuary of El Shaddai. Live in the glory of God's creation.  Participate in God's destruction of evil.  Be fruitful stewards and work to increase the numbers who choose to immigrate into God's kingdom. 

 

Pray

Pray to displace fear with trust and confidence in God's protective cloak.  Pray that you will be encouraged to walk in the shadow of death fearlessly in obedient service to God's will.