Building Up the Body of Christ

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Glorify God with Your Body

Ephesians 4:7-16

The Message

^7-13 But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift. The text for this is,

He climbed the high mountain,
He captured the enemy and seized the booty,
He handed it all out in gifts to the people.

Is it not true that the One who climbed up also climbed down, down to the valley of earth? And the One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.

^14-16 No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.

For Reflection

We, made in the image of God, are meant to evolve.  As God's creation evolves and is ever changing, we also grow into the grace that God wills for our lives.  The blood of God flows through us.  We are meant to change, to mature in the likeness of God.

Pray

that in God's time we all will grow in love, compassion, and grace.  Pray that the church continues to grow in grace accommodating each new challenge with hope and the creative power of God.  Pray to be challenged in ways that encourage our personal growth and communal growth toward the full realization of the Kingdom of God.

Members of the Body of Christ

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
A Call to Unity

1 Corinthians 12:27-31

The Message

^27-31 You are Christ’s body—that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your “part” mean anything. You’re familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his “body”:

apostles
prophets
teachers
miracle workers
healers
helpers
organizers
those who pray in tongues.

But it’s obvious by now, isn’t it, that Christ’s church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part? It’s not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues. And yet some of you keep competing for so-called “important” parts.

For Reflection

As Christians, we are part of the church universal. We are only one part of God's plan and will for human kind.  In our diversity, we are enriched.  God has created us to be different from each other.  God has not created us to be disfunctionally divided.  While our styles may be different, we were baptized in the same name, pray to and worship the same God and hope for the realization of the Kingdom of God.

Pray

that God will help us understand and reconcile our differences. Pray to find ways to embrace our allegiance to the living God and to practice our faith in compassion, love, peace and justice.

No Dissension within the Body

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
A Call to Unity

1 Corinthians 12:21-26

The Message

^19-24 But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn’t be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, “Get lost; I don’t need you”? Or, Head telling Foot, “You’re fired; your job has been phased out”? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the “lower” the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it’s a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn’t you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?
^25-26 The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.

For Reflection

Differences in the the Church have often times led to intolerance.  Perceived differences then become a rational for exclusion.  The hand cuts itself off from the arm and declares itself the only truth.  As Paul reminds us, the hand has little value outside the context of the body. 

We are not valued by God as compared to others.  Rather we are valued by God because we are who God made us valued as we are valued because we are unique.

Pray

that we will bear the suffering of all people.  Pray that we will embrace the need to heal each other.  Pray that we will celebrate the joy of each other's contribution to the Kingdom of God.

Maintaining the Unity of the Spirit

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
A Call to Unity

Ephesians 4:1-6

The Message

To Be Mature

4 ^1-3 In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.

^4-6 You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.

 
For Reflection

Sometimes when people of faith work together on a project the differences in dogma, theology and worship style become subordinate, invisible in the collaborative action the project demands.  What does this say about the relative material value of philosophy of worship to the practice of fellowship?

 

Pray

Pray that the uniqueness of God's intentions for human kind will override our meager attempts to define our relationships to God.  Pray that in our practices of faith we will show each other the nature of a loving, compassionate, forgiving God.

Empowered by the Same Spirit

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
A Call to Unity

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

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.

 
For Reflection

All kinds of gifts are handed to all kinds of people, ALL KINDS of people.  The variety is the strength of the church.  Like God, the church is not just one thing.  God uses all things to express the nature of becoming in the likeness of God, evolving from childhood to mature believers who act in accordance with the will of God.  All things in God are good.

 

Pray

that you will express the nature of a God-centered steward of the Kingdom.  Pray that all will find the sanctuary, comfort, hope, compassion, love and nurturing of justice and peace for all people that is the foundation of the church.

Being of the Same Mind

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
A Call to Unity

Philippians 4:1-7

The Message

4 My dear, dear friends! I love you so much. I do want the very best for you. You make me feel such joy, fill me with such pride. Don’t waver. Stay on track, steady in God.

Pray About Everything

² I urge Euodia and Syntyche to iron out their differences and make up. God doesn’t want his children holding grudges.

³ And, oh, yes, Syzygus, since you’re right there to help them work things out, do your best with them. These women worked for the Message hand in hand with Clement and me, and with the other veterans—worked as hard as any of us. Remember, their names are also in the Book of Life.
^4-5 Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!
^6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

For Reflection

Paul references some of the undercurrents in the early church.  That Christians have developed different forms of Christianity has been both its weakness and its strength.  The Church is at times seen as fragmented which has enabled some to trivialize it.  Some who cannot tolerate differences, are not attracted to such imperfection and see the instituition as flawed.

On the other hand, differences in worship styles and theology have permitted the church to evolve and have provided multiple entry points to the Kingdom.  God is not frozen and rooted in anyone's time.  God is creation it-self, always in the process of becoming.  So why is it so surprising and disturbing that forms and styles of worship are different from each other?

Pray

that you may know a sense of God's wholeness.  Pray that you will be encouraged by the progression of the faithful toward the Kingdom of God.  Pray that all who worship the true God  in all forms and styles will be transformed into righteousness and grace.

The Confessions of Our Hope

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Hope for a New Day

Hebrews 10:19-25

The Message

Don’t Throw It All Away

^19-21 So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body.

^22-25 So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.

 
For Reflection

God has told us what to expect from an obedient life.  So what is holding you back?  Hold tight to the promise of God.  Keep your eye on the day when the Kingdom of God will be fully realized.  Live creative lives, encouraging love and compassion.

 

Pray

that you will be worthy of the blood sacrifice.  Pray that you will work toward the Kingdom.  Pray that you will act creatively, building the kingdom, honoring freedom, compassion and justice.

Accounting for the Hope in You

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Hope for a New Day

1 Peter 3:13-18

The Message

^13-18 If with heart and soul you’re doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you’re still better off. Don’t give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They’ll end up realizing that they’re the ones who need a bath. It’s better to suffer for doing good, if that’s what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. That’s what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others’ sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God.

For Reflection

Keep your eye on God.  The living Spirit that lives in you calls for living in the Spirit.  Keep your faith in God's desire to make all things right.  Even when times are darkest, God will bring you through into the light.  Have courage and trust in the Lord.

Pray

for the courage to stand for the Godly and reject the un-Godly.  Pray that you will remain God-centered in the face of all dire circumstances.  Pray for guidance, and hope for salvation.

In Hope We Were Saved

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Hope for a New Day

Romans 8:18-25

The Message

^18-21 That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.

^22-25 All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

 
For Reflection

We live within God's creation.  God's creation is not something done and finished in the past.  God is still creating. We are created in God's likeness and are still in endless process.  Hallelujah, I am not what I was. Nor will I be what I now am. I am an evolving creation of God.   Born to live creative lives, we have the capacity to build towards the realization of God's kingdom.  Live life creatively!

 

Pray

that with every movement, with every breath, you live a life that creates a sanctuary for the living God.  Pray that you will reinforce that which is good, encourage justice and forgiveness, walk in the Spirit bringing hope to all with whom you interact.

Hope in God

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Hope for a New Day

Psalm 43

The Message

43 ^1-2 Clear my name, God; stick up for me
    against these loveless, immoral people.
Get me out of here, away
    from these lying degenerates.
I counted on you, God.
    Why did you walk out on me?
Why am I pacing the floor, wringing my hands
    over these outrageous people?

^3-4 Give me your lantern and compass,
    give me a map,
So I can find my way to the sacred mountain,
    to the place of your presence,
To enter the place of worship,
    meet my exuberant God,
Sing my thanks with a harp,
    magnificent God, my God.

⁵ Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
    Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
    soon I’ll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
    He’s my God.

For Reflection

We all have been disappointed by failed relationships, business or personal activities derailed by violations of trust, and shocked by the depths of our inhumanity.  Metaphorically, all of these things can be traced to the obedience of a perverted god, the god of wealth, of power, of self service, of wrath, of hate, of fear. of loathing.  Need I go on?  We sometimes forget that our God is a god of love, of grace, of forgiveness, of reconciliation, of comfort and of abiding loyalty.  God never abandons us.  God always sets all things right.  Praise God!

Pray

prayers of thanksgiving and praise.  When life overcomes you pray so that God, who resides in you, will surface and surround you with the cloak of salvation.  Pray so that you become aware of God, who abides with you eternally.

What Hope for the Godless?

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Hope for a New Day

Job 27:8-12

The Message

^7-10 “Let my enemy be exposed as wicked!
    Let my adversary be proven guilty!
What hope do people without God have when life is cut short?
    when God puts an end to life?
Do you think God will listen to their cry for help
    when disaster hits?
What interest have they ever shown in the Almighty?
    Have they ever been known to pray before?

^11-12 “I’ve given you a clear account of God in action,
    suppressed nothing regarding God Almighty.
The evidence is right before you. You can all see it for yourselves,
    so why do you keep talking nonsense?

 
For Reflection

The godless have little hope that is based on anything but their own devices.  It is an empty hope.  It is a hopelessness that engenders hopelessness.  It is a hopelessness that is masked by self-deception.  God suffers with them and will answer their authentic call for hope beyond their desperation.

 

Pray

pray for those whose false hope betrays them.  Pray that they will find eternal hope in the living God. pray that you will not be seduced by the false hope in self-control.

You Are the Temple of God

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Trust God's Promises

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1

The Message

^14-18 Don’t become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That’s not partnership; that’s war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God’s holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way:

“I’ll live in them, move into them;
    I’ll be their God and they’ll be my people.
So leave the corruption and compromise;
    leave it for good,” says God.
“Don’t link up with those who will pollute you.
    I want you all for myself.
I’ll be a Father to you;
    you’ll be sons and daughters to me.”
The Word of the Master, God.

7 With promises like this to pull us on, dear friends, let’s make a clean break with everything that defiles or distracts us, both within and without. Let’s make our entire lives fit and holy temples for the worship of God.

For Reflection

With whom do you associate?  No one I know or for that matter have ever known cherished rejection.  We all need a sense of belonging.  Sometimes the need to belong influences people to think, say and do things they might not do in different circumstances or different groups of people.  It is hard to be yourself when yourself is different from the selves in the crowd you are a part of or into which you want to be a accepted.  The pressure to conform is powerful and it is a courageous person who can avoid being corrupted.  It is best to remember God lives in you and will protect you.  In God you will find a way to be acceptable, even if it means finding a more supportive environment.  Trust in God. 

Pray

Pray for the courage to be the person God intends you to be.

You are God's People

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Trust God's Promises

1 Peter 2:4-10

The Message

The Stone

^4-8 Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life. The workmen took one look and threw it out; God set it in the place of honor. Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you’ll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God. The Scriptures provide precedent:

Look! I’m setting a stone in Zion,
    a cornerstone in the place of honor.
Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation
    will never have cause to regret it.

To you who trust him, he’s a Stone to be proud of, but to those who refuse to trust him,

The stone the workmen threw out
    is now the chief foundation stone.

For the untrusting it’s

. . . a stone to trip over,
    a boulder blocking the way.

They trip and fall because they refuse to obey, just as predicted.

^9-10 But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.

For Reflection

Thank God for the misfits!  As a high school and college teacher of speech and theater, I was often struck by the value of the position God threw me into.  Many times the best students in my classes, those who won many awards for their abilities, were not always the "preferred" student recommended by other teachers.  They were not always the popular mainstream acceptable students.  Often they were "off beat." 

Even with their successes, many were not given equitable treatment in the established community.  No, they were not conformist.  Yes, they were sometimes challenging.  Yes they were always responsive to a caring environment which encouraged them to find their own way of being successful.  I always felt blessed to be given a chance to be part of their lives.

I discovered teaching was not about me. It always was about the student.  It was about creating a sanctuary where error was seen as the pathway to progress, to be embraced as a scientist will embrace negative findings in an experiment and use them to design new and fruitful ways to progress. 

And so it is with human interactions.  Relationships are evolutionary.  They grow, mature and end and leave in their wake a slow progression toward perfection.  At least that's how I see the world.  I trust in the discarded stones.

Pray

that you see the world from God's eyes.  Pray that you will embrace culture's discards.  Pray that you will value culture's rejects as precious diamonds.  Pray that you will learn to create rather than cripple.  Pray that you will present yourself as a discarded stone, a child of God, a right fit in the temple of the everlasting.

You Have Been Born Anew

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Trust God's Promises

1 Peter 1:22-2:3

The Message

^22-25 Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That’s why the prophet said,

The old life is a grass life,
    its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers;
Grass dries up, flowers droop,
    God’s Word goes on and on forever.

This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.

2 ^1-3 So clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy and hurtful talk. You’ve had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God’s pure kindness. Then you’ll grow up mature and whole in God.

 
For Reflection

Each decision to follow God is a moment of rebirth.  It is a moment of baptism, a moment of communion with the Holy Spirit.  It is a moment of life anew lived in the hollow of God's hand, a life eternal, a life of stewardship in the Kingdom of God.

 

Pray

that you will follow the truth.  Pray that you will love one another.  Pray so that your new life never regresses into your old life.  Live a God-centered life so that humankind evolves into the Kingdom of God.

You Shall Be Holy

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Trust God's Promises

1 Peter 1:13-21

The Message

A Future in God

^13-16 So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”

¹⁷ You call out to God for help and he helps—he’s a good Father that way. But don’t forget, he’s also a responsible Father, and won’t let you get by with sloppy living.
^18-21 Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.

 
For Reflection

Jesus arrives when you get that nagging feeling that something is missing.  Jesus arrives when you decide to do something that you did not ever expect you would do.  Jesus arrives when you comfort the troubled.  Jesus arrives when you help the helpless. Jesus arrives when you give hope to the hopeless.  In short Jesus arrives when you, who are God-centered live the life God intended for all humankind, warts and all. 

 

Pray

that you will travel life's often times rocky road with a deep consciousness of God.  Pray that Christ's sacrifice was not in vain and that you, by living your common life, will bring uncommon  good news of salvation to all with whom you interact.

Take Courage

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Trust God's Promises

Psalm 27:7-14

The Message

^7-9 Listen, God, I’m calling at the top of my lungs:
    “Be good to me! Answer me!”
When my heart whispered, “Seek God,”
    my whole being replied,
“I’m seeking him!”
    Don’t hide from me now!

^9-10 You’ve always been right there for me;
    don’t turn your back on me now.
Don’t throw me out, don’t abandon me;
    you’ve always kept the door open.
My father and mother walked out and left me,
    but God took me in.

^11-12 Point me down your highway, God;
    direct me along a well-lighted street;
    show my enemies whose side you’re on.
Don’t throw me to the dogs,
    those liars who are out to get me,
    filling the air with their threats.

^13-14 I’m sure now I’ll see God’s goodness
    in the exuberant earth.
Stay with God!
    Take heart. Don’t quit.
I’ll say it again:
    Stay with God.

 
For Reflection

Stay with God.  Stay with God. Stay with God. 
Hold fast to God. Hold fast to God.  Hold fast to God.
Hope in God. Hope in God. Hope in God.
Have confidence in God. Have confidence in God. Have confidence in God.
Trust God. Trust God. Trust God.
Fear nothing,  Fear nothing. Fear nothing.

Be remembered for wearing the robe of the living God.

 

Pray

for the courage to serve and love God with all of your heart, your mind and your soul.  Pray for the the courage to love others as you love yourself.

The Fear of the Lord

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Trust God's Promises

Deuteronomy 6:17-25

The Message

^13-19 Deeply respect God, your God. Serve and worship him exclusively. Back up your promises with his name only. Don’t fool around with other gods, the gods of your neighbors, because God, your God, who is alive among you is a jealous God. Don’t provoke him, igniting his hot anger that would burn you right off the face of the Earth. Don’t push God, your God, to the wall as you did that day at Massah, the Testing-Place. Carefully keep the commands of God, your God, all the requirements and regulations he gave you. Do what is right; do what is good in God’s sight so you’ll live a good life and be able to march in and take this pleasant land that God so solemnly promised through your ancestors, throwing out your enemies left and right—exactly as God said.
^20-24 The next time your child asks you, “What do these requirements and regulations and rules that God, our God, has commanded mean?” tell your child, “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and God powerfully intervened and got us out of that country. We stood there and watched as God delivered miracle-signs, great wonders, and evil-visitations on Egypt, on Pharaoh and his household. He pulled us out of there so he could bring us here and give us the land he so solemnly promised to our ancestors. That’s why God commanded us to follow all these rules, so that we would live reverently before God, our God, as he gives us this good life, keeping us alive for a long time to come.
²⁵ “It will be a set-right and put-together life for us if we make sure that we do this entire commandment in the Presence of God, our God, just as he commanded us to do.”

 
For Reflection

Follow the rule of love so that you are a compassionate, seeker of what is just and true.  Judge your actions by a God-centered standard and ignore the seductions of self-indulgence.  This means that you will not become a prisoner to the common wisdom, enslaved by the culture in which you live.  This is the incarnation of salvation.

 

Pray

that you will follow the will of God.  Pray that you will have the wisdom to identify God-centered choices.  Pray that you will be obedient in service to the will of God.

The Blessings of Obedience

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Trust God's Promises

Leviticus 26:3-13

The Message

“If You Live by My Decrees . . .”

^3-5 “If you live by my decrees and obediently keep my commandments, I will send the rains in their seasons, the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. You will thresh until the grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting time; you’ll have more than enough to eat and will live safe and secure in your land.

^6-10 “I’ll make the country a place of peace—you’ll be able to go to sleep at night without fear; I’ll get rid of the wild beasts; I’ll eliminate war. You’ll chase out your enemies and defeat them: Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand and do away with them. I’ll give you my full attention: I’ll make sure you prosper, make sure you grow in numbers, and keep my covenant with you in good working order. You’ll still be eating from last year’s harvest when you have to clean out the barns to make room for the new crops.
^11-13 “I’ll set up my residence in your neighborhood; I won’t avoid or shun you; I’ll stroll through your streets. I’ll be your God; you’ll be my people. I am God, your personal God who rescued you from Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I ripped off the harness of your slavery so that you can move about freely.

For Reflection

Yesterday's passages were a warning exclaiming. "Here's what will happen if you do not obey me."  Notice that God's action is triggered by human inaction on God's recommendations for an obedient fulfilling life.

Today, "Here is what will happen if you follow God's recommendations for a fulfilling life."  In both cases the cause for success or failure in following Gods will is a result of something we do.

Don't blame God.  God is not the original born loser.  In our failure to embrace God, we are the losers.

Pray

that you will walk the streets with God at your side.  Pray that you will live in God's neighborhood.  Pray that you will never forget to thank, praise, and worship the God of your salvation.

The Consequences of Disobedience

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Trust God's Promises

Leviticus 26:14-26

The Message

“But If You Refuse to Obey Me . . .”

^14-17 “But if you refuse to obey me and won’t observe my commandments, despising my decrees and holding my laws in contempt by your disobedience, making a shambles of my covenant, I’ll step in and pour on the trouble: debilitating disease, high fevers, blindness, your life leaking out bit by bit. You’ll plant seed but your enemies will eat the crops. I’ll turn my back on you and stand by while your enemies defeat you. People who hate you will govern you. You’ll run scared even when there’s no one chasing you.

^18-20 “And if none of this works in getting your attention, I’ll discipline you seven times over for your sins. I’ll break your strong pride: I’ll make the skies above you like a sheet of tin and the ground under you like cast iron. No matter how hard you work, nothing will come of it: No crops out of the ground, no fruit off the trees.
^21-22 “If you defy me and refuse to listen, your punishment will be seven times more than your sins: I’ll set wild animals on you; they’ll rob you of your children, kill your cattle, and decimate your numbers until you’ll think you are living in a ghost town.
^23-26 “And if even this doesn’t work and you refuse my discipline and continue your defiance, then it will be my turn to defy you. I, yes I, will punish you for your sins seven times over: I’ll let war loose on you, avenging your breaking of the covenant; when you huddle in your cities for protection, I’ll send a deadly epidemic on you and you’ll be helpless before your enemies; when I cut off your bread supply, ten women will bake bread in one oven and ration it out. You’ll eat, but barely—no one will get enough.

 
For Reflection

OUCH!   

Where do you draw the line in assigning your woes to the wrath of God?  If you are troubled by an angry God remember God's grace and unconditional forgiveness.  If you are sure that your undesirable circumstances are a sign of your disobedience, then, by all means, confess your sin and repent.  Change.  Become one who is transformed by the Holy Spirit into a life lived in the hollow of God's hand.  Adopt a life of righteousness.

 

Pray

that you will listen to the God whispers that guide your life.  Pray that all will follow the life that Christ has revealed to us.  Confess your short comings and turn to God. Pray that you will choose to live in the hands of a loving, forgiving God.

My Spirit Seeks You

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Trust God's Promises

Isaiah 26:1-15

The Message

Stretch the Borders of Life

26 ^1-6 At that time, this song
    will be sung in the country of Judah:
We have a strong city, Salvation City,
    built and fortified with salvation.
Throw wide the gates
    so good and true people can enter.
People with their minds set on you,
    you keep completely whole,
Steady on their feet,
    because they keep at it and don’t quit.
Depend on God and keep at it
    because in the Lord God you have a sure thing.
Those who lived high and mighty
    he knocked off their high horse.
He used the city built on the hill
    as fill for the marshes.
All the exploited and outcast peoples
    build their lives on the reclaimed land.

^7-10 The path of right-living people is level.
    The Leveler evens the road for the right-living.
We’re in no hurry, God. We’re content to linger
    in the path sign-posted with your decisions.
Who you are and what you’ve done
    are all we’ll ever want.
Through the night my soul longs for you.
    Deep from within me my spirit reaches out to you.
When your decisions are on public display,
    everyone learns how to live right.
If the wicked are shown grace,
    they don’t seem to get it.
In the land of right living, they persist in wrong living,
    blind to the splendor of God.

^11-15 You hold your hand up high, God,
    but they don’t see it.
Open their eyes to what you do,
    to see your zealous love for your people.
Shame them. Light a fire under them.
    Get the attention of these enemies of yours.
God, order a peaceful and whole life for us
    because everything we’ve done, you’ve done for us.
O God, our God, we’ve had other masters rule us,
    but you’re the only Master we’ve ever known.
The dead don’t talk,
    ghosts don’t walk,
Because you’ve said, “Enough—that’s all for you,”
    and wiped them off the books.
But the living you make larger than life.
    The more life you give, the more glory you display,
    and stretch the borders to accommodate more living!

 
For Reflection

As a child of God you know the meaning of salvation.  You experience the transformed life.  You feel the presence of the Spirit.  You practice the will of God.  You are known by the Spirit that resides in you.  Praise be to the living God.

 

Pray

that all whom God seeks will find God.  Pray that those who are blind to the living Spirit will one day see and be transformed. Pray for the courage to practice the will of God.