Who Dwells on God's Holy Hill

The Sovereignty of God
The Alpha and Omega

Everything Is Brand New

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

God, a burst of light in the darkness of human folly, invites us all to sit at God's table.  We are all on God's guest list. Many accept the invitation but don't eat at the table.  Many accept the invitation but decline to show up.  Many ignore the invitation.

Let those of us who accept the invitation and show up and eat and pray and hope and witness to the voracity of God's Table. 

Pray

for the communion of the Holy Spirit to be shared by all who hear God's invitation. Pray that you will play your part  as a witness to God's grace.

Power of an Indestructible Life

The Sovereignty of God
The Sovereignty of Jesus

High Priest Forever

Hebrews 7:15-19  The Message

^15-19 But the Melchizedek story provides a perfect analogy: Jesus, a priest like Melchizedek, not by genealogical descent but by the sheer force of resurrection life—he lives!—“priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek.” The former way of doing things, a system of commandments that never worked out the way it was supposed to, was set aside; the law brought nothing to maturity. Another way—Jesus!—a way that does work, that brings us right into the presence of God, is put in its place.

For Reflection

This is a story of change:  a change in the tribe from which the priest is chosen, a change in the form and order of making priests, a change in the efficacy of the priesthood, a change in the way God is acting through the priesthood, a change in the covenant of the priesthood, a change in the number of priests and a change in the moral qualifications of a priest.  At the head of this new priesthood is a priest of perfection, not subject to perversions of the flesh.  Christ mediates for us and has no need for mediation for himself.  Christ is the priest who has regard and passion for God and tenderness and compassion for us and none of the distractions of humanity.  Christ is the perfect priest bringing the law to maturity and God into our souls.  A priest who "...brings us right into the presence of God."

Pray

Thank God for fixing our foul-ups, our misinterpretation and errant application of the law of Moses.  Thank God for giving us the grace of the most high priest, Jesus.  Thank God for showing, through Christ, who God is.  Pray so that you can faithfully follow the Way that works to put God present, here and now, living in our souls.

Jesus, Permanent Priest Forever

The Sovereignty of God
The Sovereignty of Jesus

High Priest Forever

Hebrews 1  The Message

1 ^1-3 Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries. Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature. He holds everything together by what he says—powerful words!

^8-9 But he says to the Son,

You’re God, and on the throne for good;
    your rule makes everything right.
You love it when things are right;
    you hate it when things are wrong.
That is why God, your God,
    poured fragrant oil on your head,
Marking you out as king,
    far above your dear companions.

For Reflection

God, the Son -- con-substantial; perhaps one and the same, not virtually the same.  God calls God's son God!  In what sense is Christ God? What does that tell us about God? How does it change us?  If we understand Christ do we also understand God?

Pray

Pray so that you join in an intimate relationship with God and God the Son.  Pray that you will gain a glimpse of the nature of God with each minute spent in prayer.   Pray that you will open yourself to God and give yourself to God the Son.

Power of God Invested in Christ

The Sovereignty of God
The Sovereignty of Jesus

High Priest Forever

Ephesians 1:17-23  The Message

^15-19 That’s why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn’t stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!
^20-23 All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.

For Reflection

The early Church worshiped God and followed Christ.  What about us?  Are we Christ Worshipers or Christ Followers?

Paul doesn't ask Christ to empower the early church.  He asks God to open us to the wisdom in following Christ.  It is God who empowers Christ with boundless energy to drive the church as the central force in the reconciliation of the world. 

Worship God.  Follow Christ with solid trust and an outpouring of love.

Pray

for the skill and insight to apply the principles of love, justice, forgiveness and compassion to the world in which you live.  Pray to live the life God intended you to live.  Pray to follow the Way.

Believer's Inheritance in Christ

The Sovereignty of God
The Sovereignty of Jesus

High Priest Forever

Ephesians 1:11-19  The Message

^11-12 It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.
^13-14 It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.
^15-19 That’s why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn’t stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!

For Reflection

Who has not entertained the question, "Who and Why am I?" Designed by God for glorious living, we are hardly living up to that gift.  Our independent lives of freewill make the gift more valuable and yet, ironically, we employ freewill to avoid acting on the greatest gift ever given.  We continue to live under the assumption that we are the captains of our ships the masters of our fate.   What folly!  How much better would the world be if we only embraced the truth and lived lives of compassionate selflessness.

Pray

That you will believe in the Gospel of Good News and act on that belief.  Praise God for the Gift of Grace and for the evidence of God's unlimited love, Jesus Christ.

I Know Their Suffering

The Sovereignty of God
The Sovereignty of Jesus

Pioneer and Perfecter of Our Faith

Exodus 3:7-10  The Message

^7-8 God said, “I’ve taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I’ve heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
^9-10 “The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I’ve seen for myself how cruelly they’re being treated by the Egyptians. It’s time for you to go back: I’m sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel, out of Egypt.”
 

For Reflection

What ever our plight, whatever our pain, however we have sinned, God is there, willing and eager to strip us from our darkness and usher us into the light of God's grace.  Unworthy as we are, God resides within us.  God is our hope. In God is our salvation.

Pray

prayers of thanksgiving and praise.  Pray that your soul will accept God's grace and fill you with the joy and hope in his Kingdom.

You Are Blessed for Enduring Suffering

The Sovereignty of God
The Sovereignty of Jesus

Pioneer and Perfecter of Our Faith

James 1:12-18  The Message

¹² Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.
^13-15 Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, “God is trying to trip me up.” God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.
^16-18 So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures.

For Reflection

Some see God as the original born loser!  To them, God is the cause of all their problems.  God is to blame.

It is some times hard to blame ourselves.  Instead, we seek scapegoats.  Like a child we exclaim, "Its his fault. He made me do it."  We blame other people, other things, circumstance, the time of day, or anything but the real culprit -- our own folly.

God is not the Holy Gotcha!  God is the God of love; unconditional, abiding, forgiving, compassionate love.

Pray

that you look in the mirror for the answers to the problems you face.  Pray that you will trust in God to show you the truth in you and to lead you toward the truth God intends for your life.  Pray that you will trust God unconditionally.

Run the Race to Win

The Sovereignty of God
The Sovereignty of Jesus

Pioneer and Perfecter of Our Faith

1 Corinthians 9:24-27  The Message

^24-25 You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold meWe are restored into God's household.  All we have to do is say yes to God's invitation.  The promise of the Kingdom is a promise of freedom from the seductions of the common culture, a promise of a life lived in the fellowship of those who love, a promise of living in a just world, a promise of mutual support, and a promise of ever lasting life.  How inventive can you be in living the life God intends you to live?
dal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally.
^26-27 I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.

For Reflection and Prayer

Guide My Feet

The Faith We Sing Number 2208
Text: African American Spiritual
Music: African American Spiritual; harm. by Wendell Whalum 

 

1. Guide my feet while I run this race.
Guide my feet while I run this race.
Guide my feet while I run this race,
for I don't want to run this race in vain!

2. Hold my hand while I run this race.
Hold my hand while I run this race.
Hold my hand while I run this race,
for I don't want to run this race in vain!

3. Stand by me while I run this race.
Stand by me while I run this race.
Stand by me while I run this race,
for I don't want to run this race in vain!

4. I'm your child while I run this race.
I'm your child while I run this race.
I'm your child while I run this race,
for I don't want to run this race in vain!

5. Search my heart while I run this race.
Search my heart while I run this race.
Search my heart while I run this race,
for I don't want to run this race in vain!

6. Guide my feet while I run this race.
Guide my feet while I run this race.
Guide my feet while I run this race,
for I don't want to run this race in vain!

By His Bruises We Are Healed

The Sovereignty of God
The Sovereignty of Jesus

Pioneer and Perfecter of Our Faith

Isaiah 53:1-6  The Message

53 Who believes what we’ve heard and seen?
    Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?

^2-6 The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
    a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
    nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
    a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
    We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
    our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
    that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
    that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
    Through his bruises we get healed.
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
    We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,
    on him, on him.

For Reflection

We are reconciled to God.  Our sin is forgiven.  The healing power of the Christ event has made us free;  free to love instead of hate,  free to serve instead of take, free to forgive instead of reap vengeance.  We are free to choose God.

Pray

prayers of praise and thanksgiving for the Living God.  Pray that you will always choose to serve the one who has created you. 

Jesus Carries Forward the Father's Will

The Sovereignty of God
The Sovereignty of Jesus

The Great High Priest

Matthew 26:36-39  The Message

^36-38 Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, “Stay here while I go over there and pray.” Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he plunged into an agonizing sorrow. Then he said, “This sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me.”
³⁹ Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?”

For Reflection

Worship God.  Follow Christ..


Pray

that the word of God has entered your soul and is driving your goodness.  Pray the you will study the life of Christ with an eye to say as He says and do as He does.

A Good Disciple of Jesus Christ

The Sovereignty of God
The Sovereignty of Jesus

The Great High Priest

2 Timothy 2:1-7The Message (MSG)

Doing Your Best for God

2 ^1-7 So, my son, throw yourself into this work for Christ. Pass on what you heard from me—the whole congregation saying Amen!—to reliable leaders who are competent to teach others. When the going gets rough, take it on the chin with the rest of us, the way Jesus did. A soldier on duty doesn’t get caught up in making deals at the marketplace. He concentrates on carrying out orders. An athlete who refuses to play by the rules will never get anywhere. It’s the diligent farmer who gets the produce. Think it over. God will make it all plain.

For Reflection

Paul asks Timothy to preserver.  He asks Timothy to have confidence in himself and in God's abiding power to perform miraculous things.  He advises obedience in the face of adversity.  He advises you and me as well.

Pray

for obedience to the Holy Spirit, the word and presence of God who resides within you.

Guard Your Faith with Powerful Love

The Sovereignty of God
The Sovereignty of Jesus

The Great High Priest

2 Timothy 1:3-14  The Message

To Be Bold with God’s Gifts

^3-4 Every time I say your name in prayer—which is practically all the time—I thank God for you, the God I worship with my whole life in the tradition of my ancestors. I miss you a lot, especially when I remember that last tearful good-bye, and I look forward to a joy-packed reunion.

^5-7 That precious memory triggers another: your honest faith—and what a rich faith it is, handed down from your grandmother Lois to your mother Eunice, and now to you! And the special gift of ministry you received when I laid hands on you and prayed—keep that ablaze! God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.
^8-10 So don’t be embarrassed to speak up for our Master or for me, his prisoner. Take your share of suffering for the Message along with the rest of us. We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work. We had nothing to do with it. It was all his idea, a gift prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it. But we know it now. Since the appearance of our Savior, nothing could be plainer: death defeated, life vindicated in a steady blaze of light, all through the work of Jesus.
^11-12 This is the Message I’ve been set apart to proclaim as preacher, emissary, and teacher. It’s also the cause of all this trouble I’m in. But I have no regrets. I couldn’t be more sure of my ground—the One I’ve trusted in can take care of what he’s trusted me to do right to the end.
^13-14 So keep at your work, this faith and love rooted in Christ, exactly as I set it out for you. It’s as sound as the day you first heard it from me. Guard this precious thing placed in your custody by the Holy Spirit who works in us.

For Reflection

If you have given your soul over to God you cannot hide your joy and life force.  That force is moved and guarded by the Holy Spirit.   Just by being a child of God, you will be noticed for your unwillingness to be vengeful, to be unforgiving, to be self-aggrandizing.  You will be known for your humility and kindness.  You cannot help yourself.  It is at the very core of your being. Your will be a living witness to the Holy Spirit.

Pray

prayers of praise to God.  Thank God for the saints who have brought you to Christ.  Pray for those who ignore the Holy Spirit that they find the joy and freedom in following the Way.  Pray that you, like those who have preceded you, pass the love of God to those with whom you interact.

Gifts for the Work of Ministry

The Sovereignty of God
The Sovereignty of Jesus


The Great High Priest

Ephesians 4:7-13  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

For Reflection

Do you think of yourself as a minister?  No, not the pulpit kind, but rather, the witnessing kind.

We humans were all born to be equal in the eyes of God and yet we are all different.  No two humans are identical.  We look differently. We speak differently.  We act differently, think differently and , yes, pray differently.  But we, all,  have been created by God with individual gifts to be shared with each other.  God's will is that we move "...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."  Each of us are asked to shepherd each other in the Way of Christ.  To whom do you minister?

Pray

that you will witness to the love of God in every thought and action.  Pray that you will be willing to minister to all.  Pray that your soul, made holy by God, will shine into the darkness of this world.

Obedient Actions Required of All Members

The Sovereignty of God
The Sovereignty of Jesus

Builder of the House

Matthew 7:19-23  The Message

^15-20 “Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don’t be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned.
^21-23 “Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance—isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’

For Reflection

You are human.  You must be willing to judge.  However, you must not be judgmental.  Matthew knows how false teaching, witness and preaching can undermine the gospel message.  We know it too.  Each day we see the perversions of The Way of Christ.  Hate posing as love. Exclusion posing as the body of Christ. Vengeance posing as justice.   Just look for the love of God you will easily expose the pretenders.

Pray

that you will have the wisdom to follow Jesus Christ.  Pray that you will not be seduced by those who would use God's name to make themselves important.  Pray for humility.

Requesting and then Receiving Help

The Sovereignty of God
The Sovereignty of Jesus

Builder of the House

Matthew 7:7-11  The Message

^7-11 “Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?

For Reflection

"Dear God, if you only let me..."  How many times have you requested something from God with conditions attached.  God loves unconditionally.  God doesn't negotiate with you!  God's promises are always kept.  Perhaps you do not receive God's blessings because you choose to walk your own path, make your own waves and instigate the consequences of your own behavior.  That's not God punishing you.  That's on you for your egocentric desire has failed you. It is not God's will that you suffer for God suffers with you.

Pray

that you will be God-centric.  Pray that you will focus on partnering with God.  Pray that you will trust God to help you.

Jesus Christ, the Only Foundation

The Sovereignty of God
The Sovereignty of Jesus

Builder of the House

1 Corinthians 3:10-15   The Message

^9-15 Or, to put it another way, you are God’s house. Using the gift God gave me as a good architect, I designed blueprints; Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you’ll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn’t, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won’t be torn out; you’ll survive—but just barely

For Reflection

Emptying your soul from guilt and sin is only a first step.  An empty soul invites fulfillment.  Be sure that you fill your soul with God-centered desires.  A soul filled with the Holy Spirit leaves no room for sin.

Pray

that you will displace all that invites sin into your soul.  Pray for the wisdom to fill your soul with God-centered desires.  Pray that your desire to follow Christ occupies the core of your being, your soul.

Hold Fast to Our Confession

The Sovereignty of God
The Sovereignty of Jesus

Builder of the House

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 is approachable.  God wants us to approach God.  God wants an intimate relationship with each of us.  Christ has shown us the way to a more intimate relationship with God.  Christ has shown us how to pray.  Christ has shown us that God cares for us.  So, without hesitation walk right up to God and enter a divine intimacy.  Fill your soul with love, compassion, forgiveness and a passion for justice.

Pray

about everything.  Spend quiet time each day in prayer.  Pray while driving. Pray while you wait for someone.  Pray, its the most important thing that you do.

Angels in God's Plan

The Sovereignty of God
The Sovereignty of Jesus

Builder of the House

Hebrews 2:5-9  The Message

The Salvation Pioneer

^5-9 God didn’t put angels in charge of this business of salvation that we’re dealing with here. It says in Scripture,

What is man and woman that you bother with them;
    why take a second look their way?
You made them not quite as high as angels,
    bright with Eden’s dawn light;
Then you put them in charge
    of your entire handcrafted world.

When God put them in charge of everything, nothing was excluded. But we don’t see it yet, don’t see everything under human jurisdiction. What we do see is Jesus, made “not quite as high as angels,” and then, through the experience of death, crowned so much higher than any angel, with a glory “bright with Eden’s dawn light.” In that death, by God’s grace, he fully experienced death in every person’s place.

For Reflection

We are among God's finest creations.  God is always mindful of us.  God has given us Jesus, fully human and fully divine, so that we may know God.  In Christ we see victory over human suffering and the fulfillment of human destiny.  In our charge is the fate of the world and God has confidence and faith in us to recognize fully our obligation to God and fulfill our human destiny as children of God.

Pray

that you will recognize your holy nature.  Pray that you will fill your days with witness to God who has made you and, through Christ, has shown you how to live in God's kingdom.