Salvation Requires Witness

Responses to God's Faithfulness

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Faith Saves

Mark 13:9-13 New International Version
9 “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me, you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
12 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 13 Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

For Reflection

As God confederates, we are change agents. In organizations, those people who initiate change almost always suffer personal losses. Yet, the change that was initiated may actually become realized in policy and practice. For Christians, the effect of this phenomenon is multiplied because our values and practices run counter to commonly held norms.

Christians are asked to be non-violent, to be forgiving rather than vengeful, to champion justice over malicious enforcement of rules, to create systems that distribute the resources of a governed body equitably among its people. Christians reject selfishness for humble servitude. We practice love and reject hate. We challenge false prophets and despots.

Pray

Pray often about all things so that in your suffering for the love of God and the Way of Jesus Christ, you will remain steadfast.  When life's tribulations frustrate you, pray and listen for Christ, whispering from your soul, "Remember Me and take comfort in My promise.

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Your Sins Are Forgiven

Responses to God's Faithfulness

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Faith Saves

Luke 5:20-26 The Message 
18-20 Some men arrived carrying a paraplegic on a stretcher. They were looking for a way to get into the house and set him before Jesus. When they couldn’t find a way in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof, removed some tiles, and let him down in the middle of everyone, right in front of Jesus. Impressed by their bold belief, he said, “Friend, I forgive your sins.”
21 That set the religion scholars and Pharisees buzzing. “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemous talk! God and only God can forgive sins.”
22-26 Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking and said, “Why all this gossipy whispering? Which is simpler: to say ‘I forgive your sins,’ or to say ‘Get up and start walking’? Well, just so it’s clear that I’m the Son of Man and authorized to do either, or both.  ” He now spoke directly to the paraplegic: “Get up. Take your bedroll and go home.” Without a moment’s hesitation, he did it—got up, took his blanket, and left for home, giving glory to God all the way. The people rubbed their eyes, incredulous—and then also gave glory to God. Awestruck, they said, “We’ve never seen anything like that!”

For Reflection

My Austrian grandmother, then in her eighties, was a devout Christian.  In the mid-1940's she would listen to Kathryn Kuhlman's radio broadcast ministry. Kuhlman was one of the most well-known healing ministers in the world. When Kuhlman began her prayers for healing, my grandmother would place her hand on the radio and mouth the prayer along with her. Did it heal her physically? I don't know. But it was a sign of the strength of her faith and the confidence in God speaking through Kuhlman.

I suspect that Jesus saw in the paraplegic and his friends that kind of strong faith in the healing power of Jesus. Though they had eyes to see, the Pharisees could see only a violation of religious rules and dogma. They could not comprehend the meaning of what they had experienced.

Pray

Pray so that you will be able to see the miracle of physical and spiritual healing occurring all around you. Pray and be awestruck and give all glory and honor to God. Pray and see what others cannot.

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Faith in Action

Responses to God's Faithfulness

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Faith Can Heal

Luke 6:46-49 The Message

46-47 “Why are you so polite with me, always saying ‘Yes, sir,’ and ‘That’s right, sir,’ but never doing a thing I tell you? These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on.
48-49 “If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss.”

For Reflection

Knowing God's precepts is not enough. One must also put them into practice.

Pray

Pray so that you can develop a practice of living in love with God and a follower of the way of Jesus Christ.  

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The Blind Man is Healed

Responses to God's Faithfulness

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Faith Can Heal

Mark 10:46-52 New International Version

Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

For Reflection

 Much like the woman who was healed by her courage and her faith, the beggar had faith in the healer, Jesus. This parable challenges the erroneous expectancy that his blindness was caused by his or his father's sin. As a result of their mistaken assumption, Bartimaeus was shunned and "unclean." Jesus' upended that concept. Jesus not only restored the man's physical sight, but he also gave him insight into God's will, and Bartimaeus chose to follow Christ.

Pray

Pray and listen quietly for the whispers of the Holy Spirit to inform you life.  Open your eyes and see the righteous path God has prepared for you.

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Believers Are Blessed

Responses to God's Faithfulness

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Faith Can Heal

Galatians 3:6-9 New International Version
6 So also, Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[a]
7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”[b] 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

For Reflection

All human beings (no exceptions) are blessed by the divine events that began with Abraham. All the children of God, those who lived and died, those now living, and those yet to be born have been or will be given a choice to rely on God and to become a confederate in the realization of God's Kingdom. By choosing the God path, each will be blessed by peace and the conviction that all will be well.

Pray

Pray so that you will listen to the call others cannot hear and see the reality of God's creation to which others are blind. Pray and find rest in the Lord.

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Your Faith Has Made You Well

Responses to God's Faithfulness

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Faith Can Heal

Mark 5:25-34 New International Version

25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better, she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30 At once, Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

For Reflection

Here faith in the reputation of Jesus led her to seek him out.  Her hope was strong. She mustered the courage not only to approach him but to touch him. Jesus felt her presence and understood right away the potency of her faith and the strength of her hope.act

This parable exemplifies the magnitude of faith and courage it takes to act on that faith.  Jesus did not have to lift a finger to assist her. God healed her, validated, and strengthened her spiritual resolve. God had bestowed on her the peace that passes all understanding. She found rest in God.

Pray

Pray prayers of praise and thanksgiving for the living God.  Pray and find the courage to follow Christ, the hope of all humankind.

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Powerful Prayer of Faith

Responses to God's Faithfulness

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Faith Can Heal

James 5:13-18 The Message

Prayer to Be Reckoned With

13-15 Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out.
16-18 Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human, just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came, and everything started growing again.

For Reflection

Prayer is an essential part of one's spiritual life. Prayer centers our perceptions of our secular experiences.  It causes us to focus our attention beyond the current affairs and into the less visible intentions of God.  In prayer, we find a time to contemplate our circumstances, avoid the pressures of an instant answer, and focus our attention on righteous responses that are consistent with the love of God. The more we pray, the closer we become to God and to each other.

Pray

Pray often and become a collaborator with the Creator and the Creation.

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Elijah Restores Life

Responses to God's Faithfulness

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Blessed for Faithfulness

1 Kings 17:17-24 The Message)
17 Later on, the woman’s son became sick. The sickness took a turn for the worse—and then he stopped breathing.
18 The woman said to Elijah, “Why did you ever show up here in the first place—a holy man barging in, exposing my sins, and killing my son?”
19-20 Elijah said, “Hand me your son.”
He then took him from her bosom, carried him up to the loft where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. Then he prayed, “O God, my God, why have you brought this terrible thing on this widow who has opened her home to me? Why have you killed her son?”
21-23 Three times, he stretched himself out full-length on the boy, praying with all his might, “God, my God, put breath back into this boy’s body!” God listened to Elijah’s prayer and put breath back into his body—he was alive! Elijah picked the boy up, carried him downstairs from the loft, and gave him to his mother. “Here’s your son,” said Elijah, “alive!”
24 The woman said to Elijah, “I see it all now—you are a holy man. When you speak, God speaks—a true word!”

For Reflection
The prophet was sent to this widow because of her faith. She seems to believe God had visited a punishment on her, (a shared understanding of why people suffer.)  Elijah did not revive the son. But God did. God had confirmed the woman's spiritual need. Her faith in God was validated.

Pray

Pray so that you will recognize God's hand in the workings of God's Creation.  Share your God experiences with others as a testimony of Grace.

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God Sent Ravens to Feed Elijah

Responses to God's Faithfulness

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Blessed for Faithfulness

1 Kings 17:1-9 The Message
17 And then this happened: Elijah the Tishbite, from among the settlers of Gilead, confronted Ahab: “As surely as God lives, the God of Israel before whom I stand in obedient service, the next years are going to see a total drought—not a drop of dew or rain unless I say otherwise.”
2-4, God then told Elijah, “Get out of here and fast. Head east and hide out at the Kerith Ravine on the other side of the Jordan River. You can drink fresh water from the brook; I’ve ordered the ravens to feed you.”
5-6 Elijah obeyed God’s orders. He went and camped in the Kerith canyon on the other side of the Jordan. And sure enough, ravens brought him his meals, both breakfast, and supper, and he drank from the brook.
7-9 Eventually, the brook dried up because of the drought. Then God spoke to him: “Get up and go to Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I’ve instructed a woman who lives there, a widow, to feed you.”

For Reflection

God will provide for your needs.  Will God pay for your college debt. No, probably not. However, in your spiritual endeavors, as you work in collaboration with God, God will provide and pave the way for your success. Be confident. Trust God.

Pray

Pray so that you will approach your life, engaging in the will of God and marvel at the power of God's grace.

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Prophetic Examples of Faithfulness

Responses to God's Faithfulness

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Blessed for Faithfulness

Luke 4:24-30 New International Version

24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time when the sky was shut for three and a half years, and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy[a] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff.30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

For Reflection

Fresh from a preaching and healing campaign in Galilee, Jesus returned to Nazareth. His celebrity preceded him, and he was asked to teach. Some were amazed, and their faith strengthened by his preaching. Others were aghast at what they considered blasphemy. This mixed review foreshadows much of the remainder of Jesus' relationship to the Jewish religious leaders.   

Pray

Pray so that your ears will hear the truths in Jesus' teaching. Pray so that you may see the wisdom in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

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On the Mountain With Jesus

Responses to God's Faithfulness

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Blessed for Faithfulness

Matthew 17:1-7 New International Version

The Transfiguration

17 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him, I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.”

For Reflection

Just as He had to suffer and die, Jesus had to be raised and transfigured into the entity He had always been. This incarnation of the Creator had shown us the face and temperament of God.  Jesus lived his life in obedience to the will of God. As he made choices that were consistent with God's intentions. Jesus was and is the archetype of human perfection. In his resurrection and his appearance on the mount, three disciples witnessed the man, now transfigured into Spiritual eternity.  

Pray

Pray prayers of praise and awe for the power of God.  Pray so that you, too, like Jesus, will be transformed by the power of your choice to worship God and follow Christ.  

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Keep God's Commandments

Responses to God's Faithfulness

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Blessed for Faithfulness

Proverbs 3:1-10 New International Version

Wisdom Bestows Well-Being

3 My son, do not forget my teaching,
    but keep my commands in your heart,
2 for they will prolong your life many years
    and bring you peace and prosperity.
3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
    bind them around your neck,
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Then you will win favor and a good name
    in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.[a]
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
    fear the Lord and shun evil.
8 This will bring health to your body
    and nourishment to your bones.
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth,
    with the firstfruits of all your crops;
10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
    and your vats will brim over with new wine.

For Reflection

Knowing God's commandments is knowledge of the letter of the law. Applying the law in love without malice is wisdom. Live life in humble servitude to God, the embodiment of love.

Pray
Pray so that you will learn not on knowledge alone. Rather, temper knowledge with love.  

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God Will Not Abandon You

Responses to God's Faithfulness

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Obedient Faith

Deuteronomy 4:25-31 New International Version
25 After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, 26 I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. 27 The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. 29 But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress, and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. 31 For the Lord, your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

For Reflection

In our younger years, we are usually preoccupied with survival. We attack the pressures of developing a loving and productive marriage, raise children, hold a job, and support ourselves and our family.  In all the chaos of living, we sometimes forget that we are not solely responsible for conquering all that life throws at us. We forget that God has promised that all things will turn out for good. We try to do it all by ourselves.

As we grow older, we begin to understand and yearn for the peace that can only be experienced when we rely on the grace of God. God will be there. We realize that God has never abandoned us.

Pray

Pray so that you will be able to understand that you are not alone in your life struggles.  Pray, and God will guide and comfort you. Pray, and find rest in God.

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Make No Idols

Responses to God's Faithfulness

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Obedient Faith

Deuteronomy 4:14-24 New International Version
14 And the Lord directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

Idolatry Forbidden

15 You saw no form of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, 16 so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, 17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, 18 or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. 19 And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. 20 But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are.
21 The Lord was angry with me because of you, and he solemnly swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance. 22 I will die in this land; I will not cross the Jordan, but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land. 23 Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. 24 For the Lord, your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

For Reflection

In those days, idol worship was common. Today we rarely hear of those worshiping idols.  Our idols do not take form and substance. But, none-the-less, we worship things, other than God. Some of us worship money or power. Others worship accomplishments.  We commit idolatry when we revere anything but God. We rearrange our existence around ourselves selves, and therefore we displace God as creator, WE heal, WE save sinners, WE sustain our lives. At that point, we worship ourselves, not God.

Pray

Pray so so that you will live life humbly acknowledging that God is the source of all things sustains you.

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Remember That You Were There

Responses to God's Faithfulness

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Obedient Faith

Deuteronomy 4:9-11 New International Version
9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and their children after them. 10 Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.” 11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.

For Reflection

The collective remembrances of the people of God are passed from generation to generation. Each generation recreates remembrances of faith and creates new remembrances of God's promise. Each person teaches another, and the longevity of the community of the faithful is ensured.
Pray
Pray for those who teach. Pray for those whose behavior witnesses to the transforming power of the Word.


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God Made a Covenant with Us

Responses to God's Faithfulness

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Obedient Faith

Deuteronomy 5:1-7 New International Version
5 Moses summoned all Israel and said:
Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them.2 The Lord, our God, made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 It was not with our ancestors[a] that the Lord made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. 4 The Lord spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. 5 (At that time, I stood between the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:
6 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
7 “You shall have no other gods before[b] me.

For Reflection

God made a covenant with the Hebrews that has lasted throughout generations. God also made a covenant with all of humanity. The promise of peace and eternal satisfaction that displaces self-reliance and idolatry is now available to all who see beyond the human condition and hear the teachings of Christ.

Pray
Pray so that you will see what others cannot see and hear what others whose self-perceptions inhibit. Pray so that you will set your sight on the eternal promise of peace and harmony with the Creation.


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Beginning of Wisdom

Responses to God's Faithfulness

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Obedient Faith

Psalm 111 New International Version

1 Praise the Lord.
I will extol the Lord with all my heart
    in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
2 Great are the works of the Lord;
    they are pondered by all who delight in them.
3 Glorious and majestic are his deeds,
    and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wonders to be remembered;
    the Lord is gracious and compassionate.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
    He remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
    giving them the lands of other nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
    all his precepts are trustworthy.
8 They are established forever and ever,
    enacted in faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He provided redemption for his people;
    He ordained his covenant forever—
    holy and awesome is his name.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
    all who follow his precepts have a good understanding.
    To him belongs eternal praise.

For Reflection

As children of God, we are to obey God's laws. Not like puppets moved by celestial strings in a master's hands but as a family in the household of God. We obey because we find joy in respecting the rules. We obey not grudgingly in hostile rebellion, nor robotically without personal commitment. We obey out of love for the Creator.

Pray
Pray so that you will be more able to discern God's will.  Pray and become the obedient person God has called you to be.


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Jesus Forgives and Heals

Responding To God's Grace

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

God Forgives

Acts 10:34-38 The Message

34-36 Peter fairly exploded with his good news: “It’s God’s own truth, nothing could be plainer: God plays no favorites! It makes no difference who you are or where you’re from—if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open. The message he sent to the children of Israel—that through Jesus Christ everything is being put together again—well, he’s doing it everywhere, among everyone.
37-38 “You know the story of what happened in Judea. It began in Galilee after John preached a total life-change. Then Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this because God was with him.

For Reflection

God's chosen people have disobeyed God frequently. With each instance, God has forgiven them and shown mercy. And so it is with us. Jesus Christ has shown us not only how to live, but through Christ, as remained with us to encourage and guide us in our desire to be obedient to God's will.  When we succeed, God rejoyces. When we fail, God forgives and reconciles our sin. God assures us that God, through Christ, can help us repent and find the peace our souls demand.

Pray
Pray prayers of thanksgiving, lament, praise, and confession.  Listen to the Holy Spirit and find rest amid harmony and turmoil.


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Defeated by Disobedience

Responding To God's Grace

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

God Forgives

Numbers 14:36-45 New International Version
36 So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it— 37 these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the Lord. 38 Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.
39 When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly. 40 Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country, saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lordpromised. Surely we have sinned!”
41 But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the Lord’s command? This will not succeed! 42 Do not go up because the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, 43 for the Amalekites and the Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the Lord, he will not be with you and, you will fall by the sword.”
44 Nevertheless, in their presumption, they went up toward the highest point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord’s covenant moved from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.

For Reflection

Bolstered by the fear-mongering of some of the spies, the people doubled-down, Now filled with distrust of God, they were willing to disobey God's plan for peaceful coexistence in the promised land. In their reliance on themselves, they thought they knew better than God.

Success never begins with sin. Going in on their own without God ensured their defeat.  And so it is for us.

Pray
Pray and renew your commitment to God's plan for the salvation of humankind. Pray so that you can depend on God's grace, power, and promise of rest from our wearinesses.

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Children Suffer for Adult's Sins

Responding To God's Grace

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

God Forgives

Numbers 14:31-35 New International Version
31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. 32 But as for you, your bodies will fall in this wilderness. 33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness.34 For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’ 35 I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.”

For Reflection

Yes, our children have to bear the burden of our wickedness; our excursions into idolatry, our unwillingness to steward the gift of Creation, our reluctance to distribute the world's resources in such a way that we all can survive, our excuses for avoiding accepting or passing on grace, our tendency for placing self over the well-being of others, our tendency to turn to violence to resolve conflict. -- Need I go on?

God does not initiate this suffering. WE DO!  It is the natural result of not tempering our humanity with spirituality.

Pray
Pray constantly. Confess to God your incapacity for righteous living and be transformed by your admissions.


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Frustration and Desperation

Responding To God's Grace

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

God Forgives

Numbers 14:26-30 New International Version
26 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 27 “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. 28 So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: 29 In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me.30 Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

For Reflection

Their journey was long and arduous. The slavery they left was comforting in comparison with the perils they faced or imagined. Tired and feeling abandoned, the refugees struggled to keep faith and hope.  God became the reason for their predicament, not their savior. Grumbling and griping are familiar among so many of us. God becomes the "original born loser" -- blamed for everything untoward - the uncontrollable act of God.

Only a few of the stalwart believers look beyond their current troubles to find God's solution and peace in the turbulence.



Pray
Pray and look to God's tomorrows when all will be revealed, and you will find rest.


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Iniquity of God's People

Responding To God's Grace

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

God Forgives

Numbers 14:21-25 New International Version (NIV)
21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, 22 not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times— 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. 25 Since the Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.[a]”

For Reflection

They have ears but do not hear, eyes but cannot see, hearts but cannot trust the promise of God.  I suppose it is true also for us today that unless we believe in the promise of God and are confident that God will lead us into God's kingdom, we will never experience the peace that God has intended for us. We will be forever held captive by our fears.

Pray
Pray and become confident in the promise of God.


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Moses Intercedes and God Listens

Responding To God's Grace

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

God Answers Prayer

Numbers 14:13-20 New International Version

13 Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power, you brought these people up from among them. 14 And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, Lord, are with these people and that you, Lord, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 15 If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16 ‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’
17 “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’ 19 In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”
20 The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked.

For Reflection

Forgiveness, compassion, empathy, trust, and hope are God's gift to us. God made us in his image, so if God can put away God's anger and honor God's divine covenant, so can we.

Pray
Pray so that you can become worthy of God's trust in you. Pray so that you can honor God's covenant to make all things right.  Pray so that you can displace your fear with confident hope.


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Who Will Enter Canaan?

Responding To God's Grace

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

God Answers Prayer

Deuteronomy 1:26-32 New International Version

26 But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. 27 You grumbled in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.’”
29 Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31 and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”
32 In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, 33 who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

For Reflection

Verse 26 indicates the power of fear and rumor -- their words of perceived impending doom, impatience, distrust and rebellious speeches and actions. They had eyes but could not see, ears but could not hear God's promise to prepare a place for them and protect them. They did not see the real nature of the Canaanites. They saw only that which augmented their fears.

Pray
Pray about that which you fear. Pray and internalize the promise of God to provide for your safety.


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Moses Resists God's Proposal

Responding To God's Grace

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

God Answers Prayer

Exodus 32:7-14 New International Version

7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt,have become corrupt. 8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’
9 “I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”
11 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

For Reflection

God's people resisted the call of God many times (especially in the old testament). God's people became the idol they worshiped, "stiff-necked" cows. They had turned away from their God and as a result, had eyes but could not see and ears but could not hear. God recognizes the sincerity and truth in Moses response.  If God can quell his anger, then we too should not let anger overrule our sense of love, compassion, and empathy.

Pray
Pray when angered. Pray so that you can focus your concern toward helpful healing solutions.


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Reporting Mixed Reviews

Responding To God's Grace

God Answers Prayer

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

God Hears Our Cry

Numbers 13:30-33 New International Version 
30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

For Reflection

Some of those who were dispatched came back with ominous reports of large, strong people. They feared that their presence in Canaan would trigger violence. The news spread quickly among the people. The story multiplied fear among those who distrusted God's power to protect them.

To what extent does your confidence in God allay your fears when confronted by potential threats?

Pray
Pray for the confidence which comes from your knowledge that God will protect you.


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Biblical Intel

Responding To God's Grace

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

God Answers Prayer

Numbers 13:17-24 Amplified Bible

17 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the Negev (the South country); then go up into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many, 19 and whether the land in which they live is good or bad, and whether the cities in which they live are [open] camps or fortifications, 20 and what the land is, whether it is fat (productive) or lean, whether there is timber on it or not. Make an effort to get some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.
21 So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin to Rehob [a town in Lebanon], at Lebo-hamath [in the far north]. 22 When they had gone up into the Negev (the South country), they came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai the descendants of Anak were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
23 Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol (cluster of grapes), and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two of them, with some of the pomegranates and the figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol (cluster of grapes) because of the cluster of grapes which the sons of Israel cut down there.

For Reflection

Moses led the Israelites on their treck into Cannan.  The band of refugees escaping slavery in Egypt wandered toward the promised land for forty years. Now, nearing the end of their journey, they feared the reception they might encounter from the Canaanites. Leaders from each of the twelve tribes were sent into Canaan to find out how they would be accepted. With every spiritual and physical indication that God had prepared the way, they were still wary.
How do you face the unknown?

Pray
Pray prayers of thanksgiving for the opportunities God offers you. Pray for courage and skill to meet the demands of unknown risk.  Pray and rely on the promise of God that all will end well.


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Symbols of Remembrance

Responding To God's Grace

God is Faithful

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

God Answers Prayer

Exodus 16:31-36 Amplified Bible (AMP)
31 The house of Israel called the bread manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and it tasted like flat pastry (wafers) made with honey. 32 Then Moses said, “This is the word which the Lord commands, ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” 33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron [eventually] placed it in the presence of the [a]Testimony, to be kept. 35 The Israelites ate manna forty years until they reached an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (Now an [b]omer is the tenth of an [c]ephah.)

Footnotes:

1. Exodus 16:34 The stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written.
2. Exodus 16:36 I.e. a little over two quarts.
3. Exodus 16:36 I.e. approx one bushel.

For Reflection

Think about the symbols or the symbolic acts that are part of your religious or spiritual practices. What meanings are central to that which you are to be reminded?  What acts of faith do you recall as pivotal? What beliefs are you reminded of that lead you to a healthy spiritual life?

Pray

Pray and contemplate the status of your faith and spiritual practices.  

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