Seeking Unity in Community

Assuring Hope
Jesus, the Promised Servant-leader

Romans 14:1-9 (The Message)

Cultivating Good Relationships

 ¹ Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don't see things the way you do. And don't jump all over them every time they do or say something you don't agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.  ^2-4For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume he should only be a vegetarian and eat accordingly. But since both are guests at Christ's table, wouldn't it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn't eat? God, after all, invited them both to the table. Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God's welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.
 ⁵Or, say, one person thinks that some days should be set aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other. There are good reasons either way. So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience.
 ^6-9What's important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God's sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you're a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It's God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That's why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.

For Reflection
"Freed from the petty tyrannies of each other."  Paul offers good advice to an emerging church.  If all of the believers in a community don't think or act exactly the same or as one expects them to, so what?  They are guests of God -- children of God.  Why do some people fear others who see things differently?  If God invited them both to the table are they not of equal value?  Our strength as a community lies not in the fact that we are all arms or legs or eyes.  The strength of the community is that we are together arms and legs and eyes and hands and feet and noses and and and.

Pray
that we in Christ realize our unique place in the Kingdom of God.  Pray for the strength to appreciate the different talents that each offers to God.  Pray to be freed from participating in petty tyrannies in the name of Christ.

Bound Together in Christ

Assuring Hope
Jesus, the Promised Servant-leader

Romans 12:3-8 (The Message)
 ³I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.
 ^4-6In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.
 ^6-8If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

For Reflection
We live in the hollow of God's hand.  Paul says, "Living...in pure grace."  God's goodness, it seems, does not depend on our "enhancements of God."  Whodathunkit?

What we do for Him does not make him a better god, nor does it make us better followers.  As Christians we first give up the old guiding principle of self.  As Paul points out, the only way to understand our transformed or re-born selves is by what God does for us not what we do for him.  Takes the pressure off doesn't it?

We can relax and not worry about who we are in relation to others.  We can just be.  That, I think is what God wants.  Being a servant means playing your role even imperfectly.  God will perfect it.  It's that Grace we talk about that does it.

Pray
that God will take your imperfect action and an use it perfectly to the glory of His Kingdom.  Pray that you will continue humbly at Jesus side listening to His praise and His gently correction.  Pray for patience.  Pray to expect nothing in return for your service.  Pray to be surprised at God's grace flowing through you.

The Lord of All

Assuring Hope
Jesus, the Promised Servant-leader

Romans 10:5-13  (The Message)
 ^4-10The earlier revelation was intended simply to get us ready for the Messiah, who then puts everything right for those who trust him to do it. Moses wrote that anyone who insists on using the law code to live right before God soon discovers it's not so easy—every detail of life regulated by fine print! But trusting God to shape the right living in us is a different story— no precarious climb up to heaven to recruit the Messiah, no dangerous descent into hell to rescue the Messiah. So what exactly was Moses saying?

   The word that saves is right here,
      as near as the tongue in your mouth,
      as close as the heart in your chest.
It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—"Jesus is my Master"—embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!"
 ^11-13Scripture reassures us, "No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it." It's exactly the same no matter what a person's religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. "Everyone who calls, 'Help, God!' gets help."


For Reflection
As a child, following the rules was essential.  As a teenager we discovered that following the rules was more difficult.  As an adult we questioned the rules.  The only way to survive Christianity is to let God shape the right living for us.  Trust and hope are essential.  We must bear our own cross and walk with Christ.  Cry for help and it will be there.  How much do you trust God?

Pray
That you will live the life god intends for you by trusting in Him to show you the way -- to hold your hand-- to complement you and to instruct you.

The Messiah Disclosed

Assuring Hope
Jesus, the Promised Servant-leader

John 4:16-26 (The Message)
 ¹⁶He said, "Go call your husband and then come back."
 ^17-18"I have no husband," she said.
   "That's nicely put: 'I have no husband.' You've had five husbands, and the man you're living with now isn't even your husband. You spoke the truth there, sure enough."
 ^19-20"Oh, so you're a prophet! Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?"
 ^21-23"Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God's way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you're called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.
 ^23-24"It's who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration."
 ²⁵The woman said, "I don't know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When he arrives, we'll get the whole story."
 ²⁶"I am he," said Jesus. "You don't have to wait any longer or look any further."

For Reflection She was simply and honestly herself.  While Christ refused to answer the Priests and Scribes, He responded unhesitatingly to this outcast  woman.

Like the woman at the well, we have to wait no longer for salvation.  The one who offers salvation is here.  We have "the whole story."

Pray
Thank God for Jesus Christ.  Disclosed to you.  Sacrificed so that you are forgiven of sin.  Praise God for second chances at living in the Way of the Lord.

Are You the One?

Assuring Hope
Jesus, the Promised Servant-leader

Luke 22:66-70 (The Message)

 

 ^66-67When it was morning, the religious leaders of the people and the high priests and scholars all got together and brought him before their High Council. They said, "Are you the Messiah?"
 ^67-69He answered, "If I said yes, you wouldn't believe me. If I asked what you meant by your question, you wouldn't answer me. So here's what I have to say: From here on the Son of Man takes his place at God's right hand, the place of power."
 ⁷⁰They all said, "So you admit your claim to be the Son of God?"
   "You're the ones who keep saying it," he said.

For Reflection They knew it. They knew it. They knew it!   And, it scared them.

What happens when the core of what you believe is threatened.   Do you do as the Jewish leaders, and become defensive?  How much fight would you put up when your view of the world is turned on its head?  What if you, like those Jewish leaders, had all of your material and spiritual investment at stake?

Pray
God, help us to accept the unexpected.  Help us to understand that our ways are not your ways.  Help us to avoid boxing You in to human perceptions.

The Messiah Sought

Assuring Hope
Jesus, the Promised Servant-leader

Matthew 2:1-6 (The Message)

Scholars from the East

 ^1-2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory— this was during Herod's kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, "Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We're on pilgrimage to worship him."  ^3-4When word of their inquiry got to Herod, he was terrified—and not Herod alone, but most of Jerusalem as well. Herod lost no time. He gathered all the high priests and religion scholars in the city together and asked, "Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?"
 ^5-6They told him, "Bethlehem, Judah territory. The prophet Micah wrote it plainly:

   It's you, Bethlehem, in Judah's land,
      no longer bringing up the rear.
   From you will come the leader
      who will shepherd-rule my people, my Israel."

For Reflection
The story of the three wise men speaks to the universal impact of the Christ event.  A little village, Bethlehem, was hardly and expected birth place worthy of God's son.  And yet, the village and the event attracted visitors of the high station from an unknown "Eastern" area  Observant of the confluence or astrological and astronomical signs and perhaps myth or story passed on through countless generations, these men responded to the call of God.  How much mystery are you willing to accept as a foundation for your beliefs?

Pray
prayers of confession. Admit to God that you are unsure of many things.  Ask him for the patience and wisdom to accept the great mystery that is God.  Pray for trust in the promise of Jesus Christ.

Out with the Old

Luke 3:7-18 (The Message)  ^7-9When crowds of people came out for baptism because it was the popular thing to do, John exploded: "Brood of snakes! What do you think you're doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to deflect God's judgment? It's your life that must change, not your skin. And don't think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as 'father.' Being a child of Abraham is neither here nor there—children of Abraham are a dime a dozen. God can make children from stones if he wants. What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it's deadwood, it goes on the fire."
 ¹⁰The crowd asked him, "Then what are we supposed to do?"
 ¹¹"If you have two coats, give one away," he said. "Do the same with your food."
 ¹²Tax men also came to be baptized and said, "Teacher, what should we do?"
 ¹³He told them, "No more extortion—collect only what is required by law."
 ¹⁴Soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?"
   He told them, "No shakedowns, no blackmail—and be content with your rations."
 ¹⁵The interest of the people by now was building. They were all beginning to wonder, "Could this John be the Messiah?"
 ^16-17But John intervened: "I'm baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I'm a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He's going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your lives. He'll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he'll put out with the trash to be burned."
 ^18-20There was a lot more of this—words that gave strength to the people, words that put heart in them. The Message! But Herod, the ruler, stung by John's rebuke in the matter of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, capped his long string of evil deeds with this outrage: He put John in jail.


For Reflection John chides the people not for being curious about his baptizing or the fortelling of the arrival of the Messiah, but rather for having false expectations.  His observations point out how dependent the people had become on ritual and behavior uncommitted to the glory of God.  Put your money where your mouth is, he says.  Make you ways consistent with God's ways.  It is not what robe you wear or what church you attend. It is what is inside you that counts.  Take account of yourself.  What trash could you collect and burn to put you in a more proper place before God?

Pray
That the sacrifice Christ made for you frees you to act according to the way of your soul.