Bound together in Christ

God Instructs the People of God

Listening for God in Changing Times:

Choosing a Community

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
One can not earn God's grace.  It is freely given. All of God's people have gifts. No gift is greater than another. No deed is greater than another.  None of us is greater in stature than another  We are bound together in a community of believers; each with our own special purpose..  Our strength in the Kingdom of God lies in our differences, not in our similarities. Service in the Lord is an exercise in humility.  Serve with out expectations of return.  Love given in service is unconditional.

Pray
that you give with out expectation of reward.  Pray that you open yourself  to the Holy Spirit and allow God to work through you.  Pray that you serve in humility. Pray that you serve with out judgment.

The Lord of All

God Instructs the People of God

Listening for God in Changing Times:

Choosing a Community

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
To what extent do you trust the Lord?  To what extent do you give up controll to God?  The extent to which  you do these things is the measure of your confidence in your faith.

Pray
for complete trust in the promise that God will help you.  Pray for all people who cry to the Lord for help that they may recognize it when it arrives.  Pray to be part of the God's promise to serve by helping those who cry for help.

Nuturing God's Children

God Instructs the People of God

Listening for God in Changing Times:

Walk in Gods Path
e of life,

Judges 13:1-35

The Message

Samson

 ^2-5 At that time there was a man named Manoah from Zorah from the tribe of Dan. His wife was barren and childless. The angel of God appeared to her and told her, "I know that you are barren and childless, but you're going to become pregnant and bear a son. But take much care: Drink no wine or beer; eat nothing ritually unclean. You are, in fact, pregnant right now, carrying a son. No razor will touch his head—the boy will be God's Nazirite from the moment of his birth. He will launch the deliverance from Philistine oppression."
 ^6-7 The woman went to her husband and said, "A man of God came to me. He looked like the angel of God—terror laced with glory! I didn't ask him where he was from and he didn't tell me his name, but he told me, 'You're pregnant. You're going to give birth to a son. Don't drink any wine or beer and eat nothing ritually unclean. The boy will be God's Nazirite from the moment of birth to the day of his death.'"
 ⁸ Manoah prayed to God: "Master, let the man of God you sent come to us again and teach us how to raise this boy who is to be born."

For Reflection
Each of us has the same privilege as Manoah's family.  We must strive to raise our children as though they are God's Nazirite.  Each of us must take seriously our baptismal vow to raise the child or person to follow Jesus.  It is not an option.  It is not a task taken lightly.  It is a 24-7 obligation.

Pray
that you have the courage and the fortitude to follow the children of God.  Pray that you will find opportunities to assist in the nurturing of children.  Pray that all children will come to know God and to live in the hollow of His hand.

Wonders for God's Followers

God Instructs the People of God

Listening for God in Changing Times:

Walk in Gods Path

Judges 13:15-23

The Message

 ¹⁵ Manoah said to the angel of God, "Please, stay with us a little longer; we'll prepare a meal for you—a young goat."
 ¹⁶ God's angel said to Manoah, "Even if I stay, I won't eat your food. But if you want to prepare a Whole-Burnt-Offering for God, go ahead—offer it!" Manoah had no idea that he was talking to the angel of God.
 ¹⁷ Then Manoah asked the angel of God, "What's your name? When your words come true, we'd like to honor you."
 ¹⁸ The angel of God said, "What's this? You ask for my name? You wouldn't understand—it's sheer wonder."
 ^19-21 So Manoah took the kid and the Grain-Offering and sacrificed them on a rock altar to God who works wonders. As the flames leapt up from the altar to heaven, God's angel also ascended in the altar flames. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown to the ground. Manoah and his wife never saw the angel of God again.
 ^21-22 Only then did Manoah realize that this was God's angel. He said to his wife, "We're as good as dead! We've looked on God!"
 ²³ But his wife said, "If God were planning to kill us, he wouldn't have accepted our Whole-Burnt-Offering and Grain-Offering, or revealed all these things to us—given us this birth announcement."

For Reflection
An angel announces the conception of Sampson.  Manoah, knowing only what he has experienced applies conventional hospitality.  With each request of the angel, the response indicates a mystery that is beyond his experience.

As I get older, I increasingly accept and marvel at the mystery that is God.  I accept, and long for the inexplicable.  I find comfort in the unexpected truth.

Pray
that you accept the mysterious God.  Pray that find delight in unexpected revelations.  Pray that you embrace the unknown in your spiritual journey.  Pray that you hear God's call and, as a child who has complete faith, act according to His whispered will.  Pray that you marvel in the mystery of it all.

The Holy and the Common

God Instructs the People of God

Listening for God in Changing Times:

Walk in God's Path

Leviticus 10:8-11

The Message

^8-11 God instructed Aaron: "When you enter the Tent of Meeting, don't drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons, lest you die. This is a fixed rule down through the generations. Distinguish between the holy and the common, between the ritually clean and unclean. Teach the People of Israel all the decrees that God has spoken to them through Moses."

For Reflection 

I suppose this is the most difficult task that a Christian faces.  How does one distinguish between the holy and the common? Or, for that matter between the Godly and the culturally bound conventions of thought and action.  Christ calls us to become separated from this world.  We are asked to judge our own responses by the rule of love.  Ask yourself each minute of each day, "Does this thought or action belong in the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Humankind?"  Listen and follow the Spirit which resides within you.

Pray
that the God of love will guide the common place choices that we all make as life happens.  Pray quietly and listen to the Holy spirit.  Pray that you hesitate and think about the responses you make.  Pray for the wisdom to differentiate between the Spirit's call and the call of cultural convention.

Separated to the Lord

God Instructs the People of God

Listening for God in Changing Times:

Walk in God's Path

Numbers 6:1-8

The Message

Nazirite Vows

 ^1-4 God spoke to Moses: "Speak to the People of Israel; tell them, If any of you, man or woman, wants to make a special Nazirite vow, consecrating yourself totally to God, you must not drink any wine or beer, no intoxicating drink of any kind, not even the juice of grapes—in fact, you must not even eat grapes or raisins. For the duration of the consecration, nothing from the grapevine—not even the seeds, not even the skin—may be eaten. ⁵ "Also, for the duration of the consecration you must not have your hair cut. Your long hair will be a continuing sign of holy separation to God.
 ^6-7 "Also, for the duration of the consecration to God, you must not go near a corpse. Even if it's the body of your father or mother, brother or sister, you must not ritually defile yourself because the sign of consecration to God is on your head.
 ⁸ "For the entire duration of your consecration you are holy to God.

For Reflection


Nazirite means to separate ones self to God as, perhaps, a monk.  It continues for a period of time agreed upon in contract at the time the vow was taken.  At the conclusion of the contract, one would sacrifice a burnt offering, a sin offering and a peace offering which included unleavened bread, drink, grain and then shaving their head and put the hair on the peace offering fire.

Think about the vow and the ritual following its completion.  today?  Suppose you wanted to take a Nazirite like vow today.  How would you metaphorically parallel a Nazirite vow?  What would you refrain from doing or do as a result of your vow? How would you consecrate yourself to God? What three offerings would you make at the vow's conclusion.  Do you want to try it?  For how long?  Go for it!

Pray
that you commitment to the Lord deepens with every breath.  Pray that you understand how you in which the Spirit dwells are consecrated to God and separated from the culture in which you live.  Pray for the sustaining hand of God to support your separateness in grace.

Hope in God's Promises

God Instructs the People of God

Listening for God in Changing Times:

Walk in God's Path

Romans 2:1-8

The Message

God Is Kind, but Not Soft

 ^1-2 Those people are on a dark spiral downward. But if you think that leaves you on the high ground where you can point your finger at others, think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one. Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection in your own crimes and misdemeanors. But God isn't so easily diverted. He sees right through all such smoke screens and holds you to what you've done. ^3-4You didn't think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he's such a nice God, he'd let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he's not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.
 ^5-8You're not getting by with anything. Every refusal and avoidance of God adds fuel to the fire. The day is coming when it's going to blaze hot and high, God's fiery and righteous judgment. Make no mistake: In the end you get what's coming to you—Real Life for those who work on God's side, but to those who insist on getting their own way and take the path of least resistance, Fire!

For Reflection
When you criticize someone to another how do you feel? Do you want to slap your own face because of your folly?  Or do you continue, hoping the other person will enjoy mutual entertainment at another's expense.  If you can't say anything nice why say anything at all.  What is it about you that motivates speaking ill of others?

Pray
for a realization of the radical life change that God promises.  Pray to have the control which allows you to hold your tongue.  Pray for forgiveness for giving in to your impulse to speak ill of others.