Overcome Evil with Good

Jesus Is Lord
Exalting Christ
Jesus' Humility and Exaltation

Romans 12:14-21

The Message (MSG)

^14-16 Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.
^17-19 Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.”
^20-21 Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

For Reflection

How often are we tempted to wipe out that which we consider evil?  How much time have we spent in enforcing prohibitions?  It seems that in spite of the fact that prohibitions are expensive and difficult to control, we keep using the same hammer over and over.

What do we offer as an alternative?  How often do we consider offering blessings rather than withholding them? Love is attractive. Hospitality is the medium.  Reject eye for and eye punishment.  Embrace the unexpected, non-judgmental, reinforcement of good and let God wipe away the evil.

Pray

that you will realize the power of rejecting negative responses in favor of reinforcing ones.  Pray that you will see beyond the evil deed and in humility, offer reconciliation and love.

Avoid Envy and Selfish Ambition

Jesus Is Lord
Exalting Christ
Jesus' Humility and Exaltation

James 3:13-18

The Message

Live Well, Live Wisely

^13-16 Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.

^17-18 Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.

For Reflection

Don't tell me what you are going to do.  Just do it.  If it is authentic, you will represent God well.

Don't tell me what I should do.  It assumes that you are so wise as to know what God intends for me.  And furthermore, it assumes that what I am is not as valuable as what you are.

God's wisdom begins with love and hospitality.  God's wisdom protects one's right to choose.  God is found in mutual respect, dignity and honor.

Pray

that your wittiness to your God-centered life is clothed in humility.  Pray that you will be consistently gentle, merciful and hospitable.

Sower, Seeds, and Soils

Jesus Is Lord
Exalting Christ
Jesus' Humility and Exaltation

Matthew 13:1-9

The Message

A Harvest Story

13 ^1-3 At about that same time Jesus left the house and sat on the beach. In no time at all a crowd gathered along the shoreline, forcing him to get into a boat. Using the boat as a pulpit, he addressed his congregation, telling stories.

^3-8 “What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn’t put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.
⁹ “Are you listening to this? Really listening?

For Reflection

Yes, what do you make of this? Shall we agree that Christ is speaking of the word of God?

In that case the word of God in contemporary terms is not limited to the spoken or written word.  It also includes the observations others make of Christian behavior.  What one hears or interprets does not totally depend upon what the person observed intends.  It depends upon what the observer intends. Some, like the birds, will try to remove the word from view.   Some, like stones, just flatly refuse to recognize the truth about living. Some, like weeds, will have intentions contrary to a Christ-centered life and intentionally spin the observations to lead others away from God's intention for reconciliation through transformation.  But some, like the seeds in fertile soil, will invite commitment to and renewed faith in God's promise.

Christ had realistic expectations for the results of his preaching.  He knew not all would respond positively to His message.  Like wise not all will respond to your transformation positively.  Are you up to the challenge of being rejected because of your transformed self is different from your former self?  Are you ready for your actions to be used against you because they do not conform to a culture-based standard?  Are you ready for others to use the example of your actions to mislead others? Are you ready to listen, as fertile ground, when God challenges you to mature in your faith?  Are you ready to provide Christian hospitality to all with out expectation of return?

Pray

that you will have the courage supported by God to face the consequences of a transformed life in Christ.  Pray that you will hone your interpretive skills through disciplined study of your faith. Pray for God's wisdom to lead you as you mature in grace.

Toiling to Proclaim the Gospel

Jesus Is Lord
Exalting Christ
Proclaiming Christ

1 Thessalonians 2:1-12

The Message

2 ^1-2 So, friends, it’s obvious that our visit to you was no waste of time. We had just been given rough treatment in Philippi, as you know, but that didn’t slow us down. We were sure of ourselves in God, and went right ahead and said our piece, presenting God’s Message to you, defiant of the opposition.

No Hidden Agendas

^3-5 God tested us thoroughly to make sure we were qualified to be trusted with this Message. Be assured that when we speak to you we’re not after crowd approval—only God approval. Since we’ve been put through that battery of tests, you’re guaranteed that both we and the Message are free of error, mixed motives, or hidden agendas. We never used words to butter you up. No one knows that better than you. And God knows we never used words as a smoke screen to take advantage of you.

^6-8 Even though we had some standing as Christ’s apostles, we never threw our weight around or tried to come across as important, with you or anyone else. We weren’t aloof with you. We took you just as you were. We were never patronizing, never condescending, but we cared for you the way a mother cares for her children. We loved you dearly. Not content to just pass on the Message, we wanted to give you our hearts. And we did.
^9-12 You remember us in those days, friends, working our fingers to the bone, up half the night, moonlighting so you wouldn’t have the burden of supporting us while we proclaimed God’s Message to you. You saw with your own eyes how discreet and courteous we were among you, with keen sensitivity to you as fellow believers. And God knows we weren’t freeloaders! You experienced it all firsthand. With each of you we were like a father with his child, holding your hand, whispering encouragement, showing you step-by-step how to live well before God, who called us into his own kingdom, into this delightful life.

For Reflection

What is the proper way to proclaim the gospel? Is it bombastic rhetoric filled with the threats of eternal hell and the promise of eternal life? Or is it the promise of prosperity?  Or saved from sin? Or the offer of peace and comfort in the face of trouble? 

I suspect all ways work at some level.  God is both loving and punitive, merciful, redeeming, an advocate of peace, and above all, willing to accept all who call to Him.

How does one proclaim the Gospel?  Sincerely and with out a hidden agenda -- always preserving the right of one to choose his or her path into righteousness in the Kingdom of God.

Pray

that you will be humble in the robes of your God-centered self. Pray that you interact with discretion, and courtesy.  Pray that you will respect all with whom you come in contact.  Pray that you will be a conduit for God's grace.

Speaking the Word with Boldness

Jesus Is Lord
Exalting Christ
Proclaiming Christ

Philippians 1:8-14

The Message

^7-8 It’s not at all fanciful for me to think this way about you. My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality. You have, after all, stuck with me all the way from the time I was thrown in jail, put on trial, and came out of it in one piece. All along you have experienced with me the most generous help from God. He knows how much I love and miss you these days. Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does!
^9-11 So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.

They Can’t Imprison the Message

^12-14 I want to report to you, friends, that my imprisonment here has had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of being squelched, the Message has actually prospered. All the soldiers here, and everyone else, too, found out that I’m in jail because of this Messiah. That piqued their curiosity, and now they’ve learned all about him. Not only that, but most of the followers of Jesus here have become far more sure of themselves in the faith than ever, speaking out fearlessly about God, about the Messiah.

For Reflection

The greatest gift in response to God's love for you is to live an exemplary life.  The witness to God in such a life spreads the Gospel message far more effectively than words could ever convey.

Pray

that you will let all that come in contact with you know by your demeanor that you are a child of God.  Not a wimpy, mushy dogooder, but a person committed to your God-centered life. An authentic citizen in the Kingdom of God.

Sharing in the Gospel

Jesus Is Lord
Exalting Christ
Proclaiming Christ

Philippians 1:1-8

The Message

1 ^1-2 Paul and Timothy, both of us committed servants of Christ Jesus, write this letter to all the followers of Jesus in Philippi, pastors and ministers included. We greet you with the grace and peace that comes from God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ.

A Love That Will Grow

^3-6 Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.

^7-8 It’s not at all fanciful for me to think this way about you. My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality. You have, after all, stuck with me all the way from the time I was thrown in jail, put on trial, and came out of it in one piece. All along you have experienced with me the most generous help from God. He knows how much I love and miss you these days. Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does!

For Reflection

The God who lives in you cannot be hidden.  He is the prime mover for all that you are, you do, you say, and what others say about you.  You, transformed into a God-centered being, are the living proclamation of the fullness that is God.  In that you cannot help but share the gospel.

Pray

that you will trust in the promise of God's persistent companionship.  Give God the credit for all that you do.  Pray that you will permit the Spirit embolden you to live out your faith.

Making the Word Fully Known

Jesus Is Lord
Exalting Christ
Proclaiming Christ

Colossians 1:21-29

The Message

^21-23 You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.

^24-25 I want you to know how glad I am that it’s me sitting here in this jail and not you. There’s a lot of suffering to be entered into in this world—the kind of suffering Christ takes on. I welcome the chance to take my share in the church’s part of that suffering. When I became a servant in this church, I experienced this suffering as a sheer gift, God’s way of helping me serve you, laying out the whole truth.

^26-29 This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That’s what I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.

For Reflection

Being transformed through Christ and maturing in the way of the Cross Is not an easy path.  Even as transformed, others will see your old culture centered self and demand that you stay the same as you were.  You live in the same culture but you are not bound by it.  You are a misfit in the old ways, but a perfect fit in the new ways.  In truth you confront the past and embrace the opportunity to challenge the culture-centered power to limit you.  Who you were is of no matter.  Who you are becoming is paramount.

Pray

Praise God for the opportunity to suffer in your quest to become God-centered.  Pray for the courage to reject the pressures to conform to contemporary culture.  Pray for the wisdom to follow God' intentions for your life.