Scriptures for July 5, 2008
Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-59
Psalm 45:10-17
Romans 7:15-25a
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
One way to benefit from this post is to simply read it and ponder in mind and heart what it says. There is an even better way to benefit from this post. You can first go to http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html and use the suggestions there to help you receive these scriptures for yourself. Then compare notes by reading this post.
June 28 prayer for receiving
You give spirit and life in Your word.
One thing more, please God, give me the heart to receive well and fully.
Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-59
"'And I bowed my head and worshipped the LORD...'" (vs. 48)
Stay with this. As you do, become increasingly aware of what went into that worship. Ponder how the heart of Abraham's servant, and the heart of Abraham, and the heart of Abraham's family all contributed. Consider how the mingling of God's direct and indirect presence and guidance led to this worship. This worship was more than a huge sigh of relief that things were working out well. It was a trusted (imagine the size of that trust!) servant who tracked with God's leading in Abraham's life (vs. 35 and more) seeing the glory of God in and beyond the immediate happening.
Consider also how this worship was followed by more of the mingling of God's direct and indirect presence and guidance. For example, consider how the parenting she received, and Rebekah's repeated childhood choices prepared the way for her to say, "I will go."
Psalm 45:10-17
"Instead of Your fathers shall be Your sons,
Whom You shall make princes in all the earth.
I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations..." (vss. 16-17a)
Consider how this also applied to Rebekah! If she had not done what vs. 10 invites, would we be remembering and reflecting on Rebekah?
Romans 7:15-25a
"For what I am doing, I do not understand." (vs. 15)
Realize how this and the following verses continue to apply.
It's a daily journey from 7:15 on to 8:1.
Daily we surrender and receive.
We don't discover the "how to" and do it (how to perform what is good I do not find). Instead we discover that we don't and we can't achieve. We have to receive what we can't achieve.
Daily we surrender and become receivers again.
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
Don't want to dance
Don't want to lament
Nothing satisfies
Don't like John's way
Don't like Jesus' way.
Impossible to please.
Dissatisfied; utterly restless.
"You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes." (vs. 25)
What does it take to shift from being wise and prudent to being a babe?
What does it take to shift from being impossible to please and utterly restless, to being satisfied and at rest?
"...you will find rest for your souls." (vs. 29)
Come...take...and learn...
Come to Jesus, take His yoke, learn from Him.
See how the surrender-and-receive movement (Romans 7:15 to Romans 8:1) is worked out here.
"For I am gentle and lowly in heart" (vs. 29)
In a gentle and lowly heart there is rest.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Receiving June 28, 2008, worship scriptures
Scriptures for June 28, 2008
Genesis 22:1-14
Psalm 13
Romans 6:12-23
Matthew 10:40-42
See http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html for suggestions about how to receive the weekly worship scriptures for yourself.
June 21 prayer for receiving
Your word is spirit and life.
I am receiving right now and becoming more of a receiver.
Your promise and Your presence, God, are my hope of receiving as You desire.
Genesis 22:1-14
"Here I am." (vss. 1, 7, 11)
Abraham said this to God, to Isaac, and to the Angel.
Consider the "I" in each case, and consider the attention Abraham was giving each as he said it.
"The-LORD-Will-Provide" (vs. 14)
Consider the relief and joy in those words for Abraham.
What did those same words stir up in God's heart?
Psalm 13
"Enlighten my eyes." (vs. 3)
"But I have trusted in Your mercy" (vs. 5)
In this Psalm it's "how long" four times, and being in need of enlightenment, and also trusting in God's mercy. For one thing, trusting in God's mercy doesn't exclude the "how long" suffering.
Romans 6:12-23
"For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."
Grace frees us from the dominion of sin.
It's not grace instead of law; it's grace surpassing law. What a crucial difference.
"slave of righteousness" (vs. 18)
Ah, to be fully able to receive this with my heart broken in confession.
A slave of righteousness is not an achiever.
A slave of righteousness is a lover of God's forgiving mercy and compassion--a lover of these and all the other aspects of God's righteousness.
Slaves of righteousness are "taken by" righteousness, not by achievement.
Matthew 10:40-42
"He who receives you receives Me,
and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me." (vs. 40)
How small a part of each other we receive, usually. A smile, a hello, the briefest account of how the day is going. Yet in the smallest receiving, receiving has begun. Through the most fleeting smile, we begin receiving.
He who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.
Receiving Jesus we receive His Father.
Consider how this also works between humans. For example, receiving our spouse, we receive those who sent our spouse. Receiving our spouse, we receive the one(s) who influenced, shaped and sent our spouse into our life. We can't, come to think about, really receive a person without receiving those who influenced, shaped and sent that person.
Receiving Jesus we receive the One who sent Him. What begins with fleeting smiles, expands into an eternity of wonder.
Genesis 22:1-14
Psalm 13
Romans 6:12-23
Matthew 10:40-42
See http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html for suggestions about how to receive the weekly worship scriptures for yourself.
June 21 prayer for receiving
Your word is spirit and life.
I am receiving right now and becoming more of a receiver.
Your promise and Your presence, God, are my hope of receiving as You desire.
Genesis 22:1-14
"Here I am." (vss. 1, 7, 11)
Abraham said this to God, to Isaac, and to the Angel.
Consider the "I" in each case, and consider the attention Abraham was giving each as he said it.
"The-LORD-Will-Provide" (vs. 14)
Consider the relief and joy in those words for Abraham.
What did those same words stir up in God's heart?
Psalm 13
"Enlighten my eyes." (vs. 3)
"But I have trusted in Your mercy" (vs. 5)
In this Psalm it's "how long" four times, and being in need of enlightenment, and also trusting in God's mercy. For one thing, trusting in God's mercy doesn't exclude the "how long" suffering.
Romans 6:12-23
"For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."
Grace frees us from the dominion of sin.
It's not grace instead of law; it's grace surpassing law. What a crucial difference.
"slave of righteousness" (vs. 18)
Ah, to be fully able to receive this with my heart broken in confession.
A slave of righteousness is not an achiever.
A slave of righteousness is a lover of God's forgiving mercy and compassion--a lover of these and all the other aspects of God's righteousness.
Slaves of righteousness are "taken by" righteousness, not by achievement.
Matthew 10:40-42
"He who receives you receives Me,
and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me." (vs. 40)
How small a part of each other we receive, usually. A smile, a hello, the briefest account of how the day is going. Yet in the smallest receiving, receiving has begun. Through the most fleeting smile, we begin receiving.
He who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.
Receiving Jesus we receive His Father.
Consider how this also works between humans. For example, receiving our spouse, we receive those who sent our spouse. Receiving our spouse, we receive the one(s) who influenced, shaped and sent our spouse into our life. We can't, come to think about, really receive a person without receiving those who influenced, shaped and sent that person.
Receiving Jesus we receive the One who sent Him. What begins with fleeting smiles, expands into an eternity of wonder.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Receiving June 21 worship scriptures
Scriptures for June 21
Genesis 21:8-21
Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17
Romans 6:1b-11
Matthew 10:24-39
This weekly post is meant to encourage you, the reader, to receive the scriptures as spirit and life for yourself. There are suggestions for how you can do this at http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html
June 14 prayer for receptivity
Receiving spirit and life--receiving You God--in Your word. This is what I'm here to do. Receiving is a matter of being also. Being present and open to You through confession that is followed by Your light and by union with You. Being with You, and receiving You in Your word.
Genesis 21:8-21
Today this whole passage "strikes me" as extremely remarkable and full of grief, and grace.
It's also a "telling" passage because it shows how readily I try to sort out who and what was right and who and what was wrong. When I let go of that response and receive, instead, with a heart of confession and forgiveness, the passage changes. The tears these verses call for are part of the life that comes through them (the verses and the tears). What converging of causes for confession and forgiveness! What love and life come through the confession, forgiveness and immense grace in these verses. It's an amazing account of how faith unfolds, being always surpassed by grace.
Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17
"All nations whom You have made
Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
And shall glorify Your name." (vs. 9)
Reflect on this in the light of "I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman..." (Genesis 21:13)
Be merciful (vs. 3)
ready to forgive (vs. 5)
abundant in mercy (vs. 5)
have mercy (vs. 16)
Consider how the mercy, the uncompromising mercy, of God is revealed to each child and adult in the Genesis 21:8-21 account.
Romans 6:1b-11
"...Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father..." (vs. 4)
How much and why the glory of God mattered to Jesus is something to continue pondering. Review Jesus' prayer in John 17, especially vss. 1 and 5 together with this verse.
"united together in the likeness of His death..." (vs. 5)
United in death. I've "always known" that we share in His death as well as His resurrection. But living our union with God still has not always included union in His death also.
"that we should no longer be slaves of sin." (vs. 6)
No longer even trying to sort it out, and get it right. My heart has a way of clinging to sin while I moralize. It's disgusting slavery. That slavery can end.
"The death that He died, He died to sin..." (vs. 10)
"Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (vs. 11)
Matthew 10:24-39
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth." (vs. 34)
Pondering this can help me grow into respectable peace.
Consider how Genesis 21:8-21 expands the meaning of this verse.
"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me." (vs. 37)
Today is Father's Day; Mother's Day was last month; every day is son's and daughter's day as parents love their children more than their own life. Love between parents and children can "go wrong," yet there is nothing stronger than healthy, heart-warming love between parents and children. When I let my heart be warmed and renewed by the tenderness and power of human love, then I'm prepared to hear Jesus say, love me more than that. The fullest and most surpassing love is from and for Him.
"And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me." (vs. 38)
This week's scriptures remind me the cross is about dying to sin (Romans 6:10,11).
The cross also has to do with accepting suffering that is not right or fair.
Let my heart claim again and more fully His surpassing, ultimate love, and His cross.
Genesis 21:8-21
Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17
Romans 6:1b-11
Matthew 10:24-39
This weekly post is meant to encourage you, the reader, to receive the scriptures as spirit and life for yourself. There are suggestions for how you can do this at http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html
June 14 prayer for receptivity
Receiving spirit and life--receiving You God--in Your word. This is what I'm here to do. Receiving is a matter of being also. Being present and open to You through confession that is followed by Your light and by union with You. Being with You, and receiving You in Your word.
Genesis 21:8-21
Today this whole passage "strikes me" as extremely remarkable and full of grief, and grace.
It's also a "telling" passage because it shows how readily I try to sort out who and what was right and who and what was wrong. When I let go of that response and receive, instead, with a heart of confession and forgiveness, the passage changes. The tears these verses call for are part of the life that comes through them (the verses and the tears). What converging of causes for confession and forgiveness! What love and life come through the confession, forgiveness and immense grace in these verses. It's an amazing account of how faith unfolds, being always surpassed by grace.
Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17
"All nations whom You have made
Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
And shall glorify Your name." (vs. 9)
Reflect on this in the light of "I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman..." (Genesis 21:13)
Be merciful (vs. 3)
ready to forgive (vs. 5)
abundant in mercy (vs. 5)
have mercy (vs. 16)
Consider how the mercy, the uncompromising mercy, of God is revealed to each child and adult in the Genesis 21:8-21 account.
Romans 6:1b-11
"...Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father..." (vs. 4)
How much and why the glory of God mattered to Jesus is something to continue pondering. Review Jesus' prayer in John 17, especially vss. 1 and 5 together with this verse.
"united together in the likeness of His death..." (vs. 5)
United in death. I've "always known" that we share in His death as well as His resurrection. But living our union with God still has not always included union in His death also.
"that we should no longer be slaves of sin." (vs. 6)
No longer even trying to sort it out, and get it right. My heart has a way of clinging to sin while I moralize. It's disgusting slavery. That slavery can end.
"The death that He died, He died to sin..." (vs. 10)
"Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (vs. 11)
Matthew 10:24-39
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth." (vs. 34)
Pondering this can help me grow into respectable peace.
Consider how Genesis 21:8-21 expands the meaning of this verse.
"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me." (vs. 37)
Today is Father's Day; Mother's Day was last month; every day is son's and daughter's day as parents love their children more than their own life. Love between parents and children can "go wrong," yet there is nothing stronger than healthy, heart-warming love between parents and children. When I let my heart be warmed and renewed by the tenderness and power of human love, then I'm prepared to hear Jesus say, love me more than that. The fullest and most surpassing love is from and for Him.
"And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me." (vs. 38)
This week's scriptures remind me the cross is about dying to sin (Romans 6:10,11).
The cross also has to do with accepting suffering that is not right or fair.
Let my heart claim again and more fully His surpassing, ultimate love, and His cross.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Receiving June 14 worship scriptures
Scriptures for June 14
Genesis 18:1-15
Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19
Romans 5:1-8
Matthew 9:35-10:8
Please see http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html for ways you can receive these scriptures.
June 7 prayer for receptivity
Your word as spirit and life is what I want to receive. Your word from Your heart, God. Living out of a suitcase for just a weekend seems to disrupt my receptivity. I pray for receptivity that "weathers" travel. More than that I pray for receptivity that weathers the meandering of my mind and heart. I pray for receptivity well grounded in confession, in your light, and in union with You.
Genesis 18:1-15
"...three men were standing by him..." (vs. 2)
"Then they said to him, 'Where...'" (vs. 9)
"And He said, 'I will...'" (vs. 10)
"And the LORD said to Abraham..." (vs. 13)
Three men; they said; then He (one of them) said; then the LORD.
Three, then He, then the LORD--this invites reflection on trinity and incarnation.
Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19
"I love the LORD, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications." (vs. 1)
Consider what Abraham said to, or asked God after the original promise(s) (Genesis 12:1ff) and after the promise in this week's passage from Genesis 18. What must it have been like for Abram, then Abraham, to experience God's actual presence and hear such enormous promises? What must it have been like for Abraham to experience such utter powerlessness? There was nothing Abraham could do to make the promise of the birth of a son to Sarah and him come true. Abraham had a lot to "work out" keeping company with such power at the same time he was so powerless.
"What Shall I render to the LORD
For all His benefits toward me?
I will take up the cup of salvation,
And call upon the name of the LORD.
I will pay my vows to the LORD
Now in the presence of all His people." (vss. 12-14)
A fitting response from a powerless person united with perfect Power:
- Take up the cup of salvation
- Call upon the name of the LOD
- Pay vows in the presence of all His people
Romans 5:1-8
Faith --> peace with God
Faith --> into grace and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God
Also, glory in tribulations, knowing
tribulation -->
character -->
hope.
Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the
Holy Spirit who was given to us.
This passage shows that character is a consequence or outgrowth of tribulation; it's not an achievement. Also, character is not the summit or ultimate destination. The love of God poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit is.
The next word after the account of the faith dynamic is "For." Faith is what it is for (or because):
"When we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." (vs. 6)
Consider how powerlessness unfolded for Abraham and Sarah; and how it unfolds for us. There seems to be some inverse proportion. The greater our powerlessness, the greater (or more real, or more accessible) God's power. The more we realize and acknowledge (confess) our powerlessness, the more we realize and experience His power. It's when we are without strength--period--that He dies for us. It's not when, or after, we have achieved a desirable character. This verse (vs. 6) is the foundation for, cause of, reason for verses 1 through 5. Consider how we come to realize how "without strength" we are. For Abraham it was a long and intense route into the full extent of his powerlessness.
Matthew 9:35-10:8
"Freely you have received, freely give." (ch. 10 vs. 8)
Give out of what you received, not out of what you achieve.
The disciples didn't decide to become good at healing, or raising the dead, or exorcising. The disciples were given power (ch. 10 vs. 1).
What is (are) the difference(s) between divine empowerment and the power we get other ways?
To the extent receiving actually happens, free giving actually happens.
Receiving makes empowered giving possible.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Receiving June 7 worship scriptures
Scriptures for June 7
Genesis 12:1-9
Psalm 33:1-12
Romans 4:13-25
Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
This is a post you can just read through if you wish. It includes questions, suggestions or possibilities that you may want to ponder. And there's more. What I most hope you will do is participate by looking at the suggestions at http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html and then preparing your own notes from the worship scriptures for next Sabbath (or Sunday). Even if the church you attend doesn't focus on these scriptures, you can receive these scriptures and compare notes with others who are doing the same.
May 31 prayer for receiving
Ears, eyes, mind, heart--all made for receiving! Tune them, free them, to receive fully, as You desire. Your word expressed; my heart receiving it now as spirit and life.
Genesis 12:1-9
"The LORD had said to Abram: 'Get out of your country...'"
See all the ways movement is indicated in vss. 1-9: Get out (vs. 1), Abram departed (vs. 4), they departed (vs. 5), came to the land of Canaan (vs. 5), Abram passed through (vs. 6), he moved from there (vs. 8), Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south (vs. 9)
"I will bless you...
And you shall be a blessing." (vs. 2)
Bless is repeated five times in vss. 1-3. Bless. That's a word to keep growing into!
"Then the LORD appeared to Abram...
And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him." (vs. 7)
Abram "moved from there... pitched his tent... there he built an altar..." (vs. 8)
What do we do now days that compares to building an altar? Pitching his tent and building an altar went together for Abram. Some people have a room, or the corner of a room, in their home that is a place of prayer and worship. Some people have a container of some sort--a basket perhaps--that holds a portable "altar" for prayer and worship. Maybe these are ways God's people do today what Abram was doing when he built an altar.
Psalm 33:1-12
Rejoice... harp... instrument of ten strings... Sing to Him a new song... shout of joy. (vss. 1-3)
Why the rejoicing, the harp, the song, the shout of joy?
"For the word of the LORD is right,
And all His work is done in truth.
He loves righteousness and justice;" (vss. 4, 5)
For the word of the LORD is right--that's why the rejoicing!
God's word to Abram was immense: "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you; In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." And more. More to Abram. More in this Psalm:
"By the word of the LORD
the heavens were made,
And all the host of them
by the breath of His mouth...
For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast." (vss. 6, 9)
"The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations." (vs. 11)
The Maker of the heavens and all their host has plans in His heart for all nations on earth. Plans of His heart. That is something to cherish and ponder.
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
And the people whom He has chosen as His own inheritance." (vs. 12)
Romans 4:13-25
"God, who gives life to the dead..." (vs. 17)
Abraham's body dead (vs. 19)
Sarah's womb dead (vs. 19)
Raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead (vs. 24)
The promise (vss. 13, 16, 20, 21)
The promise (how it was given, what it was, how it was fulfilled) unfolds the word as spirit and life.
"He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised he was also able to perform." (vss. 20, 21)
Being fully convinced. That's a whole person activity. That's reason and feeling, head, heart and more all integrated and sure of the same thing. And being fully convinced isn't the same as being stubbornly determined. Being fully convinced is a solid and settled state, but it isn't an effort-full, try harder, hang-in-there-no-matter-what state.
"...also for us." (vs. 24)
This is not just about an Old Testament man and nation. It was about Paul and the us around him, and the us around Paul extends into the present. It's for all of "us who believe in him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead."
Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
"...a man named Matthew..." (vs. 9)
The One who spoke the heavens and all their host into being
The One who shaped sea and land
The One with a heart plan for all nations, all generations
This One inviting one person
at a time
to follow Him.
An hour glass from eternity past to eternity future comes to it's narrowest place where Jesus is inviting one person to follow Him. It was just Matthew and Jesus. Matthew and Jesus with all of God's people before and after! The singularity is compelling, and with it comes infinite community. A yes response, a faith response, puts each one into the flow that comes from the glory of God and returns to the glory of God--glory shared by each one in the vast community of faith.
"Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (vs. 13)
God desires mercy and not sacrifice. How does it affect me today to realize that? What have mercy and sacrifice each become in my experience?
It's occurring to me that sacrifice has more to do with achieving (and doing); mercy has more to do with receiving (and gifting).
Each day's view of life, with its monumental joy and grief, is making it increasingly important and comforting for me to do exactly what Jesus said--learn what "I desire mercy and not sacrifice" means. This gets to the heart of so much--so powerfully. The essential learning about mercy and sacrifice combines with something else that is full of power (God's) and powerlessness (mine): He didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He sends me on my way learning what that means also.
"'My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.'" (vs. 18)
Life to the dead (Romans 4:17)
Genesis 12:1-9
Psalm 33:1-12
Romans 4:13-25
Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
This is a post you can just read through if you wish. It includes questions, suggestions or possibilities that you may want to ponder. And there's more. What I most hope you will do is participate by looking at the suggestions at http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html and then preparing your own notes from the worship scriptures for next Sabbath (or Sunday). Even if the church you attend doesn't focus on these scriptures, you can receive these scriptures and compare notes with others who are doing the same.
May 31 prayer for receiving
Ears, eyes, mind, heart--all made for receiving! Tune them, free them, to receive fully, as You desire. Your word expressed; my heart receiving it now as spirit and life.
Genesis 12:1-9
"The LORD had said to Abram: 'Get out of your country...'"
See all the ways movement is indicated in vss. 1-9: Get out (vs. 1), Abram departed (vs. 4), they departed (vs. 5), came to the land of Canaan (vs. 5), Abram passed through (vs. 6), he moved from there (vs. 8), Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south (vs. 9)
"I will bless you...
And you shall be a blessing." (vs. 2)
Bless is repeated five times in vss. 1-3. Bless. That's a word to keep growing into!
"Then the LORD appeared to Abram...
And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him." (vs. 7)
Abram "moved from there... pitched his tent... there he built an altar..." (vs. 8)
What do we do now days that compares to building an altar? Pitching his tent and building an altar went together for Abram. Some people have a room, or the corner of a room, in their home that is a place of prayer and worship. Some people have a container of some sort--a basket perhaps--that holds a portable "altar" for prayer and worship. Maybe these are ways God's people do today what Abram was doing when he built an altar.
Psalm 33:1-12
Rejoice... harp... instrument of ten strings... Sing to Him a new song... shout of joy. (vss. 1-3)
Why the rejoicing, the harp, the song, the shout of joy?
"For the word of the LORD is right,
And all His work is done in truth.
He loves righteousness and justice;" (vss. 4, 5)
For the word of the LORD is right--that's why the rejoicing!
God's word to Abram was immense: "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you; In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." And more. More to Abram. More in this Psalm:
"By the word of the LORD
the heavens were made,
And all the host of them
by the breath of His mouth...
For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast." (vss. 6, 9)
"The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations." (vs. 11)
The Maker of the heavens and all their host has plans in His heart for all nations on earth. Plans of His heart. That is something to cherish and ponder.
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
And the people whom He has chosen as His own inheritance." (vs. 12)
Romans 4:13-25
"God, who gives life to the dead..." (vs. 17)
Abraham's body dead (vs. 19)
Sarah's womb dead (vs. 19)
Raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead (vs. 24)
The promise (vss. 13, 16, 20, 21)
The promise (how it was given, what it was, how it was fulfilled) unfolds the word as spirit and life.
"He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised he was also able to perform." (vss. 20, 21)
Being fully convinced. That's a whole person activity. That's reason and feeling, head, heart and more all integrated and sure of the same thing. And being fully convinced isn't the same as being stubbornly determined. Being fully convinced is a solid and settled state, but it isn't an effort-full, try harder, hang-in-there-no-matter-what state.
"...also for us." (vs. 24)
This is not just about an Old Testament man and nation. It was about Paul and the us around him, and the us around Paul extends into the present. It's for all of "us who believe in him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead."
Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
"...a man named Matthew..." (vs. 9)
The One who spoke the heavens and all their host into being
The One who shaped sea and land
The One with a heart plan for all nations, all generations
This One inviting one person
at a time
to follow Him.
An hour glass from eternity past to eternity future comes to it's narrowest place where Jesus is inviting one person to follow Him. It was just Matthew and Jesus. Matthew and Jesus with all of God's people before and after! The singularity is compelling, and with it comes infinite community. A yes response, a faith response, puts each one into the flow that comes from the glory of God and returns to the glory of God--glory shared by each one in the vast community of faith.
"Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (vs. 13)
God desires mercy and not sacrifice. How does it affect me today to realize that? What have mercy and sacrifice each become in my experience?
It's occurring to me that sacrifice has more to do with achieving (and doing); mercy has more to do with receiving (and gifting).
Each day's view of life, with its monumental joy and grief, is making it increasingly important and comforting for me to do exactly what Jesus said--learn what "I desire mercy and not sacrifice" means. This gets to the heart of so much--so powerfully. The essential learning about mercy and sacrifice combines with something else that is full of power (God's) and powerlessness (mine): He didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He sends me on my way learning what that means also.
"'My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.'" (vs. 18)
Life to the dead (Romans 4:17)
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