Now Thank We All Our God ...

1 Chronicles 29:10 David praised the LORD before the entire assembly: "O LORD God of our father Israel, you deserve praise forevermore! 11 O LORD, you are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent, glorious, and sovereign over all the sky and earth! You have dominion and exalt yourself as the ruler of all. 12 You are the source of wealth and honour; you rule over all. You possess strength and might to magnify and give strength to all. 13 Now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your majestic name! 14"But who am I and who are my people, that we should be in a position to contribute this much? Indeed, everything comes from you, and we have simply given back to you what is yours...20 David told the entire assembly:"Praise the LORD your God!"So the entire assembly praised the LORD God of their ancestors; they bowed down and stretched out flat on the ground before the LORD and the king.

Not much to add to this. The prayer is deeply challenging without me adding anything. Read it and weep.
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Psalm 50: a Call to Worship

1  A Psalm of Asaph.

The mighty one, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Psa 50:2  Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.

Psa 50:3  Our God comes and does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, and a mighty tempest all around him.

Psa 50:4  He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:

Psa 50:5  "Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!"

Psa 50:6  The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge. [Selah]

A Light in the Darkness

Act 12:1  About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. 2  He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword. 3  After he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (This was during the festival of Unleavened Bread.) 4  When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. 5  While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him. 6  The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. 7  Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, "Get up quickly." And the chains fell off his wrists. 8  The angel said to him, "Fasten your belt and put on your sandals." He did so. Then he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me." 9  Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel's help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10  After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. 11  Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting."

 

In this passage I discover a word of courage:

This story ends the work of Peter, with the focus in the next chapter moving to Paul. Jesus has gone; James has been executed; and Peter must be feeling that his own demise is imminent. It seems like the power of darkness has extinguished hope. In fact the way the story is written, Peter is literally in darkness – when a light appears..... a light that brings him hope, release, and restoration to his community.   Luke tells this story at a time when the next generation of Jesus-followers are struggling for faith. They have seen Jerusalem burned to the ground; they have experienced persecution at the hands of Roman authorities - most notably when the Emperor Nero accuses them of burning Rome; and they have seen their church scattered. Luke writes to reassure them that God does not forget them, even when things seem at their most desperate.  

In the same way, you and I can take courage in moments of darkness that God will find a way to bring light. It might not be what we expect – but know that God will never abandon us to the darkness.

 

For Thought:

Light of the World  
You stepped down into darkness  
Opened my eyes
Let me see
Beauty that made  
This heart adore You  
Hope of a life
Spent with You

Lyrics:  CHRIS TOMLIN

 

 

 

Ordinary 19 / Pentecost +12

41 Prayers and Promises
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 255.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

 

A Commitment to Values

2Pe 1:1  Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: 2  May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.3  His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4  Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature. 5  For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, 6  and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, 7  and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. 8  For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.9  For anyone who lacks these things is short-sighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins. 10  Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. 11  For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.

 

Here we discover a benchmark for Christian character: faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, mutual affection and love. These values transcend culture, history and location. These are the qualities of life that “keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”. 

These values do not mysteriously appear in our character – they are the product of a deliberate commitment to daily practice.  The invitation is to “confirm” the call of God on your life by a commitment to living these Christian values.

Nothing but Joy

James 1:1  James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. 2  My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, 3  because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; 4  and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. 5  If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. 6  But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; 7  for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 9  Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, 10  and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field. 11  For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. It is the same way with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away. 12  Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

The writer of this letter of James addresses the divisions amongst the Christian community in the last third of the first century.  The writer uses the cultured Greek of the wealthy to address the widening gulf between rich and poor church members.  Those who think of wealth as a sign of God’s blessing are bluntly informed: Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field.  

We who are so easily seduced by wealth, and so readily idolize wealthy people, need to hear the truth that the rich will “wither away”. Only those who resist the temptation of greed will discover the blessings of God.  (James 1:11-12). We discover our spiritual health when we relinquish our greedy pursuit of wealth and possessions. When we trust God “who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly” we are able to become generous, compassionate people (James 1:5).    

 

Ordinary 19 / Pentecost +12

41 Prayers and Promises
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 255.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

 

Risky Living

Romans 4:13  For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14  If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15  For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. 16  For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, 17  as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations")--in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18  Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become "the father of many nations," according to what was said, "So numerous shall your descendants be." 19  He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. 20  No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21  being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22  Therefore his faith "was reckoned to him as righteousness." 23  Now the words, "it was reckoned to him," were written not for his sake alone, 24  but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25  who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.

 

Paul rejects a rigid adherence to law as the secret to a fulfilled life. Instead he advocates faith as the one essential in life “in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants”.  This is living life in a way that trusts the Spirit of God to lead us into each day, rather than an unthinking adherence to religious rules as the place of redemption.

Put differently, this is an invitation to what Jamie Buckingham helpfully termed “Risky Living”. The challenge of each day is to risk living under God’s guidance rather than trusting the religious rules we use to help us feel safe.    

 

 

 

Ordinary 19 / Pentecost +12

41 Prayers and Promises
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 255.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

 

The Prayer of a King

2Samuel 7:18  Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and said, "Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 19  And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord GOD; you have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come. May this be instruction for the people, O Lord GOD! 20  And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord GOD! 21  Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness, so that your servant may know it. 22  Therefore you are great, O LORD God; for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23  Who is like your people, like Israel? Is there another nation on earth whose God went to redeem it as a people, and to make a name for himself, doing great and awesome things for them, by driving out before his people nations and their gods? 24  And you established your people Israel for yourself to be your people forever; and you, O LORD, became their God. 25  And now, O LORD God, as for the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever; do as you have promised. 26  Thus your name will be magnified forever in the saying, 'The LORD of hosts is God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David will be established before you. 27  For you, O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, 'I will build you a house'; therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28  And now, O Lord GOD, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant; 29  now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you; for you, O Lord GOD, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever."

 

Here we have one of the great prayers of the Bible. David has been asked to become King of Israel. And the author has framed David’s response.[1] Here is a man who remembers his humble roots: "Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?”  David wants to be the kind of King that remembers that all of life is lived in response to the call of God.  This connects deeply with Israel’s Covenant with God. This prayer acknowledges that 'The LORD of hosts is God over Israel', and therefore the king (in this case David) needs to ask God’s blessing in order to be an instrument of the Lord’s rule over his people. This prayer admits that the king and the people need to recognize the Lord as their Divine Sovereign.

King David provides a prayer that is a timely reminder for all who would be in authority. There are many rulers – of nations, of institutions, and of families - who could do with using the words of David as a sobering reminder that all leadership is held in trust as a service to God.   

 

 

Ordinary 19 / Pentecost +12

41 Prayers and Promises
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 255.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

 

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[1] There is a chronological uncertainty to this passage, and a suggestion that 2Samuel 7 should to be placed chronologically after David’s conquests described in 2Sa 8:1–14.