freedom

 This week we begin worship with:

Galatians 5:13

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

In Paul's letter to the Galatians, he is responding to reports that they have fallen back to the comfortable place, where one's actions were the source of self-righteousness and their justification.  

Galatians 2:15-16

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Once understood that no-one can justify themselves, faith in the work of Christ brings freedom.  My actions are not necessary.  But that freedom immediately brings the temptation to enthrone oneself.   

We must regularly be reminded that our freedom has a purpose, to love one another.  

A classic example would be getting the family ready for church, packed into the mini-van, only to hear the cry of a neighbor for help with a family emergency.  Some in this situation would feel the tug of the Law to drive on.  Others who felt the tug of self-enthronement are still in bed.  But we are freed to love through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

name

 This week we begin worship with:

Psalm 115:1

Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

In a small town, at work, or in a big church, names carry weight.  Do you know the so-and-sos?  I had dinner with their cousins.  Often that weight comes from what they did or donated.  Their names are on the buildings.

But our verse this week is a prayer asking that our name be left off.  That our contribution, however large, be hidden and anonymous.  Instead, the name of God should be given weight.  

That name loses its eternality translated as LORD.  In Hebrew, it is the self-existent, unchangeable, and eternal "I AM".  

This comes out clearly as the Psalmist speaks of the steadfastness and faithfulness of God's love.  And it is because of that eternal and unchanging love for us, that weight should be given that name.

verb

 This week we begin worship with:

Hebrews 11:6–7

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Each of the "by faith" examples given in Hebrews 11 had an action:

• Able "offered" (v4).
• Enoch "prophesied" (Jude 1:14-15).
• Noah "constructed" (v7).
• Abraham "went" (v9) and "offered" (v17).
• Sarah "conceived" (v11).
• Isaac "blessed" (v20).
• Jacob "blessed" (v21).
• Joseph "instructed" (v22).
• Moses "refused", "chose", . . . (v 23-30).
• Rahab "welcomed" (v 31).

While we understand that our salvation is never because of our actions, but only because of God's love, but what action are we taking, in faith, simply because we love God and want to please him?

Yes, this list has many, who risked it all, but for many it was enabling and pointing the next generation to God by their personal testimony.  

What is your verb?

 

wilderness

This morning we begin worship with:

Genesis 1:27-28

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to

them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it."

For most, when we were at home we felt safe.  In my neighborhood we played and rode our bikes.  It was when we turned that next corner that the roads got bigger, it was too scary to ride (and our parents told us not to!).

This has been true throughout the ages, the earth needs to be subdued (kāḇaš).

As you read the Gospels, when you read the phrase "into the wilderness", do not envision a peaceful and tranquil place.  It was an area beyond civilization, beyond the reach of Motel-6, COSTCO, and 911.

It was into the wilderness that Jesus went to battle Satan (Mark 1:12) and where he exorcised the demons who called themselves "Legion" (Mark 5:1-20).  

It was often Hs battleground.

For

This week we begin worship with:

Psalm 105:42-43
For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant. 
So he brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with singing.

Our verses today condense the entirety of Psalm 105 into the little word "For" (kî).  It occurs only once in the psalm and points us to the reason.  The Psalmist lists over 20 actions that God took to choose, care for, and build the nation of Israel, but this is the reason, that God's promise is "holy".

This does not simply mean that the promise is good, rather than evil.  The word "holy" (qōḏeš)  means that the promise comes from God's very nature and core to that nature is His unchangeable-ness.

Exodus 3:14

God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

The phrase "I am who I am" is in the Hebrew imperfect tense.  It is not the arrogant and frequently heard English phrase "It is just the way I am".  Instead it means that the way God is never stops.  And because God cannot change, the promise made to Abraham cannot change.

Now, imagine being in the crowd and hearing Jesus say:

John 8:58

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

 

full

 This week we begin worship with:

Isaiah 6:1-3

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.  

And one called to another and said: 

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

Just as these greatest of celestial beings, the seraphim, cover their face with their folded wings in humility in the presence of God, we too aught to fold our hands and close our eyes when we pray, for as we do, we enter the very throne-room of God.

Hebrews 4:16

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

It would be appropriate that in our prayers today that we also mimic them and declare the immensity and purity of the glory that we see all around us.  For, just as the train of His robe fills the celestial temple, so too does God's glory fill our terrestrial home.

reward

This week we begin worship with:

Matthew 5:11–12

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Slow down.  Reread that first word, "Blessed".  Notice please that it is past-tense.  We have already been blessed.  It has already happened.  Find the word "is".  It is in the present tense.  Our reward is already prepared and waiting for us.

As a manager, I plan the year.  I give heroically challenging assignments to my best people.  I plan the rewards they are going to receive at year-end reviews.

God has planned it all.  He has both our rewards and our challenges waiting for us to experience them.  

Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

We pray to be protected.  Shouldn't we rather pray to be blessed?   And for the faith necessary for the day's assignment?

 

sword

 This week we begin worship with:

Revelation 19:14-16

And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following

him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike

down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the

winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his

thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Why does a sword come out of the mouth of the victorious Christ?  It can be understood this way, that out of the mouth of God comes the Word of God and we are told that the Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit.

Ephesians 6:16-17

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,  

We are also told this sword is sharp!  It divides what is indivisible.  Soul from spirit.  Joint from marrow.

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 

But note the change in words.  The "thoughts" and "intentions" are not divided, they are discerned (kritikos).  They are not divided from each other but rather divided between truth and error, for each word spoken by the victorious Christ will be true.

 

protection

This week we begin worship with:

Psalm 5:11

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;

    let them ever sing for joy,

and spread your protection over them,

    that those who love your name may exult in you.

When attempting to win the "who-will-be-first-in-the-kingdom" argument that immediately followed the institution of the Lord's Supper (Luke 22:24–27), Peter escalated it to the point that he declared to Jesus his preeminent devotion:

Luke 22:31–34

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”

Notice the self-assured "I am ready", but as you know, Peter with that protection removed was found completely unprepared even for the words of a servant girl.

Fast-forward to the elder Peter and listen to him "exult" at being guarded:

1 Peter 1:3-5

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

saved

This week we begin worship with:

Deuteronomy 33:29a

Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, the

shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph!

This verse comes at the end of the blessing that Moses spoke to the tribes of Israel, just before his death in Moab.  Moses had led his people out of slavery and stood at the very edge of the promised land. From this vantage point he was permitted to see the Promised Land but not enter it (Deuteronomy 34:1-8).

Yes, Israel was at that moment free from the tyranny of Pharaoh, but they were also homeless and vulnerable!

Yet, Moses blessed them as "saved" (yāšaʿ), shielded, and triumphant.  

Unlike English, Hebrew does not have past, present, and future tense.  The verb describes the ongoing but sure salvation, whose certainly rests on God alone and it was being used as their identity -- "Saved by the LORD".

Now look back at the Hebrew for that word, try to pronounce it.  Then read the angel's announcement to Joseph:

Matthew 1:21

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

The name Jesus comes from yâ, which is a shortened name for God that you hear at the end of "Hallelujah", and today's word yāšaʿ.  Literally, the name Jesus means "God Saves".

Now reread the angel's announcement and hear in the name "Jesus" that this baby would be divine!  God himself will save us.  So, we too are "Saved by the LORD".  

steadfast love

This week we begin our worship with:

Lamentations 3:22-23

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

We use the adage, "You can't tell a book by its cover.".  Well in this case, the cover of this book has the title "Lamentations".  This is not a happy time.  

Because of Judah's continued idolatry, God permitted the Babylonians to invade, destroy Jerusalem, and destroy the temple.  The book even speaks of cannibalism during the siege (Lamentations 4:10) and in disgrace the Jews were exiled to Babylon.

With that in mind, reread our verse.

In the midst of this pain, the author (possibly Jeremiah) cried out to God and experienced His "steadfast love" (ḥeseḏ):

Lamentations 3:55-57

“I called on your name, O Lord,

    from the depths of the pit;

you heard my plea, ‘Do not close

    your ear to my cry for help!’

You came near when I called on you;

    you said, ‘Do not fear!’

So, from whatever pit we are in today, let us cry our to our Heavenly Father, and hear the words:

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.