By grace we walk

This morning we begin worship with:

Proverbs 16:9 

The  heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.

My plan was to go to church today, but I am sick on the couch.  This is an easy thought.  What we intend does not always happen.

But this verse goes deeper than that,  While man plans (ḥāšaḇ), the LORD establishes (kûn).  Other translations use “directs”, but the sense is “orders aright” and “makes firm”.

This is not simply the deterministic sovereignty of God, it is also the kind grace of God.

Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose

Rain

 This week we start worship with:

Hosea 10:12 

Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

Most reading this have never been in a field or been on a tractor or played in the hay barn. I am so blessed to have. 

Farms have cycles.  Chickens lay eggs daily. Lambs calve yearly.  Fields are allowed to remain “fallow” (nîr) for a year within a cycle of crops. This allows the fields to recover from the hard work of growing crops and to break the cycles of weeds and pests.

Hosea 10:4 

They utter mere words; 

    with empty oaths they make covenants; 

so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds 

    in the furrows of the field

These verses however speak of fields that have fallen out of that cycle, where weeds are allowed to persist. The core issue is self:

Hosea 10:3 

For now they will say:

    “We have no king,

for we do not fear the Lord;

    and a king—what could he do for us?”

Both plowing and leaving it fallow are both a demonstration of faith.  

In this chapter, the prophet asks that one move from "empty oaths" to "righteousness" in our dealings with others.  It is indeed a leap of faith to respond in love to the unloving, in truth to the lying, and with care for the uncaring.  

Likewise it demonstrates faith to leave our toxic relationships fallow and to re-engage after toxic words have stopped re-seeding.

What happens when we do?  The rain comes.

Believed

 This week we begin worship with the following question:

John 6:68-69

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

This question, by Peter, was in response to one asked by Jesus:

John 6:67

So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”

And this occurred when many left the ministry after Jesus explained “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.” and “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

But Peter understood that the very fact that he, himself, believed was proof that God had granted him to come.  And that though his own flesh would eventually fail that God would remain faithful.  

To whom, indeed, would we turn instead?

Reflect

 This week we begin worship with:

Isaiah 60:1-3

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

An unfortunate loss occurs when translating into modern English.  One loses whether the word "you" is singular or plural.  Each "you" or "your" in these verses is singular.  It is not until verse 14 that the singular subject is finally identified.

Isaiah 60:14

. . . they shall call you the City of the Lord,

    the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 

Last night, as we traveled south returning from vacation, the fog and the low clouds were periodically illuminated by the lights of the cities that we past.  Our verse this morning describes that light.  The command is not directed toward God to shine brighter, but rather to His city, our home, to reflect that glory.  As we walk through the darkest of conversations and relationships, do we reflect His Glory?

Mercy

Last week we started worship with:

Luke 1:46-47, 54-55 

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. ...He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

This is not our word for magnification, where we make something appear bigger than it really is.  When Mary sang this song, she declared in a fresh way the reality of God's greatness (megalynō).

The Magnificat lists several things that the Lord was doing through the Incarnation, but it wraps them in the envelope of mercy (eleos).

God made an un-merited promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3).  And after all the mis-steps and outright apostasy of his nation, God was still faithful to His word.  

For this Mary sang!