Sing

This week we begin worship with:

Revelation 15:3

And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!

The song of Moses in Exodus 15:1-21 does not contain this text.  But both songs are sung after the strong hand of God has redeemed His people and destroyed the enemy.

This then is the second verse written by the Lamb and when sung together it gives a picture of the steadfast love of our God over the generations.

This is not sung by angels  This is sung by the redeemed.  And I dare say Miriam may be leading us!

Exodus 15:20-21

Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. And Miriam sang to them:

“Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;

the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Resolute

This morning we begin worship with:

Joshua 1:8-9

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

This is a command that is a series of commands to a newly appointed Joshua. And the command to Joshua was to follow another list of commands. That is the Book of the Law.  In other words he got his”Marching Orders”.

Some take the words prosperous (ṣālēaḥ) and success śāḵal) to mean a life without problems filled with affluence and obedient children. No, there words are associated with success on the battlefield and in administering justice.  These words come after bloodshed and crime.  During all of which we should be resolute. 

First

Today we begin our worship with:

1 John 4:18-19a

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

While hate is the opposite of love, it is fear that actively opposes it.  The degree to which we can love is determined by our level of fear.  Many stories are told of parents overcoming fear to rescue a beloved child.

But while love is attempting to cast out (ballō) fear, fear is actively holding on to (echō) punishment.  To love we must understand that we ourselves are loved and will not be punished.

1 John 4:16-17

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

Redeemed, we must let go of that fear of punishment, then it will be hard to punish others by withholding our love.  So it is true that:

1 John 4:19b
We love because he first loved us.

 

 

 

 

 

Everything!

 This week we begin worship with:

Hebrews 1:1-2

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

Most of us have sections of the Bible where the pages are still new and the gilding is still on the edge.  In a sword drill, if they call out a minor prophet, we have to use the table of contents and have to peel the pages apart.  However, the Hebrews to whom the letter was written, received God’s Word through the prophets.  If they could, that would be the scrolls that would be dog-eared, highlighted, and falling out of the binding.

But in this, the very first verses of this book, the author introduces them instead to the creator and heir of all things.  He is responsible for everything from the Day of Creation(Genesis 2:4-25) to what is called the Great Day (Revelation 16:14), the Day of Wrath (Romans 2:5), and the Day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).  Everything!

He is why our Bibles fall open to the Gospels. 

Weight

Today 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!

This verse is about glory (kāḇôḏ).  

Man’s attempt to depict glory as streams of light or gilded thrones misses the point. The root of the word is kāḇaḏ, which means to be weighty.  This is the weight we give to the opinions of those that have experienced the long term burden of leadership. It is the weight we feel when they walk into the room.

This Psalmist declares this weight appropriate for God because of his steadfast love and faithfulness.  This is true ('ĕmeṯ) kindness (ḥeseḏ) that has neither facade nor ulterior motive.  This is kindness that they have felt as a nation for generations.

The Psalmist deflects this glory away from us twice!  Our kindness is not faithful and often comes with selfish motives.  It certainly does not carry any such weight.

Slingshot

 Today we begin worship with:

Psalm 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

In our modern world, we take light for granted. It is as near as the cell phone in our hand or the switch on the wall. The ancient world was very very dark at night. 

Ruth 3:14

So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”

As a world power we take our police and our army for granted. Not so for David (please hear the word “me”):

Psalms 27:3

Though an army encamp against me,

my heart shall not fear;

though war arise against me,

yet I will be confident.

Instead, he looked to the LORD as his stronghold (māʿôz). For then the size of the army encamped against him did not matter. Even the quantity of his enemies did not matter.  David had seen what the LORD could do with the faith of a small boy, a handful of stones, and a slingshot. 

LORD, grant us this day the faith to stand in your strength and walk in your love.

Longing

This week we begin worship with:

Psalm 84:1-2

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.

As many know (Yes, because I talk about it way too much!), our family escapes in the summer to Camp-of-the-Woods for the combination of worship, fellowship, family, and fun that it provides.  It is a long drive, but as we near the end the familiar landmarks start to appear — the Adirondack park sign, the mileage sign for the Town of Speculator, the welcome sign for the town, and then finally the sign for Camp.  By the time we see it we are collectively leaning forward in our seats straining to see it come into view.

Our verse this morning has that same sense.  We long (kāsap̄) for the courts of the LORD.  So much so, that if we are delayed for any reason our inner-self faints (kālâ) in exhaustion.  

We hear our colleagues at work longing for the start of the weekend till we are greeted with “Happy Friday!”.  Oh, that they too would have the joy of reaching Sunday!

Compassion

 Today we begin worship with:

Mark 6:34

When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

We spent this week with our middle daughter, her husband, and the grandkids.  Periodically a parent or grandparent would have to leap to help/save/discipline a child.  This is not quite what is expressed here.  We all did it out of love and responsibility.

Our verse today describes a time when there is no parent, when no responsible person is actively caring for them, and when our gut (splagchnizomai) tells us to act.

This word is associated with many miracles - Feeding of the Four Thousand (Matthew 15:32-39) and the Raising of the Widow’s Son (Luke 7:11-17) to name a couple.  Each time the person could not save/heal/resurrect themselves.

May the LORD show us others through His eyes and be in the moment His hands. 

Truth

 Today we start worship with:

James 1:16-18

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Creation began, not with any of the Classic Elements of Greece, Tibet, or India (water, earth, fire, or air), but rather with light (Genesis 1:3)!  God is the “Father of Lights”.  We are told in this passage that He does not change, nor does he block that effect in any way to produce a shadow where it does not land.

What light brings forth is truth.  Truth does not change upon further examination.

The Word of Truth is our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 1:1-14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Uttermost

 Today we begin worship with:

Hebrews 7:23-25

The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Under the Old Covenant, a priest was required. They bridged the gulf between man and God.

Hebrews 7:19

(for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

The New Covenant changed all that. Jesus, our better hope, became our means to draw near (engizō) to God.  He became responsible for the promise as its guarantor (engyos).  Yes, the author ties this beautiful truth together by a play on words!

Hebrews 7:22

This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

This office is no longer temporary and bound by death.  It is unending and unbounded by any circumstance. So we can be saved to the uttermost (pantelēs).  Translators struggle to convey the breadth of this word. An attempt can be made by seeing the opposite, where a poor woman was unable to, by any means, to free herself from her convulsed position:

Luke 13:10-12 

Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent over double, and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.”

Our Jesus, can in all ways, in any circumstance, for all time, save us!

The Flock

Today we begin worship with:

Ezekiel 34:11, 15
For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.
I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.

As a family we are experiencing new grand babies.  Young couples and grandparents alike are challenged by these dear souls.  They are slippery in the bath.  They are wiggly on the changing table.  They are often difficult to get to sleep!  A certain honor is given to the parent or grandparent whose calm presence is able to get a fussy baby to sleep.

Those hearing this verse knew sheep (For those of us who don't know sheep, the site Sheep101 gives a great description of their behavior).  A sheep that is alone will be stressed.  Even the smell of a predator will make a sheep stressed.  A sheep that is stressed will not lie down.  

We hear in this verse the voice of the Master Shepherd.  He will gather the sheep, because only in a flock does a sheep feel protected.  Only then will they lie down.

This chapter is not Ezekiel's version of Psalm 23.  Instead, Ezekiel 34 is a strong prophecy against the leaders of Israel who have failed to care for its citizens.  God is taking up the task personally, because those appointed to do so have not.