Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Psalm 27:7-13, 2 Chronicles 32:1-22, Colossians 1:1-23 - Lectionary for 9/13/11

Today's readings are Psalm 27:7-13, 2 Chronicles 32:1-22, and Colossians 1:1-23.

What kind of opposition do Christians face in this world? It isn't uncommon for modern-day believers to have encounters with people who behave like Sennacherib and the Assyrians. They don't believe in God as revealed in the Bible. So they act as though he is some sort of silly superstition, that he is a god made in man's imagination. This is a natural enough assumption. Most of us tend to view other people's beliefs through the lens of our experience. But in many cases it is inaccurate. The Assyrians, like many in our post-Christian world, thought the God of the Jews was like their gods - servant of the will of the military commander. There's one big problem in that. This is not the way the Bible portrays God. The God we read about in Colossians 1 is quite different. He is the one active in creation and in providence throughout history. He is the true and living God. He calls us to himself on his own terms. We do not rule him. He is the ruler of all.

Let God be God! May we accept no substitutes.

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