Today's readings are Psalm 80.14-19, Numbers 16.41-17.13, and Luke 20.1-18.
We read in Numbers of Moses standing between the rebellious people of Israel and their certain destruction. It seems that no matter how much of God's mercy we have seen we still end up bent on unbelief. We run quickly to our own destruction. Yet see that God has raised up someone to intervene. He does not allow his chosen people to destroy themselves, at least not completely.
As we turn to the New Testament we see very clearly that Jesus is, in fact, the one who stands between us and our destruction. He is the one whose merit is applied to us. He is the one who acts with authority, as the true Son of God. What is our reaction to Jesus? Are we going to reject him and prefer our own destruction, as did the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders? Or are we going to admit that he is who he says he is, trust him, and see that he stands between us and our own self-defeat?
May the Lord make us faithful.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Psalm 118.19-25, Numbers 16.23-40, Luke 19.29-48 - Lectionary for 6/8/11
Today's readings are Psalm 118.19-25, Numbers 16.23-40, and Luke 19.29-48.
How is God's wrath revealed? It is revealed in Scripture against everyone who tries to live based on his own authority. The supporters of Korah were destroyed by the hand of God. Why? They tried to exalt themselves above what God had ordained as his own means of life, his own means of approach to himself, the living God, who cares for the needs of all his people.
How is God's love revealed? It is revealed in and for everyone who lives based on the authority and command of God. And God's command is that we look to him in trust, knowing that he is the mighty King who comes in peade, as Jesus comes in peace, riding on a donkey, not a warlike animal. God's love is poured out on all who realize the loving and protective hand of God upon his people. His love is poured out in the person of Jesus, who comes to his people and cleanses his temple of robbers who would hinder true worship by their profiteering.
In the end of our gospel reading today we see that the people "were hanging on his {Jesus'} words" (Luke 19.48b, ESV). May God grant that we also hang on his words, receiving them with confidence, knowing that our Lord has the words of life.
How is God's wrath revealed? It is revealed in Scripture against everyone who tries to live based on his own authority. The supporters of Korah were destroyed by the hand of God. Why? They tried to exalt themselves above what God had ordained as his own means of life, his own means of approach to himself, the living God, who cares for the needs of all his people.
How is God's love revealed? It is revealed in and for everyone who lives based on the authority and command of God. And God's command is that we look to him in trust, knowing that he is the mighty King who comes in peade, as Jesus comes in peace, riding on a donkey, not a warlike animal. God's love is poured out on all who realize the loving and protective hand of God upon his people. His love is poured out in the person of Jesus, who comes to his people and cleanses his temple of robbers who would hinder true worship by their profiteering.
In the end of our gospel reading today we see that the people "were hanging on his {Jesus'} words" (Luke 19.48b, ESV). May God grant that we also hang on his words, receiving them with confidence, knowing that our Lord has the words of life.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Psalm 111, Numbers 16.1-22, Luke 19.11-28 - Lectionary for 6/7/11
Today's readings are Psalm 111, Numbers 16.1-22, and Luke 19.11-28.
God's judgment is shown in today's readings. We see that our Lord has provided for the needs of his people and has given them every opportunity for life and blessing. They are simply to believe what he has told them and walk in the light of God's mercy and love. Yet for some reason God's people want to rearrange his promises and walk in their own authority. In the Old Testament reading we see Korah and his followers who wish to take on a role God has not given them. In our New Testament reading we see the parable of the ten minas, where the servants of the king are given funds to invest and use. The one who does not act according to his master's intention and character is stripped of the blessing he was given.
What has the Lord given us? What are our vocations? What are the roles he has blessed us with? How can we use those in accordance with the character of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so as to both live in his blessing and bring his favor to those around us? He has given us what we need. It is our job only to walk in light of his provision.
God's judgment is shown in today's readings. We see that our Lord has provided for the needs of his people and has given them every opportunity for life and blessing. They are simply to believe what he has told them and walk in the light of God's mercy and love. Yet for some reason God's people want to rearrange his promises and walk in their own authority. In the Old Testament reading we see Korah and his followers who wish to take on a role God has not given them. In our New Testament reading we see the parable of the ten minas, where the servants of the king are given funds to invest and use. The one who does not act according to his master's intention and character is stripped of the blessing he was given.
What has the Lord given us? What are our vocations? What are the roles he has blessed us with? How can we use those in accordance with the character of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so as to both live in his blessing and bring his favor to those around us? He has given us what we need. It is our job only to walk in light of his provision.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Psalm 146.5-9, Numbers 14.26-45, Luke 18.35-19.10 - Lectionary for 6/6/11
Today's readings are Psalm 146.5-9, Numbers 14.26-45, and Luke 18.35-19.10.
The Gospel reading for today gives us some glimpses of Jesus passing by people. What is our cry when we find that Jesus is in the area? Do we ask him to have mercy on us? Do we boldly confess that we need him to accomplish something in our lives? Or do we think that it's all about what we can do for Jesus?
The Christian life is all about what Jesus is doing in and for us. Let's not lose sight of that, even if we have to be like Zaccheus and climb a tree to see it happening.
The Gospel reading for today gives us some glimpses of Jesus passing by people. What is our cry when we find that Jesus is in the area? Do we ask him to have mercy on us? Do we boldly confess that we need him to accomplish something in our lives? Or do we think that it's all about what we can do for Jesus?
The Christian life is all about what Jesus is doing in and for us. Let's not lose sight of that, even if we have to be like Zaccheus and climb a tree to see it happening.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Move minus seven
We're counting down to the move. Enjoyed spending this morning in civilian clothes making contact with dear old friends in two different churches where I've spent lots of time in the past. Our third floor is pretty well wrapped up, as is the second floor and the garage. There are a few things from the bedrooms and closets that will require a couple of hours' attention in about a week. The first floor is going to be the focus of attention now. I was observing that it's a little like the set of a movie or television show. We can look at the dining room from one angle and it looks perfectly normal, like nothing is going on. We can look from the opposite direction and it's an incredible bit of organized chaos. The kitchen is entirely untouched and is rather shut off from the rest of the house (a terrible bit of architecture but in this instance it creates a very nice little haven). One view of the living room is perfectly normal and the rest of it is awash in boxes, newspapers, bubble wrap, and tape just waiting to be put to work.
Maybe this is a little like our lives. We're works in progress. We'd like to think everything is peaceful and idyllic. And on one level it is. Yet at the same time we can have a great deal of activity going on. What we try to learn, and do learn more or less well, is that all the elements of our life are somehow working together and that the gracious Lord Jesus is mercifully in charge, protecting us from all harm. There are some things that matter a lot, like knowing where your eyeglasses are or being able to communicate with dear old friends. Then there are some things that don't really matter that much, like having the boxes sorted according to size or being able to lay your hands on the onyx pig that proudly sits on your desk in his rightful place.
As one crusty old missionary I met once would say, he and his wife would look at one another and remind each other, "We're going to make it. We may not look like much when we get there, but we're going to make it."
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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com
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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com
Sermon for 6/5/11 "Thy Kingdom Come"
Sermon “Thy Kingdom Come”
Grace and peace to you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Thy kingdom come.” We pray these words in the Lord’s prayer. I expect they come out of most of our mouths pretty easily. Maybe we say them even without thinking as much as we should. We pray that our Lord would bring his kingdom and establish it on earth as it is in heaven. And today, this seventh Sunday in Easter, the Sunday before Pentecost, our reading from Acts brings up the question which we ought to ask ourselves. Here in verse 6 we read, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (NIV). What does our Lord show us in answer to that question?
First, Jesus says that the kingdom of God comes at God’s time. It is not by our own power or authority. The coming of God’s kingdom is in the time that the Father has set. It is in the authority of God the Father that the kingdom comes. And it is in his timing. This is something which Jesus is not telling us. We don’t know the details of our Lord’s coming. We don’t know how God will bring his kingdom. We certainly don’t know the timing. People throughout history have tried to proclaim the time of God’s coming. And they’ve been wrong, time after time.
Why do we desire to manipulate God’s kingdom? Why do we want to proclaim a particular time, imposing deadlines on God? This is foolishness. Rather, we look at the time our Lord has given us. We do not know the day or the hour of his coming. Therefore we are vigilant, we try to live in such a way as to be prepared for his coming, whenever that might be. Will our Lord find us waiting? Will he find us busy about the tasks that he has given us? Then he will delight in us and make us sit down at the table with him serving us. May the Lord give us trust in him, that whenever he brings the time of the end he will find us looking to him in faith.
How does God’s kingdom come, then? Do we usher it in by our great plans or our works of obedience? Not at all. God’s kingdom does not come through our power. It comes by the power of the Holy Spirit, as we read in Acts 1.8. This is our Lord’s supernatural provision for his world. It is his way of reconciling the world to himself. It is through the work of the Holy Spirit that he draws people to himself, that he protects them, that he guides them into all truth, that he sustains his people in all their trials. God’s kingdom is not our kingdom. It doesn’t come by military force, economic force, or any sort of human means. It is much greater than that, in that the Holy Spirit – God himself, delivers his kingdom.
How great is the effect of God’s kingdom? Again, unlike our kingdoms, God’s kingdom has no boundaries. See that the disciples will be “witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (v. 8, NIV)? They will not know the cultural and political boundaries that they grew up with. There’s nothing to hold them back. They are not going to stop at their border, at the edge of the village where they grew up. They are not going to worry about where they might go. As citizens of God’s kingdom there is no fear about leaving family and friends, for the Holy Spirit raises up family and friends wherever his people are. God’s kingdom, evidenced by forgiveness of sins and salvation through Jesus Christ, extends to every part of the world. There is no place where God’s mercy and grace will not operate.
What confidence can we have in our Lord’s kingdom coming? As we saw earlier in verse 7, the kingdom of God doesn’t come according to our plans. We make our plans and they fail. We try to do this or that and sometimes we are successful, sometimes we aren’t. Yet the coming of God’s kingdom is according to God’s command and foreknowledge. Just because he hasn’t told us when he will establish his kingdom doesn’t mean that he hasn’t planned it out. He knew all his plans before he created the heavens and the earth. The end has been known from the beginning. And the God of all has ordained his kingdom to come. It is unstoppable. Even the gates of hell will not prevail against the kingdom of God, the Church which Christ has purchased by his own blood. Are we able to control the wind? Are we able to limit what God does? Is he not able to overthrow all our inclinations? Can’t he bring his kingdom as well? What is too difficult for our Lord? There is nothing that he cannot do. Nothing is too difficult for the Lord.
So how has he brought his kingdom? I ask that in the past tense, because in one sense he has restored the kingdom. He has not restored it to national Israel. But he has granted that we who believe on Jesus Christ will be raised up as spiritual children of Israel, heirs of Abraham, some of those who are counted like the stars of the sky or the sand on the seashore. Our Lord has brought his kingdom among his people through the perfect life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He has accomplished salvation for his people. In that sense the kingdom has been restored. Has Jesus’ atoning death atoned for your sins and for my sins? Is he not proclaimed as the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world? Is Jesus the one gave himself as an atoning sacrifice for our sins and for the sins of the whole world? Jesus’ kingdom has come, and it has come in power, because there is no sin which is too great to be washed by the blood of Christ. There is great hope here. When we pray that God’s kingdom will come we are praying that it will be made manifest in us. We are asking that Jesus will apply his atoning sacrifice to our hearts and minds, our whole lives, through repentance and faith in him.
We see then that Jesus came and gave himself for our sins in God’s timing. He lived, died, and was raised from the dead in the power of the Holy Spirit. His death is effective for sins of people all around the world, including us as we believe on his name. This all happened according to God’s command and foreknowledge. And it is finally all about Jesus, the heart and center of the Scriptures, the one revealed in every book of the Bible, the one who breaks the bonds of sin, death, and hell itself.
When will the Lord restore his kingdom? The better question is when we will see that the Lord has restored his kingdom. He has done it. He’s accomplished it already. And he will make it obvious to all at some time yet to come, when every eye will see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God.
Lord, may your kingdom come, now, visible to us by the eyes of faith. May we have your grace to see that you have poured your mercy out upon us, your people. Let us see you and your work in all our lives. Lead us in repentance. Give us your forgiveness. Let us look to you, the author and finisher of our faith, the firstborn among many brothers, the firstfruits of the resurrection. Give us a great hope, an expectancy, as we wait for the power of the Holy Spirit, coming to accomplish your will on earth as it is in heaven, through Jesus Christ, who ever lives with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Grace and peace to you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Thy kingdom come.” We pray these words in the Lord’s prayer. I expect they come out of most of our mouths pretty easily. Maybe we say them even without thinking as much as we should. We pray that our Lord would bring his kingdom and establish it on earth as it is in heaven. And today, this seventh Sunday in Easter, the Sunday before Pentecost, our reading from Acts brings up the question which we ought to ask ourselves. Here in verse 6 we read, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (NIV). What does our Lord show us in answer to that question?
First, Jesus says that the kingdom of God comes at God’s time. It is not by our own power or authority. The coming of God’s kingdom is in the time that the Father has set. It is in the authority of God the Father that the kingdom comes. And it is in his timing. This is something which Jesus is not telling us. We don’t know the details of our Lord’s coming. We don’t know how God will bring his kingdom. We certainly don’t know the timing. People throughout history have tried to proclaim the time of God’s coming. And they’ve been wrong, time after time.
Why do we desire to manipulate God’s kingdom? Why do we want to proclaim a particular time, imposing deadlines on God? This is foolishness. Rather, we look at the time our Lord has given us. We do not know the day or the hour of his coming. Therefore we are vigilant, we try to live in such a way as to be prepared for his coming, whenever that might be. Will our Lord find us waiting? Will he find us busy about the tasks that he has given us? Then he will delight in us and make us sit down at the table with him serving us. May the Lord give us trust in him, that whenever he brings the time of the end he will find us looking to him in faith.
How does God’s kingdom come, then? Do we usher it in by our great plans or our works of obedience? Not at all. God’s kingdom does not come through our power. It comes by the power of the Holy Spirit, as we read in Acts 1.8. This is our Lord’s supernatural provision for his world. It is his way of reconciling the world to himself. It is through the work of the Holy Spirit that he draws people to himself, that he protects them, that he guides them into all truth, that he sustains his people in all their trials. God’s kingdom is not our kingdom. It doesn’t come by military force, economic force, or any sort of human means. It is much greater than that, in that the Holy Spirit – God himself, delivers his kingdom.
How great is the effect of God’s kingdom? Again, unlike our kingdoms, God’s kingdom has no boundaries. See that the disciples will be “witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (v. 8, NIV)? They will not know the cultural and political boundaries that they grew up with. There’s nothing to hold them back. They are not going to stop at their border, at the edge of the village where they grew up. They are not going to worry about where they might go. As citizens of God’s kingdom there is no fear about leaving family and friends, for the Holy Spirit raises up family and friends wherever his people are. God’s kingdom, evidenced by forgiveness of sins and salvation through Jesus Christ, extends to every part of the world. There is no place where God’s mercy and grace will not operate.
What confidence can we have in our Lord’s kingdom coming? As we saw earlier in verse 7, the kingdom of God doesn’t come according to our plans. We make our plans and they fail. We try to do this or that and sometimes we are successful, sometimes we aren’t. Yet the coming of God’s kingdom is according to God’s command and foreknowledge. Just because he hasn’t told us when he will establish his kingdom doesn’t mean that he hasn’t planned it out. He knew all his plans before he created the heavens and the earth. The end has been known from the beginning. And the God of all has ordained his kingdom to come. It is unstoppable. Even the gates of hell will not prevail against the kingdom of God, the Church which Christ has purchased by his own blood. Are we able to control the wind? Are we able to limit what God does? Is he not able to overthrow all our inclinations? Can’t he bring his kingdom as well? What is too difficult for our Lord? There is nothing that he cannot do. Nothing is too difficult for the Lord.
So how has he brought his kingdom? I ask that in the past tense, because in one sense he has restored the kingdom. He has not restored it to national Israel. But he has granted that we who believe on Jesus Christ will be raised up as spiritual children of Israel, heirs of Abraham, some of those who are counted like the stars of the sky or the sand on the seashore. Our Lord has brought his kingdom among his people through the perfect life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He has accomplished salvation for his people. In that sense the kingdom has been restored. Has Jesus’ atoning death atoned for your sins and for my sins? Is he not proclaimed as the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world? Is Jesus the one gave himself as an atoning sacrifice for our sins and for the sins of the whole world? Jesus’ kingdom has come, and it has come in power, because there is no sin which is too great to be washed by the blood of Christ. There is great hope here. When we pray that God’s kingdom will come we are praying that it will be made manifest in us. We are asking that Jesus will apply his atoning sacrifice to our hearts and minds, our whole lives, through repentance and faith in him.
We see then that Jesus came and gave himself for our sins in God’s timing. He lived, died, and was raised from the dead in the power of the Holy Spirit. His death is effective for sins of people all around the world, including us as we believe on his name. This all happened according to God’s command and foreknowledge. And it is finally all about Jesus, the heart and center of the Scriptures, the one revealed in every book of the Bible, the one who breaks the bonds of sin, death, and hell itself.
When will the Lord restore his kingdom? The better question is when we will see that the Lord has restored his kingdom. He has done it. He’s accomplished it already. And he will make it obvious to all at some time yet to come, when every eye will see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God.
Lord, may your kingdom come, now, visible to us by the eyes of faith. May we have your grace to see that you have poured your mercy out upon us, your people. Let us see you and your work in all our lives. Lead us in repentance. Give us your forgiveness. Let us look to you, the author and finisher of our faith, the firstborn among many brothers, the firstfruits of the resurrection. Give us a great hope, an expectancy, as we wait for the power of the Holy Spirit, coming to accomplish your will on earth as it is in heaven, through Jesus Christ, who ever lives with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Psalm 81.10-16, Numbers 14.1-25, Luke 18.18-34 - Lectionary for 6/5/11 - Boniface of Mainz
Today is the commemoration of Boniface of Mainz, eighth century missionary to the Germans.
Today's readings are Psalm 81.10-16, Numbers 14.1-25, and Luke 18.18-34.
I don't know if it's just me or if I'm really seeing a common theme of moving out into strange territory in today's readings. It may be just me, as my family and I are working on packing our things for a move in the near future. But I think there's something about moving and change in our readings today as well.
The Israelites are in territory they don't know. They are unsure of themselves. They wonder whether they will find everything they need. The people they are facing are big and scary. Yet God has promised to care for his people. The hesitation his people show is tantamount to a distrust in his promise. What is God's proclamation? Because Israel will not trust in him they will be allowed to live with their distrust in the situation they currently have until they die.
In our Gospel reading today we realize that the rich ruler is also allowed to remain in his own situation rather than trusting in Jesus. Jesus will not make his people receive his blessing. Maybe receiving the blessing of God is scary. Yet we cannot reject God's provision and receive it at the same time. Our Lord has met all our needs. He has given us his promises. He has given us his forgiveness. Yet he leaves it to us whether we will walk in that forgiveness or stay bound by our own lack of belief in him.
Do the journeys the Lord takes us on scare us? They should. Yet we know he himself has walked through every kind of trial that we will ever face. We can trust that our Lord will bring us safely to the end of the journey.
Today's readings are Psalm 81.10-16, Numbers 14.1-25, and Luke 18.18-34.
I don't know if it's just me or if I'm really seeing a common theme of moving out into strange territory in today's readings. It may be just me, as my family and I are working on packing our things for a move in the near future. But I think there's something about moving and change in our readings today as well.
The Israelites are in territory they don't know. They are unsure of themselves. They wonder whether they will find everything they need. The people they are facing are big and scary. Yet God has promised to care for his people. The hesitation his people show is tantamount to a distrust in his promise. What is God's proclamation? Because Israel will not trust in him they will be allowed to live with their distrust in the situation they currently have until they die.
In our Gospel reading today we realize that the rich ruler is also allowed to remain in his own situation rather than trusting in Jesus. Jesus will not make his people receive his blessing. Maybe receiving the blessing of God is scary. Yet we cannot reject God's provision and receive it at the same time. Our Lord has met all our needs. He has given us his promises. He has given us his forgiveness. Yet he leaves it to us whether we will walk in that forgiveness or stay bound by our own lack of belief in him.
Do the journeys the Lord takes us on scare us? They should. Yet we know he himself has walked through every kind of trial that we will ever face. We can trust that our Lord will bring us safely to the end of the journey.
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