God Is For Us
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 | Lent Meditations | No Comments
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
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For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.
What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. -Romans 8:1-2,30-34
Ephesians 2:3 says that before God made us alive, we were “objects of wrath”. We were the rightful recipients of God’s judgment and anger. We were all about ourselves and fulfilling our own lusts & desires, and we pitted ourselves against God whenever His plans got in the way of ours.
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” -Eph 2:4
Before, we were God’s enemies. Now, because He made us completely new people by His mercy and Jesus’ sacrifice, He is no longer against us. God is for us. He allowed His own Son to suffer and die in His enemies’ stead and, astonishingly, adopted them as His sons and daughters. We do not live in a world where God is angry and out to get us. God is for us. He is our Father, our Friend, our King, our Advocate, and our Great Reward. God is for you. He causes everything to work together for the good of those who love Him. God is for you. How would this change the way you think, act, and relate to God if you believed it to your core?
The Foolishness That Shamed the Wise
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 | Lent Meditations | No Comments
The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God…. This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.
Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” -1 Cor 1:18,25-31
Most people who don’t understand the full story of the cross would consider it a catastrophic failure for Jesus. They would say that he must not have been strong enough, wise enough, or convincing enough. A strong leader would have raised an army and overpowered his enemies. A wise politician would have used alliances and intrigue to put together a more loyal group of followers. A powerful orator would have convinced everyone to see things his way. If Jesus was so great, they might say, how could his crucifixion have happened? When Paul was writing the scripture above, he must have known many people who argued that Jesus’ death on a cross was a foolish waste—because they were stuck thinking only from the perspective of human strength and success. They couldn’t possibly understand the beauty and power of this great Love that conquered death itself.
To those who believe, the cross is the mighty expression of God’s saving power for us! Our hope is not in the world’s definition of strength, wisdom, or influence. It is in God’s surpassing greatness. God promises that His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Cor 12:9) and that we can do all things through Christ’s strength (Phil 4:13). In His power, we are able to accompish whatever He calls us to. Not a hair on our heads can be touched without His knowledge and permission. The world may call us foolish for giving up everything to follow a crucified King, yet ultimately God will use weak and foolish things like us to “bring to nothing what the world considers important.”
What situation do you need God’s strength for today? Would you take a moment to ask God to help you look at this situation from Jesus’ perspective?
Prayer for Enemies
Monday, March 15th, 2010 | Lent Meditations, Spiritual Disciplines | No Comments
You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?” -Matthew 5:43-46
In yesterday’s meditation, we read the story of Jesus’ betrayal in order to prepare for worship. Imagine what it would feel like to be betrayed as He was. Yet on the cross, He prayed that God would forgive the people who crucified Him.
Today, we pray a difficult prayer, one that follows Jesus’ example. It is a portion of a longer prayer written by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic, who was a Serbian bishop who spoke out against Naziism, was arrested, and taken to Dachau, a Nazi concentration camp. Like Jesus, Nikolai had many reasons to hate and curse his enemies, but he chose instead to pray this prayer for them.
Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Enemies have driven me into your embrace more than friends have. Friends have bound me to earth; enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world.
Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world.
Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath Your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul.
Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless and do not curse them.
They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world. They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself. They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments. They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself. They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance.
Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Amen.
When Betrayal Meets Extravagant Love
Sunday, March 14th, 2010 | Lent Meditations | No Comments
As we continue our sermon series on The Road To Revolution, we are looking at the events of Jesus’ final week. Today’s passage is difficult, and even dark. But as you meditate on these verses, be careful not to miss the beauty that is also there—Jesus’ sovereign knowledge of what Judas was about to do, His compassionate healing of one of the men who came to arrest Him, His confidence in His Father, and His determination to carry out what was foretold in Scripture. Even in this situation, He shows Himself to be Lord and King.
Take a few moments of quietness to wait on God. What does He want to show you this morning?
While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. Jesus replied, “Friend, do what you came for.” Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” At that time Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Edit: The sermon mentioned above is available online at our sermon blog
Prayer: Praying Scripture
Saturday, March 13th, 2010 | Lent Meditations, Spiritual Disciplines | No Comments
As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
-Isaiah 55:10-11
Praying God’s word is powerful. His word always accomplishes what He desires, and it will accomplish His work in us, too!
The apostle Paul prayed the following prayer for people at a church in the city of Ephesus (which is in modern-day Turkey). Some of the pronouns (his, your) have been changed to make the prayer a personal conversation between you and God; the unchanged version can be found here. If you would like to pray this prayer for other people, simply click the link above and replace “your” in the passage with a person’s name.
For this reason I kneel before You, the Father, from whom Your whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of Your glorious riches You may strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith. And I pray that I, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that I may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to You, who are able to do immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine, according to Your power that is at work within me, to You be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Prayer: Thomas a Kempis
Friday, March 12th, 2010 | Lent Meditations, Spiritual Disciplines | No Comments
Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471) was a writer and monk who penned a famous book on Christian discipleship entitled The Imitation of Christ. The prayer of surrender below is from that book.
Lord, You know what is best; let this be done or that be done as You please. Give what You will, as much as You will, when You will. Do with me as You know best, as will most please You, and will be for Your greater honor. Place me where You will and deal with me freely in all things. I am in Your hand; turn me about whichever way You will. Behold, I am Your servant, ready to obey in all things. Not for myself do I desire to live, but for You – would that I could do this worthily and perfectly!
Give us, O Lord, steadfast hearts that cannot be dragged down by false loves; give us courageous hearts that cannot be worn down by trouble; give us righteous hearts that cannot be sidetracked by unholy or unworthy goals. Give to us also, our Lord and God, understanding to know you, diligence to look for you, wisdom to recognize you, and a faithfulness that will bring us to see you face to face.
Amen.
Prayer: The Disciples’ Prayer
Thursday, March 11th, 2010 | Lent Meditations, Spiritual Disciplines | No Comments
This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ -Matthew 6:9-13
When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, He wasn’t just giving them the words of a specific prayer, He was teaching them a pattern for prayer. His pattern includes praise to God, praying for the world to be set right and God’s Kingdom to be advanced, prayer that our daily needs would be met, confession and forgiveness, requests for guidance and protection, and closing praise to God. The closing praise is also acknowledgement of, and submission to, God’s unique authority and power.
Including all of these elements in our prayers helps us to pray beyond ourselves and align our heart with God’s desires. The following is a paraphrase of the prayer Jesus taught. Would you pray it to God, pausing for a moment at the end of each line to consider what you have prayed?
Our Father, above us and all around us,
May your unspeakable Name be revered.
Here to earth, may your kingdom come.
Here on earth, may your will be done as it is in heaven.
Give us today our bread for today.
And forgive us our wrongs as we forgive those who wrong us.
Lead us away from the time of trial.
But liberate us from the evil.
For the kingdom is yours and yours alone,
And the power is yours and yours alone,
And the glory is yours and yours alone.
Amen.
Prayer: Anselm of Canterbury
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 | Lent Meditations, Spiritual Disciplines | No Comments
Over the next few days, we’ll be concentrating on prayer. Freely expressing our heart to God in our own words is so important, but sometimes it can be very helpful to pray using the words of Scripture or of other Christians who have gone before us. In conjunction with praying in our own words, using written prayers can help us pray in ways we have not prayed before.
Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) was a Benedictine monk who wrote some beautiful and challenging prayers. Would you take a moment to pray the following prayers to God? You can use written prayers on their own, as they are written, or you can pray a sentence or two, pray more in your own words, and then continue. Remember that there are no “rules”; this is an open conversation with your Father.
I acknowledge, Lord, and I give thanks that you have created your image in me, so that I may remember you, think of you, love you. But this image is so obliterated and worn away by wickedness, it is so obscured by the smoke of sins, that it cannot do what it was created to do, unless you renew and reform it. I am not attempting, O Lord, to penetrate your loftiness, for I cannot begin to match my understanding with it, but I desire in some measure to understand your truth, which my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. For this too I believe, that “unless I believe, I shall not understand.” (Isaiah 7:9)
O God, let me know you and love you so that I may find joy in you; and if I cannot do so fully in this life, let me at least make some progress every day, until at last that knowledge, love and joy come to me in all their plenitude. While I am here on earth let me know you fully; let my love for you grow deeper here, so that there I may love you fully. On earth then I shall have great joy in hope, and in heaven complete joy in the fulfillment of my hope.
Take Up Your Cross?
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 | Lent Meditations | No Comments
Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.
Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? -Mark 8:31-36
If you want to follow Jesus, you better look good on wood. -Daniel Berrigan
Today, when someone talks about “the cross”, the first associations that enter our mind are Jesus and Christianity. When people hear the phrase, “take up your cross”, they often think about being called to bear something or do something difficult for Jesus. But to the people Jesus was addressing, his words would have meant something entirely different.
We don’t have the slightest idea how shocking, disturbing, and even dangerous these words were when Jesus uttered them. To the people of His time, the cross was a horrifying instrument of public execution. It was a constant reminder of Roman tyranny, and it was one of the most agonizing and shameful ways to die. Common criminals, thieves, and rebels against the Roman empire were killed by crucifixion. Before they were crucified, they were beaten and forced to carry their cross, their own instrument of execution, through the streets as a form of public humiliation.
Those are the things people would have thought when Jesus told them they would have to take up their cross daily if they wanted to follow Him. His words were a radical call to a different—and dangerous—way of life centered not on self, but on the Good News that Jesus is King.
Denying Myself, I Gain Everything
Monday, March 8th, 2010 | Lent Meditations | No Comments
Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? -Luke 9:23-25
God’s Kingdom, as described by Jesus, seems completely upside-down. Jesus says that the first will be last and the last first, whoever wants to be greatest must be a servant, and, in the passage above, whoever loses his life will save it. All of these are inversions of our world’s way of doing things. Yet the more I see them worked out in the lives of people around me in our church and our community, the more I believe that these inversions are not upside-down, but rather rightside-up… and it is the world that has things backward.
It is a completely different way of thinking and living. Rather than pursuing my happiness first (and ultimately failing), I pursue what God wants, and somehow, He fills me to overflowing with everything I need, and I end up deeply happy. Consider what Jesus says in Matthew 6:31-33:
So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the unconverted pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
This is the paradoxical beauty of the Kingdom. We finally find our true selves, our true happiness, and our true meaning… but never while we are looking for them. Only while we are looking for Him.
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