Isaiah 60: 1
"Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
Isaiah 59 speaks to a time of darkness. But here Isaiah prophesies the glorious rescue from the Redeemer. The Light has come.
This time of year is such a wonderful reminder as we gaze upon all the lights that our Light has come. Now God tells us, his people to live in that light, to arise and respond to it. To Arise and Shine.
I loved this prayer from Ephesians 3:16ff for spiritual growth by the Apostle Paul written to the Christian church of Ephesus. So today I pray it for you,
"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."
Then Paul praises God saying,
"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might as or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever!"
Can I get an Amen?!
Today I pray that same prayer for you, that you realize you can never be lost to God's love. It reaches as wide as our own experiences, the length of our life, the heights of our tribulations, and to the depths of our sorrows and despair. God's love is full and complete. I pray your faith grows down deep into that love. And I praise God that he is working his mighty power through you, accomplishing so much more than we can imagine.
I pray we trust in his perfect love.
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Tomorrow we cast our vote.
We choose.
We choose the leader of our country for the next four years. We all have opinions. Some of us strong. Some of us not so much. But we all have a choice.
Whatever your choice may be. Whatever your vote is. May we choose to unite. Not be divisive. May we be gracious winner and even more gracious losers. May we not fall prey to what we may or may not see and hear on the media.
May we find peace knowing that our God is still sovereign. He’s in control. Not matter who leads this country.
I have a feeling we are going to need constant reminders to draw together as one people rather than let emotions, feelings and what we see televised take control. I have an even stronger feeling that we will need to wear words to inspire people to come together as one. So we decided to run a sale on our One (Unity) tees.
We pray these tees are a simple reminder that we are a part of something bigger. Read our mini devotion below. While this tee is meant for the body of Christ, the church, we can also use this same message as members of this Nation.
In this passage in Ephesians, Paul is calling us to unity in the body of Christ. Unity in the church. Ephesians 4:3 states to be united in the Spirit binding ourselves together in peace.
The body of Christ is made up of many individuals, all different and unique. Different cultures, life styles, and even values, and while we may not agree on every issue within the church, that is okay! We are to just keep the unity of the Spirit. We can disagree on things like the rapture or whether Jesus was born in a cave or a barn. But Paul states there are a few non-negotiables to unite on and those are what are truly essential to the faith and our salvation.
There is only one body or one church. While we may separate ourselves and call our church Evangelical, Lutheran, Reformed etc, there is but one church. Jesus’ church. And the beautiful thing is, you can’t join it but you can be born into it.
There is also one Spirit. And while that Spirit may move differently within the individuals of the body, it is the same. The same Spirit that works within each and every one of us; moving, interceding and guiding our lives. This same Spirit is the one that gives us a peace that surpasses all understanding and reassures but also gives us great power. For this Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is the one that lives in us.
We also have one hope. And that hope is heaven with our one Lord and we are saved by one faith. And that faith is welcomed in by one baptism as we are made new in our one true God. The one God who is over all, in all and living through all.
Be reminded to live as one. Don’t let the little differences break the beautiful unity we have in Jesus. For all these that we are one in are all greater than any potential difference.
Why is the relationship between Jesus and his followers compared to the Shepherd and the Sheep?
I have wondering that for years! I kind of knew the answer, basically the Sunday school answer - the shepherd leads the sheep through life and the sheep follow. We should allow Jesus to lead our life. And that is very much true but it goes so much deeper.
The Apostle John uses 7 "I AM" statements throughout his Gospel to explain who Jesus was. One of those I AM statements is found in John 10:11 -"I am the good shepherd." Jesus then goes onto explain more about the good shepherd,
"The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand (a false prophet or teacher) will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don't belong to him and he isn't their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he's working only for the money and doesn't really care about the sheep." and and He goes on...
We learn from Jesus that he loves us so much that he will and does lay his life down for us to protect us from the evil one. And not only protect but to deliver us.
But we can learn so much more about the good shepherd from David in Psalm 23 - one of the most famous Psalms of all times.
"The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me..."
Sheep are completely dependent on the shepherd. The shepherd guides them to the safe places in life, protects them from harm, and provides for all their needs whether food, water or shelter.
The truth that Jesus is the Good Shepherd gives me hope, however, it's the relationship between the two that challenge me. I'm challenged to be like a sheep. Yes a sheep; an obedient, trustworthy sheep who follows it's master. A disciple of Christ's who allows the Good Shepherd to lead me along peaceful streams restoring my soul, guiding me through the dark valleys and walking along side me. Acknowledging and even honoring God in those times that I need his discipline (rod) and see it as protection for my soul.
A life that is completely surrendered to the Good Shepherd.
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My devotion this morning addressed the disciples question of greatness. Their quarrel over who was the greatest among them. Luke 9:43-56. I wanted to share a few pieces of what I read with you as it challenged me to think and reflect, “what do I want greatness to look like in my life and where does my soul seek greatness.
. . .
“Our greatest hinderance to greatness may be the desire to be great. Our society thrives on ambition.”
Christ was on the road to greatness yet He lived a humbled life. “He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.
Hebrew 2:9-10 makes the remarkable statements that Jesus “tasted death” on our behalf and says it was fitting for God to “make the author of [our] salvation perfect through suffering.”
Don’t be confused by the idea that the author of our salvation became perfect through suffering. Christ was always perfect in terms of sinlessness. The word teleioo, meaning “to complete, make perfect by reaching the intended goal.” Christ reached the goal (our salvation and His exaltation) through suffering. His road to greatness was a rocky one. A painful one. He knew it in advance, and yet He set His face resolutely toward the goal and accomplished it. Simply put,…
we were worth it to Him.
No matter how resistant we may be to the call, our road to true greatness is also the highway to humility. At times it too will involve suffering, rejection, betrayal, and, yes, even death - to self. The question becomes,…
”Is He worth it to us?”
. . .
Our road to greatness will not look like the world’s. But keep in mind, our reward does not either. It will be much greater. And will last forever.
