Receiving April 26, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for April 26, 2008:
Acts 17:22-31
Psalm 66:8-20
1 Peter 3:13-22
John 14:15-21
Begin by receiving these scriptures as spirit and life--for yourself. Then learn from and grow with others who are doing the same. Ask a friend to join you in this weekly spiritual exercise. For simple suggestions about how to receive the Word as spirit and life see http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html

April 19 prayer for receiving
God, You are closer than my breath and also so far beyond all this. Comfort me with Your closeness and fill me with reverence by contact with Your infinite surpassing power. In comfort and reverence let my receptivity thrive.

Acts 17:22-31 (selections and reflections)
"...you are very religious;" (vs. 22)
"...as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'" (vs. 28)
This is a call from religion on to the Man ordained by God and raised from the dead (vs. 31). Paul met his listeners where they were and used their religious strength as the starting point. And Paul drew them on. He didn't stay with them where they were.

"...the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:" (vs. 23)
Consider the confidence it takes to proclaim the One. What makes an individual or group convincing in doing this? How do individuals and groups proclaim the One, without becoming spiritually proud or in some other way obnoxious? How do individuals and groups respect diversity and still proclaim the One?

"...we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising." (vs. 29)
Does a belief in verse 31 prevent a person from falling into the sin of verse 29? I'm afraid not. The resurrected Christ can be shaped by art and man's devising. Destroying art doesn't destroy the sin of verse 29 either. It occurs to me that the sin of verse 29 is humans shaping or devising Divine Nature. There is something really simple here, but it's not always easy to recognize in ourselves or others. It's humans presuming to take control over the Divine Nature or some small part of it. This is a ridiculous thing no one would agree to, except that it is done in ways we don't always recognize. Maybe one way to notice when it's happening is to ask, "Am I telling or showing myself or others what God is like, or am I opening up to God more and more, and inviting others to do the same?" I might also ask, "Am I receiving what has been revealed about God, or am I shaping and devising what I think I or others need to know about God?"
From Paul's address at the Areopagus I'm encouraged to proclaim the One and never to shape or devise the One.

Psalm 66:8-20 (selections and reflections)
"Oh, bless our God...
Who keeps... and does not...
For You have...proved us... refined us... brought us into... laid affliction on... caused...
We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to rich fulfillment." (vss. 8-12)
"I will declare what He has done for my soul." (vs. 16)
"Blessed be God..." (vs. 20)
We bless God by receiving God and God's "doings" and then declaring what God has done. The movement is from God to us, the recipients. We receive, then tell what happened. That's much different than shaping and devising God.
That we can bless God is something I only partly "get." Of course it's not hard to see how parents are blessed when their children receive and respond to love with love. So of course we can bless God! Blessing isn't just a person in a position of power being kind to someone less fortunate!

1 Peter 3:13-22 (selections and reflections)
"But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed." (vs. 14)
"Christ also suffered...that He might bring us to God..." (vs. 18)
"Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him." (vs. 22)
See the link between suffering and blessedness.
See that suffering unites us with God.
See that suffering is surpassed--angels, authorities and powers are subject to the One who suffered.

"Sanctify the Lord God...
be ready (to 'answer for' hope)...
with meekness and fear;
having a good conscience..." (vss 15, 16)
Consider what it's like to do these things instead of being afraid of threats or troubled (vs. 14).
Sanctifying God happens in the heart; we could say it's a matter of letting God be holy to and in us. That is, God's holiness is realized in the heart. What we believe in, know or trust is to become a heart reality during suffering.
Being ready to "answer for" hope, with meekness and fear. What a picture. Consider how that readiness, and meekness and fear affect suffering; consider how much they are needed during suffering.

John 14:15-21 (selections and reflections)
"...He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever." (vs. 16)
"...the spirit of truth..." (vs. 17)
"...He dwells with you and will be in you." (vs. 17)

"...I will love him and manifest Myself to him." (vs. 21)
He manifests Himself to us. This is the opposite of Him being shaped or devised by us.