Receiving May 3, 2008, worship scriptures

To make the most of this post, begin by receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself. Suggestions for doing this are at http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html
Whether or not you attend a church that will focus on the following scriptures May 3 (or 4) you can receive these scriptures and compare notes with others who are doing the same.

Scriptures for May 3, 2008
Acts 1:6-14
Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35
1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11
John 17:1-11

April 26 prayer for receiving
Blessed is the one whose heart is set on pilgrimage (Psalm 84:5). And the one whose heart is set on pilgrimage goes from strength to strength. Through today's circumstances, this blessing is renewed and it also speaks to me today about receptivity. The strength of my Spirit-born desire to receive becomes the strength of actually receiving. The strength of actually receiving becomes fuller receptivity. Please God, let my receptivity go from strength to strength today.

Acts 1:6-14 (selections and reflections)
"When they had come together, they asked Him, saying, 'Lord will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?'" (vs. 6)
What does a person say to, or ask, the risen Christ?! What question would I have asked? Be with their question and what it says about them and the kingdom--the kingdom God promised through the Old Testament and proclaimed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

"It is not for you to know..." (vs. 7)
"But you shall receive power... and... be witnesses to Me..." (vs. 8)
Consider the move from knowledge (or relying on knowledge) to power. Consider how that movement (from knowledge to power) affected early and all subsequent Christianity. How does the movement from knowledge to power affect us individually? Have I ever wanted knowledge and been given power instead? Have I, or my church, ever insisted on knowledge instead of receiving power?

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;" (vs. 8)
Some people seem to excel at power dynamics, that is at "getting" or claiming power, and using and keeping it. Other people seem quite clueless about how to get, use, or keep power. The clueless sometimes feel superior to, or at least more humble than (!), people with power. Power can attract, repel, or trick us.
At this last meeting with His disciples before the Ascension, Jesus told them a soon-coming fact about power: you shall receive power... Ponder how receiving power differs from achieving power.

"...when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." (vs. 8)
Be, as far as possible, one of the disciples hearing that just before the cloud received Jesus, and they no longer saw Him. What happens in your heart and mind? What desire, fear, hope, or hesitancy do those words stir up?

"This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." (vs. 11)
The word and works of God and the responses of the people of God prepared the way for Jesus' life, death and resurrection.
Anticipation and preparation before Jesus was born an infant.
Anticipation and preparation before Jesus comes in the clouds and in glory.
How are these two times of anticipation and preparation similar; how are they different?

Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35 (selections and reflections)
"Extol Him who rides on the clouds" (vs. 4)
"The earth shook;
the heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel" (vs. 8)
"To Him who rides on the heaven of heavens...
...His strength is in the clouds." (vss. 33, 34)
Letting these words from Psalm 68 "settle in" with Acts 1:11 blesses me!

1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 (selections and reflections)
These verses from 1 Peter 4 and 5 include the following disturbing words: Fiery trial, sufferings, reproached, cares, adversary the devil, roaring lion, sufferings
Ponder (always!) how the crucified and risen Christ comes before these words of suffering, and the glorified returning Christ follows these words of suffering. Life as we know it, with terrible suffering included, is meant to be connected with the Word already spoken, and the Word to come in glory. Consider how the crucified and risen Christ and the returning, glorified Christ are the past and future that enter and affect the present, and all its sufferings.

"But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen." (vss. 10,11)

John 17:1-11 (selections and reflections)
"Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You..." (vs. 1)
"And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was." (vs. 5)
These words from Jesus' prayer, combined with the other scriptures this week, invite a person to realize again, or perhaps for the first time, that the glory of God, and being glorified, are (1) extremely important, and (2) worked out, or realized, in the very worst, yet best, possible outcomes--the crucifixion and resurrection.
Glory isn't just something we're supposed to give to God, being careful not to take any to ourselves. How do I really catch on to the glory of God--how immense, and how desirable it is? Also, Peter in this week's scriptures (and Paul in Romans 8:18) show me that it is shared glory. The God of all grace has called us to His eternal glory by Jesus Christ (1 Peter 5:10)
The other day I received and relayed some extraordinary photography by email. A friend, whose praise is weighty (it's not passed out recklessly or without good cause!) responded saying the photography is breathtaking. The times we see and recognize the breathtaking are windows into glory. How much we enjoy the glimpses! Consider how overwhelmingly much we will enjoy the encounter with the returning, glorified Christ. The glory of God is compelling--our hearts are drawn to it.