Receiving June 28, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for June 28, 2008
Genesis 22:1-14
Psalm 13
Romans 6:12-23
Matthew 10:40-42

See http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html for suggestions about how to receive the weekly worship scriptures for yourself.

June 21 prayer for receiving
Your word is spirit and life.
I am receiving right now and becoming more of a receiver.
Your promise and Your presence, God, are my hope of receiving as You desire.

Genesis 22:1-14
"Here I am." (vss. 1, 7, 11)
Abraham said this to God, to Isaac, and to the Angel.
Consider the "I" in each case, and consider the attention Abraham was giving each as he said it.

"The-LORD-Will-Provide" (vs. 14)
Consider the relief and joy in those words for Abraham.
What did those same words stir up in God's heart?

Psalm 13
"Enlighten my eyes." (vs. 3)
"But I have trusted in Your mercy" (vs. 5)

In this Psalm it's "how long" four times, and being in need of enlightenment, and also trusting in God's mercy. For one thing, trusting in God's mercy doesn't exclude the "how long" suffering.

Romans 6:12-23
"For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."
Grace frees us from the dominion of sin.
It's not grace instead of law; it's grace surpassing law. What a crucial difference.

"slave of righteousness" (vs. 18)
Ah, to be fully able to receive this with my heart broken in confession.
A slave of righteousness is not an achiever.
A slave of righteousness is a lover of God's forgiving mercy and compassion--a lover of these and all the other aspects of God's righteousness.
Slaves of righteousness are "taken by" righteousness, not by achievement.

Matthew 10:40-42
"He who receives you receives Me,
and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me." (vs. 40)
How small a part of each other we receive, usually. A smile, a hello, the briefest account of how the day is going. Yet in the smallest receiving, receiving has begun. Through the most fleeting smile, we begin receiving.
He who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.
Receiving Jesus we receive His Father.
Consider how this also works between humans. For example, receiving our spouse, we receive those who sent our spouse. Receiving our spouse, we receive the one(s) who influenced, shaped and sent our spouse into our life. We can't, come to think about, really receive a person without receiving those who influenced, shaped and sent that person.
Receiving Jesus we receive the One who sent Him. What begins with fleeting smiles, expands into an eternity of wonder.