Scriptures for October 4, 2008
Exodus 20:1-20
Psalm 19
Philippians 3:4b-14
Matthew 21:33-46
Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
In art class one year we drew a plant. It took several days to finish. I sat in the same place each class period, and the plant did too. But, the plant didn't remain the same. I was so focused on my drawing that it came as a kind of puzzle or even surprise when my carefully lined-up drawing didn't stay lined up. The plant didn't stay the same each session. Right in front of my eyes the plant was moving! I guess I thought it took longer for a living plant to move. Perhaps I thought it'd "stay put" like a good model so I could finish my drawing! But the plant kept growing all the time I was trying to draw it. It was alive. And my drawing wasn't alive, however good my drawing was. That experience occurs to me as I consider again today that the Word of God is life and spirit. We interact differently with living things than we do with objects that are not alive.
This blog encourages you to receive the Word as spirit and life for yourself, and also to compare notes with others who are doing the same. If you are fortunate enough to worship weekly where the scriptures are an integrated part of the service, you will be all the more prepared for worship because you have first received the Word as spirit and life for yourself.
At http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html there are some simple suggestions to help you receive the Word as spirit and life for yourself.
Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place for you to compare notes)
Prayer for Receptivity
I pray for receptivity.
The kind you, God, want me to have.
Receptivity in my heart of hearts and from there in my whole being.
Enable me to receive your Word into a heart that is open, soft and strong--vibrantly alive in You.
Exodus 20:1-20
"God spoke all these words..." (vs. 1)
This morning my husband showed me some splendid NASA photos of space. I'm so feeble at "taking in" what I'm looking at in those fabulous displays of light, color, shapes--breathtaking cosmic art. It's overwhelming grandeur to love and also to stand back from in awe.
It occurs to me that these words from God in Exodus 20 are like that. They are overwhelming glimpses into incomprehensible space also--the space where the light and color and shapes and dynamics of love are born to be splashed in glory through the whole universe. These are words to love and also to stand back from in wonder, reverence and awe.
These words are simple enough to accept and walk in--like I accept and walk in the sunlight. But I can't comprehend or exhaust their beauty and significance and affect any more than I can comprehend and exhaust the beauty of those NASA space pictures I was looking at this morning.
"Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off." (vs. 18)
"And Moses said to the people, 'Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.'" (vs. 20)
Actual encounter with the fear-inspiring size and power of the Words combines with the fact that they are measured, compassionate and available Words.
"...that His fear may be before you" reminds me again that I need to let go of fear that is negative, fear that is born of a divided and distant heart, and receive in its place a holy, life-giving fear of God. Doing this puts me in touch with life and Love like nothing else can.
Psalm 19
"The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork." (vs. 1)
See how the Psalmist sets the perfect law of the LORD in the context of the heavens, the firmament! I have never seen the connection between verses 1-6 and 7-11 like I do today. Those NASA pictures were timed just right this morning! To love the Law is huge, like taking in the wonders of the heavens and firmament, and the law and the love of it are to us like the daily, life-giving path of the sun (vss. 5-6).
converting the soul
making wise the simple
rejoicing the heart
enlightening the eyes (vss. 7-8)
When this is happening, we can know we're receiving the Law as the grace and power of divine Love that it is.
Philippians 3:4b-14
"...that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith."
(vs. 9)
To gain or "take in" Christ. Is Christ small enough for me to take in? Space is beyond my comprehension; I can't take in space. The Law is beyond my comprehension; I can't take in the Law. Can I take in Jesus Christ? In Christ is God finally small enough for me to manage? Actually, in Christ God is humble and holy beyond my imagination, farther even beyond my comprehension than space or the Law. In Christ God is available, yet never, never less grand or less of a cause for holy fear than are space and Sinai. Christ is a telescope into glory not a tradeoff for it.
Matthew 21:33-46
"Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir, Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him." (vss. 37-39)
He is cast out and dies to me unless He is both the compassionate available One AND ALSO the infinitely incomprehensible One who surpasses the glory revealed in space and at Sinai.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Receiving September 27, 2008, worship scriptures
Scriptures for September 27, 2008
Exodus 17:1-7
Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
Philippians 2:1-13
Matthew 21:23-32
Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
As you "take in" the Word, prepare to enjoy it and savor it, and if you don't, prepare to benefit from it anyway. It's life and spirit you are taking in as you receive the Word. There are some simple suggestions for how to do this at http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html
Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place for you to compare notes)
Prayer for Receptivity
Your Word as spirit and life is something for my heart to take in. God, You know I've been taught more, a lot more, about thinking things through than about hearting things through. Give me a receptive heart, please. Show me how to cooperate so my heart will be more and more receptive.
Exodus 17:1-7
"...there was no water for the people to drink." (vs. 1)
"Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" (vs 3)
"So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, 'What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!'" (vs. 4)
Consider the words and tone of what the children of Israel said (vs. 3).
Then consider the words and tone of what Moses said (vs. 4).
A why question full of judgment and blame, and coming from the head, is so much different than a cry of distress and expression of need.
What might the people have said to God instead of what they said to Moses?
How might their words have sounded if they were being "obedient to the point of death" (see this week's Philippians passage)?
Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
"He split the rocks in the wilderness,
And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.
He also brought streams out of the rock,
And caused waters to run down like rivers." (vss. 15, 16)
Fearing death by thirst and then having abundant streams of water flow from the rock--this is very different than having plenty of water the whole time.
Philippians 2:1-13
Consolation in Christ
comfort of love
fellowship of the Spirit
affection and mercy (vs. 1)
These are words associated with feelings. Then the following verses connect these words with the mind. Verses 5-8 show that the ultimate in humility and obedience are the focus. Having the mind (Greek nous) of Christ is about something more than intellectual functioning. This passage invites a lot of growth in wholeness, a lot of appreciation of every aspect of being.
Matthew 21:23-32
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Receiving September 20, 2008, worship scriptures
Scriptures for September 20, 2008
Exodus 16:2-15
Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45
Philippians 1:21-30
Matthew 20:1-16
Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
Study it. Analyze it. Discuss it. Whatever you do with the Word, don't fail to receive it as spirit and life. Receiving God's Word as spirit and life is what this blog is about. Part I of each post encourages you, the reader, to first of all receive the week's worship scriptures as spirit and life for yourself. There are suggestions for how to do this at: http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html
Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place for you to compare notes)
Exodus 16:2-15
"But what are we, that you complain against us?" (vss. 7, 8)
What are we? Are we strong enough to have brought you here? Are we able to keep you from hunger? What are we? You need to understand what your leaders are, and what your leaders are not and can never be.
"...I will rain bread from heaven for you." (vs. 4)
"...At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out..." (vs. 6)
"And in the the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD..." (vs. 7)
Knowing the LORD's deliverance. Seeing the LORD's glory. These connect with receiving physical food. Consider how meal time and spiritual nurture time--continually increased capacity for knowing and seeing God--how these can be integrated more meaningfully for you and those you love.
Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45
Exodus 16:2-15
Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45
Philippians 1:21-30
Matthew 20:1-16
Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
Study it. Analyze it. Discuss it. Whatever you do with the Word, don't fail to receive it as spirit and life. Receiving God's Word as spirit and life is what this blog is about. Part I of each post encourages you, the reader, to first of all receive the week's worship scriptures as spirit and life for yourself. There are suggestions for how to do this at: http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html
Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place for you to compare notes)
Exodus 16:2-15
"But what are we, that you complain against us?" (vss. 7, 8)
What are we? Are we strong enough to have brought you here? Are we able to keep you from hunger? What are we? You need to understand what your leaders are, and what your leaders are not and can never be.
"...I will rain bread from heaven for you." (vs. 4)
"...At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out..." (vs. 6)
"And in the the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD..." (vs. 7)
Knowing the LORD's deliverance. Seeing the LORD's glory. These connect with receiving physical food. Consider how meal time and spiritual nurture time--continually increased capacity for knowing and seeing God--how these can be integrated more meaningfully for you and those you love.
Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45
Life and vitality flow from the Psalms, and doing what the Psalms invite draws us into life and vitality. In connection with this week's other scriptures, this becomes an invitation to more fully, deeply, and exuberantly enter into knowing and seeing the LORD.
Philippians 1:21-30
"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (vs. 21)
This is powerful freedom and hope to love and assimilate more every day!
Matthew 20:1-16
"Is your eye evil because I am good?" (vs. 15)
This is a question to spend some time with!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Receiving September 13, 2008, worship scriptures
Scriptures for September 13
Exodus 14:19-31
Psalm 114
Romans 14:1-12
Matthew 18:21-35
Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
This blog is a weekly invitation for you to receive the week's scriptures as spirit and life. Words received as spirit and life are quite different than words received as, for one example, words to be puzzled over or debated. Best and most of all, the Word is spirit and life. We can choose to received it as the spirit and life it is. At http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html there are some simple suggestions for doing this.
After you receive for yourself, when the spirit and life of the Word are fresh in your own being, then you can compare with others who are also receiving the Word as spirit and life.
Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place to compare notes)
Prayer for receptivity
You, God, far beyond me;
You, God, within me, closer than my very breath.
You not ignored;
You received.
Receptivity that opens me to You and to Your Word as spirit and life,
this is my prayer right now.
Exodus 14:19-31
"And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other." (vss. 19, 20)
The same Angel of God is darkness and light. Other contrasts in this passage include:
divine and human
the sea into dry land
saving and destroying.
"So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians..." (vs. 27)
The Israelites and their leader were trusting the One who was defending them, not their own judgment or strategies or warfare. That doesn't mean the Israelites and Moses weren't fully involved! It must have stretched their endurance and faith immensely! But they did not overthrow the Egyptians.
Psalm 114
"Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion." (vs. 2)
Endearing and comforting! Amazing also. The Psalmist frequently says God is our refuge. In this case Judah is His sanctuary. Imagine Judah as a place of refuge for God. Imagine!
"Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of Jacob." (vs. 7)
Romans 14:1-12
"Receive one who is weak in the faith,
but not to disputes over doubtful things." (vs. 1)
Ah! What a keynote!
"For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.
For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord." (vss. 7, 8)
This time a little picture may help. This passage is about a group, or "community" of people, who are held together by living to the Lord. They are to each faithfully focus on and account to the Lord. It is not by agreeing, or by having the same degree of faith, or by eating the same way, or by any other form of sameness that they show their love to each other and to God. It is by living to the Lord. Consider the arrows by the two triangles. At the left, the primary emphasis is on the interaction between the people at point A and the people at point B. In the second triangle the primary emphasis is on the interaction between A people and God, and between B people and God. Ponder the two ways. As I ponder the two ways, I see potential for beautiful, strong, endearing connections when the primary emphasis is on the interaction between A people and God, and between B people and God. And one of the wonderful outcomes of this way is that the A people and the B people help each other with their primary interaction with God, instead of trying to make each other think, act and be the same. It moves the whole dynamic out of "disputes over doubtful things" and into life-giving experience with God and each other. I'm hearing Paul say that individuals and groups within the Christian church are to live to the Lord and support others in doing the same. That's what needs to be worked out, or "faithed" out, not sameness.
"For it is written:
'As I live, says the LORD,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.'
So then each of us shall give account of himself to God." (vss. 11, 12)
The passage ends strongly emphasizing individual accountability to God. Keep each believer's union with God primary; and then life among believers falls into place. The essential priority of individual accountability to God becomes a stronger uniting power than sameness ever could be. In fact, accepting and entering into that essential priority is the secret of strong, lasting, loving community.
Matthew 18:21-35
"'Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'" (vs. 33)
It occurs to me, especially after receiving the Romans passage, that the servant's response to the King is the essential starting, or pivotal, point. Had the King's servant gotten that right, he would have treated his own servant differently. The decisive interaction in this parable is between the servant and the King. This is what, in turn, shaped the interaction between the two servants.
Exodus 14:19-31
Psalm 114
Romans 14:1-12
Matthew 18:21-35
Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
This blog is a weekly invitation for you to receive the week's scriptures as spirit and life. Words received as spirit and life are quite different than words received as, for one example, words to be puzzled over or debated. Best and most of all, the Word is spirit and life. We can choose to received it as the spirit and life it is. At http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html there are some simple suggestions for doing this.
After you receive for yourself, when the spirit and life of the Word are fresh in your own being, then you can compare with others who are also receiving the Word as spirit and life.
Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place to compare notes)
Prayer for receptivity
You, God, far beyond me;
You, God, within me, closer than my very breath.
You not ignored;
You received.
Receptivity that opens me to You and to Your Word as spirit and life,
this is my prayer right now.
Exodus 14:19-31
"And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other." (vss. 19, 20)
The same Angel of God is darkness and light. Other contrasts in this passage include:
divine and human
the sea into dry land
saving and destroying.
"So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians..." (vs. 27)
The Israelites and their leader were trusting the One who was defending them, not their own judgment or strategies or warfare. That doesn't mean the Israelites and Moses weren't fully involved! It must have stretched their endurance and faith immensely! But they did not overthrow the Egyptians.
Psalm 114
"Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion." (vs. 2)
Endearing and comforting! Amazing also. The Psalmist frequently says God is our refuge. In this case Judah is His sanctuary. Imagine Judah as a place of refuge for God. Imagine!
"Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of Jacob." (vs. 7)
Romans 14:1-12
"Receive one who is weak in the faith,
but not to disputes over doubtful things." (vs. 1)
Ah! What a keynote!
"For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.
For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord." (vss. 7, 8)
This time a little picture may help. This passage is about a group, or "community" of people, who are held together by living to the Lord. They are to each faithfully focus on and account to the Lord. It is not by agreeing, or by having the same degree of faith, or by eating the same way, or by any other form of sameness that they show their love to each other and to God. It is by living to the Lord. Consider the arrows by the two triangles. At the left, the primary emphasis is on the interaction between the people at point A and the people at point B. In the second triangle the primary emphasis is on the interaction between A people and God, and between B people and God. Ponder the two ways. As I ponder the two ways, I see potential for beautiful, strong, endearing connections when the primary emphasis is on the interaction between A people and God, and between B people and God. And one of the wonderful outcomes of this way is that the A people and the B people help each other with their primary interaction with God, instead of trying to make each other think, act and be the same. It moves the whole dynamic out of "disputes over doubtful things" and into life-giving experience with God and each other. I'm hearing Paul say that individuals and groups within the Christian church are to live to the Lord and support others in doing the same. That's what needs to be worked out, or "faithed" out, not sameness.
"For it is written:
'As I live, says the LORD,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.'
So then each of us shall give account of himself to God." (vss. 11, 12)
The passage ends strongly emphasizing individual accountability to God. Keep each believer's union with God primary; and then life among believers falls into place. The essential priority of individual accountability to God becomes a stronger uniting power than sameness ever could be. In fact, accepting and entering into that essential priority is the secret of strong, lasting, loving community.
Matthew 18:21-35
"'Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'" (vs. 33)
It occurs to me, especially after receiving the Romans passage, that the servant's response to the King is the essential starting, or pivotal, point. Had the King's servant gotten that right, he would have treated his own servant differently. The decisive interaction in this parable is between the servant and the King. This is what, in turn, shaped the interaction between the two servants.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Receiving September 6, 2008, worship scriptures
Scriptures for September 6
Exodus 12:1-14
Psalm 149
Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-20
Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
Some people worship where the scriptures of the day are integrated into a service that is an "ordered unity." For example, see http://www.lasierraliturgy.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=44&Itemid=57 where this type of service happens each Sabbath.
If you could attend that kind of service, it would provide an occasion for you to focus on the week's worship scriptures--as part of the day's total worship experience. You would be doing this together with other worshippers who are doing the same. Being with the scriptures this way, as act of worship, would be part of a reverent and coordinated service that helps a person actually worship.
One way to prepare for worship is to receive the week's worship scriptures as spirit and life--for yourself. This blogspot encourages you to do that each week. See http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html for a few simple suggestions about how to receive the scriptures as spirit and life for yourself. After you have received the scriptures as spirit and life for yourself, you are prepared to compare notes with others who are doing the same thing; and you are more prepared for the next church worship service.
If you don't have a place to worship where the service is an ordered unity, and where the week's scriptures are an integrated part of worship, you can still benefit from this exercise. You can also begin to talk with people who may be able to help a worship service like that happen as a part of the total program at your church.
Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place to compare notes)
Prayer for receptivity
"Continuing steadfastly in prayer" speaks to me today about my prayer to You for receptivity. The heart-to-Heart receptivity I seek is not something I ask for just once. It's a prayer I continue in, steadfastly. My heart connected to Your Heart and receiving Your Word as spirit and life--this is what I continue to seek in steadfast prayer right now.
Exodus 12:1-14
"You shall keep it (the LORD's Passover) as a feast by an everlasting ordinance." (vs. 14)
Maybe the LORD's Passover isn't as "done away with" as some think. What if the meaning, the heart and soul, in the LORD's Passover were comprehended? What if those who claim to have Jesus instead of that Old Testament event, discovered Jesus more profoundly and fully in that Old Testament event? Or put another way, what if Jesus encompasses and surpasses, instead of replacing, this everlasting ordinance? What if this everlasting ordinance were meant to help today's Christian discover more of the depths of the mystery of God's Love in Jesus Christ?
It also occurs to me that an everlasting ordinance may be called for because the people of God need to revisit the hard and earthy, as well as transcendent, realities in this account over and over--forever. Who could kill a spotless yearling lamb, without great pain. Who can begin to comprehend the pain--most of all in the heart of God--that this everlasting ordinance exposes. Who can comprehend to any significant degree, without many approaches to this everlasting ordinance, how the Love of God is expressed in every part of the LORD's Passover. It takes time and repetition; it takes an everlasting ordinance to enter and participate in this life-giving, Love-giving mystery.
Psalm 149
"He will beautify the humble with salvation." (vs. 4)
That makes a person want to have a humility checkup! Which person or organization is prepared to provide such a checkup? Humility, like beauty, can often be in the eye of the beholder. Just being agreeable and not making waves may be enough to cause me to pass a humility checkup in some settings. The verse says it's the LORD who beautifies with salvation. Wouldn't the LORD also be the best one to ask about humility? I can ask the LORD about humility, then listen and look for the ways it begins to unfold. Asking the LORD, then listening to those who are sent to help, is different than choosing a right person or organization to ask.
Praise (vs. 1)
Sing to the LORD a new song (vs. 2)
Rejoice in (vs. 2)
Be joyful (vs. 2)
Praise with dance (vs. 3)
Sing praises with timbrel and harp (vs. 3)
Be joyful (vs. 5)
Sing aloud on their beds (vs. 5)
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth (vs. 6)
Vibrant, fully engaged, exuberant!
Romans 13:8-14
"...now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed." (vs. 11)
"...put on the armor of light." (vs. 12)
"...put on the Lord Jesus Christ." (vs. 14)
Salvation moves closer through the centuries from the Exodus (before that from Adam) to the Psalmist (Psalm 149:4) to Paul (Romans 13:11). Now (in Paul's day) that Jesus has lived, died and lives again, our salvation is nearer.
What about in 2008? Is our salvation nearer than in Paul's day? Are we closer or further away from a full appreciation for Jesus Christ? How does salvation get nearer to an individual or a group? Verse 11 is about salvation being nearer than when we first believed. Nearness has to do with growth or development in believing and trusting.
The nearness of salvation (how close, real and realized it is) has to do with the "putting on" of verse 12 and 14, doesn't it? The more Light we are immersed in, the more Light that fills us--the closer salvation is. The more we put on the Lord Jesus Christ, the closer salvation is.
Major events in salvation history have moved us nearer to the consummation at the glorious coming of Christ. Believing, trusting and putting on the Light, our Lord Jesus Christ, also move salvation nearer to God's people every day.
Matthew 18:15-20
Exodus 12:1-14
Psalm 149
Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-20
Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
Some people worship where the scriptures of the day are integrated into a service that is an "ordered unity." For example, see http://www.lasierraliturgy.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=44&Itemid=57 where this type of service happens each Sabbath.
If you could attend that kind of service, it would provide an occasion for you to focus on the week's worship scriptures--as part of the day's total worship experience. You would be doing this together with other worshippers who are doing the same. Being with the scriptures this way, as act of worship, would be part of a reverent and coordinated service that helps a person actually worship.
One way to prepare for worship is to receive the week's worship scriptures as spirit and life--for yourself. This blogspot encourages you to do that each week. See http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html for a few simple suggestions about how to receive the scriptures as spirit and life for yourself. After you have received the scriptures as spirit and life for yourself, you are prepared to compare notes with others who are doing the same thing; and you are more prepared for the next church worship service.
If you don't have a place to worship where the service is an ordered unity, and where the week's scriptures are an integrated part of worship, you can still benefit from this exercise. You can also begin to talk with people who may be able to help a worship service like that happen as a part of the total program at your church.
Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place to compare notes)
Prayer for receptivity
"Continuing steadfastly in prayer" speaks to me today about my prayer to You for receptivity. The heart-to-Heart receptivity I seek is not something I ask for just once. It's a prayer I continue in, steadfastly. My heart connected to Your Heart and receiving Your Word as spirit and life--this is what I continue to seek in steadfast prayer right now.
Exodus 12:1-14
"You shall keep it (the LORD's Passover) as a feast by an everlasting ordinance." (vs. 14)
Maybe the LORD's Passover isn't as "done away with" as some think. What if the meaning, the heart and soul, in the LORD's Passover were comprehended? What if those who claim to have Jesus instead of that Old Testament event, discovered Jesus more profoundly and fully in that Old Testament event? Or put another way, what if Jesus encompasses and surpasses, instead of replacing, this everlasting ordinance? What if this everlasting ordinance were meant to help today's Christian discover more of the depths of the mystery of God's Love in Jesus Christ?
It also occurs to me that an everlasting ordinance may be called for because the people of God need to revisit the hard and earthy, as well as transcendent, realities in this account over and over--forever. Who could kill a spotless yearling lamb, without great pain. Who can begin to comprehend the pain--most of all in the heart of God--that this everlasting ordinance exposes. Who can comprehend to any significant degree, without many approaches to this everlasting ordinance, how the Love of God is expressed in every part of the LORD's Passover. It takes time and repetition; it takes an everlasting ordinance to enter and participate in this life-giving, Love-giving mystery.
Psalm 149
"He will beautify the humble with salvation." (vs. 4)
That makes a person want to have a humility checkup! Which person or organization is prepared to provide such a checkup? Humility, like beauty, can often be in the eye of the beholder. Just being agreeable and not making waves may be enough to cause me to pass a humility checkup in some settings. The verse says it's the LORD who beautifies with salvation. Wouldn't the LORD also be the best one to ask about humility? I can ask the LORD about humility, then listen and look for the ways it begins to unfold. Asking the LORD, then listening to those who are sent to help, is different than choosing a right person or organization to ask.
Praise (vs. 1)
Sing to the LORD a new song (vs. 2)
Rejoice in (vs. 2)
Be joyful (vs. 2)
Praise with dance (vs. 3)
Sing praises with timbrel and harp (vs. 3)
Be joyful (vs. 5)
Sing aloud on their beds (vs. 5)
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth (vs. 6)
Vibrant, fully engaged, exuberant!
Romans 13:8-14
"...now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed." (vs. 11)
"...put on the armor of light." (vs. 12)
"...put on the Lord Jesus Christ." (vs. 14)
Salvation moves closer through the centuries from the Exodus (before that from Adam) to the Psalmist (Psalm 149:4) to Paul (Romans 13:11). Now (in Paul's day) that Jesus has lived, died and lives again, our salvation is nearer.
What about in 2008? Is our salvation nearer than in Paul's day? Are we closer or further away from a full appreciation for Jesus Christ? How does salvation get nearer to an individual or a group? Verse 11 is about salvation being nearer than when we first believed. Nearness has to do with growth or development in believing and trusting.
The nearness of salvation (how close, real and realized it is) has to do with the "putting on" of verse 12 and 14, doesn't it? The more Light we are immersed in, the more Light that fills us--the closer salvation is. The more we put on the Lord Jesus Christ, the closer salvation is.
Major events in salvation history have moved us nearer to the consummation at the glorious coming of Christ. Believing, trusting and putting on the Light, our Lord Jesus Christ, also move salvation nearer to God's people every day.
Matthew 18:15-20
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Receiving August 30, 2008, worship scriptures
Scriptures for August 30
Exodus 3:1-15
Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c
Romans 12:9-21
Matthew 16:21-28
Part I -Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
If you have been visiting this blog, you know its purpose is to invite people to receive the Word as spirit and life. Studying, analyzing, and discussing all have their place. But this blog is not about those activities.
There is a time to simply receive the Word as the spirit and life it is. This blog is about doing that.
If some parts of the week's worship scriptures don't seem to you like spirit and life, simply let go of those parts and receive the parts that you do recognize as spirit and life. It may just be a word or phrase that is life for you. Receive that word and phrase. Let it be spirit and life in you.
There are some simple suggestions for receiving the week's worship scriptures as spirit and life at: http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html
After receiving for yourself, you can compare with others who are doing the same. The spirit and life others have received from the same scriptures may increase the ways the scriptures are spirit and life for you.
Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place to compare notes)
Prayer for receptivity
Guardian of my heart
save me from the ways
I divide my own heart
attending to part, and
neglecting part
of who I am in You.
Forgive me for returning like I do
to long-familiar ways that
hinder and hurt, ways of
head dominion and heart neglect.
Forgive me.
Meet me again in
my undivided, undefended heart.
There, with You, is my hope of
receiving Your Word
as spirit and life.
Exodus 3:1-15
As I receive this whole passage, it strikes me how visible and audible God is here. Moses saw and heard. This wasn't Moses thinking up a strategy for freeing the Israelites and then attributing his strategy to God.
"Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." (vs. 5)
"Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God." (vs. 6)
When the encounter with God is realized to the place of being visible and audible, when a person actually sees and hears, then what? How does a person respond?
Does the absence of visible and audible presence of God mean that my response to God's presence may or should be different?
"'I AM has sent me to you.'" (vs. 14)
I AM is present in every time and place, and also in every circumstance.
Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c
Give thanks
call upon
make known
sing to
sing psalms
talk of
glory in
let hearts rejoice
seek
remember
"He sent Moses His servant..." (vs. 26)
This is a wonder and marvelous work of God, an expression of God's holiness and strength, and the judgments of God's mouth.
Romans 12:9-21
"Love... Overcome evil with good." (vss. 9-21)
If I receive verses 9-21 as a list of behavioral "shoulds" and "oughts," I'll miss the spirit and life in them. If, instead, I see in these verses evidences or glimpses of how love expresses itself, then they are more likely to be spirit and life.
Love is bigger and better than these verses reveal, of course, but these are some beautiful glimpses into love. The previous eleven chapters in Romans have shown me the love of God that is beyond my best or wildest imagination; and Romans has shown me how to receive and be received into that love. Now at the end of the book, I'm given some pointers that will help me realize that Love is in me and I in Love.
Matthew 16:21-28
"'Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!'" (vs. 22)
"'You are not mindful of the things of God..." (vs. 23)
What a dialog of love this was!
The impulse of love, as humans know love, is to spare the loved one from rejection, mistreatment and suffering. The impulse of divine love goes beyond that and into depths and mystery that aren't easy to follow. The things of God include suffering many things and dying and rising (vs. 21). And, the things of God are worked out, or realized, in the followers of Jesus by taking up Jesus' Cross, by losing one's life for Jesus' sake, and by anticipating Jesus' coming in glory (vss. 24-27).
Exodus 3:1-15
Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c
Romans 12:9-21
Matthew 16:21-28
Part I -Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
If you have been visiting this blog, you know its purpose is to invite people to receive the Word as spirit and life. Studying, analyzing, and discussing all have their place. But this blog is not about those activities.
There is a time to simply receive the Word as the spirit and life it is. This blog is about doing that.
If some parts of the week's worship scriptures don't seem to you like spirit and life, simply let go of those parts and receive the parts that you do recognize as spirit and life. It may just be a word or phrase that is life for you. Receive that word and phrase. Let it be spirit and life in you.
There are some simple suggestions for receiving the week's worship scriptures as spirit and life at: http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html
After receiving for yourself, you can compare with others who are doing the same. The spirit and life others have received from the same scriptures may increase the ways the scriptures are spirit and life for you.
Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place to compare notes)
Prayer for receptivity
Guardian of my heart
save me from the ways
I divide my own heart
attending to part, and
neglecting part
of who I am in You.
Forgive me for returning like I do
to long-familiar ways that
hinder and hurt, ways of
head dominion and heart neglect.
Forgive me.
Meet me again in
my undivided, undefended heart.
There, with You, is my hope of
receiving Your Word
as spirit and life.
Exodus 3:1-15
As I receive this whole passage, it strikes me how visible and audible God is here. Moses saw and heard. This wasn't Moses thinking up a strategy for freeing the Israelites and then attributing his strategy to God.
"Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." (vs. 5)
"Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God." (vs. 6)
When the encounter with God is realized to the place of being visible and audible, when a person actually sees and hears, then what? How does a person respond?
Does the absence of visible and audible presence of God mean that my response to God's presence may or should be different?
"'I AM has sent me to you.'" (vs. 14)
I AM is present in every time and place, and also in every circumstance.
Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c
Give thanks
call upon
make known
sing to
sing psalms
talk of
glory in
let hearts rejoice
seek
remember
His deeds
wondrous works
holy name
strength
face
marvelous works
wonders
the judgments of His mouth.
The Psalmist is urging me, urging us, to somehow take in, realize, or grasp, who God is and what God has done--and to respond in ways appropriate to God's being and doing!
"He sent Moses His servant..." (vs. 26)
This is a wonder and marvelous work of God, an expression of God's holiness and strength, and the judgments of God's mouth.
Romans 12:9-21
"Love... Overcome evil with good." (vss. 9-21)
If I receive verses 9-21 as a list of behavioral "shoulds" and "oughts," I'll miss the spirit and life in them. If, instead, I see in these verses evidences or glimpses of how love expresses itself, then they are more likely to be spirit and life.
Love is bigger and better than these verses reveal, of course, but these are some beautiful glimpses into love. The previous eleven chapters in Romans have shown me the love of God that is beyond my best or wildest imagination; and Romans has shown me how to receive and be received into that love. Now at the end of the book, I'm given some pointers that will help me realize that Love is in me and I in Love.
Matthew 16:21-28
"'Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!'" (vs. 22)
"'You are not mindful of the things of God..." (vs. 23)
What a dialog of love this was!
The impulse of love, as humans know love, is to spare the loved one from rejection, mistreatment and suffering. The impulse of divine love goes beyond that and into depths and mystery that aren't easy to follow. The things of God include suffering many things and dying and rising (vs. 21). And, the things of God are worked out, or realized, in the followers of Jesus by taking up Jesus' Cross, by losing one's life for Jesus' sake, and by anticipating Jesus' coming in glory (vss. 24-27).
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Receiving August 23, 2008, worship scriptures
Scriptures for August 23
Exodus 1:8 - 2:10
Psalm 124
Romans 12:1-8
Matthew 16:13-20
Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
This blog spot is a weekly invitation to receive the Word as spirit and life for yourself. Doing this is different than just reading the scriptures. It is also different than studying the scriptures.
When we receive the Word as spirit and life we enter into a willing receptivity. This begins with prayer for willing receptivity. We seek a kind of receptivity that increases and flourishes, more and more all the time.
Then we receive (more than just read) letting the spirit and life be real and realized. This way of engaging the Scripture is prayer continued. Doing this often and patiently we begin to recognize a difference between "working with" or "figuring out" the text, and simply receiving. Receiving, with a sense of the life and spirit in it, is a graced and blessed experience. This experience is available to all who are willing.
Simple steps for entering into this spiritual exercise are provided at: http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html
After receiving for yourself, compare notes with others who are doing the same. Compare notes primarily for the purpose of continuing and expanding your receptivity to the Word as spirit and life.
Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place to compare notes)
Prayer for receptivity
Your Word is spirit and life. Enable me to receive it as the spirit and life it is. Please cause my feelings and thoughts to all serve receptivity right now. I confess that I let feelings and thoughts become hindrances. Please change my feelings and thoughts into servants of receptivity.
Exodus 1:8 - 2:10
"So she called his name Moses, saying, 'Because I drew him out of the water.'" (2:10)
The water was a river.
Also, this week's Psalm shows that the water is circumstances that threaten to swamp or drown our soul. Consider the waters Moses was drawn out of: The Israelites had been favored in Joseph's day. Then political changes brought a new king who didn't "know Joseph." Then came affliction (but the more they afflicted them the more they multiplied and grew [1:12]). More intense affliction followed. Then came the king's order for newborn boys to be killed. Favor turned to affliction that turned to more intense affliction that led to a death sentence for newborn boys. Those were threatening waters.
Psalm 124
"'If it had not been the LORD who was on our side...
Then the waters would have overwhelmed us...'" (vss. 1-2, 4)
Having the LORD on their side did not prevent the Israelites from suffering; it prevented them from being overwhelmed by suffering. Our impulse is to pray for escape (and to praise God when escape happens). However, what we need to pray for even more than escape is the quality and completeness of surrender to, and union with, God that will take us through the waters that would otherwise drown our soul.
God-given escape is praiseworthy and delightful. Pure and complete surrender to God and union with God in suffering goes beyond that. It takes us into the mystery where grief and joy mingle.
Romans 12:1-8
"...present your bodies as a living sacrifice..." (vs. 1)
Presenting my body as a living sacrifice involves letting go of my will in favor of God's will. The "simple" and supremely challenging prayer that makes it possible to be either a living or dying sacrifice is: "Not as I will but as You will" (Matthew 26:39). Qualifiers like "I know it's Your will for this or that to happen or not happen" destroy this prayer and prevent us from being either a living or dying sacrifice. An unqualified "Not as I will but as You will" is the way to become a living sacrifice.
"And do not be conformed to this world..." (vs. 2)
Being conformed to this world affects our experience of power. If we are conformed to this world, it will affect how we get power, and how we use it or are subject to it.
"that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (vs. 2)
Living sacrifices who are transformed rather than being conformed to this world (and its way with power) are " this way" in order to prove what is the will of God. They don't sacrifice themselves to nothing, or because sacrifice is somehow noble. They sacrifice themselves to God's will. They are immersed in God's will and testimony to its power and desirability. Consider how different this is than being a representative or interpreter of God's will.
Matthew 16:13-20
"'You are the Christ, the son of the living God.'" (vs. 16)
Today we hear things like, "This person is the greatest Olympian of all time." Or "This person is our party's candidate for President of the United States." What's it like for us to hear or relay those kinds of acknowledgements or confessions?
What was it like for Peter to look into the face of Jesus of Nazareth and say, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." How can I let my heart "be there" with Peter, confessing that? How can I be there with Peter, receiving Jesus for who He is?
"Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ." (vs. 20)
Don't tell. Just when Peter had really Big News to share, he's told not to tell! Jesus is not to be known as the conquering Christ. He is to be known first and fully as the suffering Savior. Instead of conquering by power, He entered into unspeakable suffering and powerlessness.
Exodus 1:8 - 2:10
Psalm 124
Romans 12:1-8
Matthew 16:13-20
Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
This blog spot is a weekly invitation to receive the Word as spirit and life for yourself. Doing this is different than just reading the scriptures. It is also different than studying the scriptures.
When we receive the Word as spirit and life we enter into a willing receptivity. This begins with prayer for willing receptivity. We seek a kind of receptivity that increases and flourishes, more and more all the time.
Then we receive (more than just read) letting the spirit and life be real and realized. This way of engaging the Scripture is prayer continued. Doing this often and patiently we begin to recognize a difference between "working with" or "figuring out" the text, and simply receiving. Receiving, with a sense of the life and spirit in it, is a graced and blessed experience. This experience is available to all who are willing.
Simple steps for entering into this spiritual exercise are provided at: http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html
After receiving for yourself, compare notes with others who are doing the same. Compare notes primarily for the purpose of continuing and expanding your receptivity to the Word as spirit and life.
Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place to compare notes)
Prayer for receptivity
Your Word is spirit and life. Enable me to receive it as the spirit and life it is. Please cause my feelings and thoughts to all serve receptivity right now. I confess that I let feelings and thoughts become hindrances. Please change my feelings and thoughts into servants of receptivity.
Exodus 1:8 - 2:10
"So she called his name Moses, saying, 'Because I drew him out of the water.'" (2:10)
The water was a river.
Also, this week's Psalm shows that the water is circumstances that threaten to swamp or drown our soul. Consider the waters Moses was drawn out of: The Israelites had been favored in Joseph's day. Then political changes brought a new king who didn't "know Joseph." Then came affliction (but the more they afflicted them the more they multiplied and grew [1:12]). More intense affliction followed. Then came the king's order for newborn boys to be killed. Favor turned to affliction that turned to more intense affliction that led to a death sentence for newborn boys. Those were threatening waters.
Psalm 124
"'If it had not been the LORD who was on our side...
Then the waters would have overwhelmed us...'" (vss. 1-2, 4)
Having the LORD on their side did not prevent the Israelites from suffering; it prevented them from being overwhelmed by suffering. Our impulse is to pray for escape (and to praise God when escape happens). However, what we need to pray for even more than escape is the quality and completeness of surrender to, and union with, God that will take us through the waters that would otherwise drown our soul.
God-given escape is praiseworthy and delightful. Pure and complete surrender to God and union with God in suffering goes beyond that. It takes us into the mystery where grief and joy mingle.
Romans 12:1-8
"...present your bodies as a living sacrifice..." (vs. 1)
Presenting my body as a living sacrifice involves letting go of my will in favor of God's will. The "simple" and supremely challenging prayer that makes it possible to be either a living or dying sacrifice is: "Not as I will but as You will" (Matthew 26:39). Qualifiers like "I know it's Your will for this or that to happen or not happen" destroy this prayer and prevent us from being either a living or dying sacrifice. An unqualified "Not as I will but as You will" is the way to become a living sacrifice.
"And do not be conformed to this world..." (vs. 2)
Being conformed to this world affects our experience of power. If we are conformed to this world, it will affect how we get power, and how we use it or are subject to it.
"that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (vs. 2)
Living sacrifices who are transformed rather than being conformed to this world (and its way with power) are " this way" in order to prove what is the will of God. They don't sacrifice themselves to nothing, or because sacrifice is somehow noble. They sacrifice themselves to God's will. They are immersed in God's will and testimony to its power and desirability. Consider how different this is than being a representative or interpreter of God's will.
Matthew 16:13-20
"'You are the Christ, the son of the living God.'" (vs. 16)
Today we hear things like, "This person is the greatest Olympian of all time." Or "This person is our party's candidate for President of the United States." What's it like for us to hear or relay those kinds of acknowledgements or confessions?
What was it like for Peter to look into the face of Jesus of Nazareth and say, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." How can I let my heart "be there" with Peter, confessing that? How can I be there with Peter, receiving Jesus for who He is?
"Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ." (vs. 20)
Don't tell. Just when Peter had really Big News to share, he's told not to tell! Jesus is not to be known as the conquering Christ. He is to be known first and fully as the suffering Savior. Instead of conquering by power, He entered into unspeakable suffering and powerlessness.
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