Badge

"Censured for Christ's name? You're blessed! - the Spirit of God (of Glory!) rests over you," 1 Peter 4:14.

Jesus gets personal here. He really knows his own. People unashamed to take on his name, who wear his name as a badge of honor - he knows them. We're not at all confused: to wear his name, to be a Christian, is not a label on our clothing; to be a Christian is to live like Jesus lived. To be moved by the Spirit. Are you ridiculed for the good you do? For worshiping God? For serving others? The Word says God's Spirit rests over you. So we be happy! Our validation arises from the work of Christ, not from worldly popularity. Not from the heritage of flesh. Our worth arises from being born anew, born of water and Spirit. Sky kingdom.

We joy with a brother or sister today because the Spirit of glory shines over us. Together we give thanks to God that we may wear the name of Christ. Blessed.

Executed

"Are you able to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" Mark 10:38.

Jesus to his followers: Count the cost. Jesus, persecuted, will thereby be baptized bodily to death. Now, Scripture calls people to be baptized into Jesus. I.e., to be dunked in water obediently to him. To believe and confess him as Lord, to die with him, to be buried with him, to be raised with him. To life. But what about those who come to faith, without opportunity to baptismal waters? Example: A convict, now a confessing, unbaptized believer, to be executed tomorrow? First. It's a God thing. (Always has been.) Not a your thing. (Get out of the jury box.) Second. They die bodily now with Christ. Baptism. Blessing.

With a brother or sister today, we remind each other of our baptismal death into Christ. Persecuted together, we endure the offense of the cross. We give thanks for baptismal entrance into life, the not-of-this-world kingdom. Sky kingdom.

Glad

"Should others slander you and hurt you and say all kinds of lies against you, on my account, you are blessed," Matthew 5:11.

On Jesus' account. Make no mistake. Jesus keeps close tabs on this stuff. Whoever upholds Jesus has God's full attention - and whoever abuses whoever follows Jesus, they have God's full attention, too. Who keeps track of the long-gone prophets and their persecutors? God does. He remembers their abusers as easily as we remember ours. Justice comes. The judge stands at the door. But the point here is not that. Here, the point: You are happily blessed because people abused for Jesus know they have great reward in the skies. True Word. Sky kingdom.

Standing by a brother or sister today, we uphold Jesus, our Lord and Savior! We do not fear whose power merely extends to this world. Together, we give thanks to God, the Deliverer over all worlds. Blessed. We be glad.

Unplumbable

"The Mighty One, Jehovah God, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting," Psalm 50:1.

You, O God, call to the earth, you call to the skies, to the vast infinite, and you bring them all to witness in your brilliant presence. All day long, You call the people that worship you by covenant, your faithful. And you remind all who you are: God, the Savior/Judge. We have no resources you will ever need. We see earth's bounty, its treasure stores, and it's all yours. What we don't even know about - that's yours, too! What significant thing could we possibly add to your unplumbable wealth? Here's what: that we be true to our calling; that we call on you in trouble; (and you promise to save us!); that we glorify you. We will. Help us will. We do. Help us do.

With a brother or sister today, we offer thanksgiving as our sacrifice. We remind each other to order our path straight to God. And we trust God's salvation! Together, all day long, we glorify You, our Savior!

Character

"Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake," Matthew 5:10.

Righteousness. Character of the righteous person. Conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, action. Inclusive term for the active duties of the religious life. Divine character originating in God's person. Justice. Goodness. Virtue. Decency. Integrity. Morality. Nobility. Blessed those who do it. Particularly, blessed having been persecuted because of doing it. Faithful to the end. What's the blessing? The sky kingdom belongs to such.

Today, we visit with a brother or a sister and remind each other to keep on keeping on. To share in the divine nature. No worries about the cost. And, together, to give thanks to a righteous and merciful and loving God.

Rules

 "Men loved the darkness rather than the light, because their work was evil," John 3:19.

That's the other part of the story of the famous football stadium verse. God loved the world hugely. But the world really, really does not reciprocate. We have two kingdoms. A kingdom ruled by what sustains and advances life. The sky kingdom. And then, a kingdom ruled by rot. The world kingdom. The sky kingdom in which rule Christ and his light. And then, the world kingdom in which rule devil and decay. Jesus died because men loved evil work more than light. And people who now love working God's will more than they love worldly life find persecution by those that don't. No surprise. But Jesus says, Blessed. Sky kingdom rules!

We see light glowing from Christ within a brother or sister today. So we press on doing the right stuff. And, together, we give thanks to God for light.

Doer

"The doers of the law will be justified before God, not its hearers," Romans 2:13.

The contrast here: hearing or doing? (Not: believing or doing, right?) This is the thing. God's not impressed with how cool we are. Not impressed with how highly our peers regard us. Not impressed with the number of callers asking us for deep wisdom. Not impressed with how much Bible knowledge we have. Opening our mouths to shed light for the blind. No. God's not impressed with how much religion we know. God's keen interest grinds away in what we do. His religion is, like, in bridling our tongues. Like, in keeping untarnished by the world. Like, in being there for orphans and widows in their hardships. Yes, in right doing. Even when persecuted for it. Sky kingdom.

With a brother or sister today, we find occasion to serve someone in hard times. And we follow through. Together, we give thanks to Christ who meets us there.

Dissed

 "They were happy to be deemed worthy of being disrespected," Acts 5:41.

You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Happy about it? Word's talking about public humiliation. About public beating. Thrashing. About censure right there in front of God and everybody. What in the world had they done? They told about Jesus. That was it. They said that God made Jesus leader and savior. To forgive people. And words like that. Now. We don't get stupid and think that getting martyred is desirable fun and games. Joy is names written in the skies. So says Jesus, anyway. Whatever the cost. Persecution? God knows us. Sky kingdom. Blessed.

We prioritize today a visit with a brother or sister. We remind that God qualified us for his sky kingdom. Do we suffer dishonor for the Name? No matter. Together, we give thanks.

Unpopularized

 "Happy, the persecuted - persecuted because they do what's right - the kingdom of the heavens is theirs," Matthew 5:10.

Want the sky kingdom? Do righteousness. Do good. Be a do-gooder. Wait! nobody likes a do-gooder. Do-gooders when somebody's looking, but mostly they're no-gooders. But let's not kid ourselves. Jesus' people do righteousness. Jesus people have the right stuff. The people who belong to Jesus do like Jesus. Jesus' people are Jesus people. And like Jesus they get persecuted, prosecuted, hounded, chased down, hunted, driven out, un--popular--ized. Doesn't sound like fun at all. But Jesus says, Blessed. Happy. Why!? because the sky kingdom is theirs. Eyes on the prize. Not on popular--ity. Eyes up.

We do right today in being blessed by being with the righteous, un--popular--ized, brother or sister. And we remember, we are the unpopular one that the brother or sister gets to hang out with ... Right-doers, un--popular--ized, together. Thank you, Lord.

Present

 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble," Psalm 46:1.

God, our help. Not far away. Here. Not imaginary. Very present. The earth gives way, mountains sluff off into the sea, tsunamis roar, but God, very present: We will not fear. The peoples rage, kingdoms stagger, but God, in the midst of his city: Morning comes, it's safe and sound. We will not fear. His forces are our help. In the storm, we are still in the presence of the very present God.

With a brother or sister today, we find God, our fortress. Awestruck, together, our quieted souls marvel. We give thanks to the God of Jacob. Lord of powers, Jehovah is God.

Broken

"You may have peace in me; in the world you will have troubles," John 16:33.

Jesus' words work so that people may have peace, though the world guarantees troubles; these blame those for all troubles, then those blame these for the same - this generation fights that generation, then that generation fights this generation; but Jesus' directive has his people pursue peace with everybody (and its associated holiness) so that we can see the Lord; indeed, Christ's peace must control, yes, rule our hearts, seeing that he called us to it when we became one in his body; by doing peace, his people sow peace, which then grows a harvest of very good stuff; right, just like Cornelius, then a man of war, now a follower of Jesus, becomes a man of peace, the very first gentile known to follow Christ. Sky kingdom. Not earth kingdom. Sky values.

Today, with a brother or sister, we do Jesus' peace in this broken, broken world. Together, we pursue holiness. And, together, we become thankful. Blessed.

Terms

 "I've not come to strike peace, but a sword," Matthew 10:34.

And here we thought Jesus was for peace and rainbows and happy feet through flowery meadows and stuff. In fact, Scripture goes on to speak of severe strife within intimate family, of crosses, of losing life. Indeed: Peace-making's context remains pitched battle. Everybody wants peace, but at what price? God strikes peace through Jesus' cross. To receive God's peace terms is to acknowledge Jesus as Lord. Corollary: deny the family's gods and religious traditions. Hence: Man against father, daughter against mother, in-law against in-law. Person against culture. That does not trip lightly off the tongue. Counting the cost. Losing one's life for Jesus' sake. Sky kingdom. Not of earth.

We find a brother or sister, today, to confess truly, Jesus is Lord. Together. We count the cost of that confession. We die. We receive God's unilateral peacemaking terms. We live.

Hero

 "Peacemaking through the blood of his cross, he reconciled all earth things and sky things to himself," Colossians 1:20.

So, God's on this side of the field. And over there on that side, that's us. Opposite the battle field. So what does God, the mighty maker, do? The Maker makes. Peace. How? He sends his son onto the battle field, to make terms of peace with the enemies of God. How? To receive a deadly wound. To provide blood for the covenant. Signature of the peacemaking agreement. Twice in the NT (well, the whole Bible actually) this word: peacemaker, peace-doer. Above is one time, as a verb. God doing the doing. Second time? As a noun: Jesus says, Blessed, the peacemakers. God's children identified. Doers of what the King does. Sky kingdom.

Disarmed, at peace with God, and with each other, we find a brother or sister. With each other, we confess good news of God's peaceful terms. Together we give thanks for Jesus' signature.  Peacemaker. War's over. Our hero.

Soundly

 "I will make a covenant of peace so that they may sleep in the woods," Ezekiel 34:25.

Peaceful sleep, tenting in wilderness, where the bear or mountain lion prowl? Not likely. Fitful, yes. One eye open, you bet. But peaceful? No. Well ... But, well, Yes, when God makes peace. Makes his covenant of peace. We live safe and sound in that peace. God, peacemaker. Calls his children to peace, and to make peace. Jesus, God's only son, first of many yet to come, is himself our peace. Peace on earth among those with whom our God is pleased. Born here, Jesus preached peace. Peace among people, peace with God. Jesus reconciled us, together, to God. Jesus killed the war. By the blood of his cross. Peacemaker. And any who join in that peacemaking are called thereby, children of God. Blessing.

We join today with a brother or sister, and together we cry out, Glory to God! And we give thanks for his peace. We sleep soundly. Sky kingdom.

Supermen

 "Happy, the peace-makers, for they will be called children of God," Matthew 5:9.

Jesus' discussion continues to drill down into the human heart. Everybody knows kingdoms are about power and tactics and strategy and cunning and the like. But in Jesus' listing of qualifiers we keep hearing rumors of losers. No spirit. Mourners. Meek. Hungry. Merciful. Pure. And now, peacemakers! No wonder philosophers get sick and tired of Jesus' wimpy kingdom and call for a race of mighty super-men to take over the place ... who will tremble in poopy drawers at God's Doomsday accounting. His children prep for an eternal sky kingdom. Not for a transient earth kingdom. Peacemakers.

With a brother or sister today, we receive God's peacemaking offer in Jesus' cross. Peace with God, peace with each other. And, together, we give thanks! Blessing.

Song

 "Blessed, the man that makes Jehovah God his trust," Psalm 40:4.

O Lord, my God! You have put a new song in my mouth. I was in despair. In the pit. In the muck. And you, only you, placed my feet on solid rock. Your actions have struck me with awe. And I've told these things to others. And they've come to trust in you, too. It's in your name, and your name alone, that we hope. No other powers. No other gods. No other mysteries. No lies. Your mercy, your truth, your will, your salvation. You saved me, I will do your will. May we all ever say, Jehovah God is the Great One! There is no other! And, he is good!

With a brother or sister today, we share God's work and salvation together. We share our sorrow. We remind about God's work in Jesus. We sing a new song, together. We give thanks.

Foreheads

"They will see his face, his name on their foreheads," Revelation 22:4.

Last book, last chapter. The end of the account. But, no mistake, not the end end. Just the end of revelation. What's not revealed, well, by definition, isn't known yet. By humans. In fact, the end of revealed stuff becomes the beginning of the (presently) unknown stuff. Revelation tells that, for whoever sees Jesus' person at that time, will be like him. Oh, yeah? Yeah, providing they hope in him, now, like that. And whoever hopes in him, now, like that, purifies themself (!) like he is pure. Pure heart, whole heart. Want to see God? Pure in heart will see God. Blessing.

We meet with a brother or sister today. We remind each other of our common hope of (presently) unseen, forever life in Jesus. Never disappointed in that hope! And, together, with God on our minds, we give thanks.

Sincerely

 "Love one another earnestly from a pure heart," 1 Peter 1:22.

Not so much a skeptic, perhaps, but certainly fond of irony, someone observed Jesus came preaching the kingdom of heaven, but out came the church. Others note the gospels speak overwhelmingly of a kingdom but the rest of the NT speaks mostly of a church. So, which is it? Hope for the kingdom of God but settle for a church of Christ? Here's the deal: When Jesus speaks of the kingdom he speaks of the church. His church, he says, will prevail. Life in the sky kingdom and life in the church are one and the same: Jesus is Lord. Jesus purifies hearts. He calls for obedience: his new-born people must love. Love without hypocrisy. Sincerely. Earthly people newly born from above. Living still below. Blessing breaking into this old, broken world. Sky kingdom. On Earth. See God.

God draws his own to love and to do good. We find a brother or sister today. Obediently, together, we love yet another for Jesus' sake. We give heartfelt thanks for his truth.

Noble

 "Chase after righteousness, faith, love, peace, alongside people who make their appeal with pure hearts to the Lord," 2 Timothy 2:22.

Kind of weird to even talk about this, but. How to eat one's morning cereal from a bowl that last night was used as a chamber pot? One cleans it real good. Scrub. Bleach. Soap. Boiling water. (And likely more.) That's how. Don't want no unclean mixtures in the cereal! The Bible lays it out: Bowls for honorable use, and bowls for dishonorable use. When anyone purifies themselves from dishonorable use, then they're ready for the honorable. (That's what it says.) Unmixed heart. Noble heart. Singleness of heart. Not of double heart. Whole heart. Pure heart. See God. Hearts scrubbed pure by Jesus' blood. 

Today, alongside a brother or sister, we call on the Lord with all our heart. Together we give thanks. And we anticipate seeing God face to face, tomorrow.

Climb

 "The one with innocent hands and a pure heart, who does not settle the soul with deceit," Psalm 24:4.

That's the answer. So what's the question? Here it is: Who will climb God's mountain to stand in his sanctuary? Clean hands, pure heart. No lie. That's who. That person receives blessing from Jehovah God. Want to see God? The Creator of the cosmos? The One and only? In whose Presence all other so-called gods tremble? In Whom even demons believe? Whose face, if one sees it one dies? Before Whose throne hundreds of millions of battle angels stand ready at his command? Do you want to see this God? (Are you sure?) OK. Says Jesus. Follow me. Pure heart. Unalloyed heart. Unmixed heart. Whole heart. You will see God. Blessing.

Today we cast away the lie, we join a brother or sister whole heartedly. We give thanks. Together we face the ascent up the mountain into the sky. To the God who will show the kindness of his face toward his kids. Sky kingdom.

Heartedly

 "Happy, the pure hearted, because they themselves will see God," Matthew 5:8.

We don't confuse pure with good. Goodness concerns moral excellence. Purity relates to the degree that Thing One mixes with Thing Two. A box of pure Thing One has no Thing Two in it, right? (Or Thing Three or Four or etc.) So when we reach for the salt shaker we expect it to have just plain old salt in it without worry that it might have chalk powder mixed in. Everybody knows this. Pure in heart means just one thing. All heart. No half-hearted attempt ... the other half being who-knows-what. No mixing with hedging bets. Big fall-back plan in case God doesn't come through? No. Looking for him whole heartedly? Yes. These will see God. Jesus promises. Sky kingdom.

Today, looking for God, we find a brother or sister, child of God. Breaking bread together in that congregation, even of two or three, we discover his Presence. And, we give thanks. Blessing.

Ransomer

 "You surround me with deliverance songs," Psalm 32:7.

You, O Jehovah God, forgive my sins. You do not count my unfair behavior against me. You take away my deceit. But before I fessed up, while I denied my wrongdoings, your hand weighed heavy on my conscience. While I pretended to be righteous, my gut was churning, my insides were being eaten away by my guilt and shame. Weakness overtook me. Then I confessed, admitted my sin, took responsibility for my unfairness, my wrongdoings, my deceit, my self-righteousness. And, wonder of wonders! You wiped away my guilt and shame! You really do ransom me from trouble. You yourself are my righteousness! You are my hiding place. Sky kingdom.

Confessing sin before God, today, we give praise with a brother or sister. We joy in his Christ, ransomer from our evil ways. Together, we give thanks to the God of our salvation. To the God who sings deliverance to us. With us. Around us.

Natural

 "You've watched all the way to the Lord's end, that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful," James 5:11.

Well, naturally! Religious people have few real problems, it's only natural that they talk God's compassion - they've got it made in the shade. Natural to talk with glib, stained-glass words. Yeah, right, let them walk a few miles in our moccasins, and then let's see how natural to talk about mercy. But, wait! the verse above talks about a man who lost big time, and, bereft of family, got a disgusting, oozing sickness. Talks of people whose friends betray them. Of people hounded by ruling authorities. Of people persecuted. Suffering. Of people, despite circumstance, who tell of God's mercy. Of his care. Of people who extend mercy to their persecutors. Extraordinary! Kingdom of God. Not of this world. Of the sky. Supernatural.

We look out for a brother or sister today. Together we give thanks to our merciful God. For giving us the sky kingdom that cannot be shaken by this world's (dis)order. Clear beyond the end.

Potency

 "I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you," John 19:10.

So here's Jesus, captive of the mightiest human power on earth. The discussion turns to Power. Authority. Potency. Don't you get it, Jesus? You're here, fastened by human might. Soon to be nailed by it to a wooden frame. Power to make you do what you don't want to have done to you. Power: Capacity to act freely as one chooses. Everybody wants it. Power to freedom. Power to make stuff happen. And, so, Jesus. Who could have called ten-thousand, battle-hardened, God-trained angels to destroy the world and set him free, as the poet says. Jesus. Who could have. Didn't. Now, that's power. Power to transform deluded, impotent humans. Mercy. Mercy. Mercy.

Today we seek out a brother or sister and share mercifully with each other. We remember God's power to change human hearts at the place called the Skull. That blood-spattered place of mercy. The mercy seat. And, together, we give thanks.

Shirtless

 "You shall be perfect as your father, the one in the sky, is perfect," Matthew 5:48.

Well, now. Got that pretty well nailed now. Don't drink, don't smoke, don't cuss. Or kiss those who do. OK. These may be fine virtues to hold, but not exactly what the Word's talking about here. To be perfect, like the sky father is perfect, means to extend love to those not deserving of it. To do mercy. This perfection means to go an extra mile with someone who forces the first mile. To give them a coat as well as the shirt they got off our back. To turn back toward them when they just kicked us in the rear. These serve as Jesus' examples of perfection, such that make his children look like their father. (Wish it was just about drinking or other easy stuff.) Sky kingdom.

With a brother or sister today, we remember our God's mercy with us when we shook our fists in his face. And we determine once again to share in his nature. Together we give thanks for his perfection.

Practicing

 "Become merciful just like your father is merciful," Luke 6:36.

The kingdom of heaven ... well, as Jesus describes its subjects anyway ... fills with citizens in process. They're in process from here to there. From the way they were to the way they must become. Not perfect, yet, in mercy's execution, but practicing it on purpose. (Now, true, they do not have to participate in this new way, they may choose to stay foreign to the sky kingdom's ways if they so wish.) Nonetheless, in these so-called Beatitudes Jesus lays out a way of life quite other than business as usual in earthly nations. And here, the condition to obtaining mercy requires the giving of it. Why? Because the high king of this kingdom, God, practices mercy. Toward you. Toward us. If God be our father, his children must do as he does.

We continue the process of mercy with a brother or sister today. We learn, together, our father's mind, and heart, in practicing his mercy. And, we give thanks.