Grace

"Where does my help come from?" Psalm 121:1.

Our help comes from you, Jehovah God! You, maker of skies and earth, you source our help! You keep our feet steady in earthquakes and our souls secure in life-quakes. You never sleep on the job. You keep your whole kingdom, and you keep us individually. You shade us from the sun's scorching heat. You light the night path. You keep us from the evil one. You keep our very lives. You keep us now, in the present, as we wander here and there, in and out, and you keep us forever more. Our help arises from you - thank you!

We visit today with a brother or sister sustained by the Lord in life's vagaries. And, together, we give thanks for Jesus who, though tested/tempted in every matter just like us, ever baptizes us in grace in our time of need.

Clarified

"The flesh benefits nothing," John 6:63.

Jesus spoke those words after having said: My flesh is true food. (He had made a big deal out eating his flesh and drinking his blood, that these brought life.) But even before that, he had aleady said: Don't work for perishable food, rather, work for lasting food. Well, ok, so what's lasting food? Jesus clarified: The Spirit gives life, not the flesh. Not fleshly genealogy. Jesus gives life to the world. The very words Jesus breathed out are spirit. They are life. Communion is about listening to Jesus, breathing in his very words, living by them. Doing the work of God, doing work that yields life, is this: Believing in the Son of Man whom God sent. Now, if we take offense to Jesus' teachings, to whom else shall we go to hear whose very words breathe life?

Today, we meet with a brother or sister, adopted into eternity through the breath of his Spirit. And, together, we give thanks that taking in Jesus, the Word, means eternal life.

Forlorn

"The Lord's love never ends," Lamentations 3:22.

It's hard, really hard, to put that line in its context, isn't it? People sing it as though all were at ease in Zion. But a forlorn, solitary figure wandering in the ashes of the aftermath of his beloved Zion's devastation spoke that line. He spoke it remembering the unspeakable horrors of his beloved people's wholesale destruction, reduced beforehand to consuming the remains of their own children. It's very hard. So, how can he speak that line among surrounding terrors? Here's how: He chooses hope. Hope over ashes. He chooses to hope that the Lord's unending love will yet change present sorrow. What else remains? Sky kingdom.

We lift our heads with a brother or sister today looking up to the Lord, our only hope for a worthwhile future. And, together, we give thanks that the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.

Wondering

"Will he find faith on earth?" Luke 18:8.

People keep wondering: Why bother with prayer since God never does anything when you need it? Jesus said: Oh, keep praying, keep hoping, keep the faith! God answers his people quick. But then, Jesus wondered. Yes. Jesus wondered. Jesus. Wondered: When he comes, will he find any earthlings still praying, hoping, believing in him?

When we visit with ... (start over) ... When we pray with a brother or sister today, we do answer our Lord's question with, Yes! And, together, we give thanks for his sacrifice securing for us his sure, coming salvation, the answer of all answers to prayer.

Writings

"You have known the holy writings since you were a child," 2 Timothy 3:15.

Who wrote that? Old man Paul, in his last letter, from jail. (He was beheaded shortly afterward.) Who'd he write to? Timothy, a young preacher he mentored. Ok. Holy writings: what made them holy? God's own breath produced them. So, the Scriptures have inspired value to bring wisdom, to teach God's people about every good work. They warn, they correct, they train in doing right actions. They make God's people competent. Ok. Who'd Timothy first learn the Scriptures from? From Lois, his grandmother. Yeah. From Eunice, his mother. These women are the source of Timothy's faith. And now, when Paul is spent, Timothy raises the banner to announce the salvation wisdom of Christ.

We visit with a brother or sister today, recognizing we are beneficiaries in the faith of so many before us. And, together, we give thanks to God for his living, sustaining word.

Compliant

"You have wrestled with God and with men, and you have won," Genesis 32:28.

Jacob wrestles with God, and wins? What is this? Well, to be sure, the Bible says that Jacob actually wrestled through the night with another man. That unnamed man who found Jacob unbeatable, he's the one that told Jacob he'd won against God. Jacob received his ruling and called for a blessing. So, the unnamed man's blessing became a name change: no longer was Jacob, Jacob, but was now Israel, the God-wrestler. (So his children became the God-wrestler's kids, right?) To make sure this God-wrestler wouldn't forget, with a mere touch the man without a name dislocated Israel's hip joint so that he limped away, but alive, from the match. God might allow a win to a mortal, but with it God wrests a daily reminder of who controlled the match.

Visiting with a brother or sister today, we receive God's ruling that we are the offspring of the God-wrestler, God's new Israel. And, together, no longer wrestling but giving thanks to God, we receive forgiveness through his son, the compliant one.

Overwhelms

"Jehovah God is kind and merciful," Psalm 111:4.

Our whole hearted thanks goes to you alone, O God! In the middle of the congregation of your people, all thanksgiving goes to you! Everyone who loves them, studies on your great works. You provide food for everybody who honor you. You hold up high the covenant you made with us through Jesus' sacrifice, foremost in your mind. You have promised the best offerings of earth's peoples to your congregation. All your actions show your faithfulness and justice. Your orders remain trustworthy, founded on your very character! You've set us free in Jesus. With him, you created an everlasting covenant! Holy and awesome be your name forever! Wisdom starts with respecting you, yes, fearing you. Everybody obeying your wisdom understands life. Praise you forever!

Visiting with a brother or sister today, God overwhelms us with his outstanding kindness. Together, together, we praise the Lord from now into eternity.

Turned

"When you have turned again, strengthen your brothers," Luke 22:31.

What's the setting? It's in a large enough private room with more than a dozen men in it. What's the occasion? The Jewish Passover. Who's talking? Jesus. Who's he talking to? Generally, to everybody there, but at this moment, singularly, to Peter. What's he saying to him? That before the night was out, he, Peter, would exclaim that he, Peter, never had known Jesus, let alone called him Lord. (And what would Jesus be doing while Peter was doing his denials of Jesus? Jesus would be being beaten in preparation for being killed.) But, Jesus said, when he, Peter, repented, Jesus wanted him, Peter, to encourage the rest. Yes. Jesus said that when Peter repented, he, Jesus, would forgive him, Peter, and give him, Peter, a message that he, Peter, should grant to others: Jesus forgives. For real.

So, we visit with a brother or sister today knowing that Jesus forgave us all our transgressions. And, together, we give thanks to God for granting to us, too, the same message of reconciliation. Sky kingdom.

Libation

"But even if I am bled out as a libation on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you," Philippians 2:17.

Who in the world says stuff like that?! That they're glad to be offered in sacrifice? Some modern analysts speak of a so-called martyr complex, a desire one might have to suffer and die for causes. Doubtless, a few folk, not many, just look for such causes. Very, very few, indeed. (Martyrs genuinely trade their lives selflessly for others' lives.) But mostly, that's just how some analysts, and would-be analysts, dismiss noble impulses in gentle folk that challenge their own self-obsessions. So, who says stuff like that? People who know the fleeting happiness of this world is timed, who know an inexpressible, eternal joy is breaking out from God's presence. Sky kingdom.

We meet a brother or sister today, children of God, shining as lights in this passing world toward a coming world. And, together, we give joyful thanks to be counted worthy to suffer for Jesus.

Deep

"He fell on his face at Jesus' feet giving him thanks," Luke 17:16.

Who did? Some foreigner. An unknown. And what did he do? Not much, really. He just said, Thank You!, to Jesus because Jesus had healed him of a dread disease. (In fact, had the rest of the healed people thanked Jesus, there would have been no particular point to draw attention to this guy.) But Jesus noticed this nobody and made him somebody for the rest of us. That's really what obeying Jesus is all about: Not much, really, just doing our duty, so to speak. Just saying Thank You, meaning it, and living it out. Sky kingdom.

As we share our lives today with a brother or sister, we feel Jesus' deep healing from sin's dread power. And, together, we fall on our faces at his feet with deep joy and thanksgiving.

Sake

"I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus," 2 Timothy 2:10.

That's how one old preacher, rotting away in prison, left behind by almost every friend, coming up to a death sentence, explained his life. All for the sake of the elect. Who's that? The chosen people. And who are these? Human beings who heard the preaching of the gospel, who confessed Jesus as Lord, who left behind unrighteous ways. That old man saw his purpose to draw people to eternal life in Jesus' message. He trusted that to die with Christ was to live with Christ. To endure with Christ was to reign with Christ. But, to deny Christ was to be denied by Christ. To be faithless - well, that didn't change Christ: Christ remains faithful for he cannot deny himself. So, that old guy shared life in Christ toward the elect, the church.

We cannot help but meet with a brother or sister today to encourage each other in faithfulness to Christ. And, together, thankfully, we strive ahead for the Lord's appearing.

Sad

"My life is much too sad for you to share, for the Lord is against me," Ruth 1:13.

Who said that? The one who called herself Bitter Woman (Mara). Why? She and her family became economic refugees in a foreign land. Then, her husband died. Then, her sons died. Then, bereft, she told her surviving daughters-in-law she had no hope, nothing to share with them. Clearly, God's hand opposed her. Destitute, she told them to make new lives for themselves. She would go back to her own country, drained. How hard can life get? Hopeless, helpless, left behind. What to do? Here's Ruth's response: Your God will be my God. I will share your life. May God strike me dead if I don't. Hmm? What's this thing about God, even when he doesn't seem very nice?

We share lives with a brother or sister today, through thick or thin, hoping in God anyway. And, together, we marvel thankfully that even on a cross Jesus entrusted himself to God.

Quieted

"Power belongs to God; steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord," Psalm 62:11, 12.

For you alone, O God, do our souls wait in silence. You alone remain our rock, our salvation. For you alone, O God, do our souls wait in silence. Our hope arises from you. You alone are our rock, our salvation, our fortress. We shall not be shaken. Our salvation, our glory rests in you, O God. We trust you at all times. We pour out our hearts before you, O God. You remain our refuge. We place no delusions in people - they're all lightweights. We place no vain confidence in rising wealth. All power belongs to you: You own steadfast love. We await you in silence.

We meet with a brother or sister today with quieted hearts and anticipate God's salvation. And, together, we yield the thanksgivings of our hearts to God for his everlasting love.

Talk

"The important thing is faith," Galatians 5:6.

What kind of faith does it talk about? The kind that works through love. The kind directed to Christ. The kind that yields great expectations of righteousness. The kind that binds to Jesus. The kind that heralds freedom from cursed doom. The kind that expresses love for one another. The kind that sanctions the Spirit's fruit. The kind that crucifies the flesh, its passions, its desires. The kind that walks by the Spirit. The kind that displays a new creation. That's the kind of faith it talks about.

We connect in faith with a brother or sister today. And, together, we thank God that believing in Christ suffices for eternal life.

Showcases

"Power is made perfect in weakness," 2 Corinthians 12:9.

Whose power? Jesus'. Weakness perfects Jesus' power. How so? Weakness showcases grace. When human action and potential have depleted to nothing, what sustains and drives capacity? God. God alone. When human weakness wipes us out face down onto the ground, what picks us up? Grace. God's generosity. God's goodness. God's desire. God's will. God's purpose. Nothing else remains than to start the next sentence with: If it had not been for the Lord ... we'd've been swallowed alive. The weakness of Jesus' cross became God's power for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Sky kingdom.

Finding a brother or sister today, we boast in nothing else than the cross of Christ. And, together, we praise God for grace that perfectly powers the new creation.

Special

"We don't deserve special thanks; we've just done our job," Luke 17:10.

He had been saying things like: Repent or perish. Like: Enter by the narrow door. Like: Some are last who will be first. Like: Everyone who brags about himself will be humbled. Like: Invite the poor to your party, you'll get paid back in the resurrection. Like: Whoever does not renounce all he has cannot be my disciple. Like: It's right to party with a repentant brother because he's back home. Like: You cannot serve God and money. Like: You must forgive a repentant sinner. So, his disciples said: Increase our faith! Jesus said: Just do the job. (Yeah, the sky kingdom really is something else.)

When we visit with a brother or sister today, we marvel that Jesus yielded himself to unimaginable humiliation for our joy. And, together, we give thanks for the privilege to join with him in humble service for people who don't yet get it.

Embarrassed

"Who, on one hand, abolished death and, on the other, shined bright toward life and immortality," 2 Timothy 1:10.

Who did this? Jesus. Jesus did. By what means did he light the path to life? By means of the gospel. What's that shining to immortality? The message of the good news! The power of God. The word of Christ. The message of Jesus' cross, and of Jesus' resurrection. Embarrassed for following Christ? Oh, no! Never! How else would God save us; how could he call us to a holy calling? (Believe it: Not by our works, but by his own generosity, his own purpose.) By his grace in Christ before the worlds ever got started. Sky kingdom.

We join a brother or sister today to follow Jesus' shine on his living path. And, together, we shout out thanksgivings to God for his imperishable gospel.

Unutterable

"That time is coming soon," Habakkuk 2:3.

What to do in the meantime? You know, while we await that time soon to come? Wait for it. That's what. Wait for it. It's a sure thing coming. Wait for it. Sooo ... well ... what is it that we're waiting for? For God's justice (and mercy) finally to make itself known. That's what. Oh. Ok. So, what to do in the meantime? (didn't we already ask that?) Here's what to do: Do what's right because we trust God. Yeah. Do right because we trust God, and he will bring forever life. Another way it's often said: The righteous shall live by faith.

So, as we meet with a brother or sister today, we affirm salvation through faith in Christ comes soon. And, together, we speak unutterable thanksgivings to God's faithfulness into every generation.

Righteous

"I will praise the Lord Jehovah all my life," Psalm 146:2.

Yes, O Lord - We will sing praises to you as long as we live! We will not put our trust in mortal humans. You, God, remain our happiness, our hope. You alone made the skies and the earth and the seas and all in them. You keep faith forever. You do what's fair for the wronged. You feed the hungry. You set wrongly imprisoned ones free. You give sight to the blind. You lift up people in trouble. You love people who do what's right. You protect aliens. You defend orphans and widows. You are righteous! You will reign forever. We praise you, Lord God!

We meet with a brother or sister today so that we may remember God's goodness to us. And, together, we praise God's faithfulness to all generations for gifting us his life.