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"I have called you friends," John 15:15.

That's what Jesus said to his friends. And what made them his friends? Jesus said they were his friends because they knew what he, their master, was doing. (Not at all like slaves who don't understand.) Yes, Jesus called them friends because he told them what all the Father had told him to do. So what had God told Jesus to do? To lay down his life for his friends. Yeah. Jesus had said you can't love friends more than to die for them. (And he died the next day for his friends.) Too, Jesus had said if they did what he commanded them, they would be his friends. So what did Jesus command them? He commanded them to love one another. Like he loved them. He chose them so that they'd love one another. Sky kingdom.

We meet up with a brother or sister today because Jesus chose them to be our friends. And, together, we give thanks for God's election of us in Christ.

Conversation

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge," Proverbs 1:7.

Fear: deep respect. Awed recognition of power. Acknowledgement of absolute ownership. Do we want wisdom? Wisdom's foundation rests on God's sovereignty. Wisdom starts with Creator. Not with creation. Not with the creature. Fear of the Lord means a creature need have no fear of any other creature. Fear of the Lord means a creature can engage conversation with the Lord of the universe. With the Lord of life. Fear of the Lord means a creature can have a will of one's own. Fear of the Lord means a creature can question God. Fear of the Lord means a creature can desire a different course of action than the Lord's. Fear of the Lord means a creature willingly yields personal will to God's will. Says who? Job. Moses. Elijah. Jesus.

When we visit with a brother or sister today we start the conversation in God's presence. And, together, we give thanks for Jesus, God's wisdom and power.

Destroy

"The only one you should fear is the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell," Matthew 10:28.

And that one is not the devil. Nope. Not Satan. (It's not human authorities, either.) No. It's God. Pagans, and unlearned Christians, think of Satan as the ruler of hell. That's not Bible. Nope. Not at all. Hell's the place God built for the devil's undoing and punishment. Not the place that demons or evil spirits have free run in. Nope. Hell is God's idea, God's creation as the place of evil's just retribution. Make no mistake about this. Whoever denies Jesus in the presence of men, Jesus will deny to God. So: We do fear God. Yes, we do. But, wait! If we fear God, then no need to fear. People who acknowledge Jesus to the face of men, Jesus will himself acknowledge them in God's presence. Says who? Jesus. He will do it.

We meet up with a brother or sister today confessing Jesus as the Christ of God. And, together, we give God thanksgivings as we follow him to life in his sky kingdom.

Present

"Offer yourselves to God," Romans 6:13.

As compared to what? As to offering self to sin. As to let sin control you to make you obey. Wait a minute! I'm a free person! I don't slavishly obey anything! Well. Hmm. Well, the Good Book commands: Do not obey. Yep. It demands: Do not obey the passions of your body. Oh. Right. And it says: Do not be a slave of sin. Why not? because sin makes you obey slavishly the heartless passions of your body, without regard to mindful preferences. And that slavery deceives to death. Instead, be obedient from the heart to the new standard: Righteousness. Present body parts as mindful slaves to life enhancing deeds. Sky kingdom.

With a brother or sister today we offer ourselves to God as people whom he has brought out of death to life. And, together thankfully, we present ready for service in Christ's living purpose.

Hallelujah

"Sing to the Lord; hallelujahs to the Lord!" Jeremiah 20:13.

That prophet, being a man of God, a man with all the rights and privileges appertaining thereunto as a man of God, could easily say something like that, right? What does he know about life struggles? Yeah. Except. Except that the prophet said this after he had been thoroughly beaten, discredited, ridiculed, and had had hands and feet blocked up in stocks. By the temple's priest, its chief religious officer, by the people, by the prophet's friends. And, the prophet said those words right after he told God that he, God, had deceived him, the prophet and that he, the prophet, had been deceived indeed. Nonetheless. The prophet trusted that same God to vindicate and deliver him. Therefore. Hallelujah!

We visit with a brother or sister today sharing life's struggles. And, together, we praise God trusting his loyalty to his promises. Hallelujah!

Destruction

"He lifted me up out of the pit of destruction," Psalm 40:2.

Jehovah God, our Lord! We waited patiently for you. And you turned to us. You heard our cry. You pulled us out of the sticky mud. You set our feet on solid ground. On a rock! You steadied our feet. And then, you gave us a new song! Yes, a new song of praise for you. The song: Whoever makes you their trust, O God, finds blessing. (No blessing comes by turning to the deceit of prideful conceit.) But your wonders, dear Lord, multiply toward us who trust you. You set your mind for our good! No one compares with you. Praises far greater than our capacity to measure belong to you. O God, your countless mercies, your steadfast love, your loyalty preserve us securely!

We join a brother or sister today lifted by God's good pleasure to life. And, joined by God's election of Christ, we live out thanksgivings.

Mystical

"Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me," Matthew 18:5.

That line comes under the heading: How to be greatest in the sky kingdom. The problem with that line, of course, is that it doesn't sound very religious. I mean, if we're talking about spirituality and God and miracles and fasting and mystical experience and the mystery of faith so as to move mountains, plain old child care just doesn't seem to bear that level of grandeur. And yet. And yet. If we want to stand out in God's presence or squeak safely through Judgment Day, he said that's the way it's done. (He who? Oh, Jesus, the Master.) Yeah. That's what Jesus said.

As we receive a brother or sister today, we encourage each other to receive those kids: the crying ones, the hungry ones, the lost ones, the happy ones, the playing ones, the any and all that come our way ones. And, together, that's how we say Thank You, Lord.

Scolded

"No human being might boast in the presence of God," 1 Corinthians 1:29.

Not that it can't be done. Not that it's not allowed. Not that you get scolded if you do. It's just that we can't. God took what we threw away. God took the refuse we rejected. God took the stuff too stupid for us. God took the weak. God took what we despised. God took what was nothing to us. God took that nobody we left hanging on a tree. And then, God made nothing everything. Reject became choice. (The only wise God's wisdom.) God's choice for our righteousness. For our holiness. For our redemption. For our life. So. We boast, but we boast in what was no thing to us before: but is now the Lord before whom we bow.

We visit with a brother or sister today prideful of God's glory in Christ. And, together, we give pride of place to the Lord Jesus in the presence of our God.

Bad

"It will be more bearable on Judgment Day for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town," Matthew 10:15.

Well, now. What could possibly be a worse fate than Sodom's? Everybody knows they were the gold standard for how bad a society can get. Can't get worse than that. Nossiree, bob. But wait! What's this? Here's something way worse than their moral depravity. Are you serious? What can people possibly do to make Sodom's fate look preferable? (You know, like, as in: Well, I may have done wrong, but at least I'm not as bad as ...) Hmm. As bad as ... who? As bad as people rejecting God's Good News of peace. (Says who? Jesus. Says Jesus.)

When we meet up with a brother or sister today, we receive and listen to the Message. And, together, we give thanks to God who offers forgiveness to any and all in the gospel of Jesus.

Rarely

"Someone might die for a good man," Romans 5:7.

Yeah, but rarely. Once in a good while somebody might willingly step in the line of fire for someone they love or esteem. But to die, on purpose, for a wimp? For an ungodly person? No way! A person wouldn't willingly die for despicable people. And, certainly, nobody would die for their enemies! No, and all the more especially not when dying meant being tortured mercilessly. No. But then, there's Jesus. Yes. Who died for us. For us, powerless wimps. For us, ungodly. For us, despicable sinners. For us, his enemies. Yes, God made us friends in Jesus' blood. Yes, God made us worthy. Yes, highest display of God's love.

We rejoice with a brother or sister today in honor of Jesus who turned us losers into men and women worthy of God. And, together, we praise the God of the ages who loves unimaginably.

Bore

I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself," Exodus 19:4.

That's what God said to Israel after he freed them from slavery. Then he said that if they really listened to him in his covenant he'd make these things real, too: They'd be God's favorite treasure. They'd be a kingdom of priests. They'd be a holy nation. The people answered, Sure! Then they hand-built a golden cow and worshiped it. So what's God to do with a bunch of thankless rebels? This: he sent Jesus to die for us, a bunch of merciless nobodies, so as to make of us a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his personal possession. So that we'd shout out his excellencies.

We meet with a brother or sister today and speak of God's unmatched goodness and mercy. And, together, we offer thanks to Jesus whose body and blood joined us into communion with God.

Million

"Before I suffered I did wrong," Psalms 119:67.

Dear Jehovah God - You have done good things for me, your servant. Just as you promised, as I repent you do good. You are good! I want to learn your demands. I'll follow your rules with all my heart, even when bad people lie without feeling. I love your teachings. It was even good for me to suffer, because that drew me to your demands. Yes. Your teachings to me are worth more than a million dollars. Thank you!

As we visit with a brother or sister today, we remember God's goodness to forgive and bless us as we turn back to him. And, together, we give thanksgivings for his redeeming rule.

Seekers

"By it the ancestors received approval," Hebrews 11:2.

By it, what? By faith. By faith what? By faith they (and we together with them) understood the worlds were created by God's words. Understood that visible things were generated by non-visible things. Yes, they drew near to God since they believed he was there. And they believed that God rewarded whoever sought him out. So, in faith we fix eyes on Jesus. We understand him as the beginner and ender of our faith. We believe in him as mediator of a new covenant. That his blood sprinkled on the mercy seat speaks more mightily than wrath to faith-ful believers in Christ.

So we meet with a brother or sister today trusting in God's grace through Jesus' sacrifice. And, together, we offer thanksgivings in service to the God who rewards his seekers.

Desires

"I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations," Isaiah 42:6.

Who's talking? The Lord God, creator of skies and earth and all in them. Who's God talking to? His servant. His delight. His chosen. What makes the servant so special? He's no bully. He's careful for the wounded, the weak. He heralds justice. He's steady to the end. What's God telling him? That he, God, will take him, the servant, by the hand, and keep him, the servant, for his, God's, purposes. Which are? He becomes a covenant for the people. A light for the nations. To open the eyes of the blind. To free prisoners bowed in darkest gloom. So. What shall we do? Sing a new song!

When we meet with a brother or sister today, our hearts sing praises to the Lord. And, together, we give joyful thanks that God's servant fulfilled God's desires.

Parties

"I desire mercy, and not sacrifice," Matthew 9:13.

Jesus said that. Yep. He did. He quoted from the prophet Hosea. (Side bar: he quoted from a Greek translation of the original Hebrew. Thus, we receive translations of the Bible into current languages as amply adequate for what God wants heard on earth.) Back to mercy. Why did this even come up? because he, Jesus, went to parties where actual sinners and such hung out. So some meticulous religionists raked him and his followers over the righteous coals for consorting with riff-raff. That's why. But we know that Jesus connected with us, riff-raff, because we desperately needed mercy and healing, not more religion. Sky kingdom.

We meet today with a brother or sister whether lost or transformed by Christ. And, together with Jesus, we share God's mercy and healing with thanksgiving.

Counted

"It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord," Romans 4:24.

(?!) What's the it that will be counted? Whatever the it was that was counted for Abraham. Yeah, well, ok, so what was the it that was counted for Abraham? His faith. What faith? That God would do what God promised he would do. Abraham saw the impotence of his and Sarah's mortal constraints, yet believed in God. In hope against hope. Just so, for us who steadfastly believe in God raising Jesus up from the dead, that same faith will be counted to us, too. Hmm. Faith will be counted for what? Being right with God. Peace with God. Access to God's grace. Rejoicing in God's hope. Justification. Not by the law's works do we get right with God. By faith. Counted justified.

We meet with a brother or sister today overwhelmed that God delivered Jesus for our trespasses. And, believing together, we praise God with inexpressible joy (!) that he raised Jesus for our justification.

Sorries

"For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice," Hosea 6:6.

Who's talking? God. Jehovah God. Who's he talking to? His bride. (God has a wife? Yes. Not a goddess like, say, Isis or Ashtoreth. No. His bride is his people. His people.) Anyway. God's telling his bride that he'd much prefer her real love and her committed loyalty instead of her running around on him, and then saying she's sorry, really, really sorry. So that he forgives. Then she does it all again. And again. He tells her her fickle love's like morning dew that dissipates right away. She thinks her job, so to speak, is just to say Sorry! all the time, because he's so smitten by her that he'll just shower her with presents and stuff. He says, No: What I want is for you to know me. To know. Me. To know your God. Don't want a bunch of traitorous sorries.

We meet with a brother or sister today in steadfast love for our Lord. And, together, gratefully, we turn our hearts to know God.

Sought

"I sought the Lord and he answered me," Psalm 34:4.

Bless you, O Lord Jehovah, always! Praises come from our mouths all the time! We boast in you. Humble people find their joy in you. We magnify, we explode your name all over the place! We looked for you, and you answered. You delivered us from all our fears. We look to you and find radiance. You never shame us. When we come to the end of our rope, you save us. Your angel sets up camp around people who fear you, and brings deliverance. We take refuge in you, and you bless us. You are good! Praises to you for ever and ever!

As we join a brother or sister in Christ today we find the Lord's goodness. And, together, we say, Thank You, Thank You! for hearing us, Lord.

Blessing

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit ever with you," 2 Corinthians 13:14.

A blessing to us. Us, a people needing to find and to extend grace for each other, grace Christ freely gives us. A blessing to us. Us, a people struggling to give and to receive love for and from each other, love God pours out richly into our hearts. A blessing to us. Us, a people striving to join and to accept each other into real fellowship, a fellowship the Spirit firmly establishes among us. And because of that blessing: we repent. Yes! We do extend Christ's grace to any and all comers. We yield God's love for each other. We uphold the Spirit's communion with each other.

When we commune with a brother or sister today we share in the Lord's grace and love. And, together, we speak words of thankfulness to our God for fellowship with him into for ever.

Ennoble

"By one Spirit we were baptized into one body," 1 Corinthians 12:13.

In the Spirit, each individual one of us was plunged into one body. Every unattached part was immersed into becoming essential parts of a singular living organism. The body of Christ. God appointed each part. God bound personal hearts together to upbuild the one whole. Each God-appointed part of the body of Christ works together with all the other God-appointed parts to express God's love. To ennoble the whole congregation. Lots of parts. One body. No slicing and dicing into so many pieces. No. One part suffers, all suffer together. One part is praised, all parts joy together with. Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. God at work. Christ at work. Spirit at work. One sky kingdom.

As we visit with a brother or sister today we participate in God's love. And, hearts bound together, we weep in the world's sorrows. And, together, we joy in the hope of Christ.

Doubted

"When they saw him they worshiped him, and they doubted," Matthew 28:17.

When who saw whom? When the 11 saw Jesus. What 11? Eleven of the 12 disciples Jesus had handpicked to be his apostles. (And the 12th? The 12th had lately committed suicide.) What occasioned this meeting with Jesus? Jesus, lately raised to life from the dead, told them to meet him there. So they did. What did they do? They worshiped. Who did they worship? Him. What else did they do? They doubted. They worshiped as they doubted. How bizarre is that? But then Jesus spoke: Disciple the nations ... I am with you every day until the consummation of the era.

As we meet with a brother or sister today we worship at the Lord's feet even as we wonder. And, together, even with smallest faith, in hope against hope, we give thanks to God for his faithfulness through Christ.

Submission

"He was lifted up to God's right, having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit," Acts 2:33.

He who? Jesus. Jesus was exalted. That's who. Lifted up to where? To God's right side. What does that mean? For democratic republicans, unfamiliar with submission, it means: Next to God in power, authority, and rule. A kingdom in the sky. Not very democratic. Not very republican. King of a kingdom. That's what it means. Yeah. And. Too. The Father gave Jesus the promise of the Holy Spirit. What promise is that? Resurrection to Spirit-powered life for all eternity to come. Salvation! From what? From rotting in a grave until nothing but forgotten wind-blown dust remains. Salvation! To what? To Life!

We visit with a brother or sister today awed by God's work in Christ. And, together, ourselves receiving the promise of the Holy Spirit in Christ, we praise God as eternity unfolds.

Order

"And the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters," Genesis 1:2.

What waters? The fathomless waters of the formless emptiness. Of the dark face of the watery abyss. Goodness! Where on earth was that? Well, that's kind of the point. Not exactly the world as we know it. Before the world was as we know it. When? Before any creatures. Before land and sea. Before sun, moon, stars. Before Day and Night. Before light. Before light? Yeah. Before light. Well, then, when was that? In the beginning. The beginning of what? The beginning of when God began to create it all. Just before when God's invisible voice began to make everything real as we see it. So God's Spirit brooded, shepherding chaos to fold into its God's order. Before there was when.

We meet with a brother or sister today as the Spirit pastors over our chaos. And, voiced into a new creation, we sing grateful harmonies to the God who called us into Christ's peace.

Upright

"To you, O Jehovah, I lift up my life," Psalm 25:1.

Dear God - we trust you. You do not shame those who wait for you. You have us learn your ways. You teach us your paths. You lead us in your truth. And why do you? Because you, O Lord, are the God of our salvation! You remember mercy and your steadfast love from way back. In your love, you dismiss the sins, the transgressions, of our youth because of your own goodness! You are good. You are upright. That's why you instruct us sinners in the way. You lead humble people in what is right. Every one of your paths is steadfast love and faithfulness. Our eyes are ever toward you, O Lord!

As we visit with a brother or sister today, we lift our lives in praise for his goodness. And, together, we give thanks for God's eternal faithfulness.

Selfsame

"He will give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit," Romans 8:11.

Who will give life? God. What God? The selfsame God who raised Jesus from the dead. To whom will this God give life? To any who belong to him. Who belong to him? Any in whom the Spirit dwells belong to him. Yeah. Any who set their minds on the Spirit. Any who set their minds on life and peace. Not on the flesh. Not on death. Not in hostility to God. Yes: People in Christ Jesus have been set free from the law of sin and death. Now, there is no condemnation for any in Christ Jesus. God did what the law couldn't do: Sending Jesus as sin-offering, God condemned sin in the flesh and completed righteousness in any who walk according to the Spirit. Yep.

We visit with a brother or sister today alive (!) through Christ's life-giving Spirit within us. And, together, we give joyful thanksgivings to God, giver of life.