Misrepresenting

"Not even Christ has been raised," 1 Corinthians 15:13.

True. Well, true if there is no resurrection of dead people. If the dead are not raised, then we're misrepresenting God (!) because we say God raised Jesus from the dead. Misrepresenting God! What's worse than that? And then what a bunch of losers are people who hope in Christ only in this life. But. Fact: Resurrection! Christ has been raised. And in a split-second comes resurrection for us and eternal victory of life over death. Jesus reigns right now. And he's coming soon.

We visit a brother or sister today to affirm a living hope in Christ. And together we give thanks to God for his victory in Christ.

Midst

"Lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other," Luke 17:24.

Wow - we've seen such phenomenal electrical display! Nobody misses the bright flashes all over the place! Well, Jesus says, that's how it'll be on the day of the Son of Man. When he shows up, everybody will see it. Nobody will miss it. But anybody who's tired of waiting and says Jesus already sneaked in over there in that corner or slipped in quietly here in this special place  ... well, don't pay them no never mind. The day he's revealed is going to be like the day the firestorm came down from the skies and burned Sodom into a crispy critter. He's coming. Soon. We won't miss it. Gotta be ready.

We visit with a brother or sister today in hope anchored beyond the skies. And together we give thanks to God for his kingdom in our midst.

Enough

"Where's the promise of his coming?" 2 Peter 3:4.

Ask it, bro! Ever since the old people died, everything's just continued on like since the beginning of time. Sure, Jesus said he was coming soon. But that was, like, 2000 years ago! And here we are, still waiting, and nothing's changed. Well. That's what the old-timers said just before the flood wiped out the former world. Time is relative for the Creator: two thousand years? a couple of days? it's all the same to him. Soon is whatever he names it. And when he does come, it'll be way sooner than expected. So. We live holy and godly sooner than soon so as to be ready for his coming soon enough.

We meet with a brother or sister enjoining each other to  readiness. And together we give thanks that God gives all the time we need to get ready for his fulfilling of that promise.

Ready

"Be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect," Matthew 24:44.

Who's to be ready? Jesus's people. Why? because he's coming. When's he coming? quickly. but when nobody's expecting it. But when? nobody inside or outside the universe knows. Except for God alone. no angels. not even Jesus. So what? Be ready. Stay awake. Sleepers get swept away like in Noah's flood. Like with religion play actors, hypocrites all. Ready means doing what wise, faithful servants do: nurture God's household.

We meet with a brother or sister today ready and serving one another mutually. And together we give God thanks from our hearts for our hope's reward.

Testifier

"Yes! I'm coming quickly!" Revelation 22:20.

Says who? Says Jesus. The Lord Jesus. Jesus the Testifier. Jesus testifies to what? He testifies to all the things written in This Book. The words of the Prophecy of This Book. He testifies to the grand invitation: Come! Any thirsty people, Come! and drink from the priceless water of life! Jesus testifies to any who hear the words of This Book's prophecy who add or take away from the writings of This Book. God will add woes or take away their share in life. As described in This Book. And, finally, Jesus testifies: I am coming soon.

We visit with a brother or sister ready for Jesus coming. And together we give thanks to God for giving us life water to drink without price.

Wolf

"I lay down my life for the sheep," John 10:15.

I, I who? The shepherd. The good Shepherd. Jesus: I am the good shepherd. I lay down my life: that's what makes him the good shepherd. That's his ultimate serving. Whom does he so serve? the sheep. He yields his flesh, his blood to the wolf to feast upon. Now the so sated wolf does not devour the sheep. And that's how he serves his slaves at their banquet. That's how he washes the feet of his followers. That's how his ransom works to forgive the condemned. Why does he do this? because that's the way he is. The way he is. He is the way he is.

So we meet with a brother or sister today called by Jesus to be like him. And together we give praise and thanksgiving to God for the privilege to lay down our lives as well. 

Tied

"He tied a towel around his waist, poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet," John 13:5.

Who did? Jesus did. Yeah. He had taken off his fancier clothes and with the towel around his waist looked like a regular house-slave. That's who got the job of washing guests' feet when they came visiting. Washing dirt off grimy feet that had been in the streets all day. Yeah. And then he dried their clean feet with the towel. Why does he do this? because that's the way he is. The way he is. He is the way he is.

When we visit with a brother or sister today we wash each others' feet. And we thank God for having cleansed our whole selves, from the inside out, made holy by Christ's sacrifice.

Wasted

"The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve," Matthew 20:28.

Who's talking here? Jesus. Who's he talking about? himself. He is the Son of Man. And what's he saying about himself? that he has come to this planet to serve. Not to be served. And who's he come to serve? the many humans needing to be ransomed. Why's he doing this? because that's the way he is. The way he is. He is the way he is.

We visit with a brother or sister today in order to serve each other as Jesus serves us. And together we give thanks to God for ransoming us from our wasted lives.

Serve

 "He will come and serve them," Luke 12:37.

Who? Who will serve? The Master. What master? The Master who has gone to a wedding feast and gets home late, way late. Who will he serve? His slaves. What slaves? The ones who are awake and ready when their Lord comes home. And they open the door right away for him when he knocks on it, so late. The Lord serves the slaves? Really? Yes. He'll get his work clothes on and he'll have the slaves relax at their banquet, and he'll serve them. Why?! because that's the way he is. The way he is. He is the way he is.

We meet with a brother or sister today, ready for our Lord's appearing up in the clouds. And together we give thanks to him for his loving service to us, slaves of Jesus.

Salvation

*Salvation's Spirit*

`

Salvation is about God at work,

and is not about human effort.

`

No

flood of tears, 

no

exercise of brain or brawn,

no

amount of

compassion or forgiveness . . .

no

thing a human may

do,

believe,

feel,

think, or

perceive

`

-- nothing in humans --

`

has the power to save

a man or a woman

from certain death.

`

Nor pleading,

nor bargaining,

nor love,

nor money can

bring salvation.

`

Neither a man's

strongest

will,

nor a woman's

deepest

desire

can bring one more

year away from sin's wage.

`

Salvation is about God,

and is not about humans.

`

No Tao to be walked,

no ancestors to be honored,

no Loki to be appeased,

no Athena to pray to,

the doing of which things

can bring salvation.

No Mars to fly to,

no moonwalks to walk,

no movement

beyond solar systems

distances humans enough from

sin's sure effect.

`

Salvation is about

God's work, about

God's power, about

God's mercy, about

God's grace , about the

Blood of Jesus’s atonement.

`

Humans' repentance does not

require

God to redeem.

Humans' faith does not

force 

God to forgive.

Humans' confession does not

compel 

God to concede.

Humans' baptism does not

bully

God to bless.

Humans' obedience does not

oblige 

God to overlook sin.

`

Salvation is about God,

and is not about what humans do.

Salvation's author is

God,

`

and none else.

`

Salvation is about the

One in Whom

alone

dwells immortality;

about the

One Who loves,

and therefore, and therefore alone,

we live.

`

He is our Salvation,

He is our Redemption,

He is our Atonement,

He is our Beginning and our End!

`

No man will ever buy

salvation with his

effort,

mind,

blood, nor even

effortlessness.

No woman will ever earn

salvation with her

kindness,

motherliness,

subjection, nor even

brazenness.

`

Salvation is about

God.

Not about

the meagerness

nor about

the nobility of

our efforts.

`

And yet.

`

And yet.

`

Because He loves us,

because He redeems us,

because He forgives us,

because He justifies us,

because He sanctifies us,

because He saves us . . .

`

Therefore:

`

He calls us to repent, therefore.

He calls us to believe, therefore.

He calls us to confess, therefore.

He calls us to be baptized, therefore.

He calls us to obey, therefore.

He calls us to holiness, therefore.

`

He calls us to Jesus, in faith.

He calls us to Jesus, in repentance.

He calls us to Jesus, in confession.

He calls us to Jesus, in baptism.

He calls us to Jesus, in obedience.

He calls us to Jesus, in holiness.

`

He, who makes us worthy of his calling,

calls us to become worthy.

He, who saves us from death,

calls us to save ourselves from this

crooked generation.

He, who redeems us completely,

calls us to live lives that say so.

He, who casts our sins as far as

the east is from the west,

calls us to live holy lives.

He, who forgives us profoundly,

calls us to forgive one another.

He, who needs nothing from us,

calls us to love him with

all

our hearts,

all

our souls,

all

our strengths,

all

our minds.

`

He, who may from rocks raise children to Abraham,

calls us to be His children,

into relationship, to be like Him.

`

And Jesus, His son, says:

`

If

you

don't forgive men their

trespasses,

neither

will your

Father forgive

your

trespasses.

`

And when we have done all,

we pray:

`

In Jesus' name, Father,

May our lives

be acceptable to you.

We are unworthy servants,

by your Holy Spirit

we have but done our duty.

Unwordable

"The Spirit helps us in our weakness," Romans 8:28.

How weak are we? We don't have a clue about spiritual protocols in the presence of the Creator of all worlds. When we go to God in prayer, which he encourages us strongly to do, we don't know even what to say. We don't even know how to speak with the Majesty, the King of kings, the Lord of lords. (We hardly even understand who we're talking to.) But no worries! God's own Spirit, alive within us, helps us in our prayers. The Spirit steps in between us and God and expresses the unwordable, even inaudible language of our hearts. And the thanksgivings and the petitions and the requests and the praises come into God's hearing exactly right.

We meet with a brother or sister today praying in weakness for God's power. And together we give thanks that he hears us, really hears us, just fine.

Metamorphosis

"We are being transformed into the image of the Lord," 2 Corinthians 3:18.

Transformation. Metamorphosis. Change. Something changes us. Something transforms us. Something metamorphosizes us. What is the thing that transforms us? Rather, Who, not What. Who transforms us? The Lord does. The Lord, who is the Spirit. We received the Holy Spirit. The Spirit changes us. To what end? To look like Jesus. What does looking like Jesus mean? It means to love like he loves. To shine more and more like he shines.

We visit with a brother or sister today as we keep turning to face the Lord. And together we give thanks to God for turning his shining face toward us.

Breath

"God breathed into the man's nostrils the breath of life," Genesis 2:7.

God breathed. The breath of life. Breath. Wind. Spirit. From the very get go, God Spirited the Spirit of life into the earthy clay figure. The same Wind that blew over the primordial watery abyss, now blew into the clay man. The same Spirit that brooded over the fathomless depths. This Wind. This Spirit. This Breath, God breathed it into the clay model. And as the Wind of God breathed into it, the earthy form became a living man. The Holy Spirit makes lifeless things live. That's what the Spirit of God does.

We meet with a brother or sister enlivened by God's Spirit within us. And together we live out a new life of praise, of service to the one God over all, through all, and in all.

Exactly

"The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you," Romans 8:11.

Whose Spirit? The Spirit of God. And what did God do? He raised Jesus from the dead. This same Spirit dwells in us. And just as God raised Jesus from the dead, exactly like that (exactly!), God will give life to our dead bodies. How? through his Spirit. His Spirit of life who dwells in us. Wow! But wait. All this depends on if, in fact, God's Spirit dwells in us, right? If. If God's Spirit dwells within. So who has the Spirit dwelling within them? People who are in Christ Jesus.

We meet with a brother or sister today assured of life by the Spirit within us. And together we give thanks as we anticipate God's life to win over our death just as he raised Christ out of the dead to life.

Prostitute

"Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you," 1 Corinthians 6:19.

Didn't the Good Book already say this two or three chapters earlier? Yes. Well, sort of. There it was talking about the whole congregation as God's temple which foundation has Christ Jesus who sustains the whole structure, so be careful about the teachings built on it (they will be tested by fire). Here it's talking about a person's using sex inappropriately - don't do it. Our bodies don't belong to us. They belong to Christ. Don't prostitute what belongs to Christ. Our bodies house the Spirit, the Holy One alive within each of us. We know this. Or for sure should know it.

We visit with a brother or sister today in purity respecting the Spirit alive within. And together we glorify God with all our being: heart, soul, mind, strength.

Adopted

"God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts," Galatians 4:6.

Who sent Christ's Spirit? God. God did. Where did he send the Spirit? Into our hearts. Whose hearts? Ours. What does the Spirit prompt us to do? To call God "Father." "Abba!" And why did God send the Spirit into our hearts? Because we are his children. We pay attention: God adopted us his children! And since God has first made us his children, he secondly sent the same Spirit as his Son's into our hearts. And we get to call God, Father. And by what principle? By the principle of faith. We are children of God through faith.

We visit with a brother or sister today in the name of our father, God. And together we say, Thank You, Father!, for adopting us your own in Jesus.

Home

"You are God's temple and God's Spirit dwells in you," 1 Corinthians 3:16.

Don't we know this? (Yes. we do. well, at any rate, we should. basic stuff, here.) The Holy Spirit builds us, one by one, into a temple for God. In fact, God's already at home among us, while it's still under construction. God's Spirit lives in You. You, plural. You all. All y'all. Talking about the church, here. Of which we are individually parts, yes, but it's not talking about the parts here. And anybody that messes with the Spirit's home, the church, gets destroyed. Holy temple. We belong to Christ. Christ belongs to God. Seriously.

We meet with a brother or sister today awed by the Spirit's building us up into God's temple. And made one together, we give thanks to be included in God's eternal home.

Locus

"Written with the Spirit of the living God on tablets of human hearts," 2 Corinthians 3:3.

The Spirit of the living God writes a recommendation letter. A letter that everybody can read. The letter says there is a new covenant, a ministry of liberty. So where is this letter written? Be sure: It's not carved in stone. It's not with ink. It's with the Spirit. It's written on the heart of each believer. And the letter's envelope? The church of the living God envelops the letter. The letter's message: The Spirit approves the church as the locus of its ministry. The dwelling place of God among humans. The new Jerusalem. The new temple.

When we visit with a brother or sister today, we open our hearts for anyone to read Spirit's message. And together we give thanks to Christ for sealing this ministry with his blood. 

Dwelling

"You are being built together by the Spirit into a dwelling place of God," Ephesians 2:22.

In Christ Jesus. We, strangers and aliens. We, without God and without hope. We, far, far away peoples. We are being built together into a temple. In the Lord. Stone by stone, heart by heart, we, together, are growing a dwelling place for God. A holy temple. The Spirit of God places us just so to fit into that structure. The joiner is the Spirit who renders us worthy of access to God, indeed, renders us as a home for God.

We visit with a brother or sister today as living stones in God's temple. And together we live out praises to God for making Jesus the cornerstone that orients us all.

Characteristic

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

When we were baptized into Christ, the Spirit of God worked to make us parts of the body of Christ. Assembly required. The one Spirit assembled us into the one body of Christ. Whatever disintegrated characteristic might have defined us beforehand - Jew? Greek? White? Black? Culture? Language? American? Mexican? - whoever we may have been beforehand, we all of us drank deep drafts from the one Spirit. So now, though there are many of us, we are become integral parts of something new. The Spirit fit us all into the body of Christ. His one church. His one congregation. His one kingdom.

We meet with a brother or sister today assembled by God's Spirit of grace. And we give thanks to fit perfectly together in his holy body.

Unrepeatable

"Christ was made alive in the Spirit," 1 Peter 3:18.

Yes, indeed! Just after he had been put to death in his flesh. Talking about the cross here. Killed, but now alive in the Spirit. And in this death (and burial) and resurrection, we see a uniquely righteous man die for all sorts of unrighteous people. He suffered for sins, once for all. An unrepeatable event in all history. Why? so that Christ, alive in the Spirit, may bring us all into relationship with God.

So we visit with a brother or sister today having received the Spirit of God's son, children of God. And together we give God and his Christ glory and honor and thanksgivings for ever.

Spirit

"Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit," Zechariah 4:6.

Word of God. The word of the Lord. God's plans come to reality from the will of God, not from human military might and strength, not from human power and authority. The Spirit of God, not the spirit of man, accomplishes God's will. God's anointed priest, indeed, God's anointed king, come from the center of the light of God, from his lampstand. From his own Spirit. The golden lampstand with its golden oil give light for the Spirit of God to see everything everywhere on earth, to conscript it all to his will. Priest and king unite in Jesus, the Christ of God. God's Spirit works with power and action in a broken, impotent world.

We visit with a brother or sister today enlightened by the Holy Spirit. And together we give thanks to God for the power and might of his Spirit to raise us up from the dead.

Which

"This is that which," Acts 2:16.

?? What ?? This is that which, what? This is the thing that the prophet Joel was talking about. What was the prophet Joel talking about? He was talking about God pouring out his Spirit on all flesh in the last days. Oh. Yeah, we remember now. So, who's talking now? Peter. On Pentecost. About 8 centuries after Joel. About 7 weeks after Jesus was raised from the dead. Peter (with the others of the twelve apostles) had just received God's Holy Spirit. And Peter told the thousands of people that had gathered: Here they are! The last days Joel was talking about! God's pouring out his Spirit on everybody! And it starts with the message that God raised Jesus from the dead and made him both Lord and Christ.

And for the past two thousand years brothers and sisters have met to praise God whose Spirit pours his love into their hearts. And we give thanks together for fellowship as his children in Christ's Spirit.

Vivifying

"I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh," Joel 2:28.

Who's talking? God. Who's he talking to? Ancient Israel. How ancient? Oh, about 8 centuries before Jesus was born. give or take. God's talking to a people who have experienced the Day of the Lord, no fun at all: a day of darkness, gloom, thick clouds, fire, desolation, all encompassing, oppressively powerful opposition, devastation. Because of sin. Yet God promises another Day yet ahead of them, a Day of restoration. And in that Day he will pour out his Spirit of life to their descendants, and to the whole world.

We meet with a brother or sister today recipients of the new Day of grace. And together we give thanks for his Spirit's vivifying power to bring us life in Christ.

Artesian

"Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water," John 8:38.

Whose heart? Of whoever believes in Jesus. What about it? Living water will flow from that heart. Living. Water. Rivers of living water. How does that artesian spring get there? Ah. Oh. Right. Well. It gets there by getting a drink at Jesus's place. But wait! What in heaven's name is he talking about? He's really talking about the Spirit. About people receiving the Spirit. That whoever imbibes him will receive his Spirit flooding into eternal life.

And so we meet a brother or sister today in the Spirit of God's children. And together we thank God for thirst quenching refreshment of true life.

Stand

"We have obtained access to this grace in which we stand," Romans 5:2.

We stand in God's grace. God's generosity. God's gift. God's free gift. We stand in it. We got access to this grace through Jesus. Not only to have access to it, but, we understand, that we stand in it. Are standing in it. We stand in grace. And so we're happy. Happy even in sufferings! Why? because we're standing right now, even as we speak (or even as we write/read) - we are standing in God's grace. We have access to God right now. We are in God's presence, right now. We are standing in God's grace, right now. By faith. By trusting in Christ.

And as we meet a brother or sister today, we smile big standing in grace. And together we say: Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Declare

"I have found a ransom," Job 33:24.

That's an angel talking to God about Job. Well, it's actually Job's friend Elihu who dreams that maybe God will receive a mediator, some spirit being, between God himself and Job. Could an angel find a ransom? Then, maybe, God would accept Job, save him from sure death, and restore his righteousness. Job would confess his crooked sin and declare that he did not receive the justice he deserved for warping what was right. If only. But no angel can mediate like that. No. It takes Jesus, son of God, son of man, to mediate. No angel could his place have taken, says the song. And the Good Book.

We fellowship with a brother or sister today with God in a new covenant. And together we give thanks for God's release from sin, guilt, and just consequence in Jesus's mediation.

Party

"Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant," Hebrews 12:24.

(Again? Yes. The Good Book seems to make a big deal about this.) Where are we? We are not at Mt. Sinai: material, fire, darkness, gloom, tempest, blaring horn, thundering voice, accusation, execution, fear. No. We are come to Mt. Zion: spiritual, city of the living God, Jerusalem in the sky, angels in party regalia, with numberless people on heaven's list, to God himself (!), to Jesus mediator, to his blood that speaks grace and forgiveness.

We visit with a brother or sister today looking into heaven where God is lifting us. And together we thank him for moving us from a terminal sentence of gloom into his eternity of joy.

Arbitrates

"He is the mediator of a new covenant," Hebrews 9:15.

Christ stands between God and humankind. He arbitrates a new agreement between God and humans so that God will not hold us accountable to our failures. (The old agreement held people utterly responsible for their failure.) Christ's sacrifice purifies human conscience from worthless action into God's service. Christ is the means through whom we humans become eternal heirs of God's promises of life.

So as we meet a brother or sister today we yield to Christ working between us and among us. And together we say, Thank You!

Go-between

"One mediator is between God and humans, the man Christ Jesus," 1 Timothy 6:5.

Just as God is one, there is only one go-between who works between us and the one God. God's mediator, Jesus, presents God to us. So he said to us: If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. God wants everyone to be saved. God wants everyone to come to the knowledge of truth. So Jesus paid the ransom for us all and, leading us as a host of captives, our mediator said to God: Here I am with the children you gave me.

With a brother or sister today we meet with God at his mercy seat. And thankful together in Jesus's name we praise him for life and truth.

Clean

"You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified," 1 Corinthians 6:11.

Was a time when we had no hope. No hope of life. Without God in this world. Doing to others before they did to us. As someone said it, anticipating only death for the sin of having been born. But no more! We have been made holy. We are become saints. We are made right. We are made justified. We now live free from the things that enslaved us to death. And how is this possible? That's what the name of the Lord Jesus does. That's his authority. That's his agency. Ah! And yes. It's by the Spirit of our God. That's how.

We fellowship with a brother or sister today having been made saints by the Holy Spirit. And together we give God thanks for having washed us clean in the blood of Jesus.

Seen

"You have not seen Christ, yet you still you love him," 1 Peter 1:8.

Yes, we love him. We never saw him. But, Yes! we believe in him. We don't see him even now. But, Yes! we shine with such happiness that we can't even express it. And. And. And. The outcome of our faith in Jesus is the salvation of our souls! (And how do we know? because we were ransomed with Jesus's blood! God caused us to be born anew through his word to a living hope in Jesus's resurrection!)

So we meet a brother or sister today encouraging each other to live holy. And together we give thanks to God for the Good News we heard preached to us.

Calls

"The promise is for everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself," Acts 2:39.

What promise? The gift of the Holy Spirit. The forgiveness of sins. God gives his promised gift to those he calls. So who are these called people? They're the people who had just then moments earlier heard Peter's announcement of the Good News: Jesus died, was buried, but God raised him back to life as Messiah and Lord. (Hmm. So when did they hear God calling them? When they heard the preaching of Christ.) Yeah. And those who received God's call, these called on the name of the Lord. They repented. They were baptized. And they got added in, too. Free gift of God: eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We visit with a brother or sister today sharing God's call on our hearts. And together we give thanks that God now summons all people everywhere to repent and live.

Everyone

"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved," Romans 10:13.

Everyone. But not if they haven't called on him. But not if they have not believed in him. But not if they've never heard of who to believe in. But not if nobody announced the news. But not if nobody ever was sent to make the announcement. But, in fact, people have been sent to preach the gospel of Christ. And, in fact, people have preached the message. And, in fact, people have heard it. And, in fact, people have believed in whom they heard. And, in fact, people have called on the name of the Lord. And every one of these will be saved. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

When we visit with a brother or sister today we cannot but share out loud the good news we've heard. And together we give thanks to God for saving us when we call on the name of the Lord Christ.

Record

"God made you alive together with Christ," Colossians 2:13.

We were (spiritually) dead due to our wrongdoings. God made us alive. God forgave us all our wrongdoings. God erased the record that showed our failures. God took the record and nailed it to the cross of Christ. God disarmed every authority or power that tried to disqualify us as God's children. God shamed these powers exposing them as impotent. God triumphed over them all in Christ. We are, indeed, by God's action, God's kids by faith in Christ.

Seeing a brother or sister today we remind each other of God's work. And alive together we thank God for Jesus's living victory!

One

"In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith," Galatians 3:26.

Just think. When we were baptized into Christ we got clothed with Christ. We are now not what we were. No longer are we imprisoned under sin. No! God made us one with Christ. To become one with Christ is to become heirs with Jesus as the offspring of Abraham. And as God made promises to Abraham (and to his offspring) on account of his faith, and as Jesus is Abraham's offspring, and as Jesus is the recipient of God's promises to Abraham, so are we by faith!

We meet with other children of God, brothers and sisters, today God's heirs in his kingdom! And together we say: Thank You, Father for adopting us! Thank You, Brother for ransoming us! Thank You, Spirit for making us one!

Bursting

"The Father has qualified you," Colossians 1:12.

God qualified. The Olympic games show the best of the best. You have to qualify to even participate. You qualify by a lifetime of hard work and effort finally paying off in the games. But how do you qualify for heaven? For eternal life? How do you qualify to have a share in the inheritance? In the inheritance with stunningly good people? A share in the essence of light shining from the face of God? Here: Jesus, training as our human representative, ran the race, crossed the finish line heart bursting, won the gold. And God said: Perfect -- humans qualify!

We visit with a brother or sister today God-qualified in Jesus's labors. And together we live out thanksgivings to God by walking the path Jesus ran for us.

Boast

"Boast in the Lord," 1 Corinthians 1:31.

We boast in what God has done! We do boast, yes. We boast about God as he is the source of our life in Jesus. We boast that God made Jesus our wisdom. We boast that God made Jesus our good works. We boast that God made Jesus what made us holy. We boast that God made Jesus our redemption. Boast in ourselves? how like fools! Like boasting of the effort we expended to fly all the way from Juneau to Seattle by actually walking to our assigned seat and sitting on the plane that the pilot flew. Rather. We boast about the Lord who took us in our weakness and showed his power!

We visit with a brother or sister today debtors to God's grace. And together we boast big time about our God!

Workmanship

"You have been saved by grace through faith," Ephesians 2:8.

Yes! This is not our own doing. It's not because we worked so hard at being good. No. Not at all. We have been saved by God's gift. God's gift! We have been created by God, all over again. New creation. What workmanship! God's workmanship. Created in Christ Jesus. We don't boast about any of this. Instead, we praise God!

We meet with a brother or sister today as people saved by grace through faith. And together we praise God in thanksgivings for the plans God has made for us in this faith.

Fuzzy

"We have peace with God," Romans 5:1.

We do not misunderstand. This peace does not say we have warm, fuzzy feelings like we have about a puppy happy to see us. Or like we have about the favorite plush toy. No. We know it's a peace that Jesus fought hard to bring us in our rebel bitterness against God. It is peace from our hardened hearts warring against God's will. A peace that now rules even in our consequent sufferings. Peace that brings endurance. Peace that produces a new character in us. Peace that gives us confident hope. Peace that removes our shame. Peace arising from God's love poured into our hearts. Peace because God gave us his Holy Spirit. Justified by faith in Christ, therefore: Peace.

When we visit with a brother or sister today we exchange Christ's peace. And together we give thanks to God that he receives Christ's terms of peace in his cross.

Friends

"He has reconciled you in his body of flesh by his death," Colossians 1:22.

Who has done this reconciling work? Jesus. When? when his body was nailed to the cross and he died. Whom did he reconcile? us. he reconciled us. us, when we were aliens, hostiles, doing evil deeds. To whom did he reconcile such unworthy people? to God. Jesus presents us as saints. as holy people. as people without fault. as people beyond any blame. friends. worthy. worthy to be in God's presence. So we press on in faith. stable. steadfast. firm in the hope of the Good News: Jesus reconciled us with God.

We meet up happy with a brother or sister today, no aliens to God. And together we praise Him who made us holy friends to our Father.

True

"Christ Jesus gave himself a ransom for all," 1 Timothy 2:6.

This is the truth that God wants all people to understand for salvation. Yeah. Over there is the one God. Over here are all humans. And between them. Between them is one mediator. One mediator between the one God and all humans. One mediator, a man: Christ Jesus. Salvation. Deliverance. From despair of this broken world of broken people into the joy of restored souls belonging to a new world.

We meet with a brother or sister today ransomed from futility into the kingdom of God. And together we speak overflowing thanks from true hearts to Christ for his ransom made free to us.

Excessived

"In him we have redemption through his blood," Ephesians 1:7.

Him, who? God. In God. Redemption. That's what we have received from God. Redeemed by his blood. Whose blood? God's blood. Not God's personal blood, of course. (We remember God is spirit, not flesh.) The blood, that is, the death that God provided as our ransom. So (again) whose blood? Jesus's. God provided Jesus for us. And God lavished his grace. Lavished? Yes. Exceeded. Abounded. Excessived. Overflowed. Grace. Upon grace. We are swept up together in his river of generosity.

We visit with a brother or sister today treading together in God's fathomless pool of grace. And together we give thanks to him for such forgiveness.

Sinners

"Are justified by his grace as a gift," Romans 3:24.

Who's justified? Sinners. That's who. Yeah. All have sinned. And all these who have sinned, all of these, have fallen short of God's glory. Not a single one of us has escaped the fact. But. Because of the redemption we have in Christ Jesus ... (he paid our ransom, right?) ... because of his redemption all are made right with God by his generosity. His grace. As a gift. A gift. A free gift. Free to us. (But not free to Jesus, right?) He paid a debt he did not owe. We owed a debt we could not pay. And how do we, us sinners, receive this free gift? By faith. By grace through faith. God's just. And. God justifies sinners. Through faith in Jesus's work.

We meet up with a brother or sister today and together we thank God for receiving Jesus's ransom and making us all right. Thank you!

Bow

"Therefore God has lifted him up high," Philippians 2:9.

Therefore? Yes. because Jesus obeyed God to death. because Jesus endured the shame of the cross. So then. God lifted him up from death. God exalted him from the earth. God gave Jesus the name. What name? the name above every name. the name that every knee would bow before him. Every knee? Yes. Every being in the skies. Every being on earth. Every being under the earth. In heaven, in earth, in hell. Every single being throughout the cosmos and beyond would confess his name: Jesus Christ is Lord! And all this to glorify God, Father.

We meet with a brother or sister today to bow before Jesus, our Lord, God's chosen one. And together we join with all creation in eternal praise of our God.

Meet

"Why have you forsaken me?" Mark 15:34.

That's Jesus to his God. Direct quote from a psalm. Now sometimes we want to minimize the cost to Jesus so we note rightly that particular psalm ends with praises for God's faithfulness. But. No praises at the start. Yet. It expresses powerfully Jesus's state of mind as he dies scorned by those he had lived for. Where are you, God? Why have you, too, left me? Won't you save my precious life from the power of the dog? And then he died. Unsaved. He died. Scorned. He died. The price Jesus paid so that we would never have to pray the same.

We visit with a brother or sister today remembering the precious value Jesus placed on our lives. And throughout eternity together, unforsaken, we thank God by words and deeds meet to his love.

Blindfolded

"Woman, I do not know him," Luke 22:57.

That's what Peter was saying in the courtyard outside to accusers that he followed Jesus. Meanwhile, inside the high priest's court, men mocked and slapped around a blindfolded Jesus. Was it just an hour ago that Peter swung sword in hand for Jesus? Was it just the evening before that Peter averred he'd die for Jesus? Indeed. We'd die for a noble cause far more easily than for a fool's errand, wouldn't we? Than for an object of men's ridicule. We get it. So now he cursed: Never knew him. Jesus, one from whom men hide their eyes. The cost to Jesus for our ransom.

We meet humbly with a brother or sister today in covenant to live true. And together we give thanks for God's forgiveness and new start in the one who paid our full price.

Crawl

"Save yourself! Come down from the cross!" Mark 15:30.

Yeah, you went around all so arrogant saving others, let's see how much of a savior you are at all! Undo those nails! Show us! Crawl down off that cross! Then we'll believe you're somebody special! What?! Christ?! King?! King of Israel? Yeah. Sure. Come on down! Let's see you do that! Can't you even save yourself? Jeering the pretender. Mocking the joker. Humiliating the fool. (We're good at that.)

We meet a brother or sister today ashamed of our ancestral slur, and of our own. And together we plead for the mercy God's fool bought for us in his abasement.

Murderer

"Look here - the man!" John 19:5.

That's Pilate, the Roman governor, introducing Jesus to the maddened throng calling for his execution. So we look. Sure enough. There he is. Standing on display. Accused of perverting God's cause. Worse than a rebel murderer. Betrayed. Disowned by his followers. The courts found him heinously guilty. Sedition. Rebellion. Soldiers mocked him. Honored him with royal insults. Crowned him. Robed him. Shamed him. So the crowd looked right there at the governor's object of ridicule, and saw the man. And shouted: Crucify! Kill him on a cross! (Price he paid for the redemption free to us.)

We visit with a brother or sister today and remember who we were. And together we give thanks to Christ for presenting us as righteous saints before God.

Degradation

"They spit in his face," Matthew 26:67.

Well. We get the physical suffering and, with good reason, most commonly, we focus on that. At the same time, a more insidious process was going on with Jesus: his degradation. A prophet indeed, yet he was struck and slapped and in jest called on to prophesy about his striker. Yeah. We thought that God had beaten him, God had afflicted him, we had no esteem for him. But he bore our grief. Carried our sorrow. Wounded for us. Crushed for our iniquities. He was oppressed. Afflicted. By God. For our sin. The cost to him of our redemption.

As we begin to think soberly of our rebellion, we meet with a brother or sister today in repentance. And in thankful hope together we confess our desperate need for the forgiveness he bought for us.

Thorned

"They crucified him there," Luke 23:32.

The place of The Skull, where they drove nails through his hands and his feet onto the wood. They had already flogged him. They had already beaten a crown of thorns into his head. So they stripped him of his clothing to lay him bare for all to see the shame. Hanging on nails between heaven and earth. Blood from his whipped back. Blood from his thorned head. Blood from from his nailed hands. From his bloodied feet. Struggling for every breath. And when he died, blood and water from his spear-pierced side. His life blood: the cost to him for the redemption free to us.

When we meet with a brother or sister today, we remember the cost to him for our ransom. And together we give speechless thanks to God for the atoning sacrifice that yielded our cleansing.

Worthy

"They spit in his face and struck him, and some slapped him," Matthew 26:67.

The cost to Jesus for our redemption. Judged worthy of death. Why worthy? because he said he could destroy God's temple and rebuild it in three days. Why worthy? because he made the good confession to be the Christ, Son of God. Why worthy? because he insulted God. And so he deserved to die. Jesus paid a price with the body that God prepared for him to live.

We visit with a brother or sister today sorrowful for our sin in this darkened world. And mourning together we give thanks for God's love expressing such humility.

Forgave

"They held counsel how to destroy him," Mark 3:6.

Why did they do this? because Jesus forgave a man. and then healed him. because Jesus fellowshiped with tax collectors and sinners. and not with the pretended righteous. because Jesus didn't have his disciples fast properly. instead, said it was time to celebrate. because Jesus did what was not lawful on the Sabbath. and said he was Lord of the Sabbath. because he healed on the Sabbath. and implied it was lawful to save a life against their Sabbath law. Because Jesus, to them, was a despicable godless low life. Jesus: paying the price for our redemption.

We meet with a brother or sister today chagrined at the way we dishonored him. And, belatedly, we give heartfelt thanks to him for putting up with us for life.

Abusers

"They will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him," Mark 10:34.

These are, Jesus said, the elements of his sacrifice. Obedient to God, he yielded divine prerogatives and gave himself over to depraved humanity. He listed out what humans do to each other. Ridicule. Despise. Bully. Kill. That's what we do when we've lost our way. (We're still lost.) Priests and scribes condemned him. Gentiles abused and killed him. The price he paid for our redemption.

As we approach Easter we meet with a brother or sister and remember the cost to Jesus. And together we give humbled thanksgivings for mercy freely given to us, abusers of God.

Wowed

"He did not count equality with God something to clutch on to," Philippians 2:6.

He, who? Jesus. Christ. Christ Jesus decided equality with God was less important than something else. (Amazing! What could be a bigger deal than being like God?!). Yeah. Less important than what? than obedience. Less important than obedience to God. So he did. Did obey God. To empty himself. To look like a slave instead. To be born a human. And as a human he humbled himself. Obedient. Obedient to death. To death on a cross. Wow! The cost to him of our redemption; that's what we're talking about.

In humility with a brother or sister today we bow before our God and Savior who shows us obedience. And wowed together we give worship and thanksgiving to God for such a redeemer as Christ.

Man

"You have prepared a body for me," Hebrews 10:5.

That's Jesus talking to God. He asserts that God didn't want him to make special offerings of animals or grains or any such sacrifices. No. Rather, God intended for Christ to live out his whole life as an actual man, body and all.  A real human being. The price to be paid for our redemption began as an embryo in his mother's womb. And Jesus's response to the body God prepared was: God, I've come to do your will. The ransom he paid for us shows us who we could have been.

We meet with a brother or sister today meditating about the one who paid our price. And together we give thanks to God for love's plan in that man.

Anticipating

"She began to speak about him to all who were anticipating the redemption of Jerusalem," Luke 2:38.

That was the old prophetess Anna speaking of six-week old Jesus in the temple. The baby embodied God's answer to the people's hope for redemption. All Jerusalem, seat of ancient Israel's royalty, throne of the house of David, waited for God somehow to pay the ransom from oppression. For their liberty. And Anna praised God to say, here he is! And in this way, the two doves sacrificed in ransom for this first-born baby boy's own redemption, put him on the path toward his own sacrifice for ours.

We visit with a brother or sister today recognizing our ransom was paid over his lifetime of service. And together we declare with Anna praise and wonder for such a God.

Attention

"All are being justified by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus," Romans 3:24.

We pay close attention to this: All people have sinned. Period. All people have majorly failed God's glory. Period. God is making all people right as a gift by his generosity. Period. His grace stands secure in Jesus's payment of our price. Period.

We cannot but meet with a brother or sister today to speak of our redemption. And together we glorify God for his immeasurable gift of kindness toward us in Christ.

Outstretched

"I will redeem you with an outstretched arm," Exodus 6:6.

So says God to enslaved Israel. God will deliver them from slavery and will take them to be his own people. And they will know that the Lord God is their God. These slaves cannot pay their own ransom. They cannot bring themselves out from under the burden. They cannot deliver themselves. They cannot redeem themselves. But God can. But God will. And God does. Because God loves.

When we visit with a brother or sister today we remember that God also redeemed us when we were helpless. And together we give thanks to God for Christ, our redeemer.

Price

"You were bought with a price," 1 Corinthians 6:20.

And at what a price! The cost of redemption. The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. A free gift to us, but at what price to God? In the Last Leaf the old artist gives hope of life to the dying young woman. She recovers, but at the cost of the painter's health. Our redemption was bought at a high price, but not to us. So we don't belong to ourselves. We belong to another who paid our price. So we yield to our master and live out life in our bodies to bring glory to God.

We meet with a brother or sister today in praise for our redeemer. And together we give thanks to God who paid the cost for our lives.

Exploratory

"It had been founded upon the rock," Matthew 7:25.

So. Customarily New Year's resolutions are changes we identify to make our lives better. In that same spirit these exploratory devos began this year affirming God's new creation in Jesus. We belong to a new covenant. We come into the kingdom of the skies. We hear God's call to life as he designs it, no longer broken by sin. So these exploratories focused on change: Repentance. Jesus calls us to change. And at the heart of the new action, new attitude, new perspective, new thinking we find Jesus's sermon on the mountain. When we do Jesus's teachings, this rock becomes our home's foundation. And no storm fells that house. Ever.

We visit with a brother or sister today in full view of God's heaven. And thankful together we now live so as to touch into his eternity.

Panicked

"He was teaching them as one who had authority," Matthew 7:29.

Ya think? He taught like he knew what he was talking about? So. The Good Book says that Jesus went around the whole country preaching the good news of the kingdom. The kingdom in which God reigns. He started the preaching with the call: Repent! So. When he taught his teachings as in Matthew 5-7, the people were amazed. Astonished. They marvelled. Maybe were a little panicked! Why? because. really. he knew what he said was true. And that people of that day, and we people of today, if they didn't repent, and if we don't repent, if they didn't do, and if we don't do, the will of God, namely, the teachings Jesus gave them, and the teachings Jesus gives us, they would not be part of, and we would not be part of, the kingdom of God. But Jesus wants them, and he wants us, to be part of the kingdom. So he says: Repent. Sky kingdom!

As we visit with a brother or sister today we affirm the kingdom of heaven. And together we give thanks for the saving teaching of Jesus's good news.

Obedience

"He will be like a wise man," Matthew 7:24.

Who will be like that? Any person, man or woman. Anyone at all? No. Not anyone at all. Who then? Any person who hears Jesus's words. Who hears them ... and does them. And does what they say to do. Well, what about those who hear them but don't do them? Well, they're like stupid. Wait, Jesus! Calling people names is kind of harsh, isn't it? Yes, it is. (But it's still what he said.) We soften the word a little by saying, They're like fools. Yah. The wise path leads to life. The foolish path leads to death. New covenant of life! Repent.

We meet a brother or sister today encouraging each other to life. And together we give thanks to Jesus for his words that lead us into life-giving obedience.

Known

"I never knew you," Matthew 7:23.

Woah! Who's Jesus talking about? talking about people who called him Lord, but who didn't do what he said to do. Mind you, these folks did all sorts of religious stuff in Jesus's name, like prophesy, cast out demons, do miracles. Pretty impressive. But they didn't do what he said to do. They didn't do the will of God. Rather, they did lawlessness. They didn't do Jesus's teaching in the sermon on the mount. But they sure did a bunch of religious stuff. But the kingdom of God only opens to any who do the will of God. That's why Jesus went around preaching: Repent! The kingdom's coming!

As we visit a brother or sister today we attend in faith to the will of God. And being known by God together we give thanks for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

Pukchi

"You'll recognize them by their fruits," Matthew 7:20.

Recognize who? Fake prophets. Bad religion. Bad actors. So what makes for bad fruit? Well, like, duh! It tastes bad. Sure, it might look pretty like the red fruit of mountain ash, but one bite and it's bad. Really bad. Not good. Besides, we don't pick blueberries from monk's hood. Nor strawberries from pukchi. No. We get tasty cherries off healthy cherry trees. So that's how we can tell. A wolverine remains nasty vicious even if it masquerades as a lamb. So. Beware! They love themselves. Not their neighbors; and sure not God. So. We be fruit inspectors. Says Jesus.

We visit with a brother or sister today recognizing Christ at work changing us into his own image. And together we give thanks to God for continuing to transform us.

Freeway

"Enter by the narrow gate," Matthew 7:13.

Ok. sounds fine. but. the gate to where? if we go in where are we going in to? Oh, says Jesus, the gate to life. Want to end up dead? No prob. A spacious six lane gate opens easy for the crowds speeding down that freeway. Want to live? Repent! Come into life through the careful gate. Hike the much less traveled path. Namely: Love God. Love people. For real. New covenant.

We meet with a brother or sister today in godly care for each other. And together we give thanks to God for Jesus's gate to life's path.

Taste

"This is the Law and the Prophets," Matthew 7:12.

(Wait - What's the Law and the Prophets? It's most of what we often call the Old Testament writings. OK.) So. What's the Law and the Prophets? All those pages and pages, hundreds and hundreds of them, all those teachings find their summary in this line: Treat other people how you want them to treat you. That's it. That's what it's all about. That's life in the sky kingdom. In fact, that was life the way it was designed to be from the beginning. Life the way Jesus lived it out in our time. And life the way it is purposed to be in the forever.

We meet a brother or sister today genuinely attentive to each other. And we give thanks to God for the opportunity to taste eternity in the present.

Quest

"Ask! It'll be given to you," Matthew 7:7.

Yeah. Says Jesus in fact: Quest! You'll find it. Knock! It'll open for you. The kingdom of the skies is the place where all God's Yesses happen. Even we, messed up as we are, know how to give bread (and not rocks), and fish (and not snakes) to our hungry kids; good gifts for them. God, who is not messed up, knows all the more how to give the good things to his kids when they ask him. Every good and perfect gift comes down from His sky kingdom. New covenant. In Christ. Where every spiritual blessing in the skies overflows.

We meet with a brother or sister today to petition our Father. And together we give thanks to God, able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or imagine.

Pigs

"Don't give holy things to dogs," Matthew 7:6.

Wow! What are you talking about, Jesus? Are you calling some people dogs? Or pigs, even? You've got our attention now, because we like dogs and pigs. Well, the Good Book reminds us, dogs and pigs (according to the old covenant) are unclean animals. They represent degenerate behavior. But Jesus calls us to live and talk in accord with the ways of holiness. He plans for his people not to mix up their holiness in the world's filth. Repent, he says. Otherwise, the world's dim-witted mindlessness tramples holy things ignorantly into the mud, wasting not only these but those seeking for God's holiness, too.

Mindfully, we meet a brother or sister today in holiness and truth. And thankfully, together we receive God's life-giving holy Spirit.

Foibles

"Don't you judge!" Matthew 7:1.

Jesus keeps meddling in our favorite social pastimes. Why can't we keep on passing judgment on others' failures and foibles? Well, fact is, we can (and do). Here's the deal, though. If we do, we get judged in the same way, same standard. And that same way and standard by which we're looking for specks in others' eyes blinds us to the 2x4 sticking out of our own. How do we even think to be able to see at all? Jesus keeps calling: Repent! Kingdom of God. New covenant. Different pastime.

We walk with a brother or sister today, true yokefellows in the path of obedience. And together we give thanks to our Father who sees us clearly yet calls us by faith righteous.

Fret

"Don't worry about tomorrow," Matthew 6:34.

So Jesus calls us not to fret over the future. And why not? After all, tomorrow's got lots of potential problems: somebody might drop a bomb somewhere. Plus a few for sure known problems: that work snag that keeps cropping up; that lingering illness. So Jesus does not say there's nothing to worry about. Rather he says: Just deal with today's stuff, not tomorrow's. Today's troubles are enough, without borrowing from tomorrow. And, yeah, focus on the things above. Up where Christ is. Who's seated at the right hand of God. New covenant where God's got us covered.

We visit with a brother or sister to share in this moment's struggles. And together we give thanks that God ensures today's troubles cannot overwhelm us.

More

"Don't worry about your life," Matthew 6:25.

Gotta put food on the table! Gotta get hydrated! Gotta have the right gear! All earthly nations pursue this stuff worried about it. Jesus says: Stop it! Life's more than food or clothes. Look: God feeds the birds. God makes grassland flowers gorgeous. He takes care of these lesser things just fine. God puts a lot more value in humans than in animals or plants. So. Worry after God's kingdom, instead. Quest for it. Seek it out. That's where all the other stuff can be had securely. Repent. New covenant. God's nation.

We meet with a brother or sister today pursuing God's rule. And together we give thanks that he supplies abundantly for our every need.

Agree

"No one can serve two masters," Matthew 6:24.

How true! Lots of us have had two bosses at some point, and we discovered we can't make them both happy. We really liked the one and got all worked up over the other one. Yeah. But wait! Jesus, what's your point? This: You can't serve God and money. Oh, that. We'll love the one and hate the other? Hmm. It's hard to agree with Jesus on this point. 'Cuz we like to think we can serve both of them just fine. Jesus says: No you can't. Repent. Kingdom of God. New covenant. Sky rules.

When we meet with a brother or sister today we focus on God's ways. And together we give thanks that we may freely serve only him wholeheartedly.

Full

"If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light," Matthew 6:22.

So says Jesus. So what is an eye? It's the body's lamp. Healthy eyes fill us up with light. Unhealthy eyes make it dark. If what we call light is actually dark, then what's dark is really, really dark. Repent, Jesus says. Get healthy eyes. Open our eyes. See the light that is true light. New covenant. New creation. Kingdom of God.

We meet a brother or sister today with eyes made good by Jesus's true light. And together we see and give thanks filled with God's good light.

Stock

"Don't lay up for yourselves treasures on earth," Matthew 6:19.

Wow. Jesus just keeps at it, doesn't he? He just does not leave our earth-bound mind-set alone. He shows the futility of this-world thinking. Stock piles of stuff here just get rusted or rotten or stolen. Stock piles in heaven, on the other hand, are immune to such decay. But mainly, Jesus knows our hearts are stuck to where our treasures are: exhausted earth or imperishable skies.

We visit with a brother or sister today mindful of heaven. And together we give thanks to God for the immeasurable riches of his kingdom in Christ.

Impressed

"And when you fast, don't look all soulful," Matthew 6:16.

No - that's what hypocrites do. Now, Jesus. Jesus just keeps on calling out our world religion shows. He really means for us to change religion. So. When we do spiritual disciplines like fasting, then we get washed up and use deodorant like normal. Not fasting to get noticed as super saints. Anyway, God's not impressed by our pious acting. Instead, we want him to notice our hearts. And he does. So we repent.

We meet up with a brother or sister today in the Lord's joy. And together we give thanks to God for Jesus and the new covenant impressed onto our hearts.

Condition

"If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you," Matthew 6:14.

And if we don't, he won't. God's grace, by definition, is free. We can't buy it. Can't earn it. The free gift of God in Christ Jesus our Lord is eternal life. Forgiveness was bought for us at a phenomenal price by Jesus; he extends it to us freely by faith. But it's not unconditional. not. unconditional. Here's the condition: We forgive others because God has lavishly already forgiven us. And if we don't, he rescinds our forgiveness. Like that one king who reimposed his sentence on the guy that wouldn't forgive. It's that simple. Repent. He's serious about his kids imitating him.

We meet with a brother or sister today extending to each other forgiveness for having crossed the line. And together we give thanks to Christ for paying the price of our redemption.

Hearing

"Our Father in the skies, your name must be kept holy. Your kingdom must come. Your will must be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us our daily bread today. Forgive our debts like we forgive our debtors. Don't lead us into temptation. Deliver us from the evil one." Matthew 6:9ff.

So how should we pray? Like that, says Jesus. God, our father. Deep respect. Yielding to God's rule in our hearts. Recognizing our every material need is fulfilled from God. Recognizing our every spiritual need is fulfilled from God. Petitioning God to forgive us conditionally: like we forgive others. Needing God's help against temptations. Needing God's deliverance from the devil. Pray like that. In the name of Jesus.

When we meet with a brother or sister today we pray like that. And together we also pray: Thank You, Father, for hearing us!

Heard

"And when you pray, don't do like the Gentiles," Matthew 6:7.

Yeah. OK. So how do they do it? They drone on and on. To pray. They say the same worthless words over and over. To pray. They think they get heard by lots of fancy vocabulary. Don't do that, says Jesus. Repent. Why? because. Your Father knows. Knows all the needs of your heart. Knows before you ever ask. Sky kingdom. It's different. Really. Different. New covenant.

We meet up with a brother or sister today in a new relationship with God and each other. And together we give thanks for Jesus, mediator of a new treaty with the hearing God.

Noticed

"And when you pray, don't be like the hypocrites," Matthew 6:5.

Yeah. OK. So how do they do it? They show off. They stand out in the worship houses. To pray. They stand on street corners. To pray. In the crowds to be noticed. To pray. That's how. Jesus said, Repent. The kingdom of God is not about people noticing each other's religiosity. It's about God. About God who sees the quiet things of the heart. About God who pays attention behind a closed door.

We visit with a brother or sister today sharing in the new covenant of peace. And together we give thanks to God for hearing us especially in quiet places.

Quiet

"Take care not to show off your righteous acts for people to see," Matthew 6:1.

Well. Jesus has taken social behaviors rooted in the world's rules contrasted against the new life in his kingdom, the society of God. He has called for change. Repentance. And now he takes on religion. World religion contrasted against life founded in God. When we give to needy people and shine the limelight on ourselves to impress the people we want to impress, well, we got what we wanted. But we didn't impress God. No reward from him. Repent. Jesus talks something new.

We meet a brother or sister today in genuine, humble relationship with God. And together we give thanks to God for his deep, quiet mercies to us.

Godless

"You heard it said: You will love your neighbor and hate your enemy," Matthew 5:43.

Yep, sounds like a pretty good life plan. But Jesus says: Not so in his kingdom, not where He is Master. The people of his kingdom love their enemies. They pray for those who persecute them. They refuse to behave like godless people. They want to look like their Lord. So they repent from the old world ways in order to imitate the mercy of their Father, God, in a new covenant.

We visit a brother or sister today, forgiven by Christ who prayed even for us. And together we give him thanks that he showed mercy when we were his enemies.

Sugar

"It was said: An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth," Matthew 5:38.

Justice. Pay backs. Get even. Pay up. You owe. Recompense. Justice! Now, this is really, really hard for several reasons, not least of which is misunderstanding all Jesus says about the righteousness of justice. Nevertheless. No sugar coat. New covenant. Life in the kingdom of God. This really, really is different. So: Got slapped? Present the other cheek. Sued for the shirt on you back? Give your coat, too. Forced to carry a bag? Go a further mile. Give to a beggar. Lend to who wants to borrow. This is really, really not the same old same old way to live. With men this is impossible. But with God all things are possible. Repent.

We visit with a brother or sister today challenged by Jesus to make a difference. And together we thank God for his empowering us to do mercy in an unjust world.

Yesses

"It was said to the old time people: You shall not swear falsely," Matthew 5:33.

In fact, those old-timers used to say that whatever you swear you've got to carry through with it to the Lord. But, Jesus says, that was in the old-times. Now is the new times, a new covenant. The old's gone and done away with. So. What's the new? Here it is: Don't swear at all. Not by the sky. Not on your mother's grave. Not by a stack of Bibles. Not by your head. Not by God. Swearing by this or that just means it's OK to deceive and lie the rest of the time. If you mean, Yes, just say: Yes. If you mean, No, just say: No. Repent.

We meet with a brother or sister today with integrity in the words we share. And together we say: Thank You! to God that all his Yesses to life are found truthfully in Jesus.

Castle

"It was also said: Whoever divorces his wife must give her a divorce certificate," Matthew 5:31.

Remember the good old days when a man could just trade one wife in for a better model on a whim and little paperwork? When a real man was king of the castle? Well. That was the kingdom of hard-hearted men. Marriage in the kingdom of God recognizes both the man and the woman, image of God, human beings worthy of respect and honor. And their word to each other is their bond. And if they say they will marry each other, they will be true to each other. Period. New covenant. So we repent.

We meet with a brother or sister today awed by the substance of the sky kingdom. And together we give thanks to God for a real kingdom that changes us all.

Sears

"You have heard that it was said: You shall not commit adultery," Matthew 5:27.

Jesus goes on into the heart of the matter to say that whoever lusts after a woman has already committed adultery. Yeah. Whoever looks at a woman with lust. Done deal. In the heart. God's not playing righteous games. Jesus isn't either. He went around preaching: Repent! The kingdom of God is an existential threat to the whole world and to rotted hearts.

We meet with a brother or sister today, carefully. And together we give thanks for God's discipline that sears in order to purify.

Standards

"You have heard that it was said in old times: You shall not murder," Matthew 5:21.

Jesus goes on to remind that whoever murders becomes liable to justice. But then, Jesus reveals that the kingdom of God does not fit such low standards. Not at all. Jesus says whoever is angry with a brother; whoever insults a brother, whoever even says, You moron! - this one is liable to justice, to the courts, to fiery hell. The sky kingdom demands reconciliation with God and healthy restoration of relationship with each other. New covenant.

We visit with a brother or sister today drawn into relationship with God. And restored in faithful union with Christ we praise our Father.

Righter

"Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven," Matthew 5:20.

And these guys were the experts in righteousness. You couldn't do the Law and the Prophets righter than them. You couldn't know what the Law and the Prophets said better than them. So how do you get righter than right? Yeah. Well. That's the problem. I mean, if the interest is to enter the sky kingdom, yeah? (But then, that's exactly what Jesus came to do, right? To fulfill the Law and the Prophets?) So we start with what we got. We repent.

We turn back with a brother or sister today so as to love God with all our hearts, souls, and strengths. And together we give thanks to Jesus for showing us the Way.

Singular

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One," Deuteronomy 6:4.

(A quick, technical parenthetical note. Very often the Hebrew Bible makes reference to God using a plural form of the Hebrew word which would translate as 'gods.' In fact, in the verse above where it says 'our God,' grammatically it says, 'our gods.' But it really means the singular, God, just as translated into English. But sometimes, when we learn this idiom of Hebrew, some of us get worried that translators are trying to pull a fast one over us. Not so. When Jesus quotes that verse verbatim, but in the Greek of his day, he uses the singular form, 'God.' That's exactly how the translators of the Hebrew Bible rendered the Greek well over a century before Jesus quoted it.) The Lord is One.

As we meet a brother or sister today we love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength. And together we give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, blessed for ever and ever.

Insurmountable

"I have come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets," Matthew 5:17.

So says Jesus. We find the Law hard. We find in the Law harsh reminder of our failure. We find its curses insurmountable. Yes, the Law holds the necessary ideal for us to have communion with God. Yet, we find its reminder of our sin a block to that fellowship. But Jesus has come, and he has fulfilled the Law's demands for sharing in God's mercy. He's our Man representing us in the presence of God. And. He's our Sacrifice against the wages of sin. And. He calls us to repent in faith. So we do. New covenant.

We visit with a brother or sister today in a new life of the Spirit. And together we offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving that praise him.

Pre-Prepared

"Shine!" Matthew 5:16.

Yes! Jesus says, Shine your light! Right in front of people! Shine your good works! Shine so people can see! Shine all those God works! So that they can see Jesus! Jesus blazing through us! Yes! So that they will glorify our Father in the sky!

We meet with a brother or sister doing the good works God pre-prepared for us. And together we manifest the light of Christ to the praise of God, our father.

Ritual

"Why do we fast, and you do not see it?" Isaiah 58:3.

So we say to God: God, we do all this religious stuff and you don't even notice. And God says: Here's the religious ritual that I want: Untie the ropes of injustice. Free the oppressed. Break bread with hungry people. Bring the homeless home with you. Share clothes with exposed people. And in this way, says the Lord, your light will shine like the dawn. And the glory of the Lord will keep watch over you. Thus saith the Lord. Kingdom of God.

So when we share with a brother or sister today God notices and blesses. And together we give thanks and glory to Christ who shared his everything with us.

Preserves

"You are the salt of the earth," Matthew 5:13.

Jesus resets what it means to live as true humans on this planet. True humans live as citizens of the kingdom of God. In this capacity, true humans reflect the characteristics of the Man of men, of the Master, Christ Jesus. Christ shines through his people who thereby light the world. They produce for the rest of the world its valuable taste for God. If we will not repent so as to serve as light and salt, our whole endeavor becomes worth being thrown out and trod upon. Repent, said Jesus: Kingdom of God!

As we visit with a brother or sister today we encourage one another into the Way of Christ. And together we give thanks to God who preserves his own into eternity.

Shine

"You are the light of the world," Matthew 5:14.

People who repent in Jesus's call to his kingdom. People who receive God's blessings in poverty, mourning, meekness, hungering and thirsting, mercy, purity, peacemaking, doing the right thing, being insulted and persecuted, all these things for the sake of Jesus. These people are the light of the world. New covenant. God's new society.

We visit with a brother or sister today delivered from the domain of darkness, transferred into the kingdom of Christ. And together we say, Thank You!, to God, for letting us shine like Jesus.

Prophets

"Get happy! Be glad! because your compensation is sky high! They persecuted the prophets who came before you just like that, too!" Matthew 5:12.

Jesus does it again: turns our experience upside down. He calls us to repent. Even to change the way we take things. We've got to get this, that we belong to his kingdom. And the rules of his kingdom don't mesh with our past experience. It's hard to rejoice in the middle of insults. Sure it is. (That's why it's called repentance - as they say, If it was easy, everybody'd do it.) God has made a new treaty - his kingdom is real. And we live by its new rules right now.

We visit with a brother or sister today orienting ourselves to the new life of the kingdom. And together we give thanks to God for doing something about the mess we humans made in doing it our way.

Association

"Blessed are you when they mock you and they persecute and they say all sorts of bad things lying against you because of me," Matthew 5:11.

Repentance becomes more than simply fine tuning a generally righteous life (I mean, that's the way we humans think of it, right?). Rather, repentance becomes the root change from a death-dealing lifestyle to the radical call of the Lord, Jesus, into his kingdom's life-giving conduct. That change challenges the sons of disobedience. These recognize the Lord at work in his people and attack him through them. Jesus says to his own: Good for you! Well done, faithful servants!

We meet with a brother or sister today and find joy in real association with Jesus. And together we give thanks to God for his triumphant new life in Christ.

Rules

"Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the skies," Matthew 5:10.

God made a new covenant with humans. God formed a new treaty in order to establish his kingdom among human hearts. In that agreement, God forgives all sins and transgressions any time people repent from self-centered pursuits toward God-centered motivations. When people receive the sacrifice of Jesus as the means to forgiveness. When people receive God's grace through faith in Christ. And in this transformation, people begin a new way of life, participants in a kingdom where God's rule rules. Where righteousness dwells. So when they are driven out from other relationships, they own the kingdom of heaven, indeed.

We visit with a brother or sister today bound in an eternal relationship of righteousness. And together we thank God for his righteous rule.

Surpasses

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God," Matthew 5:9.

So Jesus went around preaching the Good News: Repent! The kingdom of God's almost here! Jesus's Sermon on the Mount details what it means to repent. It means a foundational change from the world's shifting sands to the bedrock of God's kingdom: faith in Christ. Yeah. Engage the things of peace, not things of war and strife. Peacemakers (not the gun) receive adoption as God's own kids.

We get together with a brother or sister today in the peace of Christ that surpasses reason. And together we give thanks to God for his new treaty with us in the cross of Christ.

Single-minded

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God," Matthew 5:8.

Pure in heart. Compared to what? Compared to skeptics. Well, yeah, sure, of course: skeptics. But more to the point: compared to ... well, you know, those folks who feel that they're in the hidden know, that they know the real, self-serving motives of others? Yeah. Compared to that. Compared to the serpent who deceived Eve into thinking God intended to keep people subservient to himself when they could, instead, be equal to God. Pure in heart. Who take God at face value. Will see the face of God.

As we visit with a brother or sister today we redouble efforts to repent from double minds. And single-minded together we give God praise from hearts purified by the blood of Jesus.

Perpetrator

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy," Matthew 5:7.

Ever hear of a person who was wronged extend mercy toward some despicable perpetrator? (Sure. Of course. We all have.) And having heard of such a thing, have we ever thought to ourselves: Well, not me! I would've made them pay big time! (Sure. Of course. We all have.) Jesus says: Repent! The kingdom of God is not like the kingdoms of this world. New covenant. Different rules.

When we meet with a brother or sister today we extend mercy, and receive mercy. And together we give thanks to God whose mercy in Christ triumphs over judging.

Satisfies

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled," Matthew 5:6.

So Jesus's big message was: Repent! The sky kingdom's about here! So. What does repentance look like? What's life in the kingdom like? (Well, that's we're talking about, right?) Looks like this: Persevere for what's right. Press in to justice. Conform to God's will. Seek out noble action. Rather than ... whining about how terrible things are today ... about how good the good old days were ... giving up ... what's the use? No! God's paying attention; God satisfies the pursuit of justice. Oh, yes, indeed.

We visit with a brother or sister today and remind each other of the banquet feast. And together we give thanks to God for satisfying justice at Jesus's cross.