Where Would You Build Your Consulate?
Good Morning Friends,
Maybe it is a mistake but I see a connection between the announcement of the President to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel this week and today’s scripture. Maybe it is by design. I do not know. But it prompts me to think the end game is closer than ever. Of course, every generation seems to think that. The message today though is one of hope not anxiety… a hope conditioned on faith and righteousness. Where Would You Build Your Consulate?
Scripture: On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; he sets up victory like walls and bulwarks. Open the gates, so that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in. Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace— in peace because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock. For he has brought low the inhabitants of the height; the lofty city he lays low. He lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust. The foot tramples it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.
Isaiah 26:1-6 (NRSV)
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”
Matthew 7:21, 24-27 (NRSV)
Message: It is the happy decision of the Church that brings us so much of the prophet Isaiah as we celebrate the time of expectation, the time of Advent. Isaiah was a prophet of hope in a time of social and religious and political upheaval. Sound familiar? Clearly like Isaiah and the Israelites, hope is exactly what we need. The promise is clear: “Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps faith may enter in.” But whose Consulate are we really building? Living in a fallen world where chance happens to everyone, life can be very complicated and far from easy. While we have the right to make any choices we want in life we are painfully aware that not all choices will lead to happiness. Constantly being bombarded by conflicting advice from people of diverse cultures provides little clarity as to which choices in life might be beneficial and lead to holy living. While the Bible can be difficult to understand the meaning of its words and the various cultures of its intended readers, the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us translates His divine words into a language that each of us can fully understand. So, we are left without much of an excuse for not making the right choices in life. Chances are though that if we are building for ourselves, the structure is destined to crash but if we are truly building in His kingdom we have hope it will last. Time will tell.
Pray we conquer the anxiety of fear.
Pray we build on solid ground. Pray we have an unwavering mind. Pray we trust in God. Pray we have a perfect peace that passes understanding. Pray we have a foundation of faith.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 