Good Morning Friends,
Growing up as children we learn that there are rewards and punishments in life that were related to the timing of things…cores…homework. And then some things we had to wait for as we might expect, like Christmas and the coming of age. In the process I learned a sense of what was right and wrong when it came to people, but when it came to the big picture and God I was reduced to small acts in the same general direction over a long period of time. God joined in what I was doing until I figured out that I was supposed to join God. That is why I do this devotional. But people will have doubts about the road to righteousness and wonder if the effort is worth it simply because some people are blessed with the benefits of the world without following the Way of God. But if God has chosen you, you should get used to the idea of it all, for God sees the Big Picture. Thankfully God considers us as jewels and of great value to be gathered together when Jesus comes again. But until then we are to share in Jesus’ faith that God the Father has the best interests of His children at heart. So, we are to believe that God wants us to live in the power of the Holy Spirit and the power of a moral and spiritual order. We get the sense of the flawlessly exact and faultlessly intact timing of the Holy Spirit in how this plays out in the Christian life we have a passage from Matthew. But its validation is in our passage from Romans for it brings clarity to the issue of God’s will. Friends, if the righteous children of God ask God, the benefits of God’s love will become clear and so will God’s will for us to believe in Jesus. So, Do You Trust God’s Perfect Timing?
Scripture: Now you are walled around with a wall; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the ruler of Israel upon the cheek. But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth;
Micah 5:1-4a (NRSV)
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Romans 8:28-30 (NRSV)
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.”
Matthew 1: 18-23 (NRSV)
Message: If our minds feel worn out, we are probably not trusting God nearly enough. And we are probably failing to experience God with us with exerting a power that supersedes all earthly political power. You see sometimes knowing everything can be uncomfortable and can even hurt us. It is difficult to exercise discernment if we are always trying to figure everything out. But when one is willing to trust God even when one cannot figure it all out, we have the opportunity for a peace that sets us free. There is a revelation of peace that comforts us despite not knowing, if we do indeed trust God. You see, trusting God, often if not always, requires not knowing how God is going to accomplish what needs to be done and not knowing when it will be done. We often say God is never late, but generally God is not early either. Why? Because God uses times of waiting to stretch our experience of Christ’s faith and to bring about change and growth in our lives. Micah understood this well. Like John the Baptist, Micah prepared people for the coming of the Messiah. He gave a warning of impending disaster. He did so through his prophetic words. His prophecy was and is a vision for a life lived in the divine presence, and it is this vision that we need to keep in our thoughts as we prepare for life’s storms whether they are snow storms, hurricanes, firestorms in nature or ones of a political nature like elections or even health crises. The relevance of the scripture today from Micah is that it speaks of hope that comes from disasters, strife and suffering. In these troubled times when many do not feel safe, Micah reminds us that God has promised security and peace, and that security and peace comes from the Prince of Peace himself in the presence of the Paraclete promised.
And So, in today’s lectionary, we have explored how the unrelenting love of God conforms us to the image of Christ in the context of the prophetic hope for a Messiah. We contemplate the history of Christ’s lineage, birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension and return and its perfect timing ordained by God. And we have contemplated coming events, including Christ’s return and the possibility that the only way for us to have true peace is to act like we want to live as Christians, realizing that no nation is to be worshipped as God. Of course, we are to desire God to bless the places in which we live. It is perfectly fine to have a dream of personal success so long as we realize that this is no substitute of the Gospel of Christ. We are to realize that our politicians are no substitution for Jesus. And after doing all we can to prepare physically and mentally we need to prepare in prayer for the challenges of life that must in time occur. The only way to reduce the apprehension is to welcome the Prince of Peace into our lives with open arms despite the concern of the times. Indeed, we are to prepare for the coming of Christ much like we prepare for the storms of life. This is serious business. There is no escaping the storms of life. There is no place to hide from God’s presence. We need to realize that the church is the called-out assembly of God’s saints, not a political party, that the truth is not our political persuasion but the redemption of our souls by Christ in whom we are persuaded to believe, that our hope is not in winning elections but in having the good fortune of being elected by God. Friends, our mission is not defeating the other side but in getting to the other side believing in and trusting the rule of God. And so today we face perhaps the greatest challenge…. is waiting. Still we hope it is God’s election, judgement and grace that will make the difference.
Pray we wait with patience. Pray we really want to be Christians. Pray we have confidence in God and trust in future planned for us. Pray we realize that God’s timing is perfect and that there is a time and season to just about everything. Pray we realize that God values what the world does not value. Pray we take what the world sees as worthless and pour love into it. Pray we value the gift of Jesus and the love we are to give back by loving and forgiving others as God loves and forgives us. Pray we treat others in the same fair way that we want them to treat us and in the same fair way God treats us. Pray we realize that our Lord is good and a refuge in times of trouble. Pray we have compassion for others just as God has compassion for us in the storms of life.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 