Good Morning Friends,
Indecision is a problem for Israel during the time of Elijah. People are having a hard time deciding whose side to be on. We face similar problems in our world today that challenges us to face up to today’s question. And it involves us to think through our attitudes about laws we have in our own society too, knowing the politicians do not always agree. And the thing is that scholars do not agree either on Jesus’ attitude toward the written and oral traditions of law. So, the issue is not new. But interestingly these Bible scholars do agree Jesus was taking on the religious and political leaders of the day, and that Jesus was never safe and predictable in what he would do. So, friends, on the one hand Jesus accepted the Old Testament laws as a permanently binding revelation of God, but at other times made rituals subordinate to moral laws and relaxed the laws to meet human needs. He was not so concerned about the purity laws as the purity process. His focus was more on the spirit of the law. And now since we live in the age of the church and a time of grace before judgement, I imagine some might be confused a little on the subject. Deals with the Devil abound, but God has made us an offer that is not based on what we can do but upon what Jesus did. By forgiving our sins God gives us a new heart and Spirit that enables us to draw near in an intimate fellowship. The image is of a wedding. But we must say “Yes!” to the proposal of grace. We cannot be doubleminded. So, Are We Following Laws To Conform Or Be Transformed?
Scripture: Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 3:15-4:6 (NRSV)
For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So, when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
Matthew 5:20-26 (NRSV)
The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes his covenant known to them.
Psalm 25:14 (NRSV)
So Ahab sent to all the Israelites, and assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel. Elijah then came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” The people did not answer him a word. Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets number four hundred fifty. Let two bulls be given to us; let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it; I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the Lord; the god who answers by fire is indeed God.” All the people answered, “Well spoken!” Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many; then call on the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” So they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, crying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no answer. They limped about the altar that they had made. At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” Then they cried aloud and, as was their custom, they cut themselves with swords and lances until the blood gushed out over them. As midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice, no answer, and no response. Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come closer to me”; and all the people came closer to him. First he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down; Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name”; with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. Then he made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two measures of seed. Next he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” Then he said, “Do it a second time”; and they did it a second time. Again he said, “Do it a third time”; and they did it a third time, so that the water ran all around the altar, and filled the trench also with water. At the time of the offering of the oblation, the prophet Elijah came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your bidding. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord indeed is God; the Lord indeed is God.”
1 Kings 18:20-39 (NRSV)
Message: A covenant is a serious agreement two parties enter that must not be taken lightly, especially the covenant we have with God. The old covenant did an amazing job of revealing our sins and now the New Covenant is offered to us if we but just accept the proposal to be at peace. Perhaps you have blown something off as if it is no big deal and not important. Well, the covenant that God made with Abraham that was fulfilled in Jesus and has been extended to us by God’s grace through faith is a big deal. It is the New Covenant of Christ of which our text this morning is all about. Join me in contemplating the importance of this New Covenant for our lives today as the only way to make lasting social change. First consider the confidence it gives us to have a Kingdom mindset. Second consider how our affirmation of the New Covenant acknowledges in us a usefulness to be as servants for each other and for God as a witness to the Glory of God. And third reflect on the reality that entering a relational covenant with God gives us the hope that we can stand before God and before the world to boldly proclaim that God keeps promises. What Jesus explains in today’s text is that there are sins of commission but also sins of omission and of our disposition. We are brought to the reality that we cannot legislate love. Friends, if we have love good things will come to life. If we do not accept the offer of love our lives will be miserable.
And So, the lure of legalism is still with us. It consists of rules and regulations and keeps us from focusing on seeking the love of our Lord. But there is no dual covenant in effect and God’s power cannot be denied, nor His mission frustrated. The thing is that the irresistible force here is the power of the resurrection and it is not just an event of the past but of all time that permeates everything with hope. In situations where all seems dead, the resurrection’s power changes everything and through the Holy Spirit teaches us. When things seem doomed, it is the power of the resurrection that transforms a drought into a downpour. And the beauty friends, is that all who evangelize become instruments of this very same power in the stream of Holy History. There is no lack in Jesus. The resurrection is already woven into the fabric of life as a witness that our hope is not in vain. As with Jesus perhaps it is best for us to view the new laws as the completion of old laws and not their destruction. Hopefully, we will have a maturing of the human mind as demonstrated in the Matthew text from today.
Pray we realize that we are changed by the love of grace not the law. Pray we realize that our sinfulness and the law’s inability to save us leaves us with only one option for salvation. Pray we clean up our anger and realize that the New Covenant is an offer we are not to refuse, for it is the one that God offers. Pray we realize that the New Covenant is the Gospel and the only truly Good News. Pray we realize that saying yes to the New Covenant is like saying yes to a marriage that reveals the heart of those making the promise. Pray we believe in the sufficiency and superiority of the New Covenant and realize that it has greater glory than the old covenant for it transforms lives through love. Pray we believe in the power of the resurrection. Pray we believe, no matter how mysterious it is, that God is capable of intervening and bringing good out of evil by the power of his infinite creativity. Pray we believe in signs of hope no matter how small they may be. Pray God’s love permeate us just as the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit infuses and invades all history. Pray we live to the glory of God in a Kingdom that never ends.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 