Good Morning Friends,
Our God loves partnerships engaged in the divine purpose and we see exactly that in today’s scripture passages. One is on Noah and the call to be fruitful and another asking us to affirm our belief. Are You Living The Life Of A New Covenant?
Scripture: God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you shall rest on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the air, on everything that creeps on the ground, and on all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. Only, you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. For your own lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning: from every animal I will require it and from human beings, each one for the blood of another, I will require a reckoning for human life. Whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall that person’s blood be shed; for in his own image God made humankind. And you, be fruitful and multiply, abound on the earth and multiply in it.” Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
Genesis 9:1-13 (NRSV)
My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?
You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
James 2:1-9 (NRSV)
Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
Mark 8:27-33 (NRSV)
Message: Life is full of questions, what am I going to do with my life? What will I become? What will tomorrow bring? Will my children turn out right? There are also questions concerning our spiritual life. Am I saved? When I die will I go to heaven? However, the most important question in the world is related to our affirmation of who Jesus is and the covenant offered to us though his life, death and resurrection. You can speak of Jesus as prophet, holy man, teacher, or spiritual leader, and few will object. But speak of Him as Son of God, divine, of the same nature as the Father, and people will line up to express their disapproval. A billion Muslims will say: “Prophet, yes. God, no!” Jews scattered around the world will say: “Teacher, yes. Messiah, no!” And among liberal Protestant theologians as well, the divinity of Christ has been an open question in theological discussions. In many circles, both clergy and laity express a kind of faithless familiarity that keeps people from being forthright in answering in the affirmative as to Jesus’ divinity. So, who do you say Jesus is? C.S. Lewis focused the issue sharply: “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said wouldn’t be a great moral teacher. He’d either be a lunatic-on the level of a man who says he is a poached egg-or else he’d be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is the son of God, or else a madman or something worse.” Friends, in our society we have been watering down the gospels and the name of Jesus for quite some time. To not offend other people or their religion we choose not to speak of Jesus. We accept the idea of God, and we admit to trusting Him but then we go our separate way. We believe we can control our own destiny, but in the process may gain the world and lose our lives.
And So, who do you say Jesus is? And if you say God, do you have a covenant relationship with the divine. Friends, Christianity, if false is of no importance and if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is lukewarm. We must have the passion to love with the love of Christ in us.
Pray we realize it takes a supernatural revelation to conclude that Jesus is the incarnation of God. Pray we realize it takes an act of the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth. Pray we believe in Jesus. Pray we have our priorities straight. Pray we realize that in our deepest hopes and hurts…our fondest dreams and desires and actions and anxieties is an answer to life’s ultimate question. Pray we be who we are so others can learn to be who they are. Pray we do not deny our own beliefs to solicitously be accepting of others. Pray we exhibit the characteristics showing forth to others what a real Christian is. Pray we realize that people do not want to be excluded from the Christian experience. Pray we realize that Christ both comforts and confronts. Pray we are called on an exhilarating adventure of dynamic discipleship. Pray we realize that how we answer the question of Jesus determines our ability to live the abundant life promised and our ability to receive and to give forgiveness. Pray we say yes to the Christ of Glory in us. Pray our affirmation of Christ give us courage to face death and life. Pray that the depth of his love heals us and makes us unselfish lovers of people. Pray his joy radiates from us. Pray we have a profound peace of mind that controls our thinking and makes us peacemakers joining with God in the life intended from the start. Pray the Lord’s patience gives us calmness in our struggles. Pray we experience a surge of kindness that makes us affirmers of people as well as affirmers of Christ in a covenant of love.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 