Good Morning Friends,
The goal of becoming more like Jesus each day is a worthy goal and goes beyond the cliché of doing what Jesus would do. It is probably not a new concept to you, but I do hope you connect the personal rebuilding of our character to the rebuilding of the places we live and work in transformative personal and powerful experiences. You see, there are surprising parallels between the rebuilding of our character and the building of communities as the body of the church. I imagine that you know people who reflect this hope in their life and perhaps have eulogized them in memorial services. For as God gave a vision to Zechariah of the rebuilding the city, I think God also gives us a vision of community transformation that is linked to our individual transformation as well and especially so in the day of our own death and for that day when Jesus returns when we are gathered together. It is all about building a place for God to tabernacle that gathers us together in Holy History. So, Does God Dwell In You?
Scripture: For I will be a wall of fire all around it, says the Lord, and I will be the glory within it.” Up, up! Flee from the land of the north, says the Lord; for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven, says the Lord. Up! Escape to Zion, you that live with daughter Babylon. For thus said the Lord of hosts (after his glory sent me) regarding the nations that plundered you: Truly, one who touches you touches the apple of my eye. See now, I am going to raise my hand against them, and they shall become plunder for their own slaves. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! For lo, I will come and dwell in your midst, says the Lord. Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in your midst. And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem. Be silent, all people, before the Lord; for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.
Zechariah 2:5-13 (NRSV)
And all were astounded at the greatness of God. While everyone was amazed at all that he was doing, he said to his disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands.” But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was concealed from them, so that they could not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
Luke 9:43b-45 (NRSV)
Message: Though today’s lectionary passage has application to Zechariah’s time it is also a prophecy of a future messianic grandeur and glory in Jerusalem that is an anticipation of our current and future transformation. It is about how holiness builds community. And we get a hint of it now even though we know this sanctification will not be fully realized until Jesus’ returns. And so, we are to experience the excitement of God within the text for the physical rebuilding of Jerusalem but also within our own lives as God continues to reveal the might and glory which results by His earthly dwelling in us as individuals and collectively in the body of believers. For out of that vision comes the promise of hope and restoration… and then the promise of protection, and then purification followed by the power of the Holy Spirit. The image is of a dwelling place that is about Jerusalem but also the indwelling of God in places poverty and conflict and worship though the servanthood of faithful believers. You see God is hopefully building a precious presence in each of us through this process of promise, protection, purification, power, and the reality of punishment as well. With jarring impact Zechariah’s vision sets forth a grand prophetic panorama of the deliverance of God’s people and the establishment of an earthly kingdom. Yes, when God comes to claim us as His people and the world as His world, what a day of blessing and grace it will be. God’s enemies shall lose evil’s empowering and the righteous shall be exalted and be glad. It is the day when those who are servants become great and those who sought to be great become little, and it will be marvelous in our eyes.
And So, I am not a fan of replacement theology, but I am a fan of the thought that God dwells in each of us, and this light of love becomes visible in an astounding way to others when we show forth the love we were designed to share from the beginning. It is all a great mystery, but one filled with glorious riches. We turn around seeking to see but the people that helped to free us have for the most part gone and only Jesus remains. Amazingly it is the very words of Jesus that sink into our very being and in time become an understanding of who we are and are to become.
Pray in the power of the risen Christ and witness to the greatness of God revealed in scripture. Pray that our faith is based on more than a fleeting moment of insight. Pray our transformation is palpable as individuals and as a community of believers. Pray we experience the power of Christ’s transfiguration as it relates to the kingdom of God and our own transfiguration as it relates to our faith in Christ. Pray our spiritual nature is under the control of the Holy Spirit.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 