Let’s pray together:
Lord, let our souls rise up to meet you as the day rises to meet the sun.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us: wherever He may send us;
Jesus, teach us how to live as you lived.
Father, Your will be done here as it is in heaven
Spirit, show us the way today
may You guide us through the wilderness: protect us through the storm;
may You bring us home rejoicing: at the wonders You have shown us;
may You bring us home rejoicing once again into our doors.
Amen
Meditation
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2Timothy 1:7 ESV)
One summer break in college, I went jet skiing with a friend. I grew up sailing,
canoeing, and rafting (all non-powered water sports) and I won’t lie; I hate water. I
don’t like being wet or super hot or super cold and in my memory every canoe trip
or weekend on the sailboat was at least one (if not all) of those. So back to jet
skiing… On the Schuylkill river, there were lots of ski boats and other jet skis. As we
set out, I stalled the engine and it dawned on me that without power on a jet ski, you
can’t steer. In a sailboat, we always had multiple ways to go and steer; rudder,
paddles, sails, a motor, etc.. but as I tried to restart the engine near the dock, I began
to drift into the current and I could not steer.
Power is an elemental force. We talk about it when we talk about energy and speed.
Fuel is power condensed and stored. Spiritual power is at work all around us, Paul
says in Acts, “For in (God) we live and move and have our being”, in Hebrews the
author tells us that, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact
representation of his being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.” The entire
world holds together by God’s power! This power brought Jesus into the world and
then raised Him from the dead and we have access to it! Unlike me on my jetski
bobbing around in the wake of ski boats, we can move, filled with power and
directed by God.
Paul prayed in the book of Ephesians, “I ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the
God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your
eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do,
grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter
extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!
All this power issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne
in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to
governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the
time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At
the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to
the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which
he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.*” Amen, teach us
to live out of this truth, drawing on His power, and being His body to His glory!
*Ephesians 1:18-23 MSG
DAILY SCRIPTURE READING
Our daily scripture reading comes from the following link… http://listenersbible.com/devotionals/biy/
If you have any insights into our daily readings, please feel free to share them with me.
I would encourage you to visit https://bibleproject.com/explore/1-2-kings/ for an overview of the book of 1st Kings and https://bibleproject.com/explore/acts/ for an overview of the book of Acts. These videos will help with the “big picture” and the main themes.
1 Kings 9:10-11:13
These chapters talk of Solomon’s wealth and accomplishments. It’s hard to wrap my mind around the amount of wealth he must have had. But when it turns to Solomon’s wives, what do we see. What is the problem Solomon will encounter with the women he chose to marry?
1 Kings 11:14-12:24
Here we have the back story of Hadad this morning. Notice in 11:22 the question that Pharaoh will ask Hadad and his own response? Why is it that we long for “home”? These texts really are about those who opposed Solomon and created problems for him. If we look to yesterday, what was the reason behind Solomon’s problems?
Solomon’s son Rehoboam will take over after his death, and what will he do?
The author of 1st Kings wants to remind us, that everything that is happening is within God’s control. Is this idea comforting, in the midst of chaos?
Acts 15:1-21
What is the conflict that we see arising in chapter 15? How will Peter address it? Even though Israel had been God’s chosen nation, now in Christ, the gospel was moving beyond the nation of Israel, to include all nations. How does this impact your view of Christianity?
Acts 15:22-41
OK, so this is important. Reading verses 28 and 29, as Gentile Christians, meaning we are not culturally Jews, how do these verses impact us? Let me try this question from another angle. When we consider all of the old testament laws, like circumcision, what was the expectation for those who were not Jews, but who had put their faith in Jesus as the Christ?
Psalm 77:1-9
The beginning of psalm 77 echoes Asaph’s earlier psalms. There is this continued sense of God being absent from the nation of Israel. Do you remember why? (74:3-8) Have you ever felt abandoned by God? Why?
Psalm 77:10-20
As the psalm continues, in the midst of feeling abandoned by God, what will Asaph do? (10-12) What happens to our perspective when we remember? What are we reminded of?