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. Father, we pray for the Iraq, Hungary, New Zealand, Camaroon, Brunei and the church in these countries as well as the lost. Lord be with those who care for others. Lift up the poor, the hungry, the sick, and the stranger. Guide those who lead in the paths of humility, justice and service. May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us: wherever He may send us; 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 So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12 NIV
Children are acutely conscious of the idea of “fair”. My kids now range from seventeen to twenty-three, yet during lockdown when they were all living at home, I regularly heard; “It’s not my turn”, “I did it last!”, “Why isn’t he/she doing this?” We are very clear when things aren’t fair if it asks more of us, but not once did any of my kids complain when someone did more than their fair share and relieved them of a chore. We only care about fairness as it benefits us. Whereas Jesus lived a life that only benefited others and it cost Him everything. Let’s continue our discussion of the Bible Project video on justice (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A14THPoc4-4) and publicchristian.com with practical action steps inspired by the early church in Acts: c. FAITH IS ABOUT FOLLOWING: Faith is not about believing some new idea. It’s about daily surrendering one’s own actual life patterns to the status and authority of Jesus who is both Lord, and the Messiah. d. THE LORD REQUIRES JUSTICE AND MERCY: God guides (the early church) to recognize and serve the needs of foreign-language and foreign-culture widows among them. Most of the miracles are healings of sick or disabled people. God makes clear that there is no room to exclude someone from the Gospel of Jesus just because that person is an outsider. e. SUPERNATURAL ACTIVITY: There were often events that were beyond normal. Speaking in languages they had not learned – lots of healings – release from jail – a resurrection – miraculous divine guidance. Most of these events were apparently not even asked for or prayed for, though some were. What is clear is that where there are true Jesus followers, God tends to do wonderful, necessary, and at times unusual, things. f. COURAGE, WITH HUMILITY: The first generation of the church continually spoke up, even under threat. They never claimed to be “gods” or of higher status, nor were they rude or harsh. They freely and clearly spoke their Gospel, but they never tried to force people, or gain political control and mandate faith. They simply strove each day to live the love they had been shown. How will you do that today?
-nicole
DAILY SCRIPTURE READING-pastor mike 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-chronicles/ for an overview of 2 Chronicles and https://bibleproject.com/explore/1-corinthians/ for an overview of Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth. These videos will help with the “big picture” and the main themes. 2 Chronicles 16:1-18:27 Twice in chapter 16, Asa is accused of not doing what? (7, 12) Isn’t it interesting in verse 12, that Asa will seek help “only from the physicians.” He doesn’t get in trouble for what he did, but for what he did not do. There is this odd idea that very few hold, in which we should seek help only from God. This passage seems to contradict this, by pointing out that while we seek help from physicians, we should also seek help from God. Jehoshaphat will follow Asa as king, and he will align himself with the king of Israel. Who was the king of Israel at the time? (18:1) How do things go for Ahab? It’s interesting how we can trust in the word of God, or we can deny it. The outcome of Ahab’s choice to deny it will likely show up in tomorrow's reading. 1 Corinthians 15:1-34 If we can set aside verse 29 for now, what is Paul saying in chapter 15? What is the question he is responding to? (Look back at verse 12) Our whole faith is rooted in this one idea Paul will say. And if it is not true, then none of it is true! Psalm 102:1-11 Unlike King Asa from 2 Chronicles, what does the psalmist do in his affliction? Where does he turn?
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