Thursday, Ordinary 28, Proper 23, Oct 9
ChapLynne
Posts: 31 Member
Meditation
Thursday, Ordinary 28, Proper 23 promoted influence of the goodness of God in the lives of people.
The Psalmist praised God for all the incredible things that God had done for Israel in bringing them out of Egypt, and despite the failure of Israel to obey and their building of a golden calf while they were waiting for Moses to return, because of Moses’ influence, God didn’t wipe them off the face of the earth.
In Exodus, God called Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and 70 elders to gather for worship with a specific purifying ritual to prepare for worship. The Book of Covenant was read aloud and the influence of the leaders swayed the tribes to follow God. Each person could influence a minimum of 20 people and the influence could grow exponentially—like the he told two people and they told two people and so on and so on. The power of influence retelling the Children of Israel of God’s covenant with Abraham became astronomical. Their response was that they would do all that the Lord God commanded.
In the New Testament epistle of I Peter, he explained what made up the flock of God. Some people served the Lord, like Peter, out of love for God. For others, though, it was ‘forced’ and inauthentic. Their interest was more about the wealth that could be gained instead of the service to the people. When people ‘serve’ for reasons other than the love of God, power struggles surfaced and Peter insisted that younger people respect the elders, of which he was one, he noted. In fact, once again, the Scriptures pointed out the importance of humility. Pride and arrogance were vile in God’s eyes and Peter made a specific reference that God would oppose the arrogant and proud, but would give grace to the humble.
When we are arrogant and proud instead of humble and kindly, we fail to convey the truth about Christ. He, who could have been haughty and proud with good reason, chose to come in the most humble of circumstances and suffer the pains of homelessness and poverty to demonstrate that the King of Kings was humble.
It is too often easy to take credit for the wonderful things that God has done for us. Or to be ungrateful for the things that we receive without earning it. But part of our Christian journey is to become like Christ, like Peter said—humble and gracious—so that our sphere of influence can multiply because we are magnifying the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Ordinary 28, Proper 23
Bible Readings
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23;Exodus 24:1-8;1 Peter 5:1-5, 12-14&version=KJV;GNT;NCV;NIV;ERV
Thursday, Ordinary 28, Proper 23
Psalm 106:1-6 19-23
Exodus 24:1-8
1 Peter 5:1-5 12-14
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Psalm 19:14
King James Version (KJV)
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
1 Peter 5:1-5
King James Version (KJV)
5 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock.
4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
1 Peter 5:12-14
King James Version (KJV)
12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.
13 The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.
14 Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Prayer
Almighty God, may we praise you as Moses did with all the humility and authenticity of Peter. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Thursday, Ordinary 28, Proper 23 praised God in the Psalms and demonstrated the intervening influence of Moses to quell God’s anger at the Children of Israel for their failure to worship him obediently. The story in Exodus continued with the expansion of the priesthood, when Moses, Aaron and sons, and 70 elders gathered for worship while the people waited back from the mountain.
It is sometimes easy to think of God as a folksy kind of hero, instead of the omnipotent sovereign that he is. The fiery cloud that hovered over the top of Mt. Sinai was too pure and holy to be encountered by people unprepared for it.
Years ago, I went through a gold mine and smelting mill where they dug ore out of the ground and sent it through furnaces of intense heat—the refiner’s fire—that would burn away the unnecessary part and leave the liquid gold pouring into molds.
Not everyone wanted to prepare that hard for worship…and they stayed further away, while the 70 elders and the four leaders went to the mountain to worship, read from the Book of the Covenant, reminding the Children of Israel of the promise of God to Abraham that was becoming a reality. Their influence would be felt in two ways, soothing God’s anger at Israel’s disobedience and teaching the people the way to worship God.
Peter stressed that the elders should have that influence over the people—younger people especially. People should also serve God out of love for God, not for what they could ‘gain’ from it. Authenticity and humility were hallmarks of the way that Christians should behave. It is no less true today.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
Thursday, Ordinary 28, Proper 23 promoted influence of the goodness of God in the lives of people.
The Psalmist praised God for all the incredible things that God had done for Israel in bringing them out of Egypt, and despite the failure of Israel to obey and their building of a golden calf while they were waiting for Moses to return, because of Moses’ influence, God didn’t wipe them off the face of the earth.
In Exodus, God called Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and 70 elders to gather for worship with a specific purifying ritual to prepare for worship. The Book of Covenant was read aloud and the influence of the leaders swayed the tribes to follow God. Each person could influence a minimum of 20 people and the influence could grow exponentially—like the he told two people and they told two people and so on and so on. The power of influence retelling the Children of Israel of God’s covenant with Abraham became astronomical. Their response was that they would do all that the Lord God commanded.
In the New Testament epistle of I Peter, he explained what made up the flock of God. Some people served the Lord, like Peter, out of love for God. For others, though, it was ‘forced’ and inauthentic. Their interest was more about the wealth that could be gained instead of the service to the people. When people ‘serve’ for reasons other than the love of God, power struggles surfaced and Peter insisted that younger people respect the elders, of which he was one, he noted. In fact, once again, the Scriptures pointed out the importance of humility. Pride and arrogance were vile in God’s eyes and Peter made a specific reference that God would oppose the arrogant and proud, but would give grace to the humble.
When we are arrogant and proud instead of humble and kindly, we fail to convey the truth about Christ. He, who could have been haughty and proud with good reason, chose to come in the most humble of circumstances and suffer the pains of homelessness and poverty to demonstrate that the King of Kings was humble.
It is too often easy to take credit for the wonderful things that God has done for us. Or to be ungrateful for the things that we receive without earning it. But part of our Christian journey is to become like Christ, like Peter said—humble and gracious—so that our sphere of influence can multiply because we are magnifying the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Ordinary 28, Proper 23
Bible Readings
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23;Exodus 24:1-8;1 Peter 5:1-5, 12-14&version=KJV;GNT;NCV;NIV;ERV
Thursday, Ordinary 28, Proper 23
Psalm 106:1-6 19-23
Exodus 24:1-8
1 Peter 5:1-5 12-14
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Psalm 19:14
King James Version (KJV)
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
1 Peter 5:1-5
King James Version (KJV)
5 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock.
4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
1 Peter 5:12-14
King James Version (KJV)
12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.
13 The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.
14 Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Prayer
Almighty God, may we praise you as Moses did with all the humility and authenticity of Peter. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Thursday, Ordinary 28, Proper 23 praised God in the Psalms and demonstrated the intervening influence of Moses to quell God’s anger at the Children of Israel for their failure to worship him obediently. The story in Exodus continued with the expansion of the priesthood, when Moses, Aaron and sons, and 70 elders gathered for worship while the people waited back from the mountain.
It is sometimes easy to think of God as a folksy kind of hero, instead of the omnipotent sovereign that he is. The fiery cloud that hovered over the top of Mt. Sinai was too pure and holy to be encountered by people unprepared for it.
Years ago, I went through a gold mine and smelting mill where they dug ore out of the ground and sent it through furnaces of intense heat—the refiner’s fire—that would burn away the unnecessary part and leave the liquid gold pouring into molds.
Not everyone wanted to prepare that hard for worship…and they stayed further away, while the 70 elders and the four leaders went to the mountain to worship, read from the Book of the Covenant, reminding the Children of Israel of the promise of God to Abraham that was becoming a reality. Their influence would be felt in two ways, soothing God’s anger at Israel’s disobedience and teaching the people the way to worship God.
Peter stressed that the elders should have that influence over the people—younger people especially. People should also serve God out of love for God, not for what they could ‘gain’ from it. Authenticity and humility were hallmarks of the way that Christians should behave. It is no less true today.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
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