Monday, Ordinary 13/Proper 8 -- June 30
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Meditation
Monday, Ordinary 13/Proper 8, restated the Promise of God to Abraham, to make a great nation from his progeny. The last lesson dealt with the primal test. Was Abraham willing to trust God in what seemed to be the most awful sacrifice of all—his only son of the promise, Isaac?
Abraham passed the test. This example also offered an archetype of the Son of God being sacrificed for our salvation—the penultimate sacrifice any parent could endure.
God asked Abraham to do the same thing that God had to suffer—to risk the sacrifice of a son. But God didn’t make Abraham actually endure the ultimate suffering, being kinder to Abraham.
Because Abraham proved to be faithful and obedient, God restated the promise, confirming the trust that God had placed in Abraham to be a true child of God—a chosen people.
The Psalmist praised God for the sovereignty and power, which cared for the Jews as a chosen people. There was joy in obedience and an exaltation of God for greatness unsurpassed.
The New Testament lesson celebrated that life as a child of God. In the early church, they showed love for each other—a true brotherly love—but Paul said to go further. God wanted us to be at peace with one another and demonstrate that love so profoundly that even non-believers would treat believers with respect and admiration.
Today was an example of the worst kind of undermining of Christian faith. The Supreme Court voted that Hobby Lobby was entitled to withhold access for women to certain healthcare of birth control. Hobby Lobby sued the government on the basis of religious belief. Regardless of which side one cares, the hypocrisy of Hobby Lobby screams out phony Christians that are only concerned about money and false credos.
Hobby Lobby never sued their insurance companies in the past for this very issue. Their former insurance companies offered contraceptives for their employees and they never sued for all the prior years. If it was a true concern, why didn’t they sue back then?
In addition, Hobby Lobby’s current 401K program invests $73 million dollars in businesses that make contraceptives. They are okay with contraceptives as long as they make money off of them, but only find religious conviction in providing them to a few women employees. This duplicitous behavior undermines the ‘win’ for religious freedom. As long as they made money off contraceptives, they are okay with them. For their employees, they don’t want to pay for insurance to cover them. So the religious conviction of being against contraceptives doesn’t exist consistently. They weren’t authentic or honest. Their hypocrisy gives Christians a bad name. As a result, there will be unintended and sad consequences.
Christians were called to live in peace, so that people who don’t believe the way we do would respect us. Hobby Lobby failed that test. The ruling may have received the cheers of those in agreement, but it lost the respect of those who didn’t. It may seem to be a win in law, but in the spirit of people, they lost respect of millions. Millions will now project that hypocrisy onto all Christians because of Hobby Lobby behaviors.
In my view, they hurt the message of Christianity profoundly today. Had they been consistent in their behaviors, the message might have been different.
The story of Eric Liddell, the Olympian-missionary to China, about whose life a film was made showed a man of faith that gave up his role as a runner in the highest competition in the world in 1924, because he would not race on Sunday. His stand for his staunch beliefs touched people’s hearts because he was authentic and had integrity. His message drew respect even from those that disagreed with him, vehemently.
In many of my reviews of various books or films, I have often noted how characters that are evil can be admired, even loved (see J. R. Ewing) but characters that are hypocritical are despised. Machiavelli pretended to be anything in order to get his way. Umbridge was a classic hypocrite claiming to be righteous while being evil.
During my encounters with hostile unbelievers, the recurrent theme of their anger came from the hypocrisy they saw in their past church experiences. Like the millstone image, Paul taught that leaders were not to drive people from belief in God by their actions.
Paul declared that we must live as people, who gain respect from those who disagree with us. There will be occasions where some will never be respectful, who have given themselves to the devil. Paul recognized some would never respect Christians and didn’t mean those unbelievers, but rather the unbelievers that hadn’t made a choice yet—hadn’t chosen one way or another. They were still seeking as it were.
I lived in a church that was full of self-righteous people. I have behaved in self-righteous ways. I was wrong. As a result, I hurt others. My bad. I confessed my sin and God forgave me.
Today’s lesson was about being authentic believers. Our lives must be directed to living as the true believer, authentic and consistent, like Abraham had been. Does that mean we can’t fail? Absolutely not. Christ declared his followers would fail. But what made the difference was being humble and contrite—confessing our sin, like David was. He murdered. He was adulterous. He failed God many times. But he confessed his sin and trusted God to forgive him.
So, like Paul said, grace covered all the sins, and we don’t try to sin the more, but trust that God will work in us to grow better and better every day. That is when things really begin to happen that glorify God.
Thanks be to God.¬¬
All Scriptures printed below are in King James Version for copyright purposes. However, clicking on the verse locations will take you to Biblegateway.com where the text is linked to more contemporary versions.
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 13/Proper 8
Isaac and Abraham – Joan Baez
[embed]
http://youtu.be/XU5h02mWipk [/embed]
Ordinary 13/Proper 8
Bible Readings
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis 22:1-14;Psalm 13;Romans 6:12-23;Matthew 10:40-42&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;CEV (multiple versions)
Monday, Ordinary 13/Proper 8
Psalm 47
Genesis 22:15-18
1 Thessalonians 4:9-12
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
Genesis 22:15-18
King James Version (KJV)
15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
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 of Encouragement
Almighty God, forgive us for our sins. Help us to be authentic in everything we do and not drive people away by hypocritical behaviors. Help us to walk in David and Abraham’s footsteps. We want to spread the good news by our actions and words for your glory. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Monday, Ordinary 13/Proper 8 declared that we were to be authentic and have integrity. When believers do that, great things happen. Yes, we may make horrible mistakes along the way, but let us own our mistakes and ask forgiveness.
A fine Christian, Navy Commander Scott Waddle, took responsibility and blame for his submarine, the USS Greenville (SSN-772), surfacing off Hawaii and cutting in half the commercial fishing training boat, Ehime Maru, filled with teenagers, killing nine. The Navy wanted him to shift blame, but as a Christian, he owned it and apologized. The Japanese victims regarded him with respect because his authentic sorrow for their loss and his refusal to pretend he wasn’t at fault.
The lesson encourages us to be believers of integrity—like Abraham, David, Paul—and make our lives count wherever we live, so that others will be inspired to follow God by our actions.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
Thank you for visiting ChapLynne’s Daily Encouragement and Bible Study. God bless you.
*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.
Monday, Ordinary 13/Proper 8, restated the Promise of God to Abraham, to make a great nation from his progeny. The last lesson dealt with the primal test. Was Abraham willing to trust God in what seemed to be the most awful sacrifice of all—his only son of the promise, Isaac?
Abraham passed the test. This example also offered an archetype of the Son of God being sacrificed for our salvation—the penultimate sacrifice any parent could endure.
God asked Abraham to do the same thing that God had to suffer—to risk the sacrifice of a son. But God didn’t make Abraham actually endure the ultimate suffering, being kinder to Abraham.
Because Abraham proved to be faithful and obedient, God restated the promise, confirming the trust that God had placed in Abraham to be a true child of God—a chosen people.
The Psalmist praised God for the sovereignty and power, which cared for the Jews as a chosen people. There was joy in obedience and an exaltation of God for greatness unsurpassed.
The New Testament lesson celebrated that life as a child of God. In the early church, they showed love for each other—a true brotherly love—but Paul said to go further. God wanted us to be at peace with one another and demonstrate that love so profoundly that even non-believers would treat believers with respect and admiration.
Today was an example of the worst kind of undermining of Christian faith. The Supreme Court voted that Hobby Lobby was entitled to withhold access for women to certain healthcare of birth control. Hobby Lobby sued the government on the basis of religious belief. Regardless of which side one cares, the hypocrisy of Hobby Lobby screams out phony Christians that are only concerned about money and false credos.
Hobby Lobby never sued their insurance companies in the past for this very issue. Their former insurance companies offered contraceptives for their employees and they never sued for all the prior years. If it was a true concern, why didn’t they sue back then?
In addition, Hobby Lobby’s current 401K program invests $73 million dollars in businesses that make contraceptives. They are okay with contraceptives as long as they make money off of them, but only find religious conviction in providing them to a few women employees. This duplicitous behavior undermines the ‘win’ for religious freedom. As long as they made money off contraceptives, they are okay with them. For their employees, they don’t want to pay for insurance to cover them. So the religious conviction of being against contraceptives doesn’t exist consistently. They weren’t authentic or honest. Their hypocrisy gives Christians a bad name. As a result, there will be unintended and sad consequences.
Christians were called to live in peace, so that people who don’t believe the way we do would respect us. Hobby Lobby failed that test. The ruling may have received the cheers of those in agreement, but it lost the respect of those who didn’t. It may seem to be a win in law, but in the spirit of people, they lost respect of millions. Millions will now project that hypocrisy onto all Christians because of Hobby Lobby behaviors.
In my view, they hurt the message of Christianity profoundly today. Had they been consistent in their behaviors, the message might have been different.
The story of Eric Liddell, the Olympian-missionary to China, about whose life a film was made showed a man of faith that gave up his role as a runner in the highest competition in the world in 1924, because he would not race on Sunday. His stand for his staunch beliefs touched people’s hearts because he was authentic and had integrity. His message drew respect even from those that disagreed with him, vehemently.
In many of my reviews of various books or films, I have often noted how characters that are evil can be admired, even loved (see J. R. Ewing) but characters that are hypocritical are despised. Machiavelli pretended to be anything in order to get his way. Umbridge was a classic hypocrite claiming to be righteous while being evil.
During my encounters with hostile unbelievers, the recurrent theme of their anger came from the hypocrisy they saw in their past church experiences. Like the millstone image, Paul taught that leaders were not to drive people from belief in God by their actions.
Paul declared that we must live as people, who gain respect from those who disagree with us. There will be occasions where some will never be respectful, who have given themselves to the devil. Paul recognized some would never respect Christians and didn’t mean those unbelievers, but rather the unbelievers that hadn’t made a choice yet—hadn’t chosen one way or another. They were still seeking as it were.
I lived in a church that was full of self-righteous people. I have behaved in self-righteous ways. I was wrong. As a result, I hurt others. My bad. I confessed my sin and God forgave me.
Today’s lesson was about being authentic believers. Our lives must be directed to living as the true believer, authentic and consistent, like Abraham had been. Does that mean we can’t fail? Absolutely not. Christ declared his followers would fail. But what made the difference was being humble and contrite—confessing our sin, like David was. He murdered. He was adulterous. He failed God many times. But he confessed his sin and trusted God to forgive him.
So, like Paul said, grace covered all the sins, and we don’t try to sin the more, but trust that God will work in us to grow better and better every day. That is when things really begin to happen that glorify God.
Thanks be to God.¬¬
All Scriptures printed below are in King James Version for copyright purposes. However, clicking on the verse locations will take you to Biblegateway.com where the text is linked to more contemporary versions.
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 13/Proper 8
Isaac and Abraham – Joan Baez
[embed]
http://youtu.be/XU5h02mWipk [/embed]Ordinary 13/Proper 8
Bible Readings
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis 22:1-14;Psalm 13;Romans 6:12-23;Matthew 10:40-42&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;CEV (multiple versions)
Monday, Ordinary 13/Proper 8
Psalm 47
Genesis 22:15-18
1 Thessalonians 4:9-12
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
Genesis 22:15-18
King James Version (KJV)
15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
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 of Encouragement
Almighty God, forgive us for our sins. Help us to be authentic in everything we do and not drive people away by hypocritical behaviors. Help us to walk in David and Abraham’s footsteps. We want to spread the good news by our actions and words for your glory. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Monday, Ordinary 13/Proper 8 declared that we were to be authentic and have integrity. When believers do that, great things happen. Yes, we may make horrible mistakes along the way, but let us own our mistakes and ask forgiveness.
A fine Christian, Navy Commander Scott Waddle, took responsibility and blame for his submarine, the USS Greenville (SSN-772), surfacing off Hawaii and cutting in half the commercial fishing training boat, Ehime Maru, filled with teenagers, killing nine. The Navy wanted him to shift blame, but as a Christian, he owned it and apologized. The Japanese victims regarded him with respect because his authentic sorrow for their loss and his refusal to pretend he wasn’t at fault.
The lesson encourages us to be believers of integrity—like Abraham, David, Paul—and make our lives count wherever we live, so that others will be inspired to follow God by our actions.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
Thank you for visiting ChapLynne’s Daily Encouragement and Bible Study. God bless you.
*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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