Monday, Ordinary 23/Proper 18-- Sept 8
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Meditation
Monday, Ordinary 23, Proper 18 established the way believers would present themselves to God and to the world. The Psalmist wrote, what we always called ‘The Traveler’s Psalm,’ which we would say aloud together before venturing on any trip. The Lord preserved the going and comings of believers. We could count on it. The Psalmist knew that all things came down to the relationship with God. Whenever facing a challenge, where did he look to? God, who provided the help needed.
For the Hebrew people, the Old Testament lesson reviewed the Feast of Unleavened Bread that would be celebrated over and over again—the time that the Lord would pass over those obedient believers that painted their door posts with the blood of a pure male lamb or goat.
The feast would be shared with strangers and family alike, for the charge was to remember the miracle of God’s action in the lives of the Hebrews and how they presented themselves to the world, in the years to come.
The New Testament epistle by Peter—the Apostle, who was always getting in trouble for putting his foot in his mouth or leaping before thinking—wrote to the believers;
“I beg you to avoid the evil things your bodies want to do that fight against your soul…Live such good lives that they will see the good things you do and will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again.”
A supervisor Navy chaplain taught me about “living above the shadow line.” He said, “You can arrive exactly on time, but someone’s clock may be fast and they would see you as late. It’s as if the dividing line between correct and wrong is invisibly drawn for every circumstance. If one were to imagine a bright light shining from behind, even though the feet would be standing on one side of the line, one’s shadow would cast on the wrong side and people might ‘perceive’ the individual was on the wrong side. Instead, draw a line –a shadow line—parallel to the line of truth, which would ensure one’s shadow would still fall on the ‘correct side’ of the line. If one lived above the ‘shadow line,’ one would never have to worry about things being misperceived.
As Peter said, “People who do not believe are living all around you and might say that you are doing wrong.”
This did not mean to establish a list for everyone to follow. My shadow line might be different than someone else’s and I cannot demand that others follow ‘my’ rules. No, the checklist must be formed by people individually. In fact, Peter summarized the ‘rule’ in a similar way to Jesus in yesterday’s lesson:
17 “Show respect for all people. Love your brothers and sisters in God’s family. Respect God, and honor the king.”
The perception of our family, neighbors and the stranger within our nation, should be of one thing. Love. Love, respect and honor.
I was watching an NCIS episode about a Marine living by the code, Semper Fi, meaning ‘Always faithful/loyal.’ People identify Marines as being honorable towards each other. They stick together and take care of each other. People perceive them as honorable (by and large).
Peter, and all the lessons, pressed for believers to be perceived as honorable, as respectful, as not driven by selfish interests but guided by love. We were charged to perpetuate the reminders of God at work among the Hebrews.
We must check our own lives to see that we live above the shadow line, so that God would be glorified. This is to examine our own lives not to judge other’s lives.
Why should we live above the shadow line? The ultimate goal must be that God would be glorified. Anything we did/do that would bring less than honor to God, undermines the truth of who God is. If we shame God, we have been false. God is love—not shame. If we are loving, we will do things that bring honor to God and cause non-believers to “recognize your good deeds and so praise God on the Day of his coming.”
Let us strive to live above the shadow line for God’s sake.
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 23, Proper 18
Bible Readings
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus 12:1-14;Psalm 149;Romans 13:8-14;Matthew 18:15-20&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;NIV (multiple versions)
Monday, Ordinary 23, Proper 18
Psalm 121
Exodus 12:14-28
1 Peter 2:11-17
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Psalm 121 King James Version (KJV)
1I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
1 Peter 2:11-17
King James Version (KJV)
11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.
15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.
17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
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 failing you. Help us to live above the shadow line and bring honor and glory to your name. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Monday, Ordinary 23, Proper 18 the opportunity to live above the shadow line was presented by the Psalmist—who acknowledged the Lord preserved our comings and goings. The Old Testament story of preparing for the pass over so the angel of death would not kill the first born was to be re-celebrated through the years as a reminder of God at work in the lives of Hebrews. But Peter distilled it down to the key point—live so that people who were non-believers living around them would recognize the difference by their behavior and consequently, praise God.
When my mother lay paralyzed in the hospital with her 17th stroke, she could only communicate with her eyes. I brought her Bible to read to her and leave it beside her bedside. It was encased in a tapestry glove, so it didn’t look like a Bible. Yet, the nurse attending her turned to me and said, “Your mother’s a Christian, isn’t she?”
When I nodded, completely surprised by her words, she responded, “I can always tell. There is something different in the eyes. I’m an atheist, but I can tell.”
To the end of her days, my mother’s eyes reflected the glory of the Lord and made people praise God. We can live above the shadow line and let our shadow of activity fall on the side of doing good for God.
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 23, Proper 18 established the way believers would present themselves to God and to the world. The Psalmist wrote, what we always called ‘The Traveler’s Psalm,’ which we would say aloud together before venturing on any trip. The Lord preserved the going and comings of believers. We could count on it. The Psalmist knew that all things came down to the relationship with God. Whenever facing a challenge, where did he look to? God, who provided the help needed.
For the Hebrew people, the Old Testament lesson reviewed the Feast of Unleavened Bread that would be celebrated over and over again—the time that the Lord would pass over those obedient believers that painted their door posts with the blood of a pure male lamb or goat.
The feast would be shared with strangers and family alike, for the charge was to remember the miracle of God’s action in the lives of the Hebrews and how they presented themselves to the world, in the years to come.
The New Testament epistle by Peter—the Apostle, who was always getting in trouble for putting his foot in his mouth or leaping before thinking—wrote to the believers;
“I beg you to avoid the evil things your bodies want to do that fight against your soul…Live such good lives that they will see the good things you do and will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again.”
A supervisor Navy chaplain taught me about “living above the shadow line.” He said, “You can arrive exactly on time, but someone’s clock may be fast and they would see you as late. It’s as if the dividing line between correct and wrong is invisibly drawn for every circumstance. If one were to imagine a bright light shining from behind, even though the feet would be standing on one side of the line, one’s shadow would cast on the wrong side and people might ‘perceive’ the individual was on the wrong side. Instead, draw a line –a shadow line—parallel to the line of truth, which would ensure one’s shadow would still fall on the ‘correct side’ of the line. If one lived above the ‘shadow line,’ one would never have to worry about things being misperceived.
As Peter said, “People who do not believe are living all around you and might say that you are doing wrong.”
This did not mean to establish a list for everyone to follow. My shadow line might be different than someone else’s and I cannot demand that others follow ‘my’ rules. No, the checklist must be formed by people individually. In fact, Peter summarized the ‘rule’ in a similar way to Jesus in yesterday’s lesson:
17 “Show respect for all people. Love your brothers and sisters in God’s family. Respect God, and honor the king.”
The perception of our family, neighbors and the stranger within our nation, should be of one thing. Love. Love, respect and honor.
I was watching an NCIS episode about a Marine living by the code, Semper Fi, meaning ‘Always faithful/loyal.’ People identify Marines as being honorable towards each other. They stick together and take care of each other. People perceive them as honorable (by and large).
Peter, and all the lessons, pressed for believers to be perceived as honorable, as respectful, as not driven by selfish interests but guided by love. We were charged to perpetuate the reminders of God at work among the Hebrews.
We must check our own lives to see that we live above the shadow line, so that God would be glorified. This is to examine our own lives not to judge other’s lives.
Why should we live above the shadow line? The ultimate goal must be that God would be glorified. Anything we did/do that would bring less than honor to God, undermines the truth of who God is. If we shame God, we have been false. God is love—not shame. If we are loving, we will do things that bring honor to God and cause non-believers to “recognize your good deeds and so praise God on the Day of his coming.”
Let us strive to live above the shadow line for God’s sake.
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 23, Proper 18
Bible Readings
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus 12:1-14;Psalm 149;Romans 13:8-14;Matthew 18:15-20&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;NIV (multiple versions)
Monday, Ordinary 23, Proper 18
Psalm 121
Exodus 12:14-28
1 Peter 2:11-17
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Psalm 121 King James Version (KJV)
1I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
1 Peter 2:11-17
King James Version (KJV)
11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.
15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.
17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
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 failing you. Help us to live above the shadow line and bring honor and glory to your name. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Monday, Ordinary 23, Proper 18 the opportunity to live above the shadow line was presented by the Psalmist—who acknowledged the Lord preserved our comings and goings. The Old Testament story of preparing for the pass over so the angel of death would not kill the first born was to be re-celebrated through the years as a reminder of God at work in the lives of Hebrews. But Peter distilled it down to the key point—live so that people who were non-believers living around them would recognize the difference by their behavior and consequently, praise God.
When my mother lay paralyzed in the hospital with her 17th stroke, she could only communicate with her eyes. I brought her Bible to read to her and leave it beside her bedside. It was encased in a tapestry glove, so it didn’t look like a Bible. Yet, the nurse attending her turned to me and said, “Your mother’s a Christian, isn’t she?”
When I nodded, completely surprised by her words, she responded, “I can always tell. There is something different in the eyes. I’m an atheist, but I can tell.”
To the end of her days, my mother’s eyes reflected the glory of the Lord and made people praise God. We can live above the shadow line and let our shadow of activity fall on the side of doing good for God.
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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