5 February 2011

5 February 2011

Psalm 75, 76; Isa. 57:3-13; Gal. 5:25-6:10; Mark 9:14-29

While those who hold fast to the Lord in faithfulness will receive their reward, those who have forsaken Him and gone after idols, sought the fulfillment of their earthly desires, offered worship to other gods and to kings and rulers will be judged and rejected by Him. It is a very simple equation based in the very first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me.” His claim to preeminence is based in the prior verse, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” His claim is based on His prior action on their behalf, He has already proven Himself to be worthy of their allegiance and worship in many ways. The bringing them out of Egypt includes the great signs or plagues necessary to demonstrate His power and His love for His people. It also includes the promise to Abraham as it was fulfilled in the deliverance. It includes also the giving of the land. He has done great things and what has anyone or anything else done so as to have a claim on these particular people. Jesus’ death on a cross for our sins is His claim on us by the way, nothing has changed in this respect, we too must follow Him.

Are we people of prayer? I know that when I first went into pastoral ministry I would pray before leaving my office to visit people, pray in the parking lot of the hospital, and pray before entering a room. Somewhere along the way I got secure in my abilities and dropped all those habits until one day a man stopped me in the hallway and announced to me that the Lord had told him that He was going to do a great thing, a miracle, in this hospital and in particular in the situation I was heading into, through me but that I needed to pray more. I was cut to the heart that day and realized what had happened. The Lord did do a miracle in that situation but at that moment I was deeply discouraged by the lack of progress in the patient. To be a people of prayer means that we never, no matter how God has used us in the past, have a claim to His power in the present outside of Him working through us. We must always stay connected to the source of power and prayer is that connection.

What do we do when our brothers and sisters sin? How does the body of Christ deal with sin? Generally we either look the other way or we excuse it in some way. Paul says we are to restore the person with gentleness but that does not mean that we should tolerate or excuse sin. Paul is making the opposite argument because a church characterized by legalism can tend in the other direction, never forgiving the one whose sins are public. We have an obligation to deal with sin, to insist on confession and repentance and then to restore the person who has done these things to the fellowship of the church. The cross tells us how important sin and righteousness are to God but it also tells us how important relationship is to Him. That pattern should be the pattern of the church.

I want to see the Brightness of God

I want to look at Jesus

Clear Son of righteousness shine on my path

And show me the way to the Father.

In Him there is no darkness at all

The night and the day are both alike

The lamb is the Light of the city of God

Shine in my heart Lord Jesus.