Bathed in Sunlight • Isaiah 58:6-12

"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
   to break the chains of injustice,
   get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
   free the oppressed,
   cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
   sharing your food with the hungry,
   inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
   putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
   being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
   and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
   The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
   You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'"

"If you get rid of unfair practices,
   quit blaming victims,
   quit gossiping about other people's sins,
If you are generous with the hungry
   and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
   your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
   I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
   firm muscles, strong bones.
You'll be like a well-watered garden,
   a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
   rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You'll be known as those who can fix anything,
   restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
   make the community livable again."

Isaiah 58:6-12

•

Dear Lord, thank You for showing us how

You want us to live. Please open my eyes to the 

opportunities You place in my life to be generous and giving

to those who are in need. Help me to be available to my

family not only by my presence, but by giving to them

generously, willingly and with much love. 

Help me to willingly give generously to all 

You place in my life. 

Live Creatively • Galatians 6

 (Painting by Gracie)

Live creatively, friends. 

Galatians 6:1

 •

Make a careful exploration of who you are a

nd the work you have been given, 

and then sink yourself into that. 

Don't be impressed with yourself. 

Don't compare yourself with others. 

Each of you must take responsibility for doing 

the creative best you can with your own life. 

Galatians 6:4-5
 •

For my part, I am going to boast about nothing 

but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. 

Because of that Cross, 

I have been crucified in relation to the world, 

set free from the stifling atmosphere 

of pleasing others and fitting into 

the little patterns that they dictate. 

Can't you see the central issue in all this? 

It is not what you and I do—s

ubmit to circumcision, reject circumcision. 

It is what God is doing, 

and he is creating something totally new, a free life! 

All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God—

his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them! 

Galatians 6:14-16
•

Breathing in deep all that You are.

You are the Creator.
I have been made in Your image.
Your Spirit dwells within me.

You want me to be creative.
To take what You have given me,
who You have made me to be
and live in creative freedom as You
lead me throughout my life.

Oh how sad it must make You
when we cower in our little boxes,
being restricted by rules You did not
give us, shunning people
for mistakes they have made,
instead of lifting them up in love.

You are so gentle and patient with me.
Help me to be that way with those
You have placed in my life.
Graciously building into their lives,
helping them carry their burdens, and
gently correcting them when they go astray.

You have made me unique, special,
with my own journey to take as I follow You.
Help me not compare myself to others,
but to stay focused on You and what You
have for me to do.

You are at work in me!
You are creating a new life in me,
around me, through me.

Thank you, Jesus!

Sunday Psalm • Psalm 91:14-16

"If you'll hold on to me for dear life," says God,
      "I'll get you out of any trouble.
   I'll give you the best of care
      if you'll only get to know and trust me.
   Call me and I'll answer, be at your side in bad times;
      I'll rescue you, then throw you a party.
   I'll give you a long life,
      give you a long drink of salvation!" 

Psalm 91:14-16

Not the World's Kind of King • John 18

"My kingdom," said Jesus, 

"doesn't consist of what you see around you. 

If it did, my followers would fight 

so that I wouldn't be handed over to the Jews. 

But I'm not that kind of king, 

not the world's kind of king." 

Then Pilate said, "So, are you a king or not?" 

   Jesus answered, "You tell me. Because I am King,

I was born and entered the world 

so that I could witness to the truth. 

Everyone who cares for truth, 

who has any feeling for the truth, 

recognizes my voice." 

John 18:36-37

•

You weren't the king they expected.

No armies marched around You.

No trumpets announced Your arrival.

Truth. 

Love.

Mercy.

Grace.

Humility.

Dependence. 

King of the unseen kingdom.

Leading by serving.

Commanding by demonstration.

Living out what we are to become.

Hiding behind rules and systems they refused 

to see what that You were the fulfillment of 

all that was said to come.

Line by line Your life came from

words written long ago, the blueprints

for Your kingdom.

Those who have been burned by the Lie,

those who hunger for the truth

see who You are,

and are welcomed in to help build 

Your kingdom.

Real and Eternal Life • John 17

And this is the real and eternal life:
That they know You,
The one and only true God,
And Jesus Christ, whom You sent. 

 

John 17:3

•

I glorified You on earth
   By completing down to the last detail
   What You assigned Me to do. 

 

John 17:4 

•

And My life is on display in them.
   For I'm no longer going to be visible in the world;
   They'll continue in the world
   While I return to You. 

 

John 17:11 

 

I gave them Your word;
   The godless world hated them because of it,
   Because they didn't join the world's ways,
   Just as I didn't join the world's ways.
   I'm not asking that You take them out of the world
   But that You guard them from the Evil One.
   They are no more defined by the world
   Than I am defined by the world.
   Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth;
   Your word is consecrating truth. 

 

John 17: 14-17

•

The goal is for all of them 

to become one heart and mind—
   Just as You, Father, 

are in me and I in you,
   So they might be one 

heart and mind with us.
   Then the world might believe 

that You, in fact, sent Me. 

 

John 17:21-22

•

Righteous Father, 

the world has never known You,
   But I have known You, 

and these disciples know
   That you sent Me on this mission.
   I have made Your very being known to them—
   Who You are and what You do—
   And continue to make it known,
   So that Your love for Me
   Might be in them
   Exactly as I am in them. 

 

John 17:25-26 

 

 

 

To know the one and only true God

to know Jesus, my Lord and Savior – 

Real Life.

What is most important –

the goal I was made for,

the purpose wove into every cell –

is to know You.

Through earthen jars Your glory shines

drawing all who will come 

to You.

 

The way of obedience connects me

to You, making me a portal of 

Your glory-shine. 

Set me apart through the water of 

Your Word. Sprout and grow

fill all my cracks –

produce holy spirit born fruit.

God made flesh –

made known to flesh.

Knitting hearts and minds into one.

Revealing real life to all.

Unshakable and Assured • John 16

"This is what I want you to do:

Ask the Father for whatever is

keeping with the things I've revealed

to you. Ask in my name, according to my will,

and He'll most certainly give it to you. 

Your joy will be a river over flowing its banks!"

John 16:23-24

•

"Now we know that You know

everything – it all comes

together in You."

John 16:30

•

"I've told you all this so that trusting

me, you will be unshakable and assured,

deeply at peace. In this godless world

you will continue to experience

difficulties. But take heart!

I've conquered the world!"

John 16:33

You know me inside and out.

You have not left me to stumble around

in the dark, to find my own way.

You know everything. 

You illuminate my way with 

Your light and truth.

Deep inside the Counselor-Friend

translates Your way to my soul.

Life with You is not a guessing game.

It is not smoke and mirrors or 

pie in the sky.

 

Struggles and trials will come.

Mountains to climb and 

dark valleys to maneuver.

These are not a surprise.

You said they would be there. 

I am not alone in the midst of 

the deep water, the ground shaking,

the tempest, the fire-storm.

Trust in You 

makes me unshakable and assured.

Deep peace and joy unspeakable 

wells up as I release my grasp

on my life, this world – 

on what I see with these eyes made of dirt –

and place it all in the hands 

of the One who has overcome the world.

At Home • John 15

"Live in Me. Make your home in me just as I do in you."

John 15:4

•

"I am the Vine, you are the branches.

When you're joined with me and I with you, 

the relation intimate and organic,

the harvest is sure to be abundant. 

Separated, you can't produce a thing."

John 15:5 

"But if you make yourselves at home

with Me and My words are at home

in you, you can be sure that whatever 

you ask will be listened to 

and acted upon."

 John 15:7

 

"I've loved you the way 

My Father has loved Me. 

Make yourselves at home in My love.

If you keep my commands, 

you'll remain intimately

at home in My love.

That's what I've done – 

kept my Father's commands and

made Myself at home in His love."

John 15:9-10

•

Jesus, You are my true home.

You are the Source of all that is Living

and True and Right.

When I am living in You 

You are living in Me.

The sap of Your life runs through

my veins, pumping life –

pure and fertile.

You give me all I need

to live, to pass life on.

Your Words of life dwell not only

on a page, they have settled 

deep in my heart and mind.

Help me to listen, to hear, to do.

You give me the desire to do

and the energy to fulfill 

Your life-giving, love producing will.

 

Take the taste for death from my mouth.

Pull the roots of bitterness and pride.

Within me they crave destruction.

They blind my eyes to life and truth.

Clinging tight to You,

I will drink deep of the life You give.

Simply and Honestly Myself • John 4

"It's who you are and the way you live that count before God.

Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth.

That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for:

those who are simply and honestly themselves before Him in worship.

God is sheer being itself — Spirit.

Those who worship Him must do it out of their very being,

their spirits, their true selves, in adoration."

  John 4:23-24

"Come see a man who knew all about

the things I did, who knows me inside and out."

John 4:29
 

•

Somehow in my life I have had a misunderstanding

that the Lord has been clearing up for me in the last few years. 

I knew that He made each one of us uniquely and special

in His sight, as it says in Psalm 139, and I, of course,

grasped that each one of us is different and have different gifts.

But somehow, I did not get that it is good and right

that we discover who we are and live out who we are fully.

  I kept seeing other people's strengths and gifts

and what they enjoyed doing and thought 

that I was supposed to be those things.

As I read Jesus' words here, I am coming away with that 

we are worshipping Him when we are pursuing truth and walking in it.

As I live my life in truth - discovering how He made me

(my strengths, my weaknesses, what fills my cup)

and then walking in my strengths and letting Him work

through my weaknesses -  I find my life becoming an act of worship.

I need to be who God made me to be. 

Not someone else! 

That brings glory to Him and is worship.

We Can Have it All! • John 3

 

 

"In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent

in the desert so people could have something

to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man

to be lifted up - and everyone who looks up to Him,

trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life."

  John 3:14-15 (The Message)

•

Real life comes from Jesus!
Lord, this morning I choose to look to You in expectant trust.

You are the source of real, eternal life.

Thank You Jesus for allowing Yourself

to be lifted up on the cross

so that we could look to You and gain eternal life.

•

"This is how much God loved the world:

He gave His Son, His One and Only Son.

And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed;

by believing in Him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.

God didn't go to all the trouble of sending His Son

merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was.

He came to help, to put the world right again.

Anyone who trusts in Him is acquitted;

anyone who refuses to trust Him has long since

been under the death sentence without knowing it.

And why? Because of that person's failure to believe

in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to Him."

  John 3:16-18

•

Thank you, Jesus for loving us so much that

You gave up Your life for us! Thank you for coming in love.

Thank you for not coming in accusation,

wanting to destroy us because of our sins.

You came to help us, because on our own,

we can do nothing to help ourselves.

Please help me to do the same for others.

Help me to be a help to others. Showing them the way to You. 

Forgive me for the many times that I have instead been accusing.

•

"This is the crisis we're in:

God-light streamed into the world,

but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness.

They went for the darkness because

they were not really interested in pleasing God.

Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil,

addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light

and won't come near it, fearing a painful exposure.

But anyone working and living in truth and reality

welcomes God-light so the work

can be seen for the God-work it is."

  John 3:19-21

•

I want to be pleasing to you, Lord, in every area of my life.

I know that there are still areas in my life

where I am trying to hide and remain in the darkness.

Please remove any desire for denial and illusion in my life.

Please help me to work and live in truth and reality in every area of my life.

•

 

"The One that God sent speaks God's words.

And don't think He rations out the Spirit

in bits and pieces. The Father loves the Son extravagantly.

He turned everything over to Him 

so He could give it away - a lavish distribution of gifts.

That's why whoever accepts and trusts the Son

gets in on everything, life complete and forever!

And that is also why the person who avoids

and distrusts the Son is in the dark and doesn't see life.

All he experiences of God is darkness,

and an angry darkness at that."  

John 3:34-36

•

Thank You, Lord that you are so generous and giving!

You hold nothing back from those who trust You

and believe in You. Life complete and forever!

All that You have given Jesus, Your Only Son,

You give to those who accept and believe in You.

Help us to truly grasp that and live in that truth!

Life-Light • John 1

The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; 

the darkness couldn't put it out. 

John 1:5

•

Jesus took one look up and said, "You're John's son, Simon?

From now on you name is Cephas"

(or Peter, which means "Rock"). 

John 1:42

•

Jesus, You know me - the true me - my child-of-God self. 

 •

 

But whoever did want Him,

who believed He was who He claimed

and would do what He said,

He made to be their true selves,

their child-of-God selves.

These are the God-begotten,

not blood-begotten, not flesh-begotten.  

John 1:11-13

 

You know who I am and what my true name is. 

In You I find safety and comfort and wholeness. 

Thank You, Jesus! 

You are my Life and Light. 

Though the darkness around me tries

to put out Your Light or block it out – it cannot. 

Blaze over me, in me, through me Life-Light!

Show me who You are.

•

 

No one has ever see God, not so much as a glimpse. 

This one-of-a-kind God-Expression, 

who exists at the very heart of the Father, 

has made Him plain as day.

John 1:18

•

Please show me who I am. 

Teach me to follow You and bring others to You.

Thank You for becoming flesh

and moving into the neighborhood. (John 1:14)

You are the Glory of the One and Only – 

You are the One and Only!

Rescued!

Text and images taken from The Jesus Storybook Bible 

by Sally Lloyd-Jones, illustrated by Jago.

Then Jesus picked up some bread and broke it. 

He gave it to his friends. He picked up a cup of wine and

thanked God for it. He poured it out and shared it.

"My body is like this bread. It will break," Jesus told them.

"This cup of wine is like my blood. It will pour out."

"But this is how God will rescue the whole world. My life will break

and God's broken world will mend. My heart will tear apart

— and your hearts will heal. Just as the passover lamb died,

so now I will die instead of you. My blood will wash away

all of your sins. And you'll be clean on the inside

—in your hearts."

"So whenever you eat and drink, remember," 

Jesus said, "I have rescued you!"

The wind was picking up now, blowing clouds across

the moon, shrouding the garden in darkness.

"Stay up with me?" Jesus asked his friends.

They said yes and waited under the olive trees, but

they were tired and soon they fell asleep.

Jesus walked ahead alone, into the dark.

He needed to talk to his heavenly Father.

He knew it was time for him to die. They had planned

it long ago, he and his Father. Jesus was going to take

the punishment for all the wrong things anybody

had ever done, or ever would do.

"Papa! Father!" Jesus cried.

And he fell to the ground.

"Is there any other way to get your children back?

To heal their hearts? To get rid of the poison?

But Jesus knew — there was no other way.

All the poison of sin was going to have to 

go into his own heart.

God was going to pour into Jesus' heart all the sadness 

and brokenness in people's hearts. He was going to 

pour into Jesus' body all the sickness in people's

bodies. God was going to have to blame

his son for everything that had gone wrong.

It would crush Jesus.

But there was something else, something even more horrible.

When people ran away from God, they lost God —

it was what happened when they ran away.

Not being close to God was like a punishment.

Jesus was going to take that punishment.

Jesus knew what that meant. He was going to lose his Father —

and that, Jesus knew, would break his heart in two.

Violent sobs shook Jesus' whole body.

Then Jesus was quiet. Like a lamb. "I trust you, Papa,"

he said. "Whatever you say, I will do."

What He Has Done For Us

Isaiah 53 

Who believes what we've heard and seen?

 Who would have thought God's saving power would look like this?

 The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
   a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
   nothing to cause us to take a second look.

He was looked down on and passed over,
   a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
   We looked down on him, thought he was scum.

But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
   our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.

We thought he brought it on himself,
   that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
   that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!

He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
   Through his bruises we get healed.

We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
   We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong,
   on him, on him. 

 He was beaten, he was tortured,
   but he didn't say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
   and like a sheep being sheared,
   he took it all in silence.

Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
   and did anyone really know what was happening?

He died without a thought for his own welfare,
   beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
   threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he'd never hurt a soul
   or said one word that wasn't true. 

 Still, it's what God had in mind all along,
   to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
   so that he'd see life come from it—life, life, and more life. 

   And God's plan will deeply prosper through him.

Out of that terrible travail of soul,
   he'll see that it's worth it and be glad he did it.

Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
   will make many "righteous ones,"
   as he himself carries the burden of their sins.

Therefore I'll reward him extravagantly—
   the best of everything, the highest honors—

Because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch,
   because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,
   he took up the cause of all the black sheep. 

•

"What wondrous love is this, oh my soul?

Entering the Kingdom - Excerpts from Matthew 19

"Let the children alone, don't prevent them

from coming to me. God's kingdom

is made up of people like these."

•

"Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"

 •

"God is the One who is good. 

If you want to enter the life of God,

just do what he tells you."

^•

"Do you have any idea how difficult it is

for the rich to enter God's kingdom?

Let me tell you, it's easier to gallop a camel

through a needle's eye than for the rich

to enter God's kingdom." 

 •

 "Then who has any chance at all?" 

 •

Jesus looked hard at them and said,

"No chance at all

if you think you can

pull it off yourself."

 •

"Every chance in the world

if you trust God to do it." 

Little ones 

To Him belong, 

They are weak

But He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Kingdom Lessons from Matthew 18

The way of the Kingdom of God is so opposite of what my flesh chooses on its own.

If someone hurts me, even just some tiny, hurtful comment, I quickly fly to defend myself and hurt back if I can. 

But this is not His way.

"If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—

work it out between the two of you. 

If he listens, you've made a friend. 

If he won't listen, take one or two others along

so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest,

and try again.

If he still won't listen, tell the church.

If he won't listen to the church,

you'll have to start over from scratch,

confront him with the need for repentance,

and offer again God's forgiving love."

 --

Matthew 18:15-17

•

This whole chapter seems to be a pattern for us.

Is the order of these verses and that they are all together important? 

Do they give more insight into living the way of the Kingdom?

It is not about us being right.

It is not about condemnation, penance, punishment.

It is about concern for another.

It is about patience.

It is about mercy.

It is about forgiveness.

When a fellow believer has hurt us, 

we go to her, talk with her, 

give her many chances to see her sin and repent.

(Matthew 18:15-17)

Right after those verses, 

Jesus talks about the importance of our words

and how powerful it is for us to get together

with another believer and agree in prayer.

(Matthew 18:18-20)

Should we be praying for the believer who hurt us? 

(No gossip, no hurtful chatter...)

Immediately following this is Peter's question

about how many times we are to forgive.

(Seventy times seven is Jesus' answer.)

Jesus rounds out His answer by telling the Kingdom story

about forgiveness. What happens to the servant who

was forgive much who refuses to forgive in return?

Forgive, for we have been forgiven all.

"The king summoned the man and said, 'You evil servant!

I forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy.

Shouldn't you be compelled to be merciful to

your fellow servant who asked for mercy?"

 --

Matthew 18:32

Kingdom living does not come from ourselves.

Forgiveness is not always easy and is not always what we want to do.

It at times is an act of sheer obedience.

•

Work hard to show the results of your salvation,

obeying God with deep reverence and fear.

For God is working in you, giving you the desire

and the power to do what pleases him.

--

Philippians 2:12-13 NLT

•

Be honest before the Lord.

Pour out your heart to Him.

Ask Him to give you the desire and the power to forgive.

He wants us to follow Him, rely on Him, take the yoke He gives us to bear.

He will not leave us alone, to do His way on our own.

He who has forgiven much will help us to forgive as well.

Seeing the Kingdom

The disciples came up and asked, "Why do you tell stories?"

He replied, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom.

You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight;

it hasn't been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart

for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is

no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears.

That's why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people 

toward receptive insight. In their present state they can 

stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they're blue

in the face and not get it."

--

Matthew 13:10-14

The kingdom of God is here. 

It is all around us.

We are able to walk and live and share it, now.

Jesus came to show us how to live in it.

He came to show us how to live.

I want to have a ready heart,

Open and receptive to insight and understanding.

I want to have my thinking changed (Romans 12:2), 

So that I am kingdom minded as I go through my day.

A farmer planted seed. 

As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, 

and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; 

it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, 

so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. 

Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, 

it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth,

and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.

"Are you listening to this? Really listening?" 

 --

Matthew 13:3-9

May my heart by the good earth.

May I have God-blessed eyes – eyes that see!

May I have God-blessed ears – ears that hear!

Teach me about your kingdom, Lord!