We were invited to worship this week through the poetry of Isaiah in chapter 43:
1 But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
This scripture has been beautifully reflected in the song “Nothing to Fear” by The Porter’s Gate. Take a few moments to listen or simply read and meditate on the scripture above. Invite your heart to receive the fullness of God’s comfort. He speaks comfort to us as our Creator, our Redeemer and the One who is at work restoring all things.
Is there a fearful scenario that is playing in your mind this week in which you are overwhelmed and consumed? How does remembering that the God of all things created you, speaks your name and has bought you with the blood of Jesus to be his own push back on this fear? How does his promise to be with you change your imagination?
Pray: Thank you, Father, for your Word that teaches us to understand our deepest needs and to trust that you have met them fully and finally in Jesus. As we name our fears in your loving presence, thank you that you meet us with words of comfort: You are mine; I will be with you; You will not be overwhelmed or consumed, for I am your Savior. Holy Spirit, refresh our hearts with the deep comfort of the gospel so that we look away from the many things that falsely promise comfort and look only to Jesus.
We heard the good news preached from Paul’s letter to Philemon that Jesus is our life. What Jesus has done changes everything about our lives and our relationships. The specific situation of this letter involves a servant (Onesimus) who has wronged the man he worked for (Philemon) and after running away has become a friend of Paul and a believer in Jesus. Paul appeals to Philemon on Onesimus’ behalf:
7 For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. 8 Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, 9 yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— 10 I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment.
It’s encouraging to think about how every aspect of this situation involving Philemon, Onesimus and Paul is transformed by the gospel. How can you see the saving work of Jesus in the lives of these people as it impacts the following things in this particular situation?
Philemon’s character and his impact on those around him…
Paul’s perspective on his imprisonment...
The relationship between Philemon and Onesimus even after Onesemis had wronged Philemon…
The way that Paul motivates Philemon…
The course of Onesimus’ life after he ran away and came to know Jesus…
This letter addresses a complicated situation that is thick with the effects of sin and full of opportunities for bitterness, fear and resentment. Even so, the gospel is so transformative that it works out Christ-likeness, forgiveness, restoration and strengthening of the bonds of love among God’s people.
Are you facing a situation this week that is complicated and thick with the effects of sin? Take some time to look at that situation and the people involved through the lens of the gospel. Start with the goodness of God’s creation and continue thinking through and confessing what Rebellion has broken. Remember what Jesus has done to redeem us and set us free from the power of sin and set your heart on the world that he is restoring.
Pray: Lord Jesus, you change everything. There is no corner of your creation that your salvation does not claim. In these particular situations, we look to all that you are building and changing in our hearts and lives and what you are building and changing in the lives of those around us. Even in this difficult and complicated situation, please work in and through us to bring about Christ-likeness and deepening of love.
Paul is never evasive about the real damage caused by sin and real cost of forgiveness:
17 So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self.
We are a forgiven people who are compelled to forgive. When we are wronged by others, we can fight against bitterness by remembering what we have been forgiven for and what that forgiveness cost God the Father, Son and Spirit. Take a moment to thank our Savior for the times that even so far this week, he has said to our Father on your behalf, “Put that to my account.”
Pray: Lord Jesus, you are reigning forever. May your grace compel us to pour out our lives for others, as you Jesus, poured out your life for us.
Next week, we will be continuing in our reading of the New Testament, thinking about the four-part story of the Scriptures: Creation, Rebellion, Redemption and Restoration. Finish this time by prayerfully reading the following verses, asking the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus as his Word is preached, received and lived out by his people.
1 John 4:9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.