Bryan Richardson – Page 48 – The Everyday Prayer

Dots

Re:Verse reading–Romans 1:18-32 (day three)

“…being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” The mind is capable, Paul declares, of figuring out that the universe had a beginning, because physical existence is non-self-creating. Therefore, a non-physical force must be responsible for that beginning. A non-physical force is, by definition, spiritual. Any critical examination of that reality will yield the realization–the revelation, if you will–that God exists, that God is the Creator, and that God has set the universe to function in one particular way. The mind can connect these dots. There is no validity, then, for us to claim that we could not possibly have known of God. The question is, now that we know, what are we going to do?

Pleasantries

Re: Verse reading—Romans 1:1–17 (day three)

“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Sometimes when you read an email, the more that people use pleasantries up front–“Hope you’re having a great day”, “I pray you’re well”, “How have you been?”, etc., the more you anticipate unpleasantness. What sales pitch will you hear? What favor will you get asked to do? What will the writer try to convince you to give up? You know the drill. Paul, though, was blessing his readers, not buttering them up. Would they read things in his letters that they wouldn’t like–things that would be hard to accept? Absolutely. But Paul prayed for them that grace and peace would operate in their souls so that they could receive the revelation of reality. May we use such words in the same way.

Impending

Re: Verse reading–2 Corinthians 5:11-21; 1 Peter 3:15-16; Colossians 4:2-6 (day three)

“Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others.” The clock tower of a church in Dallas reads “Night Cometh”. Wow. What a killjoy for a church’s image. Well, it’s not culturally attractive, but it sure is scripturally sound. These are in fact the very words of Jesus in John 9:4. If we were to consider with greater seriousness the reality of the impending judgment of God on this world, we might worry less about image and soften our hearts more towards people we encounter on a daily basis. We could make a practice of speaking these words as part of our morning devotion each day: Night cometh. How would these words begin to shape the way we live with others?

Saved

Re: Verse reading– Acts 4:32-37; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Galatians 6:9-10; Hebrews 10:24-25 (day three)

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’” When the human body experiences an organ transplant, massive doses of anti-rejection drugs soon follow. A body cannot fight itself and live. The human race cannot fight one another and live. The church is the sole representative of the kingdom of God on earth. Its mission consists of living the way Jesus taught us to live with one another—which is the only way to stay alive. If the church will not live that way, if the church fights itself, death comes, no one gets saved, and the human race is doomed. Loving one another in the church of our Lord is not only obedience, it’s life support for the whole world.

Request

Re: Verse reading–Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; Hebrews 13:17-18 (day three)

“Pray for us.”

There is nothing better that church leaders can ask of their congregations. The request for prayer places leaders in the posture of humility and honesty before the people, and it acknowledges limitations that only God can help leaders go beyond. And there is nothing better that congregations can do than to pray for their leaders. Such prayer reminds congregations that the church will represent God’s kingdom to a world that’s afraid no one is running the universe.

Steward

Re: Verse reading–Romans 13:1-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-4 (day three)

“The authorities that exist have been established by God.” Here’s a question: Do you listen to the voices of MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, the New Republic, National Review, etc., with a mind shaped by the Bible—or do you listen to the Bible through a mind shaped by one of those voices? Which is it? When our nation is wounded by flaws in our governing entities, let’s let the Bible be the first responder to our souls. That way, we become people who remain concerned with how we can steward together the system of authority God has placed over us.

Order

Re: Verse reading–Ephesians 6:5-9; Colossians 3:22-25; 1 Timothy 6:1-2; Titus 2:9-11 (day three)

“Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.”

Those in positions of power must wield it justly, and those in stations of weakness must leave room for God’s retribution. In Paul’s thinking this balance is necessary to preserve in this fallen world a social order that allows people to flourish. But in our fallenness we are unbalanced. So people in power begin to practice oppression, and people in weakness get exploited by those who would throw off all traces of authority. The powerful attempt to become God, and the weak forget God’s vengeance. In the resulting chaos, only the church can teach this world to live together in a social order that brings peace and plenty. Let’s get to work.

Ready

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 20:13-17; Leviticus 19:16-18; Zechariah 7:8-10; Matthew 5:13-16 (day three)

“I am the Lord.” If God is in fact the Lord, then you are not. That’s more than an exercise in basic logic. It’s a statement of your place in this universe under God. Paul reveals that we will each stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Jesus says that time of standing before the Lord will take into account the way that we have lived with one another: “What you have done to the least of these, you have done to me.” Therefore, each moment that we encounter our neighbor is a moment that we encounter the Lord. It is a moment in which he reminds us: I am the Lord. If you’re not ready to stand before your neighbor, you won’t be ready to stand before God.

Case

Re: Verse reading–Luke 6:27-36, Romans 12:17-21 (day three)

“Leave room for God’s wrath.” When an enemy has hurt you, that offending party must be brought to justice. But if you’re the one in charge of jurisprudence, is there much chance for thoughtful and wise remedy? You would have to answer to God for any judicial malpractice. You are not without recourse, though. Here’s what the psalmists learned: Hash it out with God. Now we see why the Psalms contain such violent imagery: Break the arm of the wicked, happy is he who dashes your infants against the rocks, etc. These are people pouring out their case to the Lord—all the anger, all the rage, all the pain. You will find no one who takes you as seriously as the Lord. He will judge.

Friends

Re: Verse reading—Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 1 Samuel 20:1-17, 27-42 (day three)

“They kissed each other and wept together.” In a world where sex is the highest and best form of togetherness, nothing else is never good enough, and all other pursuits wither–especially the pursuit of friendship. We read that “Jonathan loved [David] as his own soul”. We hear David grieve Jonathan by declaring “Your love to me was more wonderful than the love of women.” In our day, such things indicate sexual expression–that these men became “more than friends.” That kind of language cheapens friendship and blinds us to its power. Jesus taught us that there is no love greater than that of the deepest, most sacrificial friendships. If Jesus exalted friendship in that way, should we not question what our society has taught us about friendship?