Author: Danny Panter

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 31:8  (day six)

“Of all the people in the kingdom, you have the power, privilege, and responsibility to bring change where needed most.”-King Lemuel’s mom. Proverbs 31:1-9

To be a king means to love and lead a kingdom. A kingdom is not wealth or land; it is people. King Lemeul’s mom knew her son could squander his power on pleasure and privilege or be truly kingly and advocate for the most vulnerable in his kingdom.

Like King Lemuel, the church is best positioned to bring real change to those who need it most. We are image bearers, heirs of the King, called to provide a foretaste of the fullness of God’s Kingdom.

We are a privileged people.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 139:13-16  (day six)

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! Psalm 139:17

It should amaze us that we are on God’s radar at all; that we are not some project only to be discarded once completed. God is fully invested in us, all the way down to his thoughts; we are on his mind. If God, being eternally holy, and we being infinitely small in comparison, dignifies our humanity in this way, how much more should we dignify every human life, no matter how small?

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 139:13-16 (day six)

No one knows you like God knows you. He knows everything about you, even the hidden, mysterious parts of your formation. His intimate involvement in your life from the beginning to the very end is a source of safety, security, and thanksgiving.

More than anything, Psalm 139 is a celebration of God’s presence (like Megan wrote about this week) and his intimacy. For David, this is a reason for comfort and thanksgiving, not fear.

Does God’s intimate knowledge of your life comfort you? It should; being made in God’s image, you were designed for intimacy.

“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man…” John 9:1

Jesus saw the man. The disciples would likely not have noticed him if it were not for Jesus. There is little doubt the encounter caused awkward tension for the disciples. They were used to avoiding eye contact and moving along. Rather than say something to the blind beggar, they said something about him; even better, they asked Jesus a theological question. More avoidance.

Jesus wouldn’t have it. He answered their question, then moved in and touched the man.

Jesus challenged me this week to consider the number of people I pass by along the way. Sometimes, even my momentary kindnesses are yet another form of avoidance: smile, greet, move along. 

What if I really saw people? Rather than moving along, what if I entered someone’s universe? The truth is, I might just see the power of God on full display.

Re:Verse passage – Revelation 5:9-10 (day six)

For the Lord your God is living among you.
    He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
    With his love, he will calm all your fears.
    He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. Zephaniah 3:17

The world is filled with song. Wherever you go, people sing. Every tribe, people, and nation has songs to sing. We celebrate, commemorate, and narrate in song. John reminds us just how important songs are by capturing for us ” a new song.” This song comes from a long line of redemption songs: Exodus 15 (the first song recorded in the Bible), 2 Samuel 22, and even the Magnificat in Luke 1, to name a few.

It makes you wonder if, from the beginning, we were made to sing the glories of God. We were made in his image, after all, called to fill the earth with his glory, but what if the clearest and truest singing voice is not our own but God’s?

I can’t wait to hear it.

Re:Verse passage – Romans 8:28-30 (day six).

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28

God is all in. No one is more invested in your life than he is. He is so committed to you that he is working in and through “everything.” No matter the circumstance, heartache, or disappointment, he alone is working things out for your good. Even when you can’t see it or feel it, you can be certain he is working.

Like Joseph, you can declare, “What was meant for evil, God meant for good.” (Gen. 50:20) This good is as certain as Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. You can bet your life on it.

Re:Verse passage – 1 John 4:19–21 (day six) 

Loving others is our superpower. We are never more like God than when we love. It’s why John writes, “No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.” In other words, when we love like God loves, God reveals himself to others through us. And that is a pretty powerful and cool superpower!

Scott is absolutely right. “What if people see our love for each other, and that leads them to discover and understand God’s love for them (Friday’s blog)?” As image bearers, we were always intended to reflect God’s love (sin messed that up), so when we do, it has a superhuman way of lifting others’ eyes and ears up to see and hear God.

Flex your superpower today!

¹⁹ And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. 1 Corinthians 15:18

Though the world may be in turmoil, a promise of transformation awaits.  This is the assurance of God in Jesus. Just as Jeremiah instilled hope in the exiles, promising a return to a restored Jerusalem, Paul urges us to live with the same confidence in the midst of our current challenges.

For Paul, the promise of Jesus’ return and the resurrection of the dead kept him committed to Jesus even when life was tough. His hope was that one day, life as it should be would be fully restored. We live with the same hope.

Re:Verse passage – John 10:10 (day six)

³ So Jesus told them this story: ⁴ “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? Luke  15:3-4

The thief will do whatever it takes to keep you alone. That’s the strategy: isolation. Being made in God’s image, we were designed for fellowship with God and others, so it makes sense that the enemy would scheme to lure us away. He successfully convinces us that we don’t need anyone or have time for them, especially God. He does this subtly, of course; never out in the open. He will whisper things like,

“Listen to your heart.”

“You do you.”

“The Bible is so difficult to understand, plus where would you include it in your life? You are too busy.”

Some of his whispers almost sound noble and lofty, and most result in positioning ourselves over others rather than with others.

The thief’s deepest desire is to keep us alone, but abundant life is found under the care and provision of the shepherd, who leads you to green pasture along with other sheep. You can’t get there on your own.

Re:Verse passage – Genesis 1:26–27 (day six)

“…the scriptural witness to creation is from the first line more like a drama, the beginning of the acts of God, the first of many mighty deeds, upon which hinges both life’s current meaning and the eternal destinies of participants.” -Thomas Oden, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1

Being uniquely made in God’s image, humanity finds itself center stage in God’s mighty acts. In this divine relationship, we are far more than observers or oblivious participants; in fact, we are partakers, ambassadors, and emissaries; we are little idols (“image” is the same word translated as “idol”). We work and speak with the strength and wisdom God supplies (1 Peter 4:11) for the good of others.

This gives new meaning to God’s prohibition of making graven images of his likeness. He prohibits fashioning idols because we are to be his unique image bearers in creation.

Is there any more significant meaning in life?