The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – John 9: 1-3 (day three)

“Rabbi, who sinned…?”

Whose fault is it? Who’s to blame? Who did it wrong? These questions say more about the one asking than the one asked about. A marginalized person – one who does not fit with the norms of the group, one whose voice is ignored, who possesses no power, no sway, and is relegated to “the least of these” – such a person poses a question that is hard to ignore. The question is this: “How will you love this person?” If you can identify some kind of moral or character-based deficiency in that person, it’s easier to turn down the volume of that question. And then, you have a justification for avoiding it altogether.

Re:Verse passage – John 9: 1-3 (day two) so that the works of God might be displayed Vs.3b

You were created to display the work of God. In the fullness of creation, you were fearfully and wonderfully made (hang on to that text in the next couple of weeks), and your creation you were made to fulfill a purpose that was divinely given to you. This passage deals with a ‘dis’ ability, and the fixation on whether sin caused it, but may I challenge you to consider that whatever ability, inability, disability you have been given is for a purpose. Your life is to glorify the creator. Sometimes we have the opportunity to do that through blessing and abundance, and sometimes we can glorify him through a need or lack. Spend time thinking how uniquely you were made, and then consider how you are glorifying God through your life.

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

and they will reign upon the earth. Revelation 5:10b

Modern atheism would be defined as a a belief that there is no god, but the practice of modern atheism would point to a belief that you are your own god. This is the belief that each person is in charge of their own destiny and thus, their own god. Modern culture, even those who do not claim atheism, would encourage such behavior as well. Culture would tell you that you are the definer of your own truth, the maker of your own path, and the ruler of your own world.

The irony in all this is that through God, you are promised to rule the world. Despite our constant striving to be God, we find ourselves missing the very thing we have been working so hard to attain. We were in fact created to rule in this world, but we cannot rule without recognizing that we were first created to worship. When our priorities are correct, and we follow our Lord Jesus Christ, He will instill in us the desire and ability to lead others into joyful life with Him. This is our dominion.

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 – Revelation 5:9-10 (day five)  

Am still amazed at the radical generosity and hospitality of the Lord (every tribe, tongue, people, nation). Imagine hearing these words for the first time around 100AD. How much larger and more diverse was this Kingdom that Jesus had envisioned actually gonna be?  Much more than anyone ever thought or dreamed. Were they comfortable with a larger and more diverse vision of the Kingdom? The flesh (in me) values comfort and control. Yet, when I read passages like this one, the Spirit presses me to desire and practice God’s kind of “gospel generosity hospitality”- seeing all people (tribe, tongue, people, nation) as potential citizens and priests of The Kingdom of God, encouraging/inviting them to surrender their lives to Christ, joining in the heavenly celebration and worship both now and forever.  Want to reflect the character and kindness of God (which we were created to do)?  Then we must practice “Gospel Generosity and Hospitality”.

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

“And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God.” v. 10

Jesus flipped everything upside down when He came to earth. Our purpose and identity changed with that. Back in the Old Testament, we learn how God chose the priests of Israel and how He set apart the tribe of Levi to fulfill that role. This tribe was set apart, had specific duties, and was called to a specific way of life.

Here, now, in the final book of the Bible, we learn how Jesus flipped that role. His death and resurrection caused those of us that have been born again as believers and followers of Christ to assume that role of priest for the Lord. So, no matter who you are or where you are from, when you become a follower of Christ, you become a priest for God. That means that we are set apart and called to a specific way of life, similar to the Levitical priests of the Old Testament.

As you look at your life today and how you go about your week, are you living as a person that has been created by God to be set apart?

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

“They will reign upon the earth.”

What kind of God creates people and then fits them to have say over his creation forever, exercising authority over the vastness of the riches of the universe? What kind of God does that? The God who is does that. That is the destiny for which God made each human person. Each person has a future that is full of more glory than one can imagine. And this destiny only magnifies the unfathomable catastrophe that occurs when one has lost one’s way, following a path that leads away – infinitely – from all that is good and beautiful. To help all people understand and grasp this future is the kind of work that takes seriously the catastrophe of such loss.

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

You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation vs 9b

Im sitting in the hotel lobby in London about 6 hours before we have to get up and head for the airport to fly home. We are more than ready to be home. Less than ready for the heat, but it has been a life-changing mission-affirming two weeks of ministry. Informal and formal concerts numbered around 15; many kingdom conversations, and prayer over people; one life given to Christ.

One aspect of the tour that surprised me at every stop was the way people responded to the kids singing, especially when we sang Old Lang Syne set to new words. We were reminded time and time again that the Lord is alive and active across the globe. His death and resurrection was for every tribe and nation. It was exciting to see the gospel in  action.