For Sunday, June 17, scroll to the end of Saturday's meditation
Yet you have made them a littler lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor
Psalm 8:5
When humankind’s short-sighted reasoning led them to misuse their gift of free will and disobey God they lost what Arminius called their “original righteousness” and the presence of the Holy Spirit was withdrawn, yet they (and we) are still in the image of God (though damaged) and therefore able to be restored to that pre-fall state through faith.
Psychologists tell us that one of the driving questions of human existence has to do with who we really are and why we are here. The Psalmist tells us that those of us who have exercised restorative faith are truly the highest order of God’s creation and that the Creator has crowned us with glory and honor.
No true child of God need ever suffer from inferiority feelings or a sense of inadequacy because as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father we have a very special place in not only God’s creation but also in his care and plan. Yet you have made them a littler lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor
Heavenly Father, Today we have many names for the age old malady that keeps us from realizing who we are and what we can become, but we know that it is rooted in our lack of realization of the truth of today’s scripture verse. Help us to not only come to know that people are your greatest creation, but also that by faith in your Son we can experience to restorative power of the indwelling presence of your Spirit, which will enable us to grow toward the person we were meant to be and thereby fulfill the wonderful purposes you have for us. In Jesus liberating name, AMEN
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you.
Proverbs 25:21,22
Recently, I wrote about a man we called Frank and the negative effects on his health and work caused by his desire to strike back against people who had wronged him. As you will recall, Frank had been up for a promotion which everyone agreed he deserved. But much to his consternation senior management selected a less qualified individual. Of course, he was disappointed but took it in stride—until he learned that the individual who had been promoted had managed, with the help of some unethical managers taken credit for much of the work that Frank had done.
Our passage for today could be considered a companion text to the one we illustrated with Frank’s story (. “Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done” Proverbs 24:29) because it states in the positive the actions we should take toward those who have wronged us.
It goes without saying that it takes a real man or woman to live up to these words. Why not take some time this Lord's Day to make a list of people whom you feel have wronged you and then try to figure out how you can begin to follow the teaching of this text in the coming week.
Not only will you be a better person and feel better about yourself, “the Lord will reward you.” If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you.
Heavenly Father, this is a hard teaching to follow, but we know that you never ask of us anything that is impossible, if we allow you to empower us with your Spirit of love to accomplish it. Free us from our resentments, teach us to pray for those who have wronged us and to act in ways that show forth your grace toward them. This we pray in your Son's name, AMEN
Proverbs 25:21,22
Recently, I wrote about a man we called Frank and the negative effects on his health and work caused by his desire to strike back against people who had wronged him. As you will recall, Frank had been up for a promotion which everyone agreed he deserved. But much to his consternation senior management selected a less qualified individual. Of course, he was disappointed but took it in stride—until he learned that the individual who had been promoted had managed, with the help of some unethical managers taken credit for much of the work that Frank had done.
Our passage for today could be considered a companion text to the one we illustrated with Frank’s story (. “Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done” Proverbs 24:29) because it states in the positive the actions we should take toward those who have wronged us.
It goes without saying that it takes a real man or woman to live up to these words. Why not take some time this Lord's Day to make a list of people whom you feel have wronged you and then try to figure out how you can begin to follow the teaching of this text in the coming week.
Not only will you be a better person and feel better about yourself, “the Lord will reward you.” If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you.
Heavenly Father, this is a hard teaching to follow, but we know that you never ask of us anything that is impossible, if we allow you to empower us with your Spirit of love to accomplish it. Free us from our resentments, teach us to pray for those who have wronged us and to act in ways that show forth your grace toward them. This we pray in your Son's name, AMEN
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
