We will be picking back up with daily devotionals next Monday (January 12th, 2007). Until then, hope your first(?) week back at work, school, or home is blessed.

Grace and Peace,
The Mount Devotional Team

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Romans 5:8

Today’s playlist song is “The Company You Keep”, by the Waiting, from the album “Unfazed”. And the way Jesus chooses to hob-knob with sinners is the point of the song. What great love that Jesus would come for us, when we were still entrenched in sin. What greater love that the Spirit remains with us and Jesus continues to plead our case before the throne.

So while my dinner get done / I’m reading your history /You’ve got a reputation and all the people you see / Are a dangerous crowd they’re an unsavory sort / Though I can’t say it too loud I heard an evil report

That you call me your own / Never leave me alone / I think I should warn you / You’re getting in deep / With the company you keep

Lepers. Harlots. Tax-collectors. Samaritans. You. And Me. Are you astounded by the fact that Jesus would rub shoulders with you? That he would consider you a friend, even part of the family? I find that I can easily become accustomed to taking the relationship for granted – failing to realize that it is only the great love of God that could account for my standing before God.

Jesus hung out with sinners, the rejected, the diseased and hurting – but he didn’t do it to make them feel bad. Though he was direct about the seriousness of sin, he was accepting, forgiving and willing to offer his attention. When we fall short, the answer is not to sulk in our shame. It is to take hold of this great love and get back up again. Not “lifting ourselves up by our own bootstraps” – just trusting God’s promise to be with us and help us endure.

application

Do you have anyone that needs forgiveness from you? Not deserves it  – needs it. Jesus said that if we would not forgive, we would not be forgiven. Have you done somethng recently that requires forgiveness? What will you do to make it right?

As I prepared to write today’s devotion, I reached for the shelf and pulled several hymnals out, looking for one that contained the score I needed.  Only one hymnal had the song I was looking for; you guessed it, Nana’s.  And on page 60 I read once again the indelible words penned by Frederick Lehman way back in 1917:

The love of God is greater far, than tongue or pen can ever tell; It goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell.

That is the Love my grandmother sang about, and the Love that I still proclaim as part of her legacy today.  The Bible says that God IS love  (I John 4:8) and that love exceeds our ability to comprehend.  It defies adequate definition as my favorite verse of the hymn expresses:

Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made, Were ev’ry stalk on earth a quill, and ev’ry man a scribe by trade, To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry. Nor could the scroll contain the whole, tho’ stretched from sky to sky.

O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!  It shall forevermore endure-The saints’ and angels’ song.

My Nana passed away when I was a teenager, but even still, I knew her to be a saint.  I know she’s in heaven right now joining the angels in their eternal song of God’s love.  I’m singing it here on earth until I join them in heaven, and I hope you’ll be singing it with us forevermore too!

O love of God, how rich and pure!  How measureless and strong! It shall forevermore endure- The saints’ and angels’ song…

Perhaps you can relate to how today’s song came into existence. It’s co-composers, Brian Doerksen and Brenton Brown, still chuckle at how God gives inspiration even amidst the ordinary and routine trappings of our lives, and how simple beginnings can be transformed into global impacts when placed in God’s hands! Read below the true and humorous story in Brian Doerksen’s own words as found on his MySpace blog.

My co-writer Brenton Brown is originally from South Africa, and I met him as one of the emerging worship leaders I mentored in the late 90s while we lived in England.

In the early part of 2000, shortly after we moved back to Canada, Brenton came to visit us and do some co-writing. On this particular day, things were not going well on the home front. Isaiah, our ‘Made in England’ souvenir, was not a happy baby! My wife, Joyce, was in the kitchen trying to make the family dinner, and Brenton and I were trying to be creative and write songs in my home office. Finally, in exasperation, Joyce brought crying Isaiah to me, put him in my arms and said, ‘You look after him for a while!’ So I headed to the living room to try and calm Isaiah down by sitting in the rocking chair. I rocked him for a while, trying to calm him down, but he was still very fussy and crying. A short while later, Brenton burst into the living room with another idea. Now, being the slightly clueless single that he was at the time, he didn’t get the direct and indirect messages that our songwriting session was over for the day! Isaiah is crying on my lap – and not very impressed with this noisy singing going on – and I am looking at Brenton, thinking, ‘Perhaps now is not a good time?’ and he launches into his idea anyway.

‘I have this idea for a song that I haven’t played for you yet – I have a strong start to a verse but I have no chorus.’ (All songwriters out there can relate to this situation!)

Your love is amazing steady and unchanging. Your love is a mountain firm beneath my feet.

‘And that’s all I have!’

And so with Isaiah squirming and fussing I call out, ‘Why don’t you do this for the chorus?’ and I literally sing out the melody as you know it.

Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Your love makes me sing

‘And then sing it again!’

Brenton looks at me and says, ‘No way!’ and I say, ‘Yes way!’

Well, I am still singing this song…and Brenton is too, along with other recording artists and worship leaders! Its been so fun to see the joy and celebration this song has released around the world – a very special gift for me, because my songs have tended to land more on the intense and intimate side.

My wife sometimes blesses me to go away for a couple of days to retreat and write. But sometimes, if I ask her, she looks at me with a twinkle in her eye and just says, ‘Hallelujah!’ I know what she is saying – that even in the middle of crazy family life God can give good creative gifts!

What good creative gift may God be trying to bless you with today? Are you so busy that you’re in jeopardy of overlooking it? Remember, God is in the business of turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. Look for His hand at work in your life today.

My God, my God / Why hast thou accepted me / You took my sin and wrapped me in / You robe and your ring / My God, my God / Why hast thou accepted me / It’s a mystery of mercy / And the song I sing

Today’s song bridges us from peace (last week’s topic) to love. This song is Andrew Peterson’s, from his album, “The Far Country”. It is moved along by Jesus word’s on the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” – Matthew 27:45. It is wed with an understanding of forgiveness motivated by the story of the prodigal son. The verses of the song repeatedly remind us of Jesus’ actions of love and acceptance; the woman at the well, the judgemental religious leaders and the adulterous woman, the harlot, the lepers healed.

All of these speak of Jesus’ love. Jesus’ love allows us the chance to start anew. It puts us in right relationship with him so that we can live in a new way. It is not ignorant or silly, overlooking the seriousness of sin. Instead, it is powerful and directed, helping the sinner move from their sin and shame to godly action. The love and mercy God provides are not the fruits of our labor, something we worked to receive. They are something we did not deserve, but rather, something that we experience because Jesus has stood in our place.

So Jesus used this illustration: “If you had one hundred sheep, and one of them strayed away and was lost in the wilderness, wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine others to go search for the lost one until you found it? And then you would joyfully carry it home on your shoulders. When you arrived, you would call to your friends and neighbors to rejoice with you because your lost sheep was found. In the same way, heaven will be happier over one lost sinner who returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!”

Luke 15:3-7

Luke spends a great amount of time expressing the joy of heaven at even a single sinner saved. It is the proof of God’s saving activity! But for us personally, it is the experience of his love. It is how we know that he really does love us. We get to experience the guilt removed, though sometimes the consequences remain. We get a whole new relationship with God, not just  new start at living up to God’s perfect standard.

Mercy and forgiveness are the outpouring of love. They  are something we must receive first. But it is not supposed to end there. Jesus demonstrates love so that we might explore its depths. We are now called to turn around and offer love to everyone we come into contact with. And that means showing forgiveness and mercy – sometimes when we least want to. But the more we follow Jesus in this way, the more our hearts will become like his.

prayer

Peace, mercy, love. Take some time today to simply thank God for sending Jesus. For loving us enough to bridge the gap we could not on our own. Then think of someone in your life who is hard to love, or maybe even hard to forgive: a parent, a coworker, a one-time friend? Pray for God to work in your heart. Then pray that this person would experience God’s mercy, love and presence. It’s hard to be cold to another person made in God’s image when we are praying that they would experience God’s love and presence!

Though we’re strangers, still I love you / I love you more than your mask / and you know you have to trust this to be true / and I know that’s much to ask / but lay down your fears, com and join this feast / He has called us here, you and me

Communion is a shared celebration. It reminds us that we are all brought together into one body, regardless of our background. Jesus has made peace between the nations! It is a feast that centers on him, and keeps us from focusing on ourselves. Yes, we are led to consider our faithfulness as we take the bread and the wine. But The focus need not be on our failing, but instead can be on Jesus’ provision of Himself.

So may peace rain down from Heaven / like little pieces of the sky / like those little keepers of the promise / falling on these souls this drought has dried / In His Blood and in His Body / In this Bread and in this Wine / Peace to you, Peace of Christ to you

Now, you may be asking yourself. What does communion have to do with my Christian faith? How does it help me in my daily walk? In our church, it is not something that is practiced as frequently as in some other Christian settings. But hopefully that makes our celebrations of communion more special in that they are more poignant reminders, times that stand out as we worship the lamb who was sacrificed for us. But we can remember the things that communion signifies each day. We can be reminded that Jesus’ body was broken for our peace. We can remember that his blood was enough to cover every sin that afflicts us. And we can also remember that God sent his son to save the whole world. To redeem people who hitherto were at odds with each other, people who would not be seen together, people who simply do not like each other. To make a new people united in him.

What would this do to our lives? What words might describe the life that understands the broken body, the spilled blood, the new nation? Love. Patience. Depth. Compassion. Unity. Peace. I love the play on words in this song, between peace and piece. The idea of peace coming down like the rain, drenching us, reminding us in our times of hardness and dryness that God is still there, he still unites us and teaches us how to love. It is a form of beauty, being able to see God’s provision and concern in everything – miraculous to mundane.

And though I love you still we’re strangers / prisoners in these lonely hearts / and though our blindness separates us / still His light shines in the dark / and His outstretched arms / are still strong enough to reach / behind these prison bars to set us free

For the second time in this song we are reminded of our isolation. Often, we can feel like strangers, even in the middle of a crowd. Even as we greet the congregation on Sunday morning our hearts might be distant. It could be the result of pain inflicted by another. Or it could just be dissatisfaction within our own hearts. Or it may be a result of barriers we have built up to protect ourselves from being hurt, or being challenged beyond our comfort level. The song encourages us to set these barriers to the side. Or rather, it pictures God himself reaching through the prison walls, the ones we have built up, to rescue us from ourselves.

Rich Mullins (on the album “A Liturgy, A Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band”) shares in this song a blessing. It is the hope that we would be more than strangers, that through Christ’s love we could recognize each other – see each other face to face. The result would be love! It would be shared meals and intertwined lives. It would be more like life, less like the day-to-day grind we so often experience. It would be harmony and joy. Read these words from the book of Colossians:

Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:12-17

So we end today with the blessing  of the chorus:

So may peace rain down from Heaven / like little pieces of the sky / like those little keepers of the promise / falling on these souls this drought has dried / In His Blood and in His Body / In this Bread and in this Wine / Peace to you, Peace of Christ to you

The orphan clings to Your hand / Singing the song of how he was found / The widow rejoices / For her oppressors are silenced now

You sit at the table with the wounded and the poor / You laugh and share stories with the thief and the whore / When you could just be silent and leave us here to die / Still, you sent your son for us / You are on our side

Bethany Dillon on “Waking Up”

This is not like God taking our side in a conflict or argument. In that case, we would do better to be on his side. This is God in all his glory coming and making peace with us. And not just the best and the brightest – the weak, the rejected, the outcast. It is God sending the son; it is the son willingly becoming weak, human like us; it is the Spirit filling up and making a new people; a people unified in Christ – with power in humility and strength in weakness.

Our culture is saturated with ideas of wealth and influence. Of happiness, pleasure, satisfaction, self-fulfillment. It’s all a big lie. But if we all believe it, then maybe we won’t figure out that we’re all miserable… Those who don’t have the stuff, the position, the upbringing are made to feel second-rate. They believe it. It becomes part of the way they think about themselves. Pleasure, happiness, hope, love all are far off thoughts. But Jesus shows up and offers more.

It’s not an offer of wealth and security. It’s not a promise of ease or comfort. But it is a promise of friendship, of community, of belonging. That’s the table symbol. A place at the table is a sign that there is openness. It is a sign of welcome. That is the kind of peace God offers.

And its the kind of community we are supposed to offer. Where all are welcomed because all are made one in Jesus – same Spirit, same Savior, same Lord. In this season, we are often reminded about the needs of prisoner’s children, children around the world, orphans, widows, the homeless… the list goes on and on. And I’m not pushing guilt that you aren’t doing enough. I’m just considering whether or not we are really prepared to be a community that opens itself up to those who are in need. It’s what God asks of us – stepping beyond our boundaries.

Lots of mixed thoughts today; I don’t mean to be disjointed. God wants to reveal himself to us. He wants to build us into a community. That’s the peace God offers. Let’s praise him because he initiated this peace. He’s the one who transforms us so that we can be a community. He understands us. Maybe better than we understand ourselves, if we are honest. And we don’t have to be the smartest, happiest, wealthiest, most outspoken…

Oh, how I praise  the Lord. How I rejoice in God my savior!
For he took notice of his lowly servant girl and now generation after generation will call me blessed.
For he, the Mighty One, is holy, and he has done great things for me.
His mercy goes on from generation to generation, to all who fear him.
His mighty arm does tremendous things! How he scatters the proud and haughty ones!
He has taken princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands.
And how he has helped his servant Israel! He has not forgotten his promise to be merciful.
For he has promised our ancestors – Abraham and his children – to be merciful to them forever.

Luke 1:46-55

When God flexes his muscles, when he demonstrates his strength, it is to show how he longs to bring salvation. It is to show the joy to be found in the peace he offers. He longs to bring peace to us. He wants a relationship with us!

That doesn’t sound like a lot of the messages you hear today. From the world we hear of wars. We hear of people killing each other. Somalia, Iraq, Bosnia, Afghanistan… And those who cry against violence seem to often be just as arrogant and boastful, aggressive and unyielding. The Christian response sometimes seems to be inconsistent. From some corners, you hear whispers of desperation. Each new conflict seems to bring new fears that the world is ending. That we have passed the point of no return. From others, these are all joyful signs that God is coming in vengeance. One begins to wonder if God’s compassion is known to these judgmental voices.

That is where we find ourselves in today’s song, “I Am Sure”, by Michael W. Smith. It is an not a recent song (1984!), but the first chorus verse speaks in terms that we could hear on the news today:

Looking at the future / Who can tell you what is going on / It seems we have become the generation / Of wars and bombs / And the heart grows weak / And the fear grows strong / That the day may come and it may not be very long / And you want to run / But you don’t know where / So where do you go

These things are all reminders that Christ will return. We look forward to Christ coming and bringing real peace, not just an end to hostilities. But are we missing the point? We see signs that the world is progressing towards the day of his return. We know each day we are one day closer. What will our response be?

That is where this song comes in. It brings together these thoughts. Starting from this precarious background of fear, of longing for a change, it offers hope to those outside a relationship with Jesus. He longs to be with them! He wants to know them! He isn’t “out to get them”. That is why we look forward with expectation – it is a day of fulfillment, of being with Jesus, of experiencing this love and connection that has seemed hard to hold onto. And it is something that we can experience with our friends! We can bring this peace to them, rescuing them from what is to come.

And while I dream / Oh, I pray for you / ‘Cause he wants you to go / I know / And I tell you / I am sure / That the Lord will come / I am sure / that his deep desire is to be with you / He wants you to be there

When God flexes his muscles, we see his salvation in all its strength. We also see his grace in allowing us a part in his saving activity. I guess I want to end by asking, are we taking God up on this challenge?

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns! The watchmen shout and sing with joy, for before their very eyes they see the Lord bringing his people back to Jerusalem. Let the ruins of Jerusalem break into joyful song, for the Lord has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord will demonstrate his holy power before the eyes of all nations. The ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.

Isaiah 52:7-10

We must go live to feed the hungry / Stand beside the broken / We must go / Stepping forward keep us just from singing / Move us into action / We must go

This is the chorus of the song “God of Justice”, by Tim Hughes (found on the album, “Holding Nothing Back”). It is a song that reminds us that God desires us to be just, compassionate servants. We’ve received the gift of his spirit, we live and breath by his power – so we must go out to the world and offer his message of peace; his message of care and love.

The Lord looked and was displeased to find that there was no justice. He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So he himself stepped in to save them with his mighty power and justice. He put on righteousness as his boy armor and placed the helmet of salvation on his head. He clothed himself with the robes of vengeance and godly fury. He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes in distant lands. Then at last they will respect and glorify the name of the Lord throughout the world. For he will come like a flood tide driven by the breath of the Lord.

“The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins. And this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Isaiah 59:15b-21

“They do not know what true peace is or what it means to be just and good. They continually do wrong, and those who follow them cannot experience a moment’s peace.” Isaiah, in verse 59:8, points out the problem destroying the nation – a sinful heart and will that destroys any hope of peace – between them and God, between them and each other, between them and the nations. What can they do to resolve the desperate situation? Verse 20 gives God’s response: The Redeemer will come to buy back those who have turned from their sin. And his spirit will remain with them!

This same cry for justice is found repeatedly between the fourth Servant Song (Isaiah 52:13-53:12) and our passage today. He offers peace to the nation of Israel, to Gentiles who worship him faithfully, to all those who are rejected from the Jewish religious establishment. He demands that those who are called by his name act in justice and fairness. These are the “conditions” of peace – a changed heart that shows compassion and concern for the broken, the outsider, the hopeless. It is a repeated connection between justice and compassion and the spirit of God being present and active.

Jesus came to offer hope and peace to the oppressed. For those who were considered outsiders, he finds opportunities to offer them peace. The book of Matthew shows Jesus healing lepers, Gentiles and women, though touching and interacting with any of these caused one to be ritually impure. Jesus values people over ritual purity – especially when ritual purity is used by the religious elite to justify behavior out of touch with God’s character.

But then he passes that mission to us. We are his agents, filled by his spirit. The question is simple. Are we doing our job? Are we acting justly? Are we offering peace to the oppressed? Is the message of Jesus saved for those who are well off; those who are like us; those who seem “worthy” or “valuable”? Or do we offer it to those who are ready to accept it, regardless of background? Those who are ready to be used by God to do mighty work, though it is by his strength and not their own?

prayer

God, send us out to do your work; give us your heart and spirit as we go. God, work in our community. We desire to see hearts come to know you. You want to see lives completely changed, wills realigned, hearts focused on you. Help us to want that too, more than anything else that would distract us. Help us to know you, to drink deeply of your thoughts and ways. You call us to serve, not be served. Make us the servants you desire. We lift up our hearts to you and ask you to remake, rebuild, recreate.

]]> http://devotionals.themountchurch.com/2008/12/08/god-of-justice/feed/ 0 http://devotionals.themountchurch.com/2008/12/05/amazing-grace-my-chains-are-gone/ http://devotionals.themountchurch.com/2008/12/05/amazing-grace-my-chains-are-gone/#comments Fri, 05 Dec 2008 06:00:05 +0000 lapn http://devotionals.themountchurch.com/?p=166

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times…you will abound in every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8).

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!  I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.

Calling himself a “wretch” who was lost and blind, John Newton recalled leaving school at the age of 11 to begin life as a rough, debauched seaman.  Eventually he engaged in the despicable practice of capturing natives from West Africa to be sold as slaves to markets around the world.  But one day the grace of God put fear into the heart of this wicked slave trader through a fierce storm.  Greatly alarmed and fearful of a shipwreck, Newton began to read The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis.  God used this book to lead him to a genuine conversion and a dramatic change in his way of life.

Feeling a definite call to study for the ministry, Newton was encouraged and greatly influenced by John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield.  At the age of 39, John Newton became an ordained minister of the Anglican church at the little village of Olney, near Cambridge, England.  To add further impact to his powerful preaching, Newton introduced simple heart-felt hymns rather than the usual psalms in his services.  When enough hymns could not be found, Newton began to write his own, often assisted by his close friend William Cowper.  In 1779 their combined efforts produced the famous Olney Hymns hymnal.  “Amazing Grace” was from that collection.

Until the time of his death at the age of 82, John Newton never ceased to marvel at the grace of God that transformed him so completely.  Shortly before his death he is quoted as proclaiming with a loud voice during a message, “My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior!”  What amazing grace!

On February 23, 2007, IDP and Samuel Goldwyn Films released the movie, “Amazing Grace,” coinciding with the 200th anniversary of the date the British Parliament voted to ban the slave trade.  The film recounts John Newton’s writing of the famous hymn of the same title.  However, in the movie soundtrack, Chris Tomlin, who is undoubtedly one of the best praise and worship leaders alive today, modified the old hymn and added the modern chorus, “My Chains are Gone” to the traditional melody.  This partnering of the ancient, yet timeless text of Amazing Grace with the contemporary new chorus creates a powerful combination that speaks freshly to worshipers of all ages.  No matter who we are or what we’ve done, God’s grace is strong enough to find the lost, make the blind to see, and set the captives free.

My chains are gone, I’ve been set free.  My God, my Savior, has ransomed me.  And like a flood, His mercy rains unending love, amazing grace!

* Information on John Newton taken from the book “Amazing Grace. 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions” by Kenneth W. Osbeck.