August 27: Tuesday Refocus

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‘…whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.’ – 1 John 2:6

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When we walk in His way, we follow a path of radical obedience.  We share in His sufferings as the One who was despised and rejected (1 Pet 4:13, Is 53:3).  This path is self-giving service to others, and surrender to God.  It claims all our heart, soul, mind and strength.  When we abide in Him, He may slay us, but we can still say ‘not my will, but Yours be done.’ (Job 13:15, Lk 22:42)

In the path of Your judgements, O LORD, we wait for You; Your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul. In Christ name, Amen.

 

Walking,

AB

August 20: Tuesday Refocus

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‘Show me, O God, where to look, that I might see You.’ – Augustine

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Where can He not be found?

He is the beginning and end (Rev 22:13).

He is in the height and the depth (Ps 139:8).

In the universe created and sustained (Heb 1:3).

In the Word made flesh (Jn 1:14).

 

He turns idol worshipers into fathers of faith (Gen 12:1).

He is with the orphan and the widow (Gen 16:13).

He bends evil intentions of men for good (Gen 50:20).

He uses cowardly leaders for His purpose (Ex 4:13).

He is in the wandering (Deut 8:2, Hos 2:14).

He is in the unexpected provision (Ex 16).

 

He makes all things beautiful in their time (Ecc 3:11).

He is with us while we sleep (1 Sam 3:3-4, Ps 4:8).

He sees us when we are the last, least and forgotten (1 Sam 16:11).

 

He is with us in captivity (Ps 137).

He is with acquainted with all our grief (Is 53:3).

He has become our sin (2 Cor 5:21).

He remembers our sin no more (Is 43:25, Heb 8:12).

 

He is in the whisper, and He is in the storm (1 Kings 19:12, Ps 50:3).

He is the voice calling from behind, guiding (Is 30:21).

He keeps company with the unlikely (Mk 2:15).

He calls a people unto Himself (Deut 7:6).

 

He inhabits the praises of His people (Ps 22:3).

He does not forsake the work of His hands (Ps 138:8).

 

He pursues His enemies (Lk 19:10, Rom 5:10).

He is in the prison cell (Acts 12, Acts 19).

He is with His persecuted Church (Acts 7:55-56, Jn 15:18).

 

He is the Word living and active (Heb 4:12).

He is the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8).

He is the sacrifice, perfect and complete (Heb 10:14).

He has died (Jn 19:30).

He has risen (Matt 28:6).

He sits at the right hand of the Father (Eph 1:20).

He has come (Jn 1:9).

And He is coming again (Rev 1:7).

‘And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.’ Col 1:17

Oh Lord, show us where to look for You.  In cubicles and broken appliances.  In early mornings and sleepless nights.  In mundane errands and long conversations.  In loneliness and fear.  When we have sinned, and when we have been sinned against.  In unexpected turns, and abrupt endings.  In grief and in joy.  In tears and callused hearts.  In transitions and long stretches of sameness.  In time moving too slow, and in time moving too fast.  In prayers too apprehensive and sacred to be uttered.  In our zealous apathy.  In hope deferred and desires only realized in part.  In the creation You have made, and in Your image emblazoned even upon our enemies.  Lord, give us eyes to see You in all things.  We believe that there is enough grace for this moment, because You are here with us in this moment.  In Your gracious name we pray, amen.

Looking,

AB

August 13: Tuesday Refocus

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Love asks for a total disarmament. – Henri Nouwen

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Our God always goes first.  He commands us to love our enemies (Matt 5:44).  And He has first loved us (1 Jn 4:19) – once enemies now heirs (Rom 5:10).

Christ has disarmed himself of glory, and in so doing God has disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in the open arms of Christ (Phil 2:7, Col 2:15).

Open arms are a symbol of disarmament.  

And this is the way Christ lived and died.

Open arms to receive from His Father (Lk 22:42).

Open arms to suffer and die at the hands of those He came to save (Lk 19:10).

Like all things in this upside down kingdom, open-armed enemy love feels like death but is actually life. 

Life in Christ is first death to self.  

It carries a cross.

It seeks the disarmament of my agenda for the good of the other, and the glory of God.

But we are never left to walk alone, Christ has gone first.

God, thank You, that You always going first.  Thank You that You loved us while we were Your enemies.  Give us the mind of Christ.  Embolden us with His obedience.  Enable us to love our enemies with open arms.  In Christ’s name, amen.

Learning to love,

AB

July 30: Tuesday Refocus

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‘Let us desire nothing else,

let us want nothing else,

let nothing else please us and cause us delight except our Creator, Redeemer, and Savior,

the only true God,

Who is the fullness of good,

All good, every good, the true and supreme good,

Who alone is good,

Merciful, gentle, delightful, and sweet,

Who alone is holy,

Just, true, holy, and upright,

Who alone is kind, innocent, clean,

From whom, through whom, and in whom

Is all pardon, all grace, all glory

Of all penitents and just ones,

Of all the blessed rejoicing together in heaven.’ – St Francis of Assisi

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There is no end to things we desire.  Some desires are God-given.  All desire has been warped by sin:

‘What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?  Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?  You desire and do not have, so you murder.  You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.  You do not have because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spent it on your passions.’ - James 4:1-3

In our sin-distorted desire we love to use Psalm 37:4 as a means to our selfish end: ‘Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.’

But it has never been money, sex or power that we truly desire – but God Himself.  The One who is good and does good (Ps 119:68).  The One who opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing (Ps 145:16).  He is our greatest desire, and this desire is never left unfulfilled because He gives us Himself (1 Tim 2:6).

Lord Jesus, let us desire nothing else, want nothing else, let nothing else please us, and cause us delight except You.  In your name, amen.

Desiring Him,

AB

July 28: Set List

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WELCOME/CALL TO WORSHIP:

To all who are weary and need rest

To all who mourn and long for comfort

To all who feel worthless and wonder if God cares

To all who fail and desire strength

To all who sin and need a Savior

This church opens wide her doors with a welcome from Jesus Christ, the Ally of His enemies, the Defender of the guilty, the Justifier of the inexcusable, the Friend of sinners, welcome. [From 10th Presbyterian Church]

GRACE ALONE

THE GREATNESS OF OUR GOD

Sermon: Luke 11:29-35

RESPONSIVE READING:

LEADER:
The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof,

the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas

and established it upon the rivers. Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?

And who shall stand in his holy place?

ALL:
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

who does not lift up his soul to what is false

and does not swear deceitfully.
He will receive blessing from the LORD

and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him,

who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

LEADER:
Lift up your heads, O gates!

And be lifted up, O ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory?

ALL:
The LORD, strong and mighty,

the LORD, mighty in battle!

LEADER:

Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.

Who is this King of glory?

ALL:
The LORD of hosts,

he is the King of glory!

I STAND AMAZED

LIGHT

July 9: Tuesday Refocus

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What delight comes to the one who follows God’s ways!
He won’t walk in step with the wicked,
nor share the sinner’s way,
nor be found sitting in the scorner’s seat.
His pleasure and passion is remaining true to the Word of “I Am,”
meditating day and night in the true revelation of light.
He will be standing firm like a flourishing tree
planted by God’s design,
deeply rooted by the brooks of bliss,
bearing fruit in every season of his life.
He is never dry, never fainting,
ever blessed, ever prosperous.
But how different are the wicked.
All they are is dust in the wind—
driven away to destruction!
The wicked will not endure the day of judgment,
for God will not defend them.
Nothing they do will succeed or endure for long,
for they have no part with those who walk in truth.
But how different it is for the righteous!
The Lord embraces their paths as they move forward
while the way of the wicked leads only to doom.

Psalm 1 [The Passion Translation]

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What delight comes to the one who follows God’s ways! 

This path of life, is illuminated by Christ, and leads to fullness of joy in His presence –pleasures forevermore (Ps 16:11).

This is not an easy path, but we never walk alone (Matt 28:20).

This may be a path littered with suffering, but we join the Suffering Servant – and will rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed (Is 53, 1 Pet 4:13)

This life may require us to endure many things, but if we endure, we will also reign with Him (2 Tim 2:12).

But we can take heart on this path because, ‘…suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.’ (Rom 5:3-5)

Lord Jesus, we walk with You, we walk toward You, we follow after You.  Knowing that You are the ultimate prize and desire of our hearts and lives.  Thank you that You hold our lives secure.  We await eagerly for You, Your name and Your renown are the desires of our hearts.  In Your name, amen.

Walking,

AB