November 2, 2023

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1.27)

“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 5.31,32)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

We cannot forget that the goal of every relationship, especially that of marriage, is to avoid divorce. To do this, one must live in a manner that is not divorced from the key and critical relationship which is the one we have with God. Sadly, we know how impactful the reality of sin-fection is on the body, mind, heart and soul of every person. Regardless of their inner desire, their determination and best intentions, sin remains a festering reminder that we still live in a broken world. Being broken doesn’t mean we no longer have use. It means in this state of being our effectiveness and integrity is diminished and compromised. It is difficult to achieve our goal of being “one with God in Christ Jesus” when our focus is continually swinging in all directions. The Bible is full of such examples. We would do well to search them out, read them [aloud], definitively understand their components, learn from their consequences and benefit from how God reveals a way to reconciliation, reinstitution and regaining our foothold on the path of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Have we considered the construction of life which is defined by “for His name’s sake”? When we pray in Jesus’ name, it behooves us to embrace the intentionality of doing so. It is not so much a “key into the kingdom of God” as it is a “promise of authority in the kingdom of humanity.” It designates and signifies the unity of body, mind and spirit with Jesus as the Christ. Such unity is built upon the truth that Jesus and God share the same reality. It is the power of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) as they operate in harmony with each other…separately together. Like spiritual gyroscopes, this trinitarian principle provides the balance and direction needed to move forward in our journey of life. To move forward may require that we move in any direction: up, down, forward, backward, laterally, horizontally, vertically, diagonally and dimensionally. And I am not speaking merely of our physical movement. I am addressing our mental, social, emotional, psychological, financial, relational and spiritual movements. Living as if the broken world is the template of authentic reality puts a person out of alignment. It doesn’t mean they are not moving and not moving without good intentions. It does mean that they are moving inadequately and insufficiently. This is why it is critical to keep our focus on the One who is focused without fault. We may be able to accomplish a number of “course” corrections on our own merit, understanding and resource but we certainly cannot do it all. Many have tried and all have failed and fallen short of the “glory of what is intended.” That “glory” is the unfettered, unblemished and unstoppable presence of God.

This means that when we seek to do something upon our own volition, we have already established the paradigm of limited success. Yet, for the mighty ones of God, we know that God can use and work all things together for “good.” [Remember, “good” is the indicator of fulfilling God’s purpose and intent.] God does not intend for us to fail and fall short. God does intend for us to commit to relying on staying in relationship with Him. He calls us to “trust in the Lord with all our heart [soul, mind and strength] and lean not simply on our own understanding. Especially, we should urge caution in ourselves to not lean simply on our own understanding of God. This is why we are called to dwell in community. No one single person on earth, except for Jesus, has a complete understanding of God. Jesus modeled that reality with all those who dared to question His thoughts, actions, declarations and commitments. It didn’t matter whether the questioners believed, disbelieved or unbelieved Jesus’ person, identity and ministry that this modeling existed. It was because of all of that we see Jesus exhibiting the multifacets of God’s being. He did this for the whole world to see Immanuel, God with us. Jesus entered into relationship with us because He was in right relationship with God. [The same cannot be said for Satan, the outcast insurrectionist- Lucifer. He desires to enter into relationship with us because he is out of relationship with God. In truth, he is in anti-relationship with God. He divorced himself from God casting his eye on sheep that were [as Nathan called David into accountability] “not of his own pasture.” Everyone of us and all of creation, while having that modicum of self-will, belong in relationship with God. His will is perfect. His righteousness endures forever. His purpose is without question for our benefit. It also means that we are to grasp our reality of maintaining a right relationship with Him. In the presence of God, how we see and conduct ourselves becomes as important as how God sees and conducts Himself. Jesus reveals that presence for us in order that we can model it, assimilate it and benefit from it. But, when we don’t, those spiritual gyros go haywire and we will eventually crash far short of where we would intend and definitely from where God intended for us from the beginning.

How critical it is then that we do all we can to maintain “critical balance” in our lives. We are not perfect and most of us, me included without exception, are far from it. But, that doesn’t mean we have to be far from God. God is near to us. He is Immanuel as revealed in Jesus- “God with us.” He is not only “with” us, “around” us but “in” us. Sound familiar as in John’s description of “The Word”? Yes, John 1.1 espouses the ultimate reality for our own lives when he introduced Jesus as the Christ in his gospel remembrance of His beloved savior. “In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. Indeed, the Word was God. The Word came into the world to dwell in the midst of the human community as flesh and blood [spirit and truth.] The Word was the light which existed in the darkness regardless of how great the darkness might seem; it could never be overcome [not even by death on a cross.] It was the light which brought order and structure and purpose to all creation. Nothing that was made was made without it. It was in right relationship and balanced and brought glory to God. It is the same glory which has come to every person that they might see and believe.” In a world, such as John’s (especially at the close of the First Century), where darkness seems to gain more than the lion’s share of attention, such a light is a hope we ought to cling to. We do so because there is a lion’s share that is ours which the darkness cannot overcome. There is a hope to which we are intended to cling to and keep before us so that we stay in balance and in right relationship. That hope is Christ Jesus. That balance is Jesus Christ. We need them both, the two as one, because without them we would be hopeless and helpless to regain our balance and move in the direction which is right and good for us and all people. Our place in the world matters. Our failures influence others and create realities that were never meant to be. But, thank God for Christ Jesus who is Jesus the Christ. In Him we have life, hope, forgiveness, reconciliation and the means to step back into the mainstream, to go with the flow of the Spirit of God, to be made new and worthy to walk down the aisle (even if it passes through the valley of the shadow of death) and come into the House of the Lord forever and ever. AMEN.

PRAYER IN LIGHT OF GOD’S WORD:

Father, You have revealed to us best in Jesus the Christ. By Him and Him alone shall we gain the eternal life and our place in eternal rest, living for You always. Show us more and by Your Holy Spirit instruct us in the way we should go, the truth we should reveal and the life we shall live with you forever. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.