Our World Belongs to God 57

We continue on this week with the "Contemporary Testimony: Our World Belongs to God." 

Paragraphs 1-6: Preamble (April 11-29)
Paragraphs 7-12: Creation (April 30-May 8)
Paragraphs 13-17: Fall (May 11-15)
Paragraphs 18-22: Redemption (May 18-22)
Paragraphs 23-27: Jesus Christ (May 25-29)
Paragraphs 28-30: Holy Spirit (June 1-2, 5)
Paragraphs 31-33: Revelation (June 8-10)
Paragraphs 34-40: God's New People (June 11-19)
Paragraphs 41-54 The Mission of God's People (June 23-Oct. 16)
Paragraphs 55-58 New Creation (Oct. 27-)

Paragraph 57 (Today)
On that day
we will see our Savior face to face,
sacrificed Lamb and triumphant King,
just and gracious.
He will set all things right,
judge evil, and condemn the wicked.
We face that day without fear,
for the Judge is our Savior,
whose shed blood declares us righteous.
We live confidently,
anticipating his coming,
offering him our daily lives—
our acts of kindness,
our loyalty, and our love—
knowing that he will weave
even our sins and sorrows
into his sovereign purpose.
Come, Lord Jesus, come.

[Revelation 5 describes the Lion and the Lamb. For the just judgments of the Lord, see Revelation 19:1-10.     A picture of the multitude of those declared righteous in Christ is found in Revelation 7:9-17. The concept of God weaving all things together is found, among other places, in Romans 8:28-39.]

 

I particularly treasure the line, "He will weave even our sins and sorrors into his sovereign purpose."  Even our losses. Even our sins.  God is in the business of redemption. Thank you God that in you, none of our days are wasted.  As Max Lucado phrases it, 

God, the Master Weaver. He stretches the yarn and intertwines the colors,
the ragged twine with the velvet strings, the pains with the pleasures. Nothing escapes his reach.

Because frankly, there is a temptation during this pandemic, especially when we can't be together, to think this is wasted time, that we are not moving ahead, or moving anywhere.  The same can be true in times of extended sickness or unemployment.

But God sees the long view of our lives.  And our lives now are shaping us for an eternity with him.  May God remind you today that today is part of that journey toward that day. 

Our song for today is Mercy Me's Almost Home. (Click here for the lyrics.)

I leave you with this blessing:

The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

Pastor Mark

PS - We were planning to have a discussion on the online materials from "Practicing Biblical Advocacy" tomorrow night (as announced in the church bulletin). However, when I scheduled this I did not know there were two other advocacy-related events going on this month, one on creation advocacy (also in the church bulletin) and also the Canadian Council of Churches' A Cross-Canada Conversation on the International Decade for People of African Descent  taking place in just two days.  I recommend that you attend the CCC event. If you are interested in the Practicing Biblical Advocacy Seminar, would you be so kind as to let me know so I can reschedule it in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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