God so loved the world that He gave us Jesus! John 3:16
Hosea 1:7 Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah, Will save them by the Lord their God, And will not save them by bow, Nor by sword or battle, By horses or horsemen.”8 Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. 9 Then God said: “Call his name Lo-Ammi, For you are not My people, And I will not be your God. The Restoration of Israel 10 “Yet the number of the children of Israel Shall be as the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There it shall be said to them, ‘You are sons of the living God.’ 11 Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel Shall be gathered together, And appoint for themselves one head; And they shall come up out of the land, For great will be the day of Jezreel!
2 Samuel 7:14-15 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. 15 But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
They refused to give up their idols however God’s promises would come to pass. It would not be in the acts of men but by the hand of God in the shed blood of His only begotten Son. Carla
Yahweh promises to adopt David’s offspring; this reflects the common ancient Near Eastern custom of the king being adopted by his god. In the near term, this refers to Solomon. In the long term, however, it refers to the Messiah; Hebrews 1:5 cites this passage (along with Psalms 2:7) and applies the promise to Jesus. Paul also applies this passage collectively to God’s adoption of believers in 2 Corinthians 6:18. Yahweh’s tenth and final promise is comforting—He promises that His love for David’s offspring will endure (Psalms 89:33–35). Faithlife Study Bible
The sins of David’s sons would require divine chastening (1 Kings 11:1–13). The rod of men and blows of the sons of men would serve as instruments of chastening (1 Kings 11:14, 23). Although Solomon’s sins would justify chastening, God promised that His mercy would not be removed, as was necessary in the case of Saul (1 Samuel 13:13, 14; 15:22, 23). The NKJV Study Bible
Hebrews 1:5
For to which of the angels did He ever say:
“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You”?
And again:“I will be to Him a Father,
And He shall be to Me a Son”
Psalm 89:30–33
“If his sons forsake My laws
And do not walk in My judgments,
If they break My statutes
And do not keep My commandments…
Psalm 89:26–28
He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.
‘Also I will make him My firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth…
2 Corinthians 6:18 “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.”
1 Samuel 15:23–28
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
He also has rejected you from being king.
“Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice…
Here’s what hit me this morning: this is the power of resurrection. In that one word—in being seen—there is power in the gift of enough.
The promise that death is not the final word.
Fear is not the final word.
Shame is not the final word.
Cruelty and hatred are not the final word.
Mercilessness is not the final word.
In the power of the resurrection, we are grounded by the affirmation of the inherent dignity in every single human being. No exceptions. “I see you. You matter.”
So. Here’s my prayer: I hope there is a place where you hear your name spoken... where you are seen, and honored, and gifted with grace.
And I hope you hear (embrace the affirmation) that it is from this place, that we are fueled to make choices to show up. To be messengers of hope, courage, resilience and inspiration.
I had an interesting exchange this week with a reader, after I posted something about the dignity of immigrants. The person wrote, “I assumed you were neutral.”
Neutral. Another way of saying, I’m “not taking sides”. Meaning it is easier to be disengaged. And I thought of this passage in the Matthew’s Gospel.
When Jesus welcomes us to the Kingdom of eternity, saying, “Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom.” We will wonder why, and he will say, “For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
I was naked and you gave me clothing,
I was sick and you took care of me,
I was in prison and you visited me.”
Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?”
And the king will answer them, “I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to the least of these, to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.” (Matthew 25: 35 – 40, NIV and The Message)
You see, now, with the power of the resurrection, we are fueled to make a difference, sowing seeds to grow hope and courage, mercy and justice, and peacemaking.
Easy? No. But I know this from personal experience: if I don’t internalize (take to heart) the invitation to be a messenger of hope, courage, resilience and inspiration, I will live my life playing small (yes, a way of being disengaged), underestimating my capacity to make a difference, even with what I consider a small portion.
But what if we feel we are insignificant? Well, whatever the amount, it is enough. Enough for empathy and compassion.
Enough for caring for the marginalized and brokenhearted among us.
Enough to offer tenderness, grace and healing and sanctuary to a fallen world.
Yes, just the right amount to make the world a better place. And from the bottom of my heart I am so very grateful for those “fed me” at times in my life when I felt marginalized and brokenhearted. Onward together my friends. Sabbath Moments
Quote for our week… “Build longer tables, not higher walls.” José Andrés
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