Tag: redeemed

Saturday Morning: 16 Mar 2019 – Romans 3:21-31 ~ Acquitted!

Friday Morning

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening (Collect for Purity)

Almighty God: to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid; cleanse the thoughts of my heart through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that I may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name, through Christ my Lord. Amen.
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Morning Reading – Romans 3:21-31 (NLT)

Christ Took Our Punishment

But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.
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Morning Reflection:

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight.
He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.”
– Romans 3:23-24

There it is – the very heart of the Good News of Jesus Christ – we’ve been redeemed, acquitted, made right with God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who took on himself the penalty for our sin, and that of the whole world.

In Christian theology, justification is God’s act of removing the guilt and penalty of sin while at the same time making a sinner righteous through Christ’s atoning sacrifice. (Wikiwand)

+ Justification is the act of declaring a sinner righteous and acquitting him/her of all charges and condemnation.

+ Justification is received by faith apart from works of any kind.

+ God justifies sinners by grace on the basis of the redeeming work of Jesus Christ.

+ God’s wrath against sinners has been totally satiated through Christ’s sacrifice.

+ In the act of justifying sinners God’s justice has in no way been compromised, for the total just payment for sin has been met in Christ.

Questions for consideration:

  • You have been acquitted, declared right with God. Have you ever thought that God might change his mind about you because of current sin in your life? Please explain.
  • You have been acquitted, declared right with God. Does this mean that you no longer have to be concerned about your lifestyle, about losing your life and following Jesus? Please explain.
  • You have been acquitted, declared right with God. How about your unbelieving family, friends and neighbors? How can you reach out to them with the Good News of Jesus Christ – that they can be made right with God too? Please explain.

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Morning Prayer:

Gracious God: Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for my sin in order to make me right with you. Thank you for this free gift of grace through faith. Guide and direct my life through the power of your Word and Spirit within me that I may continue to be changed into his likeness and demonstrate that no sinner is beyond your saving mercy. I ask this through Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord. Amen.
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“Redeemed” – Big Daddy Weave

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Closing:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, and protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Morning Prayer: 20 Oct – Revelation 14:1-5 ~ a glimpse of glory

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentences

Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

I arise today, through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to secure me: against snares of devils,
against temptations of vices, against inclinations of nature,
against everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and anear, alone and in a crowd.

Revelation 14:1-5 (ESV) – to be read aloud

Three angels with the Lamb Apocalypse Tapestry, Angers
Three angels with the Lamb
Apocalypse Tapestry, Angers

Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.

Reflection

THE SECOND VISION – THE SEVEN TRUMPETS (8:2-14:20)

Interlude (12:1-14:20)

The Redeemed and the Lamb (14:1-5)

The first vision… pictures the destiny of the people of God who have been preserved through the great tribulation but who have fallen prey to the wrath of the beast. They are seen in the messianic Kingdom. This vision is not actually realized until chapters 20-22, but as he often does, John gives his readers anticipatory visions of what are yet to be to steady them for the hard experiences that lie immediately ahead. (Ladd, p.188-9)

The 144,000 (14:1,3)

The one hundred and forty-four thousand is the same company which was sealed in 7:9-17; and here, as there, they represent the total body of the redeemed… the saints who were suffering martyrdom in the last chapter are now seen in their final salvation in the new Jerusalem…. They are virgins in the sense that they have refused to defile themselves by participating in the fornication of worshiping the beast but have kept themselves pure unto God…. Theirs is a perfect, uncomplaining discipleship. As the path of perfect devotion to the will of the Father led the Lamb to his sacrificial death on the cross, so discipleship to him may well lead to sharing in his cross (Matt 10:38; Mark 8:34). They follow the Lamb because they are not their own but have been redeemed – purchased for God at the cost of the blood of the Lamb (5:9). (Ladd, p. 191-2)
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Canticle

Christ, as a light – illumine and guide me.
Christ, as a shield – overshadow me.
Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me – on my left and my right.
This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me.
This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me – on my left and my right.

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you.
May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm.
May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you.
May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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Peanut Gallery: In September, we will begin reading through the Book of Revelation (ESV). Our purpose will be devotional, i.e. to discover the word of blessing that God has for us in these troubled times… to find hope and help for our daily lives.

This will not be a Bible Study per se: we will not attempt to unravel the “mysteries” of Revelation… that is far beyond our abilities and is not our interest here. However, so as not to get too far afield, we will rely on three study resources: primary – A Commentary on the Revelation of John (George Elton Ladd); supplemental Revelation (Leon Morris) and  The Book of Revelation (Robert H. Mounce).

The general format for Morning Prayer is adapted from the Northumbrian Community‘s Daily Office, as found in Celtic Daily Prayer (see online resources here.) On Sundays, we’ll return to the USCCB readings (see online resources here) and various liturgical resources in order to reflect the Church’s worship and concerns throughout the world. Photo illustrations and music videos, available online, are included as they illustrate or illuminate the readings. I will try to give credit and link to sources as best I can.