This incredibly talented musician is creating tuneage from mashed up Youtube clips of other musicians. You must check out “The Mother of All Funk Chords” by Kutiman before you do anything else today.
How about the interpretive pom-pom dance at the end? Pure awesomeness!
One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate call Beautiful, where he was put every day to be from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. (Acts 3:1-10)
When was the last time we reached out to brokenness and, in the holy name of the Savior, fixed it? I dare say not often. We tend to toward prayer and hope these days rather than healing. In some corners of the Church, there is suspicion extended toward the healing ministry. Peter believed in the power of the Spirit, in the power of the Name, to heal and transform so our reflection must be centered on answering the question, why don’t we? Our ministry to others was never intended to be narrowed by what the culture allows. It was meant to be holistic and touch all areas of life and yet, many of us shy away.
We are walking with Peter during this season for a purpose. He was much as we are and yet the power of the Spirit transforms him in so many ways. Is there any reason the Spirit won’t do the same thing for us if we are willing to allow Him?
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (1 Peter 2:11-12)
In the final part of his exhortation regarding the uniqueness and the demands of being the Church that Christ calls us to be, Peter emphasizes in this last pair of verses the necessity to separate from the world. He knew through his own transformation and the time he spent with the Lord that we were no longer at home in this world. Peter calls us to live as ‘aliens and strangers’ in the world but not of the world. Our holiness is to be apparent to all of those who peer into our lives. This holy nature is to be such that as others study us from a distance, they see consistency between our talk and our walk.
Our reflection today is a simple question: does your walk match your talk?
Enjoy the poetry over here at Cindy’s site.
But you are a chose people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praise of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)
Following yesterday’s steps toward the cross, Peter emphasized that the grace of God was intended to build us into a church of the despised. Our comfort zone was not be the measure of the world but the measure of how our sacrifice aligns with that of Christ. He continues today reminding us of our role as a royal priesthood.
We don’t hear that preached much, perhaps because we have allowed that assignment to be abrogated by the vocational clergy. The Pastor is representative of the priesthood for us and we are simply sheep in his flock. What would Peter say about this specialization? Nonsense! As people of mercy we are called to be in the perpetual worshipful service of the one who granted that mercy. Reclaim the mantle and take the demands of the priesthood seriously.
The middle verses of Psalm 30 remind us of why we return to these scriptures for strength and comfort time and time again.
Sing the Lord you saints of his; praise his holy name.
For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. (vv 4-5)
All of the saints of the Lord are called to raise our voices in praise even though their may be fleeting moments in which we believe that our travails overwhelm our ability to worship. David reminds us that life with the Lord will have these peaks and valleys but that the grace of God remains consistent. We need only turn our hearts toward him to rejoice again in His goodness.
The core thought in this psalm is the distinction between death and silence, and life and praise. Despite current circumstances, the question that it drives us to ask is, are we still drawing breath? If so, we can praise God beginning with this simple fact. Once the praise begins, the Spirit will remind us of all of the other things for which we can praise God as well.
To you, O Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy.
What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit?
Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me, O Lord, be my help. (vv 8-10)
… for if I live I praise you…
You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.(vv 11-12)
It is easy to see only darkness when we feel as though the valley has become too deep to ever climb out of but God has a purpose in it. Small graces will visit us, perhaps even those that we might be unaware of but they are cause for praise. We lift our voices despite the darkness for morning will come, just as God promises.
As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone” and “ A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for. (1 Peter 2:4-8)
Sacrifice. The focus of our Lent reflections. With Peter as the vehicle, we can see the progression of ‘less of me and more of you’ in response to Christ and the change that it brings. We turn to Peter’s first letter today and ponder his call to Be the Church. Believers are to build themselves into the Church, the body of sacrifice modeled on their Lord’s oblation. The question we meditate upon is whether we can accept being despised in the same way Christ was. Have we given up enough of self to make this possible or are we still concerned with what men think?
Worship Craft has begun posting a new series on using PowerPoint in worship. Many churches overlook this tool as inappropriate even though many pastors love to punctuate their sermons with it. There are ways to bend it to your will so follow along if you’re interested.
After Angel Eyes, my favorite John Hiatt tune that you’ve heard in a thousand different places but never knew who it was. Enjoy…
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LOVE | ACCEPT | FORGIVE 