Romans 1:16 – 17 (NLT)

16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. 17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

Reflection:

In Romans 1, Apostle Paul is under attack for preaching the true gospel. But he proclaims that he is not ashamed and not afraid. Why? Because he knows that the good news he preaches brings life. He is convinced that the message God has given him brings salvation to those who are dead and dying. He believes that God’s message is the only power that can save. He is sure of it.

When we have something this good and when we are that sure of it, we are eager to share it with others.  As we reflect on what God has done in this past year, let’s look forward to 2010 with the eagerness to bring the message of salvation to those who need to hear it.

Responding to the Transmission:

Let’s enter into this new year with eager expectation for what God will do for His Kingdom. May we not be ashamed to share this Good News, the message of love and salvation in Christ that brings us into right relationship with God.   Has God not done amazing things in our own lives?  May we be passionate to bring the Good News that has the power to save and heal, power to make sinners right in God’s sight. Let’s pray this for our campuses, workplaces, and communities.

Psalm 51:10 – 12 (NRSV)

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right - spirit within me.
¹¹Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.
¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

Reflection:

David writes this Psalm after his sin of adultery and murder is uncovered. As we think back to Day One’s transmission, we remember that God is not interested in outward appearances but looks deeper. As David confesses his sin, we see again that the Lord “desires honesty from the heart,” the inmost parts of a person. This is one of David’s darkest hours, but how does he respond? He asks God for a clean heart, he pleads to remain in God’s presence, and humbly prays for a heart of simple obedience.

Responding to the Transmission: 

Like David, let’s ask God to cleanse us from within and create in us new hearts, full of the joy of salvation.  May we fully live out our salvation and know the joy of being in right relationship with God. With new hearts let’s pray and proclaim God’s salvation over our communities. The same depths of sin that that we were saved from is available for others as we live out our salvation.

As part of today’s response let’s pray and declare:

“Open my lips and my mouth will declare

Your praise and your faithfulness

Open my lips and my tongue will sing for joy

That you are God of my salvation”

1 John 1:9 -10 (NLT)

9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

Reflection:

Imagine walking home on a cold winter’s night. As you approach the door to your home, through the window you see the warmth of the fire, the promise of a warm meal, and the assurance that you will soon be inside with your family and friends. But imagine stopping at the front porch, choosing instead to spend the rest of the night in the bitter cold, alone in the dark. When we live in un-confessed sin we are doing just that. In 1 John, we are encouraged to confess our sins and God who is faithful and just will forgive us and cleanse us from every wrong. And as we do so we can live more fully in relationship with God and with one another.

Responding to the Transmission: 

Even now, regardless of how our day went or how we lived today, we can come to the Lord and ask for forgiveness. It is his promise that he will forgive us and cleanse us from our sinful and disobedient ways. And as we do so we can enter into greater fellowship with Him and with one another. Let’s not let sin block us from having fuller relationship with the Lord and with our community. We can do this because of God’s faithfulness, He is committed to his people and is ready to forgive and purify us. So let us turn to Him freely.

Luke 18: 9-14 (TNIV)

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Reflection:

How could two people doing the same thing at the same place and time actually be worlds apart in God’s eyes?  Once again, in today’s passage, we are reminded that our God looks at the heart.  Even as we consider our own lives, perhaps there are times we go through the same motions of attending church or even being involved with ministry tasks and responsibilities, yet we know that our heart’s attitude before the Lord is not right.  Perhaps on the outside things don’t look all that different and we can be tempted in that moment to think that it’s ok to remain the same.  We see in this passage though that only one of them goes home justified before God.  It is the tax collector who is honored because of his humble heart.  Whereas the Pharisee felt so righteous by comparing himself against others in the community, the tax collector understood that no one could boast before a holy and awesome God.

Responding to the Transmission: 

Let’s not delay in coming before the Lord to be made right before Him.  How can we do this with a humble heart today?  In the verses immediately following v. 9-14, Jesus welcomes and blesses the little children who are brought to Him.  Jesus declares that only those who receive the Kingdom like a little child will enter it.  Let’s have the heart of a little child as we approach God today in prayer.  With humility, let’s confess that we are sinners in need of God’s mercy and that apart from Christ, we can do nothing.  As we have these humble, childlike hearts, let’s hear afresh Christ’s welcoming invitation to come and to receive His blessing.

1 Samuel 16:7 (TNIV)

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Reflection:

1 Samuel 16 tells the story of how the Lord chose David as the next King of Israel. He sent the prophet Samuel to the home of Jesse and invited his sons to take part in a sacrifice. So insignificant was the youngest son, David, in the eyes of the world, that even his own father was sure the prophet wouldn’t be interested in him. But the Lord was very interested in David, the shepherd boy. The Lord looked past the outward appearance and looked deeper into the thoughts and intentions of David’s heart. The Lord is concerned with our hearts, not our outer appearance.  He desires truth in the inward parts.  He operates on the heart level.

Responding to the Transmission: 

Let’s come to the Lord today laying bare our hearts before Him.  Let’s not hesitate or try to cover up, for He already knows everything about us and our heart’s condition.  With genuineness, let’s ask for God’s truth to fill our inmost being.  Like David experienced so many times in his life, as we come to the Lord in this way, we can be filled with God’s Spirit.