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Hope Springs Forth
Throughout the year, we have continued to celebrate the 90th anniversary of The Upper Room daily Read More
L. Roger Owens | Read Revelation 1:4-8
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian and martyr during World War II, once said that the most difficult thing for human beings to come to terms with is the reality that we were not in the beginning. We struggle with being in the middle, with being creatures.
Today’s passage clearly states...
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, help us embrace ourselves the way you created us—limits and all. Give us patience when we get frustrated with our creaturely limits. Amen.
Second Samuel records the final words of David. David takes comfort in the covenant that God has made with his family, which must be continued by kings who will honor God and rule justly. The psalmist sings of this same covenant with David’s family and the same necessity to follow God’s decrees in order to rule well. Revelation opens with a vision of Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant, the King to rule over all kings for all time. Many expected Jesus to set up a political kingdom. Yet in John, Jesus tells Pilate that his kingdom is not an earthly one. This week let us thank God that the kingdom is based not on the exercise of power but on Jesus’ example of serving others.
Read 2 Samuel 23:1-7. What characteristics would you include in a description of a just leader? Where do you see those characteristics in world leaders today?
Read Psalm 132:1-18. What is your vision of Paradise? Who will be seated at the table with you?
Read Revelation 1:4b-8. How do you bear witness to the “Alpha and the Omega”?
Read John 18:33-37. What is your understanding of what it means to live in God’s kingdom?
Respond by posting a prayer.
