Scripture: Ephesians 3:6-7 (the Message)
The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I’ve been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board. This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details.
Thought for the Day: A wonderful minister, Craig Watts, posted on Facebook the following simple quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It read, “We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.”
When was the last time God surprised you by showing up in an unorthodox way? How often do our expectations of how God should move limit our ability to actually see God’s movement? We’ve come to know many of the stories in scripture with such familiarity that it has dulled or even domesticated their shocking message. God remains continuously unconventional, though we too often dismiss these holy disclosures because they do not fit our definition of what is proper and God-like.
Be ready to allow yourselves to be interrupted by God — for I believe we are at a place where God will be doing a lot of interrupting of what was for the purpose of usher in what will be.
Prayer: As you come near, O God of Holy surprises, may I be capable of recognizing and acknowledging your presence. Amen.
TOMORROW
Begins a new sermon series…
…and for four weeks,
the Daily Devotionals
will look at the teachings
of Jesus
and
about Jesus.
