Isaiah 53 (New International Version)

1 Who has believed our message

and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,

and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,

a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

4 Surely he took up our pain

and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God,

stricken by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to our own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,

yet he did not open his mouth;

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

Yet who of his generation protested?

For he was cut off from the land of the living;

for the transgression of my people he was punished.

9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

and with the rich in his death,

though he had done no violence,

nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin,

he will see his offspring and prolong his days,

and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

11 After he has suffered,

he will see the light of life and be satisfied;

by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,

and he will bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,

and he will divide the spoils with the strong,

because he poured out his life unto death,

and was numbered with the transgressors.

For he bore the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (New International Version)

26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Reflection:

Have you applied to something where all the other applicants seemed to be such a better fit for the task than you could ever be? It’s pretty daunting, right? But, fortunately for us, living for God isn’t like anything else we could try to do in life.

Christ did not have anything in his outward appearance to draw us to Him. Yet, it was not what He looked like that mattered, but who He was and what He did for us. In the same way, God does not love us or call us to live for Him because of these outside things or based on what position we hold in life. Therefore, even though we might be the worst possible candidates for the position, God can use even the most unlikely of people to do even the greatest of things for the Kingdom. We can be confident of this because we know that it is about His love and grace in our lives that matters, and it is that same love and grace that others will see and also want for themselves.

Response:

Let’s pray that we would not trust in our appearances, our talents, or our abilities to be able to minister to others, but that we would trust that it is God’s Spirit that will shine through our lives and in our hearts so that those around us may see and know Christ in a real and powerful way.

1 Timothy 1:12-17 (New International Version)

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Reflection:

Paul was a persecutor of the church, yet God had mercy on him. He knew that it was Christ who had made his life into something new so that he could live on God’s mission. In that same way Christ Jesus has immense patience for us. He knows that we won’t always get it right, but instead of giving up on us, Christ continues to work in our lives through His forgiveness and love. No longer do our past sins define us, but it is the inexhaustible mercy of Christ that is constantly at work in all that we do. It is in this that we can live lives that declare God’s goodness to those around us.

Response:

Let’s pray that we would not be caught up in reminiscing about our past mistakes and failures, but that we would continue to be made afresh in the wonderful work of Christ in our lives. For it is by His mercy that we can live and love others.

2 Corinthians 12:7b-10 (NLT)

So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

⁸ Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. ⁹ Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. ¹⁰That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Reflection

Human nature dictates we like to cover up our weaknesses or wish that they would disappear.  Paul even asked God three times to take away the troublesome thorn in his flesh.  Instead of removing the thorn, God reminded Paul that His grace was what he really needed.  God’s power works best in our weaknesses because these are the moments when we recognize our need for Him.  No matter what they are, our weaknesses keep us from becoming self-sufficient and self-reliant, so that the power of Christ can work through us.  And because God’s power works in our lives, we can look to God and, in turn, boast about our weaknesses, rather than cover them up.  For when we are weak, we are made strong. How good it is to trust in the power of God!  We can fully believe that God’s grace is all that we need.

Responding to the Transmitted Message

“For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  May we go deeper in believing and living out this truth.  Let’s take a moment to recognize our weaknesses and our need for God.  Let’s call out to God in prayer and believe that His grace is sufficient for us.  Trusting that God’s power is at work in our lives, let’s ask for greater humility and dependency upon Him in our lives.

Psalm 103:1-12

¹ Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
² Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶ The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

⁷ He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
⁸ The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹ He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Reflection

Out in the desert at the top of Mt. Sinai, Moses brought forth another set of stone tablets as commanded by God.  The first set had been destroyed because of the Israelite’s disobedience and rebellion.  But once again, the LORD came down in a cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding love and faithfulness.”  (Exodus 34:4-7)  At that very moment, God revealed Himself, His ways and His nature.  The fact that God even gave them a second chance to receive the laws was a divine testament of His compassion and grace.  Not condemnation or judgment, God revealed that He is slow to anger and abounding in faithful love.  For the many generations afterwards including us, through this Psalm, we are reminded of His gracious ways in dealing with us.  In compassion and grace, He heals, rescues and loves us in the most intimate and personal way.  This is who He is.  Because of Him, we are who we are.

Responding to the Transmitted Message

Let’s praise the Lord for his love and mercy – for He treated us not as we deserved but gave us unmerited favor to live in Him.  Let’s thank Him for the compassion and grace He shows us.

Colossians 1:24-29 (NLT)

²⁴ I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. ²⁵ God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you. ²⁶ This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. ²⁷ For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

²⁸ So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfectin their relationship to Christ. ²⁹ That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.

Reflection

Proclaiming, warning, teaching and pastoring, Paul labored hard with sweat and blood to pass on the message of grace that he received from the Lord.  He ministered in the midst of stoning, jail, shipwreck and more. Paul was willing to put up with trials and tribulations so that many could hear and experience the glorious message of grace. Paul worked hard to share the gospel, even to the point of suffering. But he was completely dependent on Christ’s mighty power working in him. He did not just deliver any message but he delivered his life-changing account of the message, testifying of his personal encounter with Jesus Christ.  So when he proclaimed “Christ lives in you,” it was out of God’s mighty power, abundant riches and hopeful glory.

Responding to the Transmitted Message

When trying to tell others about Christ, we recognize quickly that we can’t go far on our own strength and wisdom.  Let’s ask for His grace and power.  As we receive from God, let’s pray for our missional groups, campuses and churches.  May God lead us to those who need to hear His message of grace, and may we be completely dependent on Christ’s power working in us.

Ephesians 1:3-6

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ hepredestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Reflection

What’s so glorious about “grace”?  Is it because we occasionally get a freebie here and there?  Maybe a complimentary dessert “gratis” at a restaurant, free shipping on an on-line purchase,or a “grace period” on an overdue bill makes us happy.  But true grace – God’s grace - is glorious because even though we didn’t earn or deserve it, God freely gave us all spiritual blessings, favors and privileges through Christ.  We have it all.  There is nothing more that we need.  Already deeming us washed by the blood of His Son, God chose us before creation to be holy and blameless.  He determined that we would be rescued from sin and death and we would be adopted as His very own.  Everything was all done in love, all designed out of His pleasure and will, and all given out freely to the praise of His glorious grace.

Responding to the Transmitted Message:

Let’s praise the Lord for the glorious grace he so freely gives us, his children, through His Son.  Let’s thank God for choosing and adopting us.  Let’s worship out of the true freedom we have in Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:9-10

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. ¹¹ Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

Reflection

In one of the most quoted parts of the book Cost of Discipleship, the author Dietrich Bonhoeffer makes a distinction between “cheap grace” and “costly grace.”  Cheap grace is “grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.”  In essence, it means that the death and resurrection of Christ are “without effect” – no impact, influence or change.  In contrast, costly grace is a “call to follow Jesus.”  Because of the high cost that Christ paid for our sins, God’s grace compels us to live a life surrendered to, and led by, this calling.  For Paul, he counted the cost of grace.  Because Christ left an indelible mark in his life, he proclaimed “I am who I am” only and all because of God’s grace.  It changed the way he saw his past, formed his present days, and shaped his perspective on eternity, even if it meant suffering, persecution and more work than anyone else.

Reflecting on the Transmitted Message:

May our lives be shaped completely by God’s grace and dependent entirely on God’s power.  Take a moment to pray and surrender to God, letting go of our self-reliance and trusting only in God’s power.  As we live today at home, work or school, in fellowship with brothers and sisters, or ministering to unbelievers, may we proclaim “I am who I am” only and all because of the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:3-9 (NIV 2011)

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Reflection:

Trials can bring grief, frustration, and discouragement. Yet they can also serve as a purification process where our faith is proven to be genuine. The testing process reveals what is truly precious and what will last, and everything else is left behind.

As our faith is proven genuine through trials, this passage affirms that we love Jesus more though we have not seen Him. We believe in and trust Christ the risen Lord, and we are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.

Response:

Let’s thank God that our hearts and our faith can be purified through hardship. We can believe even more in His promises and trust in the power of His Spirit in our lives. Let’s ask the Lord to strengthen our faith even more in difficult times so we would respond with greater praise throughout and after the process.