Thursday, October 16, 2014

Day 19- Forty Days of Fellowship; 10-16-14

10/17- Friday Psalm 5:4-8, 11- 4For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
with you, evil people are not welcome. 5The arrogant cannot stand in your presence.
You hate all who do wrong; 6you destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful
you, Lord, detest. 7But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple. 8Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies— make your way straight before me. 11But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

Bonhoeffer: “Repeatedly in Psalm 5 there are two voices, bringing the same concern to God. Is this not a hint that one who prays never prays alone?”

Thoughts: To be able to downplay evil as if it does not matter what we do is to miss the importance of the holiness of God.  Some things do not please God.  Which things?  God, as the Creator, has the right to decide what is wicked and what is good.  The things that go along with His design and His creation are good.  The bloodthirsty who kill thinking they are doing good- think ISIS- are wrong.  The lying and deceiving who try to disguise the reality of life in order to achieve more selfishness are wrong.  But it is by God’s great love that we are brought into fellowship with Him.  It is by God’s great love that we know we should be reverent and humble before Him instead of arrogant and selfish.  The prayer is that God will lead us in His way of fellowship and love because there are those who would persecute or make fun of those who would try to be selfless instead of selfish.  There are the arrogant who would use their power to overwhelm the weak and humble.  The two voices Bonhoeffer describes are the “I” and the “we.”  No individual prays apart from the fellowship.  The selfless are never alone.


Prayer: Lord, as I give myself to you and others, may I find that you are there with me and others are as well. 

Crowd cheering a racer on. 
The Fellowship cheers us on the straight and narrow path to the finish line.  

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