For the members of the U.S. House of Representatives to seek God with their whole hearts, desiring righteousness and holiness as they serve
Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
�Isaiah 11:5
Sovereign God, Your plans are perfect and Your ways are right and just. We look to You and see the beauty of all You have designed. We trust in Your perfect will and Your way, particularly when it comes to the selection and cooperation of our national leaders.
Lord, assist those in the U.S. House of Representatives to desire what others, particularly their constituents, want and need instead of what will bring them individual gain or glory. Show them the value of asking You for insight and of obeying Your direction, in humble recognition of Your presence and love. Let them pursue righteousness and holiness as they serve on Capitol Hill, in the name of Christ our Lord, amen.
One of my favorite psalms...it's hard to not quote the whole thing.
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them. Verses 13-16
Ponder the wonder of those verses!
Colossians 1:15-23
"This passage speaks of the supremacy and power of God manifested through Jesus Christ."
I think the characteristic or attribute of Christ that stands out most to me in this passage is his timelessness. "He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment." Jesus has been there since before the worlds was created. Earlier in the passage, it says that all things were created by him and for him. He is supreme from beginning to end.
The second thing that stands out to me in this passage is this: "...all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe--people and things, animals and atoms--get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross." Wow. And we are all certainly broken, aren't we?
Paul says, "We look at this Son and see...God..." How do we "look" at Jesus? The most obvious way is throught the Bible. We have a really good "picture" of Jesus in the Scriptures. But we can also "look" at him with our hearts, meditating on him and his presence in our lives. And, in doing so, we see God.
What does his supremacy mean to us? That's definitely something to ponder. To meditate on. Because I'm not sure I can give a rational, meaningful answer to that. Oh, I could string some words together that would sound nice, but, honestly? I'm at a loss for words when I think about this right now.
Grace and peace, friends!