For the Congressional Chaplains and their staffs
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
--Acts 20:28
Holy God, I praise You for calling us to Yourself through the precious shed blood of Jesus Christ. I thank You, too, for calling some to lead in unique ways�especially for those You call to minister to spiritual needs, after the model of the apostles and early church leaders. I praise You for seeing to our spiritual needs through these leaders. You are gracious and good, mighty God!
Today I bring before you Senate Chaplain Rev. Barry Black and House Chaplain Father Daniel Coughlin and those who serve on their staffs. Thank You for their ministries of influence in the highest halls of power in our nation. Bless these people today, Lord, as they serve. Encourage them, strengthen them, keep their hearts focused on You and Your holy word, regardless of the pressures they face. Let their be an extraordinary witness to Your power and truth through them today, I ask in Jesus� name, amen.
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
"When a man, from beholding and contemplating the heavens, has been brought to acknowledge God, he will learn also to reflect upon and to admire his wisdom and power as displayed on the face of the earth, not only in general, but even in the minutest plants.
"David shows how it is that the heavens proclaim to us the glory of God, namely, by openly bearing testimony that they have not been put together by chance, but were wonderfully created by the supreme Architect. When we behold the heavens, we cannot but be elevated, by the contemplation of them, to him who is their great Creator; and the beautiful arrangement and wonderful variety which distinguish the courses and station of the heavenlly bodies, together with the beauty and splendour which are manifest in them, cannot but furnish us with an evident proof of his providence."
(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)
James 2:1-9
James warns us, in this passage, against playing up to "so-called important people."
Who would that be in your life? In my life? Funny thing is, I don't really have this problem. The only people in my life that I might want to "impress" are those who I consider to be my good friends. As a matter of fact, I probably have the opposite problem that James warns about in this passage. I would be more inclined to give the man in rags the front seat and make the guy in the Armani suit stand in the back.
Honestly, this probably isn't any better. What God is after, here, is equality. We are all on equal footing before the Lord, and we should treat all people equally, whether rich, poor, slave, free, male, female...you know....all those things Paul already mentioned.
James is encouraging us to follow the second most important law, as stated by Jesus, that being to "love others as you love yourself." We are to love people and use things, not use people and love things.
But we struggle with this, don't we?
The question is asked, "Whom do you 'use' to entertain you? To help you? To make you feel better?
Good questions. Do we laugh at the expense of people around us? Do we use those around us who might not be as "intelligent" as us for entertainment? Do we only have "friends" when they can do something that helps us? Or do we tend to "hang" with people who make us feel better?
On the other side of that coin, what would it look like to "love others as you lover yourself?" How would it be to give others the same amount of time, energy and attention that you give yourself? (Actually, that probably isn't possible, if you really think about it...) But I think we can get the point.
I think the first statement in today's passage might be the most important. "...don't let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith."
In other words, don't let what anyone else thinks sway you from following Christ. If this guy wearing rags comes in to your church and sits down next to the guy wearing the Armani suit, and the guy in the suit is uncomfortable with that, well...too bad. Maybe he needs to go find himself a rich church. Because when you set foot in that building, and enter that "worship service," all pretense is gone. I've heard it said, "The ground is level at the foot of the cross." Amen. The only one elevated is Christ.
Show me how to care for and love others as I love myself. If I am guilty of using anyone for my own benefit, show me immediately! I would not have this in my life, Father!
Grace and peace, friends.