Know that the LORD does wonders for the faithful; when I call upon the LORD, he will hear me.– Psalm 4:3
Dear Friends,
Happy Eastertide! As we continue into the Easter season, we are reminded through our readings of the long-term benefits we receive from the events we observed during Holy Week. The Lord has shown us that He does do wonders for the faithful – after all, He loves us so much He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins so that we will have eternal life. That’s a pretty big thing to do, don’t you think? Pretty wonderous!
In the Psalm 4 reading this week, we hear a song in which David, possibly speaking to the Lord God Himself, is basically complaining that his enemies are slandering him. This was of great concern to David and he was troubled. David asks for mercy and for his prayer to be heard. Haven’t we all, at some point, presented our troubles to God, asked for mercy and forgiveness for things we have done that might have caused those troubles, and then asked for our prayers to be heard? If you are like me, you probably do it all the time. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
David acknowledges to God that he receives his righteousness from God. We, as Christians, believe that the same righteousness that David received is imputed, or justified, to us through our faith in Jesus Christ. I won’t go down the rabbit hole of arguing whether or not the righteousness we receive was ‘earned’ by Jesus and then given to us through our belief in Him, as some believe (also known as ‘active obedience imputation’). The point is that we receive this righteousness because, as believers, we are “in right standing or right relationship with God, without guilt of sins” (Rayburn, T, 2010).
We spent this past Lenten season learning to Listen through our daily devotionals to God, our family, our friends, and ourselves. Now we’re learning that we can speak directly to God and He will listen, too. This is great! This means that we can be in full relationship with God and have conversations. I don’t know about you, but I spend enough time talking to myself, I really do appreciate when I have the opportunity to talk with someone else! And God is with me always, ready to have that conversation!
Through Jesus’s short years of ministry, He taught us many things. Particularly, He taught us what is expected of us in how we live our lives to honor God, giving us examples of how to worship our Lord, how to treat people and our environment, and really, just how to be a good human. Sometimes, it can be difficult to find ways to put those lessons into action. But through conversations with God (He is listening!), our family and friends, and ourselves, we can find those ways that will put meaning into our lives.
I want to encourage you to join us for worship this Sunday, April 18 at 10 AM, where we will be One Together in Faith, Hope, & Love. Be a witness to the plans that God has for Epiphany as we showcase the opportunities to turn lessons into action which will lead to living a meaningful life. As we continue to gather in person in small numbers, you can make a reservation to attend the service in person on our Signup Genius page found here. If you would prefer to join us online via YouTube, you can find our bulletin and the link to the service here.
Peace to you all,
Susan Buckner
Senior Warden
*Rayburn, T. 2010 Jan 06. The eternal inherent righteousness of Christ was imputed to us. Grace For Life. Retrieved from https://grace-for-life.blogspot.com/2010/01/eternal-inherent-righteousness-of.html