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SALT & LIGHT for SUNDAY, DEC 1, 2024:
Proverbs 30:8 comes from a chapter by Agur. His request for "daily bread" humbly begs for sufficiency rather than abundance. Wealth and excess are fleeting, and such advice is probably a good reminder for us all as we enter the holiday season. The daily bread of bread of Jesus Christ is the only gift worth seeking.
Philippians 2:7-8 speaks to the ultimate expression of Christ’s humility—God became a servant to tend to our need for redemption. The extravagant gift of life in Christ was poured out upon the brutal reality of the cross. Though Jesus rules over all—possesses all—he allowed himself to suffer in order to rescue us.
Both verses speak to our human needs—we crave the daily sustenance of the Truth, and we long to be filled with the grace of our Savior. How are our needs met? Christ said that God will attend to our bodily needs, but we must seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. God alone meets our needs. Self-sufficiency is not divine sufficiency. The former depletes our souls, while the latter fills our hearts with divine love.
["Salt & Light" posts are a single reflection on two different, daily scriptures from DailyVerses & YouVersion]
#dailyverse #verseoftheday
SALT & LIGHT for Wed, Nov 27, 2024:
Psalm 79:9 expresses anguish over the desecration of Jerusalem (presumably by Babylon in 587 BC). The people of Israel plead with God for deliverance (an act that would show God’s strength and bring glory to God’s name). In the end, the psalmist states that if God grants their petition, then the people will praise God forever.
1 Peter 4:8 calls for love, even adding that love covers many sins. God is the source of this pure, deep love. In fact, God IS love (1 John 4:8). Despite our human flaws, divine love can lead us toward peace and unity with one another. Our love for each other is an outpouring of godliness.
God’s glory is at the root of these verses. The psalmist reminds us that deliverance is about God’s glory. We should note that the psalmist is not bargaining a deal with God (as if to say, “deliver us and then we will praise you”), but the writer is declaring, “Only if you deliver us will we be able to praise your name; our very breath is in your hands!” Receiving love in its purist form demands that we echo that same love. As we emulate God’s own love, we receive freedom and an invitation to glorify the source of that love.
[Aryeh’s "Daily Doubles" begin with two daily scriptures, one each from DailyVerses & YouVersion]
#dailyverse
SALT & LIGHT for Tue, Nov 26, 2024:
In 1 Cor. 15:34, Paul addresses the Corinthians’ behavior in light of the resurrection of the dead (explained in his preceding verses). The Corinthians were struggling with misunderstandings about the resurrection, perhaps even denying it. Denial, though, can only lead to moral decay. Our spiritual health depends upon our being awake to God’s work in bringing us to life in every way.
2 Cor. 5:18 is written to the same audience a few years later. Paul speaks of the reconciliation that God has accomplished through Christ. This reconciliation allows for a new communal reality, one where people acknowledge they are united with one another.
Resurrection and reconciliation go hand in hand. Christ’s resurrection (which offers us hope for our own resurrection) is the central doctrine of our faith. This reality ought to shape our daily lives. Still, there is more. On a more cosmic scale, our daily lives become less about personal salvation and more about our relationships. A resurrected life is not meant to be a solitary existence.
[Aryeh’s "Daily Doubles" begin with two daily scriptures, one each from DailyVerses & YouVersion]
SALT & LIGHT for Mon, Nov 25, 2024:
Both of today’s selections are from apostolic letters. 1 John 3:1 declares the extravagant love that God “lavishes” upon us. Becoming children of God, we are invited into holy transformation, the type that offers us new self-worth, purpose, and belonging; we become unrecognizable to the darkness because it cannot comprehend what we have become.
Romans 15:5 is a message of hope about Christlikeness, and we should note that GOD gives the divine gifts of endurance and encouragement. Paul reminds us that the Lord gives these gifts so that we are of “one mind and one voice” as we worship. Our God—who is One—asks us to be united as we glorify our Creator.
God’s active presence in our spiritual transformation stands out. God alone adopts us, and God alone equips us for our royal work as children of the King. Knowing that God has done ALL that is needed, we are free to rest in Christ. We must let go of our wearied, rushed, and overwhelmed lives because those feelings stem from worldly chaos. Our unity is grounded in God’s work, not our own human efforts, and we can “rest” assured that we are no longer of the world.
[Aryeh’s "Daily Doubles" begin with two daily scriptures, one each from DailyVerses & YouVersion]
#dailyverse #verseoftheday
SALT & LIGHT for Fri, Nov 22, 2024:
Eph. 4:2 comes from Paul’s exhortation to a church in (modern-day) Turkey. He desires that the community live in love and unity by displaying Christlikeness. Paul has just prayed for them to be spiritually empowered to grasp the immensity of Christ’s love. Such love will be evidenced in their virtue; humility overcomes pride, gentleness softens harshness, and patience permits love to bind all things together.
Deut. 6:5 is a verse from the Shema, a declaration still made by Jewish people several times per day. It asserts God’s self-unity—God’s oneness—and it calls for people to give every part of their being to the Lord. Advocating for a comprehensive devotion, Jesus recites the Shema as the most important commandment, and he follows it with the Levitical command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:29-31).
Both verses highlight loving relationships with God and others. To love God fully (heart, soul, and strength), we must maintain an outward flow of love to people. With all our humanity aligned in the love of Christ, our actions in the world become gentle, humble, and lovingly tolerant. We need not search out these virtues; love that is poured out will always be inherently virtuous.
[Aryeh’s "Daily Doubles" begin with two daily scriptures, one each from DailyVerses & YouVersion]
#dailyverse #verseoftheday
SALT & LIGHT for Wed, Nov 20, 2024:
John 3:3 comes from Jesus’s conversation with Nicodemus, a Jewish leader. Nicodemus struggles with the idea of being reborn, but Jesus speaks of spiritual matters and radical transformation in our hearts. First, however, rebirth requires death. In Romans, Paul reminds us that through the body of Christ, we die to the enslavement of the law, which frees us to belong to Christ in our rebirth (7:4).
Isaiah 9:2 is a prophetic declaration for the Judeans before the Babylonian exile. King Ahaz’s enlistment of Assyria for “help” will fail, and Isaiah warns the people of defeat and exile. The message, however, is tempered with a vision of a child who will deliver the people—a Messiah—one who will overcome the darkness in which the people dwell.
Divine transformation is initiated outside of ourselves; it comes from our Messiah and the Holy Spirit…meaning it comes from God alone. We now live in the world that Isaiah only foretold; we live on this side of Christ’s cross. In being reborn, we receive the Light of the World bursting forth to illuminate every crevice of life. The truth? The darkness doesn’t even stand a chance (John 1:5).
[Aryeh’s "Daily Doubles" begin with two daily scriptures, one each from DailyVerses & YouVersion]
#dailyverse