PAUSING
Find a quiet place where you can be alone. Take a few seconds or minutes to pause and be still; to breathe slowly, and to re-center any scattered thoughts or desires onto the presence of God.
PRAYING
Holy Spirit, You make all things new. Awake my heart to dream new dreams in this new year. I set aside any baggage or worries I have been carrying, releasing my burdens, and finding rest and home in Your presence. I breathe in Your pursuing love towards me.
ENCOUNTERING HIS WORD
"Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!
Let the trees of the forest sing,
let them sing for joy before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever." - 1 Chronicles 16:32-34
This song of thanksgiving celebrates the joyful anticipation of God coming to judge the world. Judgment in the stories of today often depict intense and dark drama: fireballs hurling out of the sky, AI robots with glowing red eyeballs saying good bye in Spanish. Here in this passage however, God's justice is good news - so good that the oceans roar, fields dance, and the trees sing. Why?
Because God is good, and His love endures forever. God's justice isn't about punishment. It's not a purge. It's about love. God's justice is about making everything that's wrong with the world, right again. Another way of putting it, God's justice = restoration. It's about grace in action and the reminder that God cares enough about a broken world that he wants to fix it.
REFLECTING AND PRAYING
Are there any injustices in your life and in the world that come to your mind right now? Sit in the tension of what feels unfair. Wrestle with that tension and...
GODS PROMISE
"Don't fear: I am First, I am Last, I'm Alive. I died, but I came to life, and my life is now forever." - Revelation 1:17 (MSG)
Find a quiet place where you can be alone. Take a few seconds or minutes to pause and be still; to breathe slowly, and to re-center any scattered thoughts or desires onto the presence of God.
PRAYING
Holy Spirit, You make all things new. Awake my heart to dream new dreams in this new year. I set aside any baggage or worries I have been carrying, releasing my burdens, and finding rest and home in Your presence. I breathe in Your pursuing love towards me.
ENCOUNTERING HIS WORD
"Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!
Let the trees of the forest sing,
let them sing for joy before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever." - 1 Chronicles 16:32-34
This song of thanksgiving celebrates the joyful anticipation of God coming to judge the world. Judgment in the stories of today often depict intense and dark drama: fireballs hurling out of the sky, AI robots with glowing red eyeballs saying good bye in Spanish. Here in this passage however, God's justice is good news - so good that the oceans roar, fields dance, and the trees sing. Why?
Because God is good, and His love endures forever. God's justice isn't about punishment. It's not a purge. It's about love. God's justice is about making everything that's wrong with the world, right again. Another way of putting it, God's justice = restoration. It's about grace in action and the reminder that God cares enough about a broken world that he wants to fix it.
REFLECTING AND PRAYING
Are there any injustices in your life and in the world that come to your mind right now? Sit in the tension of what feels unfair. Wrestle with that tension and...
- Pray for more of Jesus presence with those in our world that cry out and long for the justice of God.
- Think of a family or friend experiencing a cycle of injustice, remember their pain or sorrow, and ask God to help them experience deliverance and restoration in Jesus name.
- Creatively imagine one practical way you could be a carrier of justice and an agent of grace today. Tell God your plan and pray for His wisdom and blessing.
GODS PROMISE
"Don't fear: I am First, I am Last, I'm Alive. I died, but I came to life, and my life is now forever." - Revelation 1:17 (MSG)