God Pause for Thursday, 9 March 2017 of Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States with Scripture: John 3:1-17

God Pause for Thursday, 9 March 2017 of Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States with Scripture: John 3:1-17

-------

John 3:1 There was a man among the P’rushim, named Nakdimon, who was a ruler of the Judeans. 2 This man came to Yeshua by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know it is from God that you have come as a teacher; for no one can do these miracles you perform unless God is with him.” 3 “Yes, indeed,” Yeshua answered him, “I tell you that unless a person is born again from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

4 Nakdimon said to him, “How can a grown man be ‘born’? Can he go back into his mother’s womb and be born a second time?” 5 Yeshua answered, “Yes, indeed, I tell you that unless a person is born from water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. 6 What is born from the flesh is flesh, and what is born from the Spirit is spirit. 7 Stop being amazed at my telling you that you must be born again from above! 8 The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it’s going. That’s how it is with everyone who has been born from the Spirit.”

9 Nakdimon replied, “How can this happen?” 10 Yeshua answered him, “You hold the office of teacher in Isra’el, and you don’t know this? 11 Yes, indeed! I tell you that what we speak about, we know; and what we give evidence of, we have seen; but you people don’t accept our evidence! 12 If you people don’t believe me when I tell you about the things of the world, how will you believe me when I tell you about the things of heaven? 13 No one has gone up into heaven; there is only the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moshe lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life.

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through him, the world might be saved.[Complete Jewish Bible]

-------
John 3:16 is one of the most familiar, most beloved verses in all of scripture. Here is the gospel, clearly stated: because of God's great love, Jesus came to earth to lead us into abundant, everlasting life. But the verse is strange and startling in context. Immediately before the cherished words, Jesus compares himself to the bronze snake that Moses made and lifted up in the wilderness. This recalls an ugly incident told in Numbers 21: God sends a swarm of venomous snakes as a punishment, and many people die before Moses offers salvation in the form of this bronze serpent. It seems bizarre that Jesus would evoke this grim object next to such a beautiful proclamation of God's love. However, the gospel appears in surprising, even off-putting places, showing us a God who transforms punishment and death into forgiveness and life.
Surprising God, keep our eyes open to recognize you where we least expect you. Amen.
Jessica Christy
M.Th. Student, Luther Seminary
John 3:1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.
2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God."
3 Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above."
4 Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?"
5 Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.
6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, "You must be born from above.'
8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
9 Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?"
10 Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
11 "Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony.
12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
17 "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.[New Revised Standard Version] 

LUTHER SEMINARY
2481 Como Avenue
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, United States
-------

God Pause for Wednesday, 8 March 2017 of Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States with Scripture: Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

-------
Romans 4:1 Then what should we say Avraham, our forefather, obtained by his own efforts? 2 For if Avraham came to be considered righteous by God because of legalistic observances, then he has something to boast about. But this is not how it is before God! 3 For what does the Tanakh say? “Avraham put his trust in God, and it was credited to his account as righteousness.”[Romans 4:3 Genesis 15:6] 4 Now the account of someone who is working is credited not on the ground of grace but on the ground of what is owed him. 5 However, in the case of one who is not working but rather is trusting in him who makes ungodly people righteous, his trust is credited to him as righteousness.

Romans 4:13 For the promise to Avraham and his seed[Romans 4:13 Genesis 15:3, 5] that he would inherit the world did not come through legalism but through the righteousness that trust produces. 14 For if the heirs are produced by legalism, then trust is pointless and the promise worthless. 15 For what law brings is punishment. But where there is no law, there is also no violation.

16 The reason the promise is based on trusting is so that it may come as God’s free gift, a promise that can be relied on by all the seed, not only those who live within the framework of the Torah, but also those with the kind of trust Avraham had — Avraham avinu for all of us. 17 This accords with the Tanakh, where it says, “I have appointed you to be a father to many nations.”[Romans 4:17 Genesis 17:5] Avraham is our father in God’s sight because he trusted God as the one who gives life to the dead and calls nonexistent things into existence.[Complete Jewish Bible}

-------

All our lives are shaped by how much we earn through our work. Where we live, who we know, how we shape and clothe our bodies--practically nothing is untouched by our wages. We work hard to win our due, so most of us are naturally protective of what's ours. The world judges us by how much we can gather for ourselves. But there are no wages in the kingdom of heaven. In faith, God sets us free of needing to earn our way; all are freely showered with unimaginable gifts of mercy. When we see our lives from God's perspective, we no longer have to worry about comparing ourselves to others. No one has to work to be worthy. God's grace overturns all our economies.
God of Abraham, set us free from all our anxieties and comparisons. Help us to see that, through Christ, all people are worthy of your abundant love. Amen.
Jessica Christy
M.Th. Student, Luther Seminary
Romans 4:1 What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh?
2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
3 For what does the scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness."
4 Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due.
5 But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness...
13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
14 If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.
15 For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
16 For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us,
17 as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations")--in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.[New Revised Standard Version]

Luther Seminary
2481 Como Avenue

Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, United States
-------

God Pause for Tuesday, 7 March 2017 of Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States with Scripture: Psalm 121

-------Psalm 121:(0) A song of ascents:

(1) If I raise my eyes to the hills,

from where will my help come?

2 My help comes from Adonai,

the maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip —

your guardian is not asleep.

4 No, the guardian of Isra’el

never slumbers or sleeps.

5 Adonai is your guardian; at your right hand

Adonai provides you with shade —

6 the sun can’t strike you during the day

or even the moon at night.

7 Adonai will guard you against all harm;

he will guard your life.

8 Adonai will guard your coming and going

from now on and forever.[Complete Jewish Bible]

-------

"On the seventh day, God rested." For millennia, the resting of God has been a cherished, distinctive part of the Jewish and Christian traditions. However, even though God rests, this psalm repeatedly promises that God is never sleeping. God is not passive, nor absent, nor unaware of what is happening to us. Day and night, when we come and when we leave, from our birth until our death, God is active in our lives, bringing us help and protection. It's not always easy to proclaim this in a world twisted with injustice and battered by tragedy, but our faith teaches us to be watchful for how God is at work around us. In Christ, we can trust that God is always with us, even in our deepest sorrows.
Protector God, teach us to look to you for help, and show us signs of your saving presence in our lives. Amen.
Jessica Christy
M.Th. Student, Luther Seminary
Psalm 121:1 I lift up my eyes to the hills-- from where will my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.[New Revised Standard Version]

Luther Seminary
2481 Como Avenue

Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, United States
-------