Weekly Devontional on 4.7.2024

Old Testament Reading Psalm 133 - Common English Bible

1 Look at how good and pleasing it is when families live together as one! 2 It is like expensive oil poured over the head, running down onto the beard— Aaron’s beard!— which extended over the collar of his robes. 3 It is like the dew on Mount Hermon streaming down onto the mountains of Zion, because it is there that the Lord has commanded the blessing: everlasting life.

 

Psalm 133 - English Standard Version 1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

 

Psalm 133 – God’s Word Translation 1 See how good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live together in harmony! 2 It is like fine, scented oil on the head, running down the beard—down Aaron’s beard— running over the collar of his robes. 3 It is like dew on ⌞Mount Hermon, dew which comes down on Zion’s mountains. That is where the Lord promised the blessing of eternal life.

 

New Testament Reading

1 John 1:1-2:2 - Common English Bible 1 We announce to you what existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have seen and our hands handled, about the word of life. 2 The life was revealed, and we have seen, and we testify and announce to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us. 3 What we have seen and heard, we also announce it to you so that you can have fellowship with us. Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that our joy can be complete. 5 This is the message that we have heard from him and announce to you: “God is light and there is no darkness in him at all.” 6 If we claim, “We have fellowship with him,” and live in the darkness, we are lying and do not act truthfully. 7 But if we live in the light in the same way as he is in the light, we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. 8 If we claim, “We don’t have any sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.9 But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from everything we’ve done wrong. 10 If we claim, “We have never sinned,” we make him a liar and his word is not in us. 2 My little children, I’m writing these things to you so that you don’t sin. But if you do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. 2 He is God’s way of dealing with our sins, not only ours but the sins of the whole world.

 

1 John 1:1-2:2 - English Standard Version 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. 5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 2 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

 

1 John 1:1-2:2 - God’s Word Translation 1 The Word of life existed from the beginning. We have heard it. We have seen it. We observed and touched it. 2 This life was revealed to us. We have seen it, and we testify about it. We are reporting to you about this eternal life that was in the presence of the Father and was revealed to us. 3 This is the life we have seen and heard. We are reporting about it to you also so that you, too, can have a relationship with us. Our relationship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing this so that we can be completely filled with joy. 5 This is the message we heard from Christ and are reporting to you: God is light, and there isn’t any darkness in him. 6 If we say, “We have a relationship with God” and yet live in the dark, we’re lying. We aren’t being truthful. 7 But if we live in the light in the same way that God is in the light, we have a relationship with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from every sin. 8 If we say, “We aren’t sinful” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 God is faithful and reliable. If we confess our sins, he forgives them and cleanses us from everything we’ve done wrong. 10 If we say, “We have never sinned,” we turn God into a liar and his Word is not in us. 2 My dear children, I’m writing this to you so that you will not sin. Yet, if anyone does sin, we have Jesus Christ, who has God’s full approval. He speaks on our behalf when we come into the presence of the Father. 2 He is the payment for our sins, and not only for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world. We have arrived at the pinnacle of our Christian Season... Easter has come... He IS Risen. Do we now just go back to _________________? You can attempt to complete the sentence. Are we even supposed to go back? Now way family... Jesus commands us to GO OUT... that is a call to action to move forward, to encounter Jesus in all of creation going forward, among the people we encounter. We can share our stories, consider our similar life experience, while listening to the stories of others. We are not really so different, are we? What (or more specifically) who has made us different? That’s an easy one. As Christians, Jesus is the answer. So what are we going to do with that revelation? As we begin our travels down our road to Pentecost 2024, how many people can we tell about Jesus? How many people are you inviting to church on Sunday? (You are inviting people to church aren’t you?) Jesus is inviting us to walk with Him in His great creation and experience the wonders of His world in His great, eternal light. Sure this world keeps throwing blankets over our heads trying to trap us in the darkness. Jesus Christ lives and where He is darkness cannot exist. Consider the metaphor of light and dark in helping us to view God’s ac on in our lives, revealing how we should live. Rev. Fernando P. Sanchez suggests the concepts of lighthouse and beacon as illustra ons of God’s guidance. “A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for naviga onal aid, for mari me pilots at sea or on inland waterways. As Chris ans, we have a lighthouse called Jesus who is our beacon to navigate our personal journey of faith. The radiant light of a lighthouse shines in the darkness, as Jesus is our radiant light of faith, hope, love, and redemp on. There is no darkness in our spirit. Remember, we will walk in the light of Easter, a new beginning, a new hope of life in Jesus our God.” (Rev. Fernando P. Sanchez) Shine, Jesus Shine... Let ALL God’s children say... Amen!