Seventh Sunday after Epiphany: Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Old Testament Lesson

Proverbs 6:1-19

The book of Proverbs is not hard to understand. It can be hard to live by, for it calls us to live a good life. A life of hard work, a life of humility, a life of obedience to God and His wisdom. These things are not treasured by this world. Humility is not a virtue in the 21^st century, yet, in Proverbs, it may be among the highest of virtues.

Today in this text, we see that if your pride has you bound, the only way out is to humble yourself, and gain your freedom through humility. Christ can that we may be set free. So, why then, would we allow our pride to make us captive again? Jesus Christ humbled himself to the point of death on a cross. Can we not humble ourselves to the point of asking forgiveness? Restoring a friendship? Confessing our mistake? Saying we are sorry? Through humility, we will find freedom from these things. Through pride, we will find chains. We road will we choose today?

New Testament Lesson

1 John 5:1-12

This is love, that we obey God. I’ve never met a person in my ministry that wouldn’t tell you that they love God. Everyone loves God. Have you ever met anyone that would tell you that they love God? The question then becomes how many of us love God with our lives. Love of God is not words and talk, love of God is obedience to God and His commands. It is not merely enough to say that you love God, we must obey God. That is how our love for God is truly shown. Today, do you love God? Do you obey Him? Do, will you love God? Will you obey Him and follow Him where He leads you in your work, in your, family, in your church (yes, tonight is Wednesday night!), and in your life?

Gospel Lesson

John 11:45-54

This text is exact opposite of what we should see in church. The religious leaders were more worried about their power and prestige than they were about Jesus and the hope that he was bringing. If they would have only listened to Him, they could have been set free. Instead, they only thought about what they wanted, and how this Jesus would affect their life. Too many folks miss Jesus because they are too focused only on what they want. Too many churches do not do effective ministry because they are only focused on what they want, not what the Lord wants. Too many Christians live ineffective lives because they don’t want to give up full control of their lives to Jesus and His mission. Friends, if we are a Christian, then, we have no choice. He must be in control. He must be leading. We should not hold onto power (be it in our church, in our family, or in our lives), we should give Jesus full power and control. He knows what He is doing. Do you trust Him enough today to give Him control? In doing that, it is the only way he will be Lord of your life.