The Righteousness Of Worship
Sunday, August 17
Psalm 92:1-4
This week we will consider the theme of righteousness found in Psalm 92 and Luke 6. The first four verses of Psalm 92 begin with pleasant arpeggios of harps and lyres. The theme of righteousness is not clear until we reach the last stanzas of the psalm. Today’s introductory passage subtly hints that righteousness begins in the worship of God.
The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard observed that Christians often confuse worship with attending the theater. We erroneously assume that God is the prompter, the preachers and musicians are actors on the stage, while the congregation is the audience of worship. In truth, God is the audience of our worship. The preacher and the musicians prompt our worship. The congregation members are the true actors of worship. Sunday worship services exist to send the congregation out into the world to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. Worship is a good first step toward biblical righteousness.
Almighty God, send us out from the pews into the world with the Word of God in our hearts. Amen.
The Righteousness Of Love
Monday, August 18
Luke 6:27-36
For the next five days we will turn to the Gospel of Luke to study the Sermon on the Plain. There are great similarities to the much longer Sermon on the Mount found in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus gives us challenging lessons on righteousness in both sermons. Today, Jesus teaches us that true righteousness means loving our enemies.
I don’t know many Christians who are willing to confess that they have enemies. First-century rabbis defined enemies as neighbors you have not spoken to in over a month. Yikes! By that definition, I am surrounded by enemies! Jesus has a more helpful definition. Enemies are those who hate you, curse you, mistreat you, shame you, steal from you, and beg from you. The only way to heal the enmity between us is to love, do good, bless, pray, turn the other cheek, and share whatever we have. Today’s passage undermines our self-righteousness and provokes us to love the unlovable.
Almighty God, change our hearts and minds to love the most difficult people in our lives. Amen.
The Righteousness Of Forgiveness
Tuesday, August 19
Luke 6:37-38
Sometimes, prayer is the only kindness we can offer our enemies. But please don’t dismiss praying for your adversaries as the easy option! Anybody can pretend to love their enemy in public. Jesus asks us to love our enemies in private when we bare our souls to God. Try praying for the difficult people in your life—not just for one day or one week. It might take months or years to learn how to love and forgive the ones who have wounded you. When we pray for our enemies, it gets harder to speak badly about them or even to think badly about them.
Nelson Mandela famously said, “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.” As long as we indulge hatred, we are drinking poison. As soon as we surrender to God’s love, we are drinking the antidote. Which tastes better: resentment or forgiveness? Revenge is a dish best served to no one.
Almighty God, redeem the pain in my life with your grace, and redeem my enemy with your mercy. Amen.
The Righteousness Of Humility
Wednesday, August 20
Luke 6:39-42
This is an eye-opening passage! First, Jesus tells us that we are the blind leading the blind and headed for the pit! The only possible escape is to listen carefully to the voice of Jesus. Second, Jesus tells us not to point out the speck in our brother’s eye. Jesus comically compares our hypocrisy to a two-by-four sticking out of our eye socket. Listen carefully to the humor in the Bible. Jesus is trying to grab our attention!
C.S. Lewis wrote, “If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too.” Sometimes I notice my own hypocrisy when I see friends and family mirroring my own mistakes. Sometimes I notice the plank in my eye in my car’s rearview mirror when I criticize other drivers. Most of the time, my pride is confronted when I confess my sins to God.
Almighty God, teach us the way of righteousness and humility as we confess our sins to you. Amen.
The Righteousness Of Fruitfulness
Thursday, August 21
Luke 6:43-45
I learned at a very young age how to identify blackberry bushes and huckleberry trees. I knew that these plants produced safe and delicious fruit. My parents warned me not to eat fruit from unfamiliar trees. Blueberries were safe to eat, but the attractive blue-colored berries of the deadly nightshade were as poisonous as its name suggests. Even as a child, I knew that eating from the wrong tree can be fatal!
Jesus teaches us that righteous hearts produce righteous fruit and that evil hearts produce poisonous fruit. Pay attention to the words other people speak, because they reveal the heart. Pay attention to your own words too. When you hear yourself criticizing, bickering, and producing sour grapes, it’s time to get to the root of the issue. Confess to God all your anger, resentment, and sins. Ask God to forgive you for producing such tasteless fruit.
Almighty God, prune all my branches that produce the sour fruit of unrighteousness. Fill me with the fruit of your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Amen.
The Righteousness Of Wisdom
Friday, August 22
Luke 6:46-49
My grandparents used to take me to visit Cape Showalter on the Washington Coast. Locals call it Washaway Beach because it is the fastest eroding place on the West Coast. About 150 feet of land disappears each year. Cape Showalter had several cozy vacation homes back in the 1970s. My grandma wouldn’t let me anywhere near those abandoned, rickety cabins. The tide kept undermining the beach houses until they all were eventually washed out to sea.
As the old hymn “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less” reminds us, “On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand” (The Covenant Hymnal: A Worshipbook, #433). Christians know that Jesus is the only foundation we can depend upon. Yet that doesn’t stop believers from investing time, treasure, and talents on properties with shaky foundations. We are wise not to put their faith in wealth, social influence, or political parties. All those transitory things will inevitably wash away.
Almighty God, you are the Rock of ages who stands firm for all eternity. Forgive us for putting our faith in anything but you. Amen.
The Righteousness Of Growth
Saturday, August 23
Psalm 92:12-15
We conclude our week by returning to Psalm 92. The psalmist sings that righteous people grow like domesticated palm trees and cedars planted in the Temple. God prunes Christians into well-defined characters like the manicured topiaries at Disneyland. God careful tends and trims Christians like bonsai trees at the Chicago Botanic Gardens.
Psalm 92 teaches us that God intends for believers to stay fresh and green and bear fruit even in our old age. That means we all have a lot of growing up to do. God intends for us to mature toward righteousness until the end of our days. It’s righteous to read the Bible, follow the Covenant Home Altar, and attend worship services. Like trees planted by streams of living water, we soak up the wisdom and righteousness of God in those activities. True righteousness also asks us to engage the world with compassion, mercy, and justice.
Almighty God, prune us until we are fresh, green, and fruitful. Amen.
