Renewed in God's Love

June 25, 2023 Background Scripture: Zephaniah 3 : 14 - 20 Lesson Passage: Zephaniah 3 : 14 - 20 Zephaniah's writing is classified with the group referred to as the Minor Prophets. This classification is based on the amount of their writing and not the extent, or effectiveness, of their prophetic message. (Can you imagine anyone considering Elijah the Tishbite or John the Baptist a minor prophet? Neither wrote anything that's less than the Minor Prophets!) Zephaniah prophesied ultimate destruction of Judah by the hand of God. However, the message included a ray of hope at the very end of it: God's people were going to repent, and then they would be delivered and renewed by the same hand of God. Zephaniah was a contemporary of Jeremiah. Both saw the rapid spiritual decline in Judah that occurred during a time of corrupt leadership. There was corruption in every level of leadership; including religious, civil, and judicial. Judah would not be punished because of the leaders. Judah would be punished because the people of Judah behaved just like their leaders; they were corrupt, There is a pattern of human behavior I have observed in my lifetime: People tend to follow leadership—good or bad! This does not include everyone without exception. But by and large, this is true of many people in a group. Perhaps this is the reason the word of God admonishes His people to pray for our leaders that we may live lives of peace. Judah failed to learn from the mistakes of her northern sister, Israel. Zephaniah's ministry began about a hundred years after Israel was destroyed and taken into captivity by the Assyrians because of their corruption. The history of the destruction often of the twelve tribes that were allotted territory should have been warning enough. The two tribes who comprised the southern kingdom of Judah began to behave like their northern sisters when corrupt leaders came into power. They could have predicted their own outcome. Unfortunately, we remember the lessons of history, but we rarely learn from them. I grew up with six older siblings and three younger ones. I avoided a lot of punishment by remembering what led to my older siblings' punishment. I also received a lot of avoidable punishment because I refused to learn from their mistakes. After the punishment was over, I still had a home to live in, clothes to wear, and meals prepared for me to eat. My parents continued to celebrate each child's birthday with cake and ice cream. They did not treat me like I was their enemy. They punished me because I am their child. After the punishment and I corrected my behavior, then life returned to normal for me. I continued as the recipient of the blessings of my parents. Everything they provided for me reflected their love. From a newborn baby to a senior in college, my parents did what they were able to in support of me. None of my wayward behavior during those twenty-two years was enough to overcome their love for me. Sometimes I repented and corrected my behavior before the punishment. At other times, I ignored their warnings and received punishment accordingly. They were there to witness my graduations and feel proud that they had reared me such that I could live up to my potential. Neither of them graduated from school. They demanded I do my best without them knowing what was in me. God knows everything there is to know about us. He knows the potential He has placed within each of us. God does not require eve1Y person to do the exact same things. God expects each of us to live up to the potential He has placed in us. Israel and Judah are the examples for Christians today. When children of God misbehave, we will either repent before or after punishment. Then we will experience spiritual renewal. We are renewed in God's love. Robert C. Hudson June 21, 2023

God Reigns

June 4, 2023 Background Scripture: Isaiah 52: 1 - 12 Lesson Passage: Isaiah 52:7 - 12 "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” That is a saying we often accept at face value. It seems to make a lot of sense. However, there is an unspoken condition that gives this saying context. Corruption does not come from, or with, power. Corruption must already be present in the one who wields such power. In other words, people tend to give credibility to the saying because humanity is corrupt because of the presence of sin in our flesh. This saying could never be applied to God. God is all powerful without corruption. Mankind was created in God's image and after His likeness to be as God. Sin has marred mankind and made our flesh corruptible. We no longer have the capacity to rule without corruption. As leaders, we must depend on God to help us be better than we are. We miss the mark of God's righteousness, and yet we anticipate a perfect future because of God's promises. Even when we are in positions of leadership, we are never in absolute control. There is One who reigns above us. God reigns. That's the statement. Even when we become our own worst enemy, God is still in control of everything. No matter how difficult the moment may seem, God is still on the throne. Sometimes we talk and behave as though we are waiting for a day when God will be "elected" King of kings and Lord of lords. God is God without mankind's acknowledgment or approval. These simple statements of fact can be hard to fathom when life is difficult for an extended amount of time. This was the case for the recipients of Isaiah's message. Isaiah shared these words of encouragement with the Jewish exiles living in Babylon. They were not stranded away from home. They were in Babylon as captives, spoils of war. There was a time when their situation seemed improbable. They were God's covenant people. Despite their difficult situation, God was still in control. Furthermore, God was going to bring them out of captivity. The prophet cited God's reputation of delivering His people from the hand of their enemy. The family of Jacob went to Egypt to live as honored guests of the Pharoah. Over time Pharaohs changed and the people of God became slaves. God delivered them from Egyptian bondage. Assyria attacked Israel and taxed Judah without provocation. God stepped in and put an end to Assyria. When other nations attacked Israel and prevailed, they saw it as a victory for their idol gods. They saw their temporary victory as a strike against Israel's powerless "god". They were blasphemous in speaking of the God of Israel, God saw His honor and Israel's dignity as one and the same. Put another way, God completely identifies with His people who are called by His name. Whatever injures the people of God is seen by God as an attack against Him. Now, back to the topic: "God Reigns". Human rulers have tenure and a realm where their rule is acknowledged. Some rule for a specified amount of time, and others rule for life. Both are temporary. God's rule is from everlasting to everlasting. His tenure has no bounds. God's realm is always everywhere. God created everything. There is no place where God's authority doesn't apply. Again, these are simple statements of fact that can be difficult for people of God to comprehend and accept as true. We still fear people who are mere mortals. They are here today and gone forever later. They can be powerful now and powerless later. These things could never be truthfully said about God. God is present everywhere and always powerful. God Reigns! Robert C. Hudson May 13, 2023

God's Kingdom of Peace

June 11, 2023 Background Scripture: Isaiah 65:17 - 25 Lesson Passage: Isaiah 65:17 - 25 Isaiah is considered the greatest of the writing prophets because of the extensiveness of his writings. His prophecy occurred during the reign of four of Judah's kings. Isaiah's prophecy bears many similarities with the bible. Its sixty-six chapters are comparable to the sixty-six books of the Bible. The transition that occurs in Isaiah's prophecy beginning with the fortieth chapter compares with the transition from the Old Testament writings to the New Testament writings with the fortieth book of the Bible. There are many other similarities, including today's narrative. Today's lesson is best understood by starting at the beginning. In the beginning, God created a perfect world. Then God created a perfect person and placed him in His perfect world. Later, God created a perfect companion for the person and placed her with him in His perfect world, God's perfect person rebelled against God's instructions and caused sin to enter God's perfect world. With sin, came death, destruction and turmoil. God's world was no longer perfect. The persons God placed in the world had to adapt to the imperfect environment that was marred by sin. Thankfully, God created humans to be incredibly adaptive. People find a way to live in extreme conditions and climates for extended periods of time. We adjust our behavior to adapt to different situations. We adjust our diets to the sustenance we find in our environment. In short, we adapt to the environment we live in. That's not always a good thing. We become comfortable with imperfections too easily. We tolerate many ills in our environment because we have the capacity to adapt. We also have the capacity to improve many situations around us. We seek to change, or avoid, situations and circumstances that make us uncomfortable. And when we cannot avoid or change them, God has given us the gift of hope! Hope encourages us to look beyond our situations to something better. Indeed, we are encouraged to strive for something better. God's promises stir up hope in us. That's one of the reasons the promises of God are so precious to us. God created this world as a Paradise for people to live in. Sin and its horrible consequences have marred this world. Life as we know it is no more than adapting to a sin-marred environment. This is not life as God created it to be for the creature that was made in His image and according to His likeness. Mankind allowed sin to come into the world. The good news is our present condition is not the end of humanity's story. God has promised a better future. God promised to create a new world for mankind to live in. The new world will not have sin in it. It will be a world where peace will prevail as it was in the beginning. Our lesson today discusses this promised new world. Even better, the invitation to be a part of this new world is extended to everyone. God used the prophet Isaiah to tell His people, Israel, about the future world He planned for them. The timeframe addressed in Isaiah's prophecy extends well into a future eternity, Isaiah prophesied about God's promise of a new heaven and a new earth. God promises a glorious future to His people. Isaiah primarily addressed Jerusalem and Judah. Likewise, the Bible presents a New Jerusalem and the twelve tribes of Israel. In addition to these, the Bible describes the people of God in the end times as coming from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue. God's promised Kingdom is a place for all people. It will be a Kingdom of Peace. Robert C. Hudson May 25, 2023