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October 27, 2016

Our Joy in God’s Righteousness

Rosemary D. Gooden   |   Read 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4

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Lectionary Week
October 24–30, 2016
Scripture Overview

Habakkuk stands aghast at the “destruction and violence” all around and wonders how justice never seems to conquer. At the end of the reading, God contrasts the proud, whose spirit “is not right in them,” with the righteous who live by faith. The psalmist delights in God’s righteousness and in the commandments of God; however, he admits that “I am small and despised.” The psalmist’s “trouble and anguish” appear in Second Thessalonians also, but here the “persecutions and the af ictions” endured by the faithful serve a particular end: They stand as signs of the imminent return of Jesus Christ. In the Gospel reading Jesus tells Zacchaeus, “Today salvation has come to this house,” which reminds us that the righteous who live by faith are not necessarily the socially or religiously acceptable.

Questions and Suggestions for Reflection

• Read Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4. What situations in your life and world cause you to cry out to God, “How long?”?
• Read Psalm 119:137-144. Who have you known who trusts God implicitly? How has that person’s example helped you in the past? How might you let it help you in the future?
• Read 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12. How will you offer Christ’s peace to someone you meet today?
• Read Luke 19:1-10. Jesus’ interaction caused Zacchaeus to trust God and straighten out his life. Where and with whom might God be leading you to share with others the heart of Christ?

Respond by posting a prayer .

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4

1 From Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy: To the church of the Thessalonians, which is in God our Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Grace and peace to all of you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Brothers and sisters, we must always thank God for you. This is only right because your faithfulness is growing by leaps and bounds, and the love that all of you have for each other is increasing. 4 That’s why we ourselves are bragging about you in God’s churches. We tell about your endurance and faithfulness in all the harassments and trouble that you have put up with.

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are from the Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible. Used by permission.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” What a way to begin a letter! Perhaps, like me, you receive voluminous e-mails daily, many unwanted and unsolicited. Yet I also receive personal notes that, despite the intervention of a machine, provide a sense of...

In what ways do you extend grace and peace to all, not just to members of your church but especially to those who suffer and the strangers you encounter daily? Before attending your next worship service, reflect on the practice of exchanging the peace.


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