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May 13, 2020

Becoming Who You Are

L. Roger Owens   |   Read Psalm 66:8-20

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Lectionary Week
May 11–17, 2020
Scripture Overview

In Acts, Paul visits Athens and finds the people worshiping various deities. He attempts to show them the one true God not by open confrontation but by understanding where they are in their own thinking and then engaging in conversation. This model is confirmed in First Peter: We should always be prepared to give reasons for our faith, but this should be done with gentleness and respect, not confrontation. The psalmist promises to make offerings in the Temple to the Lord because God has brought the people through a period of testing. The psalm thus also ties into First Peter, where the believers are being tested. Jesus tells his disciples in John that God will send the Spirit to empower them to demonstrate their faith by keeping his commands.

Questions and Suggestions for Reflection

Read Acts 17:22-31. When have you searched for God? How did God’s nearness surprise you?
Read Psalm 66:8-20. What tests have you endured? How have you known God’s presence through times of difficulty?
Read 1 Peter 3:13-22. How does your faith help you determine what is right? How does it give you courage when doing what is right brings you suffering?
Read John 14:15-21. When have you felt encompassed by the Trinity? When has your identity as part of this family felt fragile?

Respond by posting a prayer .

Psalm 66:8-20

8 All you nations, bless our God! Let the sound of his praise be heard! 9 God preserved us among the living; he didn’t let our feet slip a bit. 10 But you, God, have tested us you’ve refined us like silver, 11 trapped us in a net, laid burdens on our backs, 12 let other people run right over our heads we’ve been through fire and water. But you brought us out to freedom! 13 So I’ll enter your house with entirely burned offerings. I’ll keep the promises I made to you, 14 the ones my lips uttered, the ones my mouth spoke when I was in deep trouble. 15 I will offer the best burned offerings to you along with the smoke of sacrificed rams. I will offer both bulls and goats. Selah 16 Come close and listen, all you who honor God; I will tell you what God has done for me: 17 My mouth cried out to him with praise on my tongue. 18 If I had cherished evil in my heart, my Lord would not have listened. 19 But God definitely listened. He heard the sound of my prayer. 20 Bless God! He didn’t reject my prayer; he didn’t withhold his faithful love from me.

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

My wife has been hospitalized twice recently with a respiratory infection that makes it hard for her to breathe. How glad I was this week when she reported how much better she was feeling! She could breathe again. She could have taken a verse from this psalm and made it...

Gracious God, give me a spirit of gratitude for your presence in the difficult circumstances of my life, and help me to face my struggles with patience and hope. Amen.


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