Series: The Lion and the Lamb
Message: I Need a Hero
Preacher: Dany Hernandez
Reflection: Becky De Oliveira
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Jenniffer Ogden
Live Beyond: Adrian Peterson
Live Purpose: Kyle Smith
Editor: Becky De Oliveira

Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.

Read: Isaiah 59:14-60:1  in The Message (MSG). Note 1–3 insights or questions. 

Reflect: This translation points the finger directly at each of us. It uses the word “our” repeatedly, as in, “Our wrongdoings pile up before you, God, our sins stand up and accuse us” (Verses 12-15). And just so we can’t argue that we really aren’t all that bad because we haven’t robbed any banks, killed anyone, slept with anyone else’s husband or wife, worshipped any golden images, or told any whopping lies, the prophet itemizes what he means by “wrongdoings” or “sins.” These are as follows: 1) Mocking and denying God, 2) Not following God, 3) Spreading false rumors, 4) Inciting sedition, and 5) Muttering malice. These are not as shocking as murder or theft or—gasp—adultery. They sound somewhat tame, at least when I imagine myself doing any of them. Other people? That’s another story entirely.

I recently took a lengthy health survey at my university, and one of its more interesting techniques was first to ask the respondent about, say, his or her drinking behavior and then ask what the respondent thinks other people would report about themselves. “How often do you pass out when you’ve been drinking?” it asks. Then “How often do you think the average student at your university passes out when they’ve been drinking?” It feels a little tricky, like a kind of Rorschach test. “I have this friend who passes out a lot when he drinks . . . Not me, just a friend.” Uh, yeah, OK. Maybe one could look at these five sins in the same way. Think about whether you do them—then think about other people. Then go back to yourself.

Let’s take a look at two of the sins that are easy to see other people doing: spreading false rumors and muttering malice. My first reaction is to think that I do neither of these; I am careful with what I say about others publicly and I’m always upbeat and positive. Other people? When we moved out here to Colorado, an organization published books containing false statements about the One project (co-founded by my husband and his friends) and sent them to all the elders in our church, along with just about everyone else in the state. This was not helpful. “These people,” I have been known to fume, “have ruined my life and nothing and no one has stopped them.” Of course they think they were telling the truth, bravely and boldly. So there’s that. Everyone has a point of view. Perhaps I could be called to account for the fact that I am making this accusation here in writing. I think I am defending my family but maybe I’m spreading false rumours too. My understanding is at no point complete; I don’t even know these people.

Then there’s muttering malice, which certainly seems connected to spreading false rumors, and which I interpret as meaning complaining about everything and everyone all the time. In a church setting, everyone has this problem. But there is no one worse than me. You can see evidence in the preceding paragraph which is a sanitized summary of one of my big, bad grievances of the past five years. There are more. I complain far too much. For Lent one year, in order to address this character deficiency, I decided to give up complaining. For seven whole weeks. What that meant was that I really couldn’t talk at all. It was a useful exercise though, because it helped me understand how much of what I say and think is 1) negative or 2) pointless. I need to work on cultivating more gratitude and positivity. For example: Not everyone in Colorado has conspired to ruin my life. In fact, I’ve made lots of friends here whom I will love for as long as I live. And I am eternally grateful for them. But it’s somehow easier to focus on the bad things that have happened, especially when I’m feeling sorry for myself generally.

It may not seem like a big deal, but negativity spills over into everything and changes the way we approach life. It does not please God; it is a sin.

Recalibrate: Which of the following is the biggest problem for you? Mocking and denying God, not following God, spreading false rumors, inciting sedition, or muttering malice? What about for people in your social circle?

Respond: Pray for the ability to see clearly.

Research: Look into one of the sins listed above and find out more about what it means and what its implications might be.

Remember:  “I promise that my Spirit and my words that I give you will never leave you” (Isaiah 59:21, ICB).

Becky De Oliveira is a teacher, writer, editor, and graphic designer. She is working on a PhD in research methods at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.

Play dress up with your little one today. Put your hand over your heart and say, “God gave me a heart to love.”  Put all sorts of different things on your head: hats, scarves, feathers, a helmet. Say with your little one, “I have a brain to choose.” Dress your hands up with gloves or ribbons and say “God gave me hands to do good and kind things with.” Jesus came to do a good thing for us that was horrible for Him. He chose to die for us so we could live. He chose to do this because His heart is full of love for us. Put your hands over your heart and choose what you will do with it today.

Find a dictionary at your home today and look up the word justice. Do you understand what the word means? (Ask someone if you need help understanding!) God in Isaiah is teaching us about justice and how we can choose it. When you know what justice means, look around you today for situations where you can help, kindly and courageously, to bring justice. Maybe it means standing up for a classmate who is being bullied, or sharing your lunch, or playing with your siblings, or helping your parents. Be on the lookout today for ways to act with Godly justice!

“Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked” (Isaiah 59:15a, NLT). How bad is this? Isaiah was saying that things were getting so bad where he lived that people would rather believe a lie than the truth, and if you stood up and said what you believed to be wrong you were attacked! Standing up for what is right and choosing to believe the truth about God was hard back then and it can be just as hard today. In fact, the apostle Paul said something similar 700 year later: “They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator Himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen” (Romans 1:25, NLT). So today I encourage you to say a special prayer, perhaps as a family, that you can keep the truth about God in your heart. Also ask for strength to stand up for what is right even though it can be very hard and people may not like you for it.

At our church we have a homeless ministry, and every quarter we open up the church and allow families to stay for a whole week. It is a great ministry that has helped many people. One night, as I was working the overnight shift, a man and a woman staying at the church got into a huge fight. The man and the woman were yelling and screaming, and shoving began to break out. My heart began to race but I threw myself into the situation. I stood in front of the woman to protect her from the verbal and physical threats of the man. At the same time, I looked the man in the eye and told him, “It’s not worth it, calm down!” At that moment, I was interceding for the woman. She was smaller than the man, she had no chance against him, and he was revving up to do some serious damage. Jesus does the same for us. He is our intercessor. Often when talking about Jesus interceding, we only refer to Him working out our salvation with the Father on our behalf. But that is only one part of what He does! Sin and shame stand firm and tall. They are determined to break us and destroy us. Yet Jesus stands over us and takes the hits. Praise Jesus for His intercessory power and His willingness to take on our sin and shame as His own.

Zan Long is GRC director for faith development groups. She lives in Sydney, Australia, and serves at her local church in nearby Kellyville.
Jenniffer Ogden serves as the children and family pastor at the Walla Walla University Church in College Place, Washington.
Adrian Peterson is the associate pastor at Burwood Adventist Community Church in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia.
Kyle Smith is the associate pastor of youth and family ministries at New Haven Adventist Church in Overland Park, Kansas.