March 22

Day 8: Here, on a second Sunday morning, and prohibited from gathering together, perhaps by now we've come to hear some new things.

We're certainly not lacking for online opinions, statistics or pleas to our various levels of government to do something. By now we're quite versed in the terminology, the graph and the means by which we can flatten the curve.

And, perhaps by now, we're becoming more attuned to the voice in our heads. The ancients called this the "inner life," and some of us are more aware than ever. Free time will do that.

There is a narrative that each of us carries (even protects and nurtures) in our own minds, the dominant narrative that informs who we believe ourselves to be. And...we're not alone in the formation of that narrative.

The quiet, the free time, these new daily rhythms allow us to hear the words of an Accuser. This accuser tries to convince us that we are what we were. Be it victim, failure, inadequate, alone, not valued, sinful, all of these represent identities we can choose or not choose to inhabit. And our chosen identity then informs our sense of hope.

Jesus was responding to Satan's accusations (through the mouths of the religious elite) in John 8:44. He tells them, "You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies (to you and me), he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

Our isolation now forces us to come to terms. One, we have an accuser in our ears. Two, we can act like his offspring, or we can go forward as offspring of a New Covenant, promised and proven through the life and work of Jesus in our behalf. And in this, there is hope. Real, lasting hope.

Revelation 12:10 says, "And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God."

It's my position that this has already happened (see John 12:31.) The enemy has been thrown down...while he continues to accuse you and me night and day.

Be that as it is, here on yet another very strange Sunday morning, we have an opportunity to listen to who we choose to listen to, the chance (and the time) to consider our truth source, to ponder what our own narrative will be going forward.

Choose today the voice you will respond to. Don't be the result of your past bad choices, failures and sin. Choose, instead, the hope that is in Jesus. For He is not an accuser; He is our defense; He is our grace; He is our hope.

You and I are trophies of His grace. We are the adopted sons and daughters of the King. No false accusations, no alternative narrative changes that.

-Mike Rydman, Lead Pastor, Radiant Church | Juneau