Thursday, June 30, 2016

JUNE 30, 2016

“...If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!”

― RUDYARD KIPLING
JOB 19-20
Job continues to appeal to his friends...

21“Have pity on me, my friends, have pity,
for the hand of God has struck me.
22Why do you pursue me as God does?
Will you never get enough of my flesh?
ACTS 9:23-43
Saul becomes a wanted man and proves that he has changed...

23After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, 24but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.
26When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews,a but they tried to kill him. 30When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
31Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

JOURNAL 

Job is isolated and alone. His friends have turned on him and even his wife rebukes him. He doesn't know why he is in this position but here he sits. Yet the one thing he has is his faith and his hope in God. He believes in the greatness of God. He is betting that in the end God is ultimately good even though he doesn't understand why he is suffering.

Saul on the other hand steps into the role of persecution and suffering after his encounter on the road to Damascus. He is forever changed no matter the persecution, doubt, etc. Even though Saul openly and aggressively killed christians he is now becoming one of them. It is an amazing transformation but one that is core and fundamental to the Christian faith. We believe that a transformation of the heart occurs at conversion. A transformation that is more powerful than society, or family or traditions or culture. A transformation that causes murderers to become martyrs, takers to become givers, rule-followers to become rule-breakers and hardened evil to become  tender love. 

I believe this happens because acceptance of God's love and forgiveness means acceptance of who we are and therefore we no longer desperately search for validation. We are filled with love and acceptance and therefore that comes bubbling out of us...spilling over to everyone we encounter. It also gives us the strength and endurance to make the most of every minute...instead of seeing it as an opportunity to receive validation and belonging...we see it as an opportunity to share love and belonging. This is transformational and this is the Gospel.

2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And web boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but wec also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
 ~ ROMANS 5:2-5

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

JUNE 29, 2016

“...If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
'..."

― RUDYARD KIPLING
JOB 16-18
Job speaks out at his friends...

2“I have heard many things like these;
you are miserable comforters, all of you!
3Will your long-winded speeches never end?
What ails you that you keep on arguing?
4I also could speak like you,
if you were in my place;
I could make fine speeches against you
and shake my head at you.
5But my mouth would encourage you;
comfort from my lips would bring you relief.
ACTS 9:1-22
God intervenes...a murderer becomes a saint...

1Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

JOURNAL 

Just like that...life changes. I think about how quickly a life can change. When we hear news stories of horror, it is easy to see how quickly life can end...yet there are also those stories of heroism and love. Change can happen in the blink of an eye. We just must be willing to look around us and see the opportunity to love...the blessings will be so worth it...they literally can change a life and the world. 

6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
 ~ 2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-8

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

JUNE 28, 2016

“...If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the will which says to them: 'Hold on!'..."

― RUDYARD KIPLING
JOB 13-15
Job keeps his trust and hope in God despite the fact that he does not understand the reasons for his suffering...


13“Keep silent and let me speak;
then let come to me what may.
14Why do I put myself in jeopardy
and take my life in my hands?
15Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;
ACTS 8:26-40
Phillip meets an Ethiopian eunuch who is reading from Isaiah on the prophecies of Christ...


34The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

JOURNAL 

Life is just hard. It is not fair...not in the way we are blessed or in the way we suffer. Rarely do we get what we deserve and yet many times I find myself questioning my own circumstances and asking God why. I think God ultimately wants me to ask these questions and seek him for the answers even if I never get them. For in the seeking I find God even if I never get the answer. I ultimately think that is the purpose.

 3If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,b but do not have love, I gain nothing. 
 ~ 1 CORINTHIANS 13:3

Monday, June 27, 2016

JUNE 27, 2016

“...If you can make one heap of all your winnings 
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;..."

― RUDYARD KIPLING
JOB 10-12
Job answers and contradicts their arguments that God is in control and therefore will do things that confound man's logic...
20He silences the lips of trusted advisers
and takes away the discernment of elders.
21He pours contempt on nobles
and disarms the mighty.
22He reveals the deep things of darkness
and brings utter darkness into the light.
23He makes nations great, and destroys them;
he enlarges nations, and disperses them.
24He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;
he makes them wander in a trackless waste.
25They grope in darkness with no light;
he makes them stagger like drunkards.
ACTS 8:1-25
Saul enters the picture as an authority and staunch adversary of the disciples and the message of Christ...
1And Saul approved of their killing him.
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

JOURNAL 

Brutal...and so in the way that God works. Here we see Saul approving of the death of Stephen and an arch enemy of "the church". Yet we know that he ultimately is the one that is responsible for it's growth.

How I love this...yet how unfair in worldly terms. Stephen is obedient and is stoned...Saul is an enemy and ultimately converts to become the writer of half of the new testament. The only conclusion is that Christianity can never be confused as being works based. For this is the argument of Job's accusers. In their mind...good works produce rewards and evil actions produce hardship. Yet the Bible time and time again proves that this is not the message of Christ. 

14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threatsb ; do not be frightened.” ~ 1 PETER 3:14

Sunday, June 26, 2016

JUNE 26, 2016

“...If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools..."

― RUDYARD KIPLING
JOB 7-9
Jobs Friend Bilidad replies rebuking Job...


20“Surely God does not reject one who is blameless
or strengthen the hands of evildoers.
21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.
22Your enemies will be clothed in shame,
and the tents of the wicked will be no more.”
ACTS 7:44-60
Stephen rebukes them and they become furious and begin stoning him...


51“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.” 
54When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

JOURNAL 

What a life...what a testament to purpose and acceptance of whatever comes. Stephen and his response and the obedience he has are just downright astounding. I often wonder why the story of Stephen is not discussed more from the pulpit and why it is not looked to as example of following Christ more often. It is strong but also full of humility and forgiveness.

It makes me wonder in our culture of consumerism if this message becomes contrary to the lure of commercialism. If peace and comfort are found in the midst of being stoned for integrity then what does that say about the illusion of peace and comfort as a result of products and services for the purpose of profit.

37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,k neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~ ROMANS 8:37-39

Saturday, June 25, 2016

JUNE 25, 2016

“...If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;..."

― RUDYARD KIPLING
JOB 4-6
Job's friends begin to question him and assume he has done something to deserve suffering...Job answers them...

14“Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend
forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
15But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,
as the streams that overflow
16when darkened by thawing ice
and swollen with melting snow,
17but that stop flowing in the dry season,
and in the heat vanish from their channels.

ACTS 7:20-43
Stephen continues to summarize the history of their ancestors...
35“This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness.
37“This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’h 38He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us.

JOURNAL 

Job rebukes his friends for their questions...comparing them to fickle streams. He longs for friends to stay with him and suffer alongside him. Stephen though full of the spirit is a pillar of strength in standing up to the Jewish leaders. 

Oh again how foolish I have been so often in my own life. How I think o fGod as some magic genie who should be responsible for filling my life with happiness and ease. How and why do I think this to be the case? I guess it truly is our culture and buying into the idea that a great life is one that is lived in ease and luxury. It is what sells products and services and it is the center of our economy.  We are deluged with the messages every day. We are enticed with the idea that a product, a service, an experience will give us the happiness we desperately desire. Yet they are all empty promises...

10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. ~ 1 PETER 5:10-11

Friday, June 24, 2016

JUNE 24, 2016

"...If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise..."
― RUDYARD KIPLING
JOB 1-3
Job loses everything including his children and then is overcome by sores ...


“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.c
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.”
22In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
24For sighing has become my daily food;
my groans pour out like water.
25What I feared has come upon me;
what I dreaded has happened to me.
26I have no peace, no quietness;
I have no rest, but only turmoil.” 
ACTS 7:1-19
The leaders question Stephen in accusations and Stephen full of the spirit begins to respond by giving a summary of God and the history of the Jews.


1Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”
2To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. 3‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’a

JOURNAL 

Again, there is no easy way. Page after page, from Abraham to Stephen...it is a path of suffering. Suffering to live, love and give the Kingdom of God. To expect different...to get angry and flustered at wrongdoing or things that are unfair is so childish. It is naive and silly. Here I sit in the lap of luxury and yet I complain and think I deserve better. How foolish and selfish!

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. ~ 2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-4