Monday, 3/30/2015

“Most of the evil in this world is done by people with good intentions.” ~ T.S. Eliot

JUDGES 1-2

Israel begins to worship other God's after Joshua, Caleb and those originally with Moses' death...

20Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, 21I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” 23The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.

LUKE 7:1-30

Jesus heals a centurion's servant...

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

9When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

JOURNAL

Faith comes from one thing only...time spent with God.  It is amazing how intellectually I know this yet emotionally my heart constantly turns from it.  I am good to seek God fully when the world does not work for me.  Yet when it is temporarily working I don't earnestly seek God. I tend to worship everything else.  To seek God consistently and fully means that I am willing to sacrifice everything else...my time, my cravings, my immediate needs and desires in order to receive love from God.  I am willing to make receiving God's love and instruction more important than even the air that I breathe.  

What does that look like?  For starters it means I depend on it and seek it first without a backup plan.  I have a tendency to consult God first and then if I am fuzzy on the answer or don't like the answer...I try and find a way of following an easier more appealing path and then rationalizing that path as God's.  That is simple blasphemy.  It is using God's name for something that is not God's.  Reality is that God would rather me outright reject it and follow my own path and own it rather than try and pawn off the path as his.

This is hard because it strikes at the very heart of my sin and rebellion.  It goes deep to the core of my selfishness and reveals how secretly devoted I am to following my own way...there is a scene from Lord of the Rings that creepily exposes this deep rebellion and wickedness...

 39Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. (Luke 22:39-43)

Sunday, 3/29/2015

“The best revenge is not to be like your enemy.”  ~ Marcus Aurelieus

JOSHUA 23-24

Joshua's final words to Israel...

14“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” 

LUKE 6:27-49

Jesus continues to teach...

27“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

JOURNAL

This passage in Luke is not for the feint of heart.  This passage is one of those that draws a line in the sand as to what will define the believer and Jesus leads it off in his teaching on love.  As I read the previous passage I am overcome with the realization of how I fail.  I don't do this, there are times when I have, but not fully and it's definitely not the way I think about love or the way I think about loving others.  

I tend to think of how others love me, I tend to focus on all the ways I should be justified.  My focus tends to be on other's failures and my righteousness.  When I put myself up to this passage it sickens me.  It also exposes my selfishness and brewing narcissism.  

It is impossible to live this way without Christ.  As a human, my core desires go against everything said here.  In our culture...following and loving this way seems as if it would lead to sure destruction.  Yet Jesus tells us clearly in no uncertain terms that this is how we are to love and this is how we are to live.  

How do we do this?  How do I give to those who hate me?  How do I lend and not expect repayment? How do I allow things to be taken and not ask for them? How do I allow someone to hurt me and continually love them in the face of that hurt?  It is impossible without Christ...isolated and alone, I will fail...I will become everything opposite of Jesus' definition of love.

7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:7-10)

Saturday, 3/28/2015

“We're all going to die sometime, so you might as well die pushing the odds for something that matters.” ~ Karen Traviss

JOSHUA 21-22

God makes good on his promise...

43So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. 44The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. 45Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled. 

LUKE 6:1-26

Jesus calls his twelve disciples, makes them apostles and then begins to teach them...

20Looking at his disciples, he said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,

for yours is the kingdom of God.

21Blessed are you who hunger now,

for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now,

for you will laugh.

22Blessed are you when people hate you,

when they exclude you and insult you

and reject your name as evil,

because of the Son of Man.

23“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

24“But woe to you who are rich,

for you have already received your comfort.

25Woe to you who are well fed now,

for you will go hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now,

for you will mourn and weep.

26Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,

for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.

JOURNAL

What is the answer for suffering?  Why would anyone willingly take on the charge of suffering? Who in their right mind would ever see suffering as being blessed.  Jesus completely turns the whole thing around and puts suffering and persecution as the place of greatest blessing.  It reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when George makes a commitment to do the complete opposite of every decision he normally would make...his reasoning is that if all his decisions in the past have been wrong, then the opposite of those decisions would be right.

It is obviously not that simple...or is it?  If all my pining and hoping and seeking for a better way, a better life only lead to misery, hurt and sin...then the opposite would logically seem to be the answer.  Seek to be a servant, to give more than I receive, to embrace suffering instead of running from it.  To seek to love rather than to be loved.  To find ways to give others the advantage rather than gaining it solely for myself.  What does a life dedicated to the opposite of the "American Dream" look like...I think it looks a lot like Jesus..........

25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

31“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. (Luke 14:25-33)

Friday, 3/27/2015

“I hope you have not been leading a double life, pretending to be wicked and being good all the time. That would be hypocrisy.” ~ Oscar Wilde

JOSHUA 19, 20

The Israelites designate a city for refuge...

7So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. 8East of the Jordan (on the other side from Jericho) they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh. 9Any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.

LUKE 5:17-39

Jesus hangs with the "wrong" crowd

27After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, 28and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

29Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

31Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

JOURNAL

God is in the business of redemption.  "Perfect people" equal  arrogant, dishonest messes.  It is only in the admitting of needing refuge, help and salvation that we ever get the joy found in Christ.  This joy does not then mean that we are on our own to now feign perfection, it is the humility of knowing that nothing we do can ever qualify us for God's blessing and love.  It is a gift and it is unearned.

27“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. (Matthew 23:27-28)

Thursday, 3/26/2015

“Do one thing every day that scares you.”~ Elinor Roosevelt

JOSHUA 16-18

Joshua encourages the Israelites to take what has been given...

3So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?

LUKE 5:1-16

Peter joins Jesus as a disciple...

8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

JOURNAL

God's command is to go and do, from the Israelites taking possession of the land to Peter dropping his nets and catching fish.  God is first about faith but then about action.  Peter shirks back initially out of shame and fear.  Jesus rebukes this in telling him not to be afraid.  For fear and shame tend to keep us from following God fully with joy and confidence. 

4Even though I walk

through the darkest valley,^a

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)