DAILY BYTE
This week our devotions continue to follow the story of David and his remarkable journey from a humble shepherd boy to becoming king. Last week we looked at aspects of David’s story prior to him taking the throne. Now we skip forward in the story. King Saul has fallen on his sword in battle with the Philistines (1 Sam 31) and David has been anointed king.
This part of the story can get a little tricky, and can be difficult to understand. So today we’ll have a brief history lesson to help get things straight in our heads before we proceed with the rest of the devotions this week.
It’s important to understand that at this point in the biblical story there were two distinct tribal groupings in the land. In the south were the tribes of Judah, in the north were the tribes of Israel. These two tribal groupings shared much in common in terms of their faith and family heritage. But there were also significant political fault lines between them. (In later years, after the reign of King Solomon, Israel and Judah would divide into two distinct kingdoms, each having its own king and its own capital.)
David was initially anointed as king over Judah (2 Sam 2) and was based in Hebron. It was only seven years later that he was anointed king over Israel (2 Sam 5) as well, effectively uniting these two tribal groupings into one united kingdom. In seeking to consolidate his power and further meld the kingdom into one, David made a shrewd political move. He seized the Jebusite city of Jerusalem and made it his capital.
There were a few compelling reasons for his choice – Jerusalem was centrally located between the two regions and was in neutral territory that belonged to none of the tribes. Jerusalem therefore represented an excellent compromise for a capital that was acceptable to the tribes of both the north and the south. (There were also other strategic military reasons for capturing Jerusalem, but we cannot get into that here.)
David’s next act of consolidation was equally significant. He transferred the Ark of the Covenant (which contained the two tablets of the Ten Commandments) from Kiriath-Jearim, where it had lain neglected for more than a generation, to Jerusalem, his new capital. The Ark represented a special connection to God and the covenant God had made with the Israelites at Sinai many generations before. It was a powerful symbol of rich religious significance to all of the tribes.
The biblical historian John Bright writes, “It was David’s aim to make Jerusalem the religious as well as the political capital of the realm. Through the Ark he sought to link the newly created state to Israel’s ancient order as its legitimate successor, and to advertise the state as the patron and protector of the sacral institutions of the past. David showed himself far wiser than Saul. Where Saul had neglected the Ark and driven its priesthood from him, David established both the Ark and priesthood in the official national shrine. It was a masterstroke. It must have done more to bind the feelings of the tribes to Jerusalem than we can possibly imagine.”
In case you’re wondering what on earth all this has to do with your life today, over the next couple of days we will explore some of the faith connections arising out of this political history, as we look at how God enters the picture of David’s kingship.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Gracious God, thank you that in the very down-to-earth processes of political history, your hand can be discerned to be at work. Thank you that this is true not just of the ancient Israelites, but is true of our lives as well. Help us, in the everyday things that happen to discern your presence and influence, as you use the events of our existence to shape your unfolding purposes for our lives. Amen
FOCUS SCRIPTURE
2 Samuel 5:4-5
David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
Monday, 31 May 2010
Friday, 28 May 2010
David - Part 5
DAILY BYTE
One of the ways in which David experienced God’s blessing in his life was through his friendship with Jonathan, Saul’s son. Jonathan had already established himself as a courageous officer in Saul’s army, a leader in the nation and a hero to the people (see 1 Samuel 14). With these qualities, and as the eldest son of the king, everyone expected that one day he would have assumed the throne as his birthright. But as we’ve already seen, it was David and not Jonathan who had been anointed as the future king of Israel.
If you think about it, this should have been cause for a lasting and bitter feud between Jonathan and David. Yet, Jonathan responds with remarkable integrity and grace, without the slightest hint of jealousy, and with a resolute determination to support what he recognized to be God’s will in this matter.
We read these words in 1 Samuel 18:3-4, “Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.”
In establishing a covenantal friendship with David, Jonathan gave to him the symbols of his birthright, his leadership, and his future role as king. He clearly recognized that God’s intention was for David to be king, and so he surrendered any personal claims that he legitimately had to the throne in order to align himself with what God was doing.
Later, when Saul’s jealousy of David provoked murderous intent within him, Jonathan risked his own life in speaking up for David, and then warning him of Saul’s plans to kill him.
What a wonderful example of the loyalty of a friend who was not threatened by the other’s glittering destiny. That’s what soul friends do – they look to the future, to the fulfillment of God’s good purposes in each other’s lives. They help and strengthen each other to accomplish God’s best for each other.
To have such a friend you need to be such a friend. So who do you know who needs your unselfish, supportive and encouraging soul-friendship right now?
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you Lord God for the special friendships I have through which I experience your blessing in my life. Thank you particularly for my special friend. Help me to be a true friend to him / her. Keep me from any selfishness, jealousy or competitiveness that would diminish the good gift of friendship that we share, and help us to encourage each other to fulfill your calling in our lives. Amen
FOCUS SCRIPTURE
1 Samuel 20:30-34, 42
Saul's anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, "You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don't I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you? As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send and bring him to me, for he must die!"
"Why should he be put to death? What has he done?" Jonathan asked his father. But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David.
Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that second day of the month he did not eat, because he was grieved at his father's shameful treatment of David.
In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with David….
Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.' " Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.
The devotions this week have been written by Rev Roger Scholtz, who is one of the ministers at Manning Road Methodist Church in Durban. Any comments or feedback can be sent to bdc@mrmc.co.za
One of the ways in which David experienced God’s blessing in his life was through his friendship with Jonathan, Saul’s son. Jonathan had already established himself as a courageous officer in Saul’s army, a leader in the nation and a hero to the people (see 1 Samuel 14). With these qualities, and as the eldest son of the king, everyone expected that one day he would have assumed the throne as his birthright. But as we’ve already seen, it was David and not Jonathan who had been anointed as the future king of Israel.
If you think about it, this should have been cause for a lasting and bitter feud between Jonathan and David. Yet, Jonathan responds with remarkable integrity and grace, without the slightest hint of jealousy, and with a resolute determination to support what he recognized to be God’s will in this matter.
We read these words in 1 Samuel 18:3-4, “Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.”
In establishing a covenantal friendship with David, Jonathan gave to him the symbols of his birthright, his leadership, and his future role as king. He clearly recognized that God’s intention was for David to be king, and so he surrendered any personal claims that he legitimately had to the throne in order to align himself with what God was doing.
Later, when Saul’s jealousy of David provoked murderous intent within him, Jonathan risked his own life in speaking up for David, and then warning him of Saul’s plans to kill him.
What a wonderful example of the loyalty of a friend who was not threatened by the other’s glittering destiny. That’s what soul friends do – they look to the future, to the fulfillment of God’s good purposes in each other’s lives. They help and strengthen each other to accomplish God’s best for each other.
To have such a friend you need to be such a friend. So who do you know who needs your unselfish, supportive and encouraging soul-friendship right now?
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you Lord God for the special friendships I have through which I experience your blessing in my life. Thank you particularly for my special friend. Help me to be a true friend to him / her. Keep me from any selfishness, jealousy or competitiveness that would diminish the good gift of friendship that we share, and help us to encourage each other to fulfill your calling in our lives. Amen
FOCUS SCRIPTURE
1 Samuel 20:30-34, 42
Saul's anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, "You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don't I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you? As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send and bring him to me, for he must die!"
"Why should he be put to death? What has he done?" Jonathan asked his father. But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David.
Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that second day of the month he did not eat, because he was grieved at his father's shameful treatment of David.
In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with David….
Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.' " Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.
The devotions this week have been written by Rev Roger Scholtz, who is one of the ministers at Manning Road Methodist Church in Durban. Any comments or feedback can be sent to bdc@mrmc.co.za
Thursday, 27 May 2010
David - Part 4
DAILY BYTE
The story of David and Goliath has become part of our cultural landscape. Even people who have never read the Bible are familiar with their names, and those who don’t believe in God get what most people assume is the moral of the story: The bigger they are, the harder they fall. And don’t underestimate the little guy with the sling – he could take down a giant.
The only trouble is that this is NOT the point of the story as the Bible tells it. David didn’t defeat Goliath BECAUSE he was quicker and smarter. Yes, sometimes the small and swift triumph over the large and slow. Yes, sometimes the weak and vulnerable outsmart hostile powers against all the odds. But if we’re honest we’d have to acknowledge that there are just as many times when the big guy triumphs, when the bullies win, when the weak and vulnerable are trampled under foot.
So what is the point of this Biblical story? David defeated Goliath not because of his superior methods of tactical engagement, but because he was willing to place more trust in God than in his own human powers.
Jim Harnish writes, “The story of David’s confrontation with Goliath was told so that the whole earth may know that there is a God who is actively and purposely at work in human history. It affirms that the degree to which we allow ourselves to become a part of that divine purpose, God will work in and through us to accomplish God’s purpose in God’s way in the rough-and-tumble realities of our daily lives…. David’s victory over Goliath is ultimately about a God who acts in human history through ordinary people who place more confidence in God than they do in themselves…. It is about the way ordinary people allow their faith in God to become the power source to energize them when they face the giants in their lives.”
What are you facing right now that seems like an invincible giant mocking your faith and defying God? Cancer? Depression? Unemployment? Addiction? Divorce? Abuse? The good news of this story is that as we align ourselves with God’s power and commit ourselves to following God’s ways, so God’s purposes will be accomplished within our midst, “for the battle is the LORD’s.”
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord, remind me that it’s not by might nor by power, but only by your Spirit that I shall overcome. Today, help me to trust you and your ways a little more. Amen
FOCUS SCRIPTURE
1 Samuel 17
A champion named Goliath came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other." On hearing his words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him." Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth."
But David said to Saul, " The LORD will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."
Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me… All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's.”
As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
The story of David and Goliath has become part of our cultural landscape. Even people who have never read the Bible are familiar with their names, and those who don’t believe in God get what most people assume is the moral of the story: The bigger they are, the harder they fall. And don’t underestimate the little guy with the sling – he could take down a giant.
The only trouble is that this is NOT the point of the story as the Bible tells it. David didn’t defeat Goliath BECAUSE he was quicker and smarter. Yes, sometimes the small and swift triumph over the large and slow. Yes, sometimes the weak and vulnerable outsmart hostile powers against all the odds. But if we’re honest we’d have to acknowledge that there are just as many times when the big guy triumphs, when the bullies win, when the weak and vulnerable are trampled under foot.
So what is the point of this Biblical story? David defeated Goliath not because of his superior methods of tactical engagement, but because he was willing to place more trust in God than in his own human powers.
Jim Harnish writes, “The story of David’s confrontation with Goliath was told so that the whole earth may know that there is a God who is actively and purposely at work in human history. It affirms that the degree to which we allow ourselves to become a part of that divine purpose, God will work in and through us to accomplish God’s purpose in God’s way in the rough-and-tumble realities of our daily lives…. David’s victory over Goliath is ultimately about a God who acts in human history through ordinary people who place more confidence in God than they do in themselves…. It is about the way ordinary people allow their faith in God to become the power source to energize them when they face the giants in their lives.”
What are you facing right now that seems like an invincible giant mocking your faith and defying God? Cancer? Depression? Unemployment? Addiction? Divorce? Abuse? The good news of this story is that as we align ourselves with God’s power and commit ourselves to following God’s ways, so God’s purposes will be accomplished within our midst, “for the battle is the LORD’s.”
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord, remind me that it’s not by might nor by power, but only by your Spirit that I shall overcome. Today, help me to trust you and your ways a little more. Amen
FOCUS SCRIPTURE
1 Samuel 17
A champion named Goliath came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other." On hearing his words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him." Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth."
But David said to Saul, " The LORD will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."
Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me… All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's.”
As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
David - Part 3
DAILY BYTE
Having been anointed by Samuel as Israel’s future king, David did not immediately take up that mantle of authority and responsibility. Instead, he was drawn into service in the courts of the existing king whose name was Saul.
King Saul was a troubled man. The bible says that “…an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.” Many people find this disturbing, as if God were the source of Saul’s torment. But if we read his story a little more carefully we will see that the roots of his distress lay in his disobedience to the will of God, and his attempt to do things his own way.
Jim Harnish writes, “The Bible does not say that God is the source of evil; but the Bible does say that when God’s goodness is rejected, evil is all that is left. The Bible says that we are created to live with the Spirit of God within us. Take the Spirit away, and the soul is empty. When God is no longer the organizing centre of human experience, we are destined for confusion, darkness, and despair.”
That’s where David enters the scene in service of King Saul. David was gifted at playing the harp, and the beautiful music he made help to soothe the king’s troubled soul.
David’s soothing music is a beautiful metaphor for the healing power that comes through a life that is in harmony with the perfect pitch of God’s will for us. While we can never know God’s will completely, we can know enough to take the next step of obedience. When we do so there is a healing harmony, a restoring resonance that flows from us not just into our own lives, but also into the lives of others.
The best way to discover God’s will for our lives is to look at the example of Jesus and to listen to his words, for as we seek to become more like him we will be becoming more and more the people God created us to be. And through us healing and harmony can flow into the world.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Reflect on these words by Leonard Sweet, and let them prompt a spontaneous prayer of your own to God:
“Jesus acts as a tuning fork to the Creator, the Eternal. If we would seek to get our own lives back in tune with God, it must be through listening to Christ’s frequencies and matching the resonance of our actions and attitudes to Jesus’ pitch.”
FOCUS SCRIPTURE
1 Samuel 16:14-23
Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.
Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better."
So Saul said to his attendants, "Find someone who plays well and bring him to me."
One of the servants answered, "I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the LORD is with him."
So David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armour-bearers. Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, "Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him."
Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
Psalm 57:1-2, 7-11
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.
I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.
Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
Having been anointed by Samuel as Israel’s future king, David did not immediately take up that mantle of authority and responsibility. Instead, he was drawn into service in the courts of the existing king whose name was Saul.
King Saul was a troubled man. The bible says that “…an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.” Many people find this disturbing, as if God were the source of Saul’s torment. But if we read his story a little more carefully we will see that the roots of his distress lay in his disobedience to the will of God, and his attempt to do things his own way.
Jim Harnish writes, “The Bible does not say that God is the source of evil; but the Bible does say that when God’s goodness is rejected, evil is all that is left. The Bible says that we are created to live with the Spirit of God within us. Take the Spirit away, and the soul is empty. When God is no longer the organizing centre of human experience, we are destined for confusion, darkness, and despair.”
That’s where David enters the scene in service of King Saul. David was gifted at playing the harp, and the beautiful music he made help to soothe the king’s troubled soul.
David’s soothing music is a beautiful metaphor for the healing power that comes through a life that is in harmony with the perfect pitch of God’s will for us. While we can never know God’s will completely, we can know enough to take the next step of obedience. When we do so there is a healing harmony, a restoring resonance that flows from us not just into our own lives, but also into the lives of others.
The best way to discover God’s will for our lives is to look at the example of Jesus and to listen to his words, for as we seek to become more like him we will be becoming more and more the people God created us to be. And through us healing and harmony can flow into the world.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Reflect on these words by Leonard Sweet, and let them prompt a spontaneous prayer of your own to God:
“Jesus acts as a tuning fork to the Creator, the Eternal. If we would seek to get our own lives back in tune with God, it must be through listening to Christ’s frequencies and matching the resonance of our actions and attitudes to Jesus’ pitch.”
FOCUS SCRIPTURE
1 Samuel 16:14-23
Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.
Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better."
So Saul said to his attendants, "Find someone who plays well and bring him to me."
One of the servants answered, "I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the LORD is with him."
So David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armour-bearers. Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, "Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him."
Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
Psalm 57:1-2, 7-11
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.
I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.
Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
David - Part 2
DAILY BYTE
Yesterday, we started looking at the story of David, and reflected briefly on how he was the one chosen and anointed as the future king of Israel, even though he was the ‘kid at the end of the line’ – the youngest and most insignificant member of his family.
Over and over again throughout Scripture, God demonstrates a remarkable eagerness to use the kinds of people that would normally not be given a second look by the world. God is not concerned about external appearances, about outward qualities and qualifications. God is far more interested with what is going on inside of us – with our hearts. And God is able to recognize the best within us, and the capacity for true greatness that lies within all people, because all of us have been created in God’s image, and there is in us a divine likeness that we all bear.
Which means that nobody is beyond the call of God. There is nobody whom God would regard as useless. And when God’s call is heard and we realize that God has plans for our lives, something comes alive within us.
Jim Harnish writes, “A calling is an inner awareness that God has a divine purpose for our existence. It is a deep sense of being ‘at home’ with the person we are becoming. It is a maturing consciousness of our value as a person created in God’s image, redeemed by God’s love, and chosen by God for the abundant life that Jesus said he came to bring.”
As you think about your own life, do you think that you are of little or even no use to God? Stop! The truth is that God continues to see things within us that others, and especially ourselves, often miss. And while God can do His work on His own, He chooses not to. For God delights in calling ordinary people like you and me to move beyond the narrowness of our self-absorbed lives into the wide open spaces of God’s plan and purposes for the entire world. He longs for us to be a part of that.
What is God calling you to do for Him today?
PRAY AS YOU GO
O God, it’s hard for me to believe that you want me, and need me, to be part of your loving purposes in the world. Help me to accept that your perspective really can be trusted, and that if you believe in me, then who am I am to argue. Help me to listen to your Spirit’s stirring within me, that your calling for my life would become clear. And help me to embrace your calling, whatever the cost or inconvenience of doing so may be, and to follow it with courage, obedience and determination. Amen.
FOCUS SCRIPTURE
Our scripture reading today comes from Psalm 8, one of the psalms that David wrote. It is a beautiful psalm that affirms the central place and the purpose that humans have been given by God within the world.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for him?
You made them a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned them with glory and honour.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Yesterday, we started looking at the story of David, and reflected briefly on how he was the one chosen and anointed as the future king of Israel, even though he was the ‘kid at the end of the line’ – the youngest and most insignificant member of his family.
Over and over again throughout Scripture, God demonstrates a remarkable eagerness to use the kinds of people that would normally not be given a second look by the world. God is not concerned about external appearances, about outward qualities and qualifications. God is far more interested with what is going on inside of us – with our hearts. And God is able to recognize the best within us, and the capacity for true greatness that lies within all people, because all of us have been created in God’s image, and there is in us a divine likeness that we all bear.
Which means that nobody is beyond the call of God. There is nobody whom God would regard as useless. And when God’s call is heard and we realize that God has plans for our lives, something comes alive within us.
Jim Harnish writes, “A calling is an inner awareness that God has a divine purpose for our existence. It is a deep sense of being ‘at home’ with the person we are becoming. It is a maturing consciousness of our value as a person created in God’s image, redeemed by God’s love, and chosen by God for the abundant life that Jesus said he came to bring.”
As you think about your own life, do you think that you are of little or even no use to God? Stop! The truth is that God continues to see things within us that others, and especially ourselves, often miss. And while God can do His work on His own, He chooses not to. For God delights in calling ordinary people like you and me to move beyond the narrowness of our self-absorbed lives into the wide open spaces of God’s plan and purposes for the entire world. He longs for us to be a part of that.
What is God calling you to do for Him today?
PRAY AS YOU GO
O God, it’s hard for me to believe that you want me, and need me, to be part of your loving purposes in the world. Help me to accept that your perspective really can be trusted, and that if you believe in me, then who am I am to argue. Help me to listen to your Spirit’s stirring within me, that your calling for my life would become clear. And help me to embrace your calling, whatever the cost or inconvenience of doing so may be, and to follow it with courage, obedience and determination. Amen.
FOCUS SCRIPTURE
Our scripture reading today comes from Psalm 8, one of the psalms that David wrote. It is a beautiful psalm that affirms the central place and the purpose that humans have been given by God within the world.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for him?
You made them a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned them with glory and honour.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
David - Part 1
DAILY BYTE
Over the next two weeks we’ll be exploring the story of David, the shepherd boy who became Israel’s greatest king. In his story, we can find echoes of our own stories, for David, like all of us, was a complex person. In him we see a mixture of humanity at its very best and its very worst. But throughout the story of his life, the good times and the bad, God was a constant, steadfast and faithful presence. I hope that these reflections over these next two weeks will enable you to recognize the constant, steadfast and faithful presence of God in every dimension of your life. (I must acknowledge my indebtedness to Jim Harnish for many of the thoughts upon which these devotions are based.)
David’s story starts when the LORD sent the prophet Samuel to Bethlehem, to the house of Jesse, to anoint one of his sons as the future king of Israel. Samuel knew the routine, he knew what to look for in a king. He had already anointed Saul, the first king of Israel, who was “…an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites – a head taller than the others.” (1Sam 9:2)
So when Samuel saw the first of Jesse’s sons, a strapping hunk by the name of Eliab, he thought that he had found his man. But God said to him, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him!” (1 Sam 16:7). Clearly, God had other ideas and a different agenda. And so one by one, all of Jesse’s sons were paraded before Samuel, but none of them got the nod.
Finally, Samuel asks Jesse if he has any other sons. That’s when David is remembered, although he isn’t even mentioned by name but is simply referred to as “the youngest”. But when he arrived and Samuel laid eyes on him, God enabled him to see something in David that no one else had seen. For there was within this kid the hidden potential for greatness. There was a great and awesome destiny that lay before him. God’s calling was upon his life. And so Samuel anointed David with oil and we read that “…from that day the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power” (1 Sam 16:13).
Tomorrow, we’ll explore the implications of God’s calling upon our lives and how, like David, it’s not the external things about us but what’s inside that matters most to God.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Gracious God, in a world that is so obsessed with external appearances, I thank you that you look much deeper within to what is inside of me. Thank you that you see me not as the world sees me, but you see all of my hidden God-given potential, and my destiny for true greatness. Amen.
FOCUS SCRIPTURE
1 Samuel 16:5-13
Samuel consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD."
But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either." Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the LORD chosen this one." Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The LORD has not chosen these." So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?"
"There is still the youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep."
Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives."
So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; he is the one."
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power.
Over the next two weeks we’ll be exploring the story of David, the shepherd boy who became Israel’s greatest king. In his story, we can find echoes of our own stories, for David, like all of us, was a complex person. In him we see a mixture of humanity at its very best and its very worst. But throughout the story of his life, the good times and the bad, God was a constant, steadfast and faithful presence. I hope that these reflections over these next two weeks will enable you to recognize the constant, steadfast and faithful presence of God in every dimension of your life. (I must acknowledge my indebtedness to Jim Harnish for many of the thoughts upon which these devotions are based.)
David’s story starts when the LORD sent the prophet Samuel to Bethlehem, to the house of Jesse, to anoint one of his sons as the future king of Israel. Samuel knew the routine, he knew what to look for in a king. He had already anointed Saul, the first king of Israel, who was “…an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites – a head taller than the others.” (1Sam 9:2)
So when Samuel saw the first of Jesse’s sons, a strapping hunk by the name of Eliab, he thought that he had found his man. But God said to him, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him!” (1 Sam 16:7). Clearly, God had other ideas and a different agenda. And so one by one, all of Jesse’s sons were paraded before Samuel, but none of them got the nod.
Finally, Samuel asks Jesse if he has any other sons. That’s when David is remembered, although he isn’t even mentioned by name but is simply referred to as “the youngest”. But when he arrived and Samuel laid eyes on him, God enabled him to see something in David that no one else had seen. For there was within this kid the hidden potential for greatness. There was a great and awesome destiny that lay before him. God’s calling was upon his life. And so Samuel anointed David with oil and we read that “…from that day the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power” (1 Sam 16:13).
Tomorrow, we’ll explore the implications of God’s calling upon our lives and how, like David, it’s not the external things about us but what’s inside that matters most to God.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Gracious God, in a world that is so obsessed with external appearances, I thank you that you look much deeper within to what is inside of me. Thank you that you see me not as the world sees me, but you see all of my hidden God-given potential, and my destiny for true greatness. Amen.
FOCUS SCRIPTURE
1 Samuel 16:5-13
Samuel consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD."
But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either." Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the LORD chosen this one." Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The LORD has not chosen these." So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?"
"There is still the youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep."
Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives."
So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; he is the one."
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power.
Friday, 21 May 2010
Loving dandelions
DAILY BYTE
This week, we’ve been exploring relationships with people of other faiths.
Well, we find in the Book of Acts that people in the early church only take on the name, Christian, following the story we’ve been reading about Peter’s interaction with Cornelius, a Gentile person of different beliefs and a different culture.
Only after Peter tells his realization that God’s repentance and spirit can be found among people of other faith backgrounds, do we find the statement in the same chapter 11, verse 26, that the apostles continued on their journey, and it says, “So it was that for an entire year they met with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called ‘Christians.’”
This begs us to ask, what does it mean to be a Christian in a world that is filled with people who are not?
Because that is how we live today.
But it leads us to another question: who are we, that we could hinder the Spirit of God?
Instead, of talking over one another, what would happen if we listened to each other?
Instead of ignoring or turning our backs to each other, what would happen if we journeyed together?
Instead of constantly seeking out how our beliefs are right and theirs are wrong, what would happen if we learned to see the Spirit of God in one another, even though we will not always agree or understand?
I must share one more story with you for the week:
A man decided to start a flower garden. He prepared the soil and planted the seeds of many beautiful flowers. But when they came up, his garden was filled not just with his chosen flowers but also overrun with dandelions.
He sought out advice from gardeners all over and tried every method known to get rid of them but to no avail. Finally, he walked all the way to the capital to speak to the royal gardener at the king’s palace. The wise old man had counseled many gardeners before and suggested a variety of remedies to expel the dandelions but the man had tried them all.
They sat together in silence for some time and finally the gardener looked at the man and said, ‘Well, then I suggest you learn to love them.’
(edited from Soul Food: Stories to Nourish the Spirit & the Heart by Jack Kornfield & Christina Feldman)
This is a Sufi story that suggests to us that even if we don’t understand people who are different in culture or belief, they are here and present with us, and perhaps, Christian people, we should learn to love them.
FOCUS TEXT
Acts 11:26b & Mark 12:30-31 (NRSV)
So it was that for an entire year they met with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called “Christians.”
“...you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’
PRAY AS YOU GO
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us again today. Reshape our rigid notions of what it means to be Christian. Teach us to see Your Spirit moving through all people. Turn our heads with it, and turn our hearts so that we might be able to reach out to them in love. Amen.
This week, we’ve been exploring relationships with people of other faiths.
Well, we find in the Book of Acts that people in the early church only take on the name, Christian, following the story we’ve been reading about Peter’s interaction with Cornelius, a Gentile person of different beliefs and a different culture.
Only after Peter tells his realization that God’s repentance and spirit can be found among people of other faith backgrounds, do we find the statement in the same chapter 11, verse 26, that the apostles continued on their journey, and it says, “So it was that for an entire year they met with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called ‘Christians.’”
This begs us to ask, what does it mean to be a Christian in a world that is filled with people who are not?
Because that is how we live today.
But it leads us to another question: who are we, that we could hinder the Spirit of God?
Instead, of talking over one another, what would happen if we listened to each other?
Instead of ignoring or turning our backs to each other, what would happen if we journeyed together?
Instead of constantly seeking out how our beliefs are right and theirs are wrong, what would happen if we learned to see the Spirit of God in one another, even though we will not always agree or understand?
I must share one more story with you for the week:
A man decided to start a flower garden. He prepared the soil and planted the seeds of many beautiful flowers. But when they came up, his garden was filled not just with his chosen flowers but also overrun with dandelions.
He sought out advice from gardeners all over and tried every method known to get rid of them but to no avail. Finally, he walked all the way to the capital to speak to the royal gardener at the king’s palace. The wise old man had counseled many gardeners before and suggested a variety of remedies to expel the dandelions but the man had tried them all.
They sat together in silence for some time and finally the gardener looked at the man and said, ‘Well, then I suggest you learn to love them.’
(edited from Soul Food: Stories to Nourish the Spirit & the Heart by Jack Kornfield & Christina Feldman)
This is a Sufi story that suggests to us that even if we don’t understand people who are different in culture or belief, they are here and present with us, and perhaps, Christian people, we should learn to love them.
FOCUS TEXT
Acts 11:26b & Mark 12:30-31 (NRSV)
So it was that for an entire year they met with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called “Christians.”
“...you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’
PRAY AS YOU GO
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us again today. Reshape our rigid notions of what it means to be Christian. Teach us to see Your Spirit moving through all people. Turn our heads with it, and turn our hearts so that we might be able to reach out to them in love. Amen.
Thursday, 20 May 2010
Faith has made me
DAILY BYTE
I had a friend at university who was exactly opposite me in most ways, including the fact that she was agnostic, which basically for her meant that she couldn’t conclude whether God existed, or not, and it didn’t ultimately matter. I was a Christian. She went to church sometimes but more for the community than for the message. I helped lead the campus worship band, and we were truly great friends.
We would have rip-roaring discussions about the existence of God, issues with homosexuality - you name it. We discussed it. And we virtually never agreed. But we stayed friends, and we kept talking and listening (sometimes better than others...).
A couple of years ago, I came home from seminary to find a package at my doorstep. I hadn’t spoken to this friend in quite a long time, but I knew she was in the Peace Corps in Central America. So, I curiously opened up a dented box that had clearly travelled many miles to find a book inside. It was a beautifully illustrated book of Christian hymns, and inside the front cover I found a poem she had written entitled, ‘Faith has made me.’ And I so wish it weren’t packed up safely in a memory box in storage because I would love to share it with you, as it was written.
But the gist was this: She wrote that she would probably always be agnostic, and that was just the way it was. But, experiencing faith in God had shaped who she had become. It had changed her life, and she just wanted to tell me.
Faith has made me.
I sat on my bed and wept. Because even if my friend is not what we would call a confessing Christian, I know from the scriptures we read what the Holy Spirit looks like, and the grace of the Holy Spirit was written on the page.
And what a beautiful and humbling surprise it was.
That poem is one of my most precious possessions because it is a reminder to me of the mysterious ways that the Spirit of God is working through our relationships with people that we truly love even if we don’t understand them, as we scrounge around together in the light, looking for the key.
The story I shared about searching for the key with a friend at the beginning of this week sounds like a biblical parable, but it is, indeed, a Sufi story. Sufism is the inner, mystical dimension of Islam, and it’s described in the book, The Principles of Sufism, as “a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God."
As people who follow the way of Jesus Christ, is that not our objective? Repairing hearts and turning them away from all else but God?
Everything taught and done in the name of Islam or Agnosticism or any faith – certainly does not point toward such a Christlike goal, but then not everything that Christians teach and do in the name of Jesus is very Christlike either, is it?
How might people who hold different beliefs from you show you how the Holy Spirit works? How do relationships with those people make your life different?
FOCUS TEXT
Acts 11:15-18 (NRSV)
And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”
PRAY AS YOU GO
Surprising God, show us who you are through all people. Help us to have listening ears for your Spirit, especially through our relationships with people who are different from us. Teach us not to be afraid of these relationships but to open ourselves to them in expectation of the gifts you will give through them. Amen.
I had a friend at university who was exactly opposite me in most ways, including the fact that she was agnostic, which basically for her meant that she couldn’t conclude whether God existed, or not, and it didn’t ultimately matter. I was a Christian. She went to church sometimes but more for the community than for the message. I helped lead the campus worship band, and we were truly great friends.
We would have rip-roaring discussions about the existence of God, issues with homosexuality - you name it. We discussed it. And we virtually never agreed. But we stayed friends, and we kept talking and listening (sometimes better than others...).
A couple of years ago, I came home from seminary to find a package at my doorstep. I hadn’t spoken to this friend in quite a long time, but I knew she was in the Peace Corps in Central America. So, I curiously opened up a dented box that had clearly travelled many miles to find a book inside. It was a beautifully illustrated book of Christian hymns, and inside the front cover I found a poem she had written entitled, ‘Faith has made me.’ And I so wish it weren’t packed up safely in a memory box in storage because I would love to share it with you, as it was written.
But the gist was this: She wrote that she would probably always be agnostic, and that was just the way it was. But, experiencing faith in God had shaped who she had become. It had changed her life, and she just wanted to tell me.
Faith has made me.
I sat on my bed and wept. Because even if my friend is not what we would call a confessing Christian, I know from the scriptures we read what the Holy Spirit looks like, and the grace of the Holy Spirit was written on the page.
And what a beautiful and humbling surprise it was.
That poem is one of my most precious possessions because it is a reminder to me of the mysterious ways that the Spirit of God is working through our relationships with people that we truly love even if we don’t understand them, as we scrounge around together in the light, looking for the key.
The story I shared about searching for the key with a friend at the beginning of this week sounds like a biblical parable, but it is, indeed, a Sufi story. Sufism is the inner, mystical dimension of Islam, and it’s described in the book, The Principles of Sufism, as “a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God."
As people who follow the way of Jesus Christ, is that not our objective? Repairing hearts and turning them away from all else but God?
Everything taught and done in the name of Islam or Agnosticism or any faith – certainly does not point toward such a Christlike goal, but then not everything that Christians teach and do in the name of Jesus is very Christlike either, is it?
How might people who hold different beliefs from you show you how the Holy Spirit works? How do relationships with those people make your life different?
FOCUS TEXT
Acts 11:15-18 (NRSV)
And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”
PRAY AS YOU GO
Surprising God, show us who you are through all people. Help us to have listening ears for your Spirit, especially through our relationships with people who are different from us. Teach us not to be afraid of these relationships but to open ourselves to them in expectation of the gifts you will give through them. Amen.
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
Who was I that I could hinder God?
DAILY BYTE
We were wondering yesterday about how we carry Jesus with us while still being open, hospitable, and loving to people of other faiths. And we said that it is not necessary or right to be ashamed of Christ or hide him away.
On the contrary, Jesus’s way of living that we understand from the scriptures is our measure for everything else we see and hear in life.
The only way that Peter was able to recognize the Holy Spirit in the Gentiles was because he had seen the movement of Holy Spirit before. He knew what it looked like. He knew who Jesus was and how Jesus acts, and he was not being shy about his faith.
He was telling them about the good news of Christ when the Holy Spirit appeared – just like we need not be cowardly or shy about sharing our faith with others.
But Peter did not simply beat them with messages from the Bible and then walk away, like Christians tend to do. We stubbornly tell people what we believe and then refuse to listen to anything else.
But in Peter’s interaction with these people, when he recognized the work of the Holy Spirit within them, he didn’t keep blasting them with the Gospel. He humbly stood back and recognized that God had given these people of an entirely different culture the same gift of the Holy Spirit that the “people of God” had gotten. He saw how God wants to and does work through everyone, and when Peter realizes this miraculous truth. He says:
‘who was I that I could hinder God?’
Who are we that we could hinder God?
God’s Spirit flows where it will in whomever it desires. We cannot contain it to people who look and believe exactly like us.
If we believe God is truly Lord over all the earth, and then we must trust that God is capable of moving in and through everything and everyone on the planet.
And so we must learn all that we can about Jesus and the Holy Spirit – we must read and consume understanding about such a God from the Bible – so that when God’s Spirit moves in surprising places and people, we will still be able to see that it is the spirit of God that we know through Jesus Christ – and be able to praise God for it.
FOCUS READING
Acts 11:12b-17 (NRSV)
These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?”
We were wondering yesterday about how we carry Jesus with us while still being open, hospitable, and loving to people of other faiths. And we said that it is not necessary or right to be ashamed of Christ or hide him away.
On the contrary, Jesus’s way of living that we understand from the scriptures is our measure for everything else we see and hear in life.
The only way that Peter was able to recognize the Holy Spirit in the Gentiles was because he had seen the movement of Holy Spirit before. He knew what it looked like. He knew who Jesus was and how Jesus acts, and he was not being shy about his faith.
He was telling them about the good news of Christ when the Holy Spirit appeared – just like we need not be cowardly or shy about sharing our faith with others.
But Peter did not simply beat them with messages from the Bible and then walk away, like Christians tend to do. We stubbornly tell people what we believe and then refuse to listen to anything else.
But in Peter’s interaction with these people, when he recognized the work of the Holy Spirit within them, he didn’t keep blasting them with the Gospel. He humbly stood back and recognized that God had given these people of an entirely different culture the same gift of the Holy Spirit that the “people of God” had gotten. He saw how God wants to and does work through everyone, and when Peter realizes this miraculous truth. He says:
‘who was I that I could hinder God?’
Who are we that we could hinder God?
God’s Spirit flows where it will in whomever it desires. We cannot contain it to people who look and believe exactly like us.
If we believe God is truly Lord over all the earth, and then we must trust that God is capable of moving in and through everything and everyone on the planet.
And so we must learn all that we can about Jesus and the Holy Spirit – we must read and consume understanding about such a God from the Bible – so that when God’s Spirit moves in surprising places and people, we will still be able to see that it is the spirit of God that we know through Jesus Christ – and be able to praise God for it.
FOCUS READING
Acts 11:12b-17 (NRSV)
These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?”
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Many Ways?
DAILY BYTE
We’re thinking this week about our Christian faith in relationship to other faith traditions. And I think the world we find ourselves in is in many ways similar to the one in which the apostles lived.
Peter and the other apostles lived in a predominantly Jewish culture. We tend to think of Christ-followers as being Christian, but at the time of the story we’re reading from Acts, the followers of Jesus were Jewish, practicing Jewish customs like circumcision.
And as the message of Jesus spread, the apostles started to realize sharing the good news might mean speaking to people who weren’t their own faith – people who weren’t – Jewish.
And they were sceptical to say the least – nervous, definitely, and probably downright scared. They were twittering all over when they heard that Peter had gone to Jerusalem to talk and eat with people who were uncircumcised - people who were of a different culture and faith. They couldn’t get their minds around the idea that the opportunity for God’s repentance and the movement of God’s Spirit could possibly be available to people from other faiths!
And as people who believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, we struggle with this, too, don’t we? We ask the question, if Jesus is the way, then how can there be another way?
And not just another way, but many other ways all tied to the different faiths that exist in the world.
And we wonder, how can we be confident and bold in proclaiming what we believe to be true, while also being open to people with other faiths?
And the answer that the scriptures lead us to, I believe, is to do with looking for the Holy Spirit together. In the short story from yesterday, two friends went searching for the key in the light, and just as they did, we have to train our eyes to seek out the light of God’s Spirit in unlikely or surprising places.
Even if our friends are people of other faiths.
But that does not mean that we leave Jesus behind when we go seeking after the key to life. It means that we carry Jesus within us wherever we go, using his Good News as our measure for recognizing what the movement of the Holy Spirit looks like.
Where might you see Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit in people of other faiths?
FOCUS READING
Acts 11:4-12a
Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us.
We’re thinking this week about our Christian faith in relationship to other faith traditions. And I think the world we find ourselves in is in many ways similar to the one in which the apostles lived.
Peter and the other apostles lived in a predominantly Jewish culture. We tend to think of Christ-followers as being Christian, but at the time of the story we’re reading from Acts, the followers of Jesus were Jewish, practicing Jewish customs like circumcision.
And as the message of Jesus spread, the apostles started to realize sharing the good news might mean speaking to people who weren’t their own faith – people who weren’t – Jewish.
And they were sceptical to say the least – nervous, definitely, and probably downright scared. They were twittering all over when they heard that Peter had gone to Jerusalem to talk and eat with people who were uncircumcised - people who were of a different culture and faith. They couldn’t get their minds around the idea that the opportunity for God’s repentance and the movement of God’s Spirit could possibly be available to people from other faiths!
And as people who believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, we struggle with this, too, don’t we? We ask the question, if Jesus is the way, then how can there be another way?
And not just another way, but many other ways all tied to the different faiths that exist in the world.
And we wonder, how can we be confident and bold in proclaiming what we believe to be true, while also being open to people with other faiths?
And the answer that the scriptures lead us to, I believe, is to do with looking for the Holy Spirit together. In the short story from yesterday, two friends went searching for the key in the light, and just as they did, we have to train our eyes to seek out the light of God’s Spirit in unlikely or surprising places.
Even if our friends are people of other faiths.
But that does not mean that we leave Jesus behind when we go seeking after the key to life. It means that we carry Jesus within us wherever we go, using his Good News as our measure for recognizing what the movement of the Holy Spirit looks like.
Where might you see Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit in people of other faiths?
FOCUS READING
Acts 11:4-12a
Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us.
Monday, 17 May 2010
The Key to Life
DAILY BYTE
A man was outside on his hands and knees below a lantern when a friend walked up. “What are you doing,” the friend asked. “I’m looking for my key. I’ve lost it.” So his friend got down on his hands and knees too, and they both searched for a long time in the dirt beneath the lantern. Finding nothing, his friend finally turned to him and asked, “Where exactly did you lose it?” The man replied, “I lost it in the house, but there is more light out here….” (edited from Soul Food: Stories to Nourish the Spirit & the Heart by Jack Kornfield & Christina Feldman)
This story reminds me a lot of Jesus’ parables, and it reminds me of our search to identify where the key to life is. We often think we know where or with whom we should search to find the truth about God and the movement of the Holy Spirit. It would have been obvious for the man to search for the key in his own house – the place where he knew the lay of the land, and there were no surprises, just as we are content to find truth where we are, in the places where we’re comfortable, in control, and have a map for where to look.
But perhaps what this man teaches us is that we could search and search in the usual places, but we’re missing the point of the search, if we’re sitting in the darkness alone. The point of the search may not be to find the key immediately. It really is to go look where there’s light and to be searching alongside others.
And therein often lies the surprise for us. In the scripture we’ll look at this week, we find people of faith quite surprised by where the light of God’s Holy Spirit has wandered. They are surprised and a bit unsure of the people and the territory where it’s found.
And because they’re negative about the people God is bringing alongside them, the people who are supposed to be God’s greatest apostles find themselves actually hindering the work of God’s Spirit.
And so, we’re going to look at one way we often hinder the work of the Holy Spirit. And that is in the difficult context of being Christian and relating to people from other faith traditions.
We live in a vastly diverse world in communities with Hindus, Muslims, Jews, atheists, agnostics, African traditionalists, Buddhists – you name it. And it seems there is a lot of talk in Christian circles about converting people of other faiths, particularly Muslims. However, there seems to be very little talk about simple conversation with Muslim people…
It also seems that it’s quite easy to make sweeping generalizations about “all Muslims” or “all atheists” or all “Hindus” based on our experience with a few…
It seems that whether we want to admit it, or not - because if we admit it, it will make us look racist or intolerant - we do look at each other with eyes of scepticism and a bit of fear.
Somehow, the presence of other faiths seems to shake our own. Somehow, it shakes our sense of community and our solidarity. But there’s no way around it - we all live together in this world, and God created us all.
What has your attitude been toward people of different faiths? Do you find yourself making broad generalizations about groups of people based (if you’re honest) on experiences you’ve had with just a few?
Do you know anyone of a different faith? Have you invited them to tea?
FOCUS READING
Acts 11:1-3 (NRSV)
Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?”
A man was outside on his hands and knees below a lantern when a friend walked up. “What are you doing,” the friend asked. “I’m looking for my key. I’ve lost it.” So his friend got down on his hands and knees too, and they both searched for a long time in the dirt beneath the lantern. Finding nothing, his friend finally turned to him and asked, “Where exactly did you lose it?” The man replied, “I lost it in the house, but there is more light out here….” (edited from Soul Food: Stories to Nourish the Spirit & the Heart by Jack Kornfield & Christina Feldman)
This story reminds me a lot of Jesus’ parables, and it reminds me of our search to identify where the key to life is. We often think we know where or with whom we should search to find the truth about God and the movement of the Holy Spirit. It would have been obvious for the man to search for the key in his own house – the place where he knew the lay of the land, and there were no surprises, just as we are content to find truth where we are, in the places where we’re comfortable, in control, and have a map for where to look.
But perhaps what this man teaches us is that we could search and search in the usual places, but we’re missing the point of the search, if we’re sitting in the darkness alone. The point of the search may not be to find the key immediately. It really is to go look where there’s light and to be searching alongside others.
And therein often lies the surprise for us. In the scripture we’ll look at this week, we find people of faith quite surprised by where the light of God’s Holy Spirit has wandered. They are surprised and a bit unsure of the people and the territory where it’s found.
And because they’re negative about the people God is bringing alongside them, the people who are supposed to be God’s greatest apostles find themselves actually hindering the work of God’s Spirit.
And so, we’re going to look at one way we often hinder the work of the Holy Spirit. And that is in the difficult context of being Christian and relating to people from other faith traditions.
We live in a vastly diverse world in communities with Hindus, Muslims, Jews, atheists, agnostics, African traditionalists, Buddhists – you name it. And it seems there is a lot of talk in Christian circles about converting people of other faiths, particularly Muslims. However, there seems to be very little talk about simple conversation with Muslim people…
It also seems that it’s quite easy to make sweeping generalizations about “all Muslims” or “all atheists” or all “Hindus” based on our experience with a few…
It seems that whether we want to admit it, or not - because if we admit it, it will make us look racist or intolerant - we do look at each other with eyes of scepticism and a bit of fear.
Somehow, the presence of other faiths seems to shake our own. Somehow, it shakes our sense of community and our solidarity. But there’s no way around it - we all live together in this world, and God created us all.
What has your attitude been toward people of different faiths? Do you find yourself making broad generalizations about groups of people based (if you’re honest) on experiences you’ve had with just a few?
Do you know anyone of a different faith? Have you invited them to tea?
FOCUS READING
Acts 11:1-3 (NRSV)
Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?”
Friday, 14 May 2010
Leaps of Faith
DAILY BYTE
Throughout this week, we have been exploring the challenging journey of forgiveness. Forgiving others and ourselves means that we must learn to develop deep trust in the faithfulness of God. In the scripture from Exodus for today, Moses illustrates such a leap of faith beautifully. God tells Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea – to do a ridiculous, irrational thing. As he does it he dares to leave his heart unprotected, fully vulnerable. He is susceptible to looking like a brokenhearted fool, if the crazy scheme he heard from God doesn’t work.
But, we know the story. It is the theme of the entire scripture of God, as again and again we turn away. And again and again we are forgiven. We also see daily it in our own lives of forgiving and being forgiven. The waters part! God is faithful and makes a way for people to reach new life, walking together tediously and patiently through chaos and unpredictability on the way to a new land. It is the promised land away from imprisonment and slavery and closer to a new life of freedom in the heartland of God.
This land of South Africa is a land of truth and reconciliation. It is clearly an imperfect, often rocky, dirty, and treacherous land, but this is not just a land made of dirt and clay. In this land, we are able to live with freedom and hope through God’s forgiveness for all of us. We are made able to open our hearts and be vulnerable and reach for greater life than our imaginations can contain. An old Arab proverb states: Throw your heart out in front of you, and run ahead to catch it. Throw your heart out in front of you this week, as we learn, as fallible human beings to forgive and be forgiven by other people and by an immeasurably loving God. We do this with the promise of scripture that God is faithful and will part the waters of our struggle, leading us to a new promise of life in the heart of God.
PRAY AS YOU GO
We return at the end of this week to The Lord’s Prayer, where we began on Monday. As you pray this, keep in your heart that this is the prayer Jesus taught us to pray. This is the prayer that the body of Christ as been praying since some of the earliest stages of the church. As people who have been forgiven, we join together in this prayer with everyone who has prayed it in history. We are not alone. On the contrary, we are forgiven and we learn to forgive, as we join together with all people created and loved by God.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Exodus 14:19-22
The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.
Throughout this week, we have been exploring the challenging journey of forgiveness. Forgiving others and ourselves means that we must learn to develop deep trust in the faithfulness of God. In the scripture from Exodus for today, Moses illustrates such a leap of faith beautifully. God tells Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea – to do a ridiculous, irrational thing. As he does it he dares to leave his heart unprotected, fully vulnerable. He is susceptible to looking like a brokenhearted fool, if the crazy scheme he heard from God doesn’t work.
But, we know the story. It is the theme of the entire scripture of God, as again and again we turn away. And again and again we are forgiven. We also see daily it in our own lives of forgiving and being forgiven. The waters part! God is faithful and makes a way for people to reach new life, walking together tediously and patiently through chaos and unpredictability on the way to a new land. It is the promised land away from imprisonment and slavery and closer to a new life of freedom in the heartland of God.
This land of South Africa is a land of truth and reconciliation. It is clearly an imperfect, often rocky, dirty, and treacherous land, but this is not just a land made of dirt and clay. In this land, we are able to live with freedom and hope through God’s forgiveness for all of us. We are made able to open our hearts and be vulnerable and reach for greater life than our imaginations can contain. An old Arab proverb states: Throw your heart out in front of you, and run ahead to catch it. Throw your heart out in front of you this week, as we learn, as fallible human beings to forgive and be forgiven by other people and by an immeasurably loving God. We do this with the promise of scripture that God is faithful and will part the waters of our struggle, leading us to a new promise of life in the heart of God.
PRAY AS YOU GO
We return at the end of this week to The Lord’s Prayer, where we began on Monday. As you pray this, keep in your heart that this is the prayer Jesus taught us to pray. This is the prayer that the body of Christ as been praying since some of the earliest stages of the church. As people who have been forgiven, we join together in this prayer with everyone who has prayed it in history. We are not alone. On the contrary, we are forgiven and we learn to forgive, as we join together with all people created and loved by God.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Exodus 14:19-22
The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.
Thursday, 13 May 2010
God’s Job and Our Job
DAILY BYTE
Someone once said that forgiveness is ultimately selfish. We do it for ourselves, to clear our consciences and just, you know, come out the better person. Well, consider today that forgiveness is never just about us. Forgiveness is about God. And since it is about God, and we all live in one community, as equal children of God, forgiveness is not only the heart of God but it is the heart – the lifeblood of our lives together. And living together, obviously, and yet all too painfully, takes a lifetime. Our journey into the heart of God’s forgiveness is hard and sad and takes a long time.
In a couple of months we'll commemorate again the anniversary of September 11. And I must say, it is with no small joy that I declare my thanks that I am in South Africa and not at home in the U.S. listening to “I’m proud to be an American” on repeat on the radio. But, two years after the tragedy of September 11, in 2003, when we were continuing on the path seeking after Osama bin Ladin, General Stormin’ Norman Schwarzkopf was asked whether, or not, we should forgive Bin Ladin. Stormin’ Norman replied, “Forgiveness is up to God. I just hope we hurry up the meeting.”
It seems that the Word of God speaks to Schwartzkopf’s difficult and somewhat disturbing statement that forgiveness is God’s role and that our role is to lead people to death so that they can meet God more quickly. Instead of leading us into war with one another, the scriptures lead us straight into the heart of God. We must ask, as we look at them – what is God’s role in this challenging journey of grief, lament, and healing forgiveness? What is our role in this journey together?
What do the scriptures say to us about who God is? And, what do the scriptures say to us about who God made us to be and calls us to be? Reflect for a moment today on the graciousness of our creator God. Reflect on how we have been created and how we are called by God to live together in community with one another and in relationship with the infinitely unselfish, forgiving God who made us.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you, Lord that you are the creator, and we have been created by you in love, by love, and for love. We pray that you will teach us how to accept the forgiveness you have given us and continue to give to us every day. Help us learn to understand both the limits and possibilities of our humanity. Teach us more of who you are and who you have made us to be. And as we struggle through to this lifelong learning, help us to be patient with ourselves and others, having eyes to see and ears to hear the depths of your forgiving love. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Psalm 66
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion; and to you shall vows be performed,
O you who answer prayer! To you all flesh shall come.
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions.
Happy are those whom you choose and bring near to live in your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple.
By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.
By your strength you established the mountains; you are girded with might.
You silence the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples.
Those who live at earth's farthest bounds are awed by your signs; you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
Someone once said that forgiveness is ultimately selfish. We do it for ourselves, to clear our consciences and just, you know, come out the better person. Well, consider today that forgiveness is never just about us. Forgiveness is about God. And since it is about God, and we all live in one community, as equal children of God, forgiveness is not only the heart of God but it is the heart – the lifeblood of our lives together. And living together, obviously, and yet all too painfully, takes a lifetime. Our journey into the heart of God’s forgiveness is hard and sad and takes a long time.
In a couple of months we'll commemorate again the anniversary of September 11. And I must say, it is with no small joy that I declare my thanks that I am in South Africa and not at home in the U.S. listening to “I’m proud to be an American” on repeat on the radio. But, two years after the tragedy of September 11, in 2003, when we were continuing on the path seeking after Osama bin Ladin, General Stormin’ Norman Schwarzkopf was asked whether, or not, we should forgive Bin Ladin. Stormin’ Norman replied, “Forgiveness is up to God. I just hope we hurry up the meeting.”
It seems that the Word of God speaks to Schwartzkopf’s difficult and somewhat disturbing statement that forgiveness is God’s role and that our role is to lead people to death so that they can meet God more quickly. Instead of leading us into war with one another, the scriptures lead us straight into the heart of God. We must ask, as we look at them – what is God’s role in this challenging journey of grief, lament, and healing forgiveness? What is our role in this journey together?
What do the scriptures say to us about who God is? And, what do the scriptures say to us about who God made us to be and calls us to be? Reflect for a moment today on the graciousness of our creator God. Reflect on how we have been created and how we are called by God to live together in community with one another and in relationship with the infinitely unselfish, forgiving God who made us.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you, Lord that you are the creator, and we have been created by you in love, by love, and for love. We pray that you will teach us how to accept the forgiveness you have given us and continue to give to us every day. Help us learn to understand both the limits and possibilities of our humanity. Teach us more of who you are and who you have made us to be. And as we struggle through to this lifelong learning, help us to be patient with ourselves and others, having eyes to see and ears to hear the depths of your forgiving love. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Psalm 66
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion; and to you shall vows be performed,
O you who answer prayer! To you all flesh shall come.
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions.
Happy are those whom you choose and bring near to live in your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple.
By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.
By your strength you established the mountains; you are girded with might.
You silence the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples.
Those who live at earth's farthest bounds are awed by your signs; you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
It’s Not About Just Being Nice
DAILY BYTE
When I was a little girl, I remember clearly my mother, father, and other elders navigating arguments between my brother and I. They usually went something like: “It was his fault!” “No, it was her fault!” And then, my mother mediating with a “Just say you’re sorry...no, say it like you mean it!” We are often taught from a young age that forgiveness must be immediately given and immediately accepted because that is the nice and fair way to operate. We’re also taught that it is socially acceptable to put on a happy face and pretend that nothing’s overtly wrong, even when underneath, we are navigating challenging and broken personal relationships and community dynamics that constantly need for us to be engaging in a journey toward forgiveness.
But, being a Christian is not about rushing to conclusions. Being a Christian is not about pretending to be something or someone that we are not. Being a Christian is about journeying a long path together. And that path miraculously and graciously draws us nearer and nearer to the heart of God’s forgiveness and nearer and nearer to one another.
It’s easy for us to think that we can temporarily ignore reflecting on the need for forgiveness, if we are not particularly angry with anyone at this point in time. But, perhaps, this is a poignant time in your life for you to be thinking about the need for us to forgive and be forgiven. Maybe someone was unfaithful to you in a relationship, hurt you physically, or just didn’t live up to expectations. Perhaps someone has wronged you in a way that you find simply unforgiveable. Or maybe, you are finding it impossible to forgive yourself. I know no one who is free from these kinds of struggles.
A few months ago, I was sitting in a course on teaching Bible studies during my final semester of seminary. I was minding my own business and tuning in and out of the discussion led by my classmates on loving your enemies. The final exercise, as their forty-five minutes of Bible study fame wound down was for us all to write letters to the people we considered our enemies – the people we were unable to forgive. I thought to myself, well, I don’t have any big grudges – I generally get along with people. And then, I put the pencil to the paper, and out of the deepest corner of my heart popped a man who had wronged me indirectly through hurting my father. I sat paralyzed, unable even to write his name. My heart was numb, hard, guarded. I wondered, if I forgive him, does it mean that I’m condoning his behavior? Does it even matter, if I forgive him? I’ll probably never see him again ... he may never find out. What’s the point of opening myself up to this pain again?
I wonder who is in the long hard process of forgiving you. I wonder whom you are trying to forgive. I wonder if you are blowing through life so quickly that you find it hard to take a moment and think about the status of your relationships and your community’s life.
And so, take a moment to be still today, even putting a pen to paper, if you need to. Pray over your relationships without avoidance and fear but with patience for the process of forgiveness and knowledge that God has already forgiven us all from the deepest part of God’s heart. If you wonder if there is a point to our forgiveness, take a few more moments to consider the overwhelming love that is all of ours through this heart of God. Choose today to receive it.
PRAY AS YOU GO
As you are still and thinking about those whom you need to forgive and those forgiving you, pray this prayer in conversation with God, knowing that all has already been forgiven.
Father, forgive them.
Father, forgive us.
Father, forgive.
SCRIPTURE READING
1 John 1:8 – 1 John 2:2
If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
When I was a little girl, I remember clearly my mother, father, and other elders navigating arguments between my brother and I. They usually went something like: “It was his fault!” “No, it was her fault!” And then, my mother mediating with a “Just say you’re sorry...no, say it like you mean it!” We are often taught from a young age that forgiveness must be immediately given and immediately accepted because that is the nice and fair way to operate. We’re also taught that it is socially acceptable to put on a happy face and pretend that nothing’s overtly wrong, even when underneath, we are navigating challenging and broken personal relationships and community dynamics that constantly need for us to be engaging in a journey toward forgiveness.
But, being a Christian is not about rushing to conclusions. Being a Christian is not about pretending to be something or someone that we are not. Being a Christian is about journeying a long path together. And that path miraculously and graciously draws us nearer and nearer to the heart of God’s forgiveness and nearer and nearer to one another.
It’s easy for us to think that we can temporarily ignore reflecting on the need for forgiveness, if we are not particularly angry with anyone at this point in time. But, perhaps, this is a poignant time in your life for you to be thinking about the need for us to forgive and be forgiven. Maybe someone was unfaithful to you in a relationship, hurt you physically, or just didn’t live up to expectations. Perhaps someone has wronged you in a way that you find simply unforgiveable. Or maybe, you are finding it impossible to forgive yourself. I know no one who is free from these kinds of struggles.
A few months ago, I was sitting in a course on teaching Bible studies during my final semester of seminary. I was minding my own business and tuning in and out of the discussion led by my classmates on loving your enemies. The final exercise, as their forty-five minutes of Bible study fame wound down was for us all to write letters to the people we considered our enemies – the people we were unable to forgive. I thought to myself, well, I don’t have any big grudges – I generally get along with people. And then, I put the pencil to the paper, and out of the deepest corner of my heart popped a man who had wronged me indirectly through hurting my father. I sat paralyzed, unable even to write his name. My heart was numb, hard, guarded. I wondered, if I forgive him, does it mean that I’m condoning his behavior? Does it even matter, if I forgive him? I’ll probably never see him again ... he may never find out. What’s the point of opening myself up to this pain again?
I wonder who is in the long hard process of forgiving you. I wonder whom you are trying to forgive. I wonder if you are blowing through life so quickly that you find it hard to take a moment and think about the status of your relationships and your community’s life.
And so, take a moment to be still today, even putting a pen to paper, if you need to. Pray over your relationships without avoidance and fear but with patience for the process of forgiveness and knowledge that God has already forgiven us all from the deepest part of God’s heart. If you wonder if there is a point to our forgiveness, take a few more moments to consider the overwhelming love that is all of ours through this heart of God. Choose today to receive it.
PRAY AS YOU GO
As you are still and thinking about those whom you need to forgive and those forgiving you, pray this prayer in conversation with God, knowing that all has already been forgiven.
Father, forgive them.
Father, forgive us.
Father, forgive.
SCRIPTURE READING
1 John 1:8 – 1 John 2:2
If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
The Heart of the Body
DAILY BYTE
The human body can seem like organized chaos. If you have ever been really ill or had an operation or known someone who was ill, you know that the body can be a churning mass of unpredictability. And sometimes when someone is unmercifully ill or overtaken by an addiction, we even say that they are imprisoned by their body.
I am known as a bit of a typhoid Mary. In fact, my best friend jokes that if any sort of strange disease is within a fifty kilometer radius, I will be happy to give it a home in my body. In fact, just about two months ago, I was visiting the doctor for a routine check-up. I was listening to my heart on the pulse-ox monitor, and it was bouncing all over the place. I started avoiding the eyes of the nurse, trying to get myself to breathe deeply and evenly. But, I will never forget the moment when that heartbeat seemed to hesitate. It paused for just a hair too long and seemed to stop. Now, I’m usually a pretty tough cookie, but when the heart, the core that supplies life to our thinking and feeling and being – when that seemed to stop working the way the heart was made to work, my whole world was thrown into chaos. It was as though I was imprisoned by the thought that if something were wrong with my heart, I could actually be prevented from living the way that I believed God was calling me to live. Knowing that my grandfather died from a congenital heart defect, I was afraid that my source of life, could actually fail me.
It was, perhaps, a bit dramatic, given that I had yet even to go to the heart specialist, so all these scenarios of death and chaos might really have been just a little too much sun, a stressful day, and not enough breakfast – which they turned out to be, thankfully. But, we all know that often, it is a different story, and it was a crisis of faith for a young person who is all too aware that life is strangely short and that the heart is strangely necessary for the body to continue to live.
But this devotional is not really about anatomy. It is about what it means to be part of the body of Christ. We must ask: what is at the heart of this body? Where is the heart of God? Well, let me suggest today that the heart of God is found at the heart of a covenant – a promise – made with God’s people – you and me – thousands of years ago. It is a covenant founded on none other than forgiveness.
I wonder what we need to do to learn more about this covenant promise that God has with us in the body of Christ. I wonder what it means for your individual life and the life of the community in which you live that through God’s love, all of your sins have already been forgiven.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed – by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry, and we humbly repent. For the sake of your son Jesus Christ have mercy on us and forgive us that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways for the glory of your name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Colossians 3:13-15
Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.
The human body can seem like organized chaos. If you have ever been really ill or had an operation or known someone who was ill, you know that the body can be a churning mass of unpredictability. And sometimes when someone is unmercifully ill or overtaken by an addiction, we even say that they are imprisoned by their body.
I am known as a bit of a typhoid Mary. In fact, my best friend jokes that if any sort of strange disease is within a fifty kilometer radius, I will be happy to give it a home in my body. In fact, just about two months ago, I was visiting the doctor for a routine check-up. I was listening to my heart on the pulse-ox monitor, and it was bouncing all over the place. I started avoiding the eyes of the nurse, trying to get myself to breathe deeply and evenly. But, I will never forget the moment when that heartbeat seemed to hesitate. It paused for just a hair too long and seemed to stop. Now, I’m usually a pretty tough cookie, but when the heart, the core that supplies life to our thinking and feeling and being – when that seemed to stop working the way the heart was made to work, my whole world was thrown into chaos. It was as though I was imprisoned by the thought that if something were wrong with my heart, I could actually be prevented from living the way that I believed God was calling me to live. Knowing that my grandfather died from a congenital heart defect, I was afraid that my source of life, could actually fail me.
It was, perhaps, a bit dramatic, given that I had yet even to go to the heart specialist, so all these scenarios of death and chaos might really have been just a little too much sun, a stressful day, and not enough breakfast – which they turned out to be, thankfully. But, we all know that often, it is a different story, and it was a crisis of faith for a young person who is all too aware that life is strangely short and that the heart is strangely necessary for the body to continue to live.
But this devotional is not really about anatomy. It is about what it means to be part of the body of Christ. We must ask: what is at the heart of this body? Where is the heart of God? Well, let me suggest today that the heart of God is found at the heart of a covenant – a promise – made with God’s people – you and me – thousands of years ago. It is a covenant founded on none other than forgiveness.
I wonder what we need to do to learn more about this covenant promise that God has with us in the body of Christ. I wonder what it means for your individual life and the life of the community in which you live that through God’s love, all of your sins have already been forgiven.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed – by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry, and we humbly repent. For the sake of your son Jesus Christ have mercy on us and forgive us that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways for the glory of your name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Colossians 3:13-15
Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.
Monday, 10 May 2010
A Deep Challenge at the Heart of God
DAILY BYTE
The argument
My best friend and I have only argued – really truly gotten so feisty that we told each other we should never speak about the topic again – once in the whole of our friendship. And I have known her for over ten years… Oh, it was a heck of an argument, and I remember it well…
We were sharing a flat over a summer during varsity, working at internships. And since we were students doing virtually unpaid jobs, this was, as you can imagine, a very small flat. Such close quarters seem either to make for extremely close friendships or worst enemies. But, she and I were like sisters, so while we had our tiffs, we usually managed graciously enough to forgive each other for the ways we daily stepped (sometimes literally) on each others’ toes. One day, however, we were getting ready to go out for dinner, doing the close quarters dance, weaving in and out of the bathroom, barely missing singeing one another with the curling iron, and for some unknown reason, she said, “You know, there are just some things that are unforgiveable.” To which I replied, perhaps a bit too hastily, “No, no I don’t think there are. All sins are equal, and it’s not for us to decide what is forgivable and what is not.”
Ayayay. It was as though I had just pushed all of her buttons at once. You would’ve thought I had said, let’s go bungee jump off the Eiffel Tower while shooting off firecrackers from our hips, throwing peanuts to the crowd, and singing God Bless the USA. Her response was, “You’ve got to be kidding me… How can you possibly say that all sins are equal? Do you honestly think that we’re supposed to forgive people like Hitler for slaughtering thousands of people the same way that I forgive you for smudging toothpaste on my shirt?” Good question. At the time, I insisted that it may be hard, but of course we must forgive both sins the same way.
Unsurprisingly, she persisted: “So, you’re telling me that if people brutally killed my father, I should just forgive them? You’ve got to be joking – I would rather die.” To which I replied, as our debate heated up to scorching levels, “Well, that makes sense – because you would die. Your insides would fester from all of that built up animosity.” Once again, perhaps it wasn’t the most sensitive remark… Because finally, she said, “You know, I think we just should never talk about things like this, including politics and religion, ever again.”
Can you imagine best friends who could never talk about politics, religion, and the deeply troubling but all too real fact that in life we are on a constant journey of learning how to forgive? Who among us has never grappled with whether or not to forgive someone? Who has never needed the forgiveness of others?
I am hugely thankful that even though that dialogue with my best friend over five years ago led us to a conversational dead end, we are now in the process of learning to discuss these things together and listen to one another more carefully. We still disagree about many things, but I think we may be starting to realize that forgiveness on all levels is at the heart of what makes such relationships tick. And as all of us in every relationship belong to God, forgiveness seems to be what makes the heart of God tick, as well. This week we will be exploring the challenging, long journey of forgiveness. We acknowledge that it is difficult – perhaps even seeming impossible. And yet, we also acknowledge the life-giving power of this journey with one another and with God.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Matthew 18:21-22
Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
The argument
My best friend and I have only argued – really truly gotten so feisty that we told each other we should never speak about the topic again – once in the whole of our friendship. And I have known her for over ten years… Oh, it was a heck of an argument, and I remember it well…
We were sharing a flat over a summer during varsity, working at internships. And since we were students doing virtually unpaid jobs, this was, as you can imagine, a very small flat. Such close quarters seem either to make for extremely close friendships or worst enemies. But, she and I were like sisters, so while we had our tiffs, we usually managed graciously enough to forgive each other for the ways we daily stepped (sometimes literally) on each others’ toes. One day, however, we were getting ready to go out for dinner, doing the close quarters dance, weaving in and out of the bathroom, barely missing singeing one another with the curling iron, and for some unknown reason, she said, “You know, there are just some things that are unforgiveable.” To which I replied, perhaps a bit too hastily, “No, no I don’t think there are. All sins are equal, and it’s not for us to decide what is forgivable and what is not.”
Ayayay. It was as though I had just pushed all of her buttons at once. You would’ve thought I had said, let’s go bungee jump off the Eiffel Tower while shooting off firecrackers from our hips, throwing peanuts to the crowd, and singing God Bless the USA. Her response was, “You’ve got to be kidding me… How can you possibly say that all sins are equal? Do you honestly think that we’re supposed to forgive people like Hitler for slaughtering thousands of people the same way that I forgive you for smudging toothpaste on my shirt?” Good question. At the time, I insisted that it may be hard, but of course we must forgive both sins the same way.
Unsurprisingly, she persisted: “So, you’re telling me that if people brutally killed my father, I should just forgive them? You’ve got to be joking – I would rather die.” To which I replied, as our debate heated up to scorching levels, “Well, that makes sense – because you would die. Your insides would fester from all of that built up animosity.” Once again, perhaps it wasn’t the most sensitive remark… Because finally, she said, “You know, I think we just should never talk about things like this, including politics and religion, ever again.”
Can you imagine best friends who could never talk about politics, religion, and the deeply troubling but all too real fact that in life we are on a constant journey of learning how to forgive? Who among us has never grappled with whether or not to forgive someone? Who has never needed the forgiveness of others?
I am hugely thankful that even though that dialogue with my best friend over five years ago led us to a conversational dead end, we are now in the process of learning to discuss these things together and listen to one another more carefully. We still disagree about many things, but I think we may be starting to realize that forgiveness on all levels is at the heart of what makes such relationships tick. And as all of us in every relationship belong to God, forgiveness seems to be what makes the heart of God tick, as well. This week we will be exploring the challenging, long journey of forgiveness. We acknowledge that it is difficult – perhaps even seeming impossible. And yet, we also acknowledge the life-giving power of this journey with one another and with God.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Matthew 18:21-22
Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
Friday, 7 May 2010
This is the life!
DAILY BYTE
This week we’ve been reflecting on the broad theme of responding to God’s word without delay. As we bring this week’s devotions to a close, let me pose some pointed questions to you:
As you look around at your life right now, in what ways have you hardened your heart in turning away in deliberate disobedience from what you know God is saying to you? And in what ways have you failed to hear God’s call to live a fuller, freer life, or act upon the call that you have heard?
Think about it - what higher, nobler purpose is God calling you to right now?
In your role as a child or parent or grandparent?
In your role as a husband or wife?
In your role as a friend, colleague, worker or employee?
What is God asking of you, right now?
What surprising gift of generosity could you offer?
What act of reconciliation might you initiate?
What example of integrity and faithfulness might you leave behind?
What sacrifices of love might you be offering to the lost and the lonely within your life?
What higher, nobler purpose is God calling you to right now?
These are just some of the exciting waters we get to explore when we commit ourselves to the life of radical discipleship. But of course, exciting as it is, it isn’t always plain sailing.
The reading from Matthew 8 that we started looking at yesterday goes on to talk about how Jesus got into a boat in order to cross over to the other side and his disciples followed him. Without warning a furious storm broke out that threatened to sink the boat. And the disciples thought they were finished. But what they had forgotten was that their very act of obedience in following Jesus meant that they were not alone. Their very act of obedience in doing what he said and going where he went, meant that they were with him and he was with them in this time and place of crisis and need.
As it turned out it was a time and place of grace – of seeing and experiencing for themselves the power and authority of Christ over the chaos all around them, as he calmed the wind and the waves.
What a powerful story that reminds us of what the life of radical discipleship entails – boldly following Jesus to places (on ‘the other side’) where others normally would not go; facing threatening storms that seem so overwhelming; experiencing the higher authority of Christ before whom no other principality or power can stand.
This is the kind of life that can be yours and mine. Today!
PRAY AS YOU GO
Our prayer today comes from a song by Dan Wilt:
This is the life, this is our dream
This is the place we want to be
This is your love, this is the healing of our souls
This is the time, this is the place
This is the season of your mercy
This is the hour, this is the day we’ve waited for
This is the life!
Yes, this is the life you have given to us O God. What a gift of abundant and breathtaking grace, that is available to us all right now. Help us Lord to take hold of this gift, through our obedience and trust, and to live to the glory of your name. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Matthew 8:23-27
Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"
He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
The disciples were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"
This week we’ve been reflecting on the broad theme of responding to God’s word without delay. As we bring this week’s devotions to a close, let me pose some pointed questions to you:
As you look around at your life right now, in what ways have you hardened your heart in turning away in deliberate disobedience from what you know God is saying to you? And in what ways have you failed to hear God’s call to live a fuller, freer life, or act upon the call that you have heard?
Think about it - what higher, nobler purpose is God calling you to right now?
In your role as a child or parent or grandparent?
In your role as a husband or wife?
In your role as a friend, colleague, worker or employee?
What is God asking of you, right now?
What surprising gift of generosity could you offer?
What act of reconciliation might you initiate?
What example of integrity and faithfulness might you leave behind?
What sacrifices of love might you be offering to the lost and the lonely within your life?
What higher, nobler purpose is God calling you to right now?
These are just some of the exciting waters we get to explore when we commit ourselves to the life of radical discipleship. But of course, exciting as it is, it isn’t always plain sailing.
The reading from Matthew 8 that we started looking at yesterday goes on to talk about how Jesus got into a boat in order to cross over to the other side and his disciples followed him. Without warning a furious storm broke out that threatened to sink the boat. And the disciples thought they were finished. But what they had forgotten was that their very act of obedience in following Jesus meant that they were not alone. Their very act of obedience in doing what he said and going where he went, meant that they were with him and he was with them in this time and place of crisis and need.
As it turned out it was a time and place of grace – of seeing and experiencing for themselves the power and authority of Christ over the chaos all around them, as he calmed the wind and the waves.
What a powerful story that reminds us of what the life of radical discipleship entails – boldly following Jesus to places (on ‘the other side’) where others normally would not go; facing threatening storms that seem so overwhelming; experiencing the higher authority of Christ before whom no other principality or power can stand.
This is the kind of life that can be yours and mine. Today!
PRAY AS YOU GO
Our prayer today comes from a song by Dan Wilt:
This is the life, this is our dream
This is the place we want to be
This is your love, this is the healing of our souls
This is the time, this is the place
This is the season of your mercy
This is the hour, this is the day we’ve waited for
This is the life!
Yes, this is the life you have given to us O God. What a gift of abundant and breathtaking grace, that is available to us all right now. Help us Lord to take hold of this gift, through our obedience and trust, and to live to the glory of your name. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Matthew 8:23-27
Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"
He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
The disciples were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"
Thursday, 6 May 2010
Hearing the call
DAILY BYTE
There’s another way in which we opt for one more night with the frogs. It’s through our failure to prioritize the call of God to give our lives to the greater purposes of God’s Kingdom.
In Matthew 8 we read about a teacher of the law who comes to Jesus and confidently says to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus reminds him that that’s easier said than done.
The passage then moves to other disciples making similar promises of their own, but only after they’ve dealt with other priorities in their lives. “I will follow you Lord, said one, but first let me go and bury my father.” “I will follow you Lord, said another, but first let me go back and say good-bye to my family.”
Jesus’ replies seem harsh and unsympathetic, as he effectively dismisses these concerns as incidental to the priority of God’s Kingdom. Now of course, Jesus isn’t being anti-family. He’s simply saying that there is no more pressing priority than giving yourself to him in discipleship. And that there is never a reason good enough to delay that from happening.
Remember, when Jesus called his very first disciples, Simon & Andrew, he said to them, ‘Come, follow me.’ And IMMEDIATELY they left what they were doing and followed Jesus. Then Jesus saw James and John. WITHOUT DELAY he called them and IMMEDIATELY they left their father and followed him.
We think that their response is somehow beyond us. But the story challenges our assumptions about what is most important in our lives. Think about it. Why would anyone not want to devote this one chance at life to some magnificent purpose?
Why would we not want these miraculous lives of ours to be offered to some great and glorious end?
What motivation could we possibly have to settle for unimaginative, mediocre, lackluster lives?
Why would we want to spend even one more night with the frogs when Christ calls us to a life that is so much more.
As you think about these questions, reflect further on these beautiful words of a contemporary song written by Gwyn Williams:
Jesus is calling us to a life that’s full, that’s free
He calls us out of mediocrity
So let us answer ‘Yes’
We will stand with him
To be the very best that we can be
We’re sons of light
And daughters of the day
Created to live in the light
Sons of light
And daughters of the day
Today, hear Jesus say:
“Walk out into daylight
Walk out from the night
Walk out dressed in faith and love
Walk out! Walk out!”
Walk out to salvation
Walk away from fear
For Jesus Christ has died to give you life
Walk out!
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord Jesus Christ, in the prayer that you taught us we pray for your Kingdom to come and your will to be done. There can be no greater priority in our lives than that of doing your will, and serving the purposes of your Kingdom – for this is what will bring us and all those around us life in all its fullness. Help us to hear your call, and give us the wisdom and willingness to obey, without delay. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Matthew 8:18-27 (incl. Luke 9:61-62)
When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."
Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-bye to my family.
Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.
There’s another way in which we opt for one more night with the frogs. It’s through our failure to prioritize the call of God to give our lives to the greater purposes of God’s Kingdom.
In Matthew 8 we read about a teacher of the law who comes to Jesus and confidently says to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus reminds him that that’s easier said than done.
The passage then moves to other disciples making similar promises of their own, but only after they’ve dealt with other priorities in their lives. “I will follow you Lord, said one, but first let me go and bury my father.” “I will follow you Lord, said another, but first let me go back and say good-bye to my family.”
Jesus’ replies seem harsh and unsympathetic, as he effectively dismisses these concerns as incidental to the priority of God’s Kingdom. Now of course, Jesus isn’t being anti-family. He’s simply saying that there is no more pressing priority than giving yourself to him in discipleship. And that there is never a reason good enough to delay that from happening.
Remember, when Jesus called his very first disciples, Simon & Andrew, he said to them, ‘Come, follow me.’ And IMMEDIATELY they left what they were doing and followed Jesus. Then Jesus saw James and John. WITHOUT DELAY he called them and IMMEDIATELY they left their father and followed him.
We think that their response is somehow beyond us. But the story challenges our assumptions about what is most important in our lives. Think about it. Why would anyone not want to devote this one chance at life to some magnificent purpose?
Why would we not want these miraculous lives of ours to be offered to some great and glorious end?
What motivation could we possibly have to settle for unimaginative, mediocre, lackluster lives?
Why would we want to spend even one more night with the frogs when Christ calls us to a life that is so much more.
As you think about these questions, reflect further on these beautiful words of a contemporary song written by Gwyn Williams:
Jesus is calling us to a life that’s full, that’s free
He calls us out of mediocrity
So let us answer ‘Yes’
We will stand with him
To be the very best that we can be
We’re sons of light
And daughters of the day
Created to live in the light
Sons of light
And daughters of the day
Today, hear Jesus say:
“Walk out into daylight
Walk out from the night
Walk out dressed in faith and love
Walk out! Walk out!”
Walk out to salvation
Walk away from fear
For Jesus Christ has died to give you life
Walk out!
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord Jesus Christ, in the prayer that you taught us we pray for your Kingdom to come and your will to be done. There can be no greater priority in our lives than that of doing your will, and serving the purposes of your Kingdom – for this is what will bring us and all those around us life in all its fullness. Help us to hear your call, and give us the wisdom and willingness to obey, without delay. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Matthew 8:18-27 (incl. Luke 9:61-62)
When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."
Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-bye to my family.
Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Hardened Hearts
DAILY BYTE
Yesterday we looked at the story of how Pharaoh chose to spend one more night with the frogs. Today and tomorrow we consider two broad ways in which this can be true in our lives as well.
The first is a condition that the bible describes as a hardening of the heart. This was Pharaoh’s big problem. 14 times in the space of just 7 chapters in this section of Exodus we read that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. Quite simply it means that he refused to listen. He refused to respond to God’s word. He refused to change his tune, as he defied the authority of God over his life. His was an arrogant, obstinate, unyielding attitude, even in the face of the overwhelming evidence all around him of the utter chaos that he was bringing upon himself and his land.
The best contemporary example of this must surely be Robert Mugabe, who remains arrogantly and defiantly unmoved while his country plunges deeper and deeper into ruin. Zimbabwe is a tragic illustration of what a hardened heart can produce, written large upon the broad canvas of political history.
But the same tragic story is being written over and over again on the inner canvas of people’s souls because of their hardness of heart. Because of their refusal to listen and to respond to what God says. And make no mistake the chaos and turmoil within them can be every bit as devastating as what we’re seeing in Zimbabwe.
How might this be true for you?
Maybe there’s something going on in your life right now that you know is not what God wants for you. Maybe you can hear the witness of Scripture challenging and convicting some area of your life, but you’re turning a deaf ear.
God’s word says, ‘Forgive and you will be forgiven.’ But maybe you’re reluctant to forgive somebody who hurt you because you actually rather enjoy the little vengeful scenarios you get to play out in your mind.
God’s word says, ‘Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.’ But maybe you’re abusing your body in what you’re eating or the exercise you’re not getting, or the way you’re expressing your sexuality, and you think that it’s OK because there’s time to change.
God’s word says, ‘You cannot serve both God and money.’ But maybe you think that you can, and so you’ve set out making wealth and possessions your goal, just until you’ve got enough to feel secure.
The point is that all of us, in some ways, turn aside from what we know God is saying to us. And so with deafened ears, blinded eyes and yes, hardened hearts, we choose to spend one more night with the frogs. It’s the madness of Pharaoh all over again. And we fail to realize the damage that this way of living causes to our souls.
High up in the mountains a sudden avalanche swept away a young goat, killing it instantly. The body of the goat landed up on a large chunk of ice floating down a river towards a waterfall. A vulture circling high overhead spotted the goat. It landed on the ice floe and started eating the carcass. The roar of the waterfall was getting louder, but still the vulture ate. It thought to itself, ‘There’s still time to eat a bit more, and then I’ll fly away to safety.’ What the vulture did not realize was that its feet had melted the ice where it landed, but this melted ice was busy freezing again. At the last moment, as the ice floe went over the edge of the waterfall, the vulture tried to take off and fly to safety. But it couldn’t. Its feet were already frozen to the ice. It was too late.
That’s a picture of what can happen when we willfully persist in wrongdoing. We continue to nibble away at things that we know are bad for us, and sooner than we even realize we become stuck in the clutches of our indulgent sin. It’s the danger of choosing to spend one more night with the frogs!
PRAY AS YOU GO
Spirit of the Living God fall afresh on me, and soften the hardened places of my heart, that I may be more obedient to all that you ask of me. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Psalm 95:7-8
Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.
Yesterday we looked at the story of how Pharaoh chose to spend one more night with the frogs. Today and tomorrow we consider two broad ways in which this can be true in our lives as well.
The first is a condition that the bible describes as a hardening of the heart. This was Pharaoh’s big problem. 14 times in the space of just 7 chapters in this section of Exodus we read that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. Quite simply it means that he refused to listen. He refused to respond to God’s word. He refused to change his tune, as he defied the authority of God over his life. His was an arrogant, obstinate, unyielding attitude, even in the face of the overwhelming evidence all around him of the utter chaos that he was bringing upon himself and his land.
The best contemporary example of this must surely be Robert Mugabe, who remains arrogantly and defiantly unmoved while his country plunges deeper and deeper into ruin. Zimbabwe is a tragic illustration of what a hardened heart can produce, written large upon the broad canvas of political history.
But the same tragic story is being written over and over again on the inner canvas of people’s souls because of their hardness of heart. Because of their refusal to listen and to respond to what God says. And make no mistake the chaos and turmoil within them can be every bit as devastating as what we’re seeing in Zimbabwe.
How might this be true for you?
Maybe there’s something going on in your life right now that you know is not what God wants for you. Maybe you can hear the witness of Scripture challenging and convicting some area of your life, but you’re turning a deaf ear.
God’s word says, ‘Forgive and you will be forgiven.’ But maybe you’re reluctant to forgive somebody who hurt you because you actually rather enjoy the little vengeful scenarios you get to play out in your mind.
God’s word says, ‘Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.’ But maybe you’re abusing your body in what you’re eating or the exercise you’re not getting, or the way you’re expressing your sexuality, and you think that it’s OK because there’s time to change.
God’s word says, ‘You cannot serve both God and money.’ But maybe you think that you can, and so you’ve set out making wealth and possessions your goal, just until you’ve got enough to feel secure.
The point is that all of us, in some ways, turn aside from what we know God is saying to us. And so with deafened ears, blinded eyes and yes, hardened hearts, we choose to spend one more night with the frogs. It’s the madness of Pharaoh all over again. And we fail to realize the damage that this way of living causes to our souls.
High up in the mountains a sudden avalanche swept away a young goat, killing it instantly. The body of the goat landed up on a large chunk of ice floating down a river towards a waterfall. A vulture circling high overhead spotted the goat. It landed on the ice floe and started eating the carcass. The roar of the waterfall was getting louder, but still the vulture ate. It thought to itself, ‘There’s still time to eat a bit more, and then I’ll fly away to safety.’ What the vulture did not realize was that its feet had melted the ice where it landed, but this melted ice was busy freezing again. At the last moment, as the ice floe went over the edge of the waterfall, the vulture tried to take off and fly to safety. But it couldn’t. Its feet were already frozen to the ice. It was too late.
That’s a picture of what can happen when we willfully persist in wrongdoing. We continue to nibble away at things that we know are bad for us, and sooner than we even realize we become stuck in the clutches of our indulgent sin. It’s the danger of choosing to spend one more night with the frogs!
PRAY AS YOU GO
Spirit of the Living God fall afresh on me, and soften the hardened places of my heart, that I may be more obedient to all that you ask of me. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Psalm 95:7-8
Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
One More Night with the Frogs
DAILY BYTE
The title of today’s devotion is, ‘One more night with the frogs.’ It comes from the story in Exodus 8. God had heard the cries of the Israelite people, who were living in Egypt as slaves under the oppressive hand of Pharaoh. So God sent Moses and Aaron to confront Pharaoh saying to him, ‘Thus says the LORD. Let my people go. And if you refuse, I will send plagues upon your whole country.’
Sure enough, Pharaoh refused, and so there followed a whole series of plagues.
The second of which was a plague of frogs. We read that the frogs came up out of the rivers and pools of Egypt and covered the whole land. They came into Pharaoh’s palace, they came into his bedchamber and even into his bed. Can you imagine what Mrs Pharaoh had to say about that? The frogs came into the houses of Pharaoh’s officials and all of his people. They even hopped their way into the Egyptians’ ovens and kneading bowls, so that they literally croaked their way onto every menu and into every dish.
Finally, Pharaoh couldn’t take it any more. He called Moses & Aaron and said to them, “Please, I’m begging you. Pray to the LORD to take these....$@%! frogs away!”
And Moses said to him, “Sure. Just tell me WHEN I am to pray for you and your officials and your people, that the frogs may be removed from you.”
And Pharaoh said...... TOMORROW!
Tomorrow? TOMORROW? The frogs are everywhere. They’re driving you crazy Pharaoh. What about today? What about right now? You know that they’ve got to go. So why wait? Why delay? Surely, surely, you would want this dealt with right away?
But Pharaoh says, “No thanks. Tomorrow is fine. I think I’ll have one more night with the frogs.”
It’s ridiculous. And we can laugh at Pharaoh’s stupidity. But before we laugh too loud, we would do well to recognise that in many ways we are just like Pharaoh. For we too often choose to spend one more night with the frogs.
Let me explain:
The frogs in the story could represent for us the things in our lives that are out of sync, out of kilter because of our resistance to what God requires of us. And even though we hear God’s word, and even though we know what God wants. Even though we feel the intense discomfort and distress from continuing in ways that are opposed to the ways of God. Even when we toss and turn in the middle of the night, unable to sleep for conscience’s sake - constantly hearing in our ears the croaking of our disobedience. Even when we know that this cannot continue and that something simply has to change. Yet, just like Pharaoh, there is a strange reluctance within us to deal with these things, to face the source of our anxiety and stress. And so, just like Pharaoh, we choose to spend one more night with the frogs.
Over the next couple of days we will look at two broad ways in which this can be true for our lives.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Forgive us Lord for growing comfortable with mediocrity, complacent about dealing with what is wrong in our lives, and resistant to life-giving change. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Exodus 8:1ff
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. The river shall swarm with frogs; they shall come up into your palace, into your bedchamber and your bed, and into the houses of your officials and of your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls….
So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.
Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said, "Pray to the LORD to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the LORD." Moses said to Pharaoh, "Kindly tell me when I am to pray for you and for your officials and for your people, that the frogs may be removed from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile."
And Pharaoh said, "Tomorrow." And Moses said, "As you say!”
The title of today’s devotion is, ‘One more night with the frogs.’ It comes from the story in Exodus 8. God had heard the cries of the Israelite people, who were living in Egypt as slaves under the oppressive hand of Pharaoh. So God sent Moses and Aaron to confront Pharaoh saying to him, ‘Thus says the LORD. Let my people go. And if you refuse, I will send plagues upon your whole country.’
Sure enough, Pharaoh refused, and so there followed a whole series of plagues.
The second of which was a plague of frogs. We read that the frogs came up out of the rivers and pools of Egypt and covered the whole land. They came into Pharaoh’s palace, they came into his bedchamber and even into his bed. Can you imagine what Mrs Pharaoh had to say about that? The frogs came into the houses of Pharaoh’s officials and all of his people. They even hopped their way into the Egyptians’ ovens and kneading bowls, so that they literally croaked their way onto every menu and into every dish.
Finally, Pharaoh couldn’t take it any more. He called Moses & Aaron and said to them, “Please, I’m begging you. Pray to the LORD to take these....$@%! frogs away!”
And Moses said to him, “Sure. Just tell me WHEN I am to pray for you and your officials and your people, that the frogs may be removed from you.”
And Pharaoh said...... TOMORROW!
Tomorrow? TOMORROW? The frogs are everywhere. They’re driving you crazy Pharaoh. What about today? What about right now? You know that they’ve got to go. So why wait? Why delay? Surely, surely, you would want this dealt with right away?
But Pharaoh says, “No thanks. Tomorrow is fine. I think I’ll have one more night with the frogs.”
It’s ridiculous. And we can laugh at Pharaoh’s stupidity. But before we laugh too loud, we would do well to recognise that in many ways we are just like Pharaoh. For we too often choose to spend one more night with the frogs.
Let me explain:
The frogs in the story could represent for us the things in our lives that are out of sync, out of kilter because of our resistance to what God requires of us. And even though we hear God’s word, and even though we know what God wants. Even though we feel the intense discomfort and distress from continuing in ways that are opposed to the ways of God. Even when we toss and turn in the middle of the night, unable to sleep for conscience’s sake - constantly hearing in our ears the croaking of our disobedience. Even when we know that this cannot continue and that something simply has to change. Yet, just like Pharaoh, there is a strange reluctance within us to deal with these things, to face the source of our anxiety and stress. And so, just like Pharaoh, we choose to spend one more night with the frogs.
Over the next couple of days we will look at two broad ways in which this can be true for our lives.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Forgive us Lord for growing comfortable with mediocrity, complacent about dealing with what is wrong in our lives, and resistant to life-giving change. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Exodus 8:1ff
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. The river shall swarm with frogs; they shall come up into your palace, into your bedchamber and your bed, and into the houses of your officials and of your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls….
So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.
Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said, "Pray to the LORD to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the LORD." Moses said to Pharaoh, "Kindly tell me when I am to pray for you and for your officials and for your people, that the frogs may be removed from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile."
And Pharaoh said, "Tomorrow." And Moses said, "As you say!”
Monday, 3 May 2010
Now is the time
DAILY BYTE
A CEO went on a business management course, and was deeply challenged about the amount of time wasted in his company through procrastination. Wanting to inspire his employees to make the most of every moment he had a whole lot of signs printed and put up throughout the company. The signs simply said, ‘Do it now!’
The message really got through, because the very next week his secretary asked for a raise, his accountant disappeared with millions he had embezzled, and the Board of Directors asked for his resignation!
This week we will be reflecting on the importance of taking hold of the present moment, and not delaying in turning our lives to God. Sadly, many people suffer from the condition of spiritual procrastination. They have the sense that there’s really nothing that urgent or pressing about the spiritual life, so long as they get around to it sooner or later.
But nothing could be further from the truth. Because the decision to put off what is truly important for sometime later, is usually the decision to put off what is truly important for ever. Richard Rohr says, ‘How you do it now, is how you do it.’ It’s the present moment that reveals our true nature. Our priorities RIGHT NOW, by and large, reflect our priorities – period!
So if we’re serious about living a new life, then there’s no better time than the present to begin. In fact, there’s no other time for it ever to begin.
On this the scriptures are clear. In 2 Corinthians 6:2 we read, “NOW is the time of God’s favour. TODAY is the day of salvation.” It is in this present moment that God can be encountered and known.
Here’s a poem by Helen Mallicoat that reflects on what it means that God’s name is ‘I AM’. (There may be some biblical scholars who would differ with some technical aspects of this interpretation of God’s being, but the underlying sentiment of the poem conveys a profound truth.)
I was regretting the past
and fearing the future.
Suddenly, my Lord was speaking.
"My name is I Am"
He paused. I waited. He continued.
"When you live in the past,
with its mistakes and regrets,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not 'I was'.
When you live in the future,
with its problems and fears,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not 'I will be'.
When you live in this moment
it is not hard. I am here.
My name is 'I AM'.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord God, it’s so easy to put off until later things that really matter. And as a result our lives become a sad array of good intentions that were never translated into present reality. But thank you that your very being is PRESENCE – you come to us here and now in all your glory, and you invite us to take hold of you. Help us today, and each day, to be present to your presence in our lives. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Exodus 3:7-15
The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering…. The cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
And God said, "I will be with you…”
Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"
God said to Moses, "I am who I am .This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.
A CEO went on a business management course, and was deeply challenged about the amount of time wasted in his company through procrastination. Wanting to inspire his employees to make the most of every moment he had a whole lot of signs printed and put up throughout the company. The signs simply said, ‘Do it now!’
The message really got through, because the very next week his secretary asked for a raise, his accountant disappeared with millions he had embezzled, and the Board of Directors asked for his resignation!
This week we will be reflecting on the importance of taking hold of the present moment, and not delaying in turning our lives to God. Sadly, many people suffer from the condition of spiritual procrastination. They have the sense that there’s really nothing that urgent or pressing about the spiritual life, so long as they get around to it sooner or later.
But nothing could be further from the truth. Because the decision to put off what is truly important for sometime later, is usually the decision to put off what is truly important for ever. Richard Rohr says, ‘How you do it now, is how you do it.’ It’s the present moment that reveals our true nature. Our priorities RIGHT NOW, by and large, reflect our priorities – period!
So if we’re serious about living a new life, then there’s no better time than the present to begin. In fact, there’s no other time for it ever to begin.
On this the scriptures are clear. In 2 Corinthians 6:2 we read, “NOW is the time of God’s favour. TODAY is the day of salvation.” It is in this present moment that God can be encountered and known.
Here’s a poem by Helen Mallicoat that reflects on what it means that God’s name is ‘I AM’. (There may be some biblical scholars who would differ with some technical aspects of this interpretation of God’s being, but the underlying sentiment of the poem conveys a profound truth.)
I was regretting the past
and fearing the future.
Suddenly, my Lord was speaking.
"My name is I Am"
He paused. I waited. He continued.
"When you live in the past,
with its mistakes and regrets,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not 'I was'.
When you live in the future,
with its problems and fears,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not 'I will be'.
When you live in this moment
it is not hard. I am here.
My name is 'I AM'.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord God, it’s so easy to put off until later things that really matter. And as a result our lives become a sad array of good intentions that were never translated into present reality. But thank you that your very being is PRESENCE – you come to us here and now in all your glory, and you invite us to take hold of you. Help us today, and each day, to be present to your presence in our lives. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Exodus 3:7-15
The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering…. The cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
And God said, "I will be with you…”
Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"
God said to Moses, "I am who I am .This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.
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