Monday Reflection: 

Genesis is a book with as much information about Who God is and what He can do in the human life as any other in the entire Bible. But have you noticed that these are not perfect people? Far from it. Sometimes you’ll hear people who are bashing the Bible say that its a book of pious, well-meaning advice that is not relevant to or reflective of the real world today. When I hear people say that I know they’ve never read it because the people in the Bible (with one notable exception) are flawed and messed up. In fact, they’re sort of a representation of the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty. Genesis is a story about how over and over again the people of God “had a great fall”. 

Their marriages are filled with disasters. Their families are dysfunctional…  These are not the Waltons, friends. These people are badly messed up, aren’t they? They need Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura, Dr. Ruth, Dr. Spock, Dr. Seuss–they need somebody.

Some of you are starting to feel a lot better about your families right about now…

But what God does over and over in Genesis is something that all the king’s horses and all the king’s men could not do- He puts these broken humans lives back together again. The book of Genesis is a story about the relentless nature of God’s grace. These people don’t go looking for God- He comes to them. And even as they fail (sometimes over and over again) God’s grace never leaves them. It reminds me of something the apostle Paul said:

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.  Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

God is relentless in His love and grace. And if you’ve ever found yourself wondering if your life was too messed up or if you were too far gone for God to work with just look at the story of Joseph.

Joseph is born to Jacob’s favorite wife (that’s a strange statement in and of itself, right?), Rachel. She had a tough time conceiving and carrying a baby to birth so this one was special to Jacob. You would think that a man who had grown up in a dysfunctional family where parents had obvious favorites would know better than to do the same thing with his family but apparently not.

He gave Joseph a beautiful coat which made his brothers VERY jealous. To make things worse, Joseph had incredibly detailed dreams that he loved to share with his brothers. All of his dreams involved his brothers bowing down to him. Now, I know that a person can’t control what they dream- especially in this case where the dreams were sent to Joseph by God- but you can choose what you decide to tell your brothers about your dreams. The picture that is being painted here is that Joseph is becoming a selfish, spoiled, arrogant brat and there’s nothing to stop him from becoming a selfish, spoiled, arrogant man if something doesn’t change.

So one day Jacob sends Joseph to go check up on his brothers who are out watching Jacob’s flocks. He has already come back from one such outing with a “bad” report about his brothers. That word that the writer uses for “bad” almost always means a false report. In other words, Joseph made up a story to get his brothers in trouble. Now his father has sent him out again and this time his brothers decide to kill him.

Lucky for Joseph that his brother, Reuben talks them out of it.  They do grab Joseph and strip the coat off of him and throw him into a cistern (lucky for Joseph and the rest of the world that cistern was empty). It was Reuben’s intent to go back later and get Joseph out of the cistern and return him to his father. But while Reuben was gone, Judah (another one of Joseph’s brothers) talks his brothers into selling Joseph into slavery rather than killing him. When Reuben returns and finds Joseph gone he’s beside himself but there is nothing to be done at this point other than go along with the ruse.

They tear Joseph’s fancy coat up and kill a goat to soak the jacket in the blood. They take the coat back to Jacob and tell him they found it out in the wilderness. Jacob is devastated. Now, if you know the story of Jacob & Esau and how Jacob tricked his poor old dying dad with his mothers help using his brother’s coat and a killed goat then maybe you’re starting to see the irony here. Because now all these years later Jacob is being tricked by his own sons with their brother’s coat and killed goat. 

Meanwhile, Joseph is taken to Egypt where he is sold to a wealthy Egyptian. Joseph has the favor of God upon him (weird to say that with all of the bad things that have happened to him but that’s what the Bible says) and so everything he touched turned to gold. Potiphar (Joseph’s new master) noticed and put him in charge of his entire household. Joseph might have thought things were looking up until Mrs. Potiphar started making googly eyes at Joseph. She wanted Joseph to sleep with her but Joseph wouldn’t do it. He considered it to be a great sin against God. 

Now I want to stop here for a moment- does it blow anyone else away that at this point the spoiled, arrogant kid who only thought about himself is concerned not with getting caught by his master but is concerned with letting God down? Because it does me. Consider me blown away. I mean, what has God done for Joseph at this point? Joseph had everything going for him until his brothers tossed him in that pit. Joseph was crying out and asking for help but none came. Then he’s sold into slavery and ends up in Egypt. Maybe you could say things are looking up for him at this point except… you know… that he’s a slave. And now we learn that Joseph is concerned about his relationship with the Creator. Seems strange to me. We’ll continue Joseph’s story tomorrow but for today maybe spend some time thinking about what it takes to turn a spoiled brat into someone who cares about how people are treated.

Tuesday Reflection:

So we pick up where we left off yesterday- with Joseph’s boss’ wife trying to seduce him. He keeps telling her no but eventually Mrs. Potiphar wouldn’t be put off and she arranged to be alone with Joseph and she grabbed him and said, “sleep with me!” Joseph didn’t hang around to argue- he bolted. He ran from the temptation but in so doing he lost his coat. 

He. Lost. His. Coat.

Anyone remember what happened the last time he lost his coat. I’ll give you a hint- it wasn’t good. And it’s not going to be good this time either. Mrs. Potiphar doesn’t like being rejected so she tells her husband that Joseph tried to seduce her and when she screamed he left his coat when he ran. Potiphar was so mad he put Joseph in prison. Now the Bible does say that God was with Joseph in prison but how long do you think it would take the average Joe (do you see what I did there? Average “Joe”??? Sometimes I crack myself up although my wife says I’m the only one I crack up but I’m digressing so…) to turn away from God when their life was going the way Joseph’s is going? For most of us I’m thinking not this long. But Joseph seems to still be on board. He seems to be creating a closer and more engaged relationship with God than he’s ever experienced the worse things get.

So Joseph is in prison with a couple of guys. They both have dreams but neither one knows what their dreams mean. Joseph interprets their dreams (one is a really good dream and the other is not so good) and asks the guy whose dream was good to remember him when he is back in the palace working for the Pharaoh again. But it was two years before Joseph would be remembered. Finally the Pharaoh has a dream that nobody can interpret- the guy who had been in prison with Joseph remembers and tells Pharaoh about him and Joseph is brought into the palace to interpret the dream. He does and impresses Pharaoh so much that Joseph is put in a position of great power in Egypt- basically Joseph becomes the second most powerful person in Egypt overnight.

At this point Joseph’s faithfulness starts to make sense to the reader but this is not just a story- it was somebody’s life. A life where the person living it didn’t know how it ended while he was going through what he was going through. How would you handle everything that Joseph went through if it happened to you? I have to be honest and say I’m not sure how I’d have done. I would like to say I’d have stuck it out like Joseph but…

But that’s not the end of the story. Joseph (because of Pharaoh’s dream) knows a famine is coming. He starts stockpiling grain so that when the famine comes the Egyptians won’t starve to death. That’s a great thing but the reason this story is in the Bible is because of the promise God made to the serpent way back in the Garden of Eden when He told the snake that a descendant of the woman would come and while the snake would hurt this man when he struck His heal in the process the man would crush the serpent’s head. Joseph is part of the family that God is going to work through to send that man in the future. But that means that Joseph’s family (the ones who sold him into slavery) must survive the famine as well.

So one day Joseph is at work and a group of people from the north of Egypt come to buy food. Joseph recognizes his brothers but they don’t recognize him because of all the crazy makeup and bling the Egyptians wore in those days. We don’t have time to talk about all the shenanigans and hijinks that Joseph uses to eventually get his younger brother and then his father down to Egypt but suffice it to say, eventually it happened. 

But what about all the bad blood? What about what his brothers had done to him? He forgave them. He made this amazing statement at the end of the book of Genesis that kind of sums up the whole book:

You meant to hurt me, but God turned your evil into good. Genesis 50:20 (NLT)

And the story of God continues. Abraham’s family will survive the great famine that killed an awful lot of people in the world and they settle down in Egypt which is why when we talk about Moses next week the children of Israel will be living as slaves in Egypt rather than wandering around the promised land like you’d expect. We’ll get to that story next week but for today maybe spend some time thinking about how God worked in Joseph’s life and how He works in ours. Am I as patiently faithful as Joseph even when things seem to be out of control? Are you?

WednesdayReflection: 

There are many lessons we can learn from the story of Joseph’s life- one of them is that even if things look dark and we can’t see how anything good could ever happen to us again- God’s not finished with us yet. What may look to us like the end may be only an inconvenient set back in the grand scheme of our lives when all is said and done. God uses everything to work His plan for our lives and it’s pretty obvious that He’s not generally in a hurry- He is the very definition of patience:

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 2 Peter 3:9 (NLT)

What do you think was on Joseph’s mind as he sat at the bottom of that pit and cried out to God, to his brothers, to anyone who would listen to please save him? What do you think was on his mind as no rescue arrived? Sure, his brothers Reuben and Judah ensured that he didn’t get killed but still, he was sold into slavery and taken to Egypt. What do you think Joseph was thinking as all that transpired? He was in a remote place called Dothan and there was nobody to hear his cries (at least nobody that cared to save him). A few centuries later there was another cry for help from the same general spot. By then Dothan had become a town in Israel and the prophet of God, Elisha, and his servant were in the town when an entire army came to kill Elisha. Elisha prayed and God sent angels to rescue Elisha and his servant. And when Elisha prayed that God would strike the enemy soldiers blind, God did it just the way Elisha prayed He would.  I don’t know about you but when it comes to prayer… THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT! That’s what I like to have happen when I pray. God very obviously does exactly what I ask for exactly when I ask for it. In fact, just about every story I’ve heard about answered prayers in churches revolve around this kind of answered prayer.

So back to Joseph. Joseph cried out in the same place that Elisha did (a few centuries before Elisha was born but still…) and God did not come to his rescue in the same obvious way He did for Elisha. Why not? What was the difference? 

Well, I don’t know for certain but I can tell you this- I believe with all my heart that God was being as kind to Joseph by not giving him exactly what he cried out for as He would later be to Elisha in giving him what he asked for exactly in the way and timing he asked for it. Why? Think about it. What kind of person was Joseph at this point? Rude, arrogant, stuck up, selfish… did I say arrogant? Does that sound like the kind of person God uses? Not if He can help it. Joseph may have thought his life was over as he sat in that pit but for you and I who have read the story we know, God wasn’t finished with Joseph yet. Through some of the toughest times that Joseph would ever know God would soften and humble Joseph’s heart. He would turn him from a spoiled brat into a man about whom would be written one of the greatest stories of redemption and forgiveness the world has ever heard. But none of that would have happened if God rescued Joseph from that pit in the way Joseph wanted Him to. The prophet Isaiah puts it this way:

But God’s not finished. He’s waiting around to be gracious to you. He’s gathering strength to show mercy to you. God takes the time to do everything right—everything. Those who wait around for him are the lucky ones. Isaiah 30:18 (MES)

And that’s what Joseph did. He waited on God’s timing. I know, he really didn’t have a choice on whether to wait or not but he did have a choice on what he would focus on and who he would become during the waiting. Because while there is no substitute for time passing when it comes to God’s plan at work in our lives, time alone doesn’t turn us into great men/women of God. Time plus focusing on God’s character and working to incorporate that character into our own hearts though will work miracles in our lives and the world we live in.

So how are you doing with this whole patience thing? Do you struggle with believing that God’s not finished with you yet and believing that He could ever do anything miraculous with your life after what’s happened/where you’ve been/what you’ve done/what’s been done to you? Are you struggling with questions about why God didn’t do what you asked Him to do? Yeah, me too. There’s a lot I don’t know but one thing that I do believe with all my heart- no matter what’s happened in your (and my) past, God’s not finished with you (and me) yet. 

Thursday Reflection: 

Another lesson from the life of Joseph is this one- God uses every experience we have (our own choices, the impact of other people’s choices on our lives and traumatic/good events that just sort of happen to us) to bring about the good He has planned for us and the world. That’s exactly what Joseph comes to believe. I can’t imagine what ran through his mind when he sees his brothers standing before him in Egypt. He could have had them killed. Did the thought run through his mind? Maybe, but I know it ran through their minds. Why didn’t he kill them? Well, partly because that wasn’t God’s plan for the promise that He made to the serpent to come true so there’s that. But Joseph had also grown from the time he had been betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery. He had become more like this God who loves and forgives and pursues. Joseph did put his brothers through some pretty crazy tests. Why? Maybe to see if they had changed like he had. 

We’ll never know for sure but he gave them every chance to prove themselves unchanged but every time they showed him they had changed. In fact, when he gave them the opportunity to betray his little brother Benjamin (the one who had taken Joseph’s place as the new favorite of Jacob) the brother’s showed that they didn’t care to put their father through the loss of his favored son again. One of the brothers even volunteered to die instead of Benjamin if that would appease the second most powerful man in Egypt. And interestingly enough… the brother that offers to take Bens place is Judah.  Do you know there’s a pretty famous descendant of Judah that will be born a few thousand years after this that will teach the world a little something about taking someone else’s place (yours and mine) to pay for their sins.  His name is Jesus.  Just an interesting side note there.

And when finally his brothers- knowing who he was at this point- thought Joseph was going to kill them for their treachery against him he said:

You meant to hurt me, but God turned your evil into good to save the lives of many people, which is being done. Genesis 50:20 (NCV)

Does that blow you away? Not just the forgiveness but the certainty that God’s hand was in all of it? Even the horrific things that had happened to Joseph, he considered them all to be part of the final arrangement. How does that work? Does that mean God caused his brothers to be so filled with hate and jealousy that they would want to kill him but settle for selling him into slavery? No. God doesn’t cause anyone to do evil but there is a sense in which He is able to work through the evil that we (and the devil) do to bring about His purposes:

The LORD works out everything for his own ends- even the wicked. Proverbs 16:4 (NIV)

Can you imagine how mad that must make the devil? He convinces Joseph’s brothers to do something horribly evil and God uses it to do something great. You see it over and over again in the Bible. It’s what’s at the heart of the crucifixion- the devil must have thought that was his greatest victory and God uses it to do the greatest good that this universe has ever seen.

And that’s a great example of what today’s thought is all about- even when things look the darkest God isn’t finished yet. Not with Jesus’ life, not with Joseph’s and not with yours. I know things can look awfully bleak sometimes but the message of the story of Joseph is this- just look at what God can do in the life of someone who is cooperating with developing His character as they stumble through the darkest days of their lives. He does it over and over again. I’ve seen it at work in my own life. I’ve seen it at work in many of your lives. And not matter how dark things may seem for you right now- He’s not finished with you yet. He will take the evil that has occurred in your life (from your own decisions, the choices of others and even the evil that the devil has unleashed into your life) and make something good come out of it. It’s His specialty:

We know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans.  Romans 8:28 (TLB)

Friday Reflection:

The last concept we are going to examine for this week in the life of Joseph is the concept of trust. What I see as I look at Joseph’s life is that over time he leaves behind his arrogance and selfishness and starts looking to God for how he should behave. He learns to trust God, even as a slave and prisoner. He begins to trust God in whatever circumstance he finds himself in. In other words, his trust was not dependent on things going the way he thought they should go. And while he was going through the very darkest days of his life he worked on not only trusting God but also on becoming like Him which it turns out is a pretty powerful combination:

Dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense… And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. Colossians 3:12-14 (MES)

Every day when Jacob woke up he didn’t just put on his literal clothing- he dressed himself emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. Rather than hatred he chose compassion. Rather than being mean he chose to be kind. Rather than arrogance he chose humility. He learned to forgive and he learned what love was really all about. 

But how did he do that? I don’t mean what was the actual process of dressing himself spiritually every day. I mean, how did he manage to put himself in a position where God could transform him into someone useful and beautiful while going through the darkest days of his life? I don’t know about you but when things are at their worst, I have a hard time wanting to be loving and forgiving and compassionate. So how did Joseph do it?

He had his Father’s coat. No… I know he lost his fancy shmancy coat that Jacob had given to him when his brothers attacked him. I’m not talking about that coat- I’m talking about the coat given to him by his Father in heaven. Let’s talk about that for a minute, shall we? What did the coat Jacob gave to Joseph represent to Joseph? It represented Joseph’s knowledge that he was unconditionally loved, adored, cherished and provided for. That original fancy coat could be taken from Joseph but the metaphorical coat that his Father in heaven gave to him could not. And because he knew where he stood with the Father, Joseph could endure anything that this world and the people who lived in it with him could throw at him. It allowed him to not only endure the hardships he went through but to be transformed even as he was going through them. Joseph had the unshakeable belief that even when his prayers weren’t answered in the way he thought they should that God was still acting in kindness and mercy to Joseph. And really, he was right. If God hadn’t allowed Joseph to go through the things he went through then the famine would have killed Joseph more than likely. And not only Joseph- it would have killed all of Jacob’s family effectively short circuiting God’s plan to send a man who would crush the head of the serpent. In the end Joseph realized that God’s kindness doesn’t always feel good but it didn’t diminish his belief that God was being kind to him. 

So now let me ask you a question- how do you endure the darkest and toughest times of your life? How do you not just endure them but thrive in the midst of them and find yourself being transformed even as you suffer?  Do you, like Joseph, believe that even when things are at their worst that God is still working to do the kindest, most loving thing for you those you love? It’s a tough thing to accomplish but it’s one of the most powerful things you will ever work on in your life. And it doesn’t just happen because you work really hard to convince yourself that God’s kindness is always at work even when you can’t see it. This isn’t just about clothing yourself with all the virtues that we saw in Colossians chapter 3. This is primarily about what God clothes you with- it’s about Him putting Joseph’s coat on your back giving you the assurance of His unconditional love and mercy and kindness. Paul puts it like this in Galatians:

For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Galatians 3:27 (NIV)

What does it mean to you that you’ve been “clothed with Christ”? I think Joseph could tell you what it meant to him even thousands of years before Jesus would come to this earth and go through an eerily similar story to what Joseph experienced: Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sold for a few pieces of silver- Jesus was betrayed by His disciple and sold for a few pieces of silver. Joseph had his father’s coat ripped from Him- Jesus had his coat ripped off of His back.  Joseph cried out from the bottom of the pit and nobody answered his cries. Jesus cried out from the cross and not only did nobody answer- Heaven turned away. Because of what he went through and how he went through it Joseph rose to a place where he could save the very ones who had betrayed him- Because of what He went through and how He endured it Jesus rose to a place where He could save the very ones who had betrayed and abandoned Him.

But there are a couple of very important differences between Joseph & Jesus. Joseph had no choice in his slavery/imprisonment. Jesus chose to go through what He went through. And while Joseph’s coat was ripped from his back and Jesus’ coat was also taken from Him just before He was crucified there’s another aspect of this story that we need to understand if we’re going to realize just how far Jesus went for us. Because Jesus’ literal coat that was taken from Him and gambled over by the Roman soldiers was the least of Jesus’ concerns. What really undid Jesus was when He allowed His spiritual coat to be taken from Him. The one that reminded Him that He was beloved by His Father. The coat that we get glimpses of in the story of His baptism when the heavens parted and God said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

We also get a glimpse of it not long before His crucifixion on the mount of transfiguration when God said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” But on that cross Jesus voluntarily took that “coat” off and spent what must have felt like an eternity without that assurance and confidence that His Father loved Him more than anything. He lost that assurance that everything was going to be ok even if He knew it intellectually. He did that for you. He did that for me. So that we would never have to spend a day without access to our Father’s coat. We may not always feel it but when we are struggling with our feelings the Bible urges us over and over to look to that moment when Jesus gave up his assurance so we would never have to:

Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed… When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! Hebrews 12:2-3 (MES)

How do I endure the toughest and darkest days of my life? By putting on Joseph’s coat. 

Monday: 

Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character”.  1 Corinthians 15:33 (NLT)

Mark out a straight path for your feet.  Then those who follow you, though they are weak… will not stumble and fall but will become strong.  Hebrews 12:13 (NLT)  

Reflection: 

Have you ever given much thought to the concept of influence?  There are lots of ways to influence people.  The church and Christians have tried most of them throughout the years.  Guilt, manipulation, coercion, begging, pleading, yelling, nagging… the list goes on and on.

But do any of those ways of influencing people really work?  Sure, they might provide short term results but over time these forms of influence don’t really change people’s hearts… just their behavior while the influencer is watching carefully over their shoulder.

So what kind of influence lasts?  This week we’ll be talking about modeling.  A way of influencing people without forcing or coercing.  It’s my favorite kind of influence… first off because it takes most of the pressure off of me (which I really appreciate) but also because it’s the only kind of influence that truly changes people’s hearts.  It’s powerful stuff… even though many of us would never admit it.  But you are influencing the people in your life through modeling and being influenced by the people in your life through modeling whether you know it or not.  

Remember how your parents always wanted you to hang out with good kids?  Stay away from the bad apples.  One bad apple spoils the bunch, right?  Did you believe them?  Turns out they were right.  Shocking, huh?  At least they could have been right.  Modeling doesn’t always work.  There are a lot of factors that determine who in a group will be influenced by whose modeling.  We’ve all seen troubled people influenced for good by the modeling of another person (think Alcoholics Anonymous here).  We’ve also seen as people have been influenced for bad by the modeling of another person.  So what’s the determining factor here?

We don’t really have time to get into that today (sorry… what a let down, huh?).  But one thing I know… the more you understand how modeling and influence works the less you will be influenced by outside forces to become something you don’t want to become and the more you will be force for influencing people to make better choices in their lives.  

So for today, just think about the scripture for today and how you’ve seen it play out in your own life.  And ask God to open your eyes to how you’re being influenced… and how you’re influencing others.

Prayer: 

Father, open my eyes to the influences in my life.  Show me how I’m being influenced and show me how I’m influencing others.   In Jesus Name I pray,  amen.

Tuesday:  

You will be my witnesses- in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world.  Acts 1:8 (NCV)

Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have, but answer in a gentle way and with respect.  1 Peter 3:15-16 (NCV)  

Reflection:  

Have you ever heard the word, “evangelism”.  Maybe not if you didn’t grow up in church.  But for those of us who have spent time in traditional churches this word can make us sick to our stomachs and bring sweat to our foreheads faster than just about anything else.  

Evangelism is the act of sharing the good news.  It is the act of bringing someone to Jesus.  Some people have the gift of evangelism.  Everywhere they go people are brought to Jesus.  Their lives seem miraculous.  The only problem with that is that when we talk about evangelism in church generally the only stories we hear are from these gifted evangelists.  Then we’re told to go out and do the same thing.

I am not gifted with evangelism… at least not in the way I was taught about it.  I was taught that evangelism is knocking on strangers doors and in 5 minutes converting them to Christianity.  Evangelism was striking up “spiritual” conversations with strangers on a bus or at a shopping mall or at a park and in 5 minutes convincing them to change their ways and join our church.  I was lousy at it.  It made me sick to do it but I felt guilty if I didn’t do it.  

Then I came to this church.  Lee Fiske was the Pastor when I started attending here and he taught something called, “lighthouse evangelism”.  The idea was that I just live my life the way I think Jesus wants me to live it.  In Matthew 5 Jesus says this:

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.  Matthew 5:14-16

When we live our lives the way we’re supposed to people notice.  Then they are drawn to us (not everyone… some people will be drawn to you… others will be drawn to other lighthouses but the concept is that they are drawn to us… not attacked by us) and when that happens then miracles can happen.  

Jesus told us we would be witnesses for Him.  Not judges… not juries and certainly not executioners.  We are to be “witnesses”.   Witnesses answer questions.  We don’t make the case… we don’t judge the case… we just answer questions.  The second verse that we read today tells us how to answer… with gentleness and respect.  Somehow over the last 2,000 we’ve lost the gentleness and respect factor.  We’ve gained a whole new  way of doing things.  With guilt and fear and coercion.  These forms of influence aren’t lasting.  And they are incredibly damaging.  

I was with a couple one time and he had grown up in church… she hadn’t.  She started coming to Riverside because a friend was coming here and she could see the change in her friend so she decided to give it a try.  Guess what happened?  Her life was changed.  Her husband who had given up on church because of the forms of influence he had been subjected to started to see how her life changed.  He started coming to.  But then a funny thing happened.  His early training in how things are supposed to be at church kicked in.  She didn’t fit into any of those ideas that had been burned into his mind.  They came to see me because the tension between them over whether she was ok was killing their marriage.

He thought she needed to have all the verses memorized and be able to articulately explain her faith or she wasn’t really a Christian.  I turned to her and asked her what she thought.  Here’s what she said:

I don’t know all the verses and I don’t know how to preach to people.  But I am an alcoholic and I’m a selfish person but Jesus is helping me with all of that.  I don’t know much but I know this… taking the Bible stuff that I learn here and applying it to my life makes me a better person.

I looked at him and shrugged.  “That’s pretty good, isn’t it?”  He admitted it was pretty good and they worked all of that junk out and are doing really well on the east coast right now.  I still get to follow her on Facebook and Jesus is still making a difference in her life.  All because a friend of hers was a lighthouse for her and then she was a lighthouse for her husband.  What a miracle modeling and lighthouse evangelism is.

So for today… think about what kind of light you are putting out to the people you encounter every day.  Is your life drawing people to God.  And if people ask will you be ready to tell them about the hope you have?  That’s a pretty important part of this.  You don’t have to be Billy Graham to share your hope… you just have to tell what Jesus has meant in your life… after all… you’re the expert on what Jesus has meant in your life.  

Prayer: 

Father, thank You for the lighthouses in my life that have drawn me closer to You.  Show me what kind of light I’m putting out there for people to see.  Help me to develop an answer to give to people when/if they ask me about the hope I’ve found in Your Son.  In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Wednesday:  

We’re not in charge of how you live out the faith, looking over your shoulders, suspiciously critical. We’re partners, working alongside you, joyfully expectant.  I know that you stand by your own faith, not by ours.  2 Corinthians 1:24 (MES)

 Reflection:  

Pastor Ed… how come you use video clips in your lessons to make points and go to see plays like “The Book Of Mormon” when you’re a Christian? How do you justify doing that?

I get questions like that all the time.  We have this sense that good Christians are supposed to ignore most of the media of our culture.  If we watch something “bad” we might be tempted to make bad choices and we may encourage other Christians to watch these things who might be tempted to make bad choices in their own lives.

So how can you justify watching the movies/tv shows/plays that you watch?

I am not going to defend the American media.  Our world is filled with illustrations of people either ignoring God’s plan for their lives or blatantly defying it.  Movies can be so irreverent and critical of God and/or Christians.  The reason I immerse myself in these media types is because the philosophy of our age is represented, for the most part in movies, tv shows, plays and music.  I think it’s important to know what the popular culture is saying about God and His church if I’m going to be able to combat their subtle (and I think for the most part it is very subtle even though many would disagree with me) arguments against religion in general and Jesus in particular.

Every day people in our country are being barraged with the message that followers of Jesus are ignorant, mean, superstitious, mean, stubborn, mean… I think you get the picture.  Most of the time the way they are being influenced with this message is not through coercion or outright teaching.  Most of America is being convinced of the irrelevance of the church and by extension Jesus through a very subtle form of influence… modeling.

Modeling doesn’t trumpet to everyone… you HAVE to be like me!   You HAVE to do what I tell you.  You HAVE to toe the line and get with my program.  Instead modeling is a very subtle way of influencing people where we are constantly barraged with examples of how ridiculous Christianity (and Christians) are.  Over time this message does what outright preaching and teaching could never do… create a generation of people who never even consider what Jesus could do for their lives because everyone knows that road is wrong, uncool, and will turn me into one of “those people”.

I’ll give you a great example.  The broadway play that is the toughest ticket in New York to get right now is called, The Book Of Mormon.  It was written by the guys who do Southpark.  It’s the story of a couple of Mormon elders who are sent to Uganda to evangelize the people there. Through the writing and the songs one idea is constantly trumpeted without Matt Stone or Trey Parker ever having to actually say it out loud:  these guys are crazy!  This religion is crazy!  Anyone who believes in God or Jesus or the teachings of the Mormon church (which by the way includes traditional Christians… even though many Christians might revel in the ridicule heaped on the Mormons the audience is going to make the same conclusions about traditional Christians too) is crazy!

Throughout the play the villagers ask questions that the Mormon missionaries parrot back prepared answers that work sometimes for people in America but when said in the context of these Ugandan’s world everyone can understand how ridiculous these answers are.  One song that encourages people to curse God for the evil in the world has the Ugandans talking about what’s going wrong in their lives (80% of their village dying of aids, female mutilation, famine, drought, death, death, death) and when the missionaries are encouraged to talk about what’s going wrong in their lives they talk about their luggage getting stolen, the plane ride to Uganda taking a long time, and there being no air conditioning in their hut.  But the missionaries urge the Ugandans to trust God and His plan… because the missionaries say, “it always works out ok for us”.

Another song has the tag line, “a Mormon just believes” no matter how crazy some of the stuff they (and other Christians as well) ask people to believe.

All of this is done with the wit and talent of Matt Stone and Trey Parker. I think I laughed more than I cringed as I watched this show (and I cringed A LOT). As I left I heard people in the audience parroting what the actors said in the show.  They believed it wholeheartedly.  They had bought in.

If you don’t think modeling is a form of influence that is incredibly powerful then I don’t think you’re paying attention.  Hollywood is using modeling to shape the minds and thoughts of America. I think we had better understand this and do a little modeling of our own.  But in order to do that we need to understand the unspoken arguments Hollywood is using to influence us.

In Acts 17 the Apostle Paul is in Athens… in his sermon to the Athenians he quotes pagan philosophers.  Why? I think it’s because that’s a powerful way for Paul to get them to consider what he was about to tell them. Something they had never considered.  Something that could (and would for many of them) change their lives.

When I use a movie or tv show to make a point during my lessons at Riverside it’s not because it’s funny (well… it’s not ONLY because it’s funny ;0).  It’s because I am trying to do in my own way what Paul was doing in Acts 17.  I am quoting the philosophers of modern day popular culture (and if you don’t think what Hollywood is putting out is a philosophy then I think you need to take another look… it isn’t Aristotle or Plato but in many ways it’s just as powerful than their philosophies were in shaping our world).  I am using something most of the audience already buys into without even thinking about it and then inviting them to consider something (or more specifically someONE) else.  It’s modeling.  If you’ve been to Riverside you know I don’t yell and scream and pound the pulpit and tell people what to do and what not to do.  Have you ever wondered why?

I’m just not that impressive.

If I tried to force my opinion on you and told you to do this and stop doing that who would listen?  The number one response would be, “who are you?”  There are people who are that impressive and when they talk people respond…  but that’s them, not me.  I’m not one of them.

So I go with the only form of influence that my unique gifts, skills and abilities lend themselves to… modeling.

And what I’ve discovered over the last 14 years is, it works.  It’s miraculous.  It doesn’t work for everyone… there are people out there that want someone to tell them what to do/say/think/believe.  There are plenty of churches out there that will do that for you.  But not Riverside.  Here we say, consider Jesus.  Here’s what the Bible says about Him (it’s probably a different story than you thought it was), here’s why we think you shouldn’t just fall hook, line and sinker for the philosophies of our modern popular culture about God, Jesus & His church, let us show you what this guy can do in your life if you’ll let Him.  And you don’t have to become “one of them” to become His follower. Look at us… we’re just regular guys/girls. Regular guys/girls who have given the claims of Jesus a try and found that these claims change things.

And so at Riverside we don’t say to completely withdraw from American culture.  But don’t fit into it without even thinking about it either.  Watching The Book Of Mormon made me rethink again what I believe and why I believe it.  I laughed, I cringed, I often had to admit to the stereotype that they opened my eyes to.  And in the end I was stronger for it.  That’s why I watch the movies/tv shows/plays that I do.

Prayer: 

Father, open my eyes to the stereotypes I’m perpetuating about Jesus, the church and the Bible in my own life without even realizing it.  Show me how to be the kind of person that busts those myths with my life so the people who have bought into that stereotype might reconsider the claims of Your Son.  In Jesus’ Name, amen. 

Thursday:  

Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet.  I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do…  If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life.  John 13:12-17 (MES)  

Reflection: 

Do you want to know why I choose modeling over all other forms of influence?  One of the big reasons is, it’s the form of influence Jesus used.  

Sure… Jesus taught with His words as well.  His words WERE the words of God.  But he never followed up His words with force or coercion.  He simply said, follow Me.

Once there was a rich, young ruler who came to Jesus and asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus rattled off several of the 10 commandments which the young man claimed to have followed flawlessly.  But there was one of the 10 commandments that this young man had a problem with.  One of the 10 commandments that was getting in the way of this young man becoming all God had created him to become.  So Jesus told the kid to go sell all he had and give it to the poor and then come and follow Him.  The Bible says the young man left sad… for he was very rich.

Now I don’t tell that story to say money is always the problem in a person’s heart.  It was for that young man… he had made it a god in his life and worshiping anything other than God will always keep you from becoming all that God created you to become.  But the real reason I tell that story today is because when that young man walked away from Jesus, Jesus didn’t try to bargain with him or guilt him into staying or force him or manipulate him.  Jesus told him how it was and when the kid made it clear he wasn’t willing to do what Jesus asked then Jesus let him go.  That’s modeling.

The number one argument Jesus’ followers had was over who was the most important.  He caught them several times and always told them… that’s not the point of life.  The point of life is serving.  And if you follow Me then you’ll learn that My kingdom is upside down.  The first are last and the last are first.  The greatest becomes the servant of all and the servant of all becomes the greatest.  But He didn’t just say it, He modeled it over and over again with His whole life.  And when they got off track He’d just continue modeling servanthood for them.  

In fact, on the last day of His life Jesus modeled it again by washing their feet.  When He was done He said this:

Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet.  I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do…  If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life. John 13:12-17 (MES) 

That’s modeling.  And over time the disciples finally got it.  They finally understood.  And so they would teach the words of Jesus and then model His behavior in their own flawed way and together they changed the world.  That’s what modeling does… it changes the world.  So for today think about how you’re doing at following the pattern Jesus has laid down for you.  Nobody expects you to be perfect at this… not even Jesus… but are you trying or have you given up?

Prayer: 

Father, open my eyes to the pattern I’m following in my life.  What model am I living by?  Show me how to become more like You.  In Jesus Name, amen.

Friday:  

Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus.  John 1:41-42 (NLT)

Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”  John 6:8-9 (NLT)

Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They said, “Sir, we want to meet Jesus.”  Philip told Andrew. Then the two of them went to Jesus and told him.  John 12:21-22 (NLT)

Reflection: 

There are lots of different models we could choose to follow when it comes to Riverside.  We could model ourselves after the pattern of the Apostle Paul… or Peter… or John (we do model a great deal of Riverside on the Apostle John but that will be better to address next week when we talk about love).  At Riverside we’ve chosen (and the key word is chosen… it really is a conscious choice) to pattern the way we do things after a little known Apostle… Andrew.

Andrew doesn’t get noticed much.  He only has 3 stories that he plays a part in but the fascinating thing is, he’s always doing the same thing in all 3 stories.  He’s modeling.  He’s drawing people to Jesus.

The first time we see Andrew is right after he’s decided to become a follower of Jesus.  The first thing he does is go get his brother (who will be more visible than Andrew), Peter.  He doesn’t preach Peter a sermon… all he does is bring Peter to Jesus.  I can imagine the conversation when Andrew introduces Peter to Jesus:

This is Peter… my brother.  He’s a little bit of a hothead and he doesn’t think before he talks… I know he will be a big project for you, Jesus, but nobody has a heart like him.  I think if You rubbed off on him a little it might just change his life.

Ok… I don’t know that that’s how the introduction went but I do know Andrew brought Peter to Jesus.  For the last 2,000 years this is how it’s worked.  People bringing brothers, sisters, friends, coworkers, neighbors & complete strangers sometimes to Jesus.   And it all started with this guy named Andrew.

The next time we see Andrew it’s in the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 (5,000 men… which means when you include women and children it was probably more like 15,000).  Jesus had been teaching and Phillip comes and tells Jesus that He should send the people home since it was getting late and they were getting hungry.  Jesus tells Phillip that they should feed the people.  Phillip is blown away… not a chance… it would take WAY more than we could scrape together (ok… I’m paraphrasing a little… but that’s the gist of it).

While Phillip is having this conversation with Jesus about what’s impossible Andrew (the guy who rarely gets noticed) is noticing someone that nobody else has noticed.  A little boy with a few fish and a couple of loaves of bread.  Phillip brings the kid and his little lunch to Jesus.  I think it’s fascinating that Andrew tells Jesus what the kid has but also says that he has no idea how that can help.  It’s as though Andrew has no clue what to do but does know that if he can just get this kid together with Jesus then Jesus will know what to do.  And so Andrew introduces the kid to Jesus and the rest is history.  I imagine when the kid got home and told the story of what had happened Andrew’s name never came up.  But without Andrew… the kid would have never had the experience with Jesus that he had.

And the last time we read about Andrew it’s just before the last supper.  Some gentiles have come and they tell Phillip they want to meet Jesus.  In that day who a rabbi associated with was a big deal and introducing Jesus to some gentiles was risky so do you know what Phillip does?  He goes and gets Andrew.  Why?  I’m not sure.  Maybe he knew that Andrew’s specialty was putting unlikely people together with Jesus.  So Andrew takes these guys to meet Jesus.  Why?  Because that’s what Andrew does.  He’s never sure what will happen… he just knows that if he can get someone together with Jesus then Jesus will take over and Jesus ALWAYS knows what to do with people.

And that’s the premise I’ve built my ministry and life upon.  You don’t have to know me very long to realize that there’s a lot of stuff I’m not very good at.  And there’s a lot of stuff I have no idea about.  But what I know is that if I can get people to step in here and if I can get them to see Jesus for who He really is, then Jesus will take care of the rest.  And really that’s all we’re doing here at Riverside.  We figure if we can get someone to walk through those doors who wouldn’t ordinarily walk into a church (by being different) then all we have to do is put them together with Jesus and miracles can happen.  It doesn’t take long to realize we don’t have all the answers.  But neither did Andrew.

That’s his story. We only see him three times, but every time Andrew is saying to somebody,  “Come on, I will take you to Jesus.” Jesus has one mission, and at the very beginning He says to His disciples, “Come, and follow Me, and I will send you out to fish for people. You thought your job was to fish for fish, or to collect taxes, or to teach school, or to work on an assembly line, or to clerk at a store, or to run a business, but I’ll give you a bigger job. I want you to go out there and find people who are confused, lost, hurt, lonely, angry, and you can bring them to Me.” Andrew gets it and that changes the world.  So how about you… do you get it?  What would it look like for you to bring people to Jesus?

Prayer: 

Father, I don’t know what I have that I can give that You would want.  But whatever I have I give to You.  Show me what it would look like in my life to bring people to You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Monday:

May God pass on to you and your descendants the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.” So… Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. Genesis 28:4 (NLT)

Reflection: 

This week we’re looking at the second story that shapes the life of Jacob- his dream. This story is often called Jacob’s Ladder but that’s a terrible translation of this word (sorry King James) that is actually referring to a giant staircase. Somehow Jacob’s Staircase just doesn’t roll off the tongue, does it? But that’s what it is. In fact that reminds me of a very interesting story (at least it’s interesting to me). I have had lots of friends in my past who claimed the King James Bible is the only one that anyone should read. “It’s the authorized version after all” they spout. What does that mean? Just that King James “authorized” this translation of the Bible into English. Before that you could get burned at the stake for translating the Bible into any common tongue.

King James sounds like a great guy, doesn’t he? But here’s where things get interesting. James wanted his name to be in the Bible but there wasn’t a James in the Bible. Not in the New Testament or in the Old Testament. “But wait a durned tootin’ minute!” you say.  One of Jesus’ disciples was named James (two actually) and His brother was named James and that brother wrote a book in the New Testament that is called James. Yes that’s true. Now. But it wasn’t before the King James Bible was printed. 

Since the king wanted his name in the Bible the scholars decided to change the name Jacob to James for any New Testament Jacobs. At first they were going to change the Jacob of Genesis into James as well but the king put the kibosh on that. Why? He didn’t like Jacob of the Old Testament one bit and didn’t want his name associated with that scoundrel. So only the Jacobs of the New Testament got the name change. I’ll never forget how confusing it was in first year Ancient New Testament Greek class when we were given the assignment of reading the passage of scripture where Jesus calls His disciples. We started feeling pretty confident because for the most part if you sounded out the names it was obvious which disciple was which. The name Peter written in Greek sounds like Petroi. Matthew sounds like Matthoi. Bartholomew sounds like Bartolomoi. Then we got to someone whose named sounds like Ee-yak-o-boi. I remember looking up at my professor with a blank look on my face. That doesn’t sound like any of the disciples. “James” my professor said and I shrugged and we went on. It wasn’t until much later that I learned why James doesn’t sound anything like “James” and why it sounds suspiciously like Jacob. 

Was I right? Was that interesting? Oh well, can’t win them all. But I wanted to tell you that story to point out that even King James didn’t like Jacob. This story we’re going to talk about this week is mainly about heaven and how to get there- kind of. It’s a kind of a surprise story that plays out in 3 acts. In all 3 acts heaven is mentioned and in all 3 acts we see Jacob’s (and maybe ours too) faulty ideas about heaven and how one ascends to heaven. 

So here’s the setup for the story- Jacob has just finished cheating his poor, blind, dying father into thinking that he is in fact Isaac’s oldest son, Esau. So Isaac gives Jacob the blessing he had intended to give to Esau even though God had promised Jacob the blessing of Abraham. But Jacob wasn’t taking any chances. Now he has what he thinks he wanted but all of his relationships are destroyed and he will never see the only person who cares about him again. He is running for his life and while sleeping one night he has this dream that (should have) changed his life (but it didn’t- at least not for a long time yet) and that brings us to act one which we’ll look at tomorrow. But maybe for today spend some time thinking about why God would make such an unlikable character one of the central players in the BIG story of the Bible- the reason might surprise you.

Tuesday Reflection:  Act 1:

So as Moses paints the picture of what Jacob is experiencing he does it masterfully. I guess it’s even more noticeable and impressive in Hebrew but you can even see it in English. I heard once- but I’m not sure it’s true- that the most often used opening words in English books are, it was a dark and stormy night. Seems to me it would be once-upon-a-time but what do I know? But those words, it was a dark and stormy night paint a picture for the reader, don’t they?

Moses is doing something similar here and using colorful and symbolic language to lead the reader into a certain mindset:

Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. Genesis 28:10-11 (NIV)

What’s Moses trying to get us to feel? First that Jacob is in the middle of nowhere. The place doesn’t even have a name- yet. He just calls it a “certain place” because there was no other way to describe it. So Jacob is all alone. Moses also makes sure to point out that Jacob lays his head on a stone. Why? Well, why would you use a stone as a pillow? You wouldn’t, would you? Unless you had nothing else to use as a pillow. If you had ANYTHING else to use you’d use it, right? Moses is telling us not only is Jacob alone- he’s got nothing. And finally the sun has gone down. It’s a literary device- not only is it physically dark but heaven is dark to Jacob. Heaven is closed off to Jacob. And if you’ve ever tried to go to Chick Fil A on a Sunday you know how he feels. I’ve tried and I’ve been severely disappointed that I had to go to In-N-Out instead. 

But there’s one big difference between me and you attempting to go to Chick Fil A only to find they’re closed because it’s a Sunday. The difference is- you and I went to Chick Fil A seeking Chick Fil A. Jacob isn’t seeking heaven (or God) as far as we can tell. He doesn’t pray. He doesn’t cry out to God. Jacob has spent his life believing he’s all he’s got to make sure he gets what he deserves and nothing’s changed in his mind. 

He’s alone, he’s got nothing which is interesting because all the larceny and deceit with tricking his blind dying dad was about getting the lion’s share of the wealth that belonged to the first born- and he doesn’t even have that. He has to be wondering what’s wrong with God. Heaven seems to be dark and silent. 

Ever felt like that? Like your life is falling apart and heaven seems to be dark and silent? Yeah, me too. So has every human that has ever lived. Look at something King David once wrote:

Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not desert us forever. Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression? Psalm 44:23-24 (NLT)

I think most of us have felt that way multiple times in our lives. Heck, multiple times in the last year. We cry out and don’t seem to hear anything and so we assume Heaven is dark and silent. But in this story Jacob learns something about heaven (and this leads to our second act)…

Wednesday Reflection:

The second act of Jacob’s dream story shows that Jacob was wrong- Heaven isn’t closed off- not even to him. It seemed to be dark and silent but then Jacob has his dream:

And he dreamed: A stairway was set on the ground with its top reaching heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down on it. Yahweh was standing there beside him. Genesis 28:12-13 (CSB)

So Jacob sees three things- a stairway that goes from the earth up to heaven. He sees angels ascending and descending on this stairway and then he sees God come down and stand next to him, watching him sleep.

This is a position of intimacy and care- like a parent watching over their child sleep. And sometimes that’s the only time a child looks innocent and sweet. I’m sure that was true with Jacob.

I grew up in church and so I heard all the stories of Jacob and Esau and I thought that was pretty mean but the story was always told to me with the slant that Jacob was doing what God wanted him to do. Maybe. But are you going to teach your kids that lesson from this story? It’s ok to cheat your parents as long as it leads to you getting the blessing God intends for you to get. Not me.

Moses who wrote this story intends for us to be disgusted by Jacob- at least at first. Read the story again without the rose colored glasses we get from Sunday school stories and tell me you don’t feel dirty after reading how he cheated and tricked his father who was dying and blind. This was an ancient culture that valued honoring your father above just about everything else. We’re supposed to read that story and feel sick and disgusted with Jacob. That’s how Moses wants you to feel about Jacob. But now we get here and God is standing over Jacob like a dearly loved child? What’s up with that? But you ain’t seen nothing yet:

Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land.” Genesis 28:15 (NLT)

God himself makes Jacob the promise that he made to Abraham and Isaac and this is huge. Jacob hasn’t met God yet. Abraham met him many times. Sarah met God. Even Isaac met God. But not Jacob. Not yet. Now Jacob gets his chance to meet Yahweh and we’re all rooting for Jacob to finally get Who God is and who God wants Jacob to be becoming. Will he? We’ll see.

But first let’s notice the activity on the staircase. Angels are ascending and descending this staircase. What’s the point? The point is, Heaven is NOT closed for business. Heaven is hard at work.  Angels are the messengers of God. That’s what the word “angel” means- messenger. And Jacob sees them going back and forth from Heaven to earth and then back again. What’s happening. The messengers are going out from the throne room of God to work on God’s behalf in the world and then reporting back to get further orders. 

Heaven is a beehive of activity working on behalf of earth. It seems to Jacob like heaven is dark and silent and closed like Chick Fil A on a Sunday but it’s not. Heaven is busy at work. Jacob just couldn’t see it.

The same thing happens to us. There may be times in our lives where we wonder why heaven is dark and silent and closed but the testimony of the Bible is, don’t you believe it. You may not be able to feel it but heaven is a bee hive of activity working out the will of God in your life and the world. 

So heaven is not not closed to the world but there’s something even more remarkable we’re supposed to get out of this story that we’ll look at tomorrow. 

Thursday Reflection:

So yesterday we learned that contrary to what Jacob felt- heaven wasn’t dark and silent. It was hard at work on behalf of the people of earth. But we learn something else in Act 1 of the story- heaven isn’t closed to Jacob either. You’d think it would be. You’d think God would be thinking, until you shape up and fly right heaven is out of the Jacob business. 

But He’s not. He comes down and stands right next to Jacob in a position of intimacy and care and we wonder why God would do such a thing? Turns out it’s because that’s Who God is. He is drawn to the broken. 

When Jesus is calling His disciples people were shocked at His choices. They weren’t the cream of the crop of Jewish boys that Jesus was calling. It was simple fishermen with questionable backgrounds. But everybody would have been shocked when Jesus called Matthew to come follow Him. Matthew was a tax collector. There was nobody hated more in Israel than a Jew who had signed up to collect taxes for Rome. 

Matthew is blown away by the attention Jesus shows him. So he decides to throw a dinner party and invite all his friends. Why? My guess is so that they would have the opportunity to meet Jesus and maybe their lives would be changed forever like his was. This is one very powerful form of evangelism. Matthew does’t have the words to say that will change his friends lives but he knows someone who does. So what does Matthew do? He thinks to himself, if I can just get my friends close to Jesus then Jesus will take care of the rest. It’s a brilliant strategy actually. 

Jesus goes to the party and the local religious leaders are scandalized:

Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” …I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” Matthew 9:10-13 (NLT)

This is really good news for disreputable sinners like Matthew (and me and you and everyone else you know who recognizes just how messed up you are). Turns out if you put Jesus in a room with a bunch of people it won’t take long til He gravitates toward the person who is the most messed up who has messed up the most. Turns out He’s drawn to our us not in spite of our weaknesses and flaws but because of them.

And that’s what Jacob should be learning in this encounter with God but is it? Let’s go to act 3 and find out:

Friday Reflection:

Warning- this one is REALLY long and you may want to split it up into two days: In Act 3 we see Jacob’s faulty assumption. What’s Jacob’s faulty assumption? He wakes up and is terrified that he actually saw God and he wonders why he’s not dead:

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel. Genesis 28:16-19 (NLT)

He sees God and isn’t dead and he seems to come to the conclusion that the reason is because he has discovered the house of God and the gateway to heaven. I wonder if he thought that he had completed a quest that gave him power because he knew where the house of God and the gateway to heaven was? 

But that’s not the lesson God wanted Jacob to get. If that was Jacob’s assumption (and I think it was) then he was dead wrong and got the wrong message. The house of God and the gateway to Heaven don’t reside in a singular place called Bethel.

I think it’s obvious that Moses’ intention was that when we read this story our minds would go back to another story in the BIG story of the Bible that we read back in chapter 11- the tower of Babel. Do you remember? The people who are supposed to spread out and fill the earth decide instead to settle down together on the plain of Shinar which would become the city of Babylon (in modern day Iraq). They decide to build a tower that would “touch” heaven but God doesn’t like it one bit so He comes down and confused their language so that they could no longer work together and the project is abandoned. 

What was that tower all about? Well, it was an ancient temple called a Ziggurat. Very much like a pyramid but rather than act as a tomb for important pharaohs a Ziggurat was a temple with massive stairways (does that ring a bell with the story we’re looking at today?) by which humans could ascend to heaven. It was a human attempt to recover the fellowship humans had once enjoyed with God in the garden before the fall.

Jacob’s “stairway” to heaven was actually a massive Ziggurat but it was different than the tower of Babel in one very important respect- instead of Jacob’s ladder or stairway being a stairway TO heaven (for humans to ascend to God) it was a stairway FROM heaven where God descends to us. What’s the difference? It’s huge. All religions are man’s attempts to ascend to heaven and there are always, always, always steps required for us to master in order to attain heaven. With the relationship that God offers heaven comes down to us. 

How is that possible, you ask? Well I think because of what Jesus would one day do for us on the cross. If you cast your imagination WAY back to the second story in the BIG story of the Bible you’ll remember we humans incurred a debt that day which God said we could never hope to pay. A debt He said would be paid by the Rescuer that He would send. I suspect that when Satan got Adam & Eve to reject God’s way he fully believed them to drop dead Just like God told them they would if they ate the fruit. But they didn’t. Why not? Because God causes the curse that should have fallen on them (a curse that would have killed them deader than dead) to fall on the creation instead. There would be lots of consequences that came with our decision to choose our own way rather than trust God but we would not die the eternal death Satan expected us to die. Instead God would send a Rescuer to pay that debt and save us. 

And that’s what happened. Jesus came and died on the cross breaking the curse of hell and death and rescuing us from the eternal death that would have been ours had someone not come to rescue us. And when Jesus lays His life down on the cross and then 3 days later picks it up again at the resurrection the curse is broken (although we will all still die and deal with most of the consequences of the fall but because of Jesus death and weakness will not have the final say in our lives) and the benefits flow forward to each one of us. Right to this very moment in time for me and you. 

But it also flowed back all the way to Adam and Eve. And to Jacob. I think that’s why heaven is able to be open and working so tirelessly on behalf of us humans even in the Old Testament- because Jesus’ sacrifice (which hadn’t happened yet) would flow backwards in time just as efficiently as it flows forward to you and me. We can’t take too much time to talk about why God can’t just do whatever He wants but I think it revolves around a certain set of rules-of-engagement that God agrees to or is bound by that was set before the creation of the universe. CS Lewis calls it the “Deep Magic” and the reason it was necessary was because of love. You can’t have love without having the possibility of its opposite. You can’t have joyful obedience without the ability for humans to reject God. 

What does all of this have to do with Jacob’s ladder/staircase? I’m glad you asked.

When Jesus was calling His first disciples a man named Philip went to find his friend Nathaniel.

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown. Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.” “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” “Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied. As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.” “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.” Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!” John 1:43-49 (NLT)

Now we have no idea what Nathaniel was doing under that fig tree. I’ve heard lots of theories and ultimately none of us knows. I suspect maybe Nathaniel was praying and asking God for a sign- maybe of the Messiah. Whatever it was Nathaniel was blown away! And convinced. And look at what Jesus says to him:

Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.” John 1:50-51 (NLT)

We would have never fully understood Jacob’s dream if Jesus hadn’t told us He IS the ladder/staircase. He doesn’t ascend and descend to heaven on the ladder/staircase- He IS the ladder/staircase. It reminds me of something Jesus would say later in the book of John. He tells his disciples that He’s leaving and going back to His Father’s house and they can’t come right then but He tells them not to worry because they all know the way. Look at what happens next:

“No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:5-6 (NLT)

What does Jesus tell them? I AM the way. Not I’ll show you the way. Not I’ll leave you map. No. Jesus IS the way. 

And Jesus IS the ladder/staircase upon which God’s messengers ascend and descend TO us in order to carry out the will of God for our lives and all of human history. 

And you say, but what does it take for Jesus to want to come to me? And what does it take for Him to want to STAY with me? Great question. A lesson Jacob wishes he had learned much earlier than he did. 

I don’t know about you but I sometimes still feel like if I’m not good enough then Jesus will leave me. That my flaws and weaknesses will send Him running for the ladder/staircase to go back to Heaven where things aren’t as messy as they are in my life. But what’s amazing about this story and other stores in the the BIG story of the Bible is that Jesus seems to be drawn to us not in spite of our weaknesses by BECAUSE of our weaknesses. In Psalm 25 David says:

LORD, Forgive my wrongdoing, for it is great. Psalm 25.11 (NLT)

Not forgive my wrongdoing despite how great it is- BECAUSE of how great it is. David had a lot is issues and made a lot of mistakes but he seemed to have a grasp on the character of God that maybe nobody else in the entire Old Testament had. 

God’s not going to leave you because of your weaknesses and wrongdoing. So great, does that mean I don’t have to try so hard to live the life Jesus calls me to follow Him into. 

No. Way. 

In Rome there was a contingent in the Roman church who thought that way. If we are saved by grace plus nothing and we can’t do anything to earn salvation and our sins have all been paid for- past, present AND future- then why not just sin like crazy. Their slogan was, let us sin that grace may abound! Their reasoning was if God forgiving us for our wrongdoing made God look so good (which is does) then let’s give Him more opportunities to forgive us which will just make Him shine even more. They asked Paul if that’s a good idea and Paul’s response:

No. Way. 

Paul tells them that it’s the Adam & Eve argument all over again. Did the die when they ate the fruit? No. Did God pay the debt for their sin? Yes. Did they have much harder lives because they chose to go their own way rather than trust God? Yep.

Same thing with you and me. Can we sin and be forgiven. Of course. Happens every day. So why should I try to do my best to follow Jesus into the life He dreams of me living? Because while I can be forgiven for my wrongdoing I often have to live with the consequences of that wrongdoing for years to come- sometimes for the rest of my life. Look at how Paul puts it here:

That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time… into God’s way of doing things. Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God. Romans 6:12-14 (NLT)

It’s a strange paradox we live in- God’s drawn to you and will forgive you for your wrongdoing but you should do your best to avoid doing weak, flawed messed up stuff because it will make your life so much easier if you do (or don’t ;0)

This is the lesson of Jacob’s ladder/staircase. I hope you learn it. Heck, I hope I learn it. But did Jacob learn it? I don’t think so- at least not yet. Because when he wakes up after hearing God’s unconditional promises to be with him, protect him and bless him the only thing that stands out about Jacob’s response is how bad it is:

Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God.” Genesis 28:20-22 (NLT)

What’s all this if/then stuff? God comes and gives Himself completely to Jacob and Jacob wakes up and makes all these conditions for God. So what’s the lesson? Don’t be like Jacob. Learn the lessons God was trying to teach Jacob that Jacob just doesn’t seem to get. Thank God for His unconditional love, mercy and forgiveness but don’t use that as a license to do whatever you want because there are all kinds of traps in that way of living your life. 

Monday Reflection: 

This week we are continuing to look at the story of God’s plan to make good on His promise that He made to the serpent way back in Genesis chapter 3. He told the serpent that He would send a descendant of the woman’s and even though the serpent would hurt Him when it struck His heal He would crush the head of the serpent in the process. 

With Abraham God chose a man to birth a nation through whom He would make good on His promise. I guess if we were going to summarize the life of Abraham we’d say that everything in his story revolved around the concept of promise. This week we will study the life of Abraham’s grandson- Jacob. I guess if I was going to summarize Jacob’s life I’d say his story is all about the power of blessing. But what exactly is “blessing” in God’s eyes? When we use the word today it’s usually about getting something good (money, job, relationships, etc.). If you spend much time on Facebook you’ve seen Christians say how “blessed” they are when telling about something good that happened to them. And while good things are part of what blessing is in the Bible, it’s not the whole story. 

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NLT)

Blessing is when God promises to give you His favor, His protection and His provision. But as God does with every other concept on the planet- He defines what favor, protection and provision looks like and it doesn’t always feel good to the bless-ee. In fact, sometimes it can be downright painful living the blessed life. Don’t believe me? Just look at the lives of the people we’re learning about as we walk through the story of the Old Testament. None of these people had pain free lives. In fact there was tragedy and pain associated with just about every single one of them who were living the “blessed” life. What’s up with that?

Well, first of all there’s the problem of living in a world that has been infected by sin. Because of that there is pain, sickness, brokenness, people hurting each other and people hurting themselves. Consequently there is a lot of pain that comes into our lives that God can’t completely shield us from. But there’s also the things that God allows into our lives that will bring about the kind of pressure that gives us the opportunity to grow stronger. Hawk Nelson has a song called Diamonds where the main idea is that coal becomes diamonds not through an easy process but through intense pressure. The chorus says over and over that “He’s making diamonds out of dust- He’s making diamonds out of us.”

But does God bring this pressure into our lives or just allow it to happen. Ahhh, the age old question and the answer is probably yes and no. Another question about God that the answer is always going to stay just out of reach. Sometimes the Bible seems to make it clear that He allows pain (and indeed can’t really shield us from it completely even if He wanted to) and sometimes it seems like He brings this pressure into our lives Himself in the form of “discipline”. 

The story of Jacob is a troubling one for me in some respects and we’ll get to that on Friday but one thing is sure- Jacob goes through some pretty painful, pressure filled situations in his life. Many of which he brings on himself with foolish decisions. And God doesn’t shield him from the consequences of those actions. Why not? Maybe because it is through the pain and pressure of those consequences (along with the ordinary pain and trouble that living in this broken world sends to our doors in wave after wave) that the coal is transformed into a diamond. What do you think of the pain that comes into your life? What do you think of God when you’re going through that pain and pressure. Have you ever thought about what that pain and pressure just might be doing to you without you even recognizing it?

Tuesday Reflection: 

What is in a name? Is there power in names or are they just ways of identifying oneself and getting each other’s attention? In 21st century America names don’t really mean much. Every so often something will pop up on Facebook that offers to tell you the meaning of your name. I remember one a couple of years ago that claimed to be able to tell me the meaning of mine and my friends names but as tons of my friends shared the meaning of their names it soon became painfully obvious the site only had 3 different possibilities that you could be given. Most of my friends were either a “beautiful queen” or a “courageous warrior. I decided to have a little fun and took a screenshot of the picture that the site shared to Facebook walls with the breakdown of each name and edit the picture with my own name and my own definition. I searched for the perfect font to make it look real and then made the meaning of my name say, “Ed-ward = Sketchy-character.

I don’t know why that made me so happy, but it did. People had already noticed the site only had a few possibilities for names and “Sketchy-character” was not one of them so my name meaning had a lot of people wondering what had happened.  Edward doesn’t really mean Sketchy-character. It really means prosperous protector but I didn’t know that until just know when I googled it. I never really gave much thought to my name other than the fact that the shortened version of it (Ed) was so easy to write in school.  But what about Jacob? What about his name? In the ancient world there were idioms that were very well known. You may not know what an idiom is but you use them all the time. “Get off my back” is an idiom. When you say it to someone nobody assumes that there is actually another human being on your back- you’re using an idiom that just about every American would understand because it’s a part of our social consciousness. Same thing with “you’re pulling my leg”. Nobody thinks there’s another human actually tugging on your leg- we all know when we hear it that there’s someone joking around.

In the ancient world jacob-ing was an idiom. It meant “you’re grabbing my heal”. When Rebekah gave birth to Esau and Jacob they decided to name the younger son “Jacob” because when the older boy (Esau who was covered in red hair) was born the younger boy was holding onto his heel as he came out of his mom’s body. 

And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins! The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau. Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob. Genesis 25:24-26 (NLT)

Let’s call him, “Jacob”! Did that name become a self fulfilling prophecy for the boy or did he never give the meaning of jacob much thought? We don’t know but we know this- that boy would spend much of the first half of his life living up to that name. 

What did the idiom, “you’re grabbing my heal” mean in the ancient world. Well, it was sort of like “you’re pulling my leg” but with a more sinister twist. It basically meant, “you’re trying to cheat me.” Over and over Jacob would be defined by this identity as he grew into a man. It became his identity. His brother Esau would even say about him:

“No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice. First he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing. Genesis 27:36 (NLT)

We will spend the rest of the week watching as Jacob lives up to the meaning of his name and how God- through the concept of “blessing”- tries to move him past that meaning to a whole new way of looking at himself. But for today why not spend some time thinking about the identity you are living up to in your own life. The reason I chose “Sketchy-character” as the joke name for that Facebook spoof was twofold- first because it was funny but secondly because it’s sort of the default setting I lived in for much of my early life. It is still, to this very day, the first thought I usually have when deciding what action to take. Have you ever seen the Seinfeld where George decides his natural inclinations are always wrong and so he proposes to always do the opposite of the first idea that pops into his head? I have learned to live my life that way.

Every time I get an idea of what I should do in any situation I (on my better days) push the pause button and ask myself if that’s really a smart idea. What I’ve seen over the last 30 years is that my initial ideas are very often the opposite of what I should do. My initial ideas would very often lead me to living up to the name, “Sketchy-character”. So I end up doing the opposite. Right now it’s going fairly well but I often wonder what will happen if I have the privilege to get to the age where my impulse control slips. I’ve watched as several of my relatives getting up there in years started losing their impulse control. It was funny often with them but I have a feeling I might get kicked out of the old folks home if that happens to me ;0)

So how about you? What name are you living out in your life? People will try to saddle you with all kinds of negative identities- loser, liar, good-for-nothing, worthless, dishonest, addict, etc. God on the other hand sees a completely different identity in you- redeemed, powerful, beautiful, dearly-loved-child-of-the-King. 

 Here’s the message of the story of Jacob- you can decide whether to live up to the meaning of the identity you’ve been saddled with by the world or choose to move into the identity you were created with. And it’s never too late to choose God’s identity for you. Jacob was middle aged before he really started trying to walk in God’s identity for him. So was I. All that to say this- it’s not too late but the sooner you get started the farther you will go, the brighter your life will shine, the less damage you’ll do to yourself and others and more peace you will experience in this life. 

So let me ask you- what’s your identity?

WednesdayReflection:  

This week we are going to look at three watershed events in the life of Jacob (the heel grabber) and see how they impacted his life and the lives of those who were close to him. And that’s the problem, isn’t it? My actions don’t just impact me- they impact so many others lives as well.

We already know that Rebekah gave birth to twin boys and they were named Esau (which means “hairy”) and Jacob (which meant “cheater”). Why did they give them such strange names? Maybe they thought they were being cute? Maybe they didn’t give it much thought? I don’t know but I do know that there was something they knew about the boys before they were even born. Rebekah felt so much tussling going on in her womb that she went to inquire of God what was going on and she was told:

The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son. Genesis 25:23 (NLT)

So before they were even born she knew that God would once again throw social convention and custom on its head by choosing the younger son rather than the older one for the blessing to flow through. Maybe it’s possible that’s the reason why she chose to name the younger son, Jacob- because she knew he would supplant his older brother as the more powerful and the leader of the family?

We’ll never know for sure but this much we can be sure of- God had a plan for Jacob. He told Rebekah of His plan and I’m guessing she told Isaac and both of her sons as they grew up. It had to be a big part of the family legend. How did it make Esau feel? Probably not great. Maybe that’s why he sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. 

There are so many questions surrounding this story but one thing shines through again and again- God has a plan for Jacob. And guess what? He has a plan for you too. How will His plan unfold in your life? Probably much the same way it unfolded in Jacob’s life- through the concept of “blessing”. But if you’ve read the entire story of Jacob’s life then you know that the process of “blessing” isn’t always easy and sometimes it hurts- a lot. Jacob goes through a ton of tough times, many of them consequences of his own choices and poor decisions about how to grab the blessing that God had promised to give him. It led to broken relationships, times of intense want and need, a broken family and a broken life. There are two really important take aways from Jacob’s story- first God can and will use even our mistakes to bring us to the blessed life He intends for us to live and secondly that revealing and shaping the life He intends to bless is going to include pain even if we made all the right decisions (and how likely is that in our own lives???). 

The apostle Peter uses the analogy of a gold-smith taking a lump of ore that contains gold along with many other impurities and refining it to the point where it can be molded and shaped into something beautiful:

There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold— though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. 1 Peter 1:6-7 (NLT)

So let’s talk about the process that a gold-smith put a lump of useless gold ore through in order to bring out its beauty and its capacity for being molded into the a thing of great beauty and value. In the ancient world a gold-smith would put the lump of ore into a crucible and then heat it over an intense fire. As the impurities were burned away it looked a bit like a fireworks show with sparks flying as the impurities were burned off. They didn’t have modern methods for determining the purity of gold like we do today so the way a gold-smith would determine if the lump of ore was of the proper purity was to put the crucible out of the fire and look down into the pool of molten metal. If the gold-smith could see his reflection on the melted gold then it was pure enough and ready to be shaped and molded. If not then the gold went right back into the fire until it was pure enough.

Peter says God refines your faith in much the same way a gold-smith refines gold. The troubles we go through are like the fire and they burn away the impurities (if we respond to them correctly) to refine our faith. The troubles are intended or used to make us more like Jesus. I wonder if God does the same thing a gold-smith does to see if we’re ready to be molded and shaped into something useful and beautiful- pull us out of the refining fire and look for His reflection in us. If He doesn’t see it then He knows we require more refining. He will allow this process to continue until the impurities are burned away and He (and everyone else around us) can see the beauty that was hidden.

Now I’m not saying that if you cooperate fully with God’s refining process that you won’t have any more tough times. Jesus said in John 16:33 that in this world you WILL have troubles. Even Jesus, Who lived a perfect life in complete harmony with God’s plan for Him had plenty of trouble and pain in His life. You and I will never fully escape the pain this world can bring to us. But I do believe we can decrease how much trouble we endure by doing our best to cooperate with God’s refining process. Because God does have a  plan for you- He just can’t make it happen the way you are right now. I’ll leave you with the tag line from a book by Max Lucado that changed my life when I read it 20 years ago:

God loves you just the way you are right now. But He loves you too much to let you stay the way you are right now. He wants you to be Just Like Jesus.

So welcome to the refining fire.

Thursday Reflection: 

While it is true that God has a plan for you and me it is also true that we can really mess that plan up and gum up the works but trying to seize the blessing God wants us to have our own way rather than waiting on God’s timing. That sentence is an understatement when it comes to Jacob’s family. When Jacob & Esau were born it soon became obvious that each parent had their favorite:

Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Genesis 25:28 (NLT)

There is a world of pain in that one sentence. How messed up can we get (pretty messed up as it turns out- even the child of the promise turned out to be a pretty poor father). The family knew what God’s plan was but because of sibling and spousal rivalries that plan ended up causing much more pain than it needed to. And when they were older and Esau came back from the bush starving to death he gladly traded his birthright (his position as first born with all the rights and privileges it granted him) for a bowl of stew. 

Then when Isaac was close to death he called his oldest son Esau to him and told him to go hunt and bring him some of that wild game that Isaac loved so much and that then Isaac would give him the blessing. This always confused me. Didn’t Isaac know that God intended for the blessing to flow through the younger son? Was Isaac disregarding the wishes of his God? I used to think so but I’m not so sure anymore. I do know that Isaac’s wife thought that was what he intended to do (so much for marital harmony, huh?) and so she hatched a scheme with Jacob to fool poor old blind Isaac into giving Jacob the blessing he intended (as far as Rebekah believed) to give to Esau in direct opposition to God’s wishes. 

And fool him they did. It is one of the most suspenseful stories you’ll ever read. At every turn I am sure Isaac is going to uncover the plot but he doesn’t and finally he blesses Jacob with the blessing he intended to give to Esau. Then when Esau returns and Isaac figures out what has happened he tells his older son that there’s no blessing left for him. As I said earlier- I used to think this meant Isaac intended to give Esau the blessing meant for Jacob but the more I study this passage the more I don’t think so anymore. Because the blessing Jacob steals from Esau isn’t the blessing (as far as I can tell) that God intended for Jacob. That blessing is given to Jacob later after all the dust has settled (have you ever wondered what Isaac thought of Jacob and his wife Rebekah pulling this stunt on him? I sure have and I’m bummed the Bible doesn’t let us listen on that conversation. Maybe Isaac tells them both that they’ve robbed Esau of his blessing and that he never intended to not bless Jacob. Isaac just meant to give them both a blessing but Jacob was always going to receive the blessing God intended Jacob to receive). The blessing Isaac gives to Jacob in Genesis chapter 28 is the blessing that God gave Abraham that was to continue God’s plan to fulfill His promise to the serpent in Genesis chapter 3:

May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!” Genesis 28:4 (NLT)

Do you see what’s going on? I’m thinking Isaac intended all along that this blessing of God’s promise to Abraham was going to Jacob and not Esau. When he is tricked into giving Jacob the blessing he intended to give Esau there is no mention of the blessing of Abraham and the inheritance of the land that God promised to Abraham’s descendants like there is in the blessing he gives Jacob when he knows it’s actually Jacob He’s blessing. I don’t know… maybe I’m way off but it sure seems that way to me. That’s why when Esau pleads for his father to bless him too Isaac tells him he can’t. Why can’t he? Because the only blessing that’s left is actually the one that God intends for Jacob and Isaac can’t go against the wishes of his God and give that blessing to Esau.

What a sad story. Not only does Jacob not get what he’s after when he tricks his father but he finds out later he would have gotten exactly what he was after if he’d been patient and waited on God’s timing and now he’s turned his family into a war zone. His brother vows to kill Jacob as soon as his father is dead and so Rebekah sends Jacob to run away and live with her brother far in the north. Jacob leaves with nothing and nobody. In fact, the only person who cares about him and accepts him for who he is he will never see again (his mom would die while he was in exile in the north).

Is it an understatement to say we can really mess God’s plans up when we refuse to wait on His timing and process? So what’s the lesson for me? What can I learn from this story? Maybe to wait on God’s timing and process? It is obvious but if you’re like me you wonder how you’ll know when what you think you should do is God’s plan and timing and when it’s mine (or someone else’s plan like Rebekah’s idea to fool Isaac).

Here’s what I do now- I actually say out loud whatever it is that I’m thinking God wants me to do. I say it out loud and then ask myself if I can see God saying those words to me or anyone else. Think about what would have happened if Jacob had done that:

Jacob (this is Jacob pretending to be listening to God), I want you to dress up like your brother and have your mom help you make some meat that will taste like wild game so you can fool your poor-old-blind father into thinking you are actually Esau so that he will be deceived into giving you the blessing he so desperately wants to give to his oldest son. Don’t worry about your mom and dad’s relationship. Don’t worry about the whole, honor-your-father business. This is too important to worry about integrity and family dynamics. Go grab your father’s heel (which if you’ve been reading prior lessons you know means to cheat someone which is what the name “Jacob” means).

Can you imagine God saying those words? Me neither. I wish I had done this with many of my great ideas over the years that I figured must be part of God’s plan because it just makes so much sense to me in the moment. How about you? Ever done something that looking back you realize if you had tried saying your plan out loud imagining God speaking you would have saved yourself a whole lot of grief? Maybe this is a new habit we all need to implement in our lives. It would probably save us (and the people we love) from a whole lot of grief.

Friday Reflection:

So today we will finish up looking at the life of Jacob by looking at the pivotal moment in his life- a strange wrestling match with a man/angel/God? If you’ve never read the story take a minute and read Genesis 32:

This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”  “What is your name?” the man asked. He replied, “Jacob.”  “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.”  “Please tell me your name,” Jacob said. “Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.  Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip. Genesis 32:24-31 (NLT)

Strange, right? Who did Jacob wrestle with? If it really was God then why couldn’t He overpower Jacob and “win” the match. So many questions but so much meaning- especially in the life of this cheater who has done everything wrong while pursuing the blessing that God promised to give him before he was even born. So what’s going on here?

Jacob is just now beginning to try doing things God’s way. God has told him to leave his uncle’s place in the north and go back home to the land that God has promised to give Jacob and his descendants. So Jacob goes. And Jacob is now praying- before this (as far was we know from the Bible) Jacob never pursues God himself. Every encounter up until now has been about God pursuing Jacob but in Genesis 32:9 you will read one of the most beautiful prayers you’ll ever see. Even when Jacob hears that Esau (his brother who has vowed to kill Jacob) is heading toward him with 400 fighting me he refuses to turn back and run. Why? Because he’s trying to do what God has asked him to do for the first time. What do you think happens when people finally turn their lives over to God? What do you imagine God does at that point? I always figured that when I finally decided to start doing things God’s way life would get easy and I’d never be miserable again. Boy was I wrong. I remember the week after I had stopped abusing drugs and alcohol and quit smoking- my life exploded. I had never struggled with the issues I suddenly was struggling with. I can remember looking up to heaven and asking God, “what is going on? Aren’t I doing what You want me to do now? Why is this happening?”

Ever been there? Sometimes the process of God leading us into the blessed life can be painful one. It sure was for Jacob. He is following where God leads. He is showing a courage and an integrity he never showed before and on the night before he would finally meet up with his brother (whom he cheated) and settle things once and for all God comes and wrestles with Jacob. On the night before the day that Jacob considered to be the pivotal day of his life when all he wants is a good nights sleep so he can be ready to deal with whatever the most important day of his life would deliver God keeps him up all night long. Why? What’s going on?

I think this is God’s way of saying to Jacob, “you think tomorrow with Esau is the most important day of your life? You’re wrong- it’s tonight. And it’s not about your relationship with your brother- it’s about your relationship with Me.” And so they wrestle. At first it seems obvious that Jacob doesn’t realize who he’s wrestling. God has limited Himself the same way I used to limit myself when Jonathan was tiny and wanted to box with me. I’d put my right hand behind my back and use my left hand with a giant boxing glove on it and when he was still little I could let him hit me as hard as he could and it wouldn’t do much to me. God’s doing something similar with Jacob but on a much higher level.

So when did Jacob start to get an inkling of who he was wrestling? Probably when the wrestler “touched” Jacob’s hip and dislocated it. The word used in Hebrew literally means he “brushed” Jacob’s hip. How could that dislocate a hip? One one guy Jacob probably could think of that could make that happen. What do you think was going through his mind? “THIS IS GOD?!?!?!? Why am I not losing worse than I am? Heck… why am I not dead?!?!?!”

So what does Jacob do? He holds on even tighter despite the pain and despite the danger. And when the wrestler asks Jacob to let Him go because daylight is coming… what’s up with that? It’s almost like the wrestler is a vampire and if Jacob doesn’t let him go he’ll start sparkling uncontrollably (or burst into flames depending on your favorite vampire universe ;0)   But lately I’ve wondered if maybe the wrestler (God) is hinting at something He would tell Moses years later in Exodus chapter 33 when Moses asks to see God’s face:

“You may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.”

Is God telling Jacob that if the sun comes up and Jacob is able to see His face it will end not only the wrestling match but Jacob’s life as well? Maybe. And yet Jacob still won’t let go. He has finally gotten to the point where he understands the meaning of life. God isn’t something to be used as the means to an end- God is the end in and of Himself. All his life Jacob has told God, “if You do (fill in the blank), then You will be my God.” And don’t look down on Jacob too much- you and I do the same thing. We wrestle with God by making Him the means to our desired end because we think we know what will lead to the blessed life for us. We break up with someone that we think we can’t live without and so we go to God and use Him to get us what will make us happy (a relationship). We find ourselves in financial tough times and so we go to God and use Him as a means to getting what will make us happy (wealth or security). I could go on and on. What we need to learn is what Jacob realized that night wrestling with God- what I really need is God. What I really need is to trust Him with the timing and process of me being blessed because no relationship and no amount of money will actually bless me as long as I make it the center of my life.

And when Jacob realizes that the wrestling match is over and it’s as though God takes his hand and raises it over his head and declares him the winner. This exhausted guy that can’t even stand up anymore because of his hip. He’s the winner. Which begs the question- why didn’t God “win”. But I think He did. Sure, He could have disintegrated Jacob with just a though but that wouldn’t have gotten Him what He so desperately wanted- a transformed Jacob. What got God what He wanted was limiting himself and meeting Jacob not just in Jacob’s weakness but in God’s weakness. In fact, that’s when you see the greatest examples of God’s power in the Bible- when He limits Himself and takes on weakness.

Think about it- on the cross Jesus appeared to have lost the day. He looked to be weak beyond anything we could imagine and yet in his apparent weakness and apparent defeat He unleashed the greatest expression of spiritual power that the universe has ever seen and He won the day (and eternity as well). Jacob told God in his weakness, I will not let You go until You bless me. Jesus on the cross said, “I will not let go until you bless them.” 

Jacob was the unworthy who received the blessing through sheer grace. Jesus was the worthy One Who took our curse so that we could get the blessing. It’s crazy when you think about it. And He wants to do something equally crazy in your life. He wants to meet you in your weakness so that He can bless you with the reward earned for you by His Son. Until we recognize that we will never truly have a blessed life. 

Monday:  

Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together! Matthew 25:23 (NLT)

“Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.  And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?  Luke 16:10-12 (NLT)

Reflection: 

I don’t think you can overestimate or overstate the importance of faithfulness. From what the Bible teaches and what I’ve observed in my life, it is one of the most important factors that determines success or failure in God’s kingdom. One day about 24 years ago I had gotten to the point where I went to church on Sundays but that was about all the interaction that God and I had during the week.  I would slink in late hoping that all the “jobs” for that week had been handed out (passing plates for communion, saying a prayer, etc).  I just wanted to sit and listen then leave as soon as church was over.  One Sunday morning I went early for class.  I made some offhanded comment that a lady in the class (a lady Judy respected) noticed and she told Judy that I needed to be doing more than just sitting in the pews.  So they began “conspiring” against (although at this point I would have to say for) me.

About that time Judy came home from church and announced that she was taking over as the volunteer youth minister at this church (it was before we worked here).  We had been burned once before volunteering for a church and so I was hesitant.  I told her I didn’t think it was a good idea.  She said she thought it was a great idea.  I pointed out all the dangers.  She pointed out all the blessings.  I told her I wouldn’t do it.  She told me that I didn’t have to- she’d do it.  Eventually I couldn’t stand by and watch as she did a job I was more qualified (in a few ways) to do.  It’s not that I’m smarter or more talented than she is- but when it comes to working with kids she would be the first to tell you she doesn’t have the patience and heart for them that I do. To make a long story short, that first tentative step back into ministry is what made it possible for me to one day be the pastor at Riverside Community Church.  I may not know much but this much I am certain of, if I hadn’t been faithful with the small job I accepted 17 years ago, I wouldn’t be at Riverside today.

That’s the power of faithfulness.  When we faithfully do the job that God has given us to do it always leads to promotion, greater responsibilities, and greater opportunities in His kingdom.  The opposite is true as well- when we fail to faithfully do the job that God has given us (whether big or small) it always leads to demotion and less responsibilities in the kingdom of God.  And don’t forget that this promotion that God wants to give is not just for pastors and other “professional” Christians- it’s for all of us.  He wants every single one of us to be faithful so that we can make a quiet difference in the lives of our family, our friends, our church, and our community.

In the parable of the talents from Matthew 25 Jesus tells about a master who calls in 3 servants.  He gives each one a different amount of money, “dividing it in proportion to their abilities.”  When the master returned he called them to account for what they’d done with the job entrusted to them.  For the first two servants who doubled the money their master had given them the praise was the same:

Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together! Matthew 25:23 (NLT)

I think all of us who are Christians look at the last words of Matthew 25:23 as an incentive to do live godly lives.  Who wouldn’t want to celebrate with Jesus?  But do you notice what it took to unlock those blessings and that celebration?  Faithfulness.  How many times have you watched as someone that you considered less talented got promotions?  How often have you wondered, “how did they get to that point?”  I imagine those people were faithful in little jobs that God gave them and as a result He entrusted them with greater opportunity, responsibility and productivity.  The secret of faithfulness is that how we serve in small matters tells God how well we’ll lead when given greater responsibility.  You can’t wait for a big opportunity to open up before you decide to start being faithful- because if you do God will never promote you.

In Matthew 25 & Luke 19 Jesus is laying out a principle for life that is so simple we generally miss it.  The faithful are noticed and rewarded, the unfaithful are noticed and demoted.  I’ve got to tell you, I have seen this work over and over even in my own life. The concept of faithfulness was impressed upon me at a fairly young age.  I remember when I worked for Domino’s Pizza.  I took a job in Burbank that I only got because an old manager of mine recommended me as a reliable driver.  My new manager told me he didn’t have a lot of hours for me, but I wasn’t worried- I know how most pizza delivery guys are.  On the days I did work I told everyone that if they ever wanted a day off or to go home early just let me know.  When they would ask I always took their hours.  After about a month I was working 6 days a week from open til close and making more money than a pizza delivery guy could dream of.  The other delivery guys weren’t happy but the manager liked having me around- I always did more than he expected.  It wasn’t because I was a better driver than the other guys (although that came with time and knowledge of a new delivery area).  It was because I was reliable (also known as faithful).  It taught me an important lesson that Jesus wants all of us to learn:

Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones. Luke 16:10 (NLT)

So where  would you say your “faithfulness quotient” is these days?  God wants faithfulness more than He does talent.  So be faithful with what God has entrusted to you and hang on… because when we’re faithful God blesses us.

Prayer: 

Father, teach me the importance of faithfulness and remind me how faithfulness (or a lack of it) has affected my life in the past.  Give me the wisdom to be faithful in the future.  Lord, make me a more faithful/reliable person and give me the wisdom not to make commitments I can’t keep and to faithfully keep the commitments I do make.  Lord, make me that which I cannot become on my own.    In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Tuesday:  

The Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, jealously longs for us to be faithful.  He gives us more and more strength to stand.  James 4:5-6 (NLT)

He called together his servants and gave them money to invest for him while he was gone.  He gave five bags of gold to one, two bags of gold to another, and one bag of gold to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities—and then left on his trip.  Matthew 25:14-15 (NLT)

Reflection:  

Have you ever noticed that there are people in this world who seem to have gotten more talent than you did, and a few who don’t seem to have gotten as much as you did.  How is that fair? Why did God choose to do it that way? I always wanted to be a worship leader.  I love the feeling I get when someone that God has gifted with the ability to lead in worship leads me into the very throne room of God through worship.  If I could pick my job for God it would have definitely been worship leading. I also know plenty of worship leaders who wish they were preachers.  Have you ever noticed we don’t seem to be content with who God created us to be?  We always wish we were something or somebody else.  I remember reading a letter a little girl sent to God.  It said:

Dear God, I read about something called reincarnation today at school.  My mom says it’s not true, but if we do come back as something else please don’t let me come back as Jessica Reynolds, because I hate her. Love, Samantha.

I agree with Samantha’s mom, I don’t think we have to worry about coming back as someone else.  But we do have to worry about being satisfied with who we are.  This isn’t a modern phenomenon either but something that has been going on for thousands of years.  In Isaiah 45:9 God says it this way:

Does the pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with him who forms it, saying, “Stop, you’re doing it wrong!” or the pot exclaim, “How clumsy can you be!”?

Now I know most of us would never be so presumptuous as to accuse God of being clumsy when He made us, but we need to go further than just accepting who He made us to be.  We need to be faithful with what He’s given us to do. So back to the parable of the talents.  He shows us here that there are 5, 2 and 1 talent people in this world.  But He also gives us the plan for success- be faithful with what you’ve been entrusted with.  Notice that the 2 talent guy gets the exact same praise and reward as the 5 talent guy, even though he didn’t produce as much return for his master.  I don’t have a problem with that.  In fact I think that’s kind of cool- seeing as I’m not a 5 talent guy myself- it gives me hope that I can be rewarded for my work no matter what I started out with as long as I’m faithful.  My problem with this story comes up in verse 26 when the one talent guy get’s in trouble:

‘You wicked and lazy servant! You should at least have put my money into the bank so I could have some interest. Take the money from this servant and give it to the one with the ten bags of gold.’

First of all, I was initially surprised that the master called the 1 talent guy “wicked and lazy.”  Lazy I can understand.  Maybe even stupid or careless, but wicked?  What was it that this guy did (or didn’t do) with the masters money that qualifies him for the wicked label?  Here is the secret of faithfulness:  What you receive from the master isn’t just about you and the master- it’s also about others.  God doesn’t give you the resources you have just so you can have an enjoyable life- He gives them to you so you can help others.  How you serve with the seemingly small things exposes to God how you will lead in more profound settings.  When you fail to use whatever he’s entrusted you with for the benefit of others, you are doing what the one talent guy did and you will be demoted. The parallel story that Jesus told in Luke 19 gives us a little more insight into this principle.  When we take what He gives us and sit on it we circumvent the will of God not just in our own lives but in the lives of others as well.   That’s why when we are faithful with what He entrusts us with we are promoted and when we’re not faithful, we’re demoted. Look at what happens to the one talent that was taken away from the guy who didn’t do anything with what the master had entrusted him with:

Take the money from this servant and give it to the one with the ten bags of gold.

Does that seem fair?  Why did the guy who already had 10 bags of gold get the extra bag?  Shouldn’t the master have given it to the guy who didn’t have as much?  Then they could have been closer to even.  But God knows what He’s doing.  He puts His resources where they are going to have the biggest impact on His kingdom.  In the Luke 19 story instead of riches the faithful servants receive authority over cities.  Here we get a better idea of what God is entrusting us with.  He’s not entrusting us with resources so that we can grow God’s worldly wealth- He’s entrusting us with resources so we can affect more people for the kingdom of God.  That is His primary concern and if someone has proven him/herself faithful then they are going to receive promotion and increased opportunity.  

Once I realized that I stopped being confused by this principle.  Because if you’re faithful with what God entrusts you with, you will move your way up in His kingdom.  Those of us who are given little can achieve a lot simply by being faithful.  Eventually you can have more than people who were born 5 talent guys but weren’t faithful with what they were entrusted with.

So how faithful have you been with what God has given you?  I’m not just talking about money (although that’s a part of this).  I’m talking about everything that God has invested in you: Gifts, abilities, friends, family, church, emotions.  Are you faithful with these things?  Are you faithful with the minor things of this life?  Do you use what God has entrusted you with in a way that will make Him smile and say “well done,” or have you hidden what He’s given you like the one talent guy?   

Prayer: 

Father, open my eyes to what I am doing with the resources you have entrusted me with.  Am I helping others with them or have I hidden them in the ground?  Teach me to use what I’ve been given faithfully.  In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Wednesday:  

I have chosen to be faithful;  I have determined to live by your laws. Psalm 119:30 (NLT)

I want faithful love more than I want animal sacrifices.  Hosea 6:6 (NCV)

But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you… wisdom. 2 Timothy 3:14-15 (NLT)

Reflection: 

Do you remember Nike’s slogan?  When it comes to humility, integrity & courage God says what Nike says, “Just Do It!”  The same can be said for faithfulness.  Our society doesn’t value faithfulness very much.  No matter what situation we may be in, if it starts getting tough our culture’s solution is to walk away.  I remember asking a coworker at Domino’s Pizza how he liked being married.  He told me she was fine for a “first wife.”  

That seems to be the way our culture sees faithfulness, but God sees things differently. Romans 12:2 starts out saying:

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world…

Flakiness may be the way our culture behaves but God wants us to be faithful.  In fact, our success depends upon it.  If you want a good marriage, family, friendship, career or spiritual life then you need to choose to be faithful. Have you ever seen the Karate Kid?  Daniel moves in to a new neighborhood and gets beaten up by the cool kids in town.  His landlord, Mr. Miagi agrees to teach Daniel karate but before they get started they have to make a solemn pact.  Mr. Miagi’s part of the pact is to teach Daniel karate.  Daniel’s part of the pact is to do whatever Mr. Miagi tells him to do.  Daniel agrees and is told to report to Mr. Miagi’s house early the next morning to begin “karate training”.

The next morning when Daniel arrives for “karate training” Mr. Miagi gives Daniel the job of washing and waxing his vintage car collection.  But Daniel isn’t to wax the cars any old way- Mr. Miagi gives him specific instructions on the pattern to put the wax on, and take the wax off.  If you saw the movie you can picture Mr. Miagi showing Daniel- “wax on… wax off…”

Daniel starts to complain that he thought he was there for “karate training” and Mr. Miagi reminds Daniel of their solemn pact- Daniel’s part was to do whatever Mr. Miagi told him to do without questions.  So Daniel waxes the cars. This goes on for a few days with Mr. Miagi training Daniel in karate by having him sand the boards on his deck, paint the fence around his house and finally paint the house itself.  For each job Mr. Miagi required Daniel to use specific motions, whether those motions seemed like the most efficient to Daniel or not.

Finally the breaking point comes when Daniel blows up at Mr. Miagi and decides to quit because instead of teaching him karate, Mr. Miagi has made Daniel his slave.  The scene that follows is one of my favorites of all time.  Mr. Miagi tells Daniel to show him, “wax on… wax off…”  As Daniel demonstrates the motions that have become second nature to him, Mr. Miagi starts throwing punches and kicks at Daniel. Daniel is able to block Mr. Miagi’s attacks with the very motions he has been repetitiously working on.  Without even knowing it Daniel was learning karate!

It is then that Daniel realizes that the busy work he had been doing waxing cars and painting fences and sanding boards was actually building his muscles so that when punches and kicks were aimed at him he would be able to do what was required to block them.  The seemingly pointless jobs that Daniel had been doing made him uniquely qualified to do what Mr. Miagi had in mind for him- Daniel just couldn’t see it while he was in the middle of it. The same thing could be said for faithfulness, but God isn’t trying to trick you.  He’s not trying to create some kind of tension so that there can be a really awesome “aha” moment later in the movie where everything comes together.  He’s telling you right up front- be faithful with the seemingly little things of this life and I will bless you big time.  And the deal He makes with us is the same one Daniel had with Mr. Miagi.  God’s part is to teach us to be like His Son.  Our part is to do whatever He tells us to do.

What He is telling you to do is to practice faithfulness when the stakes are low so that when they are high your responses will be as fluid and as natural as Daniel’s came to be.  But there is something else that you get as a result of faithfulness that God needs you to have- wisdom. Faithfulness is one of the main ingredients that shapes our character, which is why it’s so important to God.  As we grow in character our very future is shaped.  I know that there are a lot of people in the world who think their future is already decided but I don’t think that fits in very well with free will.  I think God’s ultimate plans will be fulfilled whether I choose to cooperate with Him or not- but my individual future is influenced by the wise or foolish decisions I make along the way.  This is where our character and faithfulness come in.

Our character points the way & lights the path to our future.  It makes us more and more like Jesus when we choose to be faithful in our lives.   As we become more like Him we start seeing the world as Jesus did.  In a way we see through His eyes.  And that’s what wisdom really is- seeing the world as God does.  That’s why faithfulness is so important on our quest for enlightenment- without it you will never achieve wisdom. With it you will accelerate God’s process of forging His understanding in your heart.

Even in the smallest matters of your life your character is being forged.  The choices you make in the most insignificant of times is telling God how you will behave in the most crucial.  Never underestimate the power of doing the right thing- even when no one else is watching.  Because whether you get credit from people or not, God sees your choices and rewards faithfulness.   And faithfulness, when it is coupled with perseverance, will ultimately result in wisdom.  In fact- the more often you are faithful & persevere when you’d rather quit, the faster you will receive wisdom from God.  There is no shortcut to wisdom.  You can’t get it without being faithful and persevering, but if you practice faithfulness and perseverance you will accelerate the process.  We will see how all of this works together in the coming days but it’s important that we understand that faithfulness is the entry point to enlightenment because without it we will never receive wisdom from God.

Prayer: 

Father, make me more faithful.  Teach me to always choose to do the faithful thing, even when no one is watching.  Show me what me next step is… and show me what you want me to do today.  Give me the strength to do whatever it is.  In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Thursday:

I told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world, you will have trouble, but be brave! I have defeated the world.  John 16:33 (NCV)

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.   If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.  James 1:2-5 (NIV)

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross.  Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)

Reflection: 

It’s not that perseverance always leads to success, but I wonder how often we miss out on the future God has in mind for us when we give up too soon.  And while there will be times when you should cut your losses and move on- there are some things that we must never be given up on.  Projects and strategies can be tossed aside when they no longer meet a required need, but virtues are indispensable. One thing that you have probably already noticed is that troubles aren’t something you need to go looking for.  Troubles are a part of life.  But there are some preachers who will tell you that if you’re a “good” Christian (with the emphasis on good) you won’t have troubles.  They’ll tell you that there is no need for emotional, psychological, financial or physical troubles- all you need to do is have faith and these will disappear.   But that’s not what Jesus said.  In John 16:33 He tells us:

In this world, you will have trouble,  but be brave! I have defeated the world

Now I don’t know about you, but that seems pretty clear to me.  As long as I’m in the world, trouble will find me.  But how does He want me to handle the trouble that comes?  With perseverance. Perseverance is the ability to wait under pressure.  It is translated as “patience” and “endurance” which tells me the word perseverance has multiple dimensions.  But perseverance is more than just waiting. It’s  about how and why we wait. When we hold out for the good, perseverance is described as patience.  When we hold on to the good, perseverance is described as endurance.  It’s a word that defines how we are to handle the trouble that inevitably comes to us in this life.   In James 1 we are told to:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Does that make any sense to you?  How can we be expected to be happy when we go through troubles?  Only because of what our troubles are going to produce in us.  James tells us what that is, but he does it so subtly that if we’re not careful we’ll miss it.  He says that through the process of patiently enduring trouble we arrive not only at perseverance, but also at the very wisdom of God.  

Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 

I figured wisdom and perseverance were separate entities and never really considered them as relatives before.  But if you look at what James says carefully, he is telling us that perseverance leads to wisdom.  It is only after you’ve gone through the crucible of perseverance that you are invited to ask God for the wisdom He longs for you to have.  In the quest for enlightenment, faithfulness leads to perseverance which in turn produces wisdom.  

But it all starts with trouble.

I know, bummer.  I hate trouble too.  But James is inviting us to see troubles in a whole new light.  He is inviting us to consider our troubles as an opportunity for joy!  The only way I can see to do that is to see beyond the trouble- the way Jesus did.  In Hebrews 12 we’re told that Jesus…  

…for the joy set before him endured the cross.  

What joy?  Certainly not the joy of the cross.  The cross only promised pain, agony & death.  So what joy was it that was set before Him?  It had to have been what the cross promised- salvation for you and me.  He knew that the cross was nothing but trouble, yet He endured it because He would rather go through hell for you then live for eternity without you.  When He looked at the cross He saw your face and it made it possible for Him to persevere.  

That’s what James is inviting you to do.  When you look at the troubles in your life don’t see the troubles themselves- see through the troubles for what they can mean if you persevere.  Because James promises you that if perseverance becomes a part of your life, wisdom won’t be far behind.  When you realize that, troubles can truly be an opportunity for joy.  You will never enjoy them, but you will come to see that even troubles can produce value in your life.

Pick a favorite hero from the Bible and usually perseverance is a part of his/her life.  Joseph is a great example.  He was sold into slavery by his brothers.  He did pretty well as a slave in Egypt until he was falsely accused of trying to rape his master’s wife.  Then finding himself in prison for many years he finally gets out because of… his wisdom!  What do you think made him so wise?  James would undoubtedly tell us that Joseph became wise through perseverance.  Even when it looked like God had forgotten him, Joseph patiently endured what he was going through.  And in the end not only did he have wisdom, but success as well.  It was this attitude that allowed him to face his brothers after 40 years had passed and tell them:

As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil.   

Obviously Joseph looked at his troubles as an opportunity for joy.  We would be wise (wise… get it… see what I did there?) to do the same.

Prayer:

Father, teach me how to persevere when I would rather just give up, and show me what perseverance will bring me in my life.  Lord, open my eyes to the joy beyond my troubles.  Let me, like Jesus, endure my troubles for the “joy set before me.”  Show me what my next step is…   What do you want me to do today?  Give me the strength to do whatever it is.  In Jesus Name, amen.

Friday:  

But you must not forget, dear friends, that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient. 2 Peter 3:8-9 (NLT)

Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will win. 1 Corinthians 9:24 (NLT)

Reflection:

It’s one thing to have perseverance in the big time troubles that often rear their ugly heads and threaten to destroy us. But what about the ordinary stuff that life is often made of?  How easy is it for you to persevere when you’re not really being threatened by anything other than boredom?  Have you ever felt like you truly understood how God must feel about time when Peter said that…

a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.

Ever been there?  You’ve probably been both places- where your days feel like they’ll never end and where you wonder where your days went.  Perseverance is just as important during these times in our lives as it is when we are going through life shattering troubles.  It is often during the mundane chores of life that our character is strengthened to make us strong enough to stand when the storms  come.  

In the Old Testament there is a story about a man named Naaman.  He was a general in the Assyrian army.  He was very successful but he had a big problem- he had leprosy.  One of his slaves was an Israelite and she told Naaman about a prophet in Israel who could cure leprosy.  So Naaman got a personal letter from the king of Assyria (the most powerful person on the face of the earth at the time) instructing the king of Israel to take care of Naaman and give him whatever he needed.

When the king of Israel got the letter he freaked out, because he had no control over Elisha, the prophet of God.  He sent Naaman to see Elisha and I’m sure prayed that God would heal him and that Elisha would be nice.  When Naaman got to Elisha’s place he was met by a servant who told Naaman to go dip himself in the Jordan river 7 times and his leprosy would be healed.  

Naaman was mad!  Not only was it an insult that the prophet wouldn’t come out and meet Naaman face to face, but what kind of miracle was it to have him dip in the Jordan river seven times.  The Jordan river was muddy and not even as impressive as the rivers in Assyria.  I’m sure he expected some big show where Elisha might have come out and prayed a fancy prayer and said some amazing things and gotten a really painful look on his face while he moved his hands all around Naaman until he was healed.  Sounds like Naaman was watching a little too much Christian television.  

Since Elisha decided not to go with the big show and just told him to dip in the Jordan river seven times Naaman decided to take his toys and go home.  Lucky for Naaman his friend was there.  He told Naaman that if the prophet had asked him to do something heroic to cure his leprosy he would have done it.  Why not go ahead and dip in the Jordan and see what happened?  So Naaman did.

Can you imagine how Naaman must have felt on the trip to the river?  Can you imagine how he must have felt as he walked down into the river by himself with everyone watching him?  Can you imagine how he must have felt after dip number six (with everyone still watching him) when he was still covered with leprosy?  What would you have done?  How would you have felt if you were in Naaman’s place?

You are in Naaman’s place every day of your life.  God has made some unbelievable promises to you that you are banking on, not because you know those promises are true but because you believe they’re true.  Your faith is coloring the way you live (at least it’s supposed to).  Biblical belief is not just “believing” that Jesus is the Son of God.  It’s believing He’s the Son of God and then letting that change who you are every day of your life.  

When you patiently endure the ordinary chores of your life because you believe, you are exhibiting perseverance.  You see, perseverance isn’t always about facing down lions or standing up to giants- sometimes it’s simply being patient with your kids or your spouse even when they so obviously don’t deserve it.  Sometimes it’s continuing to do what God has asked you to do even when it looks like He’s slow on providing you with what He’s promised to provide.  

You see, when our need meets the place where God’s provision hasn’t yet arrived, temptation rears it’s ugly head.  The temptation to take care of what God is obviously too slow to provide.  The temptation to provide for ourselves what we think we need.  But when we get ahead of God and try to take care of things on our own, nothing but trouble results.  We short circuit our quest for enlightenment.  The opposite is true as well- when we patiently persevere in the context of our every day, ordinary lives, God’s blessing is what we receive.

That’s what happened to Naaman.  On the seventh dip he was rewarded for doing everything that God had asked of him.  When he came up out of the Jordan river after dip number seven he was healed of the leprosy that had plagued his life.  But he was only healed because he persevered.  I imagine after dips number four, five and six with no sign of a change he was tempted to stop following God’s instructions, but he didn’t stop- he persevered.  And that’s what God wants from you.  Not just a perseverance that manifests itself in heroic acts of bravery, but a perseverance that demonstrates itself in a quiet faith that changes your life.  And that’s what biblical belief is- something that changes how you live.  

Prayer: 

Father, teach me to persevere even when I’m bored, & open my eyes to how to I live my life with you every day, every hour, every minute.  Make me more like Naaman when I want to quit and show me what my next step is.  What do you want me to do today?  Give me the strength to do whatever it is.

In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Hearing The Voice Of God.

Monday Reflection: 

So this week we’ll be looking at how to listen for the leading/direction/guidance of God in our lives. Because when it comes to God’s guidance in our lives discerning His voice is not always easy. So He asks us to do some due diligence before we move ahead:

Don’t believe everything you hear just because someone says it is a message from God; Test it first to see if it really is! 1 John 4:1 (LB)

Anyone who wants to do God’s will can test this teaching and know whether it’s from God or whether I’m making it up. John 7:17 (MES)

So how do I “test” a message to see whether it truly is a message from God or not? This week I’d like to focus on a 5 part filtering process that you can put any message through to determine if you’re hearing God’s voice or someone/something else. So if I get an impression or in some other way receive what I am wondering is the leading of God the first filter I’m going to put the impression through is this one: Does It Agree With The Bible?

So many of the problems humans have had that were caused by doing something that we (or someone else) thought was what God wanted them to do could have been avoided if said message was sifted through this filter first. How many times in human history has someone done something horrific in the Name of God thinking they were serving Him? In case you aren’t sure let just tell you- it’s a lot. If only there was some ultimate guide to human life and interaction that could warn us when we’re heading into dangerous territory. There is? Yup. It’s called the Bible and it’s a book that is unique among all the other books of this world. God tells Joshua that studying this book, reflecting on what it teaches him and then obeying it are the keys to a successful life:

Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do.  Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.  Joshua 1:7-8 (NLT)

Those are pretty lofty promises from God. This book as it turns out can hold you back from sin and it can “save you” which are both pretty crazy when you think about it: 

I have thought much about your words and stored them in my heart so that they would hold me back from sin.  Psalm 119:11 (TLB)

In gentleness accept God’s teaching that is planted in your hearts, which can save you.  James 1:21  (NCV)

So the first and probably clearest filter in testing an impression as to whether it’s from God or not is simply to ask yourself if the Bible agrees or disagrees with what I think I am hearing. Why? Because it’s pretty simple- if the Bible says something is wrong then it’s wrong. For instance let’s say your neighbor really gets to you. For whatever reason this person gets under your skin like nobody else you’ve ever known. One day the thought comes to your mind, “ if I killed my neighbor then he/she wouldn’t be around to bug me anymore.” Let me just say it for all of us who might be bugging our neighbors without even recognizing it- if you go to the Bible and run that impression through the first filter of testing an impression (does the Bible agree or disagree) it won’t take long to recognize that the Bible teaches us that God frowns on such an action. 

That may be a pretty obvious and easy impression to test but you get what I’m saying, right? If telling a lie will get me ahead at work or keep me from getting into trouble at home then we are all tempted to tell that lie. We will start doing mental and spiritual gymnastics that will convince us that God would really want us to tell the lie to get what we want or stay out of trouble. But lying is always wrong. It’s one of God’s top 10 “don’ts” (thou shalt not lie). And while I know that you’re thinking “what if I lived in Nazi Germany and I was hiding Jews and the Gestapo came to my door and asked if I had seen any Jews…” Yes. In that case I think you’re pretty safe lying (not safe from the Nazis if they find out but safe believing God would want you to lie to the Gestapo). But our mental and spiritual gymnastics that tempt us to rationalize a lie are rarely that kind of lie. They are almost always lies we would tell to keep us out of trouble or get us something we want. 

This is why Bible knowledge is so important. All of us come across multiple situations every day that the Bible has spoken quite clearly on. If we don’t know what the Bible says about a situation we’re shooting in the dark (so ask someone who has some Bible knowledge if you’re not sure). This is the first and most obvious filter to put any impression you have through to test whether the voice you’re hearing is God’s voice or not. So what happens if that filter leaves me unsure? What if the impression I’m getting doesn’t really seem to have a clear answer to the question, “does this agree with the Bible?” Then we go on to the second filter which we’ll talk about tomorrow.

TuesdayReflection:

So this week we’re talking about how to test an impression we may have to see if what we’re hearing/thinking is from God or not. The first filter we should put any impression through is the Bible filter- does what I’m thinking agree with what God has already said in black and white in His Word? But what happens when the Bible doesn’t necessarily speak one way or the other to the situation I’m in (which happens all the time by the way)? Then you put the impression through the second filter of testing an impression: will what I’m thinking about doing make me more like Jesus or less like Jesus?Because today when you woke up if you are a follower of Jesus then your single most important goal is to become more like Him:

Instead, we will lovingly follow the truth at all times—speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly—and so become more and more in every way like Christ.  Ephesians 4:15 (TLB)

But what does that mean to become “more and more” like Jesus? What we would like it to mean is to grow in the power and knowledge of Jesus. We want to be able to do the kinds of impressive stuff Jesus did (walking on water, healing the sick, casting out demons, turning water into the best wine anybody has ever tasted…) but that’s not what Paul is inviting us to in this scripture. The “omnis” are off the table when it comes to becoming more like Jesus (omnipotent or all powerful; omniscient or all knowing; omnipresent or the ability to be everywhere at the same time). God is never going to give any human “omni” anything and you should be glad about that really. Because humans can have bad days and if I was omnipotent who knows what kind of destruction I would have wrought in my own life and the lives of those I claim to love. 

Did you ever see the Twilight Zone where the little boy could wish the people that made him mad “into the cornfield”? Sure, it got rid of a momentary irritation but left him with nobody to love him or for him to love. It made him miserable. The same thing would happen if we acquired the power of Jesus. No, the invitation to become more and more like Jesus is an invitation to develop the character of Jesus:

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!  Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)

The fruit of the Spirit is more than just a catalog of nice things we should be striving to attain in our lives. The fruit of the Spirit is also a pretty comprehensive catalog of the character of Jesus. Look that list over again please. Can you think of any quality or character trait that Jesus demonstrated in His life that is missing from the list? This is God’s plan for your life. Not that you’d be perfect in all of those traits (Jesus is the only human Who was a perfect 10 in every virtue in that list- the rest of us will fall woefully short in many categories) but that you would be making progress in those areas every day as you cultivate a life designed to make you more and more like Jesus. We all have areas of strength in that list (joy and patience and kindness come fairly naturally for me) and we all have areas of weakness in that list (self control? What’s that??? And that whole “goodness” thing is a constant struggle for me [I know… you’re SHOCKED, right? Not you, Pastor Ed?!?! Yes… me ;0)

So that brings us back to this second filter in the process of testing an impression to see if it’s from God- will it make me more like Jesus if I do it or will it make me less like Jesus if I do it?And often you are the only one who can honestly and accurately answer that question. There are lots of things I can choose to do in my life and lots of places I could choose to go but some of them will make me more like Jesus if I go and some of them will make me less like if I do them. I’m not one to say all drinking is always wrong (remember Jesus turned water into wine…) but there are some of us who shouldn’t go anywhere near a bar because we have a specific weakness when it comes to alcohol or the people we might find ourselves hanging out with at the bar that will cause us to do things that will make us less and less like Jesus rather than more and more like Him. There are those of us who struggle with certain websites on the internet that make us less and less like Jesus when we visit them. Those of us who struggle with those sites probably should be careful going to other sites online that in and of themselves won’t make us less like Jesus but may trigger us to go to another site that will. I could go on and on. It’s what leads churches to start making rules about what anyone who attends there church is allowed to do and what they aren’t. Christians shouldn’t dance is one rule many of us heard growing up. Why not? Is there a scripture that says “thou shalt not dance?” No… but think of what it might lead to. A few people get themselves into all kinds of trouble at dances (or after the dance) so let’s just make a rule to make sure that won’t happen to anyone. You’ve probably heard quite a few of these rules if you’ve spent much time around church. No playing cards (there might be nothing wrong with playing “Go Fish” but what if playing with cards leads someone to gamble? No going to movies? Why not? No telling what kind of immoral trash you might see and like the dances who knows what kind of tom foolery you might get up to at the theater or after you leave the theater. No playing pool? Why not? HAVEN’T YOU EVER SEEN THE MUSIC MAN?!?!?!? Ohhhh… we’ve got trouble!

I’m going on and on now and I may just be confusing you more than you were when I got started. I thought this was all about asking if an impression will make me more or less like Jesus and that’s true- it is. But beware. Sometimes by making blanket rules like the ones I talked about we end up becoming more and more like the Pharisees while we’re trying to help others become more and more like Jesus. So that’s the second filter- will what I’m thinking about doing make me more or less like Jesus. It may be dangerous for you to make that decision for someone else and make lots of rules to “help” them out but it’s dangerous for you to not make that decision for yourself. That’s the problem- the Pharisees aren’t always wrong- they go wrong when they take a rule they’ve made for themselves so they can continue becoming more and more like Jesus and then tell others that the same rule now applies to them too. Confused? Yeah. Me too. So tomorrow we’ll talk about what to do when we’ve run an impression through the first two filters (does the Bible agree/disagree & will this make me more or less like Jesus?) and we are no closer to a clear answer (and maybe you’ll feel like you’re further away than ever from a clear answer…).

Wednesday Reflection: 

This week we are talking about how to learn to recognize God’s guidance, leading and direction in our lives. The Bible makes a pretty impressive promise when it comes to receiving wisdom (practical guidance for every day living according to the Bible) from God:

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. James 1:5 (NLT)

I’ve spent a lot of time asking for God’s wisdom to be sent to me via instant download in my life but rarely does the wisdom I’m looking for come like a lightning bolt. Most of the time it’s more like trying to find a path in the dark on a foggy night. It’s not that it’s impossible to find the path- it’s just not as clear or easy as I’d like. So we’ve been talking about some filters or questions to put any message through to make sure what we are hearing from God (or think we are hearing from God) is really from Him and that we are really interpreting what we’re hearing correctly. Wisdom after all is nothing more than learning to discern the will of God for my life and then doing my best to put into practice what I’ve heard from Him. So the first filter when it comes to filtering any message I may receive is, does the Bible agree or disagree with the message I think I’m receiving? If the Bible disagrees then you can be pretty confidant the message isn’t from God or you’re hearing from Him but then translating what you hear over to what you should do is where you’re going wrong. So then what do I do if I’m just not sure? Talk to people of wisdom.

The third filter we should put any message we think we may be receiving from God is this: do people I admire and trust agree with what I believe I’m hearing? God gave us the church and put us in a community (Jesus’ family) for a reason:

God’s intent is that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known. Ephesians 3:10 (NIV)

How does Paul say God’s manifold wisdom (manifold just means the whole enchilada- all of it)  is made known? Through the church. Through all of us- not just one or two people but through all of us. I don’t have the entirety of God’s wisdom within me. Neither do you. But together every single bit of God’s wisdom is known. So what does that mean practically speaking? That even if you think you are hearing from God and you think you’re accurately interpreting what that means you should do you should run it past others that you trust and admire who also have some of God’s wisdom (often much more than you or I possess on our own) to make sure you’re not making a HUGE mistake (any Arrested Development fans out there? If you don’t know what I’m talking about go to YouTube and search for Arrested Development I think I may have made a huge mistake- you’re welcome!).

As I look back on my life I can identify MANY times when I would have saved myself a ton of headaches and/or heartaches by checking with other people before I acted on what I thought was a message from God Himself. If I had just paid attention to what the Bible says about advice I would have been much better off:

The wisdom of the righteous can save you. Proverbs 11:9 (GN)

And then there’s this:

With many counselors, there is safety. Proverbs 11:14 (NLT)

So even if you believe you are hearing from God. And even if you believe you are accurately interpreting what you’re hearing into what that means you should do- save yourself (and often the rest of us as well) a whole heapin’ helpin’ of trouble by seeking the advice of other godly, mature folks who demonstrate the wisdom of God in their own lives. You’ll thank me later for that advice (or maybe you won’t because if you follow this advice which isn’t really from me but from Solomon and other writers of the Bible you won’t get yourself into some of the situations that you are likely to get yourself into if you don’t seek advice- how’s that for a run-on sentence? Maybe I should ask the advice of wise people about the wisdom of using run-on sentences in devotionals… or maybe not ;0)

Thursday Reflection:

This week we’re looking at a four step filtering process through which we can learn to recognize God’s voice/leading/guidance/direction in our lives. The first 3 filters were: 1) Does the Bible agree or disagree with what I think I’m hearing? 2) Will doing what I believe God is asking me to do make me more and more or less and less like Jesus?  And 3) Do people whose wisdom I trust and admire agree with what I think I’m hearing? 

But what if I’ve put an impression I think I’m receiving from God through those filters and I still don’t know what to do? Maybe the Bible doesn’t say anything about my situation. Maybe the question of whether it will make me more or less like Jesus doesn’t really apply and maybe the wise people I’ve talked to aren’t sure what to tell me (or I get conflicting advice from people). What do I do then? 

Check your heart. Your heart is what makes you feel like you’re alive. It’s the things that you like and the things that you dislike. It’s your passions. Your heart will lead you to things that make you feel satisfaction, purpose and joy. And God gave you that heart- those likes and dislikes so you could play your part in His plan for all of human history. The Bible says your heart is pretty important:

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Proverbs 4:23 (NCV)

Your heart determines the very course of your life. This shouldn’t be the first filter you put impressions through to test whether you’re hearing from God or not (our hearts can also influence us to do some pretty stupid stuff and get us into all kinds of trouble- who wants to go first with the testimonies of foolish places your heart led you because you didn’t filter your decisions through the first 3 filters we talked about this week? Nobody? Anybody? Beuller… Beuller… Beuller- that’s a Ferris Beuller reference for anyone that didn’t see it and is completely confused right now).  But if you’ve put your decisions and impressions through the first three filters of testing a message to see if it’s from God or not then your heart can really help lead you into God’s will for your life:

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Psalm 37:4 (NLT)

The Bible teaches us that when we “take delight in the Lord” then He will give us the “desires of our hearts”. So how do I delight in the Lord? By asking Him for wisdom to guide my life and then doing my best to follow that direction. By asking Him to set the pace, direction, pit stops and destination of my life and then getting in step with Him. But putting all the messages I receive in response to my asking God for wisdom and guidance through the filtering process by asking does this agree or disagree with the Bible, will it make me more or less like Jesus and what do other godly, wise followers of Jesus think about what I believe I’m hearing and what I think that means I am supposed to do? If you do that I guarantee you that God will feel like you are “delighting in Him.” And when we do that God promises to give us the our heart’s desire. But what I’ve learned is that doesn’t always mean He gives me what I always thought would make me happy- often if means He shows me what my heart’s desire truly is. 

When I first decided to go into ministry I made what I thought was a binding deal with God. I’d go into ministry (I felt like I was being “led” into ministry because it was what made my heart beat faster and what made me feel like I was really living and not just existing) and I’d do any job EXCEPT preach. I. Did. Not. Want. To. Be. The. Full. Time. Preaching. Pastor.

Period.

I thought God and I had a deal. Boy was I surprised when I ended up the full time preaching pastor up here in Eagle River Alaska when I thought I had come to be the youth pastor working with a pastor that I admired as much as any man I’ve even known. But he was gone 8 months later and I was the preacher and here I am 18 years later and who would have thought that this would be my heart’s desire? I sure wouldn’t have. I guess God knows what He’s doing, huh (yes He does… that was me being sort of facetious ;0)

Let me give you another example: When I went to Bible college I had recovered my life about a year and a half earlier and now at 21 years of age I was ready to make up for lost time. I came to Columbia Christian College with one goal- get my Bible degree and start working for Jesus. I wasn’t interested in friends and I wasn’t even looking for a girl. I was laser focused. The day before classes started I was sitting in a classroom to take placement tests when a girl walked in to the room. She had an entourage with her and she was explaining to them about what to do and not to do during a test. 

Don’t sit to close to the windows or you might get distracted. Don’t sit under a vent because you might get cold. Don’t sit close to anyone you like because you might want to talk to them. She sat behind me. Greeeeaaaattttt I thought. This is all I need. Then a piece of paper hit me in the shoulder and bounced onto my desk. I turned and looked at this girl and she explained that she didn’t mean to hit me but the guy in front of me- could I please hit him with the paper for her. I didn’t say a word (maybe I said “no”) but placed the wadded up paper back on her desk and turned around thinking, “what is with this girl?” (and now I know that girl was thinking “what is with this guy?”).

Turned out that girl was also a Bible major so that meant we had multiple classes together. In fact she was in 4 of my classes that first semester. She didn’t really notice though because her life was so crazy she wasn’t noticing much that first semester (she was taking 19 credit hours and she was in choir and she was one of the freshman class senators and…). One day about 3 weeks into classes starting she turned to me in one of our classes (there were about 13 other students in that class and our Ancient New Testament Greek class only had about 10 students total) and said, “I think you’re in one of my other classes…” Yes. Yes I was. Actually 3 other classes but who counts the “blessings” of God?

We didn’t particularly care much for one another. Then one day she failed a test in Greek. She was struggling with the language and I was doing really well. My brain just seemed to soak up languages and hers struggled with concrete stuff like that but thrived on abstract stuff like philosophy and theology- concepts I struggled with. She asked the professor if she could retake the test. He said sure. If she asked Ed to help her study. She refused and he said then she couldn’t retake the test. The F would stand. 

So that evening she approached me in the library with two of her friends for moral support and asked if I’d tutor her in Greek. I REALLY didn’t want to but I wanted to help out the professor who I really liked and admired so I reluctantly said yes. But both of us hated that we were going to have to spend time together. Until we started spending time together. Who knew that she would become my heart’s desire? I’m guessing if you know me well then you already knew the girl would become my wife, Judy.

All that to say this- if you put a message or decision through the 3 step filtering process we’ve been talking about this week and still aren’t sure what to do then check your heart and God will lead you into your heart’s desires.

Friday Reflection:

So I guess we need to talk about one more “filter” today. What happens if I’ve run my decision or impression I received (presumably from God) through the filters we’ve talked about this week (does it agree/disagree with the Bible? Will it make me more or less like Jesus? Do people of wisdom that I admire & trust agree with what I’m hearing? & What does my heart tell me?) and I’m still not sure what to do? It happens. There are decisions that the Bible doesn’t really have a lot to say about. There are decisions that either way you could continue on your journey to become more and more like Jesus. There are decisions that wise people that you admire and trust won’t have a strong idea about. And there are decisions that your heart doesn’t settle the debate because neither one seems great or you feel strongly both ways. What do we do then? Well, the Bible might suggest at that point we flip a coin.

Seriously. I’m not kidding. You might be thinking, “wait just a minute Pastor Ed- are you telling me to leave important decisions to the chance of the flipping of a coin?!?!?”  No. Because with God a coin flip isn’t necessarily leaving the decision to chance. The Bible says God can control the outcome of what we consider to a “chancy” coin flip or rolling of the dice:

 We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall. Proverbs 16:33 (NLT)

Have you ever read that particular proverb before? I know it doesn’t say “coin flip” but it’s the same principle. If you would feel more comfortable then get out a die and roll it. God can control the outcome of things we would consider to be “chance”. And there is Biblical precedent for it. When the apostles were trying to figure out who would replace Judas they chose between two equally qualified (in their eyes at least) followers of Jesus by drawing straws:

And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. Acts 1:23-26 (NLT)

Now we don’t know exactly what the “lots” were. They might have been straws or they might have been stones or the equivalence of dice but we do know it was seeking the will of God through what might seem like random chance. The casting of lots to discern the will of God is mentioned 70 times in the Old Testament and about a half a dozen in the New Testament.

But just because the apostles used the casting of lots as one filter for making their decisions it wasn’t the first filter they used. They went through their due diligence trying to figure out what God would have them do. They narrowed God’s will down to two candidates and when they couldn’t whittle down the field to just one they let God decide by casting lots. 

So if you’ve got a decision to make and you have run your choices through the filters we’ve been talking about this week and still haven’t narrowed things down to a single decision then maybe this is a good way to follow the Bible’s example and let God show you by what we would consider pure chance. Take the choices left to you, pray about it and then roll the dice/flip the coin/cast the lots. I’ve made decisions like this and they’ve worked out pretty well. It’s just one more way to take a step of faith doing our best to figure out what God wants for our lives and then doing what we believe He’s asking us to do. 

So- heads or tails?

Monday:  

We will lovingly follow the truth at all times—speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly—and so become more and more in every way like Christ.  Ephesians 4:15 (TLB)

And all of us… can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.  2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NLT)

Reflection: 

If someone asked you, “what does God want most from you?” what would you say? I used to would’ve said that He wants me to do right, to read my Bible, to pray, to go to church…

And all of those things are good things… but none of them are what saves me.  As far as I can tell, God’s number one plan for you today is that when its all said and done you became more like His Son rather than less like Him.  And while doing good and reading the Bible and praying go into that if we lose sight of Jesus through it all we end up in trouble.

I remember very clearly a day in 1997 when I realized I knew a lot about the doctrines of the church but not as much as I’d like about the One that church and doctrines are really all about.  I was listening to Max Lucado speak… He was telling about a time in the gospel of Matthew when Jesus withers a fig tree because it didn’t have any fruit on it.  That always seemed like a strange thing for Jesus to do.  Why use His power to wither a fig tree just because it didn’t have any fruit?  Was He really THAT hungry?

Max Lucado talked about how this happened just days before He would be killed.  He talked about what had happened to Jesus just prior to that event (some of it from Matthew’s gospel but some of it from other gospels that told about other events that Matthew left out).  He talked about what was coming for Jesus (again pulling from all four gospels to really lay out what was happening in a different way than just reading one persons account) and how that stress was impacting His human side and maybe leading Him to show that stress from time to time.

I can remember thinking… “wow… Max just seems to know Jesus so well.  I wish I knew Jesus that well.”  (Did you notice I called Max Lucado, “Max”?  Like I knew him well?  Some of you are probably thinking… wow… Ed knows Max Lucado so well… it’s true! I do know him and we are on a first name basis. If you ever meet him please tell him I said hello. He’ll pretend he doesn’t know who I am but that’s just a game we play with each other ;0) So where was I? Oh yeah- knowing Jesus like a friend. I wanted that for myself.

So I began reading the gospels and really focusing on Jesus’ life. I started in Matthew and when I finished with that I went on to Mark, then to Luke, then to John and then back to Matthew. I did that for a couple of years until I felt like I was starting to know Jesus better.

That’s what I’m inviting you to do with me in 2021. Get to know Jesus better. Start with Matthew and read a chapter a day and when you finish what many scholars consider to be the most “Jewish” gospel. Then you can go on to the next gospel (Mark- the action gospel written to Gentiles to try to help them wrap their brains around who Jesus is) and then the next and then the next until you’ve finished all four (if you stick with the reading plan you will have read all four gospels in 89 days. What do we do then? Start over. 

What can I guarantee you of if you do this with me? Only this- by the time we get done with 2021 we will know Jesus better than we do today. And I don’t know about you but I’m thinking after 2020 we could all stand to know Jesus better in the coming months.

Prayer: 

Lord, I want to know Your Son better.  I want to understand how He treated people, how He saw You, how He wants me to treat other people based on how He treats me and how He taught that I should treat others.  I pledge today to make 2019 the year of just Jesus in my life.  Show me Who He is.  In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Tuesday:  

At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations,  and he is the glory of your people Israel!” Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”  Luke 2:25-35 (NLT)

Reflection: 

There are two ways God works out His plans for all of human history and our own small lives (well not small to us but compared to God’s overall plan… come on ;0)   One is called “kronos” and the other is called “kairos”.  

Kronos is the orderly progression of time.  God set it in motion when He created the universe.  The idea is that time moves forward in an orderly, logical progression.  In other words, if it’s 4:00 PM right now then in a minute it will be 4:01 and a minute after that it will be 4:02 (and after another 178 of those minutes have ticked off I’ll be at Riverside and theoretically this week’s worth of devotional thoughts of which this is only the second will be printed out and orderly stacked on the resource table but I digress ;0)

Kairos on the other hand is when God steps into the orderly progression of time and does something amazing, something miraculous.  You see these moments peppered throughout the Bible.  Moments when God steps in and interrupts the ordinary progression of time and rescues His people or moves them miraculous forward giving them the ability to do things they couldn’t have done on their own.  We all love those moments but if we’re not careful we’ll miss them because we don’t do our part during the kronos moments.

What is my part to be doing while time marches orderly forward?  Well, to wait.  God has to get everything ready before He acts and if there’s one lesson you can see clearly in the Bible it’s that God’s not in a hurry.  The people of Israel had been waiting for God to send His messiah for thousands of years.  They were wondering why God was taking so long.  They didn’t understand His plan.  But when the time came… things really started to happen.  At least for a bit.

Think about the Christmas story.  The people have been waiting and suddenly there’s a flurry of activity.  Angels, virgins giving birth, shepherds, wise men from foreign countries coming to worship the baby, a star announcing His birth, more angels…

Everyone who saw what was happening had to be thinking… finally!  Now we’re going to see God’s plan unfold.  But what happened then?  Hurry up and wait some more.  What?  But I thought it was time… 

And that’s the problem- at least for me- thinking. I learned long ago I can’t predict when God is going to propel me forward and when I’m just supposed to wait. So I stopped trying. Now I do my best to wait patiently. What should we be doing while we wait? Ahhhhhhh… we’ll get to that tomorrow.  For today just spend some time thinking about kronos and kairos and how you’ve seen them both play out in your life. 

Prayer: 

Father, teach me patience.  I want to wait patiently for You to act.  Show me how to do that.  In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Wednesday:  

But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!  Habakkuk 2:3 (TLB)

Those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.  Isaiah 40:31 (NLT)

Reflection: 

Waiting.  Is there anything worse?  I used to HATE waiting.  But now I actually kind of enjoy it.  Why?  Because I’ve learned that when I do my part while waiting God does a lot more of this breaking into the ordinary progression of time to do something amazing and miraculous.  And as much as I love those moments… they can be taxing ;0)  And so now when I’m just sort of plodding along doing my part while I wait I have learned to appreciate those calmer moments. Judy calls it my “lazy river”. 

Have you ever been on a lazy river at a water park? It’s the place where you float gently on a river that runs on the outside of the water park and when you get to the end of you find yourself back at the beginning. It’s my favorite part of any waterpark. 

For the first 17 years of my time at Riverside Community Church I was pretty much on a lazy river. Don’t get me wrong- there were moments when my life and career hit crazy, turbulent rapids but for the most part we floated through our calendar pretty much knowing what was coming next and at the end of the year we’d find ourselves at the beginning ready to do it all again. But starting in 2017 the lazy river has been difficult to attain in my life. A series of events that led to so much turmoil and uncertainty and change over the last 3 1/2 years culminating in 2020- a year we all lost our lazy rivers. During this time I’m learning that while I really like the lazy river moments of my life I have to admit that more growth takes place during times of turmoil and change. So I’ve done my best during the last few years to wait on God’s timing  and do my part while I wait.

But what’s my part?  Well, it’s not just sitting around twiddling my thumbs, watching soaps and eating bonbons until God is ready (although sometimes it might seem like it). My part is to be working on my own life while I wait for God to do the part I can’t. To work on the things I already know He wants from me. The fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, self control), forgiveness, acceptance, faith, hope…

In other words, to be becoming more like Jesus every day (yes, you read that right… I said to “be becoming” ;0)  And the more I do that, the more God can use me. The more prepared I’ll be when He does use me. When Isaiah says that those who “wait” on the Lord will find new strength he isn’t talking about sitting around doing nothing. He’s talking about praising while we’re waiting, worshiping while we’re waiting, loving while we’re waiting… And if we do that then what happens?

You find “new strength” according to Isaiah chapter 40. This isn’t strength you never knew you had… this is strength you never had. I wonder if Isaiah could be talking about God breaking in to the orderly progression of time with His miraculous power to give us the ability to do things we never dreamed we could? Sounds logical.

But if that’s going to happen I have to do my part WHILE I wait. We’ll talk a little more about that tomorrow… for today you’ll just have to wait.

Prayer:

Father, today I will wait for you while working on me.  I want to become more like Your Son.  Show me the way.  In Jesus Name I pray, amen.

Thursday:  

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

Reflection:

Jeremiah 29:11… what a fantastic verse of hope.  Have you ever seen that verse stitched on a pillow or on a poster or mug or card?  Christians LOVE that verse and I’m not saying that it’s wrong… but we generally pull it out of context when we use it.

What does that verse mean to you when you read it?  For me it meant that if I just am patient then eventually God will give me everything I want the way I want it.  Gee, it almost sounds bad when I actually write it down like that.  But that’s what I thought.  

But that’s not what this verse means… what it means is to bloom where you’re planted because often your plan and God’s plan are two very different things.  Take the Israelites that Jeremiah is writing to.  They’ve been conquered by a foreign army.  They’ve been exiled into captivity in Babylon and they’re just sure that God will be doing something VERY soon to fix this mistake.  The only problem is, it’s not a mistake in God’s eyes.  They are EXACTLY where He wants them to be… they just don’t know that yet.  So God sends them a letter.  It contains Jeremiah 29:11 but to feel what they must have felt when they read that little nugget you need to read what comes right before that:

This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let your prophets and fortune-tellers who are with you in the land of Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams, because they are telling you lies in my name. I have not sent them,” says the Lord. This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Does that change what that verse means to you at all?  Maybe your view of God’s promises isn’t all warped like mine was and this is nothing new to you… but even if you know how God’s promises work it’s not easy to remember when you’re the one whose life has been thrown out of whack and you’re waiting for God to put things right.  Which is why I need to be reminded all the time.  

Bloom where you’re planted.  Wait for God’s timing.  Even if the future and hope that God promises aren’t what you hoped for, He’s the only One Who can make resurrections our of crucifixions.  So wait on God… and don’t forget to work on you while you’re waiting.

Prayer: 

Father, forgive me for the times I’ve been impatient with Your plan.  Today I want to turn my life over to Your plan… do whatever You want to do in my life.  I’ll do my best to work on me while You do Your thing.  In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Friday: 

Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business? Luke 2:49 (NKJV)

Jesus became wiser and grew physically. People liked him, and he pleased God.  Luke 2:52 (NCV)

The LORD says, “Forget what happened before, and do not think about the past. Look at the new thing I am going to do. It is already happening. Don’t you see it?” Isaiah 43:18-19 (NCV)

Reflection: 

Have you ever wondered why Jesus had to grow up? Why be born a baby and then wait 30 years before you start to change the world? Why not just beam Jesus down into the midst of the Temple during Passover as a fully formed adult and introduce Him that way?

I can’t speak for God but it seems to me that He wanted to show us how committed He is to organic, natural, time consuming growth. I wonder if Jesus ever got impatient with His Father’s timing (the human part of Him… I wonder if He ever did)? But God is never in a hurry. You will never read in the gospels that Jesus ran to get somewhere on time or that He rushed to finish something on time. So what did He do during that 30 years before He began His ministry?

He waited. But while He waited He was “about His Father’s business” according to the scripture you just read from Luke 2. What was Jesus talking about? What was the business that He was talking about?  

Well, I think Luke 2:52 gives us a hint (ok… I am probably over simplifying this but it works well as a New Years lesson so please don’t anyone show this to any of my theology professors because they’d probably roll their eyes and say, “I knew this is how Ed would turn out… he always was a slacker… ;0)

Luke 2:52 gives us four areas in which Jesus “grew”.  He grew mentally (wisdom), physically, socially (the people liked Him) and spiritually (He pleased God).  So what does that mean for me in 2019?  

I am going to make 4 goals for myself for 2021 and I hope you’ll do the same.  A mental goal, a physical goal, a social goal and a spiritual goal.

For a mental goal I am going to try to get my work spaces under control. If you know me you know that isn’t going to be easy (Hi, I’m Ed and I’m a slob [hi Ed!] {We love you Ed!}).  

Why is that a mental goal?  Because for me I’m afraid the clutter may be impacting my focus and ability to get things done. What about you? What might you do for a mental goal? Maybe learn a language or an instrument? Maybe you’re in school right now so you just want to do better at your mental tasks. I don’t know but think about it.

For a physical goal I’m shooting for stretching and cardio this year.  Both would do wonders for my aging frame. How about you? What will you do this year to grow physically (some of you are smiling and thinking that you did just fine “growing” physically 2020- especially during the holidays. Am I right? Yeah, I’m right)?

For a social goal… I’m not sure… I’ll probably let my wife decide on that one. I have half a clue for me my social goal may end up doing less than I’m currently doing. We’ll see. What about you? How will you grow socially this year?

And as far as a spiritual goal, I’m going to read a chapter of the gospels every day in 2021. If I do that I know I’ll have read through all 4 gospels 4 times by the time 2021 is done. How about you?  Join me with the reading?  Commit to coming to the weekly Bible study where we’ll be going verse by verse through the book of Mark? Adding prayer to your schedule   How does God want you to grow spiritually in 2021?

Whatever your goals might be, write them out and put them someplace you can see them regularly. Because the power of goal setting is not in the sophistication of the goal-setting-system that you use. It’s in keeping the end in mind and taking small steps on a consistent basis to achieve those goals. Even my theology professors would be in favor of that.

Prayer: 

Father, I want to be like Your Son.  Show me where I should be putting my energy in 2019.  Open my eyes to the goals You want me to make.  In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Mental goal- _______________________________________________________________________________

Physical goal-_______________________________________________________________________________

Social goal- _______________________________________________________________________________

Spiritual goal- _____________________________________________________________________________

Monday Reflection:

This week as we move towards Christmas Day we are going to take a look at the shepherds- one of the groups that plays a huge role in the Nativity story. It doesn’t seem that strange to you and me- all of our lives we’ve heard about the role the shepherds played. We’ve sung songs about the shepherds. We’ve seen movies and cartoons and even nativity scenes that prominently featured the shepherds. It doesn’t seem strange to us at all that the shepherds were there.

But it would have seemed strange to the people reading this story in the first century.

Luke is the only gospel writer to mention the shepherds. Why does he mention them when nobody else does? Interesting question (at least it is to me ;0). To understand that we’ve got to step back and look at why Luke was written in the first place. Why did Luke write his gospel and then his history of the early church? He kind of tells us in the opening lines of his gospel:

Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught. Luke 1:1-4 (NLT)

The biggest obstacle to understanding who Theophilus is that last word in the passage above, “taught”. It makes it sound like he’s a disciple who wanted to learn more about Jesus. That may be why Luke wrote but I don’t think so anymore. I’m starting to think Luke wrote his gospel and the book of the Acts Of The Apostles as a sort of cover letter so that the magistrate who was handling Paul’s trial in Rome would be able to better understand the letters that Paul wrote/was writing. This theory answers so many questions for me including why Luke wants to make sure and feature the shepherds right off the bat.

In the ancient world shepherds were at the bottom of the social barrel as it were. They were considered to be the sketchiest, least reliable and most untrustworthy group imaginable. They were one of only two classes of citizens in the first century who could not testify in court. Their testimony was considered entirely unreliable. If you murdered someone in front of 100 witnesses in the first century the only way you could hope to get away with it was if the 100 witnesses were all shepherds. They couldn’t testify against you. 

And yet God comes to this group of people that are considered to be the least reliable and that He knew nobody would listen to and He basically says, “hey guys, I want you to go and bear witness to what I’m up to over there in Bethlehem. My Son was born today and you guys will basically be the only witnesses other than a woman who is running from a scandal and her peasant husband.”

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Luke 2:8 (NLT)

Doesn’t make much sense, does it? Why does Luke tell us about then? I mean if you were trying to come up with a story that would change the world you would never use shepherds as the reliable witnesses who were asked to testify to the birth of your leader. But God has never paid much attention to human wisdom. We are always messing up His plans for treating each other the way we should. And so he calls on the least likely candidates to be witnesses of the birth of His Son.

So how does all of this fit into the idea that the gospel of Luke is a cover letter for a Roman magistrate who will decide if Paul lives or dies? If a Roman magistrate was reading the gospel of Luke he’d get to chapter 2 and realize that this new “religion” was doomed. There’s a shady history and scandal surrounding the conception of Jesus. There’s the fact that they’re Jewish. And now you’re telling me shepherds are the witnesses of the birth? I guess we’ve got nothing to fear from this lunatic and his silly religion. There’s no way it’ll last.

But it has. For almost 2000 years now and here we are in 2020 with people naming their kids Mary and Martha and Luke and Peter and Paul and we are naming our dogs Caesar and Brutus and Nero.  So when your story starts to not make sense don’t be too alarmed- God works well in what we consider to be chaos and weakness. 

Tuesday Reflection:

One way I really like to look at the story of the shepherds is to ask myself what I am being asked to do with the information contained in this story. So let’s look at what it would mean to follow in the footsteps of the shepherds. What did they do on that first Christmas? Well the first thing they did (after being rudely awakened by the world’s first multi media light show) was to focus on the good news. Why did they focus on the good news? Because the angel told them to:

Then an angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord was shining around them, and they became very frightened. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I am bringing you good news that will be a great joy to all the people. Luke 2:9-10 (NCV)

For today let’s focus in on what the shepherds would have understood the angel to be saying because that word in Greek that is translated as “good news” here in this more modern translation would have been translated as “gospel” in older, more traditional ones. So what is the gospel? Well, it’s the good news. Aren’t you glad we cleared that up? In Greek the word is euangellion. It was everywhere in the first century and widely used but was only used in reference to one human being (who was actually believed to be a god by the ancient Romans)- the Emperor Augustus Caesar. 

If there was a battle in the ancient world then whichever side won would send a messenger back to their city/nation to proclaim the “good news/gospel/euangellion” that the battle was won. Towards the end of his life Augustus seized on this word to explain his life. His life story was called the “gospel of Augustus”. And that’s not where the similarities to the Christmas story and Jesus stop either. Augustus was said to have brought “peace on earth and goodwill to all men” (ever hear of the Pax Romana?). He was called the Prince of Peace. His reign (so he believed) would never end. I could go on and on. 

The opening pages of Luke are like a lampoon against Roman beliefs about their emperor. Augustus may think he’s all these things but we KNOW it’s actually this little baby born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger.  So then wouldn’t this message about the “good news” of Jesus scare the shepherds? Probably. No one was allowed to use the concept of gospel when referencing their life other than the emperor. But it was the other part of the message that they chose to focus on:

Today your Savior was born in Bethlehem- the town of David. He is Christ, the Lord. This is how you will know him: You will find a baby wrapped in pieces of cloth and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:11-12 (NLT)

Today your “Savior” was born.  That’s what the shepherds focused on. And it changed everything for them. All of Israel had been awaiting God’s Savior. And now the angel tells them that He’s arrived. Packaged in the form of a little peasant baby born in the most humble of circumstances. Tomorrow we’ll talk about what it turned out the angel meant by “Savior” (because it was different than anyone that was living out the Nativity story could have possibly understood even though they were being told exactly what it would mean) but for today maybe spend a few minutes practicing focusing on the “good news” because there’s an awful lot of bad we could focus on if we so chose. So let’s not so choose. Let’s instead focus on the “gospel” and see where it takes us.

Wednesday Reflection:

Ok so as promised today we’re going to talk about why the fact that our “Savior” was born on Christmas Day is such “good news”.  Have you ever had one of those moments where you saw yourself for exactly who you were and you weren’t terribly pleased with that moment of clarity? We all have them. Those moments where we see ourselves clearly the way Paul must have while writing this passage of scripture:

And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.  I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Romans 7:18-24 (NLT)

Ever been there. Yeah, me too. Those moments of clarity are God moments. Moments where we see with blinding clarity that we are in desperate need of a Savior. If there wasn’t a Savior out there to save us then we’d be in real trouble. But the angel comes to the shepherds (remember the guys that everyone in their world told them every day that they were worthless, sketchy and completely unreliable?) and tells them that THEIR Savior was born that day and that they were being invited to bear witness and attend His first birthday party. What a thought, huh? God’s first birthday? Well no… and yes… kind of. The mind boggles doesn’t it? 

Ok so back to our need for a Savior. When we have those moments where we see into the deepest part of who we are and we are left shocked at what we see we are realizing that on our own we are helpless to live the life we are called to live:

All have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard… and all need to be made right with God. Romans 3:23-24 (NLT)

How does it feel to be included? Our world does such a fine job of excluding people based on race, gender, nationality, talent level, looks, athletic ability… the list could go on and on. But not God- He wants us to recognize that in most ways we are all exactly the same. Who has sinned? All. Who has fallen short of God’s glorious standard? All. Who needs to be made right with God? All. If you’re starting to feel a bit disillusioned stop it. Calm down. That’s what Christmas is all about. That baby was born to live out God’s glorious standard (something none of us could or would do) and in so doing He would make-us-right-with-God:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV)

After reading that verse let me ask you again- how does it feel to be included? As Larry David might say, “Pretty. Pretty. Pretty good.” Christmas happened so that Good Friday and Easter could happen. So that “whoever” believes shall not perish but have eternal life. How does it feel to be included. You’re a “whoever” and so am I. 

And so were the shepherds. 

And so is every human you have ever met or will ever meet- even the ones that make your blood boil. Yes- even them. So why doesn’t everyone take Him up on this offer of being saved? Because so often we tune Him out. I see the “call of God” as something that is continually being sent out over the airwaves like a radio signal that just repeats itself over and over again. We are really good at tuning it out but every once in a while there’s this moment of clarity (a God moment) where we hear it at the same time as we recognize our desperate need for someone to save us. I had my most vivid God moment when I was 20 years old but I continue to have them to this very day. Reminders that even with Jesus’ help I still am in such a need of a Savior. 

Thank God that Jesus came to save me. Oh yeah, and you too. Oh yeah, and all the other humans including the ones that make my blood boil. Christmas is the point at which the Rescuer comes to this earth to pay the price that Adam & Eve incurred WAY back in the Garden of Eden and that each one of us continues to incur every day of our lives. Over the next 33 years He would live a perfect, sinless life so that when He allowed Himself to be hung on a cross it would be a sacrifice and NOT an execution. And with that sacrifice He would earn eternal life. Paul put it like this:

God made him who had no sin to become sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)

That’s an easy verse to wrap your brain around, isn’t it? No. It’s not. It’s not an easy verse to wrap your brain around if you were reading it in the original language as a native speaker of Greek either. I think Paul meant to make us stop and say, “what did I just read” there but I also think the concept is so difficult for humans to wrap their brains around that it isn’t an easy concept to write down. Basically this verse is talking about substitutionary atonement (a fancy ten dollar theological word that means Jesus and me swapped spots). It’s saying that He came to live the life I was created to live but didn’t/couldn’t/wouldn’t and then die the death I would have been destined to die had someone not “rescued me” and then He shared the reward that rightfully belonged only to Him. Now let’s read that verse again, shall we?

God made him who had no sin to become sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)

Substitutionary atonement. Jesus took my place which is mind boggling. But you know what’s even MORE mind boggling? That not only did He take my place but He invites me to then take His place. 

What?!?!?!? That’s crazy, right? I mean it’s not just me, is it? Not only did He “become sin for us by switching places with us but then we “became the righteousness of God” by taking His place. Now when God looks at me He doesn’t see weak, messed up, sinful Ed (I mean He does but not legally speaking). Now when God looks at me He sees the righteousness of Jesus (legally speaking) because I have been saved by my Savior. 

You can see why the angels would make such a big deal about it, can’t you? 

Thursday Reflection:

Ok so the second thing I think we can learn from the shepherds is to follow God’s directions. Picture the scene. The shepherds are sitting there in the dark with a bunch of sleeping sheep and suddenly there’s this angel standing there talking to them all the while the “glory of the Lord” shone around him. Then the solitary angel is joined by a whole choir of angels:

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:15 (NLT)

What do they say? Gloria in excelcis Deo (which means, “glory to God in the highest”). Can you imagine what that moment must have been like? I can’t. I’ve seen lots of movies where they try to show us what it might have looked like but so far I haven’t seen anything that made me say, “that’s it! They got it exactly as I would imagine it happened!” I imagine they were floored. Probably still shaking and exhausted. But what do they do? They follow the directions they were given:

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” Luke 2:15 (NLT)

Every time I read that I see an emphasis on the last part of that sentence- let’s go see this thing that the Lord has told US about! Can you believe He told us?!?!?!? Wait a minute- why would He do that? I mean we know us. We aren’t worthy to be the only ones told about something of this magnitude, are we? 

They probably had lots of question but they set them aside and followed the directions given to them. I’ve had to do that too. When I felt like God was asking me to be a preacher I resisted. Every preacher I’d ever knows was so sure of himself and seemed (emphasis on the word “seemed” I realize now) to have the answers to every question. I was not so sure of myself and I had very few answers. Add to that the fact that I am, ummmm, unique? I’ve got my own quirks and I knew I couldn’t just hide them for very long. I could hear God saying, “I don’t want you to be like all the other preachers you know- I want you to be a preacher the way you’d be a preacher.” 

But what kind of strange individuals would come to a church where I was the preacher? God ensured me He had all kinds of strange individuals in mind. I tell you that story because if I hadn’t followed God’s directions for me I would have missed out on Riverside. A journey I NEVER would have chosen for myself but one I wouldn’t trade for the world. One of my life verses is:

I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free. Psalm 119:32 (WEB)

Growing up I NEVER would have put the words “free” and “commands” in the same sentence together. I thought God’s commands were a prison cell that was designed to keep me safe (from hell) but it wasn’t freedom. When I was 17 I broke out of that imagined prison cell and ran to what I considered to be “freedom”. I did all the things that represented freedom to me and what I discovered was that there came a time when the very things that represented freedom to me ended up enslaving me. 

I wouldn’t have used to put the words “commands” and “freedom” together in the same sentence but I would now. And I hope you would to. How about today we spend the day listening for God’s directions and doing our best together to follow them?

Friday (Christmas Day!) Reflection:

Merry Christmas! If you’re reading these in order then today is Christmas Day. The day the shepherds met Jesus almost 2,000 years ago. So far we’ve seen that the shepherds focused on the good news and they followed God’s directions. Today we are going to watch as they embrace the wonder of Christmas. When the angels left them the shepherds didn’t waste any time:

They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. Luke 2:16 (NLT)

When you picture this scene what do you see in your mind’s eye? I’m guessing it’s the same picture I’ve had all my life. The shepherds wander into Bethlehem and find Jesus and His family in a stable. And no wonder we all think that- every nativity set I’ve ever seen shows Jesus, Mary and Joseph in a barn with the Magi and the shepherds there gazing serenely upon the newborn Son of God. Why did we think that’s how it happened? Partly because of a bad translation of a very strange Greek word- the word is kataluma and it’s found in only two places in the Bible. One of them is here in the Christmas story:

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn (kataluma). Luke 2:7 (ESV)

There was no room in the katluma. In older translations of the Bible this word was traditionally translated as “inn”. It gave us a very clear picture of Joseph and Mary approaching the Bethlehem motel but finding that there was a no-vacancy sign flashing in neon red as they approached. The callous inn-keeper didn’t care that Mary was pregnant and reluctantly agreed to let them stay in the detached stable with the animals and insects. We thought that because of the way these older translations dealt with the word “kataluma”. The problem is that the word kataluma doesn’t refer to a motel at all and we see that in newer translations of the Bible:

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room (kataluma) available for them. Luke 2:6-7 (NLT)

So what was a kataluma? Well, it was an “upper room” that most first century peasants home had that was used mainly for storage. Unless you were rich. If you were rich then you could afford to put your storage elsewhere and use your kataluma for gatherings which leads us to the second place the word is used in the Bible- at the end of the book of Luke:

So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us… when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters and tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room (kataluma), where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. Luke 22:8-13 (ESV)

Huh. Would you look at that? In Luke chapter 2 the ESV (English Standard Version) translates the word kataluma as “inn” but in Luke 22 when talking about the “upper room” where Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Last Supper it translates the same word as “guest room”. Why? Because we American Christians love our traditional understanding of the birth of Jesus and we don’t like anyone messing with our fond memories of how Jesus’ birth occurred. For some reason we like the idea that there was a mean inn-keeper and a stable where Jesus’ family was alone in a cruel and bitter world. 

Now don’t get me wrong- the world can be VERY cruel and bitter and the Christmas story bears witness to just how much evil and darkness was a part of the nativity. But it was not part of this portion of the story. Let’s talk a bit about a traditional first century Jewish home in Bethlehem.

Bethlehem was a village of about 300 people in the first century. There was no need for a motel. No archaeologist has ever found anything that resembles a motel or inn anywhere around Bethlehem. So where do Joseph and Mary go? They almost assuredly go to the home of one of Joseph’s relatives. Remember- Joseph is going to Bethlehem for the census because that’s where his family is from. Joseph is descended from King David who was also born in Bethlehem. Joseph would have gone to a relatives home and knocked on the door. 

When I was in Israel we visited a site called the Parable House in Taybeh. It was built around 250 years ago and is a perfect example of a typical first century Jewish home. When we walked in the door there were stairs leading down and stairs leading up (a split level starter home I guess ;0). Walk up a couple of stairs and you were on the main level where all the of living and sleeping occurred. You had to look closely to see another set of stairs in the back corner of the main level that led up and behind what looked at first like the back wall of the house. But as I walked up the hidden set of stairs I realized there was another room up there- an “upper room”.  It was as I would discover a few minutes later, a kataluma. A room that was mostly used for storage- unless and until family came to visit. Then it became the guest-room. But when Joseph and Mary got to Bethlehem and knocked on the door of their relatives there was a small problem. There was no room in the kataluma- other relatives had already arrived and that space was full.

So what did they do? Well, let’s talk a bit more about the typical first century Bethlehem home. As I said earlier- when you come through the door the living area is about shoulder level on your left (in the Taybeh house that I was lucky enough to get to walk through) with a few steps leading up to the main level. But if I went straight ahead I would find steps going down into a system of underground caves. There were caves everywhere in Israel and homes were build around and atop cave systems using them as more rooms. When it came to the subterranean caves/rooms (the caves under the main living area of the home) the family would use those caves as a stable of sorts. They couldn’t leave their animals outside so at night they’d bring them in and lead them down to the stable which was still part of their home. 

That night when Joseph and Mary got to Bethlehem the kataluma of their relatives was already full so they were invited to stay in the stable under the house (which I imagine Mary would have preferred anyways since there was a LOT more privacy (from humans I mean, not so much privacy from the sheep and goats that were hanging out with them I would guess ;0). 

Why does this matter? Because it alters the way we see the story of Jesus’ birth. He was not callously turned away from the inn and sent to the cold forbidding detached stable. He was welcomed into his relatives home and invited into the stable where they would be protected and loved and surrounded by family. 

It was still dirty. There were still animals. And of course- the manger. An implement that would have been found in every basement in Bethlehem. And that’s where the Shepherd found the newborn Son of God- they’re Savior. 

After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished… The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. Luke 2:16-20 (NLT)

Here’s the picture. The angel tells the shepherds exactly where to go in Bethlehem. They show up to a peasant’s home and knock on the door (remember when I told you shepherds were considered to be the sketchiest of all groups in first century Israel? That ought to have been interesting when Joseph’s relative opened the door, don’t you think?) and when Joseph hears a commotion he must’ve crawled out of the cave/basement/stable and looked up the stairs where he heard the shepherds say that an angel had told them they’d find the newborn Son of God wrapped in swaddling cloth and lying in a manger. Did Joseph look away from the shepherds and into the basement where Mary was lying next to the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying- wait for it- IN A MANGER?!?!?! I like to think he did and I also like to think when he did he said, “whooooaaaaa!” 

And so what we discover at the end of this story is that we are being invited to follow in the footsteps of a group of people who were outcasts in their culture. Why? Because in God’s eyes there are no outcasts. In God’s eyes we are all precious. And in Jesus’ community everybody’s welcome, nobody’s perfect and anything’s possible. 

This Christmas will be like that first Christmas for many if not most of us. There will be beauty and light and wonder but there will also be pain and confusion and some darkness. There will be peace and comfort and joy but there will also be the pain and loss and grieving that 2020 has brought to many of us. We’ve lost a lot in 2020- some of us more than others. But if we walk in the footprints of the shepherds and focus on the good news, follow our leader and embrace the wonder in spite of the pain and loss that we may be experiencing then I believe we’ll find that 2020 will be a Christmas we never forget- just like the shepherds at that first Christmas celebration. Merry Christmas everybody.

Monday:  

Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with— even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently. Romans 14:1-2 (MES)

Reflection: 

I love to get deals.  When I go down south one of my favorite things to do is hit the outlet malls so I can find clothes that fit me for dirt cheap (I know… it’s hard to believe I don’t spend thousands on my wardrobe… but it’s true).

Have you ever spent much time in outlet stores?  There are racks and racks, or shelves and shelves of random stuff that is dirt cheap.   Why is it there?  How did it come to be there?  Well, either there’s something wrong with it or nobody else wanted it.  And now… here it is ready for you to take it home and brag about the bargain you got to your friends.

Have you ever thought that relationships (the ones you treasure and those other ones as well) are very similar to the things you find at an outlet mall? Most of the good ones are already gone and all you have left to choose from are like clothes at an outlet mall… there’s something wrong with them or nobody wants them (or both).

You may have lamented this before in your life but did you ever stop to think about the fact that it’s the same story when other people look at you?  There’s either something wrong with you or nobody wants you (or both).  Sounds like a real downer of a devotional today, huh?

The good news is… there is Someone who wants you.  There’s Someone who knows everything about what’s wrong with you (even stuff you don’t realize yet) and still wants you.  In fact, He gave His life for you.  But He also gave His life for the people that surround you who drive you CRAZY!  The people you can’t stand.  He cares about them… He cares about you… and He wants for those of us who claim to be followers of His to care about the people nobody else cares about as well.

The holidays are upon us… and I have a feeling that you will have to spend time with the people you’d least like to spend time with over the next few weeks.  How do you think Jesus wants you to handle those moments?  Probably like He would if He were here in your place.   This week we’re going to look at the three most powerful things you can give the people that God brings into your life (some of them you already know… some may be just around the corner).  Consider it a Christmas present not just to them… but a Christmas present to yourself as well (because in giving these three gifts to the people who push our buttons the most we will become more like Jesus ourselves- and that’s coincidentally what Jesus wants most from you this Christmas as well).

Prayer: 

Lord, I don’t always treat people the way You would if You were here in my place.  I don’t always even remember that that’s the goal.  Today remind me of what my mission is with everyone I come into contact with.  In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Tuesday:  

Accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.Romans 15:7 (NLT)

Reflection: 

The first gift that Jesus offers you is also the first gift that He wants you to offer to those people you have to deal with… you remember them, the ones that have something seriously wrong with them?  That gift is the gift of grace.  Acceptance is the gift of radical acceptance and it feels great when we receive it but for some of us it can be difficult to give to other people.

When I have a tough time giving grace to someone in my life I try my best to remember how much grace Jesus had to give me.  When I first offered my life to Jesus I wasn’t much to look at.  I had spent 3 ½ years throwing my life away and wasn’t sure all the preachers were right who said Jesus will always take me back.  But I didn’t really have any other options.  I was at the end of my rope.

So one night I prayed a very simple prayer.  I said to God, “if You really exist and if You really want my life then I’ll give it to You.  And I’ll do what I already think I know that You want me to do, and do my best to learn the rest.”  Then I waited.  I was hoping for one of those Hollywood moments where the heavens part and light shines down into the darkness and angels descend playing harps.  But I didn’t get a Hollywood moment.  I got very little actually right at that moment.  I wondered if I had been heard… and if I had maybe I had been rejected.

But I had (been heard) and I hadn’t (been rejected).  As I started taking baby steps towards the life I thought God wanted for me (often in the wrong direction even) God started blowing my mind with answered prayers and miracles that nobody else could see but I was constantly looking around wondering if anyone else was seeing this.  I can’t prove to you that God exists (just like you can’t prove that He doesn’t)… but over the last 28 years God has absolutely proved to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is there and He cares about me.  

He offered me the gift of grace… He radically accepted me right where I was and loved me even though I had nothing to offer Him.  Even though I had spent a good part of my life running from Him and living a life that had nothing to do with what He dreamed of when He created me.  Even with all that God accepted me and welcomed me back into His family.

Now He wants me to do the same for the people I come into contact with.  He wants me to give grace… the gift of radical acceptance to the people in my life.  Those who are easy to accept and (this is the really tough part) those who are totally unacceptable.  What about influence you may be asking (I knew you’d be wondering about that…)?  Well, we’ll talk about that tomorrow.  For today let’s focus on acceptance and grace.  How are you doing at giving grace to the people in your life?  Not just the easy ones… but especially the tough ones.  

Prayer: 

Father, thank You so much for the gift of grace that you offer me.  Thank You for accepting me just the way I am.  Now I ask that you would give me the courage and strength to offer grace and radical acceptance to the people in my life.  Show me how to become more like Jesus today by giving grace to even to the people who make my life harder.  In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Wednesday:  

You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32 (NIV)

Reflection: 

Today we’re going  to look at the second gift Jesus gives us… the gift of truth.   Yesterday we looked at the gift of grace (or radical acceptance) and some of you maybe were wondering to yourselves as you read, “but what about influencing people?  If I just radically accept everything that everyone does how do I influence people who need to change”?  Great question.  

First of all let me point out one very important thing.  If you don’t first offer people the radical acceptance that Jesus first offered everyone He came across, why would they listen to any truth you might be able to speak into their lives (that’s a rhetorical question… the answer is they wouldn’t)?

Maybe you’ve heard it said, people don’t care how much you know until the know how much you care.  It’s absolutely true.  One of the biggest knocks that people have against Christians is that we often come across as those who turn truth telling into an Olympic event.  We use truth like a club, bashing people over the head with it.  And when we do we take the power of God’s truth right out of the equation because God’s truth was never intended to be used as a club.

But God’s truth was meant to be a light that when shone into our lives reveals the areas where we need to change.  And sometimes God wants to use me or you to help Him shine the light into somebody else’s life.  Paul put it this way in Galatians 6:1:

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path.

Sometimes God wants to use us to help those who have stumbled off the right path in their lives.  But there are a couple of really important questions to ask before you go charging off and “offering” the gift of truth to the people in your life that you believe so desperately need (or deserve?) it: 

1. Is it really my business?  Those of us who tend to see the truth that people need to be told more than the grace that they need to be offered often rush in where angels fear to tread.  We become self appointed hall monitors of holiness and use the mask of God’s truth as a license to attack people that are driving us nuts.  Just because you see something that you think is wrong, don’t assume God is calling you to fix it (He might be calling you… but proceed with caution or you will be no better than the Pharisees… and we’ll talk about them tomorrow). Make sure you have enough of a relationship with someone, based on the grace and radical acceptance that Jesus always starts with BEFORE you go running down the path of correction and truth telling.

2. How can I do this “gently” & “humbly” like Galatians 6 says correction should be done?  Jesus was gentle and humble with people who needed His gift of truth (with one exception- the Pharisees and we’ll see why He was more forceful with them tomorrow… for today I’ll just say you DO NOT want to become more like the Pharisees.  I’m just saying).  The one person in the universe who always knew exactly the right thing to say and how to proceed and He always proceeded with grace, gentleness and humility before He spoke truth.  

Tomorrow we’ll look at an event where Jesus offers grace and truth to someone who desperately needed both gifts in her life.  For today ask Jesus to show you the truth about your own life.  And for Him to give you the courage, wisdom, gentleness & humility to give the gift of truth to the people in your life who need it. 

Prayer: 

Father, forgive me for the times I’ve turned a blind eye to the areas of my life that You want to change.  Give me the courage to see Your truth in my life… open my eyes to the things I need to change today.  And forgive me for the times I’ve used truth as a club and hurt people.  Teach me to be more like Your son in how I tell the truth to the people in my life.  In Jesus Name, amen.

Thursday:  

They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.   When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”  “No, Lord,” she said.  And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” John 8:9-11 (NLT)

Reflection:

In the story from today’s scripture reading we find the perfect combination of grace & truth.  Jesus gives both to this woman… and believe me, she needed both.

This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible because it gives us insight into how God handles His own laws & commandments, especially when we really screw them up.  Can you imagine the drama of this moment?  The woman is guilty.  There’s no doubt about that.  The religious leaders think they have Jesus trapped (if you don’t know the story make sure and read John chapter 8 to get the whole picture).  The woman is caught in the very act of adultery and the law of Moses says that is an act that deserves death by stoning (actually it says both the man and woman should be stoned to death so here’s my question… where’s the guy?  Doesn’t it take two to tango?  There’s something deeper going on here than some religious leaders seeking to uphold the laws of God but that’s a story for another devotional).   Anyways… back to this devotional.  The religious leaders think they have Jesus trapped.  If he says, “go ahead and stone her to death”, then He loses the radical acceptance factor that is causing sinners and underdogs to flock to Him.  If He says, “don’t stone her”, then He loses the moral high ground of truth.  What will Jesus do?

He gives both grace and truth.  First He deals with the religious hypocrites, but when they’re gone He then deals with this woman who nobody cares about… except for Jesus.  After everyone else leaves Jesus tells the woman two things:

1.  “Neither do I condemn you,” (that’s grace)

2.  “Go now and leave your life of sin.”  (that’s truth)

If he hadn’t first given her more grace than she had probably ever been given in her life the second gift (the gift of truth) would have been meaningless to her.  He would have been no different than the Pharisees who were using truth as a club and the frightened woman as a pawn. But if all He does is offer her grace without turning the mirror of truth in her direction then He condemns her to a life that gradually becomes darker and darker until what she’s left with will be a sort of living death (we think zombies are a work of fiction but the living dead are all around us).

But Jesus never gives the gift of truth without the gift of grace.   He offers her both grace and truth and in so doing shows us not only how God deals with us… but also how He wants us to deal with each other.  This was what Jesus’ whole life was about… what He had come to give us:

The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth… For the law was given through Moses;  grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:14-16 (NIV)

Grace & truth are the sign of Jesus’ love.  It’s supposed to be our sign as well.  It’s not easy and we can easily get frustrated as it seems like the gifts of grace and truth aren’t really making much of a difference in our actual lives (or the lives of those we wish would change).  That’s why there’s a third gift Jesus gives us that we need to learn to give each other.  What is that gift?  Tune in tomorrow and find out.

For today I hope you’ll ask yourself if you’ve been focusing more on grace or truth in your life.  Have you been focusing more on grace or truth when you deal with other people?  You need to find the balance that Jesus had between the two.  Is it easy?  Nope… but very little of value is easy.  Don’t rely on easy… do what’s most valuable even if it’s difficult.

Prayer: 

Father, open my eyes to the balance between grace & truth.  Show me which side I tend to focus on and then teach me how to find the balance… which I know will be a little different in every situation with different people… so that I can become more like Your Son.    In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Friday:  

Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act. Psalm 37:7 (NLT)

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: To the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as one day. The Lord is not slow in doing what he promised—the way some people understand slowness. But God is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to be lost, but he wants all people to change their hearts and lives. 2 Peter 3:8-9 (NCV)

Reflection: 

The third gift Jesus offers us is time.  Aren’t you glad that He does?  We can be mighty impatient… some of us with ourselves… some of us with the people in our lives that we wish would get with program and straighten up.  But not God… He’s so incredibly patient with us.  He gives us the time we need for the gifts of grace and truth (and the cold, hard light of reality) to bring us to our senses.

One day Billy Graham, who was ordinarily to even tempered and peaceful, was throwing stuff around in his office and muttering under his breath.  His secretary didn’t know what was going on so she went in and asked Billy what was the matter.  I love what he said to her… 

“I’m in a hurry and God is not!”

Maybe you’ve felt the same way.  We are such impatient creatures (some of us more than others).  But God gives us the gift of time.  He reminds us that the story of our lives isn’t over.  This isn’t the final chapter… we’re still in the middle.  That should comfort us when we look at our own lives and the lives of those we love.  I am living proof that God is patient.  I am living proof that as long as you’re breathing God isn’t done with you yet.  But so are you (living proof that is…), and so are the people you love.  

So this holiday season make sure you remember the 3 gifts Jesus offers to you (grace, truth & time) and make sure you offer them to the people in your life as well.  It’s the best Christmas gift you could ever give… and it will change both of your lives.

Prayer: 

Father, Thank you for being so patient with me.  Forgive me for the times I’ve been impatient with myself or others.  Today I commit myself to seeing the journey of life as a marathon rather than a sprint.  Teach me to run the race of life in such a way that I become more like You and that I also draw others towards You because of the grace, truth & time that offer them.    In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Monday:  

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father. James 1:12-17 (NLT)

Reflection:

This week we will be looking at the concept of temptation- mankind’s oldest problem. It goes back to the very beginning and has been tripping us humans up ever since. Oscar Wilde once said, “I can withstand everything except temptation.” Pretty deep, huh? Temptation is tough but James says we can handle it whenever it comes our way. How? By understanding it. By recognizing its patterns and learning how to deal with those patterns. Ok… this is all part of one big section that we’ve been going over for the last four weekends. This section is focusing on “trials” and “temptations”. In week one James talked about trials and said not to be surprised by them… in fact… he said consider it an opportunity for joy when trials come our way. Now here in this passage James tells us how to handle temptations.  Two different concepts, right? Trials and temptations are two separate events, aren’t they? Turns out, nope. In fact it’s the same word in the original Greek language that the Bible was written in. The word in James 1:2 which is translated as “trials” in most versions of the Bible is the exact same word in James 1:14 which is almost universally translated as “temptation”. What’s the deal? I think the deal is that they are inseparable. In every trial there is a temptation and in every temptation there is a trial. They only differ based on the direction from which they come. Trials generally come from without and temptations generally come from within. James seems to not care much about the difference between these two concepts… he just wants to make sure we’re prepared for them.

One more thing I want to make sure and point out… in verse 12 James says if we endure then we will receive the “crown of life”. The word there literally means, “life itself”. It’s the concept of abundant or glorious living that Jesus says He came to lead us into. It’s not just a promise for the after life… it’s a promise that Jesus wants us to walk in here and now on this earth as we head toward the eternal life we will share with Him in Heaven.  James also says that if we don’t endure temptation then the result is death. Not necessarily death as in our hearts ceasing to beat but a kind of walking death that too many of us end up settling for here on this earth. James wants us to understand these two ways of living and is hoping we will choose life. So this week we’re going to look at a temptation/trial battle plan because if there’s one thing I know about temptations it’s that all of us will go through them and they will never stop. 

Tuesday:  

Now the snake was the most clever of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day the snake said to the woman, “Did God really say that you must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden?” The woman answered the snake, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden. But God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch it, or you will die.’” But the snake said to the woman, “You will not die. God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree, you will learn about good and evil and you will be like God!” The woman saw that the tree was beautiful, that its fruit was good to eat, and that it would make her wise. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of the fruit to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Then, it was as if their eyes were opened. They realized they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made something to cover themselves. Genesis 3:1-6 (NLT)

Reflection:

Today we will looking at the first original temptation, the temptation of self-improvement. When the serpent tempted Eve to eat the fruit, he crafted his argument in the way that would be most enticing to Eve.  If temptation is the desire to do something that goes against God’s values (or laws), then the serpent needed to describe the fruit in a way that would make Eve want it.  When we give in to temptation we choose to act in a way that goes against God’s will, but in order to do that there must be something in it for us.  We need to see the act as beneficial to us despite God’s directions. For Adam and Eve there was only one rule: Don’t eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  God warned His children that the fruit would bring them death.  The serpent begins his conversation with Eve misquoting God.  “Did God say you couldn’t eat from any of the trees in the garden?”  Already he is planting the seed that God is somehow withholding or stingy.  When Eve informs him that it’s only the one tree they aren’t allowed to eat from, the serpent offers an explanation as to why God doesn’t want them to eat it.  He paints a picture of a God that can’t be trusted with Eve’s best interests.  He calls into question God’s generosity and care, and Eve believes him.

The only way Eve could judge for herself was to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  “Eat the fruit and you’ll be like God,” tempts the serpent.  And doesn’t that sound good, right even- to be more like God?  How could a generous God disapprove of us being more like Him?  The only possible explanation is that God doesn’t want to share His wisdom and power, right? What tempted Eve was the hope of being better, all on her own, independent of God.  If she could be like God then she could know for herself what was best, sparing her the discomfort of feeling dependent on God, less than God. At its heart, temptation is an illusion, but usually one that sounds better to us then our current reality.  The illusion woven for Eve was that life would be better if she could judge for herself.  So she ate.  She chose to go against God’s teachings because that path appeared to have greater benefits for her.  We still face this same temptation today.  There are many time that we don’t know which path God is wanting us to take, but the temptation of self-improvement occurs when we do know what God would tell us but want it anyways.  God warns us that something is bad for us (overindulgence, deceit, harming self or others) but we think that we know better what will work out best for us. Any time we find ourselves thinking that the ends justify the means, we are trying to find a way to do something that God has told us not to do. Essentially the self-improvement temptation encourages us to trust our own judgement above God’s. Victory over this kind of temptation requires us to choose to have faith in God’s goodness and generosity despite how it looks to us.

Wednesday:  

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

Reflection: 

The second temptation that we read about in Genesis is Adam’s.  He was standing right there while Eve was being tempted but didn’t jump in and help her out. You know, it’s funny. Eve gets most of the blame for that original sin but at least she took some convincing. It took the serpent a while to get her to eat the forbidden fruit. But when Adam is handed the fruit he doesn’t even think twice… “oh, for me? You shouldn’t have… crunch!” I’m guessing Adam would not have been tempted to eat the fruit if Eve had dropped dead on the spot, but she didn’t.  She didn’t even look sick.  She just looked like someone who had something he didn’t have, and it looked good.  Adam didn’t need a convincing argument from the serpent.  He saw the fruit, it looked good, so he ate it.  Adam’s temptation was simply the desire for pleasure or gratification.  Many of us find it hard to believe that God doesn’t think we should have everything we want.  If it looks good to us, it must be good, right? If it looks good to us, and we want it, then not being allowed to have something seems a terrible hardship.  That’s why James reminds us that temptations come from our own desires.  We want.  We crave.  Stuff looks good to us.  And if God says that we can’t have it, then we begin to wonder if God knows what’s good.  Having unfulfilled appetites is its own kind of suffering.  The wanting doesn’t go away when the object of our desire is right there in front of us.  Allowing us to want things that aren’t good for us seems mean or unfair, like God is tempting us.  But God doesn’t play that game.  He doesn’t enjoy our temptations, but He recognizes that temptation must exist for free will to be real.

A lot of research has been done on temptation and self-control.  One particularly “mean” study puts a small child in a room with a marshmallow that he or she is told not to eat.  Resist the marshmallow while the scientist leaves the room for five minutes and you will be rewarded with two marshmallows!  Oh cruel world!  Scientists have discovered that resistance to temptation takes a toll on us.  Exercising self-control, even if we are successful, leaves us worn out and less  likely to perform well on simple tests. More complex studies give kid’s tokens that can be used to buy prizes at the end of the test.  Children are allowed to see the prizes so that they have an incentive to save their tokens.  They are then released (as a group) into a play land where their tokens can buy games and treats.  The games and snacks are loud and enticing and everywhere they look.  All around others are giving in and purchasing things at inflated prices that will prevent them from having the funds later to get their prize.  The small few who make it out with enough tokens to have what they most want talk about actively using coping strategies to compete with the temptations they faces.  The successful ones focus their minds on the prize ahead, and work not to focus on the most tempting things around them. I think James would be proud… that’s the key to defeating temptation in our lives. Tomorrow we’ll look more closely at the pattern temptation follows and then follow that up with a look at coping mechanisms to defeat temptation in our lives on Friday.

Thursday:

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. So don’t be misled. James 1:14-16 (NLT)

Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes. 2 Corinthians 2:11 (NLT)

Reflection: 

When it comes to temptation there are four steps that James wants us to be aware of. These steps are progressive… temptation starts small and then matures into something we can no longer manage. That’s sort of how satan works… before you do something “wrong” he whispers, “it’s no big deal… everybody does it… why not? God will forgive you, right?” Then after we’ve given in to temptation he’s all, “Whoa! That’s the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen. Nobody is as bad as you are! There is no possible way God could ever accept you again.” Both of those statements are lies and until we understand how temptation works we will be more likely to give in. James says there are four steps:

1. Desire. It all begins with what’s already inside of us. The things we want. There’s nothing wrong with desires… they are actually a gift from God. What gets us in trouble is when these desires morph into something that isn’t healthy. In fact, James doesn’t just use the ordinary word here for desires… he uses a word that basically means, “hyper-desires”. Sometimes it’s translated “lust” and sometimes “evil desires” but neither of those translations gets at the heart of what I think James is trying to say here. 

A hyper-desire isn’t usually a desire for something bad. Those temptations are usually a little easier to see coming, right? If I get a thought that maybe I should kill Judy I can be pretty sure that temptation isn’t coming from God. But a hyper-desire occurs not because I want to do a bad thing, but because I want a good thing too badly, does that make sense? Love is always a good thing. God planted the desire to love and be loved within each of us. Love is never bad. However, sometimes we can fall for temptation because we think we need a certain kind of love with a specific person on our own timeline.  In the past people have manipulated, pressured and coerced others in the name of love and done a lot of damage in the process. Does that mean that love is bad? No… it means that somebody believed they needed love so badly that they would do whatever they had to in order to secure the love they believed they needed. It happens all the time. It’s those hyper-desires that are the most dangerous for most of us. The devil knows what they are and will use them in the next phase.

2. Deception- James says temptation begins from within with our hyper-desires, but that’s when the devil attacks on a second front- from without. James says we are “enticed” and “dragged away”. Every avid outdoorsman will understand this concept. The word translated as “enticed” here is literally the word “bait” and the word translated as “dragged away” is literally the word for “snare”. Turns out the devil knows that the temptation is a trap and that we (like wild animals) would never (well… almost never) plunge ourselves knowingly into a trap and so the snare must be covered up by bait that will entice us to be lured. Every animal has its own specific weakness… so do you… so do I. And you can bet the devil knows that weakness. What bait do you suppose the devil uses on you? He is very good at this… often times we don’t even realize it’s bait… that’s why it’s important to know how temptation works. 

Remember… in the immortal words of the Elephant Man, “I AM NOT AN ANIMAL!!!!” Animals can’t help themselves, but we can. We love to excuse our behavior by spreading the blame around.  The devil made me do it. I wouldn’t have had to do what I did if someone (and I don’t want to use any names here) would have done what they were supposed to do. It’s all part of the trap/bait cycle. These first two steps aren’t optional. You can’t get through this life without being tempted… I don’t even think you can get through this world without the hyper-desires that James talks about. But you absolutely can withstand any temptation that comes your way. The next step is optional.

3. Sinful Actions- it isn’t a sin to be tempted. It’s a sin to sin (I know… duh Pastor Ed… everybody knows that!). I think it’s important to point out that temptation is not a sin… it’s only what we do that brings sin into this world. And that’s exactly what we do. James paints a picture of giving birth. When we give in to temptation we bring a spiritual baby (sin) into this world. Sin doesn’t enter the world as a fully mature monster… it starts out as a little baby but if we nurture and feed that baby it will eventually grow up and have babies of its own which leads to the final stage of temptation:

4. Death- James says that the sin which is conceived through our actions is fully grown it gives birth (your spiritual grandchild) to death. Not generally a physical, stop breathing and fall over dead kind of death but a spiritual walk dead kind of thing. James starts out this section saying that if we endure temptation then the reward is a glorious life and ends it by telling what the ultimate consequence of giving in to temptation is.

So from what I can tell, steps 1 & 2 of the temptation process are not optional, but 3 & 4 absolutely are. The question then arises- how do I keep myself from falling for the deception so that sin and death are not unleashed in my life? Well, nobody’s perfect. We will all fall prey to the deception of temptation over and over in our lives. But we can mitigate the damage. We can reduce the amount of sin and death that are unleashed in our lives by doing two fairly simple yet profound things. Tomorrow we’ll look at those things but for today spend some time thinking about what kind of bait the devil uses to deceive you. What might your “hyper-desire” be that you need to be aware of?

Friday: 

Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father. James 1:17 (NLT)

I pray that you will begin to understand how incredibly great his power is to help those who believe him. It is that same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead. Ephesians 1:19-20 (TLB)

Reflection:

Ok… so today we’re going to talk about what to do when temptation comes your way. I’ll tell you this right now, if you just try to say, “no”, you won’t get far. Whatever you resist, persists. The thing you focus on is what you eventually will end up giving in to. How often have you heard someone say, “I will NEVER be like (fill in the blank… mom, dad, teacher, sibling, friend…)” and then watch as they become eerily similar in many ways to the very person they despise the most. It happens all the time. Why? Because while their intention may be good and right, their focus needs to change. In verse 17 James seems to forget what he’s talking about. He spends 15 verses talking about handling trials and temptations and then suddenly he veers off on this wild tangent about the goodness of God. He must have ADD, right? Wrong. I think James knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s explaining how to defeat trials and temptations in our lives. Don’t focus on the trials and temptations… instead change what you’re looking at. Ask the Giver of good gifts for help. If you focus on the temptation or the tempter you will eventually fall prey to his schemes. But if you turn away and focus on Jesus you will find the power and the guidance you need to get out of every temptation that comes along (in fact… if anyone was ever perfect at this then they’d never sin again… unfortunately none of us is perfect… so if you fail at this then join the club and don’t let it get you so down that you won’t turn your focus back to the only One Who can help get you back on the right path… how’s that for a run-on sentence, huh? I’m tempted to go on but I think instead I’ll turn the focus back on Jesus now ;0)

Did you read the scripture for today from Ephesians? Paul says the same power that raised Christ from the dead is available to… who? To everyone? Not exactly. It’s available to those who trust Him. The Bible’s definition of “belief” isn’t agreement… it’s trust. I spent a fairly good sized chunk of my life agreeing that Jesus was the Son of God and that He lived the life I should have lived and died the death I should have died and was resurrected and ascended to the right hand of God but it didn’t change how I lived. I didn’t trust Him with my life. But once I did… KABOOM! I was witness to the truth of Ephesians 1:!9-20. I had tried multiple times to get rid of the sin my actions had given birth to and the death that my fully matured sin had in turn given birth to. Nothing worked for me. Until I asked Jesus for help and trusted Him with my life. It didn’t take long after that to start seeing the power of God unleashed in my life. The power of God to change my life in ways I never dreamed were possible. To lead me to become someone I never dreamed I could become. To find peace and meaning and joy and love and… Temptations can be compelling, I know. But let me tell you, there’s nothing as compelling or addictive as seeing the power of the resurrection unleashed in your life. Nothing. So stop fighting temptation and the tempter with your own power. You will never win a battle with Satan on your own. Stop looking at the temptation/tempter and turn your focus on Jesus.

So give yourselves humbly to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. And when you draw close to God, God will draw close to you. James 4:7-8 (TLB)

What are the steps to defeating temptation in your life? 

1. Give yourself humbly to God. Trust Him with your life. Give up control.

2. Turn away from the devil. Stop looking at the temptation. Stop resisting with your own power and let Jesus do the heavy lifting.

3. Draw near to God- Stop looking at the temptation and start looking at Jesus. Open your Bible and do some reading. Listen to some Christian music. Read a book about Jesus. Call someone to talk about Jesus. Do anything that focuses your attention on Him and the temptation will lose it’s power. I always picture what happens to the Pacman when he gets hit by a ghost in the video game- byew-byew-byew-byew. So long temptation.

Saturday: 

Long before He laid down earth’s foundations, He had us in mind, and settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by His love.  Ephesians 1:4 (MES)

You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!  Psalm 139:16 (NCV)

For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible…everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him.  Colossians 1:16 (MES)

It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for… part of the overall purpose He is working out in everything and everyone.  Ephesians 1:11 (MES)

Reflection:

Our desires and our faith in our judgments both create temptations for us, but there is another source of temptation – the world.  Sometimes our biggest problem is that were constantly being told that it’s a problem that we don’t have more or do more.  We blame our discontent on what we lack rather than on the illusion that life is not okay the way it is.  We feel inadequate because we’re told that we are not enough as we are.  We’re pitched the idea that these problems can all be solved if we just know what to purchase.  Ariel (from The Little Mermaid) put it this way, “I just don’t see how a world that makes such beautiful things can be bad.” Not everything that looks good is bad for us, but billions of dollars are spent trying to convince us that we need things that we just don’t need.  Paul tells us not to get swept up in the patterns of this world.  For us those patterns include: image over quality, competition rather than compassion, worry, addiction and insatiability.  Advertisers feed our cravings, all the while telling us that we’re too smart to be easily tempted.  

Psychologists describe a modern phenomenon called the hedonistic treadmill.  As we get new stuff, it feels good at first, but after a while we adjust to our recent gains.  Discontent sets in until we take the next step and acquire the next thing on our list.  We talked about this when we discussed the dangers of prosperity.  The more we have, the more we want.  There’s an illusion being sold to us that happiness and satisfaction can be purchased. We know it’s not true, that ultimately things aren’t enough to satisfy us, but we can’t quite  manage to believe it.  We fall under the collective spell that what we’re needing to feel ok is just a purchase or two away.  We want more and more each time the high wears off from our latest acquisition.   The result of unbalanced consumption is stress, pressure and worry.  We fear what will happen if we can’t buy what we need.  Our appetites get stimulated by these fears, and soon we are purchasing things to soothe ourselves and escape the mounting pressures. And it’s not just buying things… sometimes it’s accomplishing enough or being important enough. Even though it’s all tied up together in the culture of this society it’s a little different. Don’t have a career or an ethic that fits in with our busy, rushed, get things done culture? Prepare to be judged. And that judgment will lead to the temptation to do more and be more than you feel called to do/be. It’s a constant battle for anyone who would hear Jesus’ voice urging us to slow down, to rest, to take better care of ourselves. 

The reality is that setting limits with ourselves goes against all the conditioning of our culture.  We can’t trust our own auto pilot because so often it’s been set not by God but by our insatiable society.  And if we try to make different choices the crowd isn’t terribly pleased. Why are you rocking the boat? Don’t you understand how life works? Stop making us feel bad and get with the program. But God has a different message for you. 

Did you read the scriptures for todays reflection? What did they tell you? Do you want to know what I hear when I read them? You’re enough. I planned you. The same God who made mountains and oceans thought the world needed one of you in it. You cannot do anything that would make me love you any more or any less. I love you just the way you are… I just love you too much to let you stay that way. Slow down, rest, reset your life. Then when the time is right we will move forward into the life you were designed to live. I love you my dear child.