Posts tagged God
Bible in a Year – Day 134: A Good Deal
May 13th
Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 13, 14, 15, 16 & 17
You’ve heard it said that “God helps those who help themselves.” And while that is certainly true in many circumstances, I think there is a much more profound, yet simple, definition of those who God “helps.” Simply put, God is for you if you are for him. He is the ultimate ally!
The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. (2 Chronicles 15:2b)
What a powerful statement: “The Lord is with you when you are with him.” The onus, then, is on us, not him. If we desire God’s help, his provision, his wisdom, grace, peace, love – if we desire all of the great things of God, then we need to be close to him. That’s it. Simple. If we are close to him, loving him and serving him, then he will be on our side.
I don’t know how many times I’ve said this in print or out loud: God will not force himself on you! His relationship with you is one of reciprocity – he will be as involved in your life as you desire for him to be. And he will be as engaged with you as you are with him.
What does that mean for us? It means that if we desire all that God has for us, we must give him all we have to give. God has offered us his life – perfect and rich – in exchange for ours – broken and messed up. Why wouldn’t we take that deal?
Bible in a Year – Day 57: Very Motive-ating
Feb 26th
Today’s Reading: Numbers 35 & 36
The concept of having cities of refuge is an interesting one to me. I would love to understand a little more about how these cities worked. At first glance, they seem to be the first example of an “innocent until proven guilty” system of justice. And yet, there are a lot of assumptions that have to be made in order for this system to work.
First, you are only eligible to go to the city of refuge if you accidentally killed someone. My question is this: who decides whether or not you killed them accidentally. You’re supposed to go to the city of refuge to avoid the avenger of blood (sounds like a comic book character) but if you kill someone and say it was an accident, is that enough to qualify you for entry? Or does someone have to be a witness to the fact that it was an accident?
Second, what if you happen to be the unluckiest person in the world and not only kill someone, but kill them at a party where the avenger of blood also happens to be hanging out? Do you just have to hope you can outrun that guy to the nearest city of refuge? It seems like there are a few issues with the system and yet, that is the system that was set in place in Israel.
I also have to wonder about the prophetic implications of these cities of refuge. I mean, everywhere we look in the Old Testament, we find prophetic glimpses of the future coming kingdom. So, do these cities of refuge reflect that future reality? Perhaps. It seems likely, but all I can think of right now is how “in line” these cities were with God’s overall commandments and justice system for the Israelites.
Throughout the chapters that we’ve read thus far, we’ve seen God deal with sin in two ways: If the sin was committed intentionally and it harmed another person or dishonored God, God dealt with it then and there. However, if the sin was unintentional or if it was the byproduct of some other action, there was a system in place (a standard ritual) to receive forgiveness for that sin. Clearly, God makes a distinction between the sinful act and the motive behind that act – punishing the motive more immediately than the sin.
More than anything, I think this tells us something about the nature of God – something that Jesus would point out during his ministry. God is not nearly as interested on the outside as he is on the inside. He cares more about why we do something than he does if or when we do it.
So, as you join with me on this journey through the Bible, we would all be wise to remember our motives for doing this. Because, whether good or bad, it is the motive that matters. I hope you’re in this with me for the long haul and I pray it’s for all the right reasons!
Bible in a Year – Day 4: Family Feud
Jan 4th
Today’s Reading: Genesis 12, 13, 14 & 15
There is a lot of ground covered in these four chapters. Any discussion of Abram would be incomplete without mentioning the covenant that God initiated with Abram (and, ultimately, with his ancestors). We’ll get to that in a moment. But first, I want to take a moment to consider the theme that we’ve been exploring thus far in the book of Genesis – namely that the choices made by human beings continue to lead to a loss of innocence, which then leads to more severe consequences.
Now, at first glance, you may wonder where I’m coming from on this one, but consider this: the land that Abram initially moves his family to is called Canaan. It is a land that is inhabited by people who are potentially hostile toward Abram and his family. That is why Abram didn’t stop there, but moved on. Eventually, because of a famine, he and his family ended up in Egypt, a place where Abram felt so threatened that he had his wife pretend to be his sister so that the Pharaoh wouldn’t have him killed. The question is, where did these ruthless people come from?
For the answer, we only need to back up a couple of chapters to Genesis 10:6:
The sons of Ham:
Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan.
That’s right! The ruthless, bloodthirsty heathens inhabiting these two lands – Canaan and Egypt – were the extended families of Ham’s sons. Egypt and Canaan were grandsons of Noah! Abram, you’ll recall was a descendent of Shem, one of Noah’s sons and the brother of Ham. And so, when God started over with 8 humans and a boat full of animals, it took less than 10 generations for this righteous group to splinter into multiple factions and to begin to be hostile toward each other.
So what in the world sparked this animosity? Well, if you recall in yesterday’s reading, we read how Noah got drunk and naked and how his son Ham essentially made a spectacle of him, while Shem and Japheth covered him up. Noah, in his anger, cursed Ham’s son Canaan (and ostensibly all of Ham’s offspring) saying “May Canaan be the slave of Shem.” What we see in these passages today, then, is the direct result of this family feud and curse. It’s another incredible reminder that our choices have lasting consequences even after we’re dead and gone!
Now, for a brief word about God’s covenant with Abram. While I may only write a few sentences here, this was one of the most important acts recorded in the Bible. Without going into great detail, you should first understand that the splitting of animal carcasses was a common way of sealing a contract or covenant in those days. They would split the animals in half and each party would walk between the halves to symbolize their commitment to keeping their agreement.
This is the initiation of the nation of Israel (which would later be formed by Abram’s descendents) as God’s chosen people. This covenant would last at least until Jesus came and established a new covenant. Some argue that the old covenant is still in place and that the people of Israel (Jews) are still God’s chosen people. Others argue that the new covenant established by Jesus abolished the old covenant and that all who follow Jesus are the “new people of Israel.” Whatever the nuances of your beliefs, most agree that God’s establishment of the initial covenant is one of the most important acts contained within the pages of the Bible.
Jesus 101
Feb 11th
Have you ever had so many thoughts bumping around inside your head that you feel like you can’t focus on any of them? It happens to me all the time. You see, I wear many hats. I’m a pastor, a musician, a marketing consultant, social media manager, husband, father, friend, etc. I’m also a thinker – not in the sense that I have some deep philosophical contribution to make to society, but in the sense that I think long and hard about a LOT of stuff. I process information 87 different ways. I am usually able to argue both sides of an argument, to derive a positive outcome from just about any situation and to extrapolate some kind of life lesson out of whatever calamity I find myself in. In short, my mind goes 100MPH and honks its horn loudly when people get in the way.
Recently, all of those thoughts (and the thoughts spawned off of those thoughts) have been colliding in my brain like a nuclear reactor. They’re good thoughts – thoughts that, if organized, could lead to great things personally, professionally and ministerially. Organizing them, however, is a little more challenging. This kind of thought-bouncing can drive a person crazy…or, it can drive you to action.
When thoughts collide, sometimes they reveal a piece of your heart that has been, up to this point, hidden. When I look back on my journey thus far, I realize that most of the things that I’ve done in my life that I would call “significant” have come from these thought collisions. When I felt like God was calling me into ministry, but that I couldn’t do it unless Melody was there with me, I proposed to her. When I knew that God wanted me to become a better musician and also a better leader, we moved our newly formed family from Tennessee to Ohio and dove headlong into church planting. When I felt the urge to take a break from full-time church ministry but still felt like I should be involved in whatever it was that God was doing in worship, we again moved our family – this time to Texas so I could work for Vineyard Music.
When I think back to these moments, they were all preceded by a level of discontent and a period of hyperactive thought. And here I am again. But this time, it’s different. This time, frankly, it’s less about me. I would like to hope that it’s partially because I’ve matured some over the past 10-15 years, but whatever the reason, I’m not so concerned about what I “do” in the future or where I “end up”. I’m way more focused on how we – me, Melody, Lucy, future kids, the Church, our friends, our family, etc. – can further the cause of Jesus in the world. In many ways, I’m thinking about much larger things. At the same time, my thinking is less grandiose and more practical.
I think a lot less about the millions of details that may be involved in “God’s will” and a lot more about the two things I know he has asked of me…and of you: to love Him and to love other people. It is “Jesus 101″ and yet I fail at it over and over every single day. I fail in small ways, by not being considerate toward my wife or not paying attention to the person that takes my order at the restaurant. I fail in big ways, by turning a blind eye to the plight of the poor or judging entire people-groups without ever seeking to understand them. And so, I’ve begun to think on those two simple commands. Love God and love others.
Who knew it would be such a Pandora’s box? You know what it means to love God and love others? It means everything. Jesus said “the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” To think on these two ideas means that you think about loving the Father, Son & Holy Spirit and loving the people they love. You think about how you spend your time, your energy and your money. You think about how you invest in people, how you treat people, how you love them – if you love them at all. You think about inequality and injustice, poverty and human trafficking, clean drinking water and clean streets. You think about disease, famine and natural disasters. You think about politics, religion and the strange bedfellows that they make. If you truly want to love God and love all of his people (and if you’re a thinker), you start thinking about all of this and more.
And the more I think about it, the more I come to the same conclusion. Yes, there are a million things that I could and should be doing. There will be many moments now and later where I am forced to choose whether I really mean it when I say I love God and love people – when I will be required to put my money (and my time, and my energy) where my mouth is. There will be opportunities for me to do a lot of good and to impact a lot of people. But no matter how much I do, if I’m the only one, it will only be a drop in the bucket.
That’s where the community of the Church comes in. In my lifetime, I can only adopt or foster so many kids. I can only take so many mission trips. I can only donate so much cash to a limited number of causes. But the Church? The Church can adopt tens of millions, foster hundreds of millions, canvass the world with the Good News of Jesus and absolutely end poverty, hunger and slavery at home and around the world. The Church has the manpower and the resources to change the world almost overnight. So what are we waiting for?
We must end the navel-gazing, the in-fighting and the finger-pointing. We must unite under the banner that we can agree on – the banner of Jesus – and march forward. We must stop constantly arguing the minutia of theology if it gets in the way of us obeying the very basics of our faith. We must do the stuff of God. And, as Valentine’s Day approaches, it seems appropriate to note that it all comes back to love. Of God. Of People. Jesus 101
