Psalm 43
In Psalm 42, from a setting of exile, the psalmist has poured out his longing to experience God in the Temple. Now he prays that God would deal with those circumstances that prevent him from being present at the Temple. He commits to praising him there as the joy of his life. Then the last verse of Psalm 42 is repeated (43:5). In these lines the psalmist addresses himself (“my soul”). But, with what builds within the psalmist in these few verses, it seems to me that the note of hope at the end now comes with more power than when the verse appeared before (42:11). The dialogue of longing bears fruit with the gift of inner assurance and even quiet joy. This inner transformation happens independently of external circumstances, even while he prays for change in those circumstances.
The lesson I take in this is that if we converse honestly with our Lord, he will, even before our outward circumstances change, give us inner encouragement and strength to persist until the outcome he has in mind is fulfilled. I love the term blogger Kim Heinecke of Edmond, Oklahoma, has adopted: deliberate hope. That’s what earnest dialogue with the Lord brings within us.
Prayer:
Lord, I pray for … , who I know is struggling with a long-time problem. The resolution is visible, but seems very far away. Give … your encouragement. May your Holy Spirit prompt a conversation with you to bear fruit in hope. Through Christ. Amen.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Longing
Psalm 42
The consensus among Bible scholars seems to be that Psalms 42 and 43 are one composition. But for some reason they are in Scripture as Psalms in their own right so we will treat them as such.
In the dry season, the deer longs for flowing streams. That’s how the psalmist longs for God in the temple, an experience denied him due to a condition of exile. Note that he is not without God. He’s conversing with God (verse 8). But he longs for experience of God in the Temple. I would make this comparison: You play an musical instrument, you sing, just for the joy of it – in the shower maybe (well, not with your guitar, I hope). Or you sing to yourself when you’re out gardening. You pick up your oboe and play a Mozart melody. Or you’re pretty good at shooting hoops, or picking a top corner of hockey net with a tennis ball in the driveway. You can do this on your own.
But then you just long all the more to use that guitar in a band, to blend your voice with a couple of others in a vocal team, to sit down with your oboe in a chamber ensemble – and to experience the merging of the love of music, on the part of individuals, into a unified sound – all the more glorious in its unity for the variety within it. There’s something even mystic about it; on rare occasions you become like one in mind and spirit as you no longer play the music, but rather the music plays you, or through you: an appropriate and fitting use of the word medium.
Or you take that love of the feel of the hard surface of the basketball briefly touching and releasing as it presses into your hand, the roll of the ball off your fingers; and you add to that the sound of the ball on the gym floor, the squeak of your shoes joining others, the sweat building, the back and forth, the reaching for rebounds …. so much more than shooting hoops in your driveway.
Or you take that hockey stick and your bag and … well, you get the idea.
The Psalmist knows God. But he longs for something more than picking or singing or pressing his lips to that double-reed on his own. He longs to merge his voice and heart in a setting where God has been experienced as meeting and joining people together as one in him. But it’s about so much more, or less, than just looking for an experience, or “The Feeling,” as some call it. It’s not about what you get, but what you bring. That’s what so much worship strategizing misses: Everyone longs to give what they have to give. Most of us are tired of the whole ‘getting’ thing, I think, whether we consciously identify it or not. We sense that our real dignity is in giving, in offering, in losing ourselves in some way. Our worship needs to work to give people the opportunity to do that.
Maybe a part of the problem is that a lot of us who are already Christians have lost the longing. That’s sad. But I say all this by way of confession. When I read the following recently, it convicted me:
“Did it ever strike you odd that in contemporary Christian jargon, it’s the pre-Christians who are called seekers? Where does that leave the Christians? Shouldn’t Christian leaders be the lead seekers?” - Brian D. McLaren, in Adventures in Missing the Point, by Brian D. McLaren and Tony Campolo
Prayer:
God, I acknowledge with humility and relief that our knowing of each other is not an equal matter. Forgive me when I forget that. Every week I read about you, I study you, I analyze you, but I don’t know you at all, except as you choose to reveal yourself to me, through conversation that you allow. But whatever you choose to reveal is more than enough for me. And so I go on both knowing you and longing for you. In this is life. Through Christ. Amen.
The consensus among Bible scholars seems to be that Psalms 42 and 43 are one composition. But for some reason they are in Scripture as Psalms in their own right so we will treat them as such.
In the dry season, the deer longs for flowing streams. That’s how the psalmist longs for God in the temple, an experience denied him due to a condition of exile. Note that he is not without God. He’s conversing with God (verse 8). But he longs for experience of God in the Temple. I would make this comparison: You play an musical instrument, you sing, just for the joy of it – in the shower maybe (well, not with your guitar, I hope). Or you sing to yourself when you’re out gardening. You pick up your oboe and play a Mozart melody. Or you’re pretty good at shooting hoops, or picking a top corner of hockey net with a tennis ball in the driveway. You can do this on your own.
But then you just long all the more to use that guitar in a band, to blend your voice with a couple of others in a vocal team, to sit down with your oboe in a chamber ensemble – and to experience the merging of the love of music, on the part of individuals, into a unified sound – all the more glorious in its unity for the variety within it. There’s something even mystic about it; on rare occasions you become like one in mind and spirit as you no longer play the music, but rather the music plays you, or through you: an appropriate and fitting use of the word medium.
Or you take that love of the feel of the hard surface of the basketball briefly touching and releasing as it presses into your hand, the roll of the ball off your fingers; and you add to that the sound of the ball on the gym floor, the squeak of your shoes joining others, the sweat building, the back and forth, the reaching for rebounds …. so much more than shooting hoops in your driveway.
Or you take that hockey stick and your bag and … well, you get the idea.
The Psalmist knows God. But he longs for something more than picking or singing or pressing his lips to that double-reed on his own. He longs to merge his voice and heart in a setting where God has been experienced as meeting and joining people together as one in him. But it’s about so much more, or less, than just looking for an experience, or “The Feeling,” as some call it. It’s not about what you get, but what you bring. That’s what so much worship strategizing misses: Everyone longs to give what they have to give. Most of us are tired of the whole ‘getting’ thing, I think, whether we consciously identify it or not. We sense that our real dignity is in giving, in offering, in losing ourselves in some way. Our worship needs to work to give people the opportunity to do that.
Maybe a part of the problem is that a lot of us who are already Christians have lost the longing. That’s sad. But I say all this by way of confession. When I read the following recently, it convicted me:
“Did it ever strike you odd that in contemporary Christian jargon, it’s the pre-Christians who are called seekers? Where does that leave the Christians? Shouldn’t Christian leaders be the lead seekers?” - Brian D. McLaren, in Adventures in Missing the Point, by Brian D. McLaren and Tony Campolo
Prayer:
God, I acknowledge with humility and relief that our knowing of each other is not an equal matter. Forgive me when I forget that. Every week I read about you, I study you, I analyze you, but I don’t know you at all, except as you choose to reveal yourself to me, through conversation that you allow. But whatever you choose to reveal is more than enough for me. And so I go on both knowing you and longing for you. In this is life. Through Christ. Amen.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
In Big Letters
Galatians 6:11-18
Paul writes this last part in his own writing and with big letters, like he's saying, get this. We’ll conclude our walk through this letter by focusing on what Paul says counts: “What counts is a new creation” (verse 15b). What does not count? “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision mean anything” (verse 15a).
The new creation in Christ is a personal experience, but it is not an individual experience, at least not only an individual experience; it belongs to, is experienced in, and lived out in, a community of faith. So variety of humanity is wonderful; divisive distinctions are intolerable. The circumcision controversy was not about just one ritual among many, a tradition as other traditions can be difficult to leave behind.. This was a particular matter of identity. But the new identity is with Christ. Along with identity goes commitment in love and service to others.
I’m in a church that has, in the past, been big on tradition and not so much on personal encounter. It has been good, in more recent times, to have an emphasis on the latter. But we should not be absorbed in an individualistic approach to faith – as some songs get caught up in - as if it’s just about “me and Jesus” and the rest of the world can go where it’s going.
God’s fervent desire is for all to be saved. The witness together of the faith community, focusing on Christ alone as its head, can and will bring real hope to all with ears to hear and eyes to see.
Prayer:
Thanks, God, for this honest outpouring of Paul to people he loved but was not happy with. Let your church today speak the truth in love, wherever needed. For Christ’s sake. Amen.
Next in Open Journal: We'll continue the Psalms, with Book II.
Paul writes this last part in his own writing and with big letters, like he's saying, get this. We’ll conclude our walk through this letter by focusing on what Paul says counts: “What counts is a new creation” (verse 15b). What does not count? “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision mean anything” (verse 15a).
The new creation in Christ is a personal experience, but it is not an individual experience, at least not only an individual experience; it belongs to, is experienced in, and lived out in, a community of faith. So variety of humanity is wonderful; divisive distinctions are intolerable. The circumcision controversy was not about just one ritual among many, a tradition as other traditions can be difficult to leave behind.. This was a particular matter of identity. But the new identity is with Christ. Along with identity goes commitment in love and service to others.
I’m in a church that has, in the past, been big on tradition and not so much on personal encounter. It has been good, in more recent times, to have an emphasis on the latter. But we should not be absorbed in an individualistic approach to faith – as some songs get caught up in - as if it’s just about “me and Jesus” and the rest of the world can go where it’s going.
God’s fervent desire is for all to be saved. The witness together of the faith community, focusing on Christ alone as its head, can and will bring real hope to all with ears to hear and eyes to see.
Prayer:
Thanks, God, for this honest outpouring of Paul to people he loved but was not happy with. Let your church today speak the truth in love, wherever needed. For Christ’s sake. Amen.
Next in Open Journal: We'll continue the Psalms, with Book II.
Monday, April 21, 2008
The Practice Field
Galatians 6:1-10
Paul’s urging to “do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (verse 10) is not so much a ‘charity begins at home’ kind of thing, as an antidote to the dynamics of competition that can and do happen in the family of believers. The emphasis is on doing good to all. We need to keep in mind that in the background is a churning power and control struggle, and, specifically, the controversy over the attempted imposition of certain rituals. Genuine caring for one another is a sign of faith life that is a free and joyful response to God’s grace in Christ, rather than a matter of adhering to rituals, or getting one’s way. The faith community has to get that right, or the mission to do good to all is jeopardized before it begins. We also take the context seriously if we see the last bit of advice as being connected to the concern about restoring one another in the faith community with gentleness and caring (verse 1). That is, at the time of writing, evidently, a pressing issue, and a very practical and important example of what it means to do good within the family of believers.
Prayer:
Wonderful God, of all the things that can wear me down, it is good to know that I can never be worn down by doing good. Thanks. Through Jesus. Amen.
Paul’s urging to “do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (verse 10) is not so much a ‘charity begins at home’ kind of thing, as an antidote to the dynamics of competition that can and do happen in the family of believers. The emphasis is on doing good to all. We need to keep in mind that in the background is a churning power and control struggle, and, specifically, the controversy over the attempted imposition of certain rituals. Genuine caring for one another is a sign of faith life that is a free and joyful response to God’s grace in Christ, rather than a matter of adhering to rituals, or getting one’s way. The faith community has to get that right, or the mission to do good to all is jeopardized before it begins. We also take the context seriously if we see the last bit of advice as being connected to the concern about restoring one another in the faith community with gentleness and caring (verse 1). That is, at the time of writing, evidently, a pressing issue, and a very practical and important example of what it means to do good within the family of believers.
Prayer:
Wonderful God, of all the things that can wear me down, it is good to know that I can never be worn down by doing good. Thanks. Through Jesus. Amen.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Choose
Galatians 5:16-26
You have been called to be free, Paul has just been saying. There is a picture of what that freedom looks like. It’s called service, to God and other people.
Now Paul gets to the power behind that freedom and service: the Holy Spirit.
This power is not an “it” but “he”. This power is so personal, so powerful. he has an enemy. That’s what happens when you are on to something that is really of God: you attract opposition, resentment, jealousy. Paul calls the enemy ‘the flesh’ – variously translated also as sinful nature, selfishness, selfish desires. It is just the world’s usual standard and way of doing things (flesh > physical > of the world). It can seem innocuous, even good. But the way of the Spirit and the way of the world are so opposed, that if we live only according to the physical nature, the outcome is not just less than what it could be, but rather it is actually and actively opposed to God’s purposes. That leads to the list of unsavoury things (verse 19-21) that are the ultimate fruit of this approach to life.
My take? This calls for daily immersion in the Spirit. We are so easily caught up in the standards of the everyday. We need to be aware that there is a daily battle going on over our loyalty. The Spirit and the ‘flesh’ are not components of human nature, but they are cosmic realities that use human lives as their battleground, and seek us as their trophies. The question is – for the church as for individuals – are we going to live according to the Spirit, and be fully open to his engaging, dynamic, impossible-to-fail power; or are we going to base our decisions, direction, and lines of authority according to the ‘realities’ of the ‘real’ world – a world which, in case you didn’t notice, is passing away.
What will you choose? What will you choose, church?
Prayer:
Purify my mind, heart and spirit in your Holy Spirit, Lord. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.
You have been called to be free, Paul has just been saying. There is a picture of what that freedom looks like. It’s called service, to God and other people.
Now Paul gets to the power behind that freedom and service: the Holy Spirit.
This power is not an “it” but “he”. This power is so personal, so powerful. he has an enemy. That’s what happens when you are on to something that is really of God: you attract opposition, resentment, jealousy. Paul calls the enemy ‘the flesh’ – variously translated also as sinful nature, selfishness, selfish desires. It is just the world’s usual standard and way of doing things (flesh > physical > of the world). It can seem innocuous, even good. But the way of the Spirit and the way of the world are so opposed, that if we live only according to the physical nature, the outcome is not just less than what it could be, but rather it is actually and actively opposed to God’s purposes. That leads to the list of unsavoury things (verse 19-21) that are the ultimate fruit of this approach to life.
My take? This calls for daily immersion in the Spirit. We are so easily caught up in the standards of the everyday. We need to be aware that there is a daily battle going on over our loyalty. The Spirit and the ‘flesh’ are not components of human nature, but they are cosmic realities that use human lives as their battleground, and seek us as their trophies. The question is – for the church as for individuals – are we going to live according to the Spirit, and be fully open to his engaging, dynamic, impossible-to-fail power; or are we going to base our decisions, direction, and lines of authority according to the ‘realities’ of the ‘real’ world – a world which, in case you didn’t notice, is passing away.
What will you choose? What will you choose, church?
Prayer:
Purify my mind, heart and spirit in your Holy Spirit, Lord. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Free to Serve
Galatians 5:7-15
Back when we went through Exodus in Open Journal, we found that when God directed Moses to speak to Pharaoh, the Lord said,
"Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: "Let my people go, so that they may worship me" (Exodus 9:1). Other versions say, “… that they may serve me.” I guess we catch the double meaning when we talk about the worship service, or serving God by worshiping God in our lives.
The connection here is really important, and runs against the grain of the way much of the world thinks and operates. Freedom is connected with service, particularly serving/worshiping God and serving others. This runs naturally into Paul’s quotation in verse 14 of our present passage.
Freedom is not, as it seems some thought, liberty to act without responsibility, but to have a direction in life that is focused on the Lord, since he knows what is best for us, and works for our true fulfillment in the life that he has loaned us to share with others.
I’m going to make a point of serving someone today in some intentional way, and experience the freedom of God.
Prayer:
Lord, give me discernment to see, and the love to act on, someone’s need today, not just so I can experience the freedom that is connected with service, but so that they ultimately will find that freedom as well. Through Christ. Amen.
Back when we went through Exodus in Open Journal, we found that when God directed Moses to speak to Pharaoh, the Lord said,
"Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: "Let my people go, so that they may worship me" (Exodus 9:1). Other versions say, “… that they may serve me.” I guess we catch the double meaning when we talk about the worship service, or serving God by worshiping God in our lives.
The connection here is really important, and runs against the grain of the way much of the world thinks and operates. Freedom is connected with service, particularly serving/worshiping God and serving others. This runs naturally into Paul’s quotation in verse 14 of our present passage.
Freedom is not, as it seems some thought, liberty to act without responsibility, but to have a direction in life that is focused on the Lord, since he knows what is best for us, and works for our true fulfillment in the life that he has loaned us to share with others.
I’m going to make a point of serving someone today in some intentional way, and experience the freedom of God.
Prayer:
Lord, give me discernment to see, and the love to act on, someone’s need today, not just so I can experience the freedom that is connected with service, but so that they ultimately will find that freedom as well. Through Christ. Amen.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Knit It But Then Live It
Galatians 5:1-6
It is good to be reminded at this point that the Law certainly has its role. Christians revere the 10 Commandments as God’s certain will for us (not the 10 Suggestions). The danger of the law is as a means of salvation. The Law can’t save. And the more precise point here is that any rite that would lead to a religion based on law is to be shunned. But now there is a new, positively expressed note in this theme: “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Gal. 5:6). This is the freedom Christians have been set free for (verse 1). In other words, because of Christ, we do freely what the law would have compelled us to do! Jesus himself said the greatest command – the sum of the law and the prophets - is to love God above all and my neighbour as myself (Matthew 22:34-40). The “new command” John records is to love one another (John 13:34-35). The gracious effect of following love as a command is that we keep loving with sacrificial love, putting others ahead of ourselves, even when we don’t feel like it. In fact it is all the more love then. So much for love as mere emotion or sentiment. The worst thing that could happen with verse 6 is for it to be put into needlepoint (speaking for myself, of course, with apologies to all the crafty types!).
Prayer:
Lord, let my faith be expressed in love that puts others first. Through Christ. Amen.
It is good to be reminded at this point that the Law certainly has its role. Christians revere the 10 Commandments as God’s certain will for us (not the 10 Suggestions). The danger of the law is as a means of salvation. The Law can’t save. And the more precise point here is that any rite that would lead to a religion based on law is to be shunned. But now there is a new, positively expressed note in this theme: “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Gal. 5:6). This is the freedom Christians have been set free for (verse 1). In other words, because of Christ, we do freely what the law would have compelled us to do! Jesus himself said the greatest command – the sum of the law and the prophets - is to love God above all and my neighbour as myself (Matthew 22:34-40). The “new command” John records is to love one another (John 13:34-35). The gracious effect of following love as a command is that we keep loving with sacrificial love, putting others ahead of ourselves, even when we don’t feel like it. In fact it is all the more love then. So much for love as mere emotion or sentiment. The worst thing that could happen with verse 6 is for it to be put into needlepoint (speaking for myself, of course, with apologies to all the crafty types!).
Prayer:
Lord, let my faith be expressed in love that puts others first. Through Christ. Amen.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Love and Leadership
Galatians 4:21-31
Paul's analysis from history serves as background to a pressing leadership issue at Galatia: what to do about those who insisted on ritual under the law for all Christians?
His history lesson draws puts the natural birth of Ishmael to the slave woman, Hagar, in association with Mount Sinai (where the law was given) and the earthly Jerusalem. On the other hand is Isaac, born by the promise of God to Sarah in old age. He is associated with the Jerusalem “that is above” (see Revelation 21:1-2). The implication is that those who align themselves with the new covenant of promise are both free and part of the larger family of God. The Sinai/earthly Jerusalem tradition is connected with one people; the heavenly Jerusalem with all those who trust in Jesus on the basis of grace.
All this is background Paul sets out as he deals with a leadership issue: what to do with those who are taking away from the purity of the Gospel and its inclusiveness in the local setting? The painful conclusion is that it is better for them to be put out of the church than contaminate the whole. That’s the point of the reference in verse 30. It should be clear, however, that the contamination is in their thinking, not in their persons. This may be one of the first instances where church leadership had to act in a difficult way in recognition that members of the church are to be held accountable for their beliefs and place and conduct in the Body of Christ. In our marketing-oriented world, it is good to remember that church members are just that: members, not customers. We love and serve one another and our Lord as servants of God – first God - and one another.
Prayer:
Lord, let us serve one another in your church on the basis you provide: on the basis of love. We may find Paul’s thinking odd at times, Lord, but we thank you for his example in seeking a Biblical basis in all things. Let us be diligent in shaping life and practice according to Scripture and not the other way around. Through Christ. Amen.
Paul's analysis from history serves as background to a pressing leadership issue at Galatia: what to do about those who insisted on ritual under the law for all Christians?
His history lesson draws puts the natural birth of Ishmael to the slave woman, Hagar, in association with Mount Sinai (where the law was given) and the earthly Jerusalem. On the other hand is Isaac, born by the promise of God to Sarah in old age. He is associated with the Jerusalem “that is above” (see Revelation 21:1-2). The implication is that those who align themselves with the new covenant of promise are both free and part of the larger family of God. The Sinai/earthly Jerusalem tradition is connected with one people; the heavenly Jerusalem with all those who trust in Jesus on the basis of grace.
All this is background Paul sets out as he deals with a leadership issue: what to do with those who are taking away from the purity of the Gospel and its inclusiveness in the local setting? The painful conclusion is that it is better for them to be put out of the church than contaminate the whole. That’s the point of the reference in verse 30. It should be clear, however, that the contamination is in their thinking, not in their persons. This may be one of the first instances where church leadership had to act in a difficult way in recognition that members of the church are to be held accountable for their beliefs and place and conduct in the Body of Christ. In our marketing-oriented world, it is good to remember that church members are just that: members, not customers. We love and serve one another and our Lord as servants of God – first God - and one another.
Prayer:
Lord, let us serve one another in your church on the basis you provide: on the basis of love. We may find Paul’s thinking odd at times, Lord, but we thank you for his example in seeking a Biblical basis in all things. Let us be diligent in shaping life and practice according to Scripture and not the other way around. Through Christ. Amen.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
A Pastor's Motive
Galatians 4:12-20
Paul recalls how his first visit to Galatia had been due to a physical illness that had come on him. It is not clear that this is the same as the “thorn in the flesh” referred to in 2 Corinthians 12:7, although it could be. Apparently, whatever it was, it had the potential to be off-putting to the Galatians; either as unsightly or infectious. Still, they welcomed him as a messenger from heaven.
What has happened to that spirit of welcome toward him, Paul wants to know. The answer to that may come within the warning that follows. Paul goes on to warn them against the designs of those who are seeking to influence them, and who already have (verses 17-18). The suggestion is that they are more interested in adding to their sphere of influence than they are in the well-being of the Galatians.
He asks if he must go through something like childbirth in order to renew their life relying only on the grace of God in Christ. The comment about wishing he could be with them and change his tone reveals something of the extent of Paul’s exasperation. But I don’t get that this is personal in the sense of offense at his time and energy with them having to be repeated and doubled in order to get them back to where there were. No, it is clearly a concern for their own well-being in holding to a true path in Christ, and that, as shepherd-pastor, he is watching out for danger to the spiritual well-being of this flock.
Prayer:
God, preserve my leadership from being about making what I do – or any of us do - bear fruit so we see the results of our labours, and be all about faithfulness in our walk together in Way who is Christ. Amen.
Paul recalls how his first visit to Galatia had been due to a physical illness that had come on him. It is not clear that this is the same as the “thorn in the flesh” referred to in 2 Corinthians 12:7, although it could be. Apparently, whatever it was, it had the potential to be off-putting to the Galatians; either as unsightly or infectious. Still, they welcomed him as a messenger from heaven.
What has happened to that spirit of welcome toward him, Paul wants to know. The answer to that may come within the warning that follows. Paul goes on to warn them against the designs of those who are seeking to influence them, and who already have (verses 17-18). The suggestion is that they are more interested in adding to their sphere of influence than they are in the well-being of the Galatians.
He asks if he must go through something like childbirth in order to renew their life relying only on the grace of God in Christ. The comment about wishing he could be with them and change his tone reveals something of the extent of Paul’s exasperation. But I don’t get that this is personal in the sense of offense at his time and energy with them having to be repeated and doubled in order to get them back to where there were. No, it is clearly a concern for their own well-being in holding to a true path in Christ, and that, as shepherd-pastor, he is watching out for danger to the spiritual well-being of this flock.
Prayer:
God, preserve my leadership from being about making what I do – or any of us do - bear fruit so we see the results of our labours, and be all about faithfulness in our walk together in Way who is Christ. Amen.
Monday, March 24, 2008
What Manner of Friends
Galatians 4:1-11
It’s a little gutsy to ask someone to be your friend. It was gutsy in the schoolyard, and it’s gutsy on Facebook. Paul is celebrating that God sought to expand his friends list, reach beyond Israel. God took the initiative.
The Jewish community lived under a Law that could not be fulfilled. The rest of the world has lived under the equivalent of the Law for them: elemental spirits, the movement of the stars, self-actualization – whatever way of organizing life and priorities that has been consciously or unconsciously assumed.
God offers to take all from a state of inevitable frustration – from slavery – to being his children. He is God, after all, while we are not. In relation to him we become children (John 1:12), not buddies. Still, Jesus, in fellowship with his disciples, said he would call them ‘friends’ because he was sharing his plans with them (John 15:15).
I think the sum of Biblical teaching in this area is that we get to call God ‘abba’ (Dad), because his action through his Son and the Holy Spirit is that we have the opportunity to be the adopted sisters and brothers of his Son (who is his ‘one and only’ or ‘only begotten’ Son depending on the translation of John 3:16).
However we understand these things, I think it must hurt God when we reject or ignore him.
Question: How do you understand John 1:12 and the ‘one and only’ of John 3:16 to relate to each other?
Prayer:
God, I accept your invitation. Thank you that I am your child through Christ my brother, who is yet my master. Amen.
It’s a little gutsy to ask someone to be your friend. It was gutsy in the schoolyard, and it’s gutsy on Facebook. Paul is celebrating that God sought to expand his friends list, reach beyond Israel. God took the initiative.
The Jewish community lived under a Law that could not be fulfilled. The rest of the world has lived under the equivalent of the Law for them: elemental spirits, the movement of the stars, self-actualization – whatever way of organizing life and priorities that has been consciously or unconsciously assumed.
God offers to take all from a state of inevitable frustration – from slavery – to being his children. He is God, after all, while we are not. In relation to him we become children (John 1:12), not buddies. Still, Jesus, in fellowship with his disciples, said he would call them ‘friends’ because he was sharing his plans with them (John 15:15).
I think the sum of Biblical teaching in this area is that we get to call God ‘abba’ (Dad), because his action through his Son and the Holy Spirit is that we have the opportunity to be the adopted sisters and brothers of his Son (who is his ‘one and only’ or ‘only begotten’ Son depending on the translation of John 3:16).
However we understand these things, I think it must hurt God when we reject or ignore him.
Question: How do you understand John 1:12 and the ‘one and only’ of John 3:16 to relate to each other?
Prayer:
God, I accept your invitation. Thank you that I am your child through Christ my brother, who is yet my master. Amen.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Promise and Law
Galatians 3:15-29
Paul argues that the promise to Abraham is prior to the Law. In the context of the writing of this letter, this is especially important in providing for inclusiveness for those who have not lived under the Law as a way of life. The promise to Abraham is fulfilled in Christ, Paul argues, so that all those who follow Christ are the true children of Abraham.
What function, then is there for the Law? Paul points out that the Law serves to point to the Gospel in that we realize our need for the grace of the Gospel through our inability to fulfill the Law. There is a more ‘positive’ function for the Law (although it is not expressed so much at this point in the letter) in that the Law certainly does express God’s will and command. It is hardly to be shoved aside! As God’s will and command it expresses what life lived under the Promise of God looks like.
Prayer:
God, thank you for sure direction, and for making clear to us that there is right and wrong in this world. We do find, though, Lord, that in specific situations what is right is not always clear. At such times help us to spend even more time with you in prayer, seek the counsel of trusted Christian friends, read and re-read your Word, and trust that the answers will come. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Paul argues that the promise to Abraham is prior to the Law. In the context of the writing of this letter, this is especially important in providing for inclusiveness for those who have not lived under the Law as a way of life. The promise to Abraham is fulfilled in Christ, Paul argues, so that all those who follow Christ are the true children of Abraham.
What function, then is there for the Law? Paul points out that the Law serves to point to the Gospel in that we realize our need for the grace of the Gospel through our inability to fulfill the Law. There is a more ‘positive’ function for the Law (although it is not expressed so much at this point in the letter) in that the Law certainly does express God’s will and command. It is hardly to be shoved aside! As God’s will and command it expresses what life lived under the Promise of God looks like.
Prayer:
God, thank you for sure direction, and for making clear to us that there is right and wrong in this world. We do find, though, Lord, that in specific situations what is right is not always clear. At such times help us to spend even more time with you in prayer, seek the counsel of trusted Christian friends, read and re-read your Word, and trust that the answers will come. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Uncomplicated
Galatians 3:6-14
Christianity began as a sect of Judaism. Jesus was a Jew. The disciples were Jews. The roots of the faith are in Judaism. Christ’s coming was foretold as part of Jewish prophecy. Controversy began when non-Jews were welcomed into the sect. This was the first big church conflict: Can non-Jews be Christians? How did it get flipped around so that now it is more likely today for it to be considered odd for a Jew to be a Christian? Some scholars say the big turning point was at the end of the first century, when a school of rabbis effectively excommunicated the Christians from Judaism. Christianity was in a way a reform movement that grew out of its original context. Consider, then, what history calls The Reformation. The “Reformers” (do we forget what that word means – the intent of Luther et al was not a new church, but a reformed one?) attempted to change the existing church and ended up ‘starting’ the Protestant church.
History repeats. How many instances do you know of (there is an example here locally) where there is an attempt to bring something new and vibrant within the existing church, but the church as it is can’t handle it, so a ‘new’ church is the result? The good side is that the mosaic of the Body of Christ increases so that there is increased opportunity for people to know Jesus and grow in him. The down side is that something of the unity of our adventure for the kingdom together is lost.
Paul’s dream – and what everyone seemed to have started with – was that all could be part of this new venture. Jews could be Jews and keep whatever practices were important to them. Gentiles would not be obliged to be part of that. Jews would not be offended at that. Gentiles would not be offended at what Jews felt important for them. The power of the Spirit initially overcame all class and ethnic distinctions.
The part of Paul’s letter to the Galatians we are at addresses the question of the role of the Law given to Moses in the church as it began, given that the church included people without the background that included the Law (an instructive question for a church, and especially preachers, attempting to communicate with people with no background in any of this!). Paul reasons that God considered Abraham righteous by faith (Genesis 15:4-6). Abraham’s family are those who also follow the Lord through faith, and not by heritage or by following the Law, which is impossible to do completely anyway. The Law is even a ‘curse’ if considered the means of salvation, since it is impossible for anyone to fulfill.
Next (Galatians 3:15-29): So what role does the biblical Law have?’
Prayer:
What a wonderful plan you have for us, Lord! Why do we work so hard at making complicated what you have made so simple? Help me un-complicate my life; help people in high places un-complicate their lives; and let us live in the simplicity of trusting you. Through Christ. Amen.
Christianity began as a sect of Judaism. Jesus was a Jew. The disciples were Jews. The roots of the faith are in Judaism. Christ’s coming was foretold as part of Jewish prophecy. Controversy began when non-Jews were welcomed into the sect. This was the first big church conflict: Can non-Jews be Christians? How did it get flipped around so that now it is more likely today for it to be considered odd for a Jew to be a Christian? Some scholars say the big turning point was at the end of the first century, when a school of rabbis effectively excommunicated the Christians from Judaism. Christianity was in a way a reform movement that grew out of its original context. Consider, then, what history calls The Reformation. The “Reformers” (do we forget what that word means – the intent of Luther et al was not a new church, but a reformed one?) attempted to change the existing church and ended up ‘starting’ the Protestant church.
History repeats. How many instances do you know of (there is an example here locally) where there is an attempt to bring something new and vibrant within the existing church, but the church as it is can’t handle it, so a ‘new’ church is the result? The good side is that the mosaic of the Body of Christ increases so that there is increased opportunity for people to know Jesus and grow in him. The down side is that something of the unity of our adventure for the kingdom together is lost.
Paul’s dream – and what everyone seemed to have started with – was that all could be part of this new venture. Jews could be Jews and keep whatever practices were important to them. Gentiles would not be obliged to be part of that. Jews would not be offended at that. Gentiles would not be offended at what Jews felt important for them. The power of the Spirit initially overcame all class and ethnic distinctions.
The part of Paul’s letter to the Galatians we are at addresses the question of the role of the Law given to Moses in the church as it began, given that the church included people without the background that included the Law (an instructive question for a church, and especially preachers, attempting to communicate with people with no background in any of this!). Paul reasons that God considered Abraham righteous by faith (Genesis 15:4-6). Abraham’s family are those who also follow the Lord through faith, and not by heritage or by following the Law, which is impossible to do completely anyway. The Law is even a ‘curse’ if considered the means of salvation, since it is impossible for anyone to fulfill.
Next (Galatians 3:15-29): So what role does the biblical Law have?’
Prayer:
What a wonderful plan you have for us, Lord! Why do we work so hard at making complicated what you have made so simple? Help me un-complicate my life; help people in high places un-complicate their lives; and let us live in the simplicity of trusting you. Through Christ. Amen.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Receive the Spirit
Galatians 3:1-5
Here Paul turns to (on?) the people, not just certain leaders. He holds the entire community accountable. Why? Why not just say, “This is a leadership problem.” In a way it is. It is a problem for Paul as their leader, since he cares about them, so he’s addressing the problem in the hearts and lives of the people. So, to get back to the question I started with, he holds the people accountable because it is the people who received the Spirit! The Spirit, in Old Testament times, is described sometimes as coming to certain people for certain purposes, but even then God was pointing people to something different (see Joel 2:28-29). At Pentecost, the Spirit did not come just to Peter, but to all the assembled disciples. The Spirit today should not be understood as coming to the pastor, elders, staff, congregational power-brokers, or whoever, who then have the responsibility of sharing the life of the church outwardly to the rest. No, no, no. The Spirit, the personal power of the age-to-come-made-present, is a gift bestowed upon the whole people who will receive him, with various gifts to the people who are to then be the ministers of Christ. Those of us who lead? We should always be aiming to be as transparent as possible, do nothing that someone else can do, always put others forward where possible. We steer the overall direction of the ship and endeavour to stay on a Christ-centered course; and empower others, meaning not that we have any power to give, but rather let people realize the power that is bestowed on them - answering our call so that (as our church says in the preamble to ordination of elders/ministers) “the church may be renewed and nurtured for ministry” (emphasis mine).
Prayer:
Lord, I pray for a new bestowal of your Holy Spirit on your people, that we would receive him, that we would be so overwhelmed by his power awakening your new age and your new order of things, that we would put behind us all notions, categories, practices and habits that belong to the old age and the ways of the world that we ought to know better than to cling to. Through Jesus. Amen.
Here Paul turns to (on?) the people, not just certain leaders. He holds the entire community accountable. Why? Why not just say, “This is a leadership problem.” In a way it is. It is a problem for Paul as their leader, since he cares about them, so he’s addressing the problem in the hearts and lives of the people. So, to get back to the question I started with, he holds the people accountable because it is the people who received the Spirit! The Spirit, in Old Testament times, is described sometimes as coming to certain people for certain purposes, but even then God was pointing people to something different (see Joel 2:28-29). At Pentecost, the Spirit did not come just to Peter, but to all the assembled disciples. The Spirit today should not be understood as coming to the pastor, elders, staff, congregational power-brokers, or whoever, who then have the responsibility of sharing the life of the church outwardly to the rest. No, no, no. The Spirit, the personal power of the age-to-come-made-present, is a gift bestowed upon the whole people who will receive him, with various gifts to the people who are to then be the ministers of Christ. Those of us who lead? We should always be aiming to be as transparent as possible, do nothing that someone else can do, always put others forward where possible. We steer the overall direction of the ship and endeavour to stay on a Christ-centered course; and empower others, meaning not that we have any power to give, but rather let people realize the power that is bestowed on them - answering our call so that (as our church says in the preamble to ordination of elders/ministers) “the church may be renewed and nurtured for ministry” (emphasis mine).
Prayer:
Lord, I pray for a new bestowal of your Holy Spirit on your people, that we would receive him, that we would be so overwhelmed by his power awakening your new age and your new order of things, that we would put behind us all notions, categories, practices and habits that belong to the old age and the ways of the world that we ought to know better than to cling to. Through Jesus. Amen.
Monday, March 10, 2008
No Advantage
Galatians 2:11-21
I have been part of the church as long as I have lived. I went to Sunday School, youth group, played in the band for a youth musical that toured around Ontario, studied, and studied, and studied, for ordained ministry, having attained the requisite bachelor’s degree (in music, since I thought I was going to be a music teacher until I got that God had other plans), I have served on countless committees, commissions, investigative teams, as convener of this and that, as Clerk of one Presbytery, and as Moderator of another, been interim-moderator for other churches I don’t know how many times, and I’ve been to five Presbyterian Church General Assemblies (that’s got to count for something!). I might say I’ve done a lot for God.
So let’s say someone comes along who has done nothing for God, or anyone. Not even thought about it. Lived entirely for himself. Until one day he looks deep into his emptiness, gets tired of dead-end everything. Accidentally, he listens to a Christian radio station and hears Chris Tomlin singing his version of Amazing Grace, and he’s convicted, done for, zapped, slain, dead and awakened all at once. Somehow he remembers some guy in a suit at a funeral for a friend say to get Jesus and a whole new indestructible worthwhile forever life, all you have to do is tell him you believe in him and you want him to take over. So he does. And this is pretty heavy for him because he knows he’s done some bad stuff, done and dealt some drugs, maybe, OK certainly, responsible for a death or more, who knows. He’s lived a side of life most people only get a glimpse of without even knowing what they’re seeing.
Who has the advantage before God, him or me?
Yes, it’s a trick question. The answer is neither. Well maybe him in a way because he may have, after all this, a more vibrant, personally shared faith than me.
How can there be any advantage, any distinction, any anything between us before the Jesus who went through what he went through for your sake and mine, and all of us together? How dare I even contemplate the question? There is one thing necessary for life. When was I saved? When was this guy saved? Over 2,000 years ago. We just have to claim it. Paul is careful always to talk about grace through faith, not because of faith or on account of faith because not even our faith is any kind of accomplishment.
I don’t know if anyone really understands what got into Peter, but somehow these visitors from Jerusalem got him off getting all of that. The richness of his heritage was really rich, really great, but was no advantage. It was even an obstacle if anyone thought of it that way, or required it in any way of anyone. There can be no thought of any advantage or anything that even seems like it.
One thing is necessary. Thank God.
Prayer:
Thank you, God, that you are not fair as we would understand that. Through Christ. Amen.
I have been part of the church as long as I have lived. I went to Sunday School, youth group, played in the band for a youth musical that toured around Ontario, studied, and studied, and studied, for ordained ministry, having attained the requisite bachelor’s degree (in music, since I thought I was going to be a music teacher until I got that God had other plans), I have served on countless committees, commissions, investigative teams, as convener of this and that, as Clerk of one Presbytery, and as Moderator of another, been interim-moderator for other churches I don’t know how many times, and I’ve been to five Presbyterian Church General Assemblies (that’s got to count for something!). I might say I’ve done a lot for God.
So let’s say someone comes along who has done nothing for God, or anyone. Not even thought about it. Lived entirely for himself. Until one day he looks deep into his emptiness, gets tired of dead-end everything. Accidentally, he listens to a Christian radio station and hears Chris Tomlin singing his version of Amazing Grace, and he’s convicted, done for, zapped, slain, dead and awakened all at once. Somehow he remembers some guy in a suit at a funeral for a friend say to get Jesus and a whole new indestructible worthwhile forever life, all you have to do is tell him you believe in him and you want him to take over. So he does. And this is pretty heavy for him because he knows he’s done some bad stuff, done and dealt some drugs, maybe, OK certainly, responsible for a death or more, who knows. He’s lived a side of life most people only get a glimpse of without even knowing what they’re seeing.
Who has the advantage before God, him or me?
Yes, it’s a trick question. The answer is neither. Well maybe him in a way because he may have, after all this, a more vibrant, personally shared faith than me.
How can there be any advantage, any distinction, any anything between us before the Jesus who went through what he went through for your sake and mine, and all of us together? How dare I even contemplate the question? There is one thing necessary for life. When was I saved? When was this guy saved? Over 2,000 years ago. We just have to claim it. Paul is careful always to talk about grace through faith, not because of faith or on account of faith because not even our faith is any kind of accomplishment.
I don’t know if anyone really understands what got into Peter, but somehow these visitors from Jerusalem got him off getting all of that. The richness of his heritage was really rich, really great, but was no advantage. It was even an obstacle if anyone thought of it that way, or required it in any way of anyone. There can be no thought of any advantage or anything that even seems like it.
One thing is necessary. Thank God.
Prayer:
Thank you, God, that you are not fair as we would understand that. Through Christ. Amen.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
no one size for all
Galatians 2:1-10
Here is an example of good conflict. I mean it was good in that the approach that prevailed out of it was that one could follow certain former practices, such as circumcision, or not. But, as observed in this forum before, no such practice should be considered necessary. Paul was concerned to have the support of the Jerusalem ‘pillar’ Christians for his focus on Gentiles. One would suspect he would have been undeterred anyway. This is because of the one power and authority in whom all distinctions fall away – except for the distinctions that just make for a variety of humanity. Even more, the solution meant that leaders were mandated to go to those they were most likely to be able to connect with.
Prayer:
Lord, may we acknowledge and work with our differences as strengths. As a community of faith, each of us who is part of that community can do our part to touch a life in the unique way we were conceived in the mind of God, born, nurtured, and encouraged to do so. In Christ. Amen.
Here is an example of good conflict. I mean it was good in that the approach that prevailed out of it was that one could follow certain former practices, such as circumcision, or not. But, as observed in this forum before, no such practice should be considered necessary. Paul was concerned to have the support of the Jerusalem ‘pillar’ Christians for his focus on Gentiles. One would suspect he would have been undeterred anyway. This is because of the one power and authority in whom all distinctions fall away – except for the distinctions that just make for a variety of humanity. Even more, the solution meant that leaders were mandated to go to those they were most likely to be able to connect with.
Prayer:
Lord, may we acknowledge and work with our differences as strengths. As a community of faith, each of us who is part of that community can do our part to touch a life in the unique way we were conceived in the mind of God, born, nurtured, and encouraged to do so. In Christ. Amen.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Credibility Factor
Galatians 1:11-24
With his apostleship under attack, Paul relates the revelation to him of the Gospel in all its power. He does not claim any knowledge that no one else has. A testimony would be egocentric if it claimed some sort of special knowledge. Paul makes no such claim. That would have made him a cult leader. What he has had is a special experience of the person, truth and power who is Jesus Christ.
There is no boasting here except for the power of Christ himself (compare 1 Corinthians 1:26-31). It is fitting and important to share this experience as an example of the power of the Gospel to change lives.
Prayer:
Lord, is my speech made suspect by who is speaking? May what I say point to the Truth who is beyond me, and be made credible by that same Truth acting in me. Through Christ himself. Amen.
With his apostleship under attack, Paul relates the revelation to him of the Gospel in all its power. He does not claim any knowledge that no one else has. A testimony would be egocentric if it claimed some sort of special knowledge. Paul makes no such claim. That would have made him a cult leader. What he has had is a special experience of the person, truth and power who is Jesus Christ.
There is no boasting here except for the power of Christ himself (compare 1 Corinthians 1:26-31). It is fitting and important to share this experience as an example of the power of the Gospel to change lives.
Prayer:
Lord, is my speech made suspect by who is speaking? May what I say point to the Truth who is beyond me, and be made credible by that same Truth acting in me. Through Christ himself. Amen.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Whom to Please
Galatians 1:8-10
The issue going on behind the scenes here was that some were insisting that you had to be a Jew to be a Christian. Of course one can be, the problem comes in insisting on any sort of rites as being necessary. Our church doesn’t even hold baptism to be necessary for salvation, just what it represents. One should be baptized upon coming to faith, but that’s another post or more.
The parallel concern here is one of authority in the church. There is one authority – “Christ our only King and head”, as my church acknowledges. But would an observer really get that? Do those of us in the thick of things really get that? It means the Gospel of Christ, not just about Christ, has its own authority, its own power, its own direction. We strategize and analyze and market and target – which is fine and good and it may help us zero in on real situations and real human needs and how to communicate with those who desperately need the liberation of that Gospel’s power in their/our bondage to this dying order of things – but sometimes it seems as if God is required to act through the filter of our strategies.
Meanwhile, authority is a huge issue in the church. What to do and how and who has the say about it all is an ongoing, often perplexing, dynamic. We bring more human baggage to that process than we ever perceive, even though it’s easy enough to perceive a lot of it. Somehow, amazingly but not so amazingly when you consider what power is at work, God gets enough of a piece of our hearts and minds enough of the time that we go forward – as long as we keep reminding ourselves and one another that our goal is to please God. And one with particular responsibility for proclaiming the Gospel lives under the impending curse that will most certainly fall on him (verses 8-9) if he fails to be faithful to the task.
Prayer:
Lord, keep me true to the one authority I need be concerned with. Through the grace of Christ. Amen.
The issue going on behind the scenes here was that some were insisting that you had to be a Jew to be a Christian. Of course one can be, the problem comes in insisting on any sort of rites as being necessary. Our church doesn’t even hold baptism to be necessary for salvation, just what it represents. One should be baptized upon coming to faith, but that’s another post or more.
The parallel concern here is one of authority in the church. There is one authority – “Christ our only King and head”, as my church acknowledges. But would an observer really get that? Do those of us in the thick of things really get that? It means the Gospel of Christ, not just about Christ, has its own authority, its own power, its own direction. We strategize and analyze and market and target – which is fine and good and it may help us zero in on real situations and real human needs and how to communicate with those who desperately need the liberation of that Gospel’s power in their/our bondage to this dying order of things – but sometimes it seems as if God is required to act through the filter of our strategies.
Meanwhile, authority is a huge issue in the church. What to do and how and who has the say about it all is an ongoing, often perplexing, dynamic. We bring more human baggage to that process than we ever perceive, even though it’s easy enough to perceive a lot of it. Somehow, amazingly but not so amazingly when you consider what power is at work, God gets enough of a piece of our hearts and minds enough of the time that we go forward – as long as we keep reminding ourselves and one another that our goal is to please God. And one with particular responsibility for proclaiming the Gospel lives under the impending curse that will most certainly fall on him (verses 8-9) if he fails to be faithful to the task.
Prayer:
Lord, keep me true to the one authority I need be concerned with. Through the grace of Christ. Amen.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
responding
Galatians 1:1-7
There is blunt message in the salutation. Every other letter of Paul has, within the opening greeting, words of commendation to the people to whom he is writing. Not here. He is ticked. The reason is to be found in verses 6-7. There are those in the Galatian churches who have abandoned the teaching Paul brought them, and have challenged his authority as an apostle.
Although the attack on him is personal, the issue Paul confronts them with concerns the essence of the Gospel message. They have, as we shall see in the letter, watered down the grace of the Gospel, in favour of reliance on various works. Their attack on his apostleship is just part of that. Paul is ticked because they are missing the point of the Gospel. When they discredit him, they discredit the message he brings. A person was only considered an apostle if they had direct experience of the risen Lord. He had such experience (see Acts 9).
It is by Christ’s sacrifice alone, not by human works, that anyone can experience the power and blessing of the Gospel. The benefit is to be delivered from the power of an order of things that is not of the Lord (verse 4). So Paul desires that the Galatians would experience for themselves the ‘grace’ (the means) and ‘peace’ (eternal blessedness experienced in the present) that the true Gospel brings.
Prayer:
Lord God, it is so easy to slip into old patterns. I don’t need to look to others for examples of that. The message of salvation is so simple that it is hard to believe it is so simple – simple but not easy, because it is hard to accept what is totally a gift: where are the strings? I want to see myself in things that work, and my part in it. Thank you that you give us more than enough to do by way of joyful response. Life is full, responding. Thank you. Through Christ. Amen.
There is blunt message in the salutation. Every other letter of Paul has, within the opening greeting, words of commendation to the people to whom he is writing. Not here. He is ticked. The reason is to be found in verses 6-7. There are those in the Galatian churches who have abandoned the teaching Paul brought them, and have challenged his authority as an apostle.
Although the attack on him is personal, the issue Paul confronts them with concerns the essence of the Gospel message. They have, as we shall see in the letter, watered down the grace of the Gospel, in favour of reliance on various works. Their attack on his apostleship is just part of that. Paul is ticked because they are missing the point of the Gospel. When they discredit him, they discredit the message he brings. A person was only considered an apostle if they had direct experience of the risen Lord. He had such experience (see Acts 9).
It is by Christ’s sacrifice alone, not by human works, that anyone can experience the power and blessing of the Gospel. The benefit is to be delivered from the power of an order of things that is not of the Lord (verse 4). So Paul desires that the Galatians would experience for themselves the ‘grace’ (the means) and ‘peace’ (eternal blessedness experienced in the present) that the true Gospel brings.
Prayer:
Lord God, it is so easy to slip into old patterns. I don’t need to look to others for examples of that. The message of salvation is so simple that it is hard to believe it is so simple – simple but not easy, because it is hard to accept what is totally a gift: where are the strings? I want to see myself in things that work, and my part in it. Thank you that you give us more than enough to do by way of joyful response. Life is full, responding. Thank you. Through Christ. Amen.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Spiritual Economics 101
Psalm 41
We easily could look back on this psalm from a couple of New Testament vantage points. One is a part of the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount, to which the opening verses of Psalm 41 are similar ...
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
- Matthew 5:7
The other is Jesus’ comment, recorded in John 13:18, “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'”
These two references highlight for me that it is a special witness to God’s grace when his people can be merciful when they are not experiencing such treatment themselves. It is great to be kind-hearted when things are going well. I rarely snap at anyone when I’m feeling things are good. The unredeemed part of me comes more into play when I’m feeling put upon in some way. They I need God’s special grace.
I’m going to take a break from the Psalms at this point, as we have reached the end of Book I. For an article on the Psalms that includes discussion of their arrangement into ‘books’ (under heading, “Collection, Arrangement and Date”), go to
http://www.ibs.org/niv/studybible/psalms.php
Next: The Letter to the Galatians
Prayer:
Lord, this psalm reminds me how much I need daily infusions of your own mercy – and discipline - that I would be merciful to others. Thank you for the honesty of these psalms, and for the vitality of your Word reaching into everyday life and living. Through Jesus Christ. Amen.
We easily could look back on this psalm from a couple of New Testament vantage points. One is a part of the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount, to which the opening verses of Psalm 41 are similar ...
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
- Matthew 5:7
The other is Jesus’ comment, recorded in John 13:18, “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'”
These two references highlight for me that it is a special witness to God’s grace when his people can be merciful when they are not experiencing such treatment themselves. It is great to be kind-hearted when things are going well. I rarely snap at anyone when I’m feeling things are good. The unredeemed part of me comes more into play when I’m feeling put upon in some way. They I need God’s special grace.
I’m going to take a break from the Psalms at this point, as we have reached the end of Book I. For an article on the Psalms that includes discussion of their arrangement into ‘books’ (under heading, “Collection, Arrangement and Date”), go to
http://www.ibs.org/niv/studybible/psalms.php
Next: The Letter to the Galatians
Prayer:
Lord, this psalm reminds me how much I need daily infusions of your own mercy – and discipline - that I would be merciful to others. Thank you for the honesty of these psalms, and for the vitality of your Word reaching into everyday life and living. Through Jesus Christ. Amen.
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