Devotions
Reading
NLT Exodus 3:1 One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he went deep into the wilderness near Sinai, the mountain of God. 2 Suddenly, the angel of the LORD appeared to him as a blazing fire in a bush. Moses was amazed because the bush was engulfed in flames, but it didn't burn up. 3 "Amazing!" Moses said to himself. "Why isn't that bush burning up? I must go over to see this." 4 When the LORD saw that he had caught Moses' attention, God called to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!" "Here I am!" Moses replied. 5 "Do not come any closer," God told him. "Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground." 6 Then he said, "I am the God of your ancestors-- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." When Moses heard this, he hid his face in his hands because he was afraid to look at God. 7 Then the LORD told him, "You can be sure I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries for deliverance from their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come to rescue them from the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own good and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey-- the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites live. 9 The cries of the people of Israel have reached me, and I have seen how the Egyptians have oppressed them with heavy tasks. 10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You will lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." 11 "But who am I to appear before Pharaoh?" Moses asked God. "How can you expect me to lead the Israelites out of Egypt?" 12 Then God told him, "I will be with you. And this will serve as proof that I have sent you: When you have brought the Israelites out of Egypt, you will return here to worship God at this very mountain." 13 But Moses protested, "If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' they won't believe me. They will ask, 'Which god are you talking about? What is his name?' Then what should I tell them?" 14 God replied, "I AM THE ONE WHO ALWAYS IS. Just tell them, 'I AM has sent me to you.' " 15 God also said, "Tell them, 'The LORD, the God of your ancestors-- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob-- has sent me to you.' This will be my name forever; it has always been my name, and it will be used throughout all generations.
Meditation
Literal
Moses was about 80 years old when God encountered him in the burning bush. Up to this time Moses has had a life that had no real miracles and a lot of lost dreams. Saved by his mother, sister, and Pharaoh’s daughter he had become a prince of Egypt. He believed at the age of 40 that he would lead his people into a revolt against Egypt but they rejected his leadership and he ran into the desert to avoid being convicted of murder. He became the son-in-law of a Jethro, a priest of Midian, and had lived as a part of that shepherding community for 40 years feeling exiled from his people. At the age of 80 he had lost any dreams of being a great man or doing great things. There had been no miraculous intervention by God in his life. His dream of being God’s deliverer of His people had died long ago. He had become a old man who did not feel that he had gained wisdom but felt despair over the outcome of his life. At this point of despair and weakness, God comes and calls Him.
God comes to Him as the Eternal one who has made a promise to Abraham. The one who is outside of time is found in time because of His promise to Abraham. The people are to know that the God who Moses will represent is the same God that by a miracle brought Isaac to be born because He had promised Abraham that the one who would remove the curse would come through Him. God is reminding Moses and Israel of their historic faith. The name that God will forever be known by is “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” This is the covenant name of God. The God who is committed to keeping His promises of His chosen ones is the one true God.
Why does God act now? He responds to the prayers and cries of His people. God the eternal one hears His people and has compassion on them in their pain.
This passage clearly tells us that God’s ways are not our ways. His timing is not our timing. Rev. Pummel had been pastor of the First Baptist Church of Kingsville for thirty years. In that thirty years he had never seen a revival. The church had remained plateaued at about 300 people as one generation of farm and factory workers replaced another generation of farm and factory workers in the small Ohio town. Now in His sixties he did not really expect anything different. Then in a unexpected turn of events a small meeting of seven teenagers at his house explodes into 70. Dozens are getting saved. A core group want to go into full time Christian ministry. The local paper is putting the group on the front page since in a world of drugs, sex, and rock and roll there are now a group of young people turning to Jesus. No one would have guessed that at the end of the school year Rev Pummel will die having had the last year of his life be the most fruitful of over 30 years of ministry. God’s timing and our timing are never the same.
Christocentric: - Christ will be called into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tested after living a largely normal life after a miraculous birth. For thirty years he had been a faithful son and carpenter. Then he goes to be baptized by John and the heavens open and He is marked off as the anointed one of God and sent into the wilderness to be tested. It was God’s time.
Moral: Do not doubt that God has a plan just because even decades go by without a revival or reformation. God calls us to be faithful in the quiet times. We are not to doubt in the dark what God has revealed to us in the light. Cry out to God for revival and reformation and He will in time bring us seasons of awakening like we would never dream could happen.
Eternal: One day we will see the eternal one and fully experience the eternal life He has given us.
Prayer: Lord help me not fail to cry out to you and seek you for days of revival and reformation. Give me a heart of prayer. Lord, send us days of awakening and power!
Contemplation: I Am that I am
Action: Examine your life and look for the working of God that is there in the everyday events. At point in my life did I have a “burning bush” experience? How did it change me? Pray for revival without ceasing and do not be discouraged by the “quiet times”.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Union and Communion with Jesus
Devotions
Reading
NLT 1 Corinthians 11:23 For this is what the Lord himself said, and I pass it on to you just as I received it. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took a loaf of bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant between God and you, sealed by the shedding of my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it." 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord's death until he comes again.
Meditation:
Literal: Paul was rebuking the believers in Corinth because the love feasts at which their celebration of communion took place had become very much like a pagan party. People were getting drunk and the rich had nothing to do with the poor. The ugliness of pagan life had been “baptized” and now was part of their worship services.
Paul now reminds them of the simplicity and sincerity that should be part of our keeping the Lord’s supper by taking them back to the words of Jesus himself on that night. On a night of betrayal He gave thanks. Facing His own sacrifice for sins. He worshiped at the Passover meal.
The bread is my body – remember my incarnation and physical suffering. The cup is represents the shedding of my blood – remember my spiritual suffering. It is this maximum suffering that has brought you into union and communion with God. Every spiritual blessing we have has been given to us as a gift from Jesus the Christ. It is this faith that must endure until He comes again. Therefore, remember His love and sacrifice, and be filled with joy and gratitude.
In this vision of our Lord, suffering for us and risen again we can then escape from the insanity of our pagan culture just as the Corinthians were being asked to remember the real meaning of the Lord’s supper so that they could be free from the ways of their pagan culture. May the Lord grant us such a vision as we take the Lord’s supper.
Christocentric: The Lord’s supper makes it clear. All of our salvation depends on Jesus alone. He is the one who has given us a covenant with God. His blood has reconciled us. He alone is our Savior. He wants us to remember the wonder of His sacrifice and the reality of His return.
Moral: Turn from the ways and thinking of the world. Do not just “baptize” the world and bring its principles and spirit into the church. Seek to remember the sacrifice of Jesus and make this the center of all you live.
Eternal: The Lord ’s Supper is only the beginning of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb where we will eat of heavenly manna and know face to face communion with Jesus our Lord. Come quickly Lord Jesus!
Prayer: Help me take your supper in a worthy way. Give me the faith today to remember you. Help your people remember you. Give us a fresh vision of you today.
Contemplation: Remember me!
Action: Lord, help me remember your love every day this week and in every relationship.
Reading
NLT 1 Corinthians 11:23 For this is what the Lord himself said, and I pass it on to you just as I received it. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took a loaf of bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant between God and you, sealed by the shedding of my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it." 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord's death until he comes again.
Meditation:
Literal: Paul was rebuking the believers in Corinth because the love feasts at which their celebration of communion took place had become very much like a pagan party. People were getting drunk and the rich had nothing to do with the poor. The ugliness of pagan life had been “baptized” and now was part of their worship services.
Paul now reminds them of the simplicity and sincerity that should be part of our keeping the Lord’s supper by taking them back to the words of Jesus himself on that night. On a night of betrayal He gave thanks. Facing His own sacrifice for sins. He worshiped at the Passover meal.
The bread is my body – remember my incarnation and physical suffering. The cup is represents the shedding of my blood – remember my spiritual suffering. It is this maximum suffering that has brought you into union and communion with God. Every spiritual blessing we have has been given to us as a gift from Jesus the Christ. It is this faith that must endure until He comes again. Therefore, remember His love and sacrifice, and be filled with joy and gratitude.
In this vision of our Lord, suffering for us and risen again we can then escape from the insanity of our pagan culture just as the Corinthians were being asked to remember the real meaning of the Lord’s supper so that they could be free from the ways of their pagan culture. May the Lord grant us such a vision as we take the Lord’s supper.
Christocentric: The Lord’s supper makes it clear. All of our salvation depends on Jesus alone. He is the one who has given us a covenant with God. His blood has reconciled us. He alone is our Savior. He wants us to remember the wonder of His sacrifice and the reality of His return.
Moral: Turn from the ways and thinking of the world. Do not just “baptize” the world and bring its principles and spirit into the church. Seek to remember the sacrifice of Jesus and make this the center of all you live.
Eternal: The Lord ’s Supper is only the beginning of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb where we will eat of heavenly manna and know face to face communion with Jesus our Lord. Come quickly Lord Jesus!
Prayer: Help me take your supper in a worthy way. Give me the faith today to remember you. Help your people remember you. Give us a fresh vision of you today.
Contemplation: Remember me!
Action: Lord, help me remember your love every day this week and in every relationship.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Matthew 16 - The Darkness will lose!
Devotions
Reading: NLT Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 "Well," they replied, "some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets." 15 Then he asked them, "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
Meditation
When Herod the Great died in 4 B.C., his kingdom was divided, with his son Archelaeus inheriting Judea and Samaria, Herod Antipas receiving Galilee and Perea (Transjordan), and Philip taking over Gaulanitis, the territory on the Golan, east of the Jordan River and north of the Sea of Galilee. Following the example of his father, Philip built the first city at Panias, naming it Caesarea Philippi to honor the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus and to distinguish it from Caesarea Maritima on the Mediterranean coast.
Caesarea Philippi became a center of Greek-Roman culture, a city known for its pagan worship, its prestigious status as the capital city of Herod Philip’s domain, and its significant Gentile population. References to "the district of Caesarea Philippi" (Matt 16:13) and "the villages of Caesarea Philippi" (Mark 8:27) reflect the city’s status as the power center of Philip’s territory.
These factors, together with the sheer rock cliff at the worship site, made this an ideal place for Jesus to make His historic announcements. Peter’s declaration, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God," challenged the gods in the niches of the cliff and their devotees who worshiped these gods as though they actually existed. I was impressed when I was in Israel that it was here that Jesus declared that the “gates of hell” would not prevail against His church.
If Jesus were standing with His disciples in front of this sheer cliff, it would explain His use of the metaphor "rock" used in His conversation with Peter. The word He used was petra, a term that would be used to describe such a bluff. (Cf. Matt 7:24,25, ". . .who built his house upon the rock petra.") It was Jesus’ practice to teach in metaphors and parables that related to the physical context in which He was ministering, for example, "fishers of men" and "a sower went out to sow" spoken on the shore of the Sea of Galilee where fishing and sowing could readily be observed. It is likely, therefore, that on this occasion, as they stood before this rock bluff, Jesus’ choice of the metaphor, petra, reflected this practice.[1]
What is this passage teaching. First that there will be many view of concerning the identity of Jesus. Perhaps a prophet, a resurrected spirit from another time, or the second coming of Elijah. We should not be surprised when people try to make Jesus fit into their world views.
Second, that the true understanding of Jesus is that He is the promised Messiah, the anointed prophet, priest, and king and promised divine Son of God found in Psalm 2 who is worshipped by the kings of the earth. Only when we see Jesus in this light do we really understand Him.
The third teaching is that this true understanding of Jesus comes only thru divine revelation. It is the Father who must reveal this to us thru the work of the Holy Spirit in our heart. We cannot see this without divine help.
The fourth teaching is that Peter’s profession of faith will be used like a rock catapulted against the walls of a fortress and smash the “gates of hell” and lay the foundation for Christ’s Church. We see this as Peter is used to preach the gospel to the Jews, the Samaritans, and the Gentiles.
The fifth teaching is that Christ has promised His Church that they will be victorious in their struggle with unbelief in the world. The commission to make disciples of all nations will be a success. The Church is asked to minister in a very optimistic attitude.
We should be encouraged by this passage to see Jesus as the true Messiah, thank God for being able to see Him in that light, and have courage to press on in discipling the nations due to the promise of ultimate success.
Christocentric: This who passage screams at us that Jesus is the promised Messiah and assures us that though His coming did not bring in world peace and harmony as expected that the real plan of discipling the nations and overcoming the spiritual strong holds of the enemy is being accomplished. The first step towards world peace and harmony is to build the Church.
Moral: Have faith in Christ and in His plan!
Eternal: In eternity we will fully understand the greatness of how Christ planned to build His Church and overcome spiritual strongholds through the preaching of the gospel. We will see the grand design and be awed and inspired by the Wisdom of our God.
Prayer: Lord, let me see you more clearly, that I might love you more dearly, and follow you more dearly this day.
Contemplation: Take courage: I have won!
Action: What can I do to join the Christ in building His Church? Do it now!
[1] http://www.ancientsandals.com/overviews/caesarea_philippi.htm
Reading: NLT Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 "Well," they replied, "some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets." 15 Then he asked them, "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
Meditation
When Herod the Great died in 4 B.C., his kingdom was divided, with his son Archelaeus inheriting Judea and Samaria, Herod Antipas receiving Galilee and Perea (Transjordan), and Philip taking over Gaulanitis, the territory on the Golan, east of the Jordan River and north of the Sea of Galilee. Following the example of his father, Philip built the first city at Panias, naming it Caesarea Philippi to honor the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus and to distinguish it from Caesarea Maritima on the Mediterranean coast.
Caesarea Philippi became a center of Greek-Roman culture, a city known for its pagan worship, its prestigious status as the capital city of Herod Philip’s domain, and its significant Gentile population. References to "the district of Caesarea Philippi" (Matt 16:13) and "the villages of Caesarea Philippi" (Mark 8:27) reflect the city’s status as the power center of Philip’s territory.
These factors, together with the sheer rock cliff at the worship site, made this an ideal place for Jesus to make His historic announcements. Peter’s declaration, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God," challenged the gods in the niches of the cliff and their devotees who worshiped these gods as though they actually existed. I was impressed when I was in Israel that it was here that Jesus declared that the “gates of hell” would not prevail against His church.
If Jesus were standing with His disciples in front of this sheer cliff, it would explain His use of the metaphor "rock" used in His conversation with Peter. The word He used was petra, a term that would be used to describe such a bluff. (Cf. Matt 7:24,25, ". . .who built his house upon the rock petra.") It was Jesus’ practice to teach in metaphors and parables that related to the physical context in which He was ministering, for example, "fishers of men" and "a sower went out to sow" spoken on the shore of the Sea of Galilee where fishing and sowing could readily be observed. It is likely, therefore, that on this occasion, as they stood before this rock bluff, Jesus’ choice of the metaphor, petra, reflected this practice.[1]
What is this passage teaching. First that there will be many view of concerning the identity of Jesus. Perhaps a prophet, a resurrected spirit from another time, or the second coming of Elijah. We should not be surprised when people try to make Jesus fit into their world views.
Second, that the true understanding of Jesus is that He is the promised Messiah, the anointed prophet, priest, and king and promised divine Son of God found in Psalm 2 who is worshipped by the kings of the earth. Only when we see Jesus in this light do we really understand Him.
The third teaching is that this true understanding of Jesus comes only thru divine revelation. It is the Father who must reveal this to us thru the work of the Holy Spirit in our heart. We cannot see this without divine help.
The fourth teaching is that Peter’s profession of faith will be used like a rock catapulted against the walls of a fortress and smash the “gates of hell” and lay the foundation for Christ’s Church. We see this as Peter is used to preach the gospel to the Jews, the Samaritans, and the Gentiles.
The fifth teaching is that Christ has promised His Church that they will be victorious in their struggle with unbelief in the world. The commission to make disciples of all nations will be a success. The Church is asked to minister in a very optimistic attitude.
We should be encouraged by this passage to see Jesus as the true Messiah, thank God for being able to see Him in that light, and have courage to press on in discipling the nations due to the promise of ultimate success.
Christocentric: This who passage screams at us that Jesus is the promised Messiah and assures us that though His coming did not bring in world peace and harmony as expected that the real plan of discipling the nations and overcoming the spiritual strong holds of the enemy is being accomplished. The first step towards world peace and harmony is to build the Church.
Moral: Have faith in Christ and in His plan!
Eternal: In eternity we will fully understand the greatness of how Christ planned to build His Church and overcome spiritual strongholds through the preaching of the gospel. We will see the grand design and be awed and inspired by the Wisdom of our God.
Prayer: Lord, let me see you more clearly, that I might love you more dearly, and follow you more dearly this day.
Contemplation: Take courage: I have won!
Action: What can I do to join the Christ in building His Church? Do it now!
[1] http://www.ancientsandals.com/overviews/caesarea_philippi.htm
Friday, August 29, 2008
Psalm 138 - You give me strength and give me success!
Devotions
Reading: NLT Psalm 138:1 A psalm of David. I give you thanks, O LORD, with all my heart; I will sing your praises before the gods. 2 I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I will give thanks to your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness, because your promises are backed by all the honor of your name. 3 When I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me the strength I need. 4 Every king in all the earth will give you thanks, O LORD, for all of them will hear your words. 5 Yes, they will sing about the LORD's ways, for the glory of the LORD is very great. 6 Though the LORD is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud. 7 Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will preserve me against the anger of my enemies. You will clench your fist against my angry enemies! Your power will save me. 8 The LORD will work out his plans for my life-- for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever. Don't abandon me, for you made me.
Meditation
Literal
Verse 1. The false gods were the gods of other countries, like Babylon and Assyria. These “gods” could also be the pagan political rulers who claimed many times to be gods or sons of gods. "*Praises" are words that say how great somebody is. So the psalmist is saying that in the presence of idols that the pagans depend to give them power and the great men who claim to be walking demi-gods, he will sing the greatness of The LORD.
In these circumstances the *psalmist writes about the *LORD. The *LORD is a special name for God. It is the "*covenant" name for God. A *covenant is when there is a promise given between two people. This promise can be conditional or unconditional. The LORD has unconditionally promised to love and give help to the people He has chosen. "With all my *heart" is a Hebrew (and English) way to say, "as well as I possibly can".
Verse 2. "Your name" means more than just "God" or "*LORD". It means everything that God is. The "unfailing and faithful love" is a special Bible word. It means the love that God has for his people:
· will never finish;
· will always send help.
These promises are fully guaranteed by God. He will keep His word.
Verse 3. God gave David strength. This is what David would write. Often, when he wanted help, he prayed to the *LORD. The *LORD always answered him. Not by keeping him from having problems but by giving him the strength to get through the problem. David knew that this strength to endure was not his strength but the LORD’s strength given him.
Verses 4 and 5. The day is coming when every leader of every land will hear the word of the LORD. They:
· thanked him (verse 4); and
· sang about it (verse 5).
God has *glory because he is infinite in greatness both in character and in deeds. He is very, very great. So spiritually speaking the greatness and wonder of the LORD shines as the sun shines! That is what "*glory" means.
Verse 6. This is about two groups of people. One group is people that need help. God is high above us in eternity. But he can still see who needs help. He also sees the *proud people. These people think that they are so good that they do not need help and reject God’s word concerning their need.
Verse 7. "The right hand of God" is a Hebrew way to say "what God does on the earth". We could translate it, "by the power of God". God will ultimately protect us from our enemies and give us victory over the satanic forces of darkness. The pagan kings and their gods will not have the ultimate victory in my life. This belongs to the LORD.
Verse 8. This great LORD will accomplish His plan for my life. He will cause every one of his people to know true eternal success.
--------------------------------------------------
Christocentric Perspective – Christ is the fulfilment of all the promises of God. It is through Him that the ultimate enemy Satan has been defeated. His death on the cross, burial, and resurrection has brought the power of God into history through the Holy Spirit in the lives of the Church. The great commission will take the message of Christ and disciple every nation. The gates of hell will not prevail against Christ’s church and the His purpose for us will be totally fulfilled.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moral Perspective - I should trust in and give praise for the faithful love of the LORD.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eternal: In the eternal kingdom we will dwell before the Lord and see His Glory face to face. We will be filled with thankfulness and see every enemy of our soul totally crushed and powerless. We will give praise to the LORD out of the fullness of our heart and with every atom of our being. This intense and total worship will fulfil us more than anything else we have ever experienced. This is our ultimate destiny as believers in Jesus Christ.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prayer: Lord let me see your greatness, express wonder and praise for your greatness, and give to me the strength I need to get through all the struggles I face today. Let me know this is your strength and not mine.
---------------------------------------------------
Contemplation: In Christ is the victory!
---------------------------------------------------
Action: I will not fear what I read in the paper about politics but I will rejoice in the promises of God to me in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Reading: NLT Psalm 138:1 A psalm of David. I give you thanks, O LORD, with all my heart; I will sing your praises before the gods. 2 I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I will give thanks to your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness, because your promises are backed by all the honor of your name. 3 When I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me the strength I need. 4 Every king in all the earth will give you thanks, O LORD, for all of them will hear your words. 5 Yes, they will sing about the LORD's ways, for the glory of the LORD is very great. 6 Though the LORD is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud. 7 Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will preserve me against the anger of my enemies. You will clench your fist against my angry enemies! Your power will save me. 8 The LORD will work out his plans for my life-- for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever. Don't abandon me, for you made me.
Meditation
Literal
Verse 1. The false gods were the gods of other countries, like Babylon and Assyria. These “gods” could also be the pagan political rulers who claimed many times to be gods or sons of gods. "*Praises" are words that say how great somebody is. So the psalmist is saying that in the presence of idols that the pagans depend to give them power and the great men who claim to be walking demi-gods, he will sing the greatness of The LORD.
In these circumstances the *psalmist writes about the *LORD. The *LORD is a special name for God. It is the "*covenant" name for God. A *covenant is when there is a promise given between two people. This promise can be conditional or unconditional. The LORD has unconditionally promised to love and give help to the people He has chosen. "With all my *heart" is a Hebrew (and English) way to say, "as well as I possibly can".
Verse 2. "Your name" means more than just "God" or "*LORD". It means everything that God is. The "unfailing and faithful love" is a special Bible word. It means the love that God has for his people:
· will never finish;
· will always send help.
These promises are fully guaranteed by God. He will keep His word.
Verse 3. God gave David strength. This is what David would write. Often, when he wanted help, he prayed to the *LORD. The *LORD always answered him. Not by keeping him from having problems but by giving him the strength to get through the problem. David knew that this strength to endure was not his strength but the LORD’s strength given him.
Verses 4 and 5. The day is coming when every leader of every land will hear the word of the LORD. They:
· thanked him (verse 4); and
· sang about it (verse 5).
God has *glory because he is infinite in greatness both in character and in deeds. He is very, very great. So spiritually speaking the greatness and wonder of the LORD shines as the sun shines! That is what "*glory" means.
Verse 6. This is about two groups of people. One group is people that need help. God is high above us in eternity. But he can still see who needs help. He also sees the *proud people. These people think that they are so good that they do not need help and reject God’s word concerning their need.
Verse 7. "The right hand of God" is a Hebrew way to say "what God does on the earth". We could translate it, "by the power of God". God will ultimately protect us from our enemies and give us victory over the satanic forces of darkness. The pagan kings and their gods will not have the ultimate victory in my life. This belongs to the LORD.
Verse 8. This great LORD will accomplish His plan for my life. He will cause every one of his people to know true eternal success.
--------------------------------------------------
Christocentric Perspective – Christ is the fulfilment of all the promises of God. It is through Him that the ultimate enemy Satan has been defeated. His death on the cross, burial, and resurrection has brought the power of God into history through the Holy Spirit in the lives of the Church. The great commission will take the message of Christ and disciple every nation. The gates of hell will not prevail against Christ’s church and the His purpose for us will be totally fulfilled.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moral Perspective - I should trust in and give praise for the faithful love of the LORD.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eternal: In the eternal kingdom we will dwell before the Lord and see His Glory face to face. We will be filled with thankfulness and see every enemy of our soul totally crushed and powerless. We will give praise to the LORD out of the fullness of our heart and with every atom of our being. This intense and total worship will fulfil us more than anything else we have ever experienced. This is our ultimate destiny as believers in Jesus Christ.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prayer: Lord let me see your greatness, express wonder and praise for your greatness, and give to me the strength I need to get through all the struggles I face today. Let me know this is your strength and not mine.
---------------------------------------------------
Contemplation: In Christ is the victory!
---------------------------------------------------
Action: I will not fear what I read in the paper about politics but I will rejoice in the promises of God to me in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Isaiah 51 - Hope in the middle of trouble
Reading
NLT Isaiah 51:1 "Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance-- all who seek the LORD! Consider the quarry from which you were mined, the rock from which you were cut! 2 Yes, think about your ancestors Abraham and Sarah, from whom you came. Abraham was alone when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation." 3 The LORD will comfort Israel again and make her deserts blossom. Her barren wilderness will become as beautiful as Eden-- the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found there. Lovely songs of thanksgiving will fill the air. 4 "Listen to me, my people. Hear me, Israel, for my law will be proclaimed, and my justice will become a light to the nations. 5 My mercy and justice are coming soon. Your salvation is on the way. I will rule the nations. They will wait for me and long for my power. 6 Look up to the skies above, and gaze down on the earth beneath. For the skies will disappear like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing. The people of the earth will die like flies, but my salvation lasts forever. My righteous rule will never end!
Meditation:
Literal Interpretation:
This was written to give Israel hope of a future redemption even though in the present they were faced with devastation and judgment because of their sins. The LORD is assuring his people that the promises given to Abraham that his descendents would be inherit the world would yet be kept. The Kingdom of God will be established and fill the earth.
This passage breaks into the following parts
I. Listen and Consider (1)
II. Abraham began without hope of family and ended up with a great nation (2)
III. Therefore: Israel who now seems without hope with become great again (3)
IV. Listen & Hear – (4a)
V. I will bless all nations thru Abraham’s children (4b)
VI. The Kingdom of God is coming soon! (5)
VII. Look! Creation will wear out but my Kingdom will never end! (6)
The point God is making is this. Prophecy has a practical purpose. To keep us from getting discouraged or defeated! Rough times come but God’s purposes cannot fail! You and I are part of something huge. We are part of the LORD’s kingdom which cannot fail will never end! Remember you are part of the kingdom that cannot be defeated! Use that to help you have courage to face the battles of today!
Christocentric perspective: This passage is soaked in promises of the Messiah and the extension of the gospel throughout the world. Christ is the fulfillment of all the promises given to Abraham (Romans 4). The word for “law” here can also be translated “teaching” and could easily refer to the spread of the gospel to all nations. Clearly, the purpose of the LORD was to bless all nations thru Jesus even in the Old Testament. The fact that such bold affirmation of the great commission was proclaimed in Isaiah’s day should give us confidence of the reality of all that Christ Jesus claims to be! It also tells us the importance of seeking to fulfill the great commission in our lives today!
Moral perspective: This passage would tell us to “Listen, Consider, Hear, and Look” at the promises of God found in the gospel. We are to fight the discouragement we feel when trouble and trial come by focusing on the good news of God assurances that evil, error, abuse, and attacks will not be the final word of human history. We are to find courage to live a faithful life by reminding ourselves that God is faithful!
Eternal perspective: This passage gives us a vision of a perfect kingdom of justice, order, paradise, Eden, prosperity, joy, happiness, lovely songs, and thanksgiving. This is our future and destiny because Christ has died for our sins. A perfect kingdom of peace, righteousness, and joy! The struggles of this life will seem small in light of the glory found in this final and eternal kingdom of the LORD.
Prayer: Our Father, who art in heaven, may your name be glorified! Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven! LORD, encourage my heart today by reminding me of your kingdom promises!
Contemplation: Come unto me all you who are heavy laden and I will give you rest!
Action: Preach the gospel to myself today! Seek to preach the gospel to others today! Seek to know joy in the gospel today!
NLT Isaiah 51:1 "Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance-- all who seek the LORD! Consider the quarry from which you were mined, the rock from which you were cut! 2 Yes, think about your ancestors Abraham and Sarah, from whom you came. Abraham was alone when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation." 3 The LORD will comfort Israel again and make her deserts blossom. Her barren wilderness will become as beautiful as Eden-- the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found there. Lovely songs of thanksgiving will fill the air. 4 "Listen to me, my people. Hear me, Israel, for my law will be proclaimed, and my justice will become a light to the nations. 5 My mercy and justice are coming soon. Your salvation is on the way. I will rule the nations. They will wait for me and long for my power. 6 Look up to the skies above, and gaze down on the earth beneath. For the skies will disappear like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing. The people of the earth will die like flies, but my salvation lasts forever. My righteous rule will never end!
Meditation:
Literal Interpretation:
This was written to give Israel hope of a future redemption even though in the present they were faced with devastation and judgment because of their sins. The LORD is assuring his people that the promises given to Abraham that his descendents would be inherit the world would yet be kept. The Kingdom of God will be established and fill the earth.
This passage breaks into the following parts
I. Listen and Consider (1)
II. Abraham began without hope of family and ended up with a great nation (2)
III. Therefore: Israel who now seems without hope with become great again (3)
IV. Listen & Hear – (4a)
V. I will bless all nations thru Abraham’s children (4b)
VI. The Kingdom of God is coming soon! (5)
VII. Look! Creation will wear out but my Kingdom will never end! (6)
The point God is making is this. Prophecy has a practical purpose. To keep us from getting discouraged or defeated! Rough times come but God’s purposes cannot fail! You and I are part of something huge. We are part of the LORD’s kingdom which cannot fail will never end! Remember you are part of the kingdom that cannot be defeated! Use that to help you have courage to face the battles of today!
Christocentric perspective: This passage is soaked in promises of the Messiah and the extension of the gospel throughout the world. Christ is the fulfillment of all the promises given to Abraham (Romans 4). The word for “law” here can also be translated “teaching” and could easily refer to the spread of the gospel to all nations. Clearly, the purpose of the LORD was to bless all nations thru Jesus even in the Old Testament. The fact that such bold affirmation of the great commission was proclaimed in Isaiah’s day should give us confidence of the reality of all that Christ Jesus claims to be! It also tells us the importance of seeking to fulfill the great commission in our lives today!
Moral perspective: This passage would tell us to “Listen, Consider, Hear, and Look” at the promises of God found in the gospel. We are to fight the discouragement we feel when trouble and trial come by focusing on the good news of God assurances that evil, error, abuse, and attacks will not be the final word of human history. We are to find courage to live a faithful life by reminding ourselves that God is faithful!
Eternal perspective: This passage gives us a vision of a perfect kingdom of justice, order, paradise, Eden, prosperity, joy, happiness, lovely songs, and thanksgiving. This is our future and destiny because Christ has died for our sins. A perfect kingdom of peace, righteousness, and joy! The struggles of this life will seem small in light of the glory found in this final and eternal kingdom of the LORD.
Prayer: Our Father, who art in heaven, may your name be glorified! Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven! LORD, encourage my heart today by reminding me of your kingdom promises!
Contemplation: Come unto me all you who are heavy laden and I will give you rest!
Action: Preach the gospel to myself today! Seek to preach the gospel to others today! Seek to know joy in the gospel today!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Psalm 124 - The LORD has saved us!
Devotions
Reading: NLT Psalm 124:1 A song for the ascent to Jerusalem. A psalm of David. If the LORD had not been on our side-- let Israel now say-- 2 if the LORD had not been on our side when people rose up against us, 3 they would have swallowed us alive because of their burning anger against us. 4 The waters would have engulfed us; a torrent would have overwhelmed us. 5 Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives. 6 Blessed be the LORD, who did not let their teeth tear us apart! 7 We escaped like a bird from a hunter's trap. The trap is broken, and we are free! 8 Our help is from the LORD, who made the heavens and the earth.
NLT Ephesians 6:12 For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.
--------------------------------------
Meditation:
Literal: The psalm breaks into three sections
I. Call for Faithful Confession of the LORD (1-2)
II. How we would have been without the LORD (3-5)
III. Blessing to the LORD for deliverance (6-8)
This song was one that Israel sang as they gathered for their three annual feasts in Jerusalem. It was originally created perhaps by King David motivated by seeing the nation escape some great political danger which outcome seemed certain national disaster. The focus of the Psalm is on what would had been had not the LORD intervened and how thankful we should be because the LORD has intervened.
Many times the greatness of what the LORD has done can only be seen in light of how things would had been without His rising up to save us. In this case the Psalm reflects on this deliverance as being saved from drowning in a burning sea of the enemy’s unrestrained anger. Unless the LORD had acted then we would have burned the fire of our enemies rage. In this image we are in danger of being sunk in the chaos of the abuse, harm, torture, and even death of our enemies. This is due to passionate desire that hates our very being. This anger is because we are “Israel” the people of God and those who have been set aside to the covenant of grace.
The other image is that of being eaten by a wild animal or captured by a hunter. Here we are the prey of a predator. Helpless as a bird caught in a trap. Our deliverance is not due to some great power or strength within us. No the LORD has come breaking the trap and taking us from the jaws of death so that we might be free.
The image of drowning in the waging sea represents being engulfed in the restless masses of unruly, unbelieving, pagan, and lawless human society and culture.
"The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt." Isaiah 57:20
"The abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee." Isaiah 60:5
The image of a beast devouring the people of God represents political power directed by Satan to destroy God’s people.
NLT 1 Peter 5:8 Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour.
NLT Revelation 11:7 When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them. He will conquer them and kill them.
NAS Revelation 13:1 And he stood on the sand of the seashore. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.
The Psalmist rejoices that the one who made heaven and earth is more than able to save us from our enemies, both spiritual and physical. The people of God survive not because of their great power but because of the Lord’s great works of salvation. For this reason we should give to the LORD blessing and praise.
Chrstocentric perspective: Here we only have to return Genesis 3:15 where the original promise of deliverance is found. Who will deliver us from the rage of the unbelieving world system directed by the devil? The answer is that the LORD will work his deliverance for us through His anointed one. The seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent and set us free of the trap of sin and rebellion in which we have been caught.
Moral perspective : Great deliverance demands great praise. To be the objects of a great salvation and fail to give heart felt worship to the LORD out of gratitude is a great blasphemy. Let us seek to worship and praise out of pure and thankful hearts.
Eternal perspective: The eternal worship of God’s people will be in the light of their fully seeing and perceiving before the throne of God the truly great peril they were in and the great lengths the LORD went to in order to make sure they arrived to the kingdom of God safe and sound. The main emotions of heaven will be gratitude and joy which will spontaneously bring forth praise for all that our LORD Jesus Chris has done to save us.
------------------------------
Prayer: I praise you LORD for dying on the cross to save me from the power of the enemy of my soul. I bless you LORD for I was helpless and lost, and you found me and embraced me in your love. I have no hope but you.
--------------------------------------
Contemplation: I, the LORD, am your hero that delivers you!
------------------------------------
Action: I will seek to focus on what my life would have been like if Jesus the Christ has not saved me. Where would I be without Jesus? Then in light of all that He has given me by dying for my sins and coming to me in His resurrection, I will open my heart to gratitude, worship, service, and praise.
Reading: NLT Psalm 124:1 A song for the ascent to Jerusalem. A psalm of David. If the LORD had not been on our side-- let Israel now say-- 2 if the LORD had not been on our side when people rose up against us, 3 they would have swallowed us alive because of their burning anger against us. 4 The waters would have engulfed us; a torrent would have overwhelmed us. 5 Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives. 6 Blessed be the LORD, who did not let their teeth tear us apart! 7 We escaped like a bird from a hunter's trap. The trap is broken, and we are free! 8 Our help is from the LORD, who made the heavens and the earth.
NLT Ephesians 6:12 For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.
--------------------------------------
Meditation:
Literal: The psalm breaks into three sections
I. Call for Faithful Confession of the LORD (1-2)
II. How we would have been without the LORD (3-5)
III. Blessing to the LORD for deliverance (6-8)
This song was one that Israel sang as they gathered for their three annual feasts in Jerusalem. It was originally created perhaps by King David motivated by seeing the nation escape some great political danger which outcome seemed certain national disaster. The focus of the Psalm is on what would had been had not the LORD intervened and how thankful we should be because the LORD has intervened.
Many times the greatness of what the LORD has done can only be seen in light of how things would had been without His rising up to save us. In this case the Psalm reflects on this deliverance as being saved from drowning in a burning sea of the enemy’s unrestrained anger. Unless the LORD had acted then we would have burned the fire of our enemies rage. In this image we are in danger of being sunk in the chaos of the abuse, harm, torture, and even death of our enemies. This is due to passionate desire that hates our very being. This anger is because we are “Israel” the people of God and those who have been set aside to the covenant of grace.
The other image is that of being eaten by a wild animal or captured by a hunter. Here we are the prey of a predator. Helpless as a bird caught in a trap. Our deliverance is not due to some great power or strength within us. No the LORD has come breaking the trap and taking us from the jaws of death so that we might be free.
The image of drowning in the waging sea represents being engulfed in the restless masses of unruly, unbelieving, pagan, and lawless human society and culture.
"The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt." Isaiah 57:20
"The abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee." Isaiah 60:5
The image of a beast devouring the people of God represents political power directed by Satan to destroy God’s people.
NLT 1 Peter 5:8 Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour.
NLT Revelation 11:7 When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them. He will conquer them and kill them.
NAS Revelation 13:1 And he stood on the sand of the seashore. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.
The Psalmist rejoices that the one who made heaven and earth is more than able to save us from our enemies, both spiritual and physical. The people of God survive not because of their great power but because of the Lord’s great works of salvation. For this reason we should give to the LORD blessing and praise.
Chrstocentric perspective: Here we only have to return Genesis 3:15 where the original promise of deliverance is found. Who will deliver us from the rage of the unbelieving world system directed by the devil? The answer is that the LORD will work his deliverance for us through His anointed one. The seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent and set us free of the trap of sin and rebellion in which we have been caught.
Moral perspective : Great deliverance demands great praise. To be the objects of a great salvation and fail to give heart felt worship to the LORD out of gratitude is a great blasphemy. Let us seek to worship and praise out of pure and thankful hearts.
Eternal perspective: The eternal worship of God’s people will be in the light of their fully seeing and perceiving before the throne of God the truly great peril they were in and the great lengths the LORD went to in order to make sure they arrived to the kingdom of God safe and sound. The main emotions of heaven will be gratitude and joy which will spontaneously bring forth praise for all that our LORD Jesus Chris has done to save us.
------------------------------
Prayer: I praise you LORD for dying on the cross to save me from the power of the enemy of my soul. I bless you LORD for I was helpless and lost, and you found me and embraced me in your love. I have no hope but you.
--------------------------------------
Contemplation: I, the LORD, am your hero that delivers you!
------------------------------------
Action: I will seek to focus on what my life would have been like if Jesus the Christ has not saved me. Where would I be without Jesus? Then in light of all that He has given me by dying for my sins and coming to me in His resurrection, I will open my heart to gratitude, worship, service, and praise.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Matthew 15:10-20 - What messes up my life?
Devotions
8/23/2008
Reading: NLT Matthew 15:10 Then Jesus called to the crowds and said, "Listen to what I say and try to understand. 11 You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you say and do. " 12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?" 13 Jesus replied, "Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be rooted up, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch." 15 Then Peter asked Jesus, "Explain what you meant when you said people aren't defiled by what they eat." 16 "Don't you understand?" Jesus asked him. 17 "Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes out of the body. 18 But evil words come from an evil heart and defile the person who says them. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all other sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands could never defile you and make you unacceptable to God!"
Meditation
1. Literal – This section has two features of Jesus’ teaching ministry that stand out most when one reads the New Testament. First, Jesus’ teaching in conflict and offends the Pharisees and Jesus uses parables to get his point across. The first teaching here seems very straight forward. We become “unclean” or defiled not by breaking the washing rituals and dietary code of Israel but by our sinful actions. Now this was teaching contradicted the idea that it was important to follow all the outward dietary laws and rituals to be righteous.
The entire section of Matthew 15:1-28 is concerned with ritual purity -- who is clean/unclean and what makes them that way? There is a connection from beginning to end with the word artos = "bread". Unfortunately, this Greek word is usually left untranslated in v. 2b: "For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." It is a key image in Jesus' conversation with the Canaanite woman, v. 26 and in the feeding stories before and after our text: 14:17, 19; 15:33, 34, 36. (Note also its use in 16:5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12). The chapter begins because the disciples have not followed the ritual cleansing riturals of the Pharisees when eating bread, a women is humble enough to ask for the crumbs of bread that fall of the table filled with Messianic blessing for the Jews, and the blessing of the kingdom is given by the multiplication of bread given like Manna from heaven.
Pharisees have come to Jesus asking why his disciples break the oral law, which they believe to be God-given and to have equal status with Mosaic Law: why do they not wash before eating? He has pointed out to them that at times they give priority to the oral law over the biblical Law. The Pharisees teach rules of human, rather than divine, origin.
Now (v. 10) he tells the crowd a “parable” (v. 15), a saying with a hidden meaning. He sees moral behaviour (“out of the mouth”, v. 11) as important, not food laws (“into the mouth”). When the disciples point out that he has offended the Pharisees (v. 12) by his reply to their question, he is blunt: do not follow them; being “blind” (v. 14), they and their followers will be judged adversely (“pit”). When Peter asks for an explanation, Jesus addresses all the disciples (“you”, v. 16, is plural). What is eaten, Jesus says, even though ritually clean, ends up unclean (“sewer”, v. 17), so food laws are unimportant (for their purpose was to keep Israel pure from idols and separate from the nations not to become viewed as magical). The “mouth” (v. 18) was seen as the channel by which the “heart”, the very being, expressed itself. Immoral behavior (“evil intentions ...”, v. 19) does alienate one from God (“defile”, v. 20) but not breaking laws of human origin or misunderstandings of God’s own Word.
Christocentric: We are confronted here with the reality of Jesus being the Christ. He is the authoritative prophet, priest, and king from God. His word is greater than the tradition of the rabbis of Israel. His interpretation of the dietary laws is enough to change the practice of God’s people. One must see Him as the one who has sight while orthodox Judaism is blind. We must recognize the strong demand here to bow the knee to Jesus as the ultimate authority over life and faith.
Moral: Don’t sweat the superficial and small things. Don’t focus life on things that end up in the sewer or the trash. Do be concerned about your words and deeds. Do worry about what your words and deeds reveal about the condition of your heart. Don’t view yourself as righteous and good because you keep a few “outward” Christian things. Instead recognize the depth of your sin within your heart and the need for forgiveness. Do not be a blind person leading another blind person. If you are blind then admit it and lead no one. Put first things first. Above all else ask God to give you a pure heart.
Eternal: The greatest joy of heaven will be that the controversies will be over, the questions will be all answered, and most important of all our hearts will be pure of all sin. The greatest joy of heaven will be that we are really morally clean, washed pure from all sin, and no longer defiled. We will be cured of our moral cancer and actually experience in our entire being love for God and love for others. We will become an incarnation of love, purity, and holiness. This will be the fulfillment of our greatest potential as human being. Lord, come quickly that we may be pure!
Prayer: Lord, continue to purify my heart. Keep me from superficial self justification of my actions. Lord, work in my heart to give me a greater and greater love for righteousness. Thank you for cleansing me of my sin by your sacrifice on the cross.
Contemplation: Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see me
Action: Make a list of every impure thought, word, and deed today. Seek to become sensitive to wrong intentions, wrong words, and wrong actions. At the end of the day confess these very specific things knowing that the blood of Christ washes away all my defilement. Then be really thankful for Christ’s death for my sins.
8/23/2008
Reading: NLT Matthew 15:10 Then Jesus called to the crowds and said, "Listen to what I say and try to understand. 11 You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you say and do. " 12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?" 13 Jesus replied, "Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be rooted up, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch." 15 Then Peter asked Jesus, "Explain what you meant when you said people aren't defiled by what they eat." 16 "Don't you understand?" Jesus asked him. 17 "Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes out of the body. 18 But evil words come from an evil heart and defile the person who says them. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all other sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands could never defile you and make you unacceptable to God!"
Meditation
1. Literal – This section has two features of Jesus’ teaching ministry that stand out most when one reads the New Testament. First, Jesus’ teaching in conflict and offends the Pharisees and Jesus uses parables to get his point across. The first teaching here seems very straight forward. We become “unclean” or defiled not by breaking the washing rituals and dietary code of Israel but by our sinful actions. Now this was teaching contradicted the idea that it was important to follow all the outward dietary laws and rituals to be righteous.
The entire section of Matthew 15:1-28 is concerned with ritual purity -- who is clean/unclean and what makes them that way? There is a connection from beginning to end with the word artos = "bread". Unfortunately, this Greek word is usually left untranslated in v. 2b: "For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." It is a key image in Jesus' conversation with the Canaanite woman, v. 26 and in the feeding stories before and after our text: 14:17, 19; 15:33, 34, 36. (Note also its use in 16:5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12). The chapter begins because the disciples have not followed the ritual cleansing riturals of the Pharisees when eating bread, a women is humble enough to ask for the crumbs of bread that fall of the table filled with Messianic blessing for the Jews, and the blessing of the kingdom is given by the multiplication of bread given like Manna from heaven.
Pharisees have come to Jesus asking why his disciples break the oral law, which they believe to be God-given and to have equal status with Mosaic Law: why do they not wash before eating? He has pointed out to them that at times they give priority to the oral law over the biblical Law. The Pharisees teach rules of human, rather than divine, origin.
Now (v. 10) he tells the crowd a “parable” (v. 15), a saying with a hidden meaning. He sees moral behaviour (“out of the mouth”, v. 11) as important, not food laws (“into the mouth”). When the disciples point out that he has offended the Pharisees (v. 12) by his reply to their question, he is blunt: do not follow them; being “blind” (v. 14), they and their followers will be judged adversely (“pit”). When Peter asks for an explanation, Jesus addresses all the disciples (“you”, v. 16, is plural). What is eaten, Jesus says, even though ritually clean, ends up unclean (“sewer”, v. 17), so food laws are unimportant (for their purpose was to keep Israel pure from idols and separate from the nations not to become viewed as magical). The “mouth” (v. 18) was seen as the channel by which the “heart”, the very being, expressed itself. Immoral behavior (“evil intentions ...”, v. 19) does alienate one from God (“defile”, v. 20) but not breaking laws of human origin or misunderstandings of God’s own Word.
Christocentric: We are confronted here with the reality of Jesus being the Christ. He is the authoritative prophet, priest, and king from God. His word is greater than the tradition of the rabbis of Israel. His interpretation of the dietary laws is enough to change the practice of God’s people. One must see Him as the one who has sight while orthodox Judaism is blind. We must recognize the strong demand here to bow the knee to Jesus as the ultimate authority over life and faith.
Moral: Don’t sweat the superficial and small things. Don’t focus life on things that end up in the sewer or the trash. Do be concerned about your words and deeds. Do worry about what your words and deeds reveal about the condition of your heart. Don’t view yourself as righteous and good because you keep a few “outward” Christian things. Instead recognize the depth of your sin within your heart and the need for forgiveness. Do not be a blind person leading another blind person. If you are blind then admit it and lead no one. Put first things first. Above all else ask God to give you a pure heart.
Eternal: The greatest joy of heaven will be that the controversies will be over, the questions will be all answered, and most important of all our hearts will be pure of all sin. The greatest joy of heaven will be that we are really morally clean, washed pure from all sin, and no longer defiled. We will be cured of our moral cancer and actually experience in our entire being love for God and love for others. We will become an incarnation of love, purity, and holiness. This will be the fulfillment of our greatest potential as human being. Lord, come quickly that we may be pure!
Prayer: Lord, continue to purify my heart. Keep me from superficial self justification of my actions. Lord, work in my heart to give me a greater and greater love for righteousness. Thank you for cleansing me of my sin by your sacrifice on the cross.
Contemplation: Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see me
Action: Make a list of every impure thought, word, and deed today. Seek to become sensitive to wrong intentions, wrong words, and wrong actions. At the end of the day confess these very specific things knowing that the blood of Christ washes away all my defilement. Then be really thankful for Christ’s death for my sins.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Psalm 67 - God will win in our lives!
Reading
NLT Psalm 67:1 For the choir director: A psalm, to be accompanied by stringed instruments. A song. May God be merciful and bless us. May his face shine with favor upon us. Interlude 2 May your ways be known throughout the earth, your saving power among people everywhere. 3 May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise you. 4 How glad the nations will be, singing for joy, because you govern them with justice and direct the actions of the whole world. Interlude 5 May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise you. 6 Then the earth will yield its harvests, and God, our God, will richly bless us. 7 Yes, God will bless us, and people all over the world will fear him.
Meditation:
Literal - This is a royal psalm. Scholars often refer to a number of the psalms as royal psalms. These psalms are not all of one literary type, such as prayers of petition and songs of thanksgiving, but they are linked thematically by their emphasis on how God works through the office of king.
Like Psalms 65, 118 and 124, this is a Psalm of national thanksgiving, possibly used at the Hebrew New Year. At this time, Israel were exhorted to be joyful (Deut. 16:15; Lev. 23:40) The opening verse recalls the Aaronic Blessing that we frequently use in Christian worship (Num. 6:24-26). The Psalm first attends not to human experience but to God and to God’s grace.
The Psalm asks for God to have mercy on his people and favor them with His embrace. It then prays for all the nations that they may learn the ways of God and be touched by His Holy Spirit so that they may be delivered from the worship of idols and darkness into the light of worship in spirit and truth. This desire for global revival is because the psalmist desires global praise and worship of the true God. God’s kingdom coming to the earth will bring about harmony, peace, and gladness. To be under the rule of God is to be blessed. Here is clear proof that the Old Testament desired and saw a day when every nation would be called to faith. Here we have a prayer for true and substantial revival for all the earth.
Christocentric - Christ echoed this prayer when He taught us to pray; Our Father who are in heaven, hallowed by thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. He also called upon us to put feet to this prayer when He said to us, “Go into the whole world and make disciple, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” Christ in His death has destroyed the work of the devil and in His resurrection has been given universal authority and power. Christ is the means by which God’s kingdom will come to earth. God will exult the people of the Lord and all nations will come to learn of His ways so that every culture and people will be transformed by His amazing Grace (Isaiah 2:1-5). Jesus Christ is the answer to this psalm.
Moral: We must desire to see God’s will done on earth as in heaven. We must bow the knee to Christ Jesus and have Him practically govern over us. We must learn His ways and not just have Him as our Savior but really have Him as our Lord. The kingdom of God must start in our heart, then our homes, and then it can reach out to govern the entire world. Personal piety is the beginning of global dominion for God’s kingdom. We must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness in a sincere and real way in our own private worlds before we will see cultures consistently change to become Christ like.
Eternal: There is no doubt this prayer will be answered. When Jesus the Christ returns there will be much gladness, joy, and rejoicing among all nations, peoples, and tribes for His perfect rule will have come. The creation itself groans in deep desire to see the perfect peace the Prince of Peace will bring to all the earth. We should rejoice today in the knowledge that God’s will is going to be done on the earth and righteousness will dominate every nation. God’s kingdom will come and God’s will be done – Halleluiah!
Prayer: Matthew 6:9-13 'Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. 10 'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 'Give us this day our daily bread. 12 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.'
Contemplation: Why do you call me “Lord, Lord” and not do the things that I say? Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Action: I will pray for global revival. I will seek to promote and support missions more than I do. I will seek to make disciples in my daily life more that God may be praised.
NLT Psalm 67:1 For the choir director: A psalm, to be accompanied by stringed instruments. A song. May God be merciful and bless us. May his face shine with favor upon us. Interlude 2 May your ways be known throughout the earth, your saving power among people everywhere. 3 May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise you. 4 How glad the nations will be, singing for joy, because you govern them with justice and direct the actions of the whole world. Interlude 5 May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise you. 6 Then the earth will yield its harvests, and God, our God, will richly bless us. 7 Yes, God will bless us, and people all over the world will fear him.
Meditation:
Literal - This is a royal psalm. Scholars often refer to a number of the psalms as royal psalms. These psalms are not all of one literary type, such as prayers of petition and songs of thanksgiving, but they are linked thematically by their emphasis on how God works through the office of king.
Like Psalms 65, 118 and 124, this is a Psalm of national thanksgiving, possibly used at the Hebrew New Year. At this time, Israel were exhorted to be joyful (Deut. 16:15; Lev. 23:40) The opening verse recalls the Aaronic Blessing that we frequently use in Christian worship (Num. 6:24-26). The Psalm first attends not to human experience but to God and to God’s grace.
The Psalm asks for God to have mercy on his people and favor them with His embrace. It then prays for all the nations that they may learn the ways of God and be touched by His Holy Spirit so that they may be delivered from the worship of idols and darkness into the light of worship in spirit and truth. This desire for global revival is because the psalmist desires global praise and worship of the true God. God’s kingdom coming to the earth will bring about harmony, peace, and gladness. To be under the rule of God is to be blessed. Here is clear proof that the Old Testament desired and saw a day when every nation would be called to faith. Here we have a prayer for true and substantial revival for all the earth.
Christocentric - Christ echoed this prayer when He taught us to pray; Our Father who are in heaven, hallowed by thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. He also called upon us to put feet to this prayer when He said to us, “Go into the whole world and make disciple, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” Christ in His death has destroyed the work of the devil and in His resurrection has been given universal authority and power. Christ is the means by which God’s kingdom will come to earth. God will exult the people of the Lord and all nations will come to learn of His ways so that every culture and people will be transformed by His amazing Grace (Isaiah 2:1-5). Jesus Christ is the answer to this psalm.
Moral: We must desire to see God’s will done on earth as in heaven. We must bow the knee to Christ Jesus and have Him practically govern over us. We must learn His ways and not just have Him as our Savior but really have Him as our Lord. The kingdom of God must start in our heart, then our homes, and then it can reach out to govern the entire world. Personal piety is the beginning of global dominion for God’s kingdom. We must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness in a sincere and real way in our own private worlds before we will see cultures consistently change to become Christ like.
Eternal: There is no doubt this prayer will be answered. When Jesus the Christ returns there will be much gladness, joy, and rejoicing among all nations, peoples, and tribes for His perfect rule will have come. The creation itself groans in deep desire to see the perfect peace the Prince of Peace will bring to all the earth. We should rejoice today in the knowledge that God’s will is going to be done on the earth and righteousness will dominate every nation. God’s kingdom will come and God’s will be done – Halleluiah!
Prayer: Matthew 6:9-13 'Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. 10 'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 'Give us this day our daily bread. 12 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.'
Contemplation: Why do you call me “Lord, Lord” and not do the things that I say? Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Action: I will pray for global revival. I will seek to promote and support missions more than I do. I will seek to make disciples in my daily life more that God may be praised.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Genesis 45 - Purpose Behind Pain
Reading
Genesis 45
3 And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. 4 So Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, please." And they came near. And he said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
Meditation
Literal: Joseph here is showing great mercy and insight as he reveals his survival and blessing to his brothers who wished him dead. Joseph was a man rejected by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused of rape, put into prison, and then exalted to the right hand of Pharaoh. He could just as easily interpret his brothers coming to him as an opportunity for vengeance as for mercy. Joseph never lost love for his family even when they abused him. This is amazing. He does test their hearts but his heart is focused on reconciliation. He has seen in God’s hand behind all of his hardships. He has seen purpose in his pain.
Christocentric: Joseph is a figure of Christ. Prophesied to be an anointed leader to whom his brothers would bow, rejected by his brothers, figuratively sacrificed in the dipping of the coat of many colors in animal blood, treated as a sinner though righteous, buried in prison, and raised up to glory. Here is the gospel in the Old Testament. Christ also forgives us though we were those who betrayed him because it was God’s will that He suffer and pay the price of our redemption. King Jesus now receives us back by grace though we deserve His wrath. Jesus is the fulfillment of all that Joseph reflected.
Moral: We are to trust that God is working all things together for good. We are to see behind events and allow this to govern our anger and desire for revenge. We are to love our enemy and treat them kindly since this is the only way to overcome evil. By doing this we imitate the gospel and reflect the truth of God in our lives.
Eternal: There will be a day when we will hear “You are forgiven” by our Lord Jesus Christ and we will be given a heavenly view of our whole history. We will see how God was at work in our most painful times to bring good to others and develop our character. We will see the full plan of God revealed and then the pain will make sense for we will be able to connect all the dots and see the wisdom behind all of Gods’ plans. This reality should help us trust God today even when we are in the dark about his plans.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me trust you when bad things happen. Forgive me for murmuring and pouting. Give me greater faith in your plan. Help me understand more deeply what it means to have your favor. Grant me wisdom in understanding the losses and struggles we have in life. Lord have mercy on me. Lord have mercy on my family. Lord have mercy on the ministry. Lord guide us with your wisdom.
Contemplation: Trust in me with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding
Act: Today I will look to see God’s hand in the midst of my opportunities and trials. I will attempt to look on my life through Joseph’s eyes and see God’s plan in all that happens. Lord give me wisdom. Help me live a wise life. I will seek to acknowledge and trust in God presence and power today.
Genesis 45
3 And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. 4 So Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, please." And they came near. And he said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
Meditation
Literal: Joseph here is showing great mercy and insight as he reveals his survival and blessing to his brothers who wished him dead. Joseph was a man rejected by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused of rape, put into prison, and then exalted to the right hand of Pharaoh. He could just as easily interpret his brothers coming to him as an opportunity for vengeance as for mercy. Joseph never lost love for his family even when they abused him. This is amazing. He does test their hearts but his heart is focused on reconciliation. He has seen in God’s hand behind all of his hardships. He has seen purpose in his pain.
Christocentric: Joseph is a figure of Christ. Prophesied to be an anointed leader to whom his brothers would bow, rejected by his brothers, figuratively sacrificed in the dipping of the coat of many colors in animal blood, treated as a sinner though righteous, buried in prison, and raised up to glory. Here is the gospel in the Old Testament. Christ also forgives us though we were those who betrayed him because it was God’s will that He suffer and pay the price of our redemption. King Jesus now receives us back by grace though we deserve His wrath. Jesus is the fulfillment of all that Joseph reflected.
Moral: We are to trust that God is working all things together for good. We are to see behind events and allow this to govern our anger and desire for revenge. We are to love our enemy and treat them kindly since this is the only way to overcome evil. By doing this we imitate the gospel and reflect the truth of God in our lives.
Eternal: There will be a day when we will hear “You are forgiven” by our Lord Jesus Christ and we will be given a heavenly view of our whole history. We will see how God was at work in our most painful times to bring good to others and develop our character. We will see the full plan of God revealed and then the pain will make sense for we will be able to connect all the dots and see the wisdom behind all of Gods’ plans. This reality should help us trust God today even when we are in the dark about his plans.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me trust you when bad things happen. Forgive me for murmuring and pouting. Give me greater faith in your plan. Help me understand more deeply what it means to have your favor. Grant me wisdom in understanding the losses and struggles we have in life. Lord have mercy on me. Lord have mercy on my family. Lord have mercy on the ministry. Lord guide us with your wisdom.
Contemplation: Trust in me with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding
Act: Today I will look to see God’s hand in the midst of my opportunities and trials. I will attempt to look on my life through Joseph’s eyes and see God’s plan in all that happens. Lord give me wisdom. Help me live a wise life. I will seek to acknowledge and trust in God presence and power today.
Genesis 45 - Purpose Behind Pain
Reading
Genesis 45
3 And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. 4 So Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, please." And they came near. And he said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
Meditation
Literal: Joseph here is showing great mercy and insight as he reveals his survival and blessing to his brothers who wished him dead. Joseph was a man rejected by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused of rape, put into prison, and then exalted to the right hand of Pharaoh. He could just as easily interpret his brothers coming to him as an opportunity for vengeance as for mercy. Joseph never lost love for his family even when they abused him. This is amazing. He does test their hearts but his heart is focused on reconciliation. He has seen in God’s hand behind all of his hardships. He has seen purpose in his pain.
Christocentric: Joseph is a figure of Christ. Prophesied to be an anointed leader to whom his brothers would bow, rejected by his brothers, figuratively sacrificed in the dipping of the coat of many colors in animal blood, treated as a sinner though righteous, buried in prison, and raised up to glory. Here is the gospel in the Old Testament. Christ also forgives us though we were those who betrayed him because it was God’s will that He suffer and pay the price of our redemption. King Jesus now receives us back by grace though we deserve His wrath. Jesus is the fulfillment of all that Joseph reflected.
Moral: We are to trust that God is working all things together for good. We are to see behind events and allow this to govern our anger and desire for revenge. We are to love our enemy and treat them kindly since this is the only way to overcome evil. By doing this we imitate the gospel and reflect the truth of God in our lives.
Eternal: There will be a day when we will hear “You are forgiven” by our Lord Jesus Christ and we will be given a heavenly view of our whole history. We will see how God was at work in our most painful times to bring good to others and develop our character. We will see the full plan of God revealed and then the pain will make sense for we will be able to connect all the dots and see the wisdom behind all of Gods’ plans. This reality should help us trust God today even when we are in the dark about his plans.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me trust you when bad things happen. Forgive me for murmuring and pouting. Give me greater faith in your plan. Help me understand more deeply what it means to have your favor. Grant me wisdom in understanding the losses and struggles we have in life. Lord have mercy on me. Lord have mercy on my family. Lord have mercy on the ministry. Lord guide us with your wisdom.
Contemplation: Trust in me with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding
Act: Today I will look to see God’s hand in the midst of my opportunities and trials. I will attempt to look on my life through Joseph’s eyes and see God’s plan in all that happens. Lord give me wisdom. Help me live a wise life. I will seek to acknowledge and trust in God presence and power today.
Genesis 45
3 And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. 4 So Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, please." And they came near. And he said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
Meditation
Literal: Joseph here is showing great mercy and insight as he reveals his survival and blessing to his brothers who wished him dead. Joseph was a man rejected by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused of rape, put into prison, and then exalted to the right hand of Pharaoh. He could just as easily interpret his brothers coming to him as an opportunity for vengeance as for mercy. Joseph never lost love for his family even when they abused him. This is amazing. He does test their hearts but his heart is focused on reconciliation. He has seen in God’s hand behind all of his hardships. He has seen purpose in his pain.
Christocentric: Joseph is a figure of Christ. Prophesied to be an anointed leader to whom his brothers would bow, rejected by his brothers, figuratively sacrificed in the dipping of the coat of many colors in animal blood, treated as a sinner though righteous, buried in prison, and raised up to glory. Here is the gospel in the Old Testament. Christ also forgives us though we were those who betrayed him because it was God’s will that He suffer and pay the price of our redemption. King Jesus now receives us back by grace though we deserve His wrath. Jesus is the fulfillment of all that Joseph reflected.
Moral: We are to trust that God is working all things together for good. We are to see behind events and allow this to govern our anger and desire for revenge. We are to love our enemy and treat them kindly since this is the only way to overcome evil. By doing this we imitate the gospel and reflect the truth of God in our lives.
Eternal: There will be a day when we will hear “You are forgiven” by our Lord Jesus Christ and we will be given a heavenly view of our whole history. We will see how God was at work in our most painful times to bring good to others and develop our character. We will see the full plan of God revealed and then the pain will make sense for we will be able to connect all the dots and see the wisdom behind all of Gods’ plans. This reality should help us trust God today even when we are in the dark about his plans.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me trust you when bad things happen. Forgive me for murmuring and pouting. Give me greater faith in your plan. Help me understand more deeply what it means to have your favor. Grant me wisdom in understanding the losses and struggles we have in life. Lord have mercy on me. Lord have mercy on my family. Lord have mercy on the ministry. Lord guide us with your wisdom.
Contemplation: Trust in me with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding
Act: Today I will look to see God’s hand in the midst of my opportunities and trials. I will attempt to look on my life through Joseph’s eyes and see God’s plan in all that happens. Lord give me wisdom. Help me live a wise life. I will seek to acknowledge and trust in God presence and power today.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Unity Among Christians
Reading
NLT Psalm 133:1 A song for the ascent to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.
How wonderful it is, how pleasant, when brothers live together in harmony! 2 For harmony is as precious as the fragrant anointing oil that was poured over Aaron's head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe. 3 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And the LORD has pronounced his blessing, even life forevermore.
Meditation:
Literal: The traditional view of this passage was that it was written by David and sang by people as they came to the three great feasts to Jerusalem to worship. The brothers here would have been all the different tribes who would be coming together to worship the Lord at His temple. Some believe that this psalm was sung by Levites as they returned from exile in Babylon to the temple.
The focus is on how much pleasure comes when there is unity, peace, and tranquility in human relationships. It “smells” right and brings joy to individuals, families, tribes, and nations. The Psalmist also describes it as refreshing dew and then speaks of the most northern parts of the country which is illustrated by Mount Hermon and the Southern with Mount Zion. Both Israel and Judea united seems to be part of the focus.
The blessing that is upon God’s covenant people is that they have in the Messiah been given everlasting life. Harmony is found in remembering the one eternal life that all of God’s people share.
Christocentric - It was at Mount Hermon that Jesus said that He would build His Church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. It was in Jerusalem that He would die to redeem His church. He came to make both believing Jews and believing Gentiles one people and to knock down the wall of division between them. He has said that when we live in unity and harmony then the world will know that He was sent by the Father. The heart of Christ is that His people not be divided into fractions but that we love one another as he loved us.
Moral: Why are there wars among Christian brothers? Because of our envy, self righteousness, and greed there is division and discord. Our lack of unity as the people of God creates a spiritual “stink” that repels people from the Christian faith. It is much easier to find fault than to give praise. It is much easier to condemn than to encourage. We must strive to keep the unity that has been given to us through the Holy Spirit and strive to be peace makers with all people, especially those who believe.
Eternal – The full wonder and experience of this passage will be seen by God’s people when we gather at the throne of heaven. We will be one people with one shepherd. We will have love for Jesus and love for one another. Part of the kingdom of heaven will be perfect human relationships. We will be from many nations, tribes, cultures, and colors; but we will be one people who will know harmony, peace, joy, and love between each other.
Prayer: Lord, I thank you that you have created unity among believers through the Holy Spirit. I ask you Lord to make me a peace maker both within your Church and outside of the church. Allow my heart to seek harmony in all my human relationships. Keep my mouth from saying hurtful things. Let me seek to find the good in every relationship and the courage to rebuke when needed to maintain the peace. Lord help your people to avoid division that we may not cause the world to speak evil of you.
Contemplation: Love one another as I have loved you
Action: I will seek to understand others and to be slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to anger. I will strive to keep my mouth from speaking judgment or condemnation on fellow Christians.
NLT Psalm 133:1 A song for the ascent to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.
How wonderful it is, how pleasant, when brothers live together in harmony! 2 For harmony is as precious as the fragrant anointing oil that was poured over Aaron's head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe. 3 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And the LORD has pronounced his blessing, even life forevermore.
Meditation:
Literal: The traditional view of this passage was that it was written by David and sang by people as they came to the three great feasts to Jerusalem to worship. The brothers here would have been all the different tribes who would be coming together to worship the Lord at His temple. Some believe that this psalm was sung by Levites as they returned from exile in Babylon to the temple.
The focus is on how much pleasure comes when there is unity, peace, and tranquility in human relationships. It “smells” right and brings joy to individuals, families, tribes, and nations. The Psalmist also describes it as refreshing dew and then speaks of the most northern parts of the country which is illustrated by Mount Hermon and the Southern with Mount Zion. Both Israel and Judea united seems to be part of the focus.
The blessing that is upon God’s covenant people is that they have in the Messiah been given everlasting life. Harmony is found in remembering the one eternal life that all of God’s people share.
Christocentric - It was at Mount Hermon that Jesus said that He would build His Church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. It was in Jerusalem that He would die to redeem His church. He came to make both believing Jews and believing Gentiles one people and to knock down the wall of division between them. He has said that when we live in unity and harmony then the world will know that He was sent by the Father. The heart of Christ is that His people not be divided into fractions but that we love one another as he loved us.
Moral: Why are there wars among Christian brothers? Because of our envy, self righteousness, and greed there is division and discord. Our lack of unity as the people of God creates a spiritual “stink” that repels people from the Christian faith. It is much easier to find fault than to give praise. It is much easier to condemn than to encourage. We must strive to keep the unity that has been given to us through the Holy Spirit and strive to be peace makers with all people, especially those who believe.
Eternal – The full wonder and experience of this passage will be seen by God’s people when we gather at the throne of heaven. We will be one people with one shepherd. We will have love for Jesus and love for one another. Part of the kingdom of heaven will be perfect human relationships. We will be from many nations, tribes, cultures, and colors; but we will be one people who will know harmony, peace, joy, and love between each other.
Prayer: Lord, I thank you that you have created unity among believers through the Holy Spirit. I ask you Lord to make me a peace maker both within your Church and outside of the church. Allow my heart to seek harmony in all my human relationships. Keep my mouth from saying hurtful things. Let me seek to find the good in every relationship and the courage to rebuke when needed to maintain the peace. Lord help your people to avoid division that we may not cause the world to speak evil of you.
Contemplation: Love one another as I have loved you
Action: I will seek to understand others and to be slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to anger. I will strive to keep my mouth from speaking judgment or condemnation on fellow Christians.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Gospel Not Law
Our sermon series on Romans has focused us on the reality that it through the person of Jesus theMessiah alone that we have union and communion with God. Our obedience to the law of God is the basis of our having fellowship with God. The reality is that we should speak more of our disobedience to the law than our obedience for we have all fallen short of the demands of the law. We are in need of forgiveness and restoration. These are found in Jesus the Christ who has paid for our sins and been raised to life again to give us hope and fellowship with God. This "good news" is the focus, foundation, and center of our Christianity. It is not just a "front door" by which we enter the Christian life; it is the Christian life.
I hope you will join us for our meditations on Romans
I hope you will join us for our meditations on Romans
Thursday, July 24, 2008
What does it mean to believe in prayer?
What does it mean to believe in prayer?
NAU Psalm 32:6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
Prayer is the most difficult of spiritual exercises, disciplines, practices, and experiences. Most of us learned to pray as children. Some of us uttered our first prayer when someone asked us to repeat the “sinners prayer” to accept Christ as Lord and Savior. We all came to pray in some unique way.
At times there are those of us that have seen what appeared to be amazing if not miraculous answers to our prayers while others of us are not sure that our prayers have changed any events from the course they would have taken even if we had not prayed. Those who feel they have a “good batting average” in their prayer life find it easy to spend time asking God to change the course of events and those who feel that their prayers “strike out” find it more difficult to spend time in asking God to change circumstances. It is easier to do something when it seems to “work”.
When we pray consistently for a person we love to get better and then they get worst and die, it makes some part of our soul say; “Why did I pray?”. When we see the time we spend in prayer diminish and the passion we have to pray decline behind this spiritual struggle is a lack of faith that prayer matters or makes anything better. We become depressed concerning prayer and direct more energy to “working” because we can see concrete results from that.
When I stood at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and saw thousands of people praying and remembered that Jesus wanted his faith community to be a house of prayer, I prayed for a better understanding of prayer. As I reflect upon prayer and the book of prayers called the “Psalms” it is clear that the most important aspect of prayer is that we are talking to God. Prayer is just communication. Prayer is talking to God. It is being in God’s presence and being open to His direction.
Prayer is time set apart in which we seek to experience union and communion with the Eternal lover of our souls. We enter into the presence of God through the gospel. We come boldly before the throne not based on our righteousness. We come through Jesus alone. We are accepted in Jesus alone. Since we are talking to the one infinite in power we do ask for His help. He is the source of all our strength, wisdom and ability. He can create out of nothing. So He is not offended by us depending and requesting. But prayer is a lot more than asking.
The Bible tells us that a life with prayer will be filled with days of health, days of sickness, days of success, days of failure, days of insight, days of darkness, days of strong faith, days of strong doubt, days of blessing, days of persecution, days of plenty, days of need. We get all of this by reading the inspired prayer book of the Bible called the Psalms. It also becomes clear when we look at the biographies of the men and women of prayer from Abraham to the Apostle John.
So believing that prayer is worth time, effort, practice, and focus does not mean that prayer will end all our difficult times. In fact, difficult times will many times drive us to our deepest moments of prayer. Deep conversations with God normally come out of the darkest and most painful moments of our lives. In those dark places we speak soul to Soul with Him who made us and saved us. We express our deepest feelings, questions, and the true state of our hearts. Here in our pain, we are stripped of our pretense and lies. We come before God naked and desperate.
For me believing in prayer has nothing to do with knowing what God will do with my pleas and requests. I don’t know. He is God. He is the Eternal, All Knowing, All Powerful, All Loving, All Compassionate, ruler of all existence and time. His plan and ways are beyond my small finite, limited, and selfish vision.
But I can trust that He exists and that He is good. I trust Him even in the darkness of my most desperate losses and pain. He does not keep me from darkness and pain but He is always with me in the midst of that darkness and pain. He never abandons me. He is committed to the death to me.
So prayer is for me simply talking to my Eternal companion in the midst of life. He is there to listen, to dialogue with, and seek in the midst of my struggles. Sometimes He will act and make the circumstances and events better. Sometimes He simply gives me the strength to endure the trial and loss. Even sickness and death fit into His plans for my life and for the lives of those I love. But as I cry and feel overwhelmed, He is there to cry with me and support me in my grief. Even when I do not sense His presence or His peace, He is there.
In this world He has promised I will face tribulation but He has also promised He would never leave me or forsake me. This promise He wrote in blood at the cross when my Lord Jesus died for my sins. So I can trust in this promise. He has come close to me to be with me in Jesus, bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, and death of my death. I can trust one who comes to me even when I do not understand all the pain.
So to remain sane, stable, and spiritual; I pray. To have the ear of God and the invitation to talk is such a gift of grace. The ultimate power and ruler of the universe gives me His heart in prayer and embraces me in my pain and loss. I am not alone. There is someone who will hear all my thoughts, fears, concerns, desires, and needs. He is there in His Word to speak to me and through His Spirit to impress on my heart insights and helps. My conversations with God do not eliminate bad events, painful experiences, temptations, or sins. They do however help me to have the grace to struggle to believe in the midst of my pain and to overcome in the midst of my trials. I could not survive without prayer. It is the most vital conversation of my life.
So prayer is not magic. It does not give me supernatural power over the elements of creation. It gives me something better. It allows me to be aware of the union and communion I have been given with God through Jesus. Ultimately that union and communion is the essence of heaven. So prayer allows me to taste heaven while here on earth and that spiritual manna gives me strength to do God’s will on the earth. So I pray. I encourage you to continue to pray as well.
NAU Psalm 32:6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
Prayer is the most difficult of spiritual exercises, disciplines, practices, and experiences. Most of us learned to pray as children. Some of us uttered our first prayer when someone asked us to repeat the “sinners prayer” to accept Christ as Lord and Savior. We all came to pray in some unique way.
At times there are those of us that have seen what appeared to be amazing if not miraculous answers to our prayers while others of us are not sure that our prayers have changed any events from the course they would have taken even if we had not prayed. Those who feel they have a “good batting average” in their prayer life find it easy to spend time asking God to change the course of events and those who feel that their prayers “strike out” find it more difficult to spend time in asking God to change circumstances. It is easier to do something when it seems to “work”.
When we pray consistently for a person we love to get better and then they get worst and die, it makes some part of our soul say; “Why did I pray?”. When we see the time we spend in prayer diminish and the passion we have to pray decline behind this spiritual struggle is a lack of faith that prayer matters or makes anything better. We become depressed concerning prayer and direct more energy to “working” because we can see concrete results from that.
When I stood at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and saw thousands of people praying and remembered that Jesus wanted his faith community to be a house of prayer, I prayed for a better understanding of prayer. As I reflect upon prayer and the book of prayers called the “Psalms” it is clear that the most important aspect of prayer is that we are talking to God. Prayer is just communication. Prayer is talking to God. It is being in God’s presence and being open to His direction.
Prayer is time set apart in which we seek to experience union and communion with the Eternal lover of our souls. We enter into the presence of God through the gospel. We come boldly before the throne not based on our righteousness. We come through Jesus alone. We are accepted in Jesus alone. Since we are talking to the one infinite in power we do ask for His help. He is the source of all our strength, wisdom and ability. He can create out of nothing. So He is not offended by us depending and requesting. But prayer is a lot more than asking.
The Bible tells us that a life with prayer will be filled with days of health, days of sickness, days of success, days of failure, days of insight, days of darkness, days of strong faith, days of strong doubt, days of blessing, days of persecution, days of plenty, days of need. We get all of this by reading the inspired prayer book of the Bible called the Psalms. It also becomes clear when we look at the biographies of the men and women of prayer from Abraham to the Apostle John.
So believing that prayer is worth time, effort, practice, and focus does not mean that prayer will end all our difficult times. In fact, difficult times will many times drive us to our deepest moments of prayer. Deep conversations with God normally come out of the darkest and most painful moments of our lives. In those dark places we speak soul to Soul with Him who made us and saved us. We express our deepest feelings, questions, and the true state of our hearts. Here in our pain, we are stripped of our pretense and lies. We come before God naked and desperate.
For me believing in prayer has nothing to do with knowing what God will do with my pleas and requests. I don’t know. He is God. He is the Eternal, All Knowing, All Powerful, All Loving, All Compassionate, ruler of all existence and time. His plan and ways are beyond my small finite, limited, and selfish vision.
But I can trust that He exists and that He is good. I trust Him even in the darkness of my most desperate losses and pain. He does not keep me from darkness and pain but He is always with me in the midst of that darkness and pain. He never abandons me. He is committed to the death to me.
So prayer is for me simply talking to my Eternal companion in the midst of life. He is there to listen, to dialogue with, and seek in the midst of my struggles. Sometimes He will act and make the circumstances and events better. Sometimes He simply gives me the strength to endure the trial and loss. Even sickness and death fit into His plans for my life and for the lives of those I love. But as I cry and feel overwhelmed, He is there to cry with me and support me in my grief. Even when I do not sense His presence or His peace, He is there.
In this world He has promised I will face tribulation but He has also promised He would never leave me or forsake me. This promise He wrote in blood at the cross when my Lord Jesus died for my sins. So I can trust in this promise. He has come close to me to be with me in Jesus, bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, and death of my death. I can trust one who comes to me even when I do not understand all the pain.
So to remain sane, stable, and spiritual; I pray. To have the ear of God and the invitation to talk is such a gift of grace. The ultimate power and ruler of the universe gives me His heart in prayer and embraces me in my pain and loss. I am not alone. There is someone who will hear all my thoughts, fears, concerns, desires, and needs. He is there in His Word to speak to me and through His Spirit to impress on my heart insights and helps. My conversations with God do not eliminate bad events, painful experiences, temptations, or sins. They do however help me to have the grace to struggle to believe in the midst of my pain and to overcome in the midst of my trials. I could not survive without prayer. It is the most vital conversation of my life.
So prayer is not magic. It does not give me supernatural power over the elements of creation. It gives me something better. It allows me to be aware of the union and communion I have been given with God through Jesus. Ultimately that union and communion is the essence of heaven. So prayer allows me to taste heaven while here on earth and that spiritual manna gives me strength to do God’s will on the earth. So I pray. I encourage you to continue to pray as well.
Friday, July 18, 2008
An Open Letter To Senator Obama concerning his “Call To Renewal” Keynote Address
Dear Senator Obama,
Grace and peace to you.
I have read your 'Call to Renewal' keynote Address which you gave at the “Call to Renewal's Building a Covenant for a New America” conference. I appreciate that you are attempting to build a dialogue between evangelicals and secular people in our society. It would be good if we really could have respectful dialogue instead of the normal political negative “sound bites” that divide, isolate, and polarize. I honor your effort to move us in that direction.
Yet, it seems that the cultural divide is so great between who we are as conservative bible believing evangelicals that you are not aware that in your effort to find some “middle ground” you said things that would be offensive to anyone living in the conservative evangelical culture. I do not think you thought what you said would be offensive but I think you spoke out of a lack of understanding of conservative evangelical people.
The two greatest examples of this was you seem to imply that the Bible cannot be used to guide public policy except in the most abstract and general way since it has within it immoral and impractical ideas. This seems to what you are implying when you state:
“Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is ok and that eating shellfish is abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount - a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, let's read our bibles.”
I remember a few scenes from the series “West Wing” that seemed to reflect this same point of view almost verbatim. It seems you are saying that the Bible has some great inspirational poetry but we cannot take literally any of its values or teachings as legitimate for the public square or our lives, without inviting irrationality, injustice, and cultural disaster.
You add to this by taking the story of Abram and Isaac and use it to place faith in a realm of the irrational and fanatical that has no reasonable foundation. You seem to accept a post modern division between faith and reason where on is absurd and the other rational. Faith gives meaning and significance but is beyond proof and reasonable understanding.
Just for a historical note the word “lad” found in the passage can be used of any unmarried man so it does not demand that Isaac was a child. It is the same Hebrew word used for the servants that went with Abraham and Isaac. Since he walked three days, was separated from his mother, and carried the wood this would indicate a young adult man. The rabbi’s teach that Isaac was 37 years old at the time of this test of faith[1]. So in the actual historical event, Isaac was involved as a young adult who also believed in the promises that had been given to his father about him. It is likely that both Sarah and Isaac had shared in the propositional, objective, and historical revelation that made him the only source through whom Messiah could come and therefore making his survival an absolute necessity. Abraham believed that Isaac would be resurrected since if he died and was not revived then God Himself would have to die as a violator of a covenant promise (Hebrews 11:17-19). Such a view of the events of Genesis does not eliminate all the struggles one may have with this story but they take it a long way from an example of extreme religious child abuse.
Your view of Abraham’s faith being an irrational, subjective, and immoral action seems to come from a naïve reading of the text. You place faith and reason at odds with each other and assume that there was no way to verify Abraham’s faith and that it was totally subjective. With this as an understanding of “evangelical faith” then it is understandable that there would be great concern about such “faith” coming and attempting to dominate the public sphere of American life.
With such a view of faith being so opposed to reason, how does “common reason” ruling in the public square differ from having the secular humanist or materialistic world view dominate in politics and policy? Clearly, “faith” as you describe it may provide some personal motivation but has within it the ability to move people to extreme and dangerous actions. It is hard for me to see the role “faith” has in such a perspective except to add some “poetry” to what is already known to be true.
Practically this would seem to place convictions about faith in the realm of the absurd and superstitious which should not be allowed to provide a basis for our common social policy except where such ideas support what seems reasonable. If “faith” supports the idea of helping the poor then since we already know that helping the poor is a good idea then we can use “faith” to motivate people towards an end that they already know from “common reason” or “common sense” they should do. “Faith” can motivate people to do some public good but not educate us on what is in the good of the public.
The impression that many evangelicals could have from your comments is that you have little trust in the Bible or its revelation of God. The skepticism and even atheism of your family can easily be seen in your use of Abraham and Isaac as an example in the way you did. Your own faith seems more an existential experience aimed at finding community, purpose, and a sense of belonging in a cold universe than a commitment to historical Christian orthodoxy or an Evangelical Christian world view. You do not seem to be saying you are an evangelical but only that you desire to understand and dialogue with evangelicals. This is a noble and good thing but this is an important distinction.
One thing I found interesting about your comments was that you felt that those who were supportive of intelligent design being taught in our schools, opposed homosexual marriages, and felt abortion was wrong had no basis for such ideas except either the authority of scripture or the teachings of the Church. My experience has been that evangelicals recognize that the bible or ecclesiastical rulings mean nothing to the outside non-evangelical society. We might use such arguments when talking to the “choir” back home but never in the public square. We recognize that we must give a reason for the propositions we set forth that can be tested and verified by each person and would look for “common ground” to communicate our convictions to groups that do not accept our religious presuppositions or paradigms.
I am sure you have read the classic evangelical work discussing abortion written by the late Dr. Francis Schaffer and Dr. C. Everett Koop entitled Whatever Happened To The Human Race which sets forth a philosophical and rational argument for rejecting abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. One does not have to be a Christian or even a theist to reject legal abortion as a wise course for our nation. There are solid secular arguments against abortion being legal and these arguments need to be listened to without them being rejected because they are “religious”.
The abortion issue is due to one of our most basic beliefs as a nation. Every person has an inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These are classic American values. The founders saw these rights as “divinely” given but this did not make the issue a matter of religion verses reason.
How does this “right to life” impact abortion? The question which has to be answered is; “When then does life begin?” When is a person a person? At what point should the government defend a person’s right to life? At what point in their development does a person have “the right to life”?
There are different viewpoints on this question regardless of faith.
There are those who believe that a human being has an inalienable right to life from conception,
Others believe it happens at some later point of development in the womb
Others believe that it happens when the child takes their first breath outside the mother.
Then there are those who really believe that there is no inalienable right to life and that it is in the common interest to simply eliminate these undesirables from the human race because of some defect, need to limit population, dysfunctional nature of the home of origin or economic necessity.
While this last view is held by a few, I believe that as a people and a culture, Americans do not want to accept the value that some innocent human beings can be killed because they are handicapped, cause social stress, produce more a strain on our ecosystem, or present us with economic hardships. I do not think the slaughter of the weak and helpless is an American value or ideal.
Gallup indicates that 54% of the American people believe that abortion should only be allowed for rape, incest, and a few other extreme cases with 17% wanting it banned in all cases. That means that 71% of the American people would like restraints on a woman’s “right” to have an abortion and that Roe vs. Wade does not reflect the common values or common reason of the American public. Present abortion law does not reflect a compromise or a win/win solution but the domination of the values of 29% of the population over the other 71%. Does this seem reasonable, balanced, or fair minded?
Therefore, the debate about when life begins based on the most rational and logical discussions would seem to be critical for us as a nation. Our current abortion laws are only just if we know that a fetus is not a human being. Ignorance on such a critical issue could never justify the potential slaughter of over a million human beings a year. Surely, most of us want to be prudent and err on the side of caution if there was any rational possibility that we could be killing hundreds of thousands of human beings. In Roe vs. Wade the Supreme Court said they did not know when a fetus became a human being so at least in theory they opened the door to the potential slaughter of millions of innocents. This should concern any rational and ethical person thinking about abortion.
Now this has nothing to do with religion. This is just logic. Either we are or we are not allowing the killing of innocent human beings. To determine this we must know when a fetus becomes a human being. If this is beyond our ability to know, then we must err on the side of caution to ensure that no innocent child would be killed and denied due process.
Clearly as a society then we must address many other concerns about caring for these citizens and for their mothers. But the right to life, as our founding fathers saw, was foundational to all other rights. If you have never read The Unaborted Socrates by Dr. Peter Kreeft for a philosophical discussion of this issue it should be of interest to you.
You must understand that as evangelicals we have rejected the call of the “Malcolm Xs” among us that called for a violent response to what we see as an on going American Holocaust because we do recognize that people differ in their world views and for the need to persuade people by reason even regarding the most critical ethical issues. We see that we are called to be “peace makers” and to love those opposed to us. We did not accept the idea that we needed to use violence as a means to end what we see as a horrible injustice.
Because of these values, with tears in our eyes we have set up an alternative care for women with crisis pregnancies which provides counseling, medical care, housing, and support without any cost to the mothers in need. Unlike the very lucrative abortion industry that makes at least 1 billion dollars a year in profit providing abortions, we have sacrificed money and given care to women in need and to their children. American Evangelicals donate at least 2 billion dollars a year to fund the 2,200 alternative centers and their services to women facing crisis pregnancies. This does not include the free housing, care, and professional services given to women who choose to give their children life. This demonstrates that we do not just care about the unborn children but their mothers.
We have done this in an effort to find a peaceful solution to what in our eyes is the greatest social sin in America’s history. A solution that we believe Martin Luther King would approve. This shows that we do understand tolerance, pluralism, and the need to work with others in the public square in finding common solutions on difficult issues.
We do believe that Roe vs. Wade was “bad law” as many legal scholars do, and seek to see it reversed, but we also see the need to provide social support for women facing crisis pregnancies and have put our money where our mouths are to demonstrate our resolve to find positive and life giving answers. I am not sure how well you really understand us if you think our opposition to abortion is based on our desire to impose our religion on others. It is based on our belief in the “right to life” and it really is a simple as that.
In reality the only morality one has to have to be opposed to abortion is to not want to have innocent human beings murdered and to believe that babies in the womb of their mothers qualify or could qualify as innocent human beings. This is a long way from attempting to impose religion on others. The fact that many people “of faith” hold to this perspective does not make the “pro-life” viewpoint religious.
The issue of abortion more than any other is what drove the conservative bible believing community into politics. Many of us prior to Roe vs. Wade believed politics was not part of serving God. It was this life and death issue that inspired us into becoming a significant force in American politics. That is why you are motivated to dialogue with us and call on us to join you to work for a better America.
It is the abortion issue that led many of us into an uneasy co-belligerency with the Republican Party. Like most communities we were divided among ourselves concerning liberal, progressive, conservative, and libertarian outlooks. But when it came to issues of life and death this seemed to be a clear and present danger to the most basic of rights.
There are also rational common ground arguments for including the idea of “intelligent design” or theistic philosophy in the education of our children since most philosophers agree that without the idea of God it is hard to establish a basis for ethics. Politics reflects an application of social ethics and therefore as has been argued by Kant that civilized nations needs a universe in which the divine will and duty is present. If the public education of our children reflects or offers only a materialistic world view then we will have to establish a purely materialistic ethic as the basis for our social morality. At a gut level the American people know their children have a need of the idea of God and divine duty, since 76% want a constitution amendment for a silent moment of prayer in our public schools. To develop a totally materialistic basis for ethics, purpose, and significance is an extremely hard thing to do. If a scientist lacks commitment to integrity then who can trust their findings? This in turn destroys the effectiveness of the scientific method on which the advances of our modern society rest.
Failing to establish a purely secular ethic, we will find our children becoming lawless and living lives destructive to the common good. To rely solely on home and organized religion to reinforce this concept when both those institutions are under pressure seems unwise and an abandonment of public duty. Changing the curriculum of our nation to teach healthy and practical skills of human relationships may go farther then anything else to turn the tide in coming generation as the movie “Freedom Writers” demonstrates.
To develop instruction on core American values held in common by most Americans would help to practically develop the socialization that the public schools are suppose to be designed to develop. The other reality is that if our public schools are really dedicated to being schools promoting the philosophy of materialism then all those who reject this philosophy will abandon the public schools even while paying for them with their tax dollars. With 11% of our children now in some form of private education and the public deeply concerned about lack of funding, lack of discipline and overcrowded classrooms the time has come to create a public schools system that reflects the desire and values of the parents in the community and provides a quality education in a safe environment.
There are also arguments to be made for preserving the institution of marriage exclusively for people of opposite genders. One should take note of the social cost in tax dollars of the social experiments released in the 1960’s before opening the door to yet another grand change in the social order that has never been done before. With 1/3 of our children being raised in single parent homes it does not seem to be the time when we need to do more damage to the institution of marriage. Historically, sociologists have felt that the stability of a nation depends on the stability of homes in that society. If that is true, then our nation is at great risk presently. My main point here is that we would argue for the preservation of the historic understanding of marriage with arguments based on common sense and reason, not divine revelation however that might influence us privately.
These social issues with concern about abortion being the most pressing woke up the evangelical sleeping giant and released evangelicals into politics. From 1976 in our first naïve support of President Jimmy Carter to becoming pawns in the Republican political machine for the last three decades we have worked and sacrificed in an effort to strengthen our nation. We have not always done this wisely or well. But we were citizens striving to create what we saw to be the common good.
At this point many of us are worn out and disillusioned. We do not trust either party. Some have said that evangelicals have been the mistresses of the Republican Party in which in private we are told how much we are loved and in public ignored. This is most likely an under statement of the reality. It is clear to many of us that we have been manipulated as a community to win elections and after nearly thirty years of efforts to change our society have little to show for the sacrifices and efforts we have made. Recognizing we have been used and manipulated has left many of us cynical and ready to retreat from involvement in politics all together.
The desire of many of us not only to protect the unborn but to care for children from conception to death can be seen in our dedication to private charity and our hope of having government funds used to help faith based non-profits to get the most effective use of these funds. However, all of this was used by President Bush and the Republicans as only a maneuver to win us over. This has been documented in the book, Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction by David Kuo. This dream was also just political manipulation and deception.
It is important to remember that many of us want to help those in need we just don’t trust the government to do a good job at helping people or using funds. As a group conservative bible believing evangelicals give to help those in need.[2] We are a compassionate people. It is the means and not the end that are being debated.
Your recent statement supporting faith based initiatives sounds great but will it lead to the reality that so many of us have hoped to see? Can government and faith based non-profits become allies against the social evils of our society? So many things come down to an issue of mutual trust.
This means that even your call to conversation and dialogue is hard to really believe. While I want to believe that your call to dialogue is a sincere effort to understand us, I must admit that it seems like as a community we are simply being courted to become the mistress of the Democratic Party having been so mistreated by the Republican Party.
Knowing that we can have a significant impact on the election is all of this a way to simply divide or win our votes and then betray us and our concerns after the election? Those who are leaders of the “liberal evangelical left” like Tony Campolo, Jim Wallis and Ron Sider seem to have allied with you in this election to move us who are disillusioned to abandon making our concern for the unborn the key political issue. Is this just all political manipulation only this time coming from the left instead of the right?
But despite my concerns I want to make a reasonable step of trust in taking up your challenge to really be in dialogue and hope to seek together a more sane, stable, and spiritual future for our nation and culture. I do think that we need to carefully, logically, and with respect for everyone around the table of our pluralistic society develop some noble and inspiring American values upon which we can rebuild the character and vision of our Republic. We need to really seek “win/win” solutions instead of politics based on power, control, and domination of opposition.
We really do need a new politic. We need a space of real respectful dialogue and wrestling to find new solutions. Our nation is at a cross roads. We must find a way in the midst of our differences to not demonize each other when we disagree. We must strive to really hear each other and define common values and principles while also seeking to find new creative solutions that do not polarize our society.
Clearly, the idea of a “culture war” will only lead to a nation divided which means we cannot stand as a nation (Matthew 12:25 and Abraham Lincoln). We all must be willing to really hear the arguments that the other person is making and when warranted by the facts be ready to change or adjust our point of view. Only when we can really get beyond rhetoric and sound bites to reality and issues will we have something more inspiring than our current political environment.
If we are to inspire the next generation of young Americans we must believe that our nation is great, not because we have more nuclear weapons, the most efficient military, the most massive wealth, or the highest standard of pleasure on the globe. We must believe that America is great because America is good. We must see ourselves as a nation of nobility, honor, truth, and character. Our nation must be worth dying for and more importantly worth living for. We must be able to admit our mistakes, confess our transgressions, and show humility in our strength. It is vital that young Americans come to believe in the integrity of our leaders and its government. America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.
Edward Gibbons writes concerning the fall of Rome "If all the barbarian conquerors had been annihilated in the same hour, their total destruction would not have restored the empire of the West: and if Rome still survived, she survived the loss of freedom, of virtue, and of honour." The point is simple, if America survives terrorism, the rise of China, the slaughter of her own children, and the threat of ecological disaster; she will not really have survived if the values of freedom, virtue, and honor on which she was founded are abandoned.
It has been said by some that the real reason Rome fell was that the Romans no longer cared if Rome survived or not. We are at a turning point and we need real leadership to take us to a revived vision of our own destiny as a nation. We need honest leaders, asking honest questions, looking for honest answers, who seek to develop a balanced, good, and beautiful culture which can be an example of both grace and justice.
You were challenged and hurt by Allan Keyes question; “Would Jesus vote for Barack Obama?” He asked his question because of your pro-choice and pro-homosexual right viewpoint which he saw as out of accord with the world view of Jesus Christ. We could also wonder if Jesus Christ would vote for those who seem to love war more than peace tolerate a legal system that gives more justice to the rich than to the poor or finds excuses for the torture of prisoners.
Perhaps the frightening reality is that neither party is really representing the agenda of the real Jesus Christ. Perhaps the more significant question is; “Would either party be willing to vote for Jesus Christ and His agenda for our nation?” What would Jesus do if He was president? That is a hard question to answer if we do not create Jesus into our own image and impose on Him our own agenda.
I agree with your friend Tony Campolo when he said "Jesus transcends partisan politics. That's what's wrong with the religious right... they have made Jesus into a Republican, and he's not!" but I would add Jesus is not a Democrat either. Jesus and his world view is greater than either the Republican or Democratic parties.
The hard issue for evangelicals is which of the parties at this time and in this election best reflects the values of Jesus and which can be most trusted to be a party of integrity. Those are hard questions that require clear thinking and much prayer.
I was reading the inaugural address of President John F. Kennedy. It reminded me of a dream I had as a young man for our nation. I would invite you to hear his words again.
“The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe -- the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God…..
Now the trumpet summons us again -- not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need -- not as a call to battle, though embattled we are -- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation," a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world.And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.”
I urge you to review President Kennedy’s inaugural address. Here was a vision in the right direction. Here was a group of values that could unite all Americans. Here is a future that would again make America great because she would be good.
I am glad that you want to be “fair minded”. I think you need to continue to seek to overcome cultural stereotypes of evangelical Christians. It is hard for all of us to overcome our preconceived notions. But, I thank you for the invitation to come to the table and talk.
May God bless you. Dr. Norman R. Wise
Senior Pastor of First Church West
1. Several commentators have weighed in on this question. Leupold wrote: “He may by this time have arrived at the age of some eighteen to twenty years” (1942, 1:625). Josephus stated: “Now Isaac was twenty-five years old” (1.13.2). Adam Clarke said: “[I]t is more probable that he was now about thirty-three” (1:140, emp. in orig.). Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown asserted that Isaac was “then upwards of twenty years of age” (n.d., p. 29). J. Curtis Manor described him as “a youth of sufficient strength and agility to carry a load of firewood up a mountainside” (1994, p. 103). Keil and Delitzsch affirmed that “this son had grown into a young man” (1976, 1:248). Morris added: “[T]he meaning in Isaac’s case should also be ‘young man’ ” (1976, p. 373).
2. When we look at actual private charity, however, we see conservatives do just fine. For example, conservative-headed families in 2000 gave about 30 percent more money per year than liberal-headed families on average, while, earning 6 percent less income see Arthur C. Brooks, Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism.
1 Several commentators have weighed in on this question. Leupold wrote: “He may by this time have arrived at the age of some eighteen to twenty years” (1942, 1:625). Josephus stated: “Now Isaac was twenty-five years old” (1.13.2). Adam Clarke said: “[I]t is more probable that he was now about thirty-three” (1:140, emp. in orig.). Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown asserted that Isaac was “then upwards of twenty years of age” (n.d., p. 29). J. Curtis Manor described him as “a youth of sufficient strength and agility to carry a load of firewood up a mountainside” (1994, p. 103). Keil and Delitzsch affirmed that “this son had grown into a young man” (1976, 1:248). Morris added: “[T]he meaning in Isaac’s case should also be ‘young man’ ” (1976, p. 373).
2. When we look at actual private charity, however, we see conservatives do just fine. For example, conservative-headed families in 2000 gave about 30 percent more money per year than liberal-headed families on average, while, earning 6 percent less income see Arthur C. Brooks, Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism
Grace and peace to you.
I have read your 'Call to Renewal' keynote Address which you gave at the “Call to Renewal's Building a Covenant for a New America” conference. I appreciate that you are attempting to build a dialogue between evangelicals and secular people in our society. It would be good if we really could have respectful dialogue instead of the normal political negative “sound bites” that divide, isolate, and polarize. I honor your effort to move us in that direction.
Yet, it seems that the cultural divide is so great between who we are as conservative bible believing evangelicals that you are not aware that in your effort to find some “middle ground” you said things that would be offensive to anyone living in the conservative evangelical culture. I do not think you thought what you said would be offensive but I think you spoke out of a lack of understanding of conservative evangelical people.
The two greatest examples of this was you seem to imply that the Bible cannot be used to guide public policy except in the most abstract and general way since it has within it immoral and impractical ideas. This seems to what you are implying when you state:
“Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is ok and that eating shellfish is abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount - a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, let's read our bibles.”
I remember a few scenes from the series “West Wing” that seemed to reflect this same point of view almost verbatim. It seems you are saying that the Bible has some great inspirational poetry but we cannot take literally any of its values or teachings as legitimate for the public square or our lives, without inviting irrationality, injustice, and cultural disaster.
You add to this by taking the story of Abram and Isaac and use it to place faith in a realm of the irrational and fanatical that has no reasonable foundation. You seem to accept a post modern division between faith and reason where on is absurd and the other rational. Faith gives meaning and significance but is beyond proof and reasonable understanding.
Just for a historical note the word “lad” found in the passage can be used of any unmarried man so it does not demand that Isaac was a child. It is the same Hebrew word used for the servants that went with Abraham and Isaac. Since he walked three days, was separated from his mother, and carried the wood this would indicate a young adult man. The rabbi’s teach that Isaac was 37 years old at the time of this test of faith[1]. So in the actual historical event, Isaac was involved as a young adult who also believed in the promises that had been given to his father about him. It is likely that both Sarah and Isaac had shared in the propositional, objective, and historical revelation that made him the only source through whom Messiah could come and therefore making his survival an absolute necessity. Abraham believed that Isaac would be resurrected since if he died and was not revived then God Himself would have to die as a violator of a covenant promise (Hebrews 11:17-19). Such a view of the events of Genesis does not eliminate all the struggles one may have with this story but they take it a long way from an example of extreme religious child abuse.
Your view of Abraham’s faith being an irrational, subjective, and immoral action seems to come from a naïve reading of the text. You place faith and reason at odds with each other and assume that there was no way to verify Abraham’s faith and that it was totally subjective. With this as an understanding of “evangelical faith” then it is understandable that there would be great concern about such “faith” coming and attempting to dominate the public sphere of American life.
With such a view of faith being so opposed to reason, how does “common reason” ruling in the public square differ from having the secular humanist or materialistic world view dominate in politics and policy? Clearly, “faith” as you describe it may provide some personal motivation but has within it the ability to move people to extreme and dangerous actions. It is hard for me to see the role “faith” has in such a perspective except to add some “poetry” to what is already known to be true.
Practically this would seem to place convictions about faith in the realm of the absurd and superstitious which should not be allowed to provide a basis for our common social policy except where such ideas support what seems reasonable. If “faith” supports the idea of helping the poor then since we already know that helping the poor is a good idea then we can use “faith” to motivate people towards an end that they already know from “common reason” or “common sense” they should do. “Faith” can motivate people to do some public good but not educate us on what is in the good of the public.
The impression that many evangelicals could have from your comments is that you have little trust in the Bible or its revelation of God. The skepticism and even atheism of your family can easily be seen in your use of Abraham and Isaac as an example in the way you did. Your own faith seems more an existential experience aimed at finding community, purpose, and a sense of belonging in a cold universe than a commitment to historical Christian orthodoxy or an Evangelical Christian world view. You do not seem to be saying you are an evangelical but only that you desire to understand and dialogue with evangelicals. This is a noble and good thing but this is an important distinction.
One thing I found interesting about your comments was that you felt that those who were supportive of intelligent design being taught in our schools, opposed homosexual marriages, and felt abortion was wrong had no basis for such ideas except either the authority of scripture or the teachings of the Church. My experience has been that evangelicals recognize that the bible or ecclesiastical rulings mean nothing to the outside non-evangelical society. We might use such arguments when talking to the “choir” back home but never in the public square. We recognize that we must give a reason for the propositions we set forth that can be tested and verified by each person and would look for “common ground” to communicate our convictions to groups that do not accept our religious presuppositions or paradigms.
I am sure you have read the classic evangelical work discussing abortion written by the late Dr. Francis Schaffer and Dr. C. Everett Koop entitled Whatever Happened To The Human Race which sets forth a philosophical and rational argument for rejecting abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. One does not have to be a Christian or even a theist to reject legal abortion as a wise course for our nation. There are solid secular arguments against abortion being legal and these arguments need to be listened to without them being rejected because they are “religious”.
The abortion issue is due to one of our most basic beliefs as a nation. Every person has an inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These are classic American values. The founders saw these rights as “divinely” given but this did not make the issue a matter of religion verses reason.
How does this “right to life” impact abortion? The question which has to be answered is; “When then does life begin?” When is a person a person? At what point should the government defend a person’s right to life? At what point in their development does a person have “the right to life”?
There are different viewpoints on this question regardless of faith.
There are those who believe that a human being has an inalienable right to life from conception,
Others believe it happens at some later point of development in the womb
Others believe that it happens when the child takes their first breath outside the mother.
Then there are those who really believe that there is no inalienable right to life and that it is in the common interest to simply eliminate these undesirables from the human race because of some defect, need to limit population, dysfunctional nature of the home of origin or economic necessity.
While this last view is held by a few, I believe that as a people and a culture, Americans do not want to accept the value that some innocent human beings can be killed because they are handicapped, cause social stress, produce more a strain on our ecosystem, or present us with economic hardships. I do not think the slaughter of the weak and helpless is an American value or ideal.
Gallup indicates that 54% of the American people believe that abortion should only be allowed for rape, incest, and a few other extreme cases with 17% wanting it banned in all cases. That means that 71% of the American people would like restraints on a woman’s “right” to have an abortion and that Roe vs. Wade does not reflect the common values or common reason of the American public. Present abortion law does not reflect a compromise or a win/win solution but the domination of the values of 29% of the population over the other 71%. Does this seem reasonable, balanced, or fair minded?
Therefore, the debate about when life begins based on the most rational and logical discussions would seem to be critical for us as a nation. Our current abortion laws are only just if we know that a fetus is not a human being. Ignorance on such a critical issue could never justify the potential slaughter of over a million human beings a year. Surely, most of us want to be prudent and err on the side of caution if there was any rational possibility that we could be killing hundreds of thousands of human beings. In Roe vs. Wade the Supreme Court said they did not know when a fetus became a human being so at least in theory they opened the door to the potential slaughter of millions of innocents. This should concern any rational and ethical person thinking about abortion.
Now this has nothing to do with religion. This is just logic. Either we are or we are not allowing the killing of innocent human beings. To determine this we must know when a fetus becomes a human being. If this is beyond our ability to know, then we must err on the side of caution to ensure that no innocent child would be killed and denied due process.
Clearly as a society then we must address many other concerns about caring for these citizens and for their mothers. But the right to life, as our founding fathers saw, was foundational to all other rights. If you have never read The Unaborted Socrates by Dr. Peter Kreeft for a philosophical discussion of this issue it should be of interest to you.
You must understand that as evangelicals we have rejected the call of the “Malcolm Xs” among us that called for a violent response to what we see as an on going American Holocaust because we do recognize that people differ in their world views and for the need to persuade people by reason even regarding the most critical ethical issues. We see that we are called to be “peace makers” and to love those opposed to us. We did not accept the idea that we needed to use violence as a means to end what we see as a horrible injustice.
Because of these values, with tears in our eyes we have set up an alternative care for women with crisis pregnancies which provides counseling, medical care, housing, and support without any cost to the mothers in need. Unlike the very lucrative abortion industry that makes at least 1 billion dollars a year in profit providing abortions, we have sacrificed money and given care to women in need and to their children. American Evangelicals donate at least 2 billion dollars a year to fund the 2,200 alternative centers and their services to women facing crisis pregnancies. This does not include the free housing, care, and professional services given to women who choose to give their children life. This demonstrates that we do not just care about the unborn children but their mothers.
We have done this in an effort to find a peaceful solution to what in our eyes is the greatest social sin in America’s history. A solution that we believe Martin Luther King would approve. This shows that we do understand tolerance, pluralism, and the need to work with others in the public square in finding common solutions on difficult issues.
We do believe that Roe vs. Wade was “bad law” as many legal scholars do, and seek to see it reversed, but we also see the need to provide social support for women facing crisis pregnancies and have put our money where our mouths are to demonstrate our resolve to find positive and life giving answers. I am not sure how well you really understand us if you think our opposition to abortion is based on our desire to impose our religion on others. It is based on our belief in the “right to life” and it really is a simple as that.
In reality the only morality one has to have to be opposed to abortion is to not want to have innocent human beings murdered and to believe that babies in the womb of their mothers qualify or could qualify as innocent human beings. This is a long way from attempting to impose religion on others. The fact that many people “of faith” hold to this perspective does not make the “pro-life” viewpoint religious.
The issue of abortion more than any other is what drove the conservative bible believing community into politics. Many of us prior to Roe vs. Wade believed politics was not part of serving God. It was this life and death issue that inspired us into becoming a significant force in American politics. That is why you are motivated to dialogue with us and call on us to join you to work for a better America.
It is the abortion issue that led many of us into an uneasy co-belligerency with the Republican Party. Like most communities we were divided among ourselves concerning liberal, progressive, conservative, and libertarian outlooks. But when it came to issues of life and death this seemed to be a clear and present danger to the most basic of rights.
There are also rational common ground arguments for including the idea of “intelligent design” or theistic philosophy in the education of our children since most philosophers agree that without the idea of God it is hard to establish a basis for ethics. Politics reflects an application of social ethics and therefore as has been argued by Kant that civilized nations needs a universe in which the divine will and duty is present. If the public education of our children reflects or offers only a materialistic world view then we will have to establish a purely materialistic ethic as the basis for our social morality. At a gut level the American people know their children have a need of the idea of God and divine duty, since 76% want a constitution amendment for a silent moment of prayer in our public schools. To develop a totally materialistic basis for ethics, purpose, and significance is an extremely hard thing to do. If a scientist lacks commitment to integrity then who can trust their findings? This in turn destroys the effectiveness of the scientific method on which the advances of our modern society rest.
Failing to establish a purely secular ethic, we will find our children becoming lawless and living lives destructive to the common good. To rely solely on home and organized religion to reinforce this concept when both those institutions are under pressure seems unwise and an abandonment of public duty. Changing the curriculum of our nation to teach healthy and practical skills of human relationships may go farther then anything else to turn the tide in coming generation as the movie “Freedom Writers” demonstrates.
To develop instruction on core American values held in common by most Americans would help to practically develop the socialization that the public schools are suppose to be designed to develop. The other reality is that if our public schools are really dedicated to being schools promoting the philosophy of materialism then all those who reject this philosophy will abandon the public schools even while paying for them with their tax dollars. With 11% of our children now in some form of private education and the public deeply concerned about lack of funding, lack of discipline and overcrowded classrooms the time has come to create a public schools system that reflects the desire and values of the parents in the community and provides a quality education in a safe environment.
There are also arguments to be made for preserving the institution of marriage exclusively for people of opposite genders. One should take note of the social cost in tax dollars of the social experiments released in the 1960’s before opening the door to yet another grand change in the social order that has never been done before. With 1/3 of our children being raised in single parent homes it does not seem to be the time when we need to do more damage to the institution of marriage. Historically, sociologists have felt that the stability of a nation depends on the stability of homes in that society. If that is true, then our nation is at great risk presently. My main point here is that we would argue for the preservation of the historic understanding of marriage with arguments based on common sense and reason, not divine revelation however that might influence us privately.
These social issues with concern about abortion being the most pressing woke up the evangelical sleeping giant and released evangelicals into politics. From 1976 in our first naïve support of President Jimmy Carter to becoming pawns in the Republican political machine for the last three decades we have worked and sacrificed in an effort to strengthen our nation. We have not always done this wisely or well. But we were citizens striving to create what we saw to be the common good.
At this point many of us are worn out and disillusioned. We do not trust either party. Some have said that evangelicals have been the mistresses of the Republican Party in which in private we are told how much we are loved and in public ignored. This is most likely an under statement of the reality. It is clear to many of us that we have been manipulated as a community to win elections and after nearly thirty years of efforts to change our society have little to show for the sacrifices and efforts we have made. Recognizing we have been used and manipulated has left many of us cynical and ready to retreat from involvement in politics all together.
The desire of many of us not only to protect the unborn but to care for children from conception to death can be seen in our dedication to private charity and our hope of having government funds used to help faith based non-profits to get the most effective use of these funds. However, all of this was used by President Bush and the Republicans as only a maneuver to win us over. This has been documented in the book, Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction by David Kuo. This dream was also just political manipulation and deception.
It is important to remember that many of us want to help those in need we just don’t trust the government to do a good job at helping people or using funds. As a group conservative bible believing evangelicals give to help those in need.[2] We are a compassionate people. It is the means and not the end that are being debated.
Your recent statement supporting faith based initiatives sounds great but will it lead to the reality that so many of us have hoped to see? Can government and faith based non-profits become allies against the social evils of our society? So many things come down to an issue of mutual trust.
This means that even your call to conversation and dialogue is hard to really believe. While I want to believe that your call to dialogue is a sincere effort to understand us, I must admit that it seems like as a community we are simply being courted to become the mistress of the Democratic Party having been so mistreated by the Republican Party.
Knowing that we can have a significant impact on the election is all of this a way to simply divide or win our votes and then betray us and our concerns after the election? Those who are leaders of the “liberal evangelical left” like Tony Campolo, Jim Wallis and Ron Sider seem to have allied with you in this election to move us who are disillusioned to abandon making our concern for the unborn the key political issue. Is this just all political manipulation only this time coming from the left instead of the right?
But despite my concerns I want to make a reasonable step of trust in taking up your challenge to really be in dialogue and hope to seek together a more sane, stable, and spiritual future for our nation and culture. I do think that we need to carefully, logically, and with respect for everyone around the table of our pluralistic society develop some noble and inspiring American values upon which we can rebuild the character and vision of our Republic. We need to really seek “win/win” solutions instead of politics based on power, control, and domination of opposition.
We really do need a new politic. We need a space of real respectful dialogue and wrestling to find new solutions. Our nation is at a cross roads. We must find a way in the midst of our differences to not demonize each other when we disagree. We must strive to really hear each other and define common values and principles while also seeking to find new creative solutions that do not polarize our society.
Clearly, the idea of a “culture war” will only lead to a nation divided which means we cannot stand as a nation (Matthew 12:25 and Abraham Lincoln). We all must be willing to really hear the arguments that the other person is making and when warranted by the facts be ready to change or adjust our point of view. Only when we can really get beyond rhetoric and sound bites to reality and issues will we have something more inspiring than our current political environment.
If we are to inspire the next generation of young Americans we must believe that our nation is great, not because we have more nuclear weapons, the most efficient military, the most massive wealth, or the highest standard of pleasure on the globe. We must believe that America is great because America is good. We must see ourselves as a nation of nobility, honor, truth, and character. Our nation must be worth dying for and more importantly worth living for. We must be able to admit our mistakes, confess our transgressions, and show humility in our strength. It is vital that young Americans come to believe in the integrity of our leaders and its government. America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.
Edward Gibbons writes concerning the fall of Rome "If all the barbarian conquerors had been annihilated in the same hour, their total destruction would not have restored the empire of the West: and if Rome still survived, she survived the loss of freedom, of virtue, and of honour." The point is simple, if America survives terrorism, the rise of China, the slaughter of her own children, and the threat of ecological disaster; she will not really have survived if the values of freedom, virtue, and honor on which she was founded are abandoned.
It has been said by some that the real reason Rome fell was that the Romans no longer cared if Rome survived or not. We are at a turning point and we need real leadership to take us to a revived vision of our own destiny as a nation. We need honest leaders, asking honest questions, looking for honest answers, who seek to develop a balanced, good, and beautiful culture which can be an example of both grace and justice.
You were challenged and hurt by Allan Keyes question; “Would Jesus vote for Barack Obama?” He asked his question because of your pro-choice and pro-homosexual right viewpoint which he saw as out of accord with the world view of Jesus Christ. We could also wonder if Jesus Christ would vote for those who seem to love war more than peace tolerate a legal system that gives more justice to the rich than to the poor or finds excuses for the torture of prisoners.
Perhaps the frightening reality is that neither party is really representing the agenda of the real Jesus Christ. Perhaps the more significant question is; “Would either party be willing to vote for Jesus Christ and His agenda for our nation?” What would Jesus do if He was president? That is a hard question to answer if we do not create Jesus into our own image and impose on Him our own agenda.
I agree with your friend Tony Campolo when he said "Jesus transcends partisan politics. That's what's wrong with the religious right... they have made Jesus into a Republican, and he's not!" but I would add Jesus is not a Democrat either. Jesus and his world view is greater than either the Republican or Democratic parties.
The hard issue for evangelicals is which of the parties at this time and in this election best reflects the values of Jesus and which can be most trusted to be a party of integrity. Those are hard questions that require clear thinking and much prayer.
I was reading the inaugural address of President John F. Kennedy. It reminded me of a dream I had as a young man for our nation. I would invite you to hear his words again.
“The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe -- the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God…..
Now the trumpet summons us again -- not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need -- not as a call to battle, though embattled we are -- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation," a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world.And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.”
I urge you to review President Kennedy’s inaugural address. Here was a vision in the right direction. Here was a group of values that could unite all Americans. Here is a future that would again make America great because she would be good.
I am glad that you want to be “fair minded”. I think you need to continue to seek to overcome cultural stereotypes of evangelical Christians. It is hard for all of us to overcome our preconceived notions. But, I thank you for the invitation to come to the table and talk.
May God bless you. Dr. Norman R. Wise
Senior Pastor of First Church West
1. Several commentators have weighed in on this question. Leupold wrote: “He may by this time have arrived at the age of some eighteen to twenty years” (1942, 1:625). Josephus stated: “Now Isaac was twenty-five years old” (1.13.2). Adam Clarke said: “[I]t is more probable that he was now about thirty-three” (1:140, emp. in orig.). Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown asserted that Isaac was “then upwards of twenty years of age” (n.d., p. 29). J. Curtis Manor described him as “a youth of sufficient strength and agility to carry a load of firewood up a mountainside” (1994, p. 103). Keil and Delitzsch affirmed that “this son had grown into a young man” (1976, 1:248). Morris added: “[T]he meaning in Isaac’s case should also be ‘young man’ ” (1976, p. 373).
2. When we look at actual private charity, however, we see conservatives do just fine. For example, conservative-headed families in 2000 gave about 30 percent more money per year than liberal-headed families on average, while, earning 6 percent less income see Arthur C. Brooks, Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism.
1 Several commentators have weighed in on this question. Leupold wrote: “He may by this time have arrived at the age of some eighteen to twenty years” (1942, 1:625). Josephus stated: “Now Isaac was twenty-five years old” (1.13.2). Adam Clarke said: “[I]t is more probable that he was now about thirty-three” (1:140, emp. in orig.). Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown asserted that Isaac was “then upwards of twenty years of age” (n.d., p. 29). J. Curtis Manor described him as “a youth of sufficient strength and agility to carry a load of firewood up a mountainside” (1994, p. 103). Keil and Delitzsch affirmed that “this son had grown into a young man” (1976, 1:248). Morris added: “[T]he meaning in Isaac’s case should also be ‘young man’ ” (1976, p. 373).
2. When we look at actual private charity, however, we see conservatives do just fine. For example, conservative-headed families in 2000 gave about 30 percent more money per year than liberal-headed families on average, while, earning 6 percent less income see Arthur C. Brooks, Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Sunday - August 3 at 6:00 PM: Meditations on a trip to Israel
On Sunday night at 6 PM on August 3, I will be sharing my spiritual journey through Israel. I was honered to be able to visit Israel for 12 days and see many of the sites found in the Old and New Testament. I went to the land of Israel seeking the heart and mind of God. I will share some of the things I learned on my journey and what God placed on my heart each day. Please join us for a time of thoughtful and prayerful consideration of this journey. We will be having food and fellowship following. Hope to see you there.
Meditations for Red Letter Christians
The Red Letter Christian Constitution
A Political Reflection on the Sermon on the Mount in preparation for Election 2008
By Dr. Norman R. Wise
Now I must explain from the very beginning that I really am a red and black letter Christian. I think that every word of the Bible is God breathed and has authority. I also believe that the teachings of Jesus the Christ are in harmony with both Moses and Paul. There is no hierarchy of truth. Truth is truth. The fact that 2+2=4 is true in the same way as “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no person can come to the Father except through me” is true.
Yet, saying this does not take away the fact that Jesus the Christ is the greatest and most clear revelation of God in history since He was “the Word made flesh” and was the unique incarnation of deity. There has also been a concern in recent times that Christians have failed to really think through and live by the words of Jesus in their daily lives and especially in the public square of culture. Because of this concern, there is now a focus on being a “Red Letter Christian”[1].
In my own spiritual journey the “Sermon on the Mount” had a special place in the development of my soul. Growing up I found this section found in Matthew 5-7 and became fascinated with its teachings and simplicity. I read it weekly and repetitively and it became part of my core philosophy of life. Latter, during a crisis in my life God led me to the book “The Cost of Discipleship” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer which is largely made up of meditations on the “Sermon on the Mount” and which was used to revive my faith and hope. Latter, in my study of this section I found that this sermon was considered to be the constitution of the kingdom of God. So for me if I am seeking clarity in understanding God’s will it comes very natural to come to this section of scripture.
As we face an election year it seems then reasonable to look at this sermon by Jesus the Christ and think about its implication to us not just as individual disciples of Jesus in our private lives but also in our public lives. How would Jesus’ teachings translate into 21st century politics and social action?
Now the danger here is that we will just baptize our political beliefs to give them the status and authority of heaven. That is very dangerous. It is very important at the very start that we recognize Jesus as our Lord, King, Prophet, and one who is the ultimate and absolute standard of truth. Our ideas stand under Him and it would be grave blasphemy to manipulate His words to serve our purposes. So we must be very careful to simply and with integrity meditate on His words and muse upon their implications for our cultural and political lives. Yet, this should not keep us from making what we believe to be valid applications of this meditation on His word into the very real world of elections, politics, and social action.
Meditation 1
ESV Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
ESV Luke 6:20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
ESV Luke 6:24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
It seems that Jesus is pointing out two truths in this “blessing”. The first found in the Sermon on the Mount is that those who are “poor in spirit” (the humble) and not prone to self reliance and pride, will have the rule of heaven in their lives both now and in eternity. This means that we know that we have received God’s grace and help to have the right attitude when we are aware of our ignorance, weakness, ethical failures, and temptations. The society that is self aware of its own ability to lack understanding, to make moral mistakes, confess past sins, and aware of a need for divine help to succeed is one that is healthier and closer to reflecting the rule of heaven on earth than one which is sure of its opinion, self reliant upon its own strength, in denial about past sins, and perceives itself as the most righteous of all nations. God will resist the proud and rise up the humble. This is true of individuals and of cultures.
In addition in the “sermon in the valley” Jesus points out that many times this humble attitude is given to those individuals and nations who have the most humble of physical resources. Anyone who has done a study of “the poor” in scripture knows that God has great compassion on the needy and the oppressed (Psalm 72:13). Historically the greatest number of Christians have been found among the poor, oppressed, and powerless (1 Cor 1:26, 27). God’s will is to elect more people for salvation among those who suffer from temporal poverty than from those who have temporal riches. While poverty does not guarantee salvation, those in this category are more likely to truly believe than the rich. Being rich does not doom one to damnation but does place a significant temptation before the person which must be faced and overcome (Matthew 19:22). The majority of those who profess faith in Christ as Lord and Savior now live south of the equator where the greatest poverty exists and in those nations to the north of the equator Christian faith is represented strongest among the poorer segments of the population. It appears that having physical riches can tempt us toward the direction of being proud, self reliant, and focused on this temporal existence instead of eternity. Because of this Jesus warns the rich of God’s judgment (Woe) unless they use these riches for God’s kingdom. Cultures and nations that find themselves rich in material goods and military power need to be humble and seek ways to express a spirit of compassion, justice and generosity to the poor, weak, and powerless. It needs to be remembered that the unborn children who live in the wombs of their mothers are the most poor, weak, and powerless and need justice and protection by our nation most of all.
Prayer:
Lord, give me a poor and humble spirit. Help me put my treasure in heaven and not make material gain my ultimate value of life. Help our culture and nation to become poor in spirit and save us from our self reliance. Give to us a true fear and trust of you. Help us see that you care about those who are poor and in need. Grant that we will seek to give justice and compassion to those in need and who are oppressed both individually and as a culture. Help our hearts as individuals and as a nations reflect your heart concerning the poor and especially the unborn who are powerless to protect themselves. Help us see the temptation and danger in being among “the rich” and grant us the grace to not make material wealth an idol that we serve.
In Jesus’ name we pray Amen
[1] http://www.beliefnet.com/story/185/story_18562_1.html
A Political Reflection on the Sermon on the Mount in preparation for Election 2008
By Dr. Norman R. Wise
Now I must explain from the very beginning that I really am a red and black letter Christian. I think that every word of the Bible is God breathed and has authority. I also believe that the teachings of Jesus the Christ are in harmony with both Moses and Paul. There is no hierarchy of truth. Truth is truth. The fact that 2+2=4 is true in the same way as “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no person can come to the Father except through me” is true.
Yet, saying this does not take away the fact that Jesus the Christ is the greatest and most clear revelation of God in history since He was “the Word made flesh” and was the unique incarnation of deity. There has also been a concern in recent times that Christians have failed to really think through and live by the words of Jesus in their daily lives and especially in the public square of culture. Because of this concern, there is now a focus on being a “Red Letter Christian”[1].
In my own spiritual journey the “Sermon on the Mount” had a special place in the development of my soul. Growing up I found this section found in Matthew 5-7 and became fascinated with its teachings and simplicity. I read it weekly and repetitively and it became part of my core philosophy of life. Latter, during a crisis in my life God led me to the book “The Cost of Discipleship” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer which is largely made up of meditations on the “Sermon on the Mount” and which was used to revive my faith and hope. Latter, in my study of this section I found that this sermon was considered to be the constitution of the kingdom of God. So for me if I am seeking clarity in understanding God’s will it comes very natural to come to this section of scripture.
As we face an election year it seems then reasonable to look at this sermon by Jesus the Christ and think about its implication to us not just as individual disciples of Jesus in our private lives but also in our public lives. How would Jesus’ teachings translate into 21st century politics and social action?
Now the danger here is that we will just baptize our political beliefs to give them the status and authority of heaven. That is very dangerous. It is very important at the very start that we recognize Jesus as our Lord, King, Prophet, and one who is the ultimate and absolute standard of truth. Our ideas stand under Him and it would be grave blasphemy to manipulate His words to serve our purposes. So we must be very careful to simply and with integrity meditate on His words and muse upon their implications for our cultural and political lives. Yet, this should not keep us from making what we believe to be valid applications of this meditation on His word into the very real world of elections, politics, and social action.
Meditation 1
ESV Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
ESV Luke 6:20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
ESV Luke 6:24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
It seems that Jesus is pointing out two truths in this “blessing”. The first found in the Sermon on the Mount is that those who are “poor in spirit” (the humble) and not prone to self reliance and pride, will have the rule of heaven in their lives both now and in eternity. This means that we know that we have received God’s grace and help to have the right attitude when we are aware of our ignorance, weakness, ethical failures, and temptations. The society that is self aware of its own ability to lack understanding, to make moral mistakes, confess past sins, and aware of a need for divine help to succeed is one that is healthier and closer to reflecting the rule of heaven on earth than one which is sure of its opinion, self reliant upon its own strength, in denial about past sins, and perceives itself as the most righteous of all nations. God will resist the proud and rise up the humble. This is true of individuals and of cultures.
In addition in the “sermon in the valley” Jesus points out that many times this humble attitude is given to those individuals and nations who have the most humble of physical resources. Anyone who has done a study of “the poor” in scripture knows that God has great compassion on the needy and the oppressed (Psalm 72:13). Historically the greatest number of Christians have been found among the poor, oppressed, and powerless (1 Cor 1:26, 27). God’s will is to elect more people for salvation among those who suffer from temporal poverty than from those who have temporal riches. While poverty does not guarantee salvation, those in this category are more likely to truly believe than the rich. Being rich does not doom one to damnation but does place a significant temptation before the person which must be faced and overcome (Matthew 19:22). The majority of those who profess faith in Christ as Lord and Savior now live south of the equator where the greatest poverty exists and in those nations to the north of the equator Christian faith is represented strongest among the poorer segments of the population. It appears that having physical riches can tempt us toward the direction of being proud, self reliant, and focused on this temporal existence instead of eternity. Because of this Jesus warns the rich of God’s judgment (Woe) unless they use these riches for God’s kingdom. Cultures and nations that find themselves rich in material goods and military power need to be humble and seek ways to express a spirit of compassion, justice and generosity to the poor, weak, and powerless. It needs to be remembered that the unborn children who live in the wombs of their mothers are the most poor, weak, and powerless and need justice and protection by our nation most of all.
Prayer:
Lord, give me a poor and humble spirit. Help me put my treasure in heaven and not make material gain my ultimate value of life. Help our culture and nation to become poor in spirit and save us from our self reliance. Give to us a true fear and trust of you. Help us see that you care about those who are poor and in need. Grant that we will seek to give justice and compassion to those in need and who are oppressed both individually and as a culture. Help our hearts as individuals and as a nations reflect your heart concerning the poor and especially the unborn who are powerless to protect themselves. Help us see the temptation and danger in being among “the rich” and grant us the grace to not make material wealth an idol that we serve.
In Jesus’ name we pray Amen
[1] http://www.beliefnet.com/story/185/story_18562_1.html
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Join Us For Easter Brunch at 10 AM on Easter Sunday!
This is a great way to enjoy Easter.
Come to First Church West and have a free and wonderful brunch
Have the children enjoy an Easter Egg hunt
Then sing some great songs of faith and listen to a message celebrating Life in Christ
What could be better than this?
Come with your family and friends to a day of inspiration and joy!
Come to First Church West and have a free and wonderful brunch
Have the children enjoy an Easter Egg hunt
Then sing some great songs of faith and listen to a message celebrating Life in Christ
What could be better than this?
Come with your family and friends to a day of inspiration and joy!
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