SOUL CHEMO

I stopped reading for a few days earlier this week in a subconscious effort to avoid the unthinkable. After Tuesday's reading, which included the shocking account in Judges 19, I set down the book for a while, and that's why I'm praying for you today. I pray that you and I will keep on reading, and that we'll get the words in us in spite of the difficult and disturbing nature of the content. We need it like life-saving medicine -- ALL of it -- though sometimes it's a bitter pill to swallow. It's a pill with a promise, though:

All Scripture is breathed out by God
and profitable for teaching, for reproof,
for correction, and for training
in righteousness. - 2 Tim. 3:16

and

. . . the word of God is living and active,
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow,
and discerning the thoughts and intentions
of the heart. - Hebrews 4:12

Profitable yes, but uncomfortable at best. None of the benefits promised are sugar coated or cherry-flavored; they don't involve direct and immediate self-gratification, a happy tummy, or warm-fuzzy fulfillment. The Bible is a treatment which is harsh at times, and may result in a bellyache. It will cure what ails us, though, so think of it as radiation or chemotherapy for our sin-sick souls. We might not like the flavor of our daily dose, but if we truly believe what God says in and about his word, then we'll chug it down regardless.

I may never fully understand the purpose of the account that stopped me in my tracks earlier this week. It is unimaginable on so many levels . . . the shameless intentions of the village men, the nameless woman and the evil she was forced to face alone, her "husband" (such an honorable title), and his horrifying reaction to the brutal crime. This pill burns all the way down! I can't fathom what good it does me to read this, but I believe there IS a purpose for it, and though it is hard to take, it will do us good in the long run.

It is natural to prefer the "good" parts of scripture -- the Psalms, the Proverbs, and the New Testament. These are the spoonfuls of sugar, as Mary Poppins puts it -- and indeed there's lots of sweet stuff in there! Make sure the medicine does go down, though, along with the spoonful of sugar we like to sing about on Sunday. May God bless and empower you and me for difficult reading. God give us grace to gag it down, even while we make ugly faces. God give us grace to trust that though it may distress us, it can't fail to do all the good it has promised.

SET UNDER AUTHORITY - Not Left Hangin'!

We are "set under authority," links in a powerful chain of command. We have the right and responsibility to decree order and cause change in the name of our commander-in-chief. In the New Testament section of yesterday's reading, the Centurion had a concrete understanding of this concept, even though he didn't feel worthy to be a part of it. He said:

" . . . I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." - from Luke 7:7-8

Who are you in this story? Are you the servant at the end of the chain, receiving the benefit of a healing touch? Are you the Centurion, unworthy but asking anyway? Yes, but even more, your identity is with Christ! It's God's purpose for you and me to work and live as Jesus did, effective links in a chain, exercising Christ's authority according to the example he demonstrated. Are we doing our job, or do we defer authority to anyone and everyone else?

Consider this a friendly reminder or a somber warning, whichever fits. If we are NOT exercising authority over ourselves and our circumstances in the name and for the cause of Christ - speaking truth at the opportune moment, standing firm in our convictions, emulating the model we're shown in scripture - then we are not just out of order; we're completely out of place and in rebellion. Sounds harsh, but it's true. Jesus started the chain when He commissioned his disciples, saying:

. . . All authority
in heaven and on earth
has been given to me. Go therefore
and make disciples . . . - from Matthew 28:18-20

You and I are the links at the end of the line. We also must go. We have to exercise authority in order to continue the chain, lest we find we're left hanging, disconnected from God's work. Check out some areas of authority in Christ, and be amazed. I quickly counted over half dozen: authority to teach, to send, to cleanse, and to heal; authority to forgive, cast out, challenge, and question. Authority is a GREAT PRIVILEGE, and I pray the Spirit will push and empower us today to USE IT.

WORTH A PILE O' PIGS?

Wow, in the aftermath of a miracle, people begged Jesus to GO AWAY! His presence cost 'em too much. It's incredible that the community described here would prefer to write off a human being rather than break their "piggy bank." Sad but true:

. . . they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. - from Mark 5:15-17

I'm sure glad Jesus counts me as hands-down more valuable than a pile of pigs. Yes, I realize there was a sizable investment lost on that cliff, money down the drain, but in the exchange a person was rescued from a fate worse than death. What does it cost us Christians, our churches, the community, to see Jesus at work? Are we willing to tolerate His presence, even if we have to break the bank to see things happen?

A FIT ABOUT A FIG TREE

A question came up at Bible study last night about why Jesus was so annoyed with a fig tree that he cursed it (Mark 11:13-23). Doesn't this strike you as rather extreme? It appears the Lord lost his cool, but obviously (considering the source) it was the right thing to do! A parable from yesterday's Bible reading sheds light on the question:

The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown. - Mark 4:14-20

Our goal as Christians is to be fruitful; what's more, fruitfulness is a perfectly (indeed the ONLY) reasonable expecation. The idea that a good seed could be planted in fertile soil, that the resulting plant could be properly tended by an expert gardner, allowed to develop a deep root system, with few weeds to compete for sun and nutrients -- for that particular plant not to bear fruit is unthinkable!

You and I are like well-tended plants, in a position to be fruitful and productive in garden tended by God's own hand. We do NOT want to be like the fig tree mentioned in Mark 11, which looked from a distance like a fruitful specimen (turns out the leaves and the fruit come out simultaneously on a fig tree, so the presence of leaves should have indicated fruit, as well). Back to the question of Jesus' annoyance with that tree, yes, it was justified. Each cluster of lush leaves should have contained a delectable fig.

Lord forbid that we should be found worthless and barren of fruit in our privileged lives where we're tended by excellent teaching, and our root networks have access to all kinds of resources to utilize and share. I pray the Lord will give us vision, motivaiton, and power to do all that comes naturally to fruitful plants without agonizing or overthinking our productivity in the "food chain." God bless you per Isaiah 55:10-11 -- with sun and rain (or snow) today, and with fruit in abundance, just as God promises. God bless you in the reading of his Word!

SNAPSHOTS - Before and After

It's easy to skim over the details of proper sanctuary worship until I get to today's reading. When Abihu and Nadab disregarded the details, and offered incense to God in their own way, it cost them their lives! This is a case in point for reading the whole Bible to get a clear picture of our faith. Jesus changed everything for you and me, but can we possibly appreciate the difference without taking a good look at the time before?

I worship in spirit and in truth, just like Jesus described in John 4:23-24. You can worship in the way you choose, and your way is probably different from mine. Our freedom to worship is the "after" picture, and it's worth even more in comparison to the snapshot from Leviticus 10:1-2, of a time when the details were a matter of life and death. I'm thankful for the balance of perspective, which helps me appreciate the freedom Jesus proclaimed!

TO INFORM AND PERSUADE

As a graphic designer, I can relate to the artisans commissioned to work on God's tabernacle. The very first verse of today's reading describes the principle artist: "I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs . . ." WOW, what a guy!

The detailed descriptions of weavings, mouldings, ornaments, overlays, etc., are extremely interesting to me from a professional perspective. Woo-hoo, God cares about design! God cared so much about aesthetics that he stepped in and laid out the plans for his tabernacle, its furnishings, the priests' garments, everything -- right down to the mixture of incense to burn!

My profession fits under the larger umbrella of advertising, whose mission in this modern age is "to inform and persuade." I apply my training and expertise to the sharing of the gospel, and though you may not consider yourself particularly "artsy," you do too! Whether you know it or not, you employ the very same principle every day in the way you live your life.

You put up posters and pass out pamphlets all over the place. As a matter of fact, you’re a walking media campaign. YOU & I are the temple (see 1 Corinthians 3:16), designed to draw people to God through elegance and exquisite craftsmanship. I do not doubt that a seeker is watching you today as if you were a movie trailer, deciding whether to buy a ticket or walk away.

What does the watcher see? One who notices your kindness to the undeserving, your joy in the face of distress, your love of the unlovely, your patience when interrupted, your unyielding honesty when it would be easy to cheat, or your persistence in prayer, is responding to the message of your life. As Christians, we ALL live under the advertising mantra, to "inform and persuade."

To put it another way, we're SMELLY! See this awesome passage in 2 Corinthians 2:15-16: ". . . God . . . through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." To some people I stink, but to others -- mysteriously -- I smell pretty good! That is God at work calling people to himself, as the odor of my life informs (and hopefully persuades).

My prayer for you is that the Lord will protect and strengthen the testimony of your life that is shown to strangers and kinfolk alike in little snippets all through the day. May he bless your involvements and interactions, both professionally and personally, to fulfill the overarching pursuit of your life's work. Today's message for me is "Hurrah for art!" For you it's, "Hurrah for all you do!" God bless it.

BECAUSE I SAID SO

God is willing to patiently prove his love for us in the face of our doubts. In today’s reading, God told Abram that he would be blessed, but Abram had serious doubts. In verse 8, Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know?” You’d think the all-powerful God of the universe might have thundered back, “BECAUSE I SAID SO, THAT’S HOW!” Check out this surprising dialogue, initiated by God, who says:

. . . "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me? . . . " behold, the word of the LORD came to him . . . "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

And he said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess." But he said, "O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?" He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." - from Genesis 15:1-9

God didn’t snap at Abram for doubting. Instead, the Lord proceeded to patiently specify numerous proofs (sacrifices) for Abram to line up in order to satisfy his doubting mind. This is the God we serve, who is willing to get down on our level to prove his love and faithfulness to us in the face of our doubts.

May God give us grace to believe him, and to boldly claim his promises for ourselves and those we love. And if we cannot take him at his word, may we bravely confess our doubts right to his face, knowing our Father will graciously receive us, and that he will answer us kindly! This is my prayer for you.