John 1:35-42, James 2:1-3, Ecclesiates 3:1-15, Jeremiah 7-9

Read: John 1:35-42, James 2:1-13, Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, Jeremiah 7-9
Do you suppose they are embarrassed
over this outrage?
Not really. They have no shame.
They don’t even know how to blush.
There’s no hope for them. They’ve hit bottom
and there’s no getting up.
As far as I’m concerned,
they’re finished.’” GOD has spoken.

 

“‘I went out to see if I could salvage anything’”
—GOD’S Decree—
“‘but found nothing:
Not a grape, not a fig,
just a few withered leaves.
I’m taking back
everything I gave them.’

”

Jeremiah 8:12-13

If you brag, brag of this and this only:
That you understand and know me.
I’m GOD, and I act in loyal love.
I do what’s right and set things right and fair,
and delight in those who do the same things.
These are my trademarks.” Jeremiah 9:24

Reflect: In the space of a few verses, God is portrayed both as a petulant child and as one who acts in "loyal love." Can these be the actual words of God? Or, as I think more likely, the ramblings of the writer?

Respond: Boy, I've gotta be careful in presuming to speak for God. Jesus' response to the ones that would follow him was "Come and see." How different than the holier-than-thou pontificating of James and Jeremiah.

God, may people see you in me and not be turned off by what I say about you.

John 1:29-34, James 1:19-27, Ecclesiastes 2:17-26, Jeremiah 5-6

Read:
John 1:29-34, James 1:19-27, Ecclesiastes 2:17-26, Jeremiah 5-6
And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” John 1:32-34

But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. James 1:22

For to the one who pleases him God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the work of gathering and heaping, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind. Ecclesiastes 2:24

Reflect:
There was something about Jesus to which some part of John the Baptist responded. He could see, he could sense, he could testify that this was the Son of God.
How I live must testify that I am a child of God. No amount of striving on my part to influence people will amount to anything if there is not an essence that rings true in my life. And that comes from who I am. And who I am comes from the work that I put into my life. It's the "law of correspondence" that every religion and self improvement writer talks about. What is inside is what is outside.
In the hierarchical, anthropomorphized God language of "the teacher" in Ecclesiastes, those that please God are rewarded with wisdom and knowledge and joy.

Respond:
Thank you God that you respond to every move that I make toward you. Thank you for the blessings you have provided me--that people see you in me even though I often do a pretty good job of obscuring the image.

Success in my life and in my ministry--and yes, I unapologetically want success in both of those areas--begins with my own inner life. As I continue to build into my life the practices and habits that encourage my own growth, the growth of my influence will correspond. I can't fake it!

John 1:19-28, James 1:12-18, Ecclesiastes 2:1-16, Jeremiah 3-4

Read:
John 1:19-28, James 1:12-18, Ecclesiastes 2:1-16, Jeremiah 3-4

Reflection:
Well, James was about the glory of resisting temptation. Ecclesiastes was about the futility of wealth and wisdom--two things I'm kinda fond of. And Jeremiah 3-4 was a diatribe against Israel and Judah and their whoring ways. Not what you could call positive reading--for me anyway. John provided a little glimmer. John the Baptist was asked "Who are you?" He first responded by claiming who he was not--the Messiah. But they kept asking--"Well, are you the prophet? Are you Elijah? Who are you?"

The Baptist reached back to Isaiah- "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord.'"

John the Baptist knew who he was and knew who he wasn't. He didn't define himself in terms of those who came before him, but in terms of what was coming after him, what was going to be birthed.

Response:
God---the question posed to the Baptist often echoes in my soul. "Who are you?" Thank you for making me your child--for making that my identity.

It is tempting to settle for being what has already been, to fall back into the comfortable, nostalgic styles of how the gospel was proclaimed and church was done 30, 20, or 10 years ago.

But, I have to always be prepared for how God will be birthed next. John's calling is mine--to make a path for "the Lord." Am I doing that with my family? with my church? with my community?

John 1:1-14, James 1:1-11, Ecclesiastes 1, Jeremiah 1-2

Reading: John 1:1-14, James 1:1-11, Ecclesiastes 1, Jeremiah 1-2

"

If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord." James 1:1-8

Reflection:
Just because a scripture is misunderstood or misused, does not mean that it doesn't hold siginificant value. The issue of what part faith plays in our life--what we become, what we achieve, what we acquire--has been debated in Christianity since the beginning of Christianity, I am sure. Here, James seems to be giving the "company line" about faith and doubt. Faith is rewarded, doubt punished.

If one can get past the emotional charge and Sunday School baggage of those words and look toward applying them, they make some sense. If we seek wisdom consistently (faithfully), knowing that it eventually will come (not doubting) then it will come. My problem is that I am quite often too easily tossed by the wind and waves.

Response:
"God of Grace, who responds exponentially to every move I make toward you, strengthen my faith, my resolve, as I seek your wisdom and blessings for my life."

Consistency is the sometimes elusive key for me. I must continue to incorporate faith-building practices into my life. I will achieve wisdom. I will achieve every dream God has planted in my heart. I must act accordingly.