Recall:
Job 2:10 Shall we receive the good at the hand of God and not the bad?
Ezekiel 5:9 And because of all of your abominations, I will do to you what I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again.
Ezekiel 8:6 He said to me "Mortal, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me from my sanctuary?"
Reflect:
Two different books, two different views of why God messes with people. Ezekiel we're ok with--the fact that God punishes us and causes bad things to happen to us when we screw up fits into a (probably the) common view of God. But then there is Job who had horrible things happen...because he was being good?! Because God wanted to show him off like a horse in a race?! So, it would seem you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.
Now, neither of these are a true reflection of God as I know God. But man, are they a good reminder not to put God in a box.
The claim that God has been chased out of God's sanctuary is one that struck a nerve. How often have we done that?
Respond:
You are not completely understandable, God, but to whom else do we turn? What other choice is there but to take the "good" and the "bad"? In everything God, I want to turn to you, cling to you, move farther into you.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
John 7:37-44, 2 Peter 1:1-11, Job 1, Ezekiel 1-3
Recall:
2 Peter 1:3-4 His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape the corruption that is in the world...
Job 1:21 He (Job) said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
Ezekiel 3:1-3 He said to me, O mortal, eat what is offered to you; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. He said to me, Mortal, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it. Then I ate it; and in my mouth it was sweet as honey.
Reflect
2 Peter is a keeper. I'll have to memorize that. I have been given everything that I need for life and godliness--everything I need--thank you God!
Job was worshipping, Job was praising, even as everything he had was being destroyed. How can that be?! He seemed to understand--naked--he was naked when he came in and he would be naked when he left. God is eternal. That is what mattered.
I like the opening scene from Ezekiel--again, an example of Gd giving what is necessary, the sweet scroll, the word in turn to give to others.
Respond
Gracious God, you have given me all that I need. I have it. Forgive me for not using it. Forgive me for neglecting it. I know my life and the life of those I have encountered have been the worse for that neglect.
I will focus on drawing on what you have given me God. I will open my mouth and taste, the sweetness of your word and wisdom.
2 Peter 1:3-4 His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape the corruption that is in the world...
Job 1:21 He (Job) said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
Ezekiel 3:1-3 He said to me, O mortal, eat what is offered to you; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. He said to me, Mortal, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it. Then I ate it; and in my mouth it was sweet as honey.
Reflect
2 Peter is a keeper. I'll have to memorize that. I have been given everything that I need for life and godliness--everything I need--thank you God!
Job was worshipping, Job was praising, even as everything he had was being destroyed. How can that be?! He seemed to understand--naked--he was naked when he came in and he would be naked when he left. God is eternal. That is what mattered.
I like the opening scene from Ezekiel--again, an example of Gd giving what is necessary, the sweet scroll, the word in turn to give to others.
Respond
Gracious God, you have given me all that I need. I have it. Forgive me for not using it. Forgive me for neglecting it. I know my life and the life of those I have encountered have been the worse for that neglect.
I will focus on drawing on what you have given me God. I will open my mouth and taste, the sweetness of your word and wisdom.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Reading: John 1:29-34, James 1:19-27, Ecclesiastes 2:17-26, Jeremiah 5-6
Reading: John 1:29-34, James 1:19-27, Ecclesiastes 2:17-26, Jeremiah 5-6
Recall:
Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves...Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. James 1:21-22, 27
For scoundrels are found among my people;
they take over the goods of others.
Like fowlers they set a trap;
they catch human beings.
Like a cage full of birds,
their houses are full of treachery;
therefore they have become great and rich,
they have grown fat and sleek.
They know no limits in deeds of wickedness;
they do not judge with justice
the cause of the orphan, to make it prosper,
and they do not defend the rights of the needy.
Shall I not punish them for these things? says the LORD,
and shall I not bring retribution
on a nation such as this? Jeremiah 5:26-29
Reflect:
Well, obviously a doing theme here, talking about what a person of faith should do and should not do. Get rid of the wickedness, receive God's word, then act on it. DO it. I'm always interested in the being/doing tension of scripture. You cannot accept one and not the other. It is made clear in these passages that we are to be about supporting and comforting the marginalized.
Respond:
God, I want my "religion" to be pure and undefiled before you. Care of the poor, the orphans, the widows isn't glamorous work. It doesn't grow churches. But it is what you have called us to do.
Recall:
Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves...Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. James 1:21-22, 27
For scoundrels are found among my people;
they take over the goods of others.
Like fowlers they set a trap;
they catch human beings.
Like a cage full of birds,
their houses are full of treachery;
therefore they have become great and rich,
they have grown fat and sleek.
They know no limits in deeds of wickedness;
they do not judge with justice
the cause of the orphan, to make it prosper,
and they do not defend the rights of the needy.
Shall I not punish them for these things? says the LORD,
and shall I not bring retribution
on a nation such as this? Jeremiah 5:26-29
Reflect:
Well, obviously a doing theme here, talking about what a person of faith should do and should not do. Get rid of the wickedness, receive God's word, then act on it. DO it. I'm always interested in the being/doing tension of scripture. You cannot accept one and not the other. It is made clear in these passages that we are to be about supporting and comforting the marginalized.
Respond:
God, I want my "religion" to be pure and undefiled before you. Care of the poor, the orphans, the widows isn't glamorous work. It doesn't grow churches. But it is what you have called us to do.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Reading: John 1:19-28, James 1:12-18, Ecclesiastes 2:1-16, Jeremiah 3-4
Recall:
John 1:23
He said,
“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’”
as the prophet Isaiah said.
James 1:13-16
No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. Do not be deceived, my beloved.
Jeremiah 3:19-20
I thought
how I would set you among my children,
and give you a pleasant land,
the most beautiful heritage of all the nations.
And I thought you would call me, My Father,
and would not turn from following me.
Instead, as a faithless wife leaves her husband,
so you have been faithless to me, O house of Israel, says the LORD.
Reflect:
The prophets (and it seems to me especially Jeremiah, but it may just be because that is what I am currently reading) are so damn dramatic. It is really hard for me to pay attention when I am reading them. My mind wanders as Israel is repeatedly called a whore and the different metaphors for her destruction are listed. But sometimes I can let it wash over me, letting it be some kind of bizarre meditation.
The description in Jeremiah 3:19-20 applies to me so often. God sets me up in a beautiful place and I squander it.
"I am the voice crying out in the wilderness..." I love that image. That is really what all of us our now, I believe- facilitators of Jesus' coming, Jesus' presence. My job is to make people ready for the coming of the Divine.
The James passage is a keeper. I am going to memorize that one.
Respond:
I am going to prepare a way for the Lord. I want to live a life and proclaim a message that makes a straight path for Jesus to become involved in the lives of those around me. That means living a life in right relationship with God and right relationship with others.
John 1:23
He said,
“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’”
as the prophet Isaiah said.
James 1:13-16
No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. Do not be deceived, my beloved.
Jeremiah 3:19-20
I thought
how I would set you among my children,
and give you a pleasant land,
the most beautiful heritage of all the nations.
And I thought you would call me, My Father,
and would not turn from following me.
Instead, as a faithless wife leaves her husband,
so you have been faithless to me, O house of Israel, says the LORD.
Reflect:
The prophets (and it seems to me especially Jeremiah, but it may just be because that is what I am currently reading) are so damn dramatic. It is really hard for me to pay attention when I am reading them. My mind wanders as Israel is repeatedly called a whore and the different metaphors for her destruction are listed. But sometimes I can let it wash over me, letting it be some kind of bizarre meditation.
The description in Jeremiah 3:19-20 applies to me so often. God sets me up in a beautiful place and I squander it.
"I am the voice crying out in the wilderness..." I love that image. That is really what all of us our now, I believe- facilitators of Jesus' coming, Jesus' presence. My job is to make people ready for the coming of the Divine.
The James passage is a keeper. I am going to memorize that one.
Respond:
I am going to prepare a way for the Lord. I want to live a life and proclaim a message that makes a straight path for Jesus to become involved in the lives of those around me. That means living a life in right relationship with God and right relationship with others.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Reading: John 1:1-18, James 1:1-11, Ecclesiastes 1, Jeremiah 1-2
Recall:
James 1:2-4
My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Now the word of the LORD came to me saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” But the LORD said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you,
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.”
Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me,
“Now I have put my words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”
Jeremiah 2:27b-28
But in the time of their trouble they say,
“Come and save us!”
But where are your gods
that you made for yourself?
Let them come, if they can save you,
in your time of trouble;
for you have as many gods
as you have towns, O Judah.
Reflect:
How striking the words of Jeremiah in chapter 2 in light of what is going on in the world today. We have made gods, maybe not out of trees and rocks like Judah, but out of stocks and houses and toothpaste. They looked so solid, so real. But when the legs get knocked out from under them, everything comes crashing down. They aren't there when we call. They don't matter anymore.
I never get tired of reading James. Count it all joy! The trials are making me better. Boy, that's a different pair of glasses. Every challenge is making more mature, more complete. Thank you God!
Like Jeremiah, I am nervous about what you have called me to. But you are making me who you need me to be. You are touching my lips. If I am keeping my head up and paying attention, I will see every circumstance I face is an opportunity for you to mature me and complete me.
Respond:
Lord God, I want to be complete. I want to be used by you. I will face the trials with zeal, knowing it is an opportunity for you to form me.
James 1:2-4
My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Now the word of the LORD came to me saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” But the LORD said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you,
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.”
Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me,
“Now I have put my words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”
Jeremiah 2:27b-28
But in the time of their trouble they say,
“Come and save us!”
But where are your gods
that you made for yourself?
Let them come, if they can save you,
in your time of trouble;
for you have as many gods
as you have towns, O Judah.
Reflect:
How striking the words of Jeremiah in chapter 2 in light of what is going on in the world today. We have made gods, maybe not out of trees and rocks like Judah, but out of stocks and houses and toothpaste. They looked so solid, so real. But when the legs get knocked out from under them, everything comes crashing down. They aren't there when we call. They don't matter anymore.
I never get tired of reading James. Count it all joy! The trials are making me better. Boy, that's a different pair of glasses. Every challenge is making more mature, more complete. Thank you God!
Like Jeremiah, I am nervous about what you have called me to. But you are making me who you need me to be. You are touching my lips. If I am keeping my head up and paying attention, I will see every circumstance I face is an opportunity for you to mature me and complete me.
Respond:
Lord God, I want to be complete. I want to be used by you. I will face the trials with zeal, knowing it is an opportunity for you to form me.
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