Month: November 2023

Matthew 5:13-16 NIV 13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 You are the light of the world.  A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:13-16 MSG. Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

Observation

I love the Sermon on the Mount!  We are told so many times throughout the Bible in broad and general terms to love, serve, honor, and obey God. In these 3 chapters of Matthew, Jesus lays out clearly some real, practical, difficult, often seemingly impossible instructions on how to love, serve, honor, and obey God in our day-to-day living!  (See also a similar passage from Romans 12 below.). Not surprisingly, we are challenged by this teaching to exchange our human perspective for Jesus’ point of view:

* responding according to the heart of God to life’s challenges, events, experiences, relationship ups and downs,

* submitting our lives, our status, our social acceptance, our resources and even our futures in a way that fulfills God’s will and purposes rather than our own,

* becoming the lantern through which His light shines clearly and the salt that enhances His flavor in all our actions and words. 

We are asked to “simply” exchange our earthly culture for a heavenly one – offering up our substance, our pride, our accomplishments, our status, our rights, our very lives to fulfill God’s will and purpose through worshipping Him and serving others (both lovable and unlovable).  This is not so simple or easy for us – trusting God enough to be willing to trade all temporal, real, tangible, experiential rewards for the invisible eternal rewards promised by God. It is especially challenging for us as Americans raised in a culture that values and praises personal achievement, visible productivity, recognizable individual accomplishment, and personal rights and freedoms.  We also cherish and don’t easily lay down those rights and freedoms we feel we have earned, deserved or received as a privilege of being born here.

This teaching of Jesus will ask us to exchange:

• judgment with mercy,
• bravado and pride with humility,
• selfishness with selflessness,
• storing up with sacrificial giving,
• traditions of compromise with simple pure worship and service, and
• surrendering my plan for my life in order to submit to His plan for me.

In making these choices, we will allow the Holy Spirit to clean off the glass of the lantern of me through which Jesus shines.  It will also allow Him to make us into the seasoning that brings out the flavor of God without us judging which conclave of darkness deserves the light and who gets to sit at the table to eat. 

We all are simply asked to embrace the redemptive, loving, gracious heart of God toward “whosoever will come” by demonstrating our love and trust in Him and His plan for each of us through our investment of time, talent and resources (and setting aside our rights) in loving, serving and following Him by selflessly serving others – both friend and foe.  He is asking us to exchange the natural for the supernatural, the temporal for the eternal, the imperfect life here for the perfect life in Christ.

Impact on Me

I characterize myself as a recovering over-achieving perfectionist who relapses more often than I like to admit. While I find so many of the instructions in the Sermon on the Mount to be hard to embrace, this sermon is in red letters in my Bible and, therefore, Jesus speaking to me.  It should be so simple to just be the lantern, to just keep the glass clean and clear so Jesus can shine through to pierce the darkness and redeem and rescue whomever will respond, but like so many other humans now and in all history, I find myself complicating matters sometimes by hankering after a more visible, productive, important or prestigious role in the Light-bearing or by judging which person deserves to be invited to sit at the table and taste to see that the Lord is good. 

Another complication arises when I allow the glass of my lantern to become obscured with filth – sin, judgment, pride, a desire for recognition, the decoration of religious traditions, or the praise of men.  Or I neglect to clean my own glass because I am criticizing the glass cleaning of others around me (that removing a splinter from another’s eye when I have a telephone pole in my own). In all of this, I dim or distort the Light which is Jesus because I am forgetting what a privilege it is for me to be included in the Light-bearing process at all! 

If I were lost in the darkness, I would not care about whether the light was a lighthouse, flashlight, a lantern, a candle. I would see the light alone as my way out of the darkness.  As salt, I need to be a mere sprinkle so as not to overwhelm the flavor of the true spirit and soul food that is Christ. So, my challenge is:

• to keep it simple,
• to keep the glass of my lantern so clean, clear and unobstructed that I am invisible as He shines through me,
• to be a pinch of salt so that my life enhances the taste of God it provides,
• to remember that my role is designed by God and the perfect way for me to fulfill His will and purpose in my life and the lives around me.
  
  So, it appears my choice is either, “Yes, Lord, help me to submit to Your teaching, allow You to change me, so I will see with Your eyes, love with Your heart, obey Your instruction and become more like You,” or “No thanks. Too hard. Not interested. Can’t trust that You are faithful and able to come through.  I’ve got my own plans, rights and freedoms that I am not willing to give up. I’ll go with what seems reasonable, acceptable, doable – what seems right in my own eyes.”  When I lay it out this way, there is only one choice, a choice that is only possible because God has the grace to forgive me when I fail and sustain, strengthen, renew, refresh, change, teach me through the power and presence of His Holy Spirit working in and through me. 

Prayer

Lord God, Gracious and Merciful Father, may I be quick to repent when I fail, stay pliable in Your hands and be merely the best vessel and perfect pinch of seasoning so that Your perfect will and purpose can be achieved in and through me. I pray this all in Jesus’ name. Make it so.

Job 40:1-8 MSG ^1-2 God then confronted Job directly: “Now what do you have to say for yourself? Are you going to haul me, the Mighty One, into court and press charges?”  ^3-5 Job answered: “I’m speechless, in awe—words fail me. I should never have opened my mouth! I’ve talked too much, way too much. I’m ready to shut up and listen.”  ^6-7 God addressed Job next from the eye of the storm, and this is what he said: “I have some more questions for you, and I want straight answers. ⁸ “Do you presume to tell me what I’m doing wrong? Are you calling me a sinner so you can be a saint?

Observation

The Book of Job is one of the Wisdom Books of our Bible (Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are the others).  As I see it, Proverbs generally tells us that embracing Wisdom and submitting obediently to God will bring blessing and honor in this life and after; in other words, the evil suffer, the righteous are rewarded, life is fair and God is just (according to our sense of justice).   Ecclesiastes, on the other hand, tells us that life is not always fair, the evil may be unjustly rewarded in this life, the innocent may suffer unjustly, life is as meaningless as a puff of smoke without the fear of God and God is just (regardless of what we think).  Job tells us God never promised life would be easy or make sense or seem like a just reward for our obedience, but, nonetheless, regardless of circumstances, God has purpose is our lives and is just.

Throughout the book of Job, we find his friends are preaching Proverbs (suffering indicates sin in your life so admit it and quit it so God can bless you) and Job is preaching Ecclesiastes as he scrapes his boils (What did I do to deserve this?!  I am innocent and being unfairly treated!).  Both propose that God’s response to us is performance-based.  If that were so, why did God allow the Satan to inflict such suffering and pain on Job?   God called him righteous.

We have to wait until the end of the book of Job for God to weigh in and bring perspective!   ““Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?  Tell me, if you understand.  ⁵ Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!  Who stretched a measuring line across it?  ⁶ On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—⁷ while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?”  (Job 38:4-7 NIV)

God essentially asks Job what man is qualified to question why He does what He does and how He determines if the cost to us is worth the price of fulfilling His eternal plan for the ultimate redemption of all creation.  Our perspective is so small and limited, usually only extending to the limits of the cost to us.  In the book of Job, God is asking Job (us) to fully submit to Him (period).  He is asking us to trust in Him absolutely – His wisdom, His justice, His love for us – regardless of the circumstances we may face.

Impact on Me

The book of Job has always been a challenge for me.  I would read through feeling uncomfortable with Job’s accusations of unfair treatment by God and being thankful that I didn’t have boils to scrape and friends like his to encourage me.  None of the friend’s arguments seemed like a realistic life view to me.  If life is fair and we get just what we deserve, why did God allow Satan to afflict Job – “Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”?

For me, the Wisdom Books swing the pendulum from the Proverbs view of “life is fair & God is just” to the opposite Ecclesiastes proposal that “life is vanity and you can’t expect it to be just or fulfilling without God” to the Job center “whether I am blessed or troubled, I will trust in and rely on God’s justice and His wisdom regarding how my life can best serve His will and purpose”. 

Jesus did not promise me that life would be full of only blessing and favor.  As a matter of fact, He promised quite the opposite, predicting I would run into trouble and fail (thank you, God, for inventing repentance, redemption, and reconciliation because I need it every day!) while allowing Himself to pay the price for it all.  Jesus said, “I have told you all this so that you may find your peace in me. You will find trouble in the world—but, never lose heart, I have conquered the world!” (John 16:33).   

My dearest heart’s desire is to give Him joy in His heart by trusting in His wisdom regarding my life and how I serve Him. I want to be content in my calling and set aside judging what is fair or unfair – what I think I rightly deserve according to my efforts, skill, or level of investment, coveting the giftings of others while neglecting my own, questioning His wisdom regarding the weight of my burden, my cross (or bounty of my provision or reward) as compared to another.

Life is not defined by Proverbs, Ecclesiastes or Job alone. So, I need to:

• accept that there is no simplistic, formulaic, entirely predictable course to the beautiful and perfect blessed life free from trouble for me!  
• recognize that Satan is the source of suffering and God the source of grace, comfort and deliverance.
• choose to honor and obey God regardless of the circumstances of my life, letting God choose how He can fit me into His perfect plan.

The bottom line for me is God is sovereign and just – period. 

Prayer

Lord, God, Creator of the Universe, Faithful and Just, to You I give all praise, glory and honor. This is what I want to learn from the book of Job:  Because God is just, He loves everyone equally.  He has written me into His story, His plan for redemption and, when called upon to do my part, I want to say, “YES!”, and be faithful to follow through whether it leads to blessing or sacrifice here on earth, knowing that He will be with me always providing the wisdom, strength and ability to do what He is asking, so I can “count it all joy” as I endure to become that good and faithful servant.  In Jesus’ name I pray.

James 1:5-8 JBP.  [The Christian can even welcome trouble] When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends! Realise that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become men of mature character with the right sort of independence. And if, in the process, any of you does not know how to meet any particular problem he has only to ask God—who gives generously to all men without making them feel foolish or guilty—and he may be quite sure that the necessary wisdom will be given him. But he must ask in sincere faith without secret doubts as to whether he really wants God’s help or not. The man who trusts God, but with inward reservations, is like a wave of the sea, carried forward by the wind one moment and driven back the next. That sort of man cannot hope to receive anything from God, and the life of a man of divided loyalty will reveal instability at every turn.

Judges 16:18-19 (MSG) When Delilah realized that he had told her his secret, she sent for the Philistine tyrants, telling them, “Come quickly—this time he’s told me the truth.” They came, bringing the bribe money.  19 When she got him to sleep, his head on her lap, she motioned to a man to cut off the seven braids of his hair. Immediately he began to grow weak. His strength drained from him.

Observation

What an example of the results of toying with and being betrayed by sin!  Samson has already demonstrated that his personal life is out of control – his temper, his indulgences, his sleeping around – and now he falls in love with a Philistine woman who lives in the Valley of Sorek (Grapes).  Since grapes in any form are forbidden to the Nazirite, it is fitting that his indulgences caught up with him here.

Delilah is an example of indulging a temptation until it ripens into addictive, soul-owning sin. Surely even if he was mesmerized by her, Samson had to suspect something was up when Delilah nagged him about the source of his strength – and tested each method!! – until he gave up the secret (16-17 She kept at it day after day, nagging and tormenting him. Finally, he was fed up—he couldn’t take another minute of it. He spilled it.).  However, he chose to indulge her, to live in the moment, to have his sinful pleasure, to ignore the truth, until it was his undoing as she delivered him into the hands of the enemy.  Before this night, Samson could have voluntarily repented, cut off his hair, offered the proscribed sacrifices and started over as a Nazirite, reconsecrating himself, bearing the public humiliation of his failure, and been restored before God; he did not choose to do so and the Philistines extracted a far greater price to eventually bring him to that same place.

In Roman mythology there are stories of the Sirens, women in the distance appearing beautiful and desirable who by their mesmerizing song would lure mariners to their deaths by shipwreck on rocky shores.  Temptation is like this – it sings a beautiful, sweet and hypnotizing song of promise while in reality it draws us to destruction, away from our goal, our purpose, our commitment to follow, love, and serve well, distracted until we find ourselves lost, weakened and ashamed. We get our eyes focused on that beautiful, sparkly, shiny, or easy gain thing and don’t notice that we are being drawn into dangerous rocky areas that threaten shipwreck and death until it is too late.  We are already compromised, addicted, consumed by guilt and shame, afraid to admit what we have done.

Impact on Me

Where are my Delilahs – those voices that promise pleasure, power, and the praise of men?  Am I wiser than Samson?  Will I recognize the false promises and flee temptation rather than be drawn by its tempting siren song to shipwreck?  Why would I turn my ear to it when I can instead choose to listen to the songs of grace, love, salvation, redemption, mercy and restoration that God sings over His children?  Why do I find myself indulging my personal wants and desires like a spoiled child when I know they have no real eternal value and do not please my Father?  The Enemy, Satan, the devil, is like those sirens – appearing desirable while drawing me toward destruction.

I know that setting aside my wants, desires, and dreams to follow God’s dreams for me will bring real peace, joy, contentment, something my own efforts could never produce, and are worth whatever I perceive as the cost to me. What song I listen to is my choice and will rest on who I determine is more trustworthy to keep the promises made.  May I be wise enough to turn away from the siren song of sin by keeping my ears tuned to the song that leads to and fills Heaven.

Prayer

Lord God, Eternal Father, Lover of my soul, You are not willing for any to perish and, yet, You allow the sirens to sing so I alone may choose the song I follow.  I pray that I may always discern the source of the song I am hearing and then choose the song that leads to You and the part You have given me to play in bringing souls to Christ.  May I turn my ear and heart to Your music alone so I may please You in my journey. In the name of Jesus, make it so.

Matthew 9:9-13 MSG ⁹ Passing along, Jesus saw a man at his work collecting taxes. His name was Matthew. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” Matthew stood up and followed him.

^10-11 Later when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew’s house with his close followers, a lot of disreputable characters came and joined them. When the Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus’ followers. “What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and misfits?”

^12-13 Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.”

Romans 2:1-4 Phillips Now if you feel inclined to set yourself up as a judge of those who sin, let me assure you, whoever you are, that you are in no position to do so. For at whatever point you condemn others you automatically condemn yourself, since you, the judge, commit the same sins. God’s judgment, we know, is utterly impartial in its action against such evil-doers. What makes you think that you who so readily judge the sins of others, can consider yourself beyond the judgment of God? Are you, perhaps, misinterpreting God’s generosity and patient mercy towards you as weakness on his part? Don’t you realise that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

Observation

As a Roman tax collector, Matthew was persona non grata among the Jewish people.  He was considered a Roman collaborator and one who enriched himself by enforcing burdensome tax laws.  His family was probably punished – shunned by former friends and perhaps kicked out of synagogue – for Matthew’s association with the Romans.  He was judged by his community as a disreputable character. 

We don’t know what Matthew knew about this itinerant rabbi – what he had seen or heard about Jesus.  Had Matthew come to a point in his life where he recognized trading wealth for relationships left him empty?  Had he become uncomfortable with the poverty and despair he saw created by the demands he was asked to impose on his own people?  Had the ostracism because of his position begun to increase the pain of loneliness and feelings of rejection?  We don’t know for certain.  However, something was going on inside Matthew for him to respond so suddenly and decisively to Jesus’ invitation.  In that moment, Matthew traded all his accomplishment and status for what this itinerant rabbi offered him – redemption, belonging, hope.

Impact on Me

For me, this story is about the miracle of mercy compared to the captivity of judgment.  The religious leaders were captive to the rules and traditions they had heaped on top of the Law of Moses.  “What makes you think that you who so readily judge the sins of others, can consider yourself beyond the judgment of God?”  It seems to me that they went around looking for violations, trying to take others captive to the same bondage they embraced, rather than encouraging people that God provided a way (read the Book of Leviticus) for each one to restore relationship when the laws had been broken.   No wonder Jesus was so hard and confrontational with the religious leaders of His time!

I want to stay firmly in the camp of allowing God’s kindness to flow through me to lead others to repentance.  Kindness born of God’s mercy and grace is the opposite of the condemnation of judgment.  The only person I am allowed to judge is me as I am the only human who can truly know the motives and intentions of my heart.  If I think someone else has gone astray, I am called to love him/her enough to draw them toward Jesus through kindness, allowing the power of His Holy Spirit to work on his/her inside. 

So, I need to make a continuous and conscious effort to avoid judging others and “do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with my God” (Micah 6).  It is not that difficult to fall into the trap of comparing my outward performance to that of another, feeling special or privileged because my life currently appears in a better state or I am experiencing the favor of people around me.  That is not the way that I am judged by God.  He looks on my heart, my thoughts, my deepest secrets.  He knows where pride has taken me captive and where faith has been eroded.  Following Him is a lifelong pursuit that requires my full attention.

Prayer

Lord God, Father of Mercy, Kindness, Truth, Justice, Grace and Encouragement, I humbly come before You and ask for the wisdom, strength and courage to be kind and merciful when I am tempted to become judgmental.  I ask that You teach me to speak the truth in love so that Your kindness can bring the understanding that opens the eyes of myself and others to what it truly is to follow You consistently and fully.  Deliver me from the temptation to compare myself with others, being content to allow You to be the judge of us all.  In Jesus’ name, make it so.