Standout Verses – Luke 6:29,30
If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back.
I remember being told on many occasions that, important though it is to be generous, we must be careful that we do not become a doormat. Why?
I also remember being told that we should take humility only so far and not become weak; that unlimited meekness becomes downtroddenness.
Even if others come to take us for granted does that mean that we cease in our generosity? If others think they are better than us, should we become proud? If others want to thrown their weight around should we become a bully? Surely not. When we pause we see that true meekness requires more strength than the bully possesses, humility more character than the proud could ever proclaim. Generosity would not be a virtue if it were easy, and if were it not costly it would not be valued. True generosity should have no limits, and Christlike generosity should go further still, and not stop at what is asked of us, but offer all it can.
Lord, make me truly generous, humble and meek.
Monday 31 March 2008
Thursday 27 March 2008
we need wisdom
Standout Verses - Luke 5:29-31
Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honour. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?”
Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. …”
I spent a large part of yesterday renewing my child protection training, and amongst the questions that were addressed was how we can and whether we should (re)integrate sex offenders into a congregation. This question from the Pharisees came to my mind and I wondered “who are the tax collectors of today?” Who are the sinners we find hard to integrate into our society? And the obvious answer for the day came to mind. In both cases it was for very good reason that their society fears them and their often predatory natures. Yet that was where Jesus was. With tax collectors, sinners and prostitutes. But did he stay with every tax collector? Levi (Matthew) and Zacchaeus are two we know of and likely there were others, but equally there will have been some with whom he did not stay. In our world how can we know the difference?
Additional Verse of note – Luke 5:32
“ … I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”
Notice that Jesus does not say he came to call sinners, but “those who know they are sinners and need to repent.” What can that teach us?
Lord, when dealing with the messiness of people’s lives and of our communities: when living in a fallen world we need your wisdom and guidance. Grant it to me, I pray.
Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honour. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?”
Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. …”
I spent a large part of yesterday renewing my child protection training, and amongst the questions that were addressed was how we can and whether we should (re)integrate sex offenders into a congregation. This question from the Pharisees came to my mind and I wondered “who are the tax collectors of today?” Who are the sinners we find hard to integrate into our society? And the obvious answer for the day came to mind. In both cases it was for very good reason that their society fears them and their often predatory natures. Yet that was where Jesus was. With tax collectors, sinners and prostitutes. But did he stay with every tax collector? Levi (Matthew) and Zacchaeus are two we know of and likely there were others, but equally there will have been some with whom he did not stay. In our world how can we know the difference?
Additional Verse of note – Luke 5:32
“ … I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”
Notice that Jesus does not say he came to call sinners, but “those who know they are sinners and need to repent.” What can that teach us?
Lord, when dealing with the messiness of people’s lives and of our communities: when living in a fallen world we need your wisdom and guidance. Grant it to me, I pray.
Tuesday 25 March 2008
no compromise
Standout Verse – Numbers 33:55
But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where you live.
Do you ever just want the Word of God to be a little more cryptic. Have you ever wanted to carry on reading more and more in the hope that you would come across a different passage that would jump out at you so that you could claim that as God’s message to you for the day. Have you ever known the voice of God and wish he’d kept the message for another day?
Just as the Israelites were to drive out all the wickedness from the land they were being given, so we as Christians are to drive out all sin from our lives. Twice now the Israelites have failed to drive out the evil: once because they were afraid (of their giant scale); now because they wish to compromise (since they seem harmless, even attractive). They wished that God had been more cryptic, that he would say something else that is easier, that he would keep the message for another day. But he didn’t, for he knew the damage that their remaining would cause.
Today it is still true – God is not cryptic, but clear; his message is challenging and it comes at the right time.
Lord, teach me to accept your word.
But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where you live.
Do you ever just want the Word of God to be a little more cryptic. Have you ever wanted to carry on reading more and more in the hope that you would come across a different passage that would jump out at you so that you could claim that as God’s message to you for the day. Have you ever known the voice of God and wish he’d kept the message for another day?
Just as the Israelites were to drive out all the wickedness from the land they were being given, so we as Christians are to drive out all sin from our lives. Twice now the Israelites have failed to drive out the evil: once because they were afraid (of their giant scale); now because they wish to compromise (since they seem harmless, even attractive). They wished that God had been more cryptic, that he would say something else that is easier, that he would keep the message for another day. But he didn’t, for he knew the damage that their remaining would cause.
Today it is still true – God is not cryptic, but clear; his message is challenging and it comes at the right time.
Lord, teach me to accept your word.
Saturday 22 March 2008
why then what ...
Standout Verse – Luke 4:41
The demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.
There have been many different suggestions I have come across (and possibly a few that I have formulated myself, though I doubt their ultimate originality) which try to explain why Jesus would have silenced the demons, but these two are making good food for thought:
· Jesus wanted his listeners to believe that he was the Messiah because of his words not because of the demon’s words.
· The demons called Jesus “Son of God“ because they knew who he really was. But Jesus intended to first show himself to be the suffering servant, as until they believed His sacrifice they wouldn’t understand his kingship and Deity.
Why do we believe in Jesus, and what do we understand.
Lord, open my eyes and open my ears that I may know Jesus as He wants to be known.
Additional verse of note – Proverbs 11:22
A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.
Haha! Captured in a nutshell.
The demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.
There have been many different suggestions I have come across (and possibly a few that I have formulated myself, though I doubt their ultimate originality) which try to explain why Jesus would have silenced the demons, but these two are making good food for thought:
· Jesus wanted his listeners to believe that he was the Messiah because of his words not because of the demon’s words.
· The demons called Jesus “Son of God“ because they knew who he really was. But Jesus intended to first show himself to be the suffering servant, as until they believed His sacrifice they wouldn’t understand his kingship and Deity.
Why do we believe in Jesus, and what do we understand.
Lord, open my eyes and open my ears that I may know Jesus as He wants to be known.
Additional verse of note – Proverbs 11:22
A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.
Haha! Captured in a nutshell.
Thursday 20 March 2008
the extra mile
Standout Verse – Number 31:48
Then all the generals and captains came to Moses and said, “… we are presenting the items of gold we captured as an offering to the Lord …”
Then! In this one word the principle of Tithes and offerings can be found. Upon their return this army were require to surrender a proportion of their plunder to those who had remained and to the priests and Levites. This was done without fuss and seemingly as a matter of routine. The principle that what we earn is not ours alone and that what we possess comes from God and ultimately belongs to him was well understood; as was the principle of offering “first-fruits”: that we offer first to God and only then do we count what we have as disposable of ourselves. Once this tithe had been made the generals and captains set about the business of accounting for all their men. The importance of offering back to God was such that they had not yet determined whether they had any dead that needed burying or widows and families that would need informing. When they, during this exercise, realized that that had not suffered any losses they decided to present and offering to God. No matter that they had already surrendered 50.1% of what they had returned with, they wished to offer in thanks.
In whatever various things God asks of us do we go beyond the obligation as an expression of thanks for His goodness and of our love for Him?
Lord, show me the pathway of the extra mile and let me walk it joyfully.
Then all the generals and captains came to Moses and said, “… we are presenting the items of gold we captured as an offering to the Lord …”
Then! In this one word the principle of Tithes and offerings can be found. Upon their return this army were require to surrender a proportion of their plunder to those who had remained and to the priests and Levites. This was done without fuss and seemingly as a matter of routine. The principle that what we earn is not ours alone and that what we possess comes from God and ultimately belongs to him was well understood; as was the principle of offering “first-fruits”: that we offer first to God and only then do we count what we have as disposable of ourselves. Once this tithe had been made the generals and captains set about the business of accounting for all their men. The importance of offering back to God was such that they had not yet determined whether they had any dead that needed burying or widows and families that would need informing. When they, during this exercise, realized that that had not suffered any losses they decided to present and offering to God. No matter that they had already surrendered 50.1% of what they had returned with, they wished to offer in thanks.
In whatever various things God asks of us do we go beyond the obligation as an expression of thanks for His goodness and of our love for Him?
Lord, show me the pathway of the extra mile and let me walk it joyfully.
Wednesday 19 March 2008
shh ...
PSALM 62:1,2
I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.
shh …
Even David struggled and had to insert verses before each interlude and at the end, and ...
shh …
PSALM 62:5,6
Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.
shh …
- ! -
shh …
Lord,
I wait quietly.
Let all that I am wait quietly
I ...
shh …
I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.
shh …
Even David struggled and had to insert verses before each interlude and at the end, and ...
shh …
PSALM 62:5,6
Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.
shh …
- ! -
shh …
Lord,
I wait quietly.
Let all that I am wait quietly
I ...
shh …
Tuesday 18 March 2008
sprout, bud, blossom, produce
STANDOUT PASSAGE – Numbers 17
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel to bring you twelve wooden staffs, one from each leader of Israel’s ancestral tribes, and inscribe each leader’s name on his staff. Inscribe Aaron’s name on the staff of the tribe of Levi, for there must be one staff for the leader of each ancestral tribe. Place these staffs in the Tabernacle in front of the Ark … Moses placed the staffs in the Lord’s presence in the Tabernacle of the Covenant. When he went into the Tabernacle of the Covenant the next day, he found that Aaron’s staff, representing the tribe of Levi, had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds!
Where are you fruitful? Each staff had at one time been capable of bearing fruit – each had been part of a tree and in order to have been of sufficient quality for forming a functional staff would have come from a healthy tree. When cut off from its root, its setting, the world in general they became fruitless. Even in the presence of God they were simply sticks. To bring forth fruit they need to be rooted in the earth, planted in their setting. Only one was able to be fruitful while cut off, and then only because God had decreed that the people it represented were “dedicated to the Lord for service in the Tabernacle.” (Num 18:6) The implication is perhaps that it would not have sprouted, budded, blossomed and produced in the world.
In the church, and though we do not speak of it, our actions often seem to declare that we are all Levites. We are useful, fruitful, when in Gods house, cut off from the hardship and muck of the world. Outside God’s house is a trial and necessary evil we must endure until we may once again meet. Yet this model was to be true of only one clan, and the smallest clan at that (*). The place of blessing for the rest is in the world. It is when we are embroiled and dirty. It is when we are following Jesus’ example and mixing with “tax collectors and sinners”.
ADDITIONAL VERSE OF NOTE – Luke 3:12,14
Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, “Teacher, what should we do?”
… “What should we do?” asked some soldiers …
For John his place of fruitfulness was dirty; was in the midst of corruption; in the midst of oppression. It was preaching an often unwelcome message of sinfulness, of repentance and of judgement.
Are you really a Levite? If not, where is your dirt? Are you in it up to your neck yet?
Lord God, being in the muck and dirt and getting filthy is not always where we want to be, for the sanitized tabernacle is where we find holiness and purity easiest. But you did not promise us ease in life, simply purpose and fruifulness. So Lord, fix me in the ground and get me embroiled in the dirt of worldy life so that I may bear fruit. May I sprout, bud, blossom and produce for you.
Amen.
(*) though initially the Levites at 23,000 [Num 26:62] may seem more numerous that the Simeonites at 22,200 [Num 26:14], itself by far smaller than all other tribes, the Levites were counted at one month old or older [Num 26:62] whilst all other tribes were only counted in men of 20 years or older [Num 26:4].
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel to bring you twelve wooden staffs, one from each leader of Israel’s ancestral tribes, and inscribe each leader’s name on his staff. Inscribe Aaron’s name on the staff of the tribe of Levi, for there must be one staff for the leader of each ancestral tribe. Place these staffs in the Tabernacle in front of the Ark … Moses placed the staffs in the Lord’s presence in the Tabernacle of the Covenant. When he went into the Tabernacle of the Covenant the next day, he found that Aaron’s staff, representing the tribe of Levi, had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds!
Where are you fruitful? Each staff had at one time been capable of bearing fruit – each had been part of a tree and in order to have been of sufficient quality for forming a functional staff would have come from a healthy tree. When cut off from its root, its setting, the world in general they became fruitless. Even in the presence of God they were simply sticks. To bring forth fruit they need to be rooted in the earth, planted in their setting. Only one was able to be fruitful while cut off, and then only because God had decreed that the people it represented were “dedicated to the Lord for service in the Tabernacle.” (Num 18:6) The implication is perhaps that it would not have sprouted, budded, blossomed and produced in the world.
In the church, and though we do not speak of it, our actions often seem to declare that we are all Levites. We are useful, fruitful, when in Gods house, cut off from the hardship and muck of the world. Outside God’s house is a trial and necessary evil we must endure until we may once again meet. Yet this model was to be true of only one clan, and the smallest clan at that (*). The place of blessing for the rest is in the world. It is when we are embroiled and dirty. It is when we are following Jesus’ example and mixing with “tax collectors and sinners”.
ADDITIONAL VERSE OF NOTE – Luke 3:12,14
Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, “Teacher, what should we do?”
… “What should we do?” asked some soldiers …
For John his place of fruitfulness was dirty; was in the midst of corruption; in the midst of oppression. It was preaching an often unwelcome message of sinfulness, of repentance and of judgement.
Are you really a Levite? If not, where is your dirt? Are you in it up to your neck yet?
Lord God, being in the muck and dirt and getting filthy is not always where we want to be, for the sanitized tabernacle is where we find holiness and purity easiest. But you did not promise us ease in life, simply purpose and fruifulness. So Lord, fix me in the ground and get me embroiled in the dirt of worldy life so that I may bear fruit. May I sprout, bud, blossom and produce for you.
Amen.
(*) though initially the Levites at 23,000 [Num 26:62] may seem more numerous that the Simeonites at 22,200 [Num 26:14], itself by far smaller than all other tribes, the Levites were counted at one month old or older [Num 26:62] whilst all other tribes were only counted in men of 20 years or older [Num 26:4].
Monday 17 March 2008
The balance and the fulcrim
STANDOUT VERSE – LUKE 2:51
Then [Jesus] returned to Nazareth with [His parents] and was obedient to them.
What an amazing display of humility and meekness. Such great power being placed under such great control. If I had the 12 Legions of angels at my constant call, the strength of God in my hands and the power that created the universe within my voice would I have always been obedient to my parents? Even when they didn’t understand what I was doing: why I was in a particular place? Surely this obedience would be strained further if they were then to be confused by my explanations!
Notes from the NLT Life Application Study Bible (Lk 2:49,50):
This is pertinent to those in ministry. We can get so caught up in the doing of things to others that we neglect our relationships. There is a balance to be struck. But it must be a dynamic equilibrium in which we, as fulcrum, move our focus over the course of time.
I saw an excellent DVD from the 2006 Willow Creek Leadership Conference which explained this point far better than I. The talk was called “Dead Leader Running” and was by Wayne Cordeiro and is available from the Willow Creek website. If you are a leader in the church, I strongly recommend that you get hold of this from the website or from a friend and watch it regularly and absorb.
Then [Jesus] returned to Nazareth with [His parents] and was obedient to them.
What an amazing display of humility and meekness. Such great power being placed under such great control. If I had the 12 Legions of angels at my constant call, the strength of God in my hands and the power that created the universe within my voice would I have always been obedient to my parents? Even when they didn’t understand what I was doing: why I was in a particular place? Surely this obedience would be strained further if they were then to be confused by my explanations!
Notes from the NLT Life Application Study Bible (Lk 2:49,50):
Even though he knew his real Father, Jesus did not reject his earthly parents.
He went back to Nazareth with them and lived under their authority for
another 18 years … If the Son of God obeyed his human parents, how much more
should we honour our family members! Don’t use commitment to God’s work to
justify neglecting your family.
This is pertinent to those in ministry. We can get so caught up in the doing of things to others that we neglect our relationships. There is a balance to be struck. But it must be a dynamic equilibrium in which we, as fulcrum, move our focus over the course of time.
I saw an excellent DVD from the 2006 Willow Creek Leadership Conference which explained this point far better than I. The talk was called “Dead Leader Running” and was by Wayne Cordeiro and is available from the Willow Creek website. If you are a leader in the church, I strongly recommend that you get hold of this from the website or from a friend and watch it regularly and absorb.
Sunday 16 March 2008
Nunc Dimittis
STANDOUT VERSES – Luke 2:29-32
“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”
Nunc Dimittis: The song of Simeon.
One of the most beautiful prayer responses to salvation. For why could Simeon now die in peace? Is it because he would have been uneasy dying and meeting God with a promise unfulfilled? Was he worried about the potential embarrassing moment in the heavenly conversation where Simeon wondered whether or not to bring up that God broke His word? Even if that impossibility were to be realized, would such matters really be upon our minds when we are enjoying full and free fellowship with the creator God? No. Simeon was now able to die in peace not because the promise had been kept but because the substance of the promise was now realized. He had encountered the Lord’s Messiah. He had met Jesus. There is no other reasonable explanation as to why Simeon could now depart in peace. His death need not be quick from this point, but he knew that when it would come it would be peace. Only by encountering the Glory of Israel, the ultimate blessing to the nations can death be faced without need of fear. There is no other way by which we may die at peace.
Prayer from The Divine Office:
“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”
Nunc Dimittis: The song of Simeon.
One of the most beautiful prayer responses to salvation. For why could Simeon now die in peace? Is it because he would have been uneasy dying and meeting God with a promise unfulfilled? Was he worried about the potential embarrassing moment in the heavenly conversation where Simeon wondered whether or not to bring up that God broke His word? Even if that impossibility were to be realized, would such matters really be upon our minds when we are enjoying full and free fellowship with the creator God? No. Simeon was now able to die in peace not because the promise had been kept but because the substance of the promise was now realized. He had encountered the Lord’s Messiah. He had met Jesus. There is no other reasonable explanation as to why Simeon could now depart in peace. His death need not be quick from this point, but he knew that when it would come it would be peace. Only by encountering the Glory of Israel, the ultimate blessing to the nations can death be faced without need of fear. There is no other way by which we may die at peace.
Prayer from The Divine Office:
At last, all-powerful Master,
You give leave to your servant
to go in peace, according to your promise.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared for all nations,
the light to enlighten the Gentiles,
and give glory to Israel, your people.
Saturday 15 March 2008
God's ways are better than my ways.
STANDOUT VERSE – NUMBERS 22:21
So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials.
Are God’s ways best? And knowing God’s ways are best, do we always choose God’s way over our own? Do we occasionally choose your own way anyway?
This verse from numbers needs to be viewed in the light of verse 12: “But God told Balaam, “Do not go with them…” ” God was clear in his message. God did not stutter. God did not speak in code, in another language or in clues that needed piecing together. He gave his instruction in a way that Balaam could easily understand. There was no question about what God meant and what he wanted. Yet still Balaam disobeyed. This reminds me of Jonah who received clear instruction to go to Nineveh, yet decided to head for Tarshish.
Niether Balaam nor Jonah got into trouble because God didn’t give good directions. They got in trouble because he didn’t follow them. There wasn’t a problem with misunderstanding or misinterpretation. There was a problem with obedience. When God says do it, DO IT!
Lord, I am doing it again; help me persevere.
So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials.
Are God’s ways best? And knowing God’s ways are best, do we always choose God’s way over our own? Do we occasionally choose your own way anyway?
This verse from numbers needs to be viewed in the light of verse 12: “But God told Balaam, “Do not go with them…” ” God was clear in his message. God did not stutter. God did not speak in code, in another language or in clues that needed piecing together. He gave his instruction in a way that Balaam could easily understand. There was no question about what God meant and what he wanted. Yet still Balaam disobeyed. This reminds me of Jonah who received clear instruction to go to Nineveh, yet decided to head for Tarshish.
Niether Balaam nor Jonah got into trouble because God didn’t give good directions. They got in trouble because he didn’t follow them. There wasn’t a problem with misunderstanding or misinterpretation. There was a problem with obedience. When God says do it, DO IT!
Lord, I am doing it again; help me persevere.
A long time
It has been over 2 months since I journalled, and sadly and disastrously the same period since I was truly sincere about daily devotion – initially due to heading away on a training course, which got me out of the rhythm of a daily devotion. I returned to a very stressful situation and in a move of dramatic stupidity: with the need to work many hours, amongst the things I gave up to grant more time to work, I stopped spending time in God’s Word. Why do we, why do I do things of such idiocy?
God forgive me.
Since it has been such a long time, I am recommencing today on today’s reading and will not be attempting a “catch-up”
God forgive me.
Since it has been such a long time, I am recommencing today on today’s reading and will not be attempting a “catch-up”
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