Lectionary for 8/31/08

Today's readings are 1 Kings 16.29-17.24 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Kings+16.29-17.24 ), 2 Corinthians 9.1-15 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Cor.+9.1-15 ), and 2 Corinthians 10.1-13.13 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Cor.+10.1-13.13 ).

 

See how the Lord provides for the needs of his people?  Look at God's miraculous supply for the physical needs of the widow in 1 Kings, for the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 10.  See how he has blessed you.  Indeed we have a Lord who is full of blessing and grace.  Despite our sin and doubt, we see our Lord always provides for the needs of his people.

 

Do you doubt the Lord's provision?  Even in times of persecution and suffering, the Lord ultimately protects his people.  They are secure as they trust in Him.  Nobody can pry us out of God's hand if we trust him.  Nothing can separate me from God's love in Christ.

 

Thank the Lord together with me.  Our God watches over his people! 

Lectionary for 8/30/2008

Today's readings are 1 Kings 12.20-13.5 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Kings+12.20-13.5 ), 1 Kings 13.33-34 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Kings++13.33-34 ), 2 Corinthians 8.1-24 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Cor.+8.1-24 ), and 1 Kings 14.1-16.28 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Kings+14.1-16.28 ).

 

We fall into sin and error when we establish principles which go beyond God's requirements as found in Scripture.  Woe to us when we lay burdens on others which are not burdens the Lord would lay on them.  Look at the deadly consequences.  Jeroboam instituted worship involving false gods.  He explained it away because it would be easier, more convenient.  But consider the implications.  We can serve the true God and receive his real forgiveness and grace.  Or we can serve false gods and be responsible for true righteousness by our own merit and works.  Which one is easier?  Which one is possible?  Let us cling to and serve the true God.

 

There's an example of making a ruling which makes life and godliness impossible by allegedly making it easier.  How about in 2 Corinthians 8?  In many churches we hear requirements of particular levels of financial giving, sometimes at 10% as a bare minimum, sometimes in the form of demands that we give sacrificially, always beyond 10%, with more proving our faith and trust in God.  Did you ever notice that the tithe is gone from the scene of requirements in the New Testament?  It has been replaced with generosity.  In many cases, maybe even most cases, people are able to give a substantial portion of their income.  Yet the requirement they are given in the New Testament is that of giving joyfully and generously.  There is not testing of our faith or tempting God.  We are never called to throw ourselves financially off a pinnacle to see if the Lord will catch us.  We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Do we do that?

 

Now we have circled back to the first point.  In our giving, which is a way we show love for our neighbor, we will fail.  We don't love our neighbors as ourselves.  But let us take encouragement.  We serve the true God.  We receive his real forgiveness and grace, even as he is commanding us to be holy.  What a marvellous, all-encompassing God we have.

 

 

 

Lectionary for 8/29/08

Today's readings are 1 Kings 11.42-12.19 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Kings+11.42-12.19 ) and 2 Corinthians 7.1-16.

 

 Where do we stand as Christians regarding the requirements of God and the grace of God?  1 Corinthians 7.1 (ESV) sums it up very well.  "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God."  We are recipients of the promises of God.  He has promised us life, hope, a sure coming inheritance, provision for our every need.  And it is all a matter of promise, not a matter of something we might have if we work hard enough.  It is all of God's grace.  Our Savior Jesus Christ has done all the work.  "Since we have these promises."  But we do something then.  We pursue holiness.  When the Lord redeems people, when he changes their hearts, when he makes those who were his enemies into his people, they have a desire to do the works that are pleasing to him.  So how does Paul summarize what is pleasing to God?  We are to cleanse ourselves.  We bring holiness to completion. Now how are we going to do that?  When we look at the demands of God's holiness we must admit, and admit quickly, that we cannot bring holiness to completion.  So our good works, our attempts at living a holy life which is pleasing to God, bring us daily face to face with two realities.  Let's meditate on those two realities today.

 

1)  Both our Lord and we ourselves want to do good works, to live a holy life.

 

2)  When we see this desire and our failing we look yet again upon our blessed Savior who gave us the desire and lived out that holiness in our place.

 

Lectionary for 8/28/08

Today's readings are 1 Kings 11.1-26 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Kings+11.1-26 ) and 2 Corinthians 6.1-18 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Cor.+6.1-18 ).

 

As we read today let us ponder the great mercy, love, and jealousy of our God and Father.  See how he cherished Solomon and chose him out from all other men to do his will and to be granted riches and wisdom.  See how when Solomon persisted in going his own way the Lord allowed him the freedom to do so.  Look at the plea of Paul to the Corinthians, how he begs them not to depart from their faith, not to pollute themselves, not to place themselves in situations which will lead them astray.

 

May we consider the great love the Lord has for us.  He does not wish us to pursue our own destructive ways.  Let us hold fast to him in the path he has given us, the path of faith in Christ, which is accounted to us for righteousness.

 

Lord, grant us your forgiveness.  Forgive us our sins as we realize that we have pursued our own paths today.  Restore us to your joy, to the simplicity of trust in you.  Show your jealous care for us, gathering us to yourself. 

 

Lectionary for 8/27/2008

Today's readings are 1 Kings 9.1-9 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Kings+9.1-9 ), 1 Kings 10.1-13 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Kings+10.1-13 ), 2 Corinthians 5.1-21 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Cor.+5.1-21 ), and Psalm 72 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Psalm+72 ).

 

In today's readings we are given a picture of Solomon as a picture of Christ the King.  He holds immeasurable wealth and wisdom and he imparts his bounties freely.  In this New Covenant life we also impart the bounties God has given us freely.  But we are no longer constrained to have great riches to impart priceless treasure.  We have the treasure of Christ living in us.  That's the glorious gospel of 2 corinthians 5.14-15.  All died in Adam, but see how Christ has died for all those who died.  There is now division.  Some of those who died in Adam live now, not for themselves but for Christ.  This is the fabulous treasure that we can impart.  Did Christ die for you?  I can say with confidence that Christ died for you.  If you are a descendant of Adam, if you are dead in sin, Christ died for you.  Can you know that you have life in Christ?  Absolutely!  If you are living for Christ you have his life dwelling in you.

 

Thanks be to our Lord and Savior who has imparted this priceless gift and who makes us, his people, his ambassadors to share the bounty of eternal life!

Lectionary for 8/26/08

Today's readings are 1 Kings 8.22-30 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Kings+8.22-30 ), 1 Kings 8.46-63 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Kings+8.46-63 ), 2 Corinthians 4.1-18 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Cor.+4.1-18 ), and Psalm 30 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Psalm+30 ).

 

Did you ever stop to observe how much of Scripture is taken up with prayer?  Did you ever compare that to how much of our life and our exposition is taken up with prayer?  I'm struck in today's readings by the prayerfulness of Solomon in response to God's work in Israel.

 

Time to quit talking about prayer and to start doing prayer.  Just in case one of my readers (and I think I'm probably normally the only one) doesn't have an example of taking the Scripture and praying it, I'll practice it "out loud" here, using part of the 2 Corinthians passage.  The quotation is from the ESV and is italicized.  My prayer is interspersed in normal type.

 

1 Cor. 8.7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

 

Our God and Father, thank you for granting us the treasure of your salvation.  Your precious gift, your treasure, has come to dwell in my humble bodies, your kingdom has come to work in my household, my neighborhood, my school and work.  Your word speaks through my inarticulate mumblings, your order has overcome the chaos of my mind.  Your eternity has taken my temporality captive, your death has given me life.  In every place I look I see your power.  And I do not lay claim on it, yet you have designed to live in me in power.

 

8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

 

Thank you for your perfect life, your death in my place, your suffering for my sin, and your real bodily resurrection which brings life.  It doesn't matter what has happened in my life today.  I am not undone because my Lord and Savior is not undone.  It is all right that I don't understand my circumstances.  You understand them and you care.  No matter what others do to me, even though I probably deserve all of it and more, you have given your precious promise that I am not forsaken.  You will be with me forever, to the end of the earth.  And as you rose from the dead incorruptible so you have promised that I will rise incorruptible.  At the cost of your life, at the cost of bearing the wrath of your Father, you have given me life.  And that life is here, right now, in this same body that I use daily to sin against you in word and deed.  Lord, thank you for your forgiveness and the life you give.

 

 

11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.

 

Lord, I pray that through your servant you may be glorified.  I pray that you will use me to reveal the life and salvation that you have given to others as well.  Even as your life is made apparent through my life or through my death, I pray it will be made apparent to those around me.  May I be used as a living testimony of your redeeming work.

 

The Lord be with you.

 

Lectionary for 8/25/08

Today's readings are 1 Kings 7.51-8.21 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Kings+7.51-8.21 ) and 2 Corinthians 3.1-18 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Cor.+3.1-18 ).

 

Today we read about the completion of Solomon's temple and the indwelling of the Lord in the temple.  Let's make a few observations and applications about the dwelling of the Lord.

 

1)  Though God is omnipresent, that is, present everywhere all the time, he somehow chooses to "place" himself in certain locations or situations.  So on one level we are speaking correctly when we talk about the Lord coming to dwell with us, living in our hearts, etc.

 

2)  The temple is constructed, prepared, and governed according to God's plan, not according to man's preferences.  The Lord gave instructions for how it was to be built, and only in accordance with those instructions did he come and dwell in the temple.  Likewise, in the New Testament, our Lord and Savior indwells His Church by the Spirit.  But that is a Church not built with human hands or based on man's operations or choices, but built by the Lord in his sovereign good pleasure.

 

3)  The presence of God is known in the temple.  This is so in the Church as well.  It is in the context of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church that we see the Spirit of God operating, giving His gifts and preparing a people for His name.  It isn't anywhere else. 

 

Are we living in the promised presence and fellowship with the Lord?  If not, let us mourn and repent!  We have taken things into our own hands.  We have made our ways in the paths of our own righteousness, paths which lead to death.  We have set up our own little kingdoms and are doing what we can to eke God out of them.  If, on the other hand, we are living in the promised presence and fellowship with the Lord, which is predicated on repentance, faith, and reception of God's Word and Sacraments, let us rejoice.  Let us be partakers of Word and Sacraments in joy, knowing that indeed the Lord has visited us in a special way through the context of His Church, in which He is using us as living stones, selected and fitted according to His divine plan and will.

 

Lectionary for 8/23/08

Today's readings are 1 Kings 3.1-15 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Kings+3.1-15 ), 2 Corinthians 1.1-22 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Cor.+1.1-22 ), and 1 Kings 3.16-4.34 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Kings+3.16-4.34 ).

Did you ever think about the purpose of suffering in this world?   So often when we see suffering we hasten to Romans 8.28-29 or to the book of Job.  But right here in 2 Corinthians 1 we see some very concrete help and comfort for times of suffering and affliction.  I want to note just a few principles we see in this passage.

 

1)  Our hope in affliction is that God is the "God of all comfort" (v. 3).  Our Lord is no stranger to suffering and pain.  His people have deserted him.  He gave the son whom he loves to redeem the world from its self-destruction.  And he watched as the world rejected his son.  He saw his son willingly take on sin for us.  God understands suffering.

 

2)  God's comfort for us enables us to "comfort those who are in any affliction" (v. 4).  There is no need to rush out to experience every conceivable type of trial in order to understand what others are going through.  There is no call for someone to allege that simply because his comforter's circumstances in trial have been different that the comforter can offer no comfort.  We have been comforted by God.  This enables us to comfort others, no matter the affliction.  God's comfort is that immense.

 

3)  Our affliction brings comfort to others when they see that they are not the only people who are afflicted.  Does this mean it is all right when we lose a loved one or when our life is thrown into turmoil in some way?  No.  It does not mean that affliction is good.  It does mean that genuine believers experience afflictions which are common to humans in this world in part so as to show that God is able to care for people even in a world which is racked with the pain of sin.

 

4)  When we receive comfort from our Lord it is a testimony to others who are suffering.  The Lord cares and brings comfort.  And the greatest comfort he brings us is that he has "delivered us from such a deadly peril" (v. 10).  In fact, our suffering and our receiving comfort and hope from our risen savior is a way our Lord draws attention to himself.  Though we are hurt, and hurt badly, despairing "of life itself" (v. 8), we are not undone because we know that we have ultimate deliverance through the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

To Him be all glory.

 

 

Lectionary for 8/22/08

Today's readings are 1 Kings 2.1-27 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Kings+2.1-27 ), 1 Corinthians 13.1-13 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Cor.+13.1-13 ), and 1 Corinthians 14.1-16.23 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Cor.+14.1-16.23 ).

 

As I read 1 Corinthians 13-16 today one idea kept coming to the surface.  Order.  There is a divine plan for how things are to come about.  There is divine order and reason in everything.  Though this mortal life is a mystery to you and me, in God's plan it will put on immortality.  It is at that time, when our mortal body puts on immortality and so our true life of body and soul together can no longer be ripped apart in death, at that time we will see true victory.  Death will have lost its sting.  This is our Lord's order.

 

What are the orders for the day, Lord?  I don't know and I don't understand most of them once I do know them.  But I know that there is divine order and our Lord and Savior, the one man in whom all life is found, Jesus the resurrected firstfruits, is the one who holds that order and will bring it to pass.

 

Lord, help me see your order.

Lectionary for 8/21/2008

Today's readings are 1 Kings 1.1-4 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Kings+1.1-4 ), 1 Kings 1.15-35 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Kings+1.15-35 ), and 1 Corinthians 12.14-31 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Cor.+12.14-31 ).

 

When I was a young Christian I was involved in a church body which emphasized the gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially as listed in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14.  If God was working in your life you would see miraculous gifts happening.  Sadly, we often overlooked a facet of the Lord's supernatural life described in the beginning of today's reading from 1 Corinthians 12.  That's the way the Lord puts his people together to be one body, functioning as a healthy entity.

 

See how important the body is to God?  Not only do we see that the Lord has created a very physical earth, he has also revealed himself in bodily form through Jesus Christ and he has promised a future bodily resurrection.  The body matters.  And we are all aware, literally we are painfully aware of the suffering our bodies endure when one seemingly insignificant part hurts.  Have you ever broken a toe?  You never knew you used that foot that much.  How about a middle ear infection?  Hurts, doesn't it?  Know how big your middle ear is?  I don't.  But it's quite small.  And why is it that I manage to get a blistering sunburn right on the part of my nose where my glasses sit?  Or the cut on the hand is right where it hurts the most.  How about an appendix, an organ we hardly seem to use for anything, and quite small.  What happens when it swells or even ruptures?  In fact, those little body parts are extraordinarily important.  And when they hurt, everything hurts.  Likewise, when they are well, things seem to go along pretty nicely.

 

Likewise in the body of Christ.  All these gifts God gives are for the nourishment of his body.  And there are many members of the body we could have a tendency to bypass or ignore.  They don't seem as significant to us.  But they are significant.  And I've got news for some of us.  Some of those little body parts, the really important ones that we hardly ever notice, are weak, sick, in pain, and we haven't noticed.  Like the person who feels generally lethargic because a little bitty gland is malfunctioning, we find that Christ's Church is lethargic.  Time to quit trying to take extra naps for recovery.  Time to start looking for parts of the body which are in need of healing, encouragement, nourishment.  

 

Jesus tells Peter to feed his sheep.  Paul reminds the Corinthians that all the members of the body are important.  But we have ignored those in need.  We have dishonored the weak and insignificant ones for whom Christ also died.  Let us rather bring the message of the Gospel to everybody.  Let us serve as ministers of healing and forgiveness for all, including the least of these little children, including the last to arrive on the scene, including the losers of this world.  Christ came to seek and to save the lost.  Let us reflect that seeking and saving work as we savor the work of the Savior.

 

Lectionary for 8/20/08

Today's readings are 2 Samuel 12.1-25 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Sam.+12.1-25 ), 1 Corinthians 12.1-13 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Cor.+12.1-13 ), 2 Samuel 13.1-19.4 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Sam.+13.1-19.4 ), Psalm 60 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Psalm+60 ), and Psalm 3 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Psalm+3 ).

 

There's a place for everything, and everything is in its place.  Isn't that a great feeling?  The tools are orderly, the garage floor is swept, the leftovers from the last project are put away where they belong, and you're ready to start on your latest greatest project.  Maybe it will be a desk, maybe a bookcase, maybe a car repair.  Whatever it is, everything is in order and ready to go.  All is well with the world.  Then again, maybe you want to take a look in my garage.  There are some spilled pet supplies scattered, the gardening tools have fallen off their hooks, the lawn mower is blocked in by a broken chair waiting to be glued together, the toolbox is overflowing with things that don't belong in the toolbox, and for some odd reason there's a bicycle with a garden hose wrapped around it.

 

Truth be told, my actual garage describes our lives a whole lot better than the ideal garage does.  Things are falling off the walls.  They are in the wrong place.  They are dirty, broken, twisted, and poorly maintained.  Probably some termites, venomous snakes, or dangerous chemicals just waiting to make a scene.

 

That's what we read about today.  David's life and kingdom are falling apart.  His children are fighting against one another, and they are fighting with treachery and weapons!  This is not childhood bickering which, though every bit as sinful tends not to decapitate other people.  This is warfare.  And it is all tied together with a common theme.  Look how people act outside of their God-given capacities.  They do not serve God and their neighbors by operating within the vocation the Lord has given them.  Rather, they serve themselves and ultimately bring death and destruction.

 

How like us!  We see trouble and run to meet it.  We, like the Corinthians we read about in 1 Corinthians 11, do not concern ourselves with loving our neighbor.  We love ourselves and through that self love we are our own undoing.

 

What answers has the Lord given?  Self-destructive people don't need a self-help program.  They need a savior.  Self-destructive people don't need to be told what to do.  They will consistently do the opposite.  They need a change of heart which results in changed lives.  And the Lord has given answers.  We see some of them in 1 Corinthians 12, were God works through people in supernatural ways to verbally exhort and encourage his people.  He speaks to his people, giving them what they need to hear, even though nobody may be present who would actually know what the people need to hear.  Our Lord will take care of even that.  Lacking wise exposition of the Word, the Lord will invade through the words of his servants and speak to his people.

 

And let us remember that when the Lord speaks through his appointed servants - pastors and teachers, evangelists, etc. - he is exercising spiritual gifts also.  Our Lord will work in us to put us in the right order.  He gives us our right vocations and enables us to serve in his kingdom so as to bring him glory and to love our neighbor.  Let us not shun this vocation.  Let us strive to be obedient to our Lord.  And let us always realize that as we fail we have a savior who does not fail but who exhorts, changes our lives, and forgives us our sin.

 

Lectionary for 8/19/08

Today's readings are 2 Samuel 11.1-27 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Sam.+11.1-27 ), 1 Corinthians 11.17-34 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Cor.+11.17-34 ), and Psalm 51 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Ps.+51 ).

 

Today let us consider these three passages together.  All Scripture works together. 

 

We see David's sin with Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11.  And it is easy to look at David with disapproval, and rightly so.  What he did was reprehensible.  His desire for an adulterous relationship not only brought ruination on Bathsheba's family, but on the families of a number of other people who were involved in the battle when David arranged for Uriah's death.  Not to mention the fact that David's family was broken by this kind of relationships, which characterized their life from that point on.

 

In 1 Corinthians 11 we see both sin and redemption.  God has prepared the communion celebration to express his forgiving grace through Christ's body broken and blood shed for us.  And yet some were making it an occasion for greed and self-centered enjoyment rather than an occasion to celebrate Christ's sacrifice, a celebration which should necessarily center around selfless yielding to the needs of those who surround us.  Yet the Lord redeems this feast at his table.  He still gives his body and blood just as he promised.  It is there and partaken of by all, even those who are wrongly partaking.  Let us wonder at the kindness and love of God, who redeems us by his body and blood then even corrects us and restores us to fellowship with him when we use his gifts wrongly!

 

Now we are able to tie it all together with Psalm 51.  How wrongly have we used his gifts?  Maybe our sin isn't as obvious and flagrant as David's or as the Corinthians who were using communion as an opportunity for drunkenness and gluttony.  Yet our sins are an affront to God.  How has someone sinned against us?  He has sinned against our God even more.  How have we sinned against others?  We have sinned against our Lord and Savior even more.  Truly my sin is grievous before my Lord.  Yet what does he promise?  He promises cleansing, purging, healing, forgiveness.  And he has procured that forgiveness for me because I can't in any way merit it myself.  He has reached out with it and presented it to me.  My sin, which naturally brings death, has been inflicted on Jesus.  And it is the good pleasure of God the Father to send his Son to suffer in my stead.

 

When the pastor stands before the congregation and proclaims, "This is my body, given for you," do we see our sin?  Do we see our salvation?  Thanks be to God that we are partakers of that salvation which our Lord has prepared.  He has laid a table for us.

 

 

Lectionary for 8/18/08

Today's readings are 2 Samuel 7.18-29 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Sam.+7.18-29 ) and 1 Corinthians 10.23-11.16 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Cor.+10.23-11.16 ).

 

What will we do with God's commands today?  How do we respond to what our Lord has said?  Of course, most of us would readily confess that we should work diligently to do what our Lord has commanded, then should turn to him in repentance and confession when we fail.  It's as simple and as difficult as that.  But what are we to do with God's commands which are also promises?  What do we do with those commands of the Lord which we would usually classify as Gospel statements?  Those times when the Lord has commanded something which we can't even attempt to do but which he has promised to do himself?  Our Lord and Savior says he will bless us, he will heal us, he will make us live long in the land he gives us, he will meet our every need.  These are commands of God as well.

 

As David has brought the ark of God into Jerusalem, he affirms his trust in the Lord and asks that he should confirm his promises to his people.  May the Lord be with you!  In this way we are asking that the Lord confirm his promise to his people.  But do we expect our Lord's presence in reality?  Or are we just saying something.  We all know the story of the pastor who walked to the pulpit, tapped the microphone, said, "There's something wrong with this microphone" and heard, "And also with you."  When we ask the Lord's blessing, are we just saying words?  Or do we mean it and expect it?  When we proclaim the Lord's promise to be with his people, are we just saying words?  Or do we actually expect that the Lord will be with us until the end of the world?  What is our expectation?

 

Our Lord has commanded his blessing on his presence.  He has proclaimed that his people are a holy nation, chosen people, redeemed to him and his purposes.  And whether we believe it, whether we expect it, whether we welcome it or not, it is our Lord's command.  It will come to pass.  The Lord has spoken.

 

Let us turn to our Jesus in repentance.  We have failed.  We have tried to trust in our own goodness, our own sufficiency, our own wisdom.  We have not seen the true magnitude of God's promises. And through our sinful unbelief we have brought our Lord and Savior to death on our behalf.  Let us turn to Jesus in faith, believing that he will indeed forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  Let us turn to Jesus the fulfiller of God's commandments, rejoicing that he has redeemed us and restored us to fellowship with God the Father.  God's commands, God's promises, are all fulfilled in Jesus.  And He has fulfilled them to bring them to us and to bring us to God.

 

The Lord be with you.

 

 

Lectionary for 8/16/2008

Today's readings are 2 Samuel 6.1-19 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Sam.+6.1-19 ), 1 Corinthians 9.1-23 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Cor.+9.1-23 ), Psalm 105 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Psalm+105 ) and Psalm 96 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Psalm+96 ).

 

One of the rites of passage within evangelicalism is being taught how to give your testimony.  This is a central focus of many evangelism classes.  I know of foreign language teachers who make sure their students know how to tell their testimony in the language they are studying.  And what is your testimony?  It's about who you were without Christ and who you are in Christ, the hope and purpose you now have.

 

I've been uncomfortable with this for some time.  The reason is that the Gospel is not about me, but rather for me.  And this is the model we see in Scripture today in Psalm 105 and Psalm 96.  What are people to tell about?  They tell about the Lord's works.  They tell about what God has done, not about who they personally are.  And they tell about God's works in history.  Notice they don't talk about what he is doing right now.  Rather, they build the case for the Lord working in a consistent way throughout history to create the world and then redeem it to himself despite the sinful rebellion rampant in the world. 

 

Let us consider when we have opportunity to talk to someone about Jesus.  Do we want to tell the person who we are?  Do we not want to tell the person who Jesus is, what he has done, how steadfast he is, how he has borne all our sin himself on the cross? This is our testimony.  Jesus Christ was crucified for sinners, was dead, was raised from the dead the third day, and has ascended to heaven where he sits at the right hand of the Father. 

 

 

Lectionary for 8/15/08

Today's readings are 2 Samuel 5.1-25 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Sam.+5.1-25 ), 1 Corinthians 8.1-13 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Cor.+8.1-13 ), and Psalm 18 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Ps.+18 ).

 

Today I have a question.  Maybe a reader can answer it.  1 Corinthians 8.1-13 talks about eating food offered to idols and how we should desire to protect the conscience of our weaker brother.  Jesus seems to treat the Pharisees and the weak quite differently.  He confronts some people with their failings, their lack of consistency, and their unbiblical demands.  He rattles their cages and does it very boldly.  But when confronted with someone who is weak in faith and understanding Jesus will address the same kind of failings, lack of consistency, and unbiblical demands by showing care and compassion, bringing healing encouragement.

 

One would assume we are to do likewise.  But how do we tell the difference between a Pharisee and a weaker brother?  How do we know when someone's desire to abstain, for instance, from drinking alcohol, is a matter of Pharisaic pride which should be attacked?  How do we know if it is not rather a weaker brother who will be made to stumble if we present a biblical view?

 

Genuine question.  I've been publicizing this blog for a while and must have three or four readers by now.   Time to speak! 

 

Lectionary for 8/14/2008

Today's readings are 2 Samuel 1.1-27 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Sam.+1.1-27 ) and 2 Corinthians 7.25-40 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Cor.+7.25-40 ).  

 

Here Paul lays out his reasons for his statements that people who are unmarried do well to remain unmarried.  And in this passage we get a good idea of the responsibilities of marriage.  What do we see marriage as in 1 Corinthians 7.25-40?  We see it as a commitment to care for your husband or wife for the rest of that person's life. 

Lest Paul's statements should drive people away from a desire to be married, I should observe that Paul is living and writing during a time when the entire body of Christ is subject to periods of severe persecution.  If someone believes on Christ he can expect his life to be ended in the relatively near future.  Recall that only one of Jesus' twelve apostles died of natural causes in his old age.  This passage of Scripture must be understood in its context.  See how in verse 32 Paul talks about "anxieties."  Knowing that I must provide for a wife and that I am unlikely to live very long should make me very hesitant to marry.  It will be quite difficult to provide for her in the event that I should die soon and she should live a long time. 

How do we deal with a passage like this in 21^st century America?  We don't deal with it by deciding it would be a really bad idea to commit ourselves to caring fora family.  We don't deal with it by deciding that truly spiritual people free themselves from a desire to keep God's command of Genesis 1-2 by marrying and having offspring.  All Scripture is God's word. 

Paul's statements are grounded in the anxiety and care that we have for the person we marry.  We should be more concerned about that person's well being than about our own.  We should be concerned about what will happen to that person if we should die.  And that is a very serious concern in every age.  In almost every instance, one member of a married couple outlives the other.  What will happen to your husband or wife when you die?  How will he or she deal with losing you and being alone?  This should be a concern, a matter of no small prayer and consideration.

Yet as we strive to make sure we can care for those people we commit to, let us also remember the end of verse 36.  It is no sin at all to marry.  It is a good thing.  We do well to marry, if that is our desire.

 

Lectionary for 8/13/08

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 31.1-13 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Sam.+31.1-13 ) and 1 Corinthians 7.1-24 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Cor.+7.1-24 ).

 

1 Cor. 7.1-24

 

Ah, marital bliss!  It's a good thing indeed to be married, to care for the family God has blessed you with, to nurture them in Christ, to live and work together.    Yet how many times have we heard the beginning of 1 Corinthians 7 used to glorify singleness.  Verses 8-9 seem pretty conclusive at first glance.  "To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am.  But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry.  For it is better to marry than to burn with passion" (ESV).  And to the single person this seems a very powerful argument.  Maybe it is better not to get married.  Maybe all those people we know who are married are secretly living in disappointment and anger.  And sadly, for some of those people it isn't too much of a secret.    So the options we are left with are to exercise self-control or to marry if we absolutely have to.

I'd like to propose an alternative scenario.  Marriage is a good thing.  It is the human institution established by God.  It is very very good.  Yet our Lord has not made everyone to marry.  There are some people who can and should remain single.  And they know they should remain single because they don't have the desire for a marital relationship and all which is entailed in that relationship.  There is no biblical mandate for everyone to marry.  Many Godly people have not married.  For that matter, Jesus himself never married.  It is not required that everyone marry.  But the vast majority of people do have the desire to marry and should marry.  So we do not sin by marrying and we do not sin by not marrying.

What is our status in life?  Are we married?  Let us stay married.  Are we single?  Let us stay single and glorify God.  In whatever state we find ourselves in Christ we may bring glory and honor to God.  Does this mean we should never desire a change in our circumstances?  Not in any way.  See how Paul says a slave who finds he may be freed should seek to be freed.  It's a better circumstance.  Likewise, if we wish to marry, there is nothing to prohibit it.

So what about those married people who are secretly living in disappointment and anger?  No doubt there are some of those, but there are many more married people who are delighting in their marriage.  Whatever our state, let us learn to delight in it!

Lectionary for 8/11/2008

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 26.1-25 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Sam.+26.1-25 ), 1 Corinthians 5.1-13 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Cor.+5.1-13 ), and 1 Samuel 27.1-28.2 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Sam.+27.1-28.2 ).

 

 

1 Cor. 5.1-13

What kind of sinners did Christ die for?  What kind of sinners do we have in the Church?  Are we like the Christian camp facility with signs posted saying that the nearest known sin is at least seven miles away?  Or maybe we're like the churches in the towns which have city ordinances requiring that bars and strip clubs be located more than 500 feet away from any church building?  We want to keep sin far away.  Farther is better.  There are no sinners in this church, only saints.  But then someone arrives on a Sunday morning, unlocks the door, enters the building, and there's a sinner in the church building.   Someone else arrives, and there are multiple sinners.  People keep arriving and sooner or later we have filled the whole building with sinners.

What are we going to do about sin in the local church?  We confess sin, receive absolution, rejoice in forgiveness, try to live a life that is pleasing to God, and then we confess sin all over again.  But what about those people who are entrapped in sin (Gal. 6.1-2)?  What about the person we read about here in 1 Corinthians 5?  He has entered into a sinful relationship, one which even the pagans do not tolerate.  And it appears the local church is accepting of this man in his present relationship.  After all, aren't we all sinners?  His response should be just the same as the response the rest of us have.  We see our sin, we confess, receive absolution, rejoice in forgiveness.  But what about living a life that is pleasing to God?  "Well," we might say, "after all, none of us can actually live according to God's commands, so it's all right that he doesn't live according to God's commands either.  Jesus is really big and his forgiveness exceeds the scope of all our sins." 

Jesus' forgiveness does exceed the scope of all our sins, but he has set us free to obey, not to disobey.  He has set us free to live a life which brings him honor and glory, not a life which he has absolutely forbidden.  Jesus has borne the penalty for my sin in his body.  My response is not to go out and sin more.  My right response is to live a life of gratefull attempts at obedience, trusting in his righteousness rather than my own.

What does Paul say?  Turn the man over to Satan.  Let him live according to his desire.  Tell him that the Lord judges sin.  We do not have a God who loves the sinner but hates the sin.  The sinner who dies in his sin dies.  It's sinners who inhabit hell, not just their disembodied sins.  It's sinners who receive God's wrath and his full measure of eternal punishment, since they are the ones who insisted they would be able to stand before God in the day of judgment.  It's sinners who are judged apart from Christ because they refused to trust him him. 

Lest we misunderstand and become like the Christian camp which is miles away from the nearest known sin, let us observe that we are in fact in the world.  We are among immoral people of all sorts, people who do not believe on Christ and do not have his righteousness imputed to them.  And we need to associate with them.  How otherwise are people going to hear about forgiveness in Christ?  How else do we expect the Gospel to be revealed to people if we are not the agents of God's revelation of forgiveness through faith in Christ's death on their behalf?  So we are in the world.  We associate with sinners.  Like Christ, who was called a friend of sinners, we also live in the world and associate with all manner of sinners.  But within the bounds of the church we do exercise judgment.  We do not tolerate ongoing sinful patterns which fly in the face of biblical Christianity.  We call those people to repentance, and we call them forcefully.

As we look at ourselves, let us first call ourselves individually very forcefully to repentance.  The soul who sins will die!  Repent and believe the Gospel!  And as we repent, believe, and receive forgiveness, let us thank the Lord together that he will change our lives more and more into the lives he desires for his people.

 

Lectionary for 8/7/2008

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 20.24-242 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Sam.+20.24-42 ), 1 Corinthians 1.1-25 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Cor.+1.1-25 ), and 1 Samuel 21.1-23.29 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Sam.+21.1-23.29 ).

 

1 Corinthians 1.1-25

 

As we read the opening of Paul's letter to the Corinthians we see a very clear definition of what believers are, how the Gospel works in believers, and a thumbnail sketch of how believers can fall into sin.  Paul's call to repentance is a call we can issue today with the very same power and applicability it had when Paul wrote in the 1^st century.

First, what is a Christian?  Though it's common in our modern American culture to look at particular deeds, the things believers do, in order to identify them, that is not at the forefront of Paul's greeting.  Notice in verse 2 that God's church is identified as people who have been made holy in Christ, who have been called, presumably by God, to be saints.  These are people who call on the Lord Jesus.  And they call on the Lord because the Lord has called them.  What is our identity as Christians?  Are we Christians because of what we say or do?  Are we Christians because of our association with one another?  Not at all.  We are Christians because Christ has called us and assembled us.  He has placed his name, his identity, his seal of authority on us.  We are people subject to Christ's calling.  We are unique recipients of God's grace.

How do we see the Gospel working in the Corinthians?  In verse 4 we see that they have received grace.  In verse 5 we see that their understanding and speech has been filled with God in Christ.  In verse 7 we see that the Corinthians have spiritual gifts.  We see that they are eager for the revelation of Jesus in the end.  In verse 8 we see that Jesus has proclaimed the Corinthians guiltless.  In verse 9 we see that God will faithfully bring everything to its right conclusion.  Of all people, Christians should stand out as unique examples in wisdom, intelligence, articulate communication, faithfulness, and foresight.  We have received from the Lord all he would reveal about his perfect life, death, and resurrection on our behalf.  We have a promise of hope and a future.  And we have received all this from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has gone before us to prepare a way for us.  Christian believers, living in light of the Gospel, should be different from the world around them.  And our difference is because we serve to reflect the light of God in Christ, revealing the Gospel in this sin-darkened world.

Like the Corinthians, we too fall into sin.  Maybe it would be better to say that like the Corinthians we see sin, we like sin, and we head straight for it, despite our better judgment.  What's this sin the Corinthians are involved in?  They have divisiveness of some sort.  Hatred, quarreling.  The battle lines are up.  Everyone knows where everyone stands.  Some people are followers of the Gospel as proclaimed by Paul.  Some follow the Gospel as proclaimed by Apollos.  Some follow the Gospel as proclaimed by Cephas.  Some follow Christ.  Do we see this kind of divisiveness in modern Christianity?  Certainly.  Are you a Psalter only covenant theology Presbyterian?  Are you a Psalter only covenant theology Baptist?  Are you a group that wouldn't sing the imprecatory Psalms but would sing the CCLI top 100 list, whether you are a Presbyterian or a Baptist?  Are you an elder-rule person?  A congregational-rule person?  Do you belong to "The Original Glorious Church" (yes, there's one in my fair city) and thereby imply that everyone who differs from you in any way is heterodox or heretical?  No matter who we are, no matter what God in Christ has said about us, we are ready to make mountains out of molehills and, unfortunately, molehills out of mountains.

Is there any hope for us?  Despite our identity, despite all that Christ has done in us, despite the extensive teaching of the Scripture which should make everything plain to us, we still plunge wholeheartedly into sin.  And if we try to live like the people Christ has said we are we still plunge into sin but we are more and more aware of it, more bothered by it.  We see that sin brings death and that our predisposition is that of a sinner.

Thanks be to God, in verse 18 Paul reminds us of the cure for sin, "the word of the cross" (ESV).  Christ crucified to pay sin's penalty and reconcile the world to God is the foolishness God has proclaimed to be wisdom.  The message of the cross is our only hope in this world and in eternity.  It is counter to our wisdom, counter to our plans, counter to the hopes and dreams our wisest philosophers can come up with.  But in the cross we see "the power of God and the wisdom of God" (v. 24, ESV).  We are partakers of the Gospel.  This is what gives us our identity.

So we come full circle.  We have been given an identity in Christ.  We can acknowledge that the identity is good.  We flee that identity, preferring sin.  We suffer harm from sin.  And we are given, once again, the message of Christ, who has given us that identity.  Our Lord gives repentance and forgiveness, time and time again.  Blessed be the name of our Lord.

 

Lectionary for 8/6/2008

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 20.1-23 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Sam.+20.1-23 ) and Acts 2.16-31 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Acts+2.16-31 ).

 

Acts 2.16-31

We see now how Peter proclaims the Gospel to people in Jerusalem.  The Holy Spirit has just gathered a great deal of attention by visible and audible signs.  Not only the assembled disciples of Jesus who experienced this sign, but also those people around them have been arrested by the spectacle.  And when a crowd gathers everyone wants to know what is going on.  We can imagine jostling, neck-craning, maybe even some children who have pushed through the legs of other people.  And amid the noise and bustle, Peter quotes the prophet Joel.

In case we aren't as familiar as the crowd of devout Jews in Jerusalem were with what Joel said, let's review briefly.  The quotation is from the beginning of Joel chapter 2.  In chapter 1 Joel proclaims judgment and destruction due to unbelief.  As he moves toward the end of chapter 1 there is a shift toward repentance.  We see the promise of restoration and final protection in chapter 2.  The idea of destruction and judgment was very clear to the people Peter was addressing.

What are we to do?  God has shown himself to be the holy and altogether different God.  We see that we are sinful.  We have been bringing our offerings for Pentecost.  We are trying to be holy, to have fellowship with God.  Yet he pours out this sign.  Is he coming to judge the world and to destroy us?  These are the fears which Peter's listeners were dealing with as a result of God's miraculous outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Look now to the comfort Peter brings.  The manifestation of the Holy Spirit is not just for an elite few.  It is for everyone.  God says, "I will pour out my Spirit on ALL flesh" (Acts 2.17a ESV emphasis mine).  He lists some of the people.  We have male and female, we have young and old.  That pretty well covers everyone.  And all these people, young and old, male and female, are together proclaiming God's message, presumably the message of the end and a coming distinction. There is judgment coming.  And what is that judgment?  It is condemnation and destruction (blood, fire, smoke, darkness) on those who do not call on the Lord, salvation for those who do call on the Lord.

By their very presence in Jerusalem, bringing their gifts; by their presence listening to Peter; by their concern about coming judgment the people who are listening to Peter are showing that they are calling on the Lord.  If we are concerned that we have acted inconsistently, that we have believed inadequately, that we have been offensive to God, let us take heart.  We have been offensive to God.  (Wait, that's discouraging, not encouraging, but it's the truth, and the truth is what we need.)  And while we were offensive to God, condemning Jesus to death, God in Christ was destroying death itself.  In our repentance we see more clearly that Jesus has died in our place.  In our desire for reconciliation to God we see more clearly that we cannot be reconciled to God but that God in Christ has reconciled us to himself.  And as we read in verse 28, our Lord will fill us with gladness. 

Here is the good news.  Jesus Christ has risen from the dead to bring us to God the Father at the resurrection of all.  And he does it in the same way he has always promised.  If we are calling on the Lord he will bring us salvation, safety in eternity at our destination.  If we are not calling on the Lord he will surely leave us to our own desires, sin and death.  Nothing has changed.

The people surrounding Peter took comfort in Peter's words.  This Jesus Christ is the way of salvation.  He is the one in whom we were to trust.  He has brought full and final reconciliation.  We call upon him, the giver of life and salvation.  We see that he has accomplished salvation already on our behalf.  May we, like they, take comfort.  We know in whom to trust.  We have only to live in that trust.  (v. 21 ESV) "It shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

 

Lectionary for 8/5/2008

Today's readings are 1 Samuel 19.1-24 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Sam.+19.1-24 ), Acts 28.1-15 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Acts+28.1-15 ), and Psalm 59 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Psalm+59 ).

 

Acts 28.1-15

Life in this fallen world is, in fact, a bed of roses.  Thorns and all.  Our work is cursed.  Our lives are full of disappointment.  Daily we see the signs of decay, whether they are leftovers we didn't take care of, fallen leaves in the yard, weeds, handprints on the wall, or grey hairs in the mirror.  We look in the news paper and see who has committed what type of crime, what is happening to the economy, how our politicians are making promises of new things which are the same old stale idea, warmed over.  So we tidy things up, throw out the old leftovers, rake up the leaves, decide if we want to pull the weeds or mow them down, wipe off or paint over the handprints, and whether to cover the grey hairs or just let them be there.  We cut the coupons out of the newspaper and wonder if we'll decide to use them.  And we figure that our politicians will get a clue sometime, or at least they will eventually retire and be replaced by a new crop of politicians who will think they are coming up with great new ideas. At the end of the day we can look around and see that this rose bed of life isn't all that bad.  Thorns, yes.  But blooms too. 

Today we read Acts 28.1-15.  We see that Paul is living in his rose bed.  At the moment there are a lot of thorns.  Let's remember enough of his history to see what has brought him to this chapter.  After some riots, Paul managed to get himself arrested, thus defending himself from the crowds who wished to kill him.  He then appealed to Caesar, though the authorities may have been willing to release him.  Paul and some other prisoners are under way from Palestine to Rome.  The soldiers and sailors who were supposed to guard their lives and well being failed in their task, sailing at an unfavorable time and becoming embroiled in a severe winter storm.  After multiple days of poor visibility which rendered the sailors unable to chart their location, the ship has run aground on a reef near an unknown island.  The cargo is lost but, thanks to Paul's intercession with the commanding officer, the prisoners have not been put to death.  The prisoners and crew have made it ashore, thoroughly soaked.  It has not exactly been a red letter day, though at least on one level they now know they are safe from drowning.

What do we see in the people who greet this shipload of people?  We find natives of the island who are welcoming.  They understand that wet winter weather can be dangerous.  They understand that people who have washed ashore are in trouble.  They welcome their visitors who have arrived with literally nothing but the clothes on their back.  Warmth, shelter, food, and drink are all available on the island, and these several hundred newcomers will find it.  Even unbelievers have a basic understanding that we care for the helpless and we do good for those who are suffering evil.  How much more the believer?

Note how when Paul is bitten by the poisonous snake the Maltese people know that he is being punished for some sort of evil.  They understand that there are spiritual forces at work in this world.  Actions, even past actions, have consequences.  See how watching the prisoner die is a spectator sport, but when Paul doesn't cooperate and die from this snake, which the onlookers clearly knew was venomous, they decide he is not an evildoer but that they have seen a supernatural act.  The unbelievers know when a miracle has happened.  They recognize it as a miraculous event.  But they don't know where to place the praise.  What an opportunity to explain that the true God of creation has protected his servant in this time and place to use him to tell them about the escape from the venom of the original serpent who has brought death to this world!

See in verses 7-10 that Paul the prisoner acts as an ambassador of the kingdom of God, bringing healing and grace into the life of the island's chief, Publius.   This miraculous healing brings attention to our Lord and Savior through drawing people to Paul, who is used by the Holy Spirit to heal many people.  Judging from Paul's past history, it is inconceivable to think he did not tell about the true healing which comes through Christ's atoning sacrifice.  Yet whether people were believing or not is not mentioned by Luke.  We don't know about their spiritual state.  We simply see a believer ministering Christ's healing to people in need.  For three months God's people are at work on the island of Malta.  And they are honored, provided with what they need for their remaining journey.

Though we don't know what Paul's reasons were, we should realize that in Malta he could have "unappealed" to Caesar.  There was a legitimate Roman governmental authority.  They could have acquitted him of the charges, which had not seemed adequate to imprison him.  Yet for some reason Paul decided not to do so.  He continued on his trip to Rome.  Along the way see how Paul "thanked God and took courage" (v. 15, ESV) when he was with believers in different places. 

So here we have this bed of roses.  Thorns are there in abundance.  See that the unbelievers are ready to see God's hand working in people.  They are ready to care for the helpless and provide stranded prisoners with what they need to continue their journey.  They are ready to receive the provision that God makes through his people who trust in Jesus Christ.  Are we, modern-day believers ready to act in the same manner?  Do we realize that we are partakers of Christ's special mercy which he shed on us while we were his enemies?  Do we live in light of that mercy by showing mercy to our world, bringing Christ's healing and grace to the attention of those people around us?  Do we thank God and take courage from the fellowship we have with other believers?  Are we receiving the sustenance God had given us in Christ?

Take a good look around the rose bed.  Look above the thorns.  There you see the roses. 

Thanks be to God.