Lectionary for 10/4/08

Today's readings are Deuteronomy 4.21-40 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Deut.+4.21-40 ) and Matthew 8.1-17 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Matt.+8.1-17 ).

Holiness to the Lord.  Deeds, not creeds.  Walk the walk, don't just talk the talk.  After all, if you're a real Christian...  

Make no mistake about it, God does demand righteousness.  Perfect righteousness.  Absolute, complete, 24/7/365 purity in every area of our lives.  

What do we do then about the fact that we continue to enter into sin?  Moses points this out to the Israelites quite clearly and lovingly.  When you grow old, when you sin against God, and we're talking grievous sins here - making visible physical idols and entering into visible physical worship to them - when you sin against God, what is he going to do?  The legalist in me wishes to say that God will smack you down hard.  But what does God's word say?  Know that your time and nation will not last long.  You are wearing out God's patience.  You need to repent and believe again.

What does this attitude do to the idea of the security of the believer?  In fact this biblical teaching which says genuine believers may depart from the evidence of their genuine belief and may be called back from sin into faith grants us more comfort than we would find in a doctrine which says if we are in Christ, truly in Christ, we will never waver.  Where is that security?  I can see myself wavering every day.  Many times every day!  Does that mean that I am not faithful enough?  In fact, it does mean I'm not faithful enough.  But my life, my salvation, my sure and certain hope in the resurrection of Christ is not based on my faithfulness.  It is based on God's faithfulness.  What has he said here?  The true believer is subject to periods of doubt and disobedience.  And the true believer may at least apparently depart from his belief.  God calls his people back to himself,  He calls us to repentance and to receiving his forgiveness.

How has the Lord done this?  Chiefly in the proclamation of the Word and the right administering of the Sacraments.  Here Christ our Savior convicts of sin, brings repentance, proclaims his forgiveness, and nourishes our faith.  And it isn't about us.  It's about our Lord.  It isn't rooted in what we do, in how good our belief is, in whether we are liable to sin.  It's rooted in Christ's faithfulness, his perfect obedience to God the Father, and his death in my behalf. 

Lord, let us rejoice in receiving your good gifts, the Scripture, the work of the Holy Scripture, and the Sacraments.  Call us to repentance, for we have all sinned.  Grant us your forgiveness and hope.   

Lectionary for 10/3/08

Today's readings are Deuteronomy 4.1-20 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Deut.+4.1-20 ) and  Matthew 7.13-29 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Matt.+7.13-29 ).

In Matthew's Gospel we read "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few (7.13-14, ESV)". What is our Lord and Savior saying here?  Throughout the last two chapters Jesus has been calling people to greater, deeper obedience than they have ever imagined.  He has been pointing out the inadequacy of the statues given to Moses, setting himself up as a new lawgiver.  And his law cuts to the inmost thoughts and desires of people.  Have you been angry with your brother?  You are a murderer.  Have you looked lustfully at a women?  You are an adulterer.  Jesus now tells us just how narrow the way of life is.

By this time in Jesus' teaching we are without hope.  We cannot keep his law.  He has crushed us.  We are surely on the path to destruction.  What is the way to enter the narrow gate?  What must we do to be saved?  How will we deliver ourselves from this life of evil?  We crowd to the narrow gate and strive to enter, trying to keep our Lord's commands and seeing that we cannot do it.  We are doomed.  What must we do?

The fact is that we are asking the wrong question.  What must we do?  Believe in the Lord's righteousness, not in our ability to do anything of merit.  Believe that the Lord has taken our sin upon himself and delivered us from the need to earn our own way to heaven.  We don't do anything.  Jesus has done it on our behalf.  And he has shown us that we cannot do it.  How does that hard way that leads to life go?  We enter the gate and walk down the narrow way by believing, not by striving.  The very hardest thing we can do to earn our salvation, as sinful people, is to allow someone else to earn our salvation and deliver it to us.

Lord, help my unbelief.    

Lectionary for 10/2/08

Today's readings are Deuteronomy 3.1-29 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Deut.+3.1-29 ) and Matthew 7.1-12 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Matt.+7.1-12 ).

Matthew 7.1 seems to be the most popular verse of the entire Bible these days.  Sadly it is pulled completely out of its natural habitat and used in a way quite differently from what Jesus seemed to intend.  "Don't judge!"  But what is Jesus talking about here?  He is not saying that we do not call sin sin or that we do not try to distinguish between truth and error.  Our Lord himself is the truth.  How dare we pursue something else?  No, we must pursue truth and that involves making judgments.

How then do we look at this verse?  See from the surrounding context how we receive judgment with the same measure we use.  Do we say humans are fallen?  Then we ourselves are fallen.  Do we say someone enters into logical error?  Then we must confess that we are likely to do the same.  Do we say someone has sin in his heart which is hindering him in his Christian walk?  Then we must confess the same of ourselves.  The critical element is that we realize in the very areas the Lord is using us to point out sin in the world, we are guilty ourselves.  We are every bit as much in need of a life of repentance and forgiveness as anyone else.

There's our critical issue.  Are we walking in repentance?  Then we may judge.  Do we realize that we are offensive to God?  Then we may point that out in someone else as well.  We do judge but we realize the judgment of God.  And in our judgment of other people we proclaim Christ's forgiveness as well.  That's the way our Lord and Savior addresses us. 

Our Father, let us see your judgment in our lives, that judgment against our sin and the conviction of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, your son, in our stead.  Let us proclaim that judgment to our world. 

Lectionary for 10/1/08

Today's readings are Deuteronomy 2.16-37 http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Deut.+2.16-37 and Matthew 6.16-34 http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Matt.+6.16-34 .

Today's readings may leave us quite ready to bind God's Law upon ourselves.  The Israelites live, walk, encamp, and fight by God's command.  Jesus tells us how to fast, what to consider valuable, and not to worry.  And we do none of it well.

Look at Jesus' proclamation of the Gospel in 6.25-33.  Life is more than we see.  The Father cares for us.  Our Lord has measured our days.  God provides for weeds and will provide for his people.  Our Father knows we need earthly provision.  He will supply our needs.

Our Lord and Savior, teach us to rest in your promises, to know your comfort and provision.

Lectionary for 9/30/08

Today's readings are Deuteronomy 1.37-2.15 http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Deut.+1.37-2.15 and Matthew 6.1-15 http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Matt.+6.1-15

 

A major news story these days is a financial crisis.  The banking industry has overextended itself making risky loans.  Many of the people who took on these loans were not prepared for the changes in interest rates which could occur.  When interest rates rose an increasing number of people defaulted on loans, ending up owing too much money on houses which had been overvalued when they purchased them and which were now worth less than they owed.  Borrowers can't pay their debts, lenders can't collect their debts, and the collateral they have on the debts is not worth the amount of the loan.  It's a bad situation.

What does this have to do with the Scripture we read today?  Rather a lot.  While our federal government has been debating how much aid to give the financial sector and whether or not the borrowers who are in over their heads should receive assistance, we look at the way Israel conducted itself in treacherous waters.  Were the people to swarm over the lands they passed through, taking what they wanted?  No, on the contrary, they were to pay their way.  God's people are to be a blessing to those around them.  And governments appointed by God are likewise to be a blessing, not a curse, to those around them.  Does a product or service cost money?  A government, like an individual, should pay for that product or service.  Are there economic difficulties in an area?  How would a wise individual deal with them?  How would a government deal with them?

When we turn our attention to Matthew 6 we see something more personal, more focused on the individual.  How are we to give assistance?  We give quietly so as to help the person receiving assistance but not to make a big deal of it.  And we give in thankful trust in our Lord and Savior, knowing that he is the source of all the blessing we are able to deliver to anyone.

What does this say about the financial crisis our nation is talking about?  It doesn't give an answer, that's certain.  But it does lay out three very important principles.  First, government is to engage in its affairs in a responsible way which does not bring harm. Second, people help people best when they do it in the simplest way possible.  Finally, all our supply comes from God, two whom we return thanks.

As the Lord enables us to share his blessing with others, may we take that opportunity and give him praise.

Lectionary for 9/29/08

Today's readings are Deuteronomy 1.19-36 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Deut.+1.19-36 ) and Matthew 5.21-48 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Matt.+5.21-48 ).

 

Today I am writing while thinking and praying about a former student of mine who was attacked and killed less than a day and a half ago.  There's a clear realization at times like this that the world is evil.  People are bound in sin and they act upon that, sinning against other people.  Sinning against themselves, too.  And we often think of the sin that people commit against us.  I know the family who is enduring the shock of losing their teenage daughter is thinking about the fact they, not to mention their daughter, have been sinned against.

 

There's a lot of evil out there.  But did you notice someone missing from the paragraph above?  Have you noticed that same someone missing from comfort you have given hurting people or comfort you have received from hurting people?  Where's God?  Did anyone notice that when a person sins against another person he also sins against God?  And though every one of us has done things in our life which absolutely deserve human anger and retaliation, God has never once done anything which is unjust or which in any way deserves anger or retaliation.  That's simply not the kind of God we see in Scripture.  The picture is clear.  We deserve evil.  God does not.

 

Yet we look at the revolutionary things Jesus says in Matthew 5.  We'll skip over the fact that because anger makes you liable to judgment we are to go be reconciled with anyone who might be angry with us (a different take than the assumption so many people make reading just verses 21-22).  We'll go straight to verses 43-45.  Here it is in the ESV.  "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. "

 

Why do we pray for those who persecute us?  Why do we love our enemies?  That's how we show ourselves to be sons of our Father in heaven.  How offensive are my enemies to God?  How offensive am I to God?  Yet I would hardly die willingly at the hand of an adversary, to satisfy that person's anger at me.  I would hardly give myself over to be abused by a cruel person.  But our Lord and Savior has given himself over to the hands of evil people to suffer and die.  And he has done it not because he couldn't avoid their anger, not because he had no way of escape, not because of his weakness.  He did it specifically because it was the only way to take their sins upon himself and bring them forgiveness. 

 

Lord, let me love those whom you have loved because you loved them and gave yourself for them.  Let me forgive their sin against me as you have forgiven my sin against you.  Let me look to your forgiveness in thanksgiving and praise.

 

 

 

Lectionary for 9/27/08

Today's readings are Malachi 3.6-4.6 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Malachi+3.6-4.6 ) and Matthew 4.12-25 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Matthew+4.12-25 ).

 

Look today at the way God calls people.  See how Jesus goes somewhere, does something, and tells people (or simply lets them figure out) to follow him.  Look in Malachi how God says things which point out the people's evil and his own goodness.  Those who believe seem to talk with one another, presumably encouraging one another in their belief and God proclaims them to be his people.  There's a sort of togetherness - conversation - accountability thing going on, but at the heart and center of all of it is God's works and proclamation of who he is.

 

How does this fit into our modern sensibilities?  In modern evangelicalism we seem determined to press people for some sort of decision and confession which is persuasive to us, then follow it up with a set of behaviors which will prove to us the people are actually following Christ.  Then and only then are we likely to accept people, once they have cleaned up their act and stopped engaging in whatever sins we think are serious. 

 

That isn't the pattern of the Bible.  God changes the heart, the people encourage one another and follow Jesus.  Jesus talks about himself, only rarely about his followers.  Yet the followers do seem to change over time.  Their hearts are renewed.  The rest of their lives can't help but follow as they are being nourished in their new life by the bread of heaven.

 

Let's try to be biblical.  Let's expect the Holy Spirit to make those changes in people.  And let's watch and follow Jesus.

 

 

Lectionary for 9/25/08

Today's readings are Malachi 1.1-14 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Mal.+1.1-14 ) and Matthew 3.1-17 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Matt.+3.1-17 ).

 

Look at the force of God's condemnation of our attitudes in Malachi 1.  Lest we look at the people of Malachi's time and think too highly of ourselves, let us slow down to let the power of God's word work in our hearts.  Have we distrusted God?  Have we despised what he has called good?  Have we taken the things of God and considered them common or even worthless?  Have we approached confessions, Scripture reading, prayers, and God's blessing as mere routines?

 

May the Lord have mercy on us.  Let us thank the Lord together that he pours out the crushing power of his holiness and his demands for perfect obedience upon us.  Let us thank the Lord that he shows us our sin so we can see our need for a savior.  Let us rejoice that Christ has come to keep the demands of God's Law, to deliver us from the kingdom of this world into his kingdom, and to create a new heart of faith in us.  Jesus, the baptizer in the Holy Spirit, has come to be with us.  He has used his servants to baptize us into his name.  He hmself judges all unrighteousness and condemns it, bearing it on his own person so we will not have to bear that judgment.  Indeed we serve a mighty and merciful savior.

Lectionary for 9/24/08

Today's readings are Nehemiah 9.22-38 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Neh.+9.22-38 ) and 1 Timothy 6.3-21 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+tim.+6.3-21 ).

 

We want what we want.  Of course, that's an absurd observation.  Of course we want what we want.  As opposed to wanting what we don't want?  But we want what we want for our own pleasures and comfort.  We desire to be rich in the vain hope of security.  We desire to be influential so people will look at us with respect and honor.  We desire godliness but not because God is good.  We desire godliness because we think we might use it for gain.  And all these wants lead us to bondage and disappointment.  Like the people in Nehemiah's time we have desired wealth and power but have managed to gain bondage for ourselves.

 

Let us look seriously at our lives today.  How can we approach all we do with a desire to delight in the provision our Lord has made for us?  How can we do all we do today for God's glory and to love our neighbor?  We can do it through the healing and forgiving work of Jesus, as we lay ourselves down in repentance (which he gives us as he convicts us of sin) and realize the great forgiveness of our Lord and Savior, who loved us and gave himself for us.  Are we sinners in need of a savior?  And those around us?  Those we deal with today are also sinners in need of a savior.  There is no boasting except in Christ.  Let us boast in Christ today, wanting what he wants.  And let us receive from him what he wants of us - a broken and contrite heart full of repentance and receiving the forgiveness which he purchased for us.  There's the freedom from bondage which is what we really should have wanted in the first place.

 

Lectionary for 9/23/08

Today's readings are Nehemiah 9.1-21 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Neh.+9.1-21 ) and 1 Timothy 5.17-6.2 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Tim.+5.17-6.2 ).

 

In the time of Nehemiah the people, confronted with God's Law, were driven to repentance.  And their repentance was not just a momentary stopping and confessing that they weren't quite as good as they thought.  It took a large part of the day, with people crying out to God, recognizing their sin, being filled with sorrow before their Lord.  What was the result of this repentance?  The people were then ready to confess God's goodness as opposed to their own attempts at goodness.

 

How often today are we complacent?  We hear God's Word and we are not confronted with the brunt of his commands.  We hear the Law and think we can keep it.  I even saw a church sign last Sunday which said we don't get to heaven by believing but by obedience.  Yet the only way I can obey God's Law is if it is misrepresented, watered down, and presented to me in a form which is foreign to the Scripture.

 

Let us rather receive God's Law in all its force.  Let us be moved to repentance and sorrow.  Let us see God's goodness in stark contrast to our evil.  Let us then gather and receive God's good gifts, especially Jesus Christ the Savior of the world.

 

 

Lectionary for 9/22/08

Today's readings are Nehemiah 7.1-4 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Neh.+7.1-4 ), Nehemiah 8.1-18 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Neh.+8.1-18 ), 1 Timothy 5.1-16 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Timothy+5.1-16 ), and Ezra 1.1-10.19 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Ezra+1.1-10.19 ).

 

Observe in 1 Timothy 5.1-16, the Church is not called to provide support and comfort to everyone on the same level at all times regardless of their circumstances.  Sometimes the body of Christ is compared to a communistic system in which everyone is provided for just the same.  This simply isn't the case.  God has appointed the family to care for its own family members, then the Church to care for those whose families cannot help them for one reason or another. 

 

How many times have we seen or done something else?  Felt anguish that we help one person but not another?  Considered that diaconal care should extend to everyone in the city?  While there's a place for wondering how we can be the best possible stewards of the resources our Lord has given us, there's a clear place for drawing distinctions.  Paul lays some of it out here.  Let's move on in the faith, being obedient to the principles laid out here, trusting the Lord will show us ways we can be salt and light, flavoring our world and showing Jesus who came for everyone.

 

 

Lectionary for 9/21/08

Today's readings are Nehemiah 5.1-16 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Neh.+5.1-16 ), Nehemiah 6.1-9 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Neh.+6.1-9 ), Nehemiah 6.15-16 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Neh.+6.15-16 ), and 1 Timothy 4.1-16 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Tim.+4.1-16 ).

In today's instant society, where I wonder what's happened if I am on hold on the telephone for more than about15 seconds (compare this to the time when communication happened by letter and those letters were carried hundreds of miles by people who covered 20 miles a day) it is often easy to give up quickly.  Almost every week I hear of someone who has become a Christian and wants to be a pastor starting a church, wants to write biblical commentaries, wants to do this, that, or the other - right away.

 

While we don't want to discourage anyone and we do want to confess that our Lord and Savior can change people's lives dramatically, giving them direction and preparing them for all sorts of service amazingly quickly, let's look at Nehemiah for a moment.  He has returned to Jerusalem from his imprisonment in servitude. He is in charge of rebuilding.  And we see in chapter 5 that he is serving in this way for twelve years.  It's easy to look at the beginning of the book of Nehemiah and think, "So he's going to go, do a job, and get it finished.  Building a wall.  No fuss, no muss, a few months and it's done."  But this was not the case.  He spent years laboring to complete a project which really didn't go so well.

 

What would our thoughts be?  In this age of planting local churches in forty days of frenzy, mass mail marketing to draw in a crowd of people and make a growing, thriving church congregation that can plant another church every three to five years - yes, that's what "everyone" seems to say is one of the indicators of a healthy church - how do we deal with discouragement?  How do we deal with the situation that requires our long term care and labor?  How do we deal with twelve years of work for little or no reward?

 

Nehemiah is no failure.  He is a man doing what God has appointed.  Be bold enough to wait on our Lord.  He will bring his work to fruition in his good time.

 

Lectionary for 9/20/08

Today's readings are Nehemiah 4.7-23 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Neh.+4.7-23 ) and 1 Timothy 3.1-16 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Tim.+3.1-16 ).

 

We are surrounded by enemies.  They complain, they quarrel, they threaten violence.  The walls have been thrown down, the city burned, and we are striving, in the face of our enemies, to rebuild it.  What provision do we have?  What defense is there?  Where will we look for aid?

 

Nehemiah had the work of building the walls continue, the workers armed with tools and weapons, ready to sound alarms.  Picture building a wall when you think at any moment you may be shot by the onlookers.  You are ill armed for building because you are hampered by your weapons.  You are ill armed for fighting because you are hampered by your tools.  The work is exhausting and urgent.  What happens when someone attacks?

 

Look at the hope the Israelites had.  When the alarm sounds, we gather together and God fights for us.  What a hope we have in the God who fights for us.

 

In these last days our Lord has fought for us.  He has provided us, as Paul tells us in 1 Timothy, with elders and deacons who will work for God and govern the affairs of the Church rightly.  He has provided us with his headship, that Christ was crucified for our sins and now lives for us.  Surely our God will fight for us.

 

 

 

Lectionary for 9/19/08

Today's readings are Nehemiah 2.11-20 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Neh.+2.11-20 ), Nehemiah 4.1-6 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Neh.+4.1-6 ), and 1 Timothy 2.1-15 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Tim.+2.1-15 ).

 

See today how our Lord and Savior uses our weakness to display his strength?  I especially notice it in the passage in 1 Timothy, where we are told to put down our normal desires and tendencies (men to be quarrelsome, women to make a show of themselves, etc.) and instead be committed to the work the Lord has given us.

 

What has the Lord given me to do today?  Am I building a wall out of rubble?  Am I investigating possibilities so as to have a clear view of what could be done?  Am I praying and praising God?  What roles am I to take on?  May the Lord give me grace and mercy that I may take on those roles wholeheartedly in obedience to Him.

 

 

Lectionary for 9/18/08

Today's readings are Nehemiah 1.1-2.10 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Neh.+1.1-2.10 ), 1 Timothy 1.1-20 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Tim.+1.1-20 ), and Haggai 1.1-2.23 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Hag.+1.1-2.23 ).

 

In today's readings we see a striking depiction of repentance, confession, and absolution.  We are confronted with the results of sin.  A nation lies captive, a rebuilt temple has no glory, a people is discouraged and confronted by the law which they do not desire to keep and which they cannot keep.  We see Nehemiah and others realizing their depravity and confessing their sin, though it was not their sin as individuals which brought the destruction on their nation.  And we see God sovereignly working in history, shaking the society and claiming his people for himself.

 

When we see the results of sin - our own and other peoples' sin - let us remember that we are sinners.  Let us bring our confession before the Lord.  And let us receive his promise that he has carried our sin in his body, that he has given his life for ours, that we serve the Christ who has become sin for us that we may be God's righteousness.  Let us marvel in the adoption he has given, the adoption of sons, to all who believe on his name.

 

Thanks be to God!

 

Lectionary for 9/17/08

Today's readings are 2 Chronicles 36.1-23 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Chron.+36.1-23 ), Colossians 4.1-18 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Col.+4.1-18 ), and Philemon verses 1-25 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Philemon+1-25 ).

 

In Colossians 4.6 Paul commands Christ's people, "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person" (ESV).  I simply observe today that in all our life's situations, whether we are at war and entering captivity as we see in 2 Chronicles or dealing with the touchy situation of persuading a master to release a slave as in Philemon or in any interaction we have, we ned to speak graciously.  What is that seasoning of salt?  Christ compares us to the salt of the world, made salty apparently by the presence of the Gospel in our lives.  There is something distinctive, something which brings out the flavor of Christ in our lives and interactions.  We are not overbearing (Ever eat a spoonful of salt?  Don't try it.) and we are not flavorless (How about egg whites with no salt?).  We are seasoned appropriately.  You can tell that Christ is working in our life through our speech.  He is clear.  There's no doubt of his presence.  Yet we have our own flavor working as well.  Christ brings out the positives that he has created in us and uses them in those we deal with.

 

May we be delightfully seasoned!

 

Lectionary for 9/16/08

Today's readings are 2 Chronicles 35.1-7 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Chron.+35.1-7 ),  2 Chronicles 35.16-25 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Chron.+35.16-25 ), Colossians 3.1-25 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Col.+3.1-25 ), and Zephaniah 1.1-3.20 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Zeph.+1.1-3.20 ).

 

Some weeks ago our community was struck by the death of a Presbyterian pastor who was shot and killed while at a community shooting range.  The attacker, apparently motivated by theft of the pastor's weapons, emerged from surrounding woods while the pastor was changing his target, shot him, and fled the scene.  While obviously this pastor's family and friends, his large church congregation, and the community as a whole were shaken, the statements of the associate pastor at the funeral were out of line.  According to the associate pastor, God could not have had any hand in the event.  We cannot understand how God would have allowed this to happen.  Therefore it was a travesty and leads us to doubt God's goodness and sovereign power.  This from a Presbyterian, a denomination which historically has said that whatever happens is not only allowed by God but caused by the specific will of God.

 

Josiah, the good king, the boy who ended up ruling Judah and bringing their worship in line with biblical commands, still a young man, went out to battle.  The opposing forces from Egypt were led by a king who claimed to be waging a campaign in God's will and at his direction.  Josiah apparently doubted this.  As we read today, we see that Josiah lost his life in the battle.  Was this living proof that the Egyptians were acting within the will of God?  Was it living proof that Josiah was trying to thwart God's will and in doing so brought his own death?  The fact is, we don't know.  We know that Zephaniah, writing in the time of Josiah, proclaims God's judgment on the people of Judah.  We know that Josiah had a history of dedication to and faith in God as revealed in Scripture.  But did we number Josiah's days?  According to Psalm 139 we did not number Josiah's days, nor any other person's days.  It does not belong to us to make such assessments.  God has numbered each of our days.  Every one of those days is precious in the sight of our Lord, the day of our birth and the day of our death alike. 

 

Maybe we should wonder not why someone lives or dies, but we should wonder how that person in his life or death shows our Lord and Savior, who lived and died for us.

Lectionary for 9/15/08

Today's readings are 2 Chronicles 34.1-4 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Chron.+34.1-4 ), 2 Chronicles 34.8-11 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Chron.+34.8-11 ), 2 Chronicles 34.14-33 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Chron.+34.14-33 ), Colossians 2.8-23 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Col.+2.8-23 ), and Nahum 1.13-19 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Nahum+1.13-19 ).

 

Today happens to be one of the four or five most difficult days in the entire year for self employed people in the United States.  Today is the day we get to pay our taxes.  All sorts of emotions arise when it's time to fork over that money.  After all, it's money I earned, shouldn't I get to keep it?  I worked hard, I deserve something.  I have these resources and I want to keep them, use them according to my desires, even use them for good, kind, and charitable purposes.  Why do I have to pay those taxes?

 

While you have been asking what in the world this has to do with our Scripture passages I've been asking the same thing.  It has a great deal to do with what we read.  We see in Scripture today that we are people who live in two kingdoms at once.  We have this earthly temporal kingdom we live in where we pay taxes, do righteous deeds like Josiah did, live among our neighbors, and hopeful act as a blessing to them.  We have resources and we can buy and sell, win and lose, and follow laws which accomplish good and bad.  But notice as Josiah did that we have a greater law as well.  We have the revelation and commands of God in Christ.  We have been put to death with Christ in baptism and are alive in his resurrection.  All we have, all we hope, all we do belongs to him.

 

Now we get to the crux of the issue.  Our Lord has placed us in a society where we are called to be productive members and to do what we do for God, not for men.  That includes paying taxes to the government.  Like Josiah tore his clothes when convicted of his sin, even though he had been acting in a righteous manner, do we need to tear our clothes and repent over our righteous actions but our poor attitude?

 

Thanks be to God that he has provided forgiveness through the death of Jesus on my behalf, forgiveness even for my grumbling spirit.

 

 

Lectionary for 9/14/08

Today's readings are 2 Chronicles 33.1-25 http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Chron.+33.1-25, Colossians 1.24-2.7 http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Col.+1.24-2.7, and Jonah 1.1-4.11 http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Jonah+1.1-4.11 .

 

All that we read today is summed up by Paul in Colossians 2.6-7.  See how it reads?  "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving" (ESV).

 

See how whether you are a king, a prophet, a believer in Colosse, a butcher, baker, or candlestick-maker, walking in faith in Christ is what you need.  Want to know what God's will for your life is?  Walk in faith in Christ.  Regardless of your walk of life, your vocation is to give thanks, walking in faith in Christ.

 

Like the different people we read about today, we fall short ourselves.  When the Lord mercifully shows us our sin, let us also give him thanks, for he has provided the cure for sin, Jesus Christ.  As we walk in faith, let us rejoice that we can come to Christ with all our sin, turning to him for hope and help.

 

 

Lectionary for 9/10/08

Today's readings are 2 Kings 9.1-13 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Kings+9.1-13 ), 2 Kings 10.18-29 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Kings+10.18-29 ), Philippians 2.12-30 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Phil.+2.12-30 ), and 2 Kings 13.1-18.8 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2+Kings+13.1-18.8 ).

 

Compare the three short readings today, from 2 Kings 9 and 10 and Philippians 2.  What kind of things do we see Paul exhorting us to do without complaining?  This passage in Philippians is often used, and rightly, to instruct children in their need for cheerful obedience to their parents.  But look at the expectations of our Lord and Savior.  He demands that we do all things, up to and including being poured out as a drink offering (thrown on the ground and absorbed into it, which sounds very much like what happens when we die), all without grumbling and complaining.  We allow ourselves to receive God's commands, going counter to our culture, our habits, our personal ambitions.  We receive our Lord's honor which brings shame on us at the hands of our fellow man.  We pursue God's priorities even when they seem foolish.  We accept wrong.  We give ourselves to die in faith.  This is a heavy command which our Lord has placed on us.

 

Jesus is our example in all this, but somehow Jesus as an example doesn't help me too much.  I know what it means to lay down my life cheerfully.  I really do know that.  I just don't want to do it.  I have no desire whatsoever for that kind of sacrifice.  I don't need an example.  I need a savior who brings me to repentance and who covers me with his forgiveness.  And that's exactly the kind of savior we have in Jesus.

 

Lord, thank you for doing all things without grumbling or complaining, to your great pain and to my great benefit.