26 May 2011

Psalm 71; Wisdom 14:27-15:3; Rom. 14:1-12; Luke 8:26-39

There are many types of false gods, some may be ethereal, the power and energy in the universe, while some may be more earthy, like crystals. Where I live there are people worshipping all manner of things, primarily earth-based religions, however. Much of the modern environmental movement is an earth religion but Christians should be the best environmentalists since we believe in a good God who created a good universe and that we were given the job of caretakers of this planet and its environment. We walk the line between worshipping the earth and appreciating the earth. God gave us the earth to nurture us and provide for us but we were given the role of taking care of the earth in order that it fulfill its role as well. There is always a balance to be struck between exploitation and usefulness. Recognition of Yahweh as loving creator who cares for His creation is important so that we do not worship or empower created things. If we know the creator then we have everything else ordered properly below Him.

To see the love of God and the power of God all in one short story, this is perfect. The love of God is shown in Jesus seeking out this demon-possessed man. It seems he was the only reason Jesus got in the boat and crossed the lake to the Decapolis, when His work is done He heads back home. Most Jews wouldn’t go to the region anyway and none would have gone where Jesus went. This is a ritualistic defilement nightmare, a demon possessed man living in the tombs with pigs nearby. Jesus’ action in sending the demons into the pigs would have destroyed the economic lives of those who owned them and yet it was fear of a man so powerful that led them to implore Jesus to leave. The demons that possessed this man had kept not only him captive but them as well as they lived in fear of what he might do and now Jesus comes and commands these demons to leave and they obey. Such power is frightening but it is the power of a God who is sovereign over all things.

There are things about which brothers may disagree but in which we should always practice charity. The important thing is to know what those secondary issues are and not to confuse them with primary issues. We have a great propensity to make secondary issues into primary issues and to judge others on these things where we can disagree. Christians seem to have a very difficult time sorting out these issues and here we see that it has always been true. We have to learn to keep things in their place and recognize the non-negotiables of the faith. What we eat became a secondary issue when Peter saw the vision in Acts 10. God is sovereign over all creation and has given us freedom to eat of all that He created. We may or may not fully exercise that freedom.

Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One!

O praise Him! O praise Him!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Tune

25 May 2011

Psalm 72; Wisdom 13:1-9; Rom 13:1-14; Luke 8:16-25

Paul makes much the same argument as Solomon does concerning creation. As I read this I realize that believing in creation is an important part of worship in my life. The more I consider creation and the beauty therein the more I realize that beauty and symmetry and uniqueness are truly only worth worshipping if there is one who stands behind them as the artisan. The fact that the mind of God brought forth these things is worth marveling over. Why would evolution produce beauty rather than functionality? Creation is far more elegant than can be explained by theories of evolution and it is this elegance and variety and beauty that should lead us to worship the One who brought it all into being, He is infinitely more creative than we can imagine. If we believe in a creator God then we have so much more for which to be thankful, we have so much to look forward to in eternity.

The disciples get to see first hand the power of God’s speaking to creation and having it co-operate. In the beginning God spoke and it was so and then the first creation with an advanced mind and created in His image came to be and we used that mind to disobey. As a species we bring nothing good into the world when we use our minds for disobedience. When we co-operate with God’s will and submit ourselves to Him, great things are possible and all of creation anxiously anticipates the revelation of the true children of God. Jesus is happy to call those who know and do the will of God His brothers, sisters and mothers. That is the basis for recognition in the kingdom, knowing and doing the will of God, in that we reveal ourselves to be His true children and image-bearers.

This is a part of the sovereignty of God I don’t always like. What does Paul mean when he says that all authority is from God and those that exists are instituted by God? Considering Paul knew what it meant to live under the emperors of Rome including Nero, he clearly means that even wicked rulers are given their authority by God. Also, Paul never pulled a punch when he dealt with rulers, never flattered them when truth was necessary. Essentially, Paul says to be a good, law-abiding citizen. In any event, the end is near so we need to love one another and act like Christians putting on the armor of light as we anticipate the new creation, redeemed and perfect.

And all ye men of tender heart,
Forgiving others, take your part,
O sing ye! Alleluia!
Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,
Praise God and on Him cast your care!

O praise Him! O praise Him!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Tune

24 May 2011

Psalm 61, 62; Wisdom 10:1-21; Rom. 12:1-21; Luke 8:1-15

Solomon recounts the work of the Holy Spirit in the persona of wisdom in the history of the covenant people. He sees the Spirit at work in Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and powerfully among the people. Truly it is wisdom to see such things as the work of God rather than the work of men or some impersonal force called luck, chance or fortune. Solomon rightly ascribes all these things to divine providence but that providence is a person force that wills and works to fulfill that which He wills. The Spirit of God is active in bringing about the will of God and that is comforting to know that He works for us to establish us in God’s will and to defeat our enemy and thwart his will. In the end, we know that God’s will indeed will be done and we believe that even now, in the midst of struggle and strife, that it is being done by the power of the Holy Spirit. God has not abandoned the world to its own devices and He is not simply watching us from a distance, He is in the thick of it all through the indwelling Spirit in His people.

It seems that the devil has many ways of destroying the work of God based on Jesus’ parable. Some is simply eaten by the birds, some choked out by weeds, some not taking root because of the hardening of the heart. It also seems that God has very little chance to actually see His will done but from experience I will say that soil that is rocky or weed infested doesn’t always remain so. In my life I have seen God improve the ground of my heart in order to make it receptive to His Word in order that it might take root and grow and bear fruit. Just because soil isn’t fertile today doesn’t mean it won’t be fertile when the time comes. I recently ran into a friend who I thought would never accept the Gospel because he was too “intellectual” but God used the painful circumstances of his life to enable him to hear the gracious goodness of Jesus. Let us pray for those who have rejected the Gospel and ask the Lord to work the soil so that they can hear.

In this passage Paul gives us a glorious picture of a person in whom Christ is fully formed. He says that we are to be people whose lives are filled with joy and thanksgiving but most of all with love for God and love for one another. We are to be a people who indeed live out the Sermon on the Mount, who live as Jesus lived and who love as Jesus loved. We are to be people characterized by a different way of life and a different outlook on life, to be a peculiar people and in that we show that we don’t belong here completely, that we have some idea that this world isn’t all there is so we don’t have to scrape and scrap, we can lay aside grievances and simply live without guile. He is right, it is transformation that begins with the renewing of the mind, we have to think about everything in a new way if we are to overcome the way of the world that we have learned from birth.

Thou flowing water, pure and clear,
Make music for thy Lord to hear,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou fire so masterful and bright,
That givest man both warmth and light.

O praise Him! O praise Him!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Tune

23 May 2011

Psalm 56, 57; Wisdom 9:1, 7-18; Col. 3:18-4:18; Luke 7:36-50

Clearly the writer is Solomon, the builder of the temple in Jerusalem, a copy of the tent they used in the wilderness. His prayer here is answered and we know that Solomon’s wisdom was the envy and marvel of the world, even the queen of Sheba heard of it, came to see for herself and left enthralled by this king and his wisdom. He speaks of wisdom as from God, eternally with God, there at creation, who understands what is pleasing in His sight and wisely and properly interpreting the Word of God, the commandments. All these are attributed to Jesus by John and Paul as well as the writer of Hebrews. Solomon prayed that the Lord would send His Holy Spirit and so He did and Solomon’s kingdom was great and splendid. When we ask for God to send His Holy Spirit, He is faithful to answer that prayer as we ask for wisdom in our own lives, that we might know through the Spirit what is pleasing in His sight.

Note in verse 39 that Simon the Pharisee sees the woman whom we assume to be a prostitute, washing Jesus’ feet he says “to himself” that if Jesus were a prophet he would know what sort of woman this is. He didn’t say it out loud, but Jesus clearly knew his thoughts and proves by the parable that He knows exactly who this woman is and that her actions here speak of her love for Him that is pure. Simon knows nothing of love other than love of self, he clearly does not have love for the woman and only some small measure of respect for Jesus. He has invited Him to dinner but has not provided basic hospitality while this woman has noted the slight and provided all that she had to make up for the lack of respect shown. She has recognized somehow that Jesus is more than a teacher and Jesus sees something of faith in her and it is this that He says is responsible for her salvation and the forgiveness of her sins.

Paul instructs the Colossians in their obligations in their relationships. He knew that there was a worldly way of living out those relationships but that there was a distinctly Christian way of living them out as well. The Christian way is the way of genuine love, respecting the hierarchy that the world establishes on the one hand but fixing the heart on the people within the world’s hierarchy. The Christian way is not limited to interaction between brothers and sisters in Christ, Paul extends it to all, including outsiders. If we are to transcend the way of the world, to live as Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, we are going to have to live from the Spirit, be people in whom the word abides richly and people of constant, abiding prayer.

Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!

O praise Him! O praise Him!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Tune

22 May 2011

Psalm 24, 29; Wisdom 7:22-8:1; 2 Thess. 2:13-17; Matt. 7:7-14

Take the time to meditate on the aspects of wisdom that are praised in the first two verses, thinking of Jesus in all those attributes. Verse 26 says, “For she is a reflection of eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness.” That sounds remarkably like Hebrews 1.3a, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature…” It sounds also like John 1 and Revelation 21. There are many things in this passage for which we can give praise not to wisdom but to Jesus and the most amazing thing for which to give praise is that by the power of the Holy Spirit living in us, we have the spirit of wisdom available to us always if we will but still our hearts and minds and listen to Him.

What are “good gifts”? The catch in that little phrase is the word good, the most elusive concept in the universe. We believe that we know what good is but there is no good apart from God. What I may think to be “good” for me may actually be the worst thing that could ever happen. In my life I have rejoiced over what I thought was something good that happened only to find later that I was horribly mistaken while when something bad happened it was actually the best thing for me, in that it re-directed my life towards Him. If ever we could learn that there is but one true “good” and set our hearts on Him, it would make all the difference in the world. He is the narrow gate and Jesus says we must come in that way and that way alone.

We were chosen by God, sanctified by the Spirit and belief in the truth. Belief in truth sounds simple and seems not to require much in the way of wisdom but I encourage you today to sit down with the text of the Nicene Creed and slowly walk through it thinking about the phrases and statements of belief that we confess to be “true.” You might be amazed how much of what we believe is based in our faith, something a good bit more than believing that when I trip a switch on the wall of my house that a light will come on. The truth here is a set of beliefs stand over against what seems possible in the world. Standing firm in this faith requires us to rely on the Spirit for the flesh will tell us that these things cannot be true. Standing firm in this faith should give us a different perspective on the world than those who do not believe, it should also give us a different set of values, it should make us thankful.

All creatures of our God and King

Lift up your voice and with us sing,

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou burning sun with golden beam,

Thou silver moon with softer gleam!

O praise Him! O praise Him!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!