Living life with steps of faith

We have lived so long in the covenant of grace, we have forgotten what life was like during the covenant of holiness. This morning as I continued my chapter a day reading through the holiness code of Leviticus, I was struck by the contrast between Jesus' role as the great high priest and the original boundaries drawn for that role.  The great high priest had been set apart from the world.  He was to live in such a way that his lifestyle represented the holiness of God.  He couldn't marry whomever he wanted, but must marry a kin who was a virgin.  He could not attend his wife's funeral, nor touch her body. If his child had any physical disability or "abnormality" the child would not even be considered for the role of the high priest in the future.  See Leviticus 21. Although Jesus never married, his life crossed the boundary lines of the holiness code.  He shared a cup of water with a "loose" woman, a Samaritan no less. He touched the coffin of th...

"The Fault in Our Stars" is a brilliantly written book. I especially like how author John Green uses "The Fault In Our Stars" as the resolution to the abrupt ending of "An Imperial Affliction." You could say it is a meta-narrative.  "An Imperial Affliction" ends abruptly mid-sentence, representing the death of the main character but also the fullness of life of all characters.  It's fictional author Peter Van Houten is unable to finish the stories of the other characters, because he is unable himself to finish his own story.  He is as the Dutch Tulip Man, a con, a lover, and a possibly good man, who is stopped mid-track by the death of Anna.  For Peter, life ended when his daughter's life ended. There can be no more to the story.  His inability to even imagine a continuation, except for the hamster, matches with his inability to live past his own tragedy.  "The Fault in Our Stars" offers another answer.  In the midst of the h...

The Jahi McMath case has troubled me over the last few weeks.   How can I pray and ask God to heal this little girl when so many other families have made the heartwrenching choice to let go and remove life support.   If she were to be healed, wouldn’t this be harmful to those families who accepted the doctors’ prognosis and let go?   Wouldn’t it be cruel of God to heal her when others weren’t “given that opportunity” to be healed? Today, as I sat down to read my daily devotional, I reflected upon the story of the deceased child found in chapter five of Mark.   The community declared and mourned the death of twelve-year-old Tabitha.   Yet Jesus said, “This child is not dead but asleep.”     This statement of Jesus makes me wonder two things.   Was there something Jesus knew about death that the culture of the time didn’t know?   Was she really, truly still alive, yet only asleep?   Or, was this Jesus speaking a...

This morning during my devotions I read a quote that really struck my attention.  I would use the quote here, but if I did I would be taking it out of context as I don't believe I interpreted it as the writer intended. But, how I interpreted it was meaningful to me.  The idea I heard was that sin is something we discover that becomes deeply ingrained within ourselves.  I like this idea, because as I have discerned sin in my life, I have often found that it is something I've been doing for a while and never considered to be sin.  I often find my recognition of something in my life as sin to be quite surprising and then I feel sorrowful because I hadn't realized how what I had been doing had been so hurtful to myself and others.  I like this concept because it speaks to those areas that seem so right at the time and can be justifiable until we are enlightened to view it differently.  And I like this perspective because it shows how sin can go unrecognized, an...

This morning I read the story of Joseph interpreting the Pharaoh's dream with the result being those living in Egypt were saved from a famine.    In this story, Joseph's response to Pharaoh's request to interpret the dream stood out to me, "I cannot do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." (Gen. 41:16)  Then I opened up my Bible and read from the 11th chapter of Hebrews and listened to the stories of people who took "risky" steps of faith, some resulting in their own torturous death.  This chapter concludes with these words, "the world was not worthy of them" (Heb. 11:38) and "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us that only together with us would they be made perfect." (Heb. 11:39-40) I know a handful of people who have the faith of Joseph and could say "God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires" without ad...

One of my favorite New Testament stories is of the Samaritan woman's encounter with Jesus at Jacob's well.  I love this story, because it models to me what it means to share the gospel.  In it, I am reminded to speak the truth in love, to invite my neighbor to have his or her thirst quenched by the Living Water, to use what is before me as a tool for witness, and to reach out to those who are marginalized by society.  I typically interpret the woman to represent in modern times those disfranchised in society by race, poverty, or culture.  But, today when I read it, I saw it in a new way.  The Samaritan woman had faith. She believed in the Torah and worshipped God.  She was at odds with the Jewish believer because she chose to worship God in a different way and she rejected parts of the Scriptures.  I read it and I heard an encounter between Jesus and a Muslim woman. I also heard the part about her having several husbands in a new way.  Previ...

I struggle with these verses. "I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing." Perhaps it is because I define "righteous" from a New Testament perspective - as Christ makes all believers righteous.  Perhaps it is because I define "forsaken" too loosely and include in that definition "treated unjustly."  Perhaps it is because I wonder if the opposite is true, that if we see one who is forsaken or their children are not called "blessed" this verse indicates that indeed the parent isn't as righteous as s/he seems.  More likely I struggle with these verses because I wonder how they apply to a relative of mine who has been through a lot, yet has always been a person who is generous and lends freely... a person who acknowledges God's will and gives God honor even in Job-like moments. I supp...

Last time I read through Numbers 28 & 29, I had similar thoughts to today's reading - Do we have a rhythm of celebrations & holy gatherings in the church?  We meet regularly on Sundays to worship God; We have Christmas celebrations and recognize Holy week; But do we really have a rhythm?  What if we changed how we behaved as church such that our main gatherings were for specific celebrations and purposes and Sundays became times for small group Bible studies or for individuals to come into the worship space to worship solemnly and individually?  Do I sound too Catholic?  Would this work better in our culture? Imagine having everyone in a Christian community commit to going camping for 8-days (Festival of Tabernacles) and during that time we shared the blessings that God had given us the previous year?  Imagine the whole Christian community stopping everything for one day to fast and to repent (Day of Atonement), not only for our individual sins, but th...

Jesus is not about complacency!  Jesus has the authority to give supernatural authority to His disciples. With this authority, Jesus expects His disciples to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus blesses them with this power, commissions them, and says that His laborers are worthy of their having their needs met, yet they are to freely (without compensation) give God's gifts of healing and freedom. Jesus does not promise freedom from persecution, trouble, or conflict in this life. In fact, Jesus says that those who follow him will be persecuted just as He was persecuted. In many ways Jesus is saying that He will be embodied in His disciples.  Those who honor them honor Jesus.  In a like manner as the Father is embodied in Jesus, those who honor Jesus, honor the Father. Jesus also clearly states that he did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Big Idea: Jesus delegates authority and responsibility to His disciples and by doing so the disciples...

2 Kings 7:9   “Then they said to each other, ‘We’re not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go out at once and report this to the royal palace.’” Israel was in a bad place.   They were surrounded by their enemy, the Arameans, overwhelmed by famine, and prices were exorbitant.    The government had given up. Four men with leprosy met outside the city gate.   As the marginalized of the community, they realized their fate had been set.   They were going to die.   One man suggested to another, “let us desert to the Aramean camp; if they spare our lives, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.”   At twilight they set off to the enemy camp and when they arrived they were surprised to find it deserted!   God had defended the Israelites by making the Arameans hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army. The Arameans fled...

Scripture: Luke 22:17-20 Topic: When Jesus ate with his Disciples Background: This lesson would be taught during a Sunday morning breakfast club for teenagers. Once a month the youth meet to cook breakfast and then we try to relate the lesson to food. Last time the Middle School breakfast club met a middle school student led his peers in a devotional that went through the various stories of Jesus sharing food with his disciples. This Sunday we are going to focus on one of those stories and how it relates to Easter. Opening: 1. Ask, “Have you ever helped plan a party?” a. Ask the students to share about the various things they did to prepare (send invites, decorate, blow up balloons, set the table, plan games, order food). 2. Say, “For some families, Easter is a time of celebration, a party of sorts.” a. Ask, “What does your family do to celebrate Easter?” (family gets together, we eat dinner together, Easter egg hunt, attend church se...

Can one be converted again and again? I suppose so. This past week I had a conversion experience of sorts. I was driving to work and reflecting upon a reoccurring theme in my life that I found quite frustrating. I asked God to reveal to me what He had for me to learn from these reoccurring experiences, because it seemed obvious to me that there was a lesson to be learned. A year ago there was a day when on several occasions I went out of my way to help people just for the sake of helping people. Throughout that day each kind deed I did was returned with ungratefulness and anger. It was quite confusing. For example, when I waited in line to go through a toll booth, I realized that the person in the vehicle at the front of the line did not have money to pay the toll. As this was a toll booth with a swinging guard arm, the first vehicle and all vehicles in line behind it could not pass through until the first vehicle paid its toll. I decided to get out of my car, walk to the front ...

Dear Parents/Guardians, For many young people, the tragedy of Japan is their first memorable experience of a major natural disaster. I’m sure that many parents have been asked some difficult questions by their teenage children. I want to encourage you as a parent to be responsive to their questions, even if your responsiveness is a simple, “I don’t know” or “I don’t understand either.” I also want to provide you with some resources that will help you to answer your children’s questions as well as initiate some discussions of your own. Here are a few good websites: http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/parenting/talk-to-kids-media-violence.shtml http://birmingham.patch.com/articles/finding-time-to-talk-learn-during-time-of-tragedy http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=7ZZWYWNX Family Devotion Option: Watch this video: http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=9CC9FFNU (You may want to screen this first to decide if it is appropriate for your children.) Pray together for Japan a...

Dear Parents/Guardians, For many young people, the tragedy of Japan is their first memorable experience of a major natural disaster. I’m sure that many of you have been asked some difficult questions by your teenage children. I want to encourage you as a parent to be responsive to their questions, even if your responsiveness is a simple, “I don’t know” or “I don’t understand either.” I also want to provide you with some resources that will help you to answer your children’s questions as well as initiate some discussions of your own. Here are a few good websites: http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/parenting/talk-to-kids-media-violence.shtml http://birmingham.patch.com/articles/finding-time-to-talk-learn-during-time-of-tragedy Family Devotion Option: Watch this video: http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=9CC9FFNU (You may want to screen this first to decide if it is appropriate for your child.) Pray together for Japan and people around the world. Family Discussion ...