Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Genesis, Chapters 35-37 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
Genesis 35: 1-7: … [Getting Rid of All the Little “gods”] … 1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”
2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. 5 Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. 6 Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7 There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
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Genesis 35: 11-14: … [Remembering God’s Promises] [And after Jacob [Israel] and God’s people arrived in Bethel] 11 And God said to him [Israel], “I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. 12 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” 13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him.
14 Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15 Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.
My Journal for Today: Well, in being shepherded through Genesis, Chapters 35-37, today in my chronological read through the Bible, there is much about which I could reflect and journal. Certainly the chronicles of how the teenage Joseph, which we read about in Chapter 37, and how he was sold into slavery in Egypt by all his jealous brothers, would be solid meat for discussion today; but right at the outset of Chapter 35, the discussion of old Jacob, after he had been renamed “Israel” by God was emboldened to my attention for my comments this morning.
And if you’re reading with me here, you’ll note above in the text how Jacob (Israel) honored his LORD by establishing some boundaries and protocols on how God would be remembered and worshipped by his family and by God’s chosen peoples under his leadership. He set up a special altar in Bethel and made sure that the people were discarding any superficial or superstitious religious idols, jewelry, and/or trinkets, which was a common practice of the day, coming from a lot of the pagan superstitions and idol worshipping of the Bedouin cultures.
Today, a lot of young people wonder why it’s important for the worship of God to have church buildings and culturally-based religious ceremonies, contending that it’s not necessary to worship Christ (i.e., God) by coming to a designated “house of worship” and participating in corporate worship. BUT … today’s focus passage speaks to us and helps us answer that cultural trend today.
First … and foremost … our God is WORTHY of our WORSHIP! Jacob certainly recognized that; and God had reminded Jacob, being one of the sons of God’s covenant, that Jacob should lead His people by ridding them of all frivolous, small-g “gods,” which took the forms of superstitious jewelry and worthless personal idols. And so, Jacob (Israel) did exactly as God instructed him to do. He had the people shed all superfluous idols; and he set up a special altar – at God’s instruction – so that the people could remember Whom they were to worship and to be able to do so in a corporate – as well as an individual – manner.
Kids today do see through the superficiality of modern “religious practices.” And those criticisms and cultural revulsions about Christianity (or other religions) would be valid in my estimation. But when God’s people, … His New Covenant Church, … come together to remember what God has done for them in fulfilling the Old Covenant in the life, death, and resurrection of God’s Son, Jesus, they are coming together to signal their worship of THE GOD of the promises of the Old Testament [or Covenant] as well as to worship together THE GOD of the hope in Jesus Christ of the New Testament [or Covenant]. And such “religious” practices are much like those which were being established – under God’s command – by Jacob.
Certainly we need to rid ourselves of any use of idols in our lives and especially such religious practices as symbols or jewelry which we have in our lives to merely identify us as “christian” (with a small “c”). But if we wear a cross or put a “fish symbol” on our car to give witness to the God Who saves us; or we dress up and come to church on Sunday to remember and to genuinely desire to witness our faith practices in corporate worship of the living God, these practices are not only GOOD THINGs, they are a “Godly things!”
Yes, we do need to guard against religious practices which become legalistic and ritualistic, without having an “altar of purpose” which honors God and helps us to remember Who He truly is in our lives. Young people today would be right in criticizing and rejecting such practices. BUT IT IS NOT WRONG – in fact IT IS VERY RIGHT – for believers in the same God Jacob worshipped for us to have altars of worship in our lives which help us to worship the God of Jacob and the LORD of all with our lives. And we need to have these altars of worship in our lives 24/7 … as being the “living sacrifices” which Paul wrote about in Romans 12: 1.
So, I for one, being reminded and instructed by God’s word in today’s study, will continue to get dressed up on Sunday, to honor my LORD, and to come together with other like-minded CHRISTIAN worshippers on a traditional Sunday morning to sing praises to our Savior and to rekindle our remembrance of what He did for us in fulfilling the promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob back in the days we’re reading about in God’s word today. And I pray that I’ll be able to eradicate any idols from my life which would detract from my lifestyle of living worship to my God.
My Prayer Today: … Lord, strip me of worthless idols and make me over into a living sacrifice of worship – everyday and in every way – for You. Amen
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Thursday, January 27, 2011
January 27, 2011 … Seeking Righteous Attitudes
Passage of the Day: Ephesians 4: 1 – 3 – As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
My Journal for Today: Yes, I know, you’re probably asking, “How many times do we have to keep digging into Paul’s exhortation about living the life of a true Christian.” And here we are today, once again looking at a seminal truth that Christians must grasp which springs from this passage. The truth is that the Christian life is more about attitude than actions.
Note in Eph. 4: 1 - 3 that not one action command or exhortation is registered. If you look at the fruit of the Spirit, listed by Paul in Gal. 5: 22 - 23, you will see that they are all attitudes - “…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” So, knowing that all Christians are grace-gifted with all of these Spirit-given fruit, we come to realize that God gives us a foundation of attitude and then we provide Him with the return of actions which reflect those attitudes. And our actions will always result from commitments which spring from the attitudes which precede them.
Right now, as I am, some of you may be thinking about Eph. 2: 8 – 10. I have that passage memorized in the NKJV, so I will type it in that version of Scripture here:
>>> SCRIPTURE: Eph. 2: 8-10 … 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
And relative to the point I made above about Christian attitudes preceding Christians action, you’ve probably already noted it in Paul’s statement of the truth about born-again Christians. We are saved first BY God’s grace THROUGH the believer’s faith UNTO God’s purpose/will for our lives – i.e., good works. It all starts with God’s grace; but our part begins with faith, a God imparted attitude fruit, which produces good works, the God-willed action fruit.
MacArthur in his Strength for Today, from which my observations have come during this study, teaches that “action-fruit,” such as PRAISE (see Heb. 13: 15) or GIVING (see Phil. 4: 17) are simply legalism unless they result from the maturing of His Spirit-implanted “attitude fruit” (again see, Gal. 5: 22 - 23). And we’ve simply got to recognize that this is truth. Many small-c “christians” miss the reality that righteous actions flow naturally – or should we say supernaturally – from righteous attitudes. Nominal “christians” are more into DOING christian-like things to demonstrate being “christian,” rather than LIVING in Christlikeness as God’s Spirit has given us the attitude fruit to be reshaped into the Savior’s image. And that is religion at the expense of relationship … a lifestyle of legalism rather one of worship.
As MacArthur points out, if we DO things based upon the dos and don’ts of legalism, we are attempting to generate external grace from ourselves rather than utilizing the internal grace available to the truly surrendered Christian. That is nothing short of “Phariseeism;” and we know how much Christ hated and railed against the Pharisees (read Matt: 23: 25 - 26), as He said, “Woe to you [the Pharisees]!” …and using the word picture of cleaning the outer cup without cleaning the inner cup, we see how much Jesus valued the inner man [i.e., attitudes] as opposed to the outer [i.e., actions].
>>> SCRIPTURE: Matt. 23: 25-26 ... "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”
I don’t know about you; but when I see Jesus in heaven, I truly desire to hear Him say, “Well done!,” … not “Woe to you!” And so, I will continue to pray for and seek those attitudes that lead me to the righteous actions which result from His grace and fruit being born in me. Oh, how I desire to be a reflection of John 15 … a FRUITFUL Christian where my actions are a reflection of Christ’s very essence in me. And I can just hope that others who are reading this now have voiced a resounding, “Amen and amen!”
My Prayer Today: O Lord, I seek Your grace to express Your fruit in what I do. Amen
My Journal for Today: Yes, I know, you’re probably asking, “How many times do we have to keep digging into Paul’s exhortation about living the life of a true Christian.” And here we are today, once again looking at a seminal truth that Christians must grasp which springs from this passage. The truth is that the Christian life is more about attitude than actions.
Note in Eph. 4: 1 - 3 that not one action command or exhortation is registered. If you look at the fruit of the Spirit, listed by Paul in Gal. 5: 22 - 23, you will see that they are all attitudes - “…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” So, knowing that all Christians are grace-gifted with all of these Spirit-given fruit, we come to realize that God gives us a foundation of attitude and then we provide Him with the return of actions which reflect those attitudes. And our actions will always result from commitments which spring from the attitudes which precede them.
Right now, as I am, some of you may be thinking about Eph. 2: 8 – 10. I have that passage memorized in the NKJV, so I will type it in that version of Scripture here:
>>> SCRIPTURE: Eph. 2: 8-10 … 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
And relative to the point I made above about Christian attitudes preceding Christians action, you’ve probably already noted it in Paul’s statement of the truth about born-again Christians. We are saved first BY God’s grace THROUGH the believer’s faith UNTO God’s purpose/will for our lives – i.e., good works. It all starts with God’s grace; but our part begins with faith, a God imparted attitude fruit, which produces good works, the God-willed action fruit.
MacArthur in his Strength for Today, from which my observations have come during this study, teaches that “action-fruit,” such as PRAISE (see Heb. 13: 15) or GIVING (see Phil. 4: 17) are simply legalism unless they result from the maturing of His Spirit-implanted “attitude fruit” (again see, Gal. 5: 22 - 23). And we’ve simply got to recognize that this is truth. Many small-c “christians” miss the reality that righteous actions flow naturally – or should we say supernaturally – from righteous attitudes. Nominal “christians” are more into DOING christian-like things to demonstrate being “christian,” rather than LIVING in Christlikeness as God’s Spirit has given us the attitude fruit to be reshaped into the Savior’s image. And that is religion at the expense of relationship … a lifestyle of legalism rather one of worship.
As MacArthur points out, if we DO things based upon the dos and don’ts of legalism, we are attempting to generate external grace from ourselves rather than utilizing the internal grace available to the truly surrendered Christian. That is nothing short of “Phariseeism;” and we know how much Christ hated and railed against the Pharisees (read Matt: 23: 25 - 26), as He said, “Woe to you [the Pharisees]!” …and using the word picture of cleaning the outer cup without cleaning the inner cup, we see how much Jesus valued the inner man [i.e., attitudes] as opposed to the outer [i.e., actions].
>>> SCRIPTURE: Matt. 23: 25-26 ... "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”
I don’t know about you; but when I see Jesus in heaven, I truly desire to hear Him say, “Well done!,” … not “Woe to you!” And so, I will continue to pray for and seek those attitudes that lead me to the righteous actions which result from His grace and fruit being born in me. Oh, how I desire to be a reflection of John 15 … a FRUITFUL Christian where my actions are a reflection of Christ’s very essence in me. And I can just hope that others who are reading this now have voiced a resounding, “Amen and amen!”
My Prayer Today: O Lord, I seek Your grace to express Your fruit in what I do. Amen
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
2010 – August 24 – From Checklist to Wish List
Study from God’s Word… Jeremiah 23: 1-8; Jer. 33: 14-26; Jer. 31: 29-40 … Passage for Reflection: Jeremiah 31: 31, 33 … NIV 31 "The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. … 33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
My Journal for Today: Reading through the three discourses by Jeremiah from today’s Bible passages, Dr. Smith, in his devotional for this date, points his readers (me) to how God’s people, the Hebrews, will move from a checklist religion to a wish list faith. And as Dr. Smith points out, it’s the difference between a “have to” and a “want to” faith.
The Jews under the Mosaic Covenant were programmed by The Law to be obligated unto righteousness to be saved. Under the Messianic New Covenant God’s people will desire righteousness because their hearts have been transformed by their faith. And as my devotional shepherd points out, “… the Law was said to be a schoolmaster preparing the way for Christ. (And) In Christ we finally grow up!”
Children usually do the right thing because they know the rules; and they know if they break them, there will be dire consequences. But mature adults (hopefully) do the right thing because they know it’s the right thing to do. Dos and don’ts are tailor made for kiddies; but we big people should appreciate doing good stuff because good stuff is done by good people.
In this morning’s devotional Dr. Smith posits, ”Do I live my life out of duty and obligation or out of sheer joy of serving the Lord?” My reader friend, … when we answer that question honestly, we’ll know if our faith is a religion-based faith or a relationship-based faith. From Jeremiah’s prophesy, God’s people will one day have a faith that is embedded in their hearts by a relationship with their Messiah. I would hope that any who read this already have such a faith.
My Prayer for Today: Praise You, Lord for giving me a faith that is a covenant of love You purchased for me on Calvary. Amen
My Journal for Today: Reading through the three discourses by Jeremiah from today’s Bible passages, Dr. Smith, in his devotional for this date, points his readers (me) to how God’s people, the Hebrews, will move from a checklist religion to a wish list faith. And as Dr. Smith points out, it’s the difference between a “have to” and a “want to” faith.
The Jews under the Mosaic Covenant were programmed by The Law to be obligated unto righteousness to be saved. Under the Messianic New Covenant God’s people will desire righteousness because their hearts have been transformed by their faith. And as my devotional shepherd points out, “… the Law was said to be a schoolmaster preparing the way for Christ. (And) In Christ we finally grow up!”
Children usually do the right thing because they know the rules; and they know if they break them, there will be dire consequences. But mature adults (hopefully) do the right thing because they know it’s the right thing to do. Dos and don’ts are tailor made for kiddies; but we big people should appreciate doing good stuff because good stuff is done by good people.
In this morning’s devotional Dr. Smith posits, ”Do I live my life out of duty and obligation or out of sheer joy of serving the Lord?” My reader friend, … when we answer that question honestly, we’ll know if our faith is a religion-based faith or a relationship-based faith. From Jeremiah’s prophesy, God’s people will one day have a faith that is embedded in their hearts by a relationship with their Messiah. I would hope that any who read this already have such a faith.
My Prayer for Today: Praise You, Lord for giving me a faith that is a covenant of love You purchased for me on Calvary. Amen
Friday, June 25, 2010
2010 – June 25 – When True Religion Becomes Idolatrous
Study from God’s Word… Micah, Chapters 1 – 2 … Passage for Reflection: Micah 1: 5 … NIV 5 All this is because of Jacob's transgression, because of the sins of the house of Israel. What is Jacob's transgression? Is it not Samaria? What is Judah's high place? Is it not Jerusalem?
My Journal for Today: Micah came to prophesy in the south to the divided Jewish kingdom of Judah as did Amos in the north to Israel; and they both prophesied of impending disaster but a hope for the future for any remnant of believers who had faith in a coming Messiah, which we, Christians, now know was Jesus, some 700 years later. And Micah railed against the sin and idolatry of God’s people, even in Jerusalem, the holy city of the day; but he also ultimately brought a message of the coming Messiah to be born in Bethlehem, as I said we can now see that our hope lies in the Babe Who was born in that little town on the hills outside of Jerusalem.
In those days Judah had elevated worship in the Temple to a high order; yet sin, especially greed and covetousness became prominent in Jerusalem. And Micah brought the word of destruction to God’s people; and after the prophesied raising of the Temple by the Babylonians and the time of enslavement to these northern peoples, we see that Temple worship was re-established at the time the Messiah was born into the into “worship” that has become idolatrous.
Have you ever noticed what happens on Sunday mornings when the Pastor or the Elders of the church decide to freshen the worship by changing the order of service? Almost predictably there will be scathing complaints that the church is not doing things the “right way.” And the “right way,” of course, is, according to the complainers, the “way we’ve always done it.” And maybe you’ve read about the so-called WORSHIP WARS, which are going on these days between those who think that more contemporary forms of worship are expressions of the devil. And how about those who wouldn’t be seen not wearing their cross around their neck; or how about the people who complain if a visitor in church on Sunday gets a bit too “charismatic” by raising their hands too exuberantly, maybe coming from a more expressive style or habit of worship? Or do you get uncomfortable when you come to church and someone is sitting in “your seat” near the back of the sanctuary?
My friends, when we focus on the form of worship more than the reason – i.e., the Person – we have come to worship, the style of worship has become idolatry; and when such attitudes of the heart are prevalent in God’s house, I can’t help but think our Lord grieves rather than rejoices as we have come on Sundays to give Him praise and to worship His Holy Name. I agree with Dr. Smith that we have to ask ourselves if we’re worshipping form and format more than our Savior and Lord. I do pray against any such attitude in myself as I pray you will do as well.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, convict and chastise me if I come to focus on styles and formats of worship more than on You and You alone. Amen
My Journal for Today: Micah came to prophesy in the south to the divided Jewish kingdom of Judah as did Amos in the north to Israel; and they both prophesied of impending disaster but a hope for the future for any remnant of believers who had faith in a coming Messiah, which we, Christians, now know was Jesus, some 700 years later. And Micah railed against the sin and idolatry of God’s people, even in Jerusalem, the holy city of the day; but he also ultimately brought a message of the coming Messiah to be born in Bethlehem, as I said we can now see that our hope lies in the Babe Who was born in that little town on the hills outside of Jerusalem.
In those days Judah had elevated worship in the Temple to a high order; yet sin, especially greed and covetousness became prominent in Jerusalem. And Micah brought the word of destruction to God’s people; and after the prophesied raising of the Temple by the Babylonians and the time of enslavement to these northern peoples, we see that Temple worship was re-established at the time the Messiah was born into the into “worship” that has become idolatrous.
Have you ever noticed what happens on Sunday mornings when the Pastor or the Elders of the church decide to freshen the worship by changing the order of service? Almost predictably there will be scathing complaints that the church is not doing things the “right way.” And the “right way,” of course, is, according to the complainers, the “way we’ve always done it.” And maybe you’ve read about the so-called WORSHIP WARS, which are going on these days between those who think that more contemporary forms of worship are expressions of the devil. And how about those who wouldn’t be seen not wearing their cross around their neck; or how about the people who complain if a visitor in church on Sunday gets a bit too “charismatic” by raising their hands too exuberantly, maybe coming from a more expressive style or habit of worship? Or do you get uncomfortable when you come to church and someone is sitting in “your seat” near the back of the sanctuary?
My friends, when we focus on the form of worship more than the reason – i.e., the Person – we have come to worship, the style of worship has become idolatry; and when such attitudes of the heart are prevalent in God’s house, I can’t help but think our Lord grieves rather than rejoices as we have come on Sundays to give Him praise and to worship His Holy Name. I agree with Dr. Smith that we have to ask ourselves if we’re worshipping form and format more than our Savior and Lord. I do pray against any such attitude in myself as I pray you will do as well.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, convict and chastise me if I come to focus on styles and formats of worship more than on You and You alone. Amen
Friday, August 28, 2009
2009 – Day 239.Aug 28 – Skimming The Surface
Passage of the Day: Job 11 … Linked for study …
My Journal for Today: Okay, … here in Chapter 11, Job is confronted by the least sympathetic of his three friends, Zophar, the so-called Naamathite, who takes a theological approach much the same as the other two advisers … that Job is where he is because of some hidden sin from which Job has yet to have confessed and repented. But Zophar gets more specific in his counsel; and it is ironic that much of what he says has a basis in truth.
And Swindoll in his book, Great Days With The Great Lives and his devotional for today, brings out one segment of Zophar’s argument which bears some application study for us all. Verses 7-8 of Chapter 11 ask some very poignant questions for Job – and for us – to ponder. They are these …
7 “Can you search out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?
8 They are higher than heaven— what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol— what can you know?”
Now, ... Zophar came at Job with a very unGodly, haughty, and better-than-thou attitude. However, his questions are deserving of consideration as we isolate them as to their truth in the context of today’s world and life.
Don’t we have a tendency these days, as Christians seeking meaning in this world, to do what I call “Christianity lite.” By that I mean that we try to reduce our Christian existence to a “to do” list of surface performance items. In other words, Christianity means …
1. Go to church on Sunday and put something in the offering plate.
2. Do a Bible study once a year.
3. Don’t smoke, drink, or cuss.
4. Provide for my family; and stay married. [and others]
And if I do these things, and probably a few more on my own list, I’m a “good Christian believer.” And in making sure we have the Christian “to-do” list covered, we’re not answering Zophar’s very pertinent questions. Job’s friend was trying to get Job to go deep and look at his life to see if Job was really living for God in the way God would have us live. And though Zophar’s approach was one of self righteousness, his questions are heavy-weight in their relevance.
When we consider what our lives are all about, are we going deep with our relationship with Christ? Or are we doing what the world deems as “successful” and “righteous” as Christians? And right now I’m thinking about the Joel Osteen or “word of faith” brand of Christianity, where believers are being lulled into pursuits of self esteem and self actualization rather than into disciplines which truly glorify God or develop us as Christians in ways Jesus Himself commanded in Luke 9: 23. Are we denying self, taking up our crosses daily, and really following our Lord? Or are we merely trying to do “good stuff,” thinking that what we think and say about ourselves is enough to be within God’s will? In other words, if we think better about ourselves, does that really make us more like Christ? Or do we need to go deeper and discover God’s will through His word and live out His way in this world?
I think Zophar has asked many of the $64,000 questions; and though Job was not getting the attitude he deserved from his friend, we all need to answer these question in light of how we’re living these days to see if we need to dig deeper into our relationship with Christ so that we might know Him more intimately and to follow Him more closely.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to know You more deeply so that I might serve you more deeply. Amen
My Journal for Today: Okay, … here in Chapter 11, Job is confronted by the least sympathetic of his three friends, Zophar, the so-called Naamathite, who takes a theological approach much the same as the other two advisers … that Job is where he is because of some hidden sin from which Job has yet to have confessed and repented. But Zophar gets more specific in his counsel; and it is ironic that much of what he says has a basis in truth.
And Swindoll in his book, Great Days With The Great Lives and his devotional for today, brings out one segment of Zophar’s argument which bears some application study for us all. Verses 7-8 of Chapter 11 ask some very poignant questions for Job – and for us – to ponder. They are these …
7 “Can you search out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?
8 They are higher than heaven— what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol— what can you know?”
Now, ... Zophar came at Job with a very unGodly, haughty, and better-than-thou attitude. However, his questions are deserving of consideration as we isolate them as to their truth in the context of today’s world and life.
Don’t we have a tendency these days, as Christians seeking meaning in this world, to do what I call “Christianity lite.” By that I mean that we try to reduce our Christian existence to a “to do” list of surface performance items. In other words, Christianity means …
1. Go to church on Sunday and put something in the offering plate.
2. Do a Bible study once a year.
3. Don’t smoke, drink, or cuss.
4. Provide for my family; and stay married. [and others]
And if I do these things, and probably a few more on my own list, I’m a “good Christian believer.” And in making sure we have the Christian “to-do” list covered, we’re not answering Zophar’s very pertinent questions. Job’s friend was trying to get Job to go deep and look at his life to see if Job was really living for God in the way God would have us live. And though Zophar’s approach was one of self righteousness, his questions are heavy-weight in their relevance.
When we consider what our lives are all about, are we going deep with our relationship with Christ? Or are we doing what the world deems as “successful” and “righteous” as Christians? And right now I’m thinking about the Joel Osteen or “word of faith” brand of Christianity, where believers are being lulled into pursuits of self esteem and self actualization rather than into disciplines which truly glorify God or develop us as Christians in ways Jesus Himself commanded in Luke 9: 23. Are we denying self, taking up our crosses daily, and really following our Lord? Or are we merely trying to do “good stuff,” thinking that what we think and say about ourselves is enough to be within God’s will? In other words, if we think better about ourselves, does that really make us more like Christ? Or do we need to go deeper and discover God’s will through His word and live out His way in this world?
I think Zophar has asked many of the $64,000 questions; and though Job was not getting the attitude he deserved from his friend, we all need to answer these question in light of how we’re living these days to see if we need to dig deeper into our relationship with Christ so that we might know Him more intimately and to follow Him more closely.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to know You more deeply so that I might serve you more deeply. Amen
Thursday, August 20, 2009
2009 – Day 231.Aug 20 – God’s Presence In Suffering
Passage of the Day: Job 2: 11 – 13 … 11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him, and to comfort him. 12 And when they raised their eyes from afar, and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven. 13 So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.
My Journal for Today: As I sit here and meditate and contemplate on this passage for another day’s devotional, listening to soothing contemporary worship music, I can feel God’s glory being expressed in the music and this scene where Job’s friends shared Job’s grief and sat quietly with him for several days. And I agree with Pastor Swindoll, who expresses the message from this, that this scene is much more expressive of a true relationship with God rather than what will transpire when these same three compassionate “friends” become the voices of isolated religion and worldly wisdom.
You’ve probably read the upcoming speeches of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, where they move from contemplative compassion to intellectual speculation. To illustrate the difference between these two approaches to our witness when we, as Christians, happen upon a friend who is suffering, Swindoll relates the story told to him by a friend of his, one Joe Bayly and his wife, who were grieving the loss of their third child. They had lost a baby years before, a second child at five to leukemia, and, at the time of the story, their 18 year old boy had died in a sledding accident, from complications of hemophilia. Joe related to Swindoll that one Christian friend had come to him and waxed as eloquent as he could, speculating as to the reasons God would allow all of this to happen. Joe said that he understood, in his head, that everything the friend shared was true. But, after some time, the man left; and Joe reported that he was glad to see him go. But then another friend came to their home and just sat with Joe and his wife. They shared tears. They shared prayers. And they just shared togetherness. Joe said when this friend left, he was sorry to see him go.
And that my friends is the difference between Christianity where a relationship with God is shared, … where God’s love is shared with His grace and mercy being the empowering element of fellowship. However, when religion is the motive for sharing, Swindoll reports that the fellowship shares, “… answers without personal relationship, intellect without intimacy.” And Chuck extends this word picture with a poignant sentence about today’s passage and the sharing Job would get from his three friends. Swindoll writes, “The answers [that Job’s friends would give to Job] are slapped on Job’s ravaged life like labels on a specimen bottle.” And that is very expressive of religion without relationship.
When we share God’s love with another, especially one who suffers, it becomes hollow and meaningless to the one with whom we’re sharing, if they cannot feel the love being offered through the personal relationship we have with that person being shared through the empathizing grace of who we are in Christ. At the moment our story for today ended, Job was likely feeling the love and grace of God being administered by these three friends. However, as we move into future passages in Job’s book, we see Job’s questions of God’s wisdom being sparked by the hard, speculative answers which these same three friends would offer to Job thereafter.
These three had done enough at the point our story ended today. They should have shut up and left Job to seek his “WHY” answers directly from God, which, as we know from the book of Job will ultimately transpire. When we offer religion to a friend who suffers, we offer them nothing. But when we give a suffering friend relationship and the dignity of silence in sharing time in empathy, we share God with another. Let us take this lesson from God’s book on the dignity of suffering and make it reality the next time we encounter the suffering of a friend.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to be a real friend and share the tears of my sadness rather the words of my head when I find a friend who suffers dearly. Amen
My Journal for Today: As I sit here and meditate and contemplate on this passage for another day’s devotional, listening to soothing contemporary worship music, I can feel God’s glory being expressed in the music and this scene where Job’s friends shared Job’s grief and sat quietly with him for several days. And I agree with Pastor Swindoll, who expresses the message from this, that this scene is much more expressive of a true relationship with God rather than what will transpire when these same three compassionate “friends” become the voices of isolated religion and worldly wisdom.
You’ve probably read the upcoming speeches of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, where they move from contemplative compassion to intellectual speculation. To illustrate the difference between these two approaches to our witness when we, as Christians, happen upon a friend who is suffering, Swindoll relates the story told to him by a friend of his, one Joe Bayly and his wife, who were grieving the loss of their third child. They had lost a baby years before, a second child at five to leukemia, and, at the time of the story, their 18 year old boy had died in a sledding accident, from complications of hemophilia. Joe related to Swindoll that one Christian friend had come to him and waxed as eloquent as he could, speculating as to the reasons God would allow all of this to happen. Joe said that he understood, in his head, that everything the friend shared was true. But, after some time, the man left; and Joe reported that he was glad to see him go. But then another friend came to their home and just sat with Joe and his wife. They shared tears. They shared prayers. And they just shared togetherness. Joe said when this friend left, he was sorry to see him go.
And that my friends is the difference between Christianity where a relationship with God is shared, … where God’s love is shared with His grace and mercy being the empowering element of fellowship. However, when religion is the motive for sharing, Swindoll reports that the fellowship shares, “… answers without personal relationship, intellect without intimacy.” And Chuck extends this word picture with a poignant sentence about today’s passage and the sharing Job would get from his three friends. Swindoll writes, “The answers [that Job’s friends would give to Job] are slapped on Job’s ravaged life like labels on a specimen bottle.” And that is very expressive of religion without relationship.
When we share God’s love with another, especially one who suffers, it becomes hollow and meaningless to the one with whom we’re sharing, if they cannot feel the love being offered through the personal relationship we have with that person being shared through the empathizing grace of who we are in Christ. At the moment our story for today ended, Job was likely feeling the love and grace of God being administered by these three friends. However, as we move into future passages in Job’s book, we see Job’s questions of God’s wisdom being sparked by the hard, speculative answers which these same three friends would offer to Job thereafter.
These three had done enough at the point our story ended today. They should have shut up and left Job to seek his “WHY” answers directly from God, which, as we know from the book of Job will ultimately transpire. When we offer religion to a friend who suffers, we offer them nothing. But when we give a suffering friend relationship and the dignity of silence in sharing time in empathy, we share God with another. Let us take this lesson from God’s book on the dignity of suffering and make it reality the next time we encounter the suffering of a friend.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to be a real friend and share the tears of my sadness rather the words of my head when I find a friend who suffers dearly. Amen
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