Category: Blog

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Unbelievable.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?” Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied. “Throw it down on the ground,” the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back. Exodus‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In our church, we’ve have been discussing God’s Grand Design through the idea of an individual’s calling. Old Testament patriarchs certainly come to mind. Moses calling is so extraordinary and filled with honest human emotions that come along with doubt. The creator of all things – God comes, makes himself known and speaks. But more than just revealing his plans, God chooses to include us in them. Why? We ask. From the beginning of time, God has invited us, even with all our faults and fears to be a part of our own redemption story. Amazing!

God tells Moses the what, the why and the who, but Moses throws up some protests, some reasons he believes that God has the wrong man.

Here’s Moses’ counter arguments:

First one; who am I – 3:11? The inference is, I am a nobody, an unknown, in fact a failure.

Second one; who am I to say sent me – 3:13? One can’t be a hero without the proper credentials, right?

The third protest; What if they don’t believe me – 4:1? I’m not sure why these sound a bit ridiculous, especially because no one is asking for a famous, royal ambassador who has made up a fanciful story about talking with God! Who’s asking these imaginary questions? Pharoah? The Jewish leaders? No, Moses is asking these questions in his own head because he does not want to do it and thinks he can convince God to move on to someone else! God helps Moses out by giving him a cool miracle – the stick/staff/snake! And the backup would be the miracle skin diseased hand healing. These are meant to bolster Moses’ faith, thus saying YES to God almighty. But Moses still persists in protesting – what patience God has! You get the feeling that God will not let Moses out of this.

Fourth protest; Moses throws out another idea – Oh… and I STUTTER! You can’t have a stutterer be your spokesperson – 4:10.

Four excellent reasons to choose someone else and four patient answers from God, all workarounds for Moses to be obedient. Talk about a super reluctant leader! In vs 13 Moses begged God, “please send someone else.” In vs 14 God is now angry with Moses. He concedes, not to let Moses off the hook, but to have his brother be the spokesperson for Moses! God tells Moses, Aaron will be your spokesman, he speaks just fine – but you are still my spokesman, God still chose Moses.

Moses was a reluctant leader, who constantly wavered with unbelief and never felt worthy of being the man God called to lead and free the Jewish people from the tyranny of Egypt’s enslavement and onto the promise land that God had in store for them. God calls whom He wills and His plans are always perfect. God still calls people to great things, and small things today!

If we say we believe God and we are followers of Jesus the we have a general call to obedience and most likely a specific call to ministry, to passion or to pursue our purpose with the gifts God has granted to each of us. Let me ask you, “what’s in your heart?” What is your purpose, calling and gift? What are you doing with it? Go ahead, run your own list of protests like Moses who tried to dissuade God, insinuating that God doesn’t know what He’s doing! After you run out of perfectly legitimate protests in your own head, you’ll be faced with the ultimate decision – to obey or not! And to not obey is disobedience! Flip your stubbornness into faithfulness and determination to obey instead of angering God and trying His patience.

Prayer

​Dad,
I put up a small resistance with tantrums and protests back in the day. And, still even today, question every one of my own beliefs, frailties and abilities. But through faith I will continue to believe you. With grace, I will continue to move forward to accomplish what you have called me to be and to do! I trust you far more than I trust my failures and doubts? Here I am Lord, send me again! Amen.

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Barriers to God.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. Mark‬ ‭10‬:‭13‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Do you want to make God angry? Just create barriers to not allow people to experience Him! And most importantly, do not do anything, say anything or misrepresent God to CHILDREN. Jesus’ popularity as a Rabbi meant that parents (read mothers) were thrilled to just have Jesus smile at their kids, and speak a blessing over them.

Ya know, this is supposed to be a priority as a parent – getting your children to Jesus. This nonsense of letting children choose everything for themselves is awful. “Oh, we don’t teach religion, because we want them to choose for themselves.” “Oh, we let the children decide their morals, their choices for good or bad.” What a load of donkey-crock. Mark’s gospel points out that parents were doing what parents are supposed to do. They brought their children to Jesus for him to touch them, to physically bless them.

But the disciples strong-armed and scolded the parents for this. Did they think that Jesus was too busy? That there were more important people he should be spending time with? We don’t know. But Jesus wasn’t going to let it go. When he saw what the disciples were doing, he was (aganakteó) to grieved/indignant! Speaking to his disciples, Jesus said, release them to come (positive) and do not (kóluó) hinder (negative) them. Why? Because littles like these are the true owners of the Kingdom of God. In fact, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God in similar fashion as these children will never enter it!

Mark writes, “then Jesus (enagkalizomai) to take into one’s arms, to embrace them!” Jesus placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. There are basically two words for “bless” in the Greek. One is to make happy (makarios) the other to speak good words over (eulogeó: to speak well of, praise). Jesus spoke good words over the children that day.

Why would someone prevent a child or adult from coming to Jesus? I don’t think folks do it on purpose. The disciples thought they were being helpful to the busy Savior. They were not helpful. Some think that others might not be worthy enough, holy enough, or good enough to be in Jesus presence. Many thought this of the sex-worker woman who washed Jesus feet with her tears. The religious thought it improper for such a sinner to have contact with a holy representative of God. Lots of folks think others should clean themselves up or get their life together BEFORE approaching Jesus. The children weren’t unworthy, they were innocent.

As the Church, we have propagated so many barriers with our religious preferences, that we had a generation tag us with “Church hurts.” Church should not hurt! Of course it is bound to happen, because we are human, but we should also be ready to repent or say we’re sorry. For any and all the barriers we block those who simply want to come to Jesus and be blessed.

In another conversation, I brought up all the things we do as adults that cause barriers preventing children from really seeing Jesus. Because, to a child, we represent authority and a sense of what is supposed to be right. When adults misbehave or selfishly choose to follow their own will and ways, children are watching and it creates a fracture, a moral dilemma in their hearts. All they see is the hypocrisy and it takes a ton of grace to erase those episodes from their soul. We want to be people that let children get to Jesus! Even further, we can actually do what Jesus does – speak good words over a child!

Prayer

Dad,
I love this story, this scene so much. I am a huge fan of adults who see children as you do. Seeing them as innocent and open, curious and hopeful, playful and full of joy. And to know how quickly that season passes. Our challenge, my challenge is to foster those qualities in them as well as in our big-people, adult lives, to receive the Kingdom of God with wide-eyed wonder. Let it be so Oh Lord! Amen.

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Steady steps with God.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand. Psalms 37:23-24

A psalm of David, inserted into the collection of psalms during the Babylonian captivity. This psalm is an acrostic poem, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, making it a Hebrew alphabet poem. It is a comparison psalm of the wicked and the just as well as of good and evil.

Not knowing how old David was when he wrote this, it’s most likely that he wrote it towards the end of his life, when one tends to reflect back on everything they have experienced. I love these couple of verses because I wholeheartedly agree! When I was young, about fifteen or sixteen, as a new believer in Jesus, I was digging deep into both Psalms and Proverbs. I decided to commit my ways to the Lord, just like Proverbs 16:3, “Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.” As well as, Proverbs 16:9, “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” These verses became my personal “decision grid,” when making big life decisions. These mantras were both mystical but powerful to watch God lead and guide my life, as well as direct our lives (Robin) together as a married couple. It was much later, in my fifties, I matched these verses with Paul’s famous words in 1 Corinthians 16:9, “because a great door for effective work has opened to me, even though many oppose me.” My wild-brain plans + God’s promise to plant our feet exactly where they need to be + big blue-sky opportunities = a life well lived in the Kingdom of God.

David had to have lived similarly! His life was a thrill-ride, full throttle rollercoaster. He experienced unexpected highs as well as crushing, debilitating lows. Yet, here in Psalm 37 his confession becomes a roadmap for all who desire to follow God – the Lord directs the steps of the godly! Should I seek peace in my decisions? Of course. Should I take risks? Absolutely. Should I look for wild opportunities that require more faith than sense? Why not! It’s not arrogance, it’s confidence in our great God and His foresight and wisdom in leading us. Does it backfire and blow up in our face sometimes? Yes, most definitely. Should that deter me from getting up, dusting off my dumb decisions and keep moving forward? No way. God DELIGHTS in every DETAIL! Even our failures. Not mockingly, of course, but as a good father who picks up their child after skinning their knee and declares – that was an amazing feat of courage! Let’s try that again.

David’s admonition should solicit our soul, though they STUMBLE (because we 💯% will do so), they will never fall! It’s God’s hand that holds us and sustains us. Go and live the great adventure of faith, wonder and beauty of God, it is totally worth it. “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” C.T. Studd (1860-1931). “Where sky and water meet, Where the waves grow sweet, Doubt not, Reepicheep, To find all you seek, There is the utter East.” C.S. Lewis (The Voyage of the Dawn Treader).

Prayer

Dad,
Not only have you given me one life to live, you have reached down and pulled me out of the muck and mire, the dark sludge of sin! You have set my feet on solid ground and put a new song in my heart – a song of great praise to you Oh Lord, my God. So whom shall I fear, for you are my light and salvation! Amen.

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Keep moving forward.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Dear friends, even though we are talking this way, we really don’t believe it applies to you. We are confident that you are meant for better things, things that come with salvation. For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance. Hebrews‬ ‭6‬:‭9‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The mysterious author of the Hebrews (Was it a woman? Was it Paul, breaking from his normal style?), hits hard in six. Seemingly, conversely, controversially telling us to stop messing around with the “basics,” and get on with maturing in Christ. The basics? Things like repentance, faith, baptism, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgement? WOW! That’s basics to our author? Afterwards, with THE sternest warning in the New Testament, “once enlightened, experiencing, tasting the good of the things of heaven and the Word of God – then TURNING from God,” the author states, “it is impossible to bring them back to repentance!” Whoa. That’s creepy.

The author then turns to a much more hope-filled admonishment. “Don’t let those things apply to you, KEEP MOVING FORWARD.” How should we do that? “Keep loving others for life!” That’s right. Simple? No. Soul sharpening? You bet. This is Hebrew’s antidote for slippery-sloping, back-sliding, corner-cutting Christianity. This makes “certain” (plérophoria: full assurance) our hope is sticky enough to last until all things are fulfilled. This, the author writes, keeps us sharp, preventing spiritual lethargy or dullness in our life and witness. Anyone that tells you that following Jesus is boring or dull, obviously is not doing Christianity right! God has capacity to do something new in you every second that you yield to Him. Faith and obedience is never dull, it leads us on and upward to fulfillment of Christ being formed in us.

Moving forward does not mean no rest, no reflection or pause in life either. Sabbath and rhythms of rest are a huge part of moving forward. May the fullness of God’s grace keep us moving forward, loving until life’s end!

Prayer

​Dad,
What a convicting consolation Hebrews has for us! Sober truth segwayed into sustainable love gives me a bright hope for us and the Church in which I serve. What a notion, to “love until life’s end!” Jesus did that and beyond. May your grace not only sustain us, but propel us onward. Amen.

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DIVORCE: Permits or puts up with?

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Of course the religious legal department for the Jews would be trying to trap or trick Jesus into saying something they could use against him. The overarching irony is that they did not know who Jesus was, or what his purpose was for being on the planet. Jesus is the messiah, sent by God the Father, fully human and fully God. The religious did not, could not recognize their own boss!

These sects of the seventy (Sanhedrin) had piled up so much grief, pain and spiritual entanglements, it had super-hardened their stoney hearts. They were so bitter towards God that they couldn’t see him standing right in front of them. When they point-blank asked Jesus about divorce, Jesus just asked what Moses said about it in one of the books of the of the law. Moses had a section in Deuteronomy about miscellaneous laws. This particular one is hard for us to even fathom today. It’s found in Deut 24:1, “If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds some indecency in her, he may write her a certificate of divorce, a hand it to her, and send her away from his house.” Of course this rather deeply cultural and communal guideline is in a group of fringe laws that maintain order and integrity for a tribal, desert wandering, community of over million people. This is right alongside a command in the previous chapter, “No man with crushed or severed genitals may enter the assembly of the LORD.” Huh?

Jesus asked the experts to quote Moses so he could hear the summary of what they believed was God’s truth about marriage. To the Pharisees, it was as simple as our “no fault” divorce laws today. The man needs no reason to break a covenant, a social contract, it’s as simple as declaring it and handing his wife a cease and desist letter and it’s done. Jesus wasn’t just correcting their understanding of the law, he was correcting their view of God himself!

Speaking as though he personally knew Moses and Moses’ motives, Jesus says, “He wrote the commandment as a concession.” Moses “permitted” it, he allowed it because of their dried-out, shriveled up hearts! Jesus pressed further, “But do you want to know what God really thinks about divorce?” Jesus takes the lawyers back to the original intent of marriage and the contractual reasoning for why it exists. It is God that instituted the Holy Estate of marriage! It was a template, a model for how male and female humans are to understand the bond, the mystery and the strength of both the physical union and spiritual union of two like but not like individuals. It was a singular, earthbound, permanent contract meant for health, wealth and happiness in producing more humans and learning about true love! A marriage should not be entered into flippantly. It is not easy to build, nor certainly should not be easy to tear apart. It is sacred because it is the foundation of family and a type of the covenant that God makes with us! God will not decide to wake up one day and announce three times, “I am done with you… divorce, divorce, divorce.” Go and find another god, find another lover, for I no longer am pleased with you. I am so thankful He keeps His promises!

Prayer

​Dad,
I find it frustrating that you are so often blamed for things that we get wrong. We have strong wills and strange, wayward wanderings, then we wonder why everything has gone wacky! It is so amazing that there is purpose behind everything you do. Even in ancient laws there was divine reasoning. We look at so many of the Old Testament laws, viewing them through modern lenses and have a difficult time seeing the why behind the what! For me, it’s all about trust and faith that you have always known what you are doing and what is best for humanity and for me. That is where I place my questions and thoughts when I do not understand things. I trust that your will, your wisdom, your way is right, true and just so I can park my doubts under the banner of faith. Amen.

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Aware of who we are.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath. ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭39‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Psalm 39 is a gritty, honest look at ourselves. It is a prayer of David expressing his awareness of his sin, mortality, and God’s judgment. It may seem negative and strange to focus on these dark, moody expressions of life itself. David so poetically writes about our existence as we pass through our time here on earth. ”We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it. And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.” Wow, merely moving shadows? So deep. And, “Listen to my cries for help! Don’t ignore my tears. For I am your guest— a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me.”

It is these kinds of Psalms that helped me process a lot of angsty emotions as a young believer. David’s own words allowed me to learn to be completely open and honest before God in my prayers. So often deep, dark or even disturbing thoughts are considered to be wrong or inappropriate to even have, let alone talk about. David’s words do take us through some “Radical Candor” moments, but what would be the point of hiding or denying circumstances and feelings denying to process the full range of emotions in this life.

Some moments are so high that David seems to explode in praise to God – not here in 39 of course! Others, like this Psalm wind down to the depths, even focusing on how short our lives seem to be, “Each of us is but a breath.” BTW, this Psalm was inserted at the end of David’s life. It seems to reflect the perspective of someone who has lived long enough to realize how slow time moves when you’re young and how quickly the sand moves through the hourglass of life as we age. Time, perspectives and even emotions are so different moving through life. When young, time moves slow and emotions are raw and extreme. When old, time often slips trying to get traction of what happened today, yesterday or even this month! And our emotions seem to get foggy as we age, a little dulled and definitely delayed. “Wasn’t I just angry at God?” “What about? I do not know.” “I shall just forget about it and move on!” “Was I happy yesterday?” I seem to remember a few captivating moments, “I may have been!”

I can imagine David looking back over his life as he stretches out his much older, much wrinkled hand. He stares at it, remembering how it gripped the sling or sword back in the day. As he draws a line across his hand in his own mind, he writes, “yeah, that’s about the length of my life.”

Prayer

​Dad,
Being human is such an interesting mystery, even a dilemma. Mix in a high level of inventive autonomy along with a broken sense of morality and purpose and we are a glorious MESS. We are basically an emotional swamp filled with beauty and bewilderment all swimming around together. It truly means we depend on you to sort us out and suss out the helpful emotions from the destructive ones. I’m not complaining, I think it’s amazing when I realize the scope of high highs down to the lowest of lows. Having emotions and safely being able to share them with you feels like it’s the only route to sanity. Thank you for knowing and loving the real me! Amen.

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The Seventh Seal

Reading Time: 3 minutes

When the Lamb broke the seventh seal on the scroll, there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour. I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets.‭‭ Revelation‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

John, seeing these unimaginable scenes of heaven and earth’s final moments as the end of all things temporal are finalized.

The seals. The seven seals are one of a series of end-times judgments from God. The seals are described in Revelation 6:1–17 and 8:1–5. In John’s vision, the seven seals hold closed a scroll in heaven, and, as each seal is broken, a new judgment is unleashed on the earth. Following the seal judgments are the trumpet judgments and the bowl or vial judgments. [Link]

I like the way Wikipedia [Link] describes the scrolls as an ancient “rolled out parchment,” with each segment having its own wax stop-lock which had to be broken to continue. “Important documents were sent written on a papyrus scroll sealed with several wax seals. Wax seals were typically placed across the opening of a scroll, so that it was known to be authored by the proper person, when the document was opened in the presence of witnesses. This type of “seal” is frequently used in a figurative sense, in the book of Revelation, and only the Lamb is worthy to break off these seals.”

What a powerful picture of end-times judgments and reckoning coming into view with THE only one holy and perfect, capable opening the seals of judgment – Jesus, the lamb of God. Secular and religious interpretations both seem to agree that there will be a finality of the end of the earth. Oddly enough, there are those that believe that the book of Revelation is not an end of days document, it is rather a roadmap of what has happened since the time of Christ on earth!

Contrarily, current followers of Jesus all agree that these events described in the seven seals has not happened yet – but will definitely happen. The bigger theological question is when? Will this happen? Before the parousia (catching away), the rapture of the Church or after? Will believers go through the judgments along with all others, or will they be spared to come back and fight in the final battle against Satan and his hoards of fallen angels? So suspenseful, right?

Every time world goes off its rocker with global wars and unprecedented levels of unchecked evil, our Christian “spidey-senses” start yearning to understand John’s revelation! John wrote the book of Revelation (just one big one, not many mini-revelations) because God told him to. God wanted us to know these things to take comfort in the fact that He knows what He is doing, that justice will prevail in the end, to warn those who do not know and receive His mercy, and give hope for those who believe!

Don’t get too hung up on all the ancient symbolism and mysterious timelines, trying to guess when, who and where it will happen. It’s pretty obvious that it is an epic finality for love to win over evil. But not this misinformed love pitched by our culture. This fake human love of doing whatever feels good, each person determining their own self-defined choices as right and then sticking a “love” label on it. No, this would be God’s love, as He defines it. Self sacrificing, recognizing truth from lies, love that comes only from Him and because of Jesus who displayed perfect love. These scrolls, these seals to yet be broken are coming and the wise will recognize it, repent and depend on the grace of God live in the final days of this earth.

Prayer

​Dad,
In my short time here on earth, I have watched several cycles of projections that turned out to be horrible attempts to figure it out! I have heard the fervent fevered warnings that this is it – the apocalypse is here or your return is eminent. We live in constant cycles, ebbs and flows of evil, yet the end has not come. I still believe it is both real and soon, but not yet. Until that day, may more come to your grace. May more experience your freedom and be wholly, truly loved. Come quickly Lord Jesus! Amen.

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The Curse of Passivity.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Every nook and cranny of Edom will be searched and looted. Every treasure will be found and taken. “All your allies will turn against you. They will help to chase you from your land. They will promise you peace while plotting to deceive and destroy you. Your trusted friends will set traps for you, and you won’t even know about it. At that time not a single wise person will be left in the whole land of Edom,” says the Lord. “For on the mountains of Edom I will destroy everyone who has understanding. ‭‭Obadiah‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Who is Edom and why was God so angry with them? This is what the one chapter spokesperson of God explains to us. [link]. Edom is Esau’s clan! Jacob’s brother and son to Isaac. Although Esau made peace with Jacob, he never did make peace with God. But as a warrior from birth, he was able to capture and keep the hilltop city of Mount Seir. The city that was impossible to conquer. Obadiah himself was an Edomite.

Why was God so angry with the Edomites? Their passivity towards their own people, Israel was unacceptable. A people who wanted peace at all cost, lives with no risk and safety with no conscience. Obadiah spells it out in his prophetic word of destruction towards his own brothers. “Because of the violence you did to your close relatives in Israel, you will be filled with shame and destroyed forever. When they were invaded, you stood aloof, refusing to help them. Foreign invaders carried off their wealth and cast lots to divide up Jerusalem, but you acted like one of Israel’s enemies.” Obadiah‬ ‭1‬:‭10‬-‭11‬.

Under the guise of passivity lies the sins of pride. The ethos of Esau, withdrawing from his family because of perceived betrayal and favoritism. The egregious act of Esau marrying one the arch enemies of Israel, the Canaanites – Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son. Then holding up in a fortified city on the hill, all created a cultural elitism and gloating when Israel was mercilessly attacked time and time again. God declared that enough was enough.

Even though the Edomites believed no one could possibly touch them, in their haven in the heavenly, God declared, “Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down.” And God did. Edomites were driven from their land by the Nabateans, they migrated to the southern part of Israel and became known as Idumeans. [link] Much later in biblical history, Herod the Great, an Idumean, appears on the scene. It was Herod who tried to kill the infant Jesus in Bethlehem—through Herod, the rebellion of Edom continued. In AD 70, the Idumeans joined the Israelites in their revolt against Rome, and they were wiped out when Jerusalem was destroyed. At that point, the descendants of Esau disappeared from human history, just as God had said.

Passivity mixed with pride, safety and peace at the cost of loss of human lives is a horrible combination for any country, any people group. Edomites did so in arrogant rebellion against God. Can you think of countries with similar beliefs? Ever heard of the Bystander Effect? [link]. Edomites were an entire ancient people group that chose to not get involved.

Prayer

​Dad,
Is this us today? Is this the Church trying to be so neutral that it ends up being disengaged with highly controversial, highly contagious social viruses? I don’t want to be like Esau or the Edomites. I also see direct connections to our position on the country of Israel. They are really being targeted and once again there are stirring echoes of hate surrounding the Jewish people! It seems so surreal that this mysterious animosity keeps looping through time lashing out at the Jewish people. Obadiah’s words are eerily relevant today, “The day is near when I, the Lord, will judge all godless nations! As you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you. All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads.” So I pray for the peace of Israel! Amen.

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Wickedness Within.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Confuse them, Lord, and frustrate their plans, for I see violence and conflict in the city. Its walls are patrolled day and night against invaders, but the real danger is wickedness within the city. Everything is falling apart; threats and cheating are rampant in the streets. Psalms‬ ‭55‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

On the run again, David is hiding and being hunted from his own son Absalom. Absalom wins the hearts of the people, plotting to take the throne away from his father. David has to run. At sixty years old, David feels completely exhausted to have to return to a life he had long forgotten – life on the lamb! In David’s mind he wishes he could escape this reoccurring nightmare, ”Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness. Interlude How quickly I would escape— far from this wild storm of hatred.” Yet, within this prayer, is an interesting perspective on the state of Israel.

From David’s view, the city, the kingdom is in trouble – but not from a foreign enemy. He sings, there is “wickedness within.” David’s song makes me reflect on our own country and the condition of its own constituents. What if the enemies within, the rampant evils within are greater than any threats from others? What defenses are prepared to hold off the disunity, the lawlessness and violence within. Since our 9/11 attacks, I wondered if our own enemies have figured out that they do not need to declare war on America. We have tremendous internal divisiveness, coupled with selfish desires to be free in a “self-proclaimed” liberty. We have thrown off OG morality and decency, which alone, is enough to destroy us from within!

Our sacred individualism over community, our personal rights over what’s best for our country, has left us weak and defenseless with our internal struggles. We are just weeks from a highly divided and controversial national election. And what are the debates and the divides, our personal preferences above anything else! Who will guard our independence, interests and individualism? Oh, how desperate we desire to escape the boundaries and restraints of what is good and right, true and just. Forgive us oh God, for we know not what we do! Save us from ourselves. Restore us to yourself. No matter who wins the white-house, may we rise to be one nation under God, indivisible and with justice for all!

Prayer

​Dad,
I can clearly see in Your Word that you care deeply about how we live our life, especially when it comes to subjects like justice and mercy. Maybe true justice IS mercy? Being right and doing right is a mystery of life. Even in all the pain and mayhem that Absalom brought to Israel and his own father, David would not raise his hand to participate in his end! Similar to King Saul, David must have had enormous internal conflicts navigating the extremes. In the end You Oh Lord are the only one capable of delivering justice and mercy! Have mercy on us Lord, but let your justice rise to destroy evils in our land. Amen.

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Biblical standards in a secular culture.

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”But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord. A wife must not leave her husband. But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife.“ ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭7‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Relationships are hard to come by, hard to foster and even harder to keep fresh and alive. The Apostle Paul emphatically writes to the Corinth believers, this is a “command of the Lord,” stay in your marriage! Stick with it. A wife nor a husband must not leave. And, with exceptions under specific circumstances (adultery, abandonment, abuse), let them remain single or be reconciled.

This aligns with Jesus re-affirming the Genesis covenant, “What God has joined together, let no one tear apart.” Whether things are going peachy or putrid, a covenant is a solid promise to see this highly cherished relationship through until death. This promise, this contract, is only valid here on earth and becomes null and void in eternity, for there is no married couples in heaven. This makes marriage a very earth-bound, coveted covenant designed for our health, wealth and happiness.

Corinth was a crazy, “free” culture. In Corinth, men and women were quite equal in wealth and power. There were a few women Paul specifically mentioned as part of his missionary team and critical to the establishing the church in Corinth. One prominent woman, Priscilla, was a wealthy businesswoman, making and repairing tents similar to Paul’s trade. She and her husband, Aquila, were not only one of the leaders in the local church, she was a big donor to Paul’s missionary endeavors. The couple’s house was likely THE biggest church gathering in town – up to 100 people attending each week. Paul was indeed aware of the cultural implications that prominent cities like Corinth had on the churches.

“Marriage in ancient Greece had less of a basis in personal relationships and more in social responsibility.” The goal and focus of all marriages was intended to be reproduction, making marriage an issue of public interest. Marriages were intended to be monogamous. In keeping with this idea, the heroes of Homer never have more than one wife by law, though they may be depicted with living with concubines, or having sexual relationships with one or more women. In Plato’s Laws, the would-be lawgiver suggests that any man who was not married by age 35 should be punished with a loss of civil rights and with financial consequences.

According to scholars, divorce did not seem to be looked down upon in ancient Greece. Any negative reputation attributed to divorce would have been due to related scandals rather than the divorce itself. In ancient Athens, both husband and wife had the power to initiate a divorce. The husband simply had to send his wife back to her father to end the marriage. For the wife to obtain a divorce, she had to appear before the archon, [Wikipedia].

Paul may have used these cultural influences to drive the counter-cultural idea of a life-long, covenant marriages. One where marital fidelity and commitment honored Jesus and set believers apart from others during that time. In our “modern” culture today, I believe several decades of easy, no-fault divorce (first legalized in California in 1969) eventually eroded the loyalty and beauty of the marriage covenant.

Future couples reacted by either shacking up with no real commitment or abandoning the wedding idea altogether. Oddly enough, now many couples sign “pre-nup” contracts protecting their individual assets. Believers today would be committing to a counter-cultural position in marrying young, having children and staying together for the rest of their lives! I love that Paul maintained Biblical standards of love, covenant-commitment, loyalty and guidelines to follow even in a very popular, secular environment.

Prayer

​Dad,
I have always believed that You are truth and Your word is right, true and just. I have also believed you are not just right, you are also practical! Your way works, my way does not work. So obedience has some privileges that come with honoring your Word and its boundaries for living. I am so thankful for the gift of marriage and the security of a covenant contract that binds two “like but opposite” humans, male and female, together. It is good for me, good for my wife, good for our children and now good for our grandchildren! Thank you for breaking generational curses to make this happen and thank you for new generational blessings for our future. Amen.