Numbers 1:1 - 3: “Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then the fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down. So that place was called Taberah because the fire from the Lord had burned among them."
The story of the Hebrews in the dessert traveling with Moses to the Promised Land is a picture of God that I find troubling. He is so harsh and angry consuming people with fire and opening the ground and swallowing them.
I relate much more to the merciful God that takes my sins and throws them into the sea of forgetfulness. Nature does have consequences for bad choices and governments do have laws that punish wrong doing. It is necessary to keep order and peace. But I wonder how to incorporate this angry God image into my life. Should I?
For me, God has been my strength and shield. I relate to him as a child to a father. I feel that I experience his lovingkindness. I have heard people talk about dispensations to explain that God was one way in the Old Testament times and different in New Testament times. The Bible also states that God never changes. I like the idea that God never changes. I like the way Jesus in the New Testament writings introduces the father image of God to us when he teaches the prayer we call "The Lord's Prayer."
I don't want to pick and choose which parts of the Bible I believe or don't believe, but have over the years begun to see the Bible more like a friend and a trusted counselor than a magical book of immutable laws. The Bible comforts me and graces me with the stories of God and people and as miraculous as it is that we have these wonderful writings, I keep in mind that they were written from the human side of the relationship. I wonder how God's personally written book of all these times would read? And I consider that Jesus, the human image of God to be a window into God's perspective. I look at Jesus and read the words which are attributed to him in the Bible to get a fuller picture of God.
The living Bible, and I don't mean the printed translation, is written in the interactions that each of us has with God in our daily lives. The Bible didn't stop on the last page of the book, but continues each day as we walk hand in hand with Him.
John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." (Words of Jesus)
Psa 103:12 "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us."
Micah 7:18-19 "Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."
Thursday, February 16, 2012
“Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that’s charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that."
"I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind."
"Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.”
Attributed to Jesus of Nazareth as he spoke the Sermon on the Mount. The Message Bible translation.
I wonder what would happen in the world if international diplomacy were governed by this thought? And what would happen in every city if each individual strove to walk this way? And what would happen to me if I would live this each day?
"I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind."
"Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.”
Attributed to Jesus of Nazareth as he spoke the Sermon on the Mount. The Message Bible translation.
I wonder what would happen in the world if international diplomacy were governed by this thought? And what would happen in every city if each individual strove to walk this way? And what would happen to me if I would live this each day?
Friday, February 3, 2012
Loose Threads
In my morning devotion a memory surfaced of the time that Cory Ten Boon spoke at my college campus during a chapel in the late 1970's. She said that our lives are like a weaving of which we only see the underside. We see loose ends and threads crossing every which way in seeming randomness. But one day as we approach our time of passing God turns it over and shows us the beautiful work he had made. Maybe this is the comfort that people experience as they come close to passing, the comfort from God as he reveals to them the beauty of the life they have lived and they see how precious life has been and they rejoice.
Here is the poem on which Corrie's talk was based:
My life is but a weaving between my God and me,
I pick out the colors and He weaveth endlessly.
Sometimes He weaveth sorrow, and I within my heart,
Forget He sees the picture, and I see only part.
But the dark threads of sorrow, are as needful in the skillful weavers hands,
As the threads of gold and silver, in the pattern He has planned.
Not till this life is over, and the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the canvas, and explain the reasons why.
Here is the poem on which Corrie's talk was based:
My life is but a weaving between my God and me,
I pick out the colors and He weaveth endlessly.
Sometimes He weaveth sorrow, and I within my heart,
Forget He sees the picture, and I see only part.
But the dark threads of sorrow, are as needful in the skillful weavers hands,
As the threads of gold and silver, in the pattern He has planned.
Not till this life is over, and the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the canvas, and explain the reasons why.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Lost and Found
Have you misplaced or lost something lately only to find it randomly after having given up your search? Did you feel happy and relieved when you found it? God never quits searching for us when we stray from him. When we return, even the angels rejoice! Luke 15:1-10. Salvation is not a one time event but a lifetime journey. We are too quick to let brothers and sisters in the faith go when we think they have strayed, but our Lord never gives up and continues to seek them.
We can be deadly hard on ourselves when we slip. Sometimes the last person to forgive you is the one looking back in the mirror. Isn't it good to know you can be forgiven more than once because there would not be many of us left in the faith if salvation were a one-use only coupon. There is no expiration date on our Lord's gift to us and we can use it daily.
Somehow in my early faith walk, I got the impression that if you stumbled in your faith that was it. You had thrown away your salvation. Though God is perfect and without flaw, and could find more things to condemn us for than we can even know, he forgives us. So should we forgive ourselves and others. Jesus said to be perfect as our father in heaven is perfect. Since I can not imagine coming close to God's perfection, I have come to believe that Jesus was referring to forgiveness. We can forgive like God forgives. Matthew 5:48
The completed chapter five of Matthew is a picture of forgiveness that few have lived out in their lives. It takes faith that God forgives and he does so in advance of our repentance. Read Matthew five and be challenged in your faith to step up to a new level of forgiveness for yourself and for all those around you.
Be blessed today and know you are forgiven and go and share the joy of forgiveness with everyone you see.
We can be deadly hard on ourselves when we slip. Sometimes the last person to forgive you is the one looking back in the mirror. Isn't it good to know you can be forgiven more than once because there would not be many of us left in the faith if salvation were a one-use only coupon. There is no expiration date on our Lord's gift to us and we can use it daily.
Somehow in my early faith walk, I got the impression that if you stumbled in your faith that was it. You had thrown away your salvation. Though God is perfect and without flaw, and could find more things to condemn us for than we can even know, he forgives us. So should we forgive ourselves and others. Jesus said to be perfect as our father in heaven is perfect. Since I can not imagine coming close to God's perfection, I have come to believe that Jesus was referring to forgiveness. We can forgive like God forgives. Matthew 5:48
The completed chapter five of Matthew is a picture of forgiveness that few have lived out in their lives. It takes faith that God forgives and he does so in advance of our repentance. Read Matthew five and be challenged in your faith to step up to a new level of forgiveness for yourself and for all those around you.
Be blessed today and know you are forgiven and go and share the joy of forgiveness with everyone you see.
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