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Friday, 06 March 2009

Lent: Day 9

1 Corinthians 2:2 "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified."
If we stop thinking about other things and stop doing the things we desire to do for ourselves, and focus instead on Jesus Christ and him crucified, we will come to realzie the overwhelming power and joy that radiate from the cross. Once we begin to focus our energy and attention on knowing Jesus and his crucifixion we will see everything else pale in comparison. Paul writes, "I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:8)." There is value in meditatitng on the cross, because as we come to know the depth of this ancient symbol we have a better perspective on the world. The cross serves as the standard by which all else is judged. What is your standard? How does it compare to the majesty of the cross? Are you moved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified?

Thursday, 05 March 2009

Lent: Day 8

Psalm 51:17 "My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise."
One of my responsibilities at the church is to meet with those in need and assess how best to serve them. Most often this is financial need, but under the immediate clear numbers on a page is always a lonely, tired, frightened person who is clinging to hope and searching for something good in this world. Our service to others is meant to be a sacrifice. We must give something up in order that Christ can be glorified. This is the good in the world that people are searching for. As hard as it is to sacrifice the material things of our life, it is a hundred, a thousand times harder to sacrifice our spirits and hearts. But this is truly the sacrifice God wants from us. A million dollars means nothing to God if it means nothing to us. A single tear means everything to God if it means anything to us. We are to give until it hurts, not just our wallets, but our hearts and spirits. We must empathize with those we serve, lowering our pride, comfort, and even our hearts and spirits to a position lower that those we serve. We must join them in their pain so they know that they are not alone.

Wednesday, 04 March 2009

Lent: Day 7

Job 7:17 "What are human beings that you make so much of them, that you give them so much attention?"
Taken by itself, this verse could be seen as a song of praise to God for the goodness poured out on us. At times, our perspective on life is outwardly turned toward God and others so that this verse is a rhetorical question of thanksgiving. When we focus on God's awesome goodness and the needs of others, we are humbled by the smallest act of kindness we receive from God. But this is not the situation for Job. Job has been a faithful, righteous man, and has been greatly blessed. But when his blessings fade from sight he begins to search for them and ends up focused on himself. Job's question is more than just verse 17. His entire question is this: "What are human beings that you make so much of them, that you give them so much attention that you examine them every morning and test them every moment?" Job does not want God's attention because he is not in a position to see that attention as good. He is focused only on himself. So while his question is one of humility, it is more a critique of God's goodness in creating him in the first place. Pride goes in two directions. It is commonly thought of as thinking too highly of one's self. Pride can also be thinking too lowly of one's self. An inclusive definition is thinking of one's self in a way other than how one truly is. The pride of self-deprecation is the arrogance of thinking we know better than God. "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good (Gen. 1:31)." To say you are anything other than who or what God says you are is arrogant and wrong and will lead you to act in ways other than how you were meant to act. If you deny your goodness you will not naturally behave in good ways and you will not be able to receive the good God intended for you.

Tuesday, 03 March 2009

Lent: Day 6

2 Thessalonians 3:13 "And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good."
It seems at first to be an impossible request to never grow tired. Being tired is not a choice. It is the natural reaction to expending energy. But it seems as if Paul, Silas, and Timothy honestly believe we can never tire of doing what is good if we choose to listen to their advice. If we are busy, we may think we will tire, but we won't. It is the idle, disruptive, busybodies that will grow tired. "They are not busy, they are busybodies (2 Thess. 3:11)." When we are busy with the good work of God our focus is not on our own tiredness, but on the needs of others. In this work we will not grow tired. It is when we turn inward and focus on our own needs and desires that we grow weary. We will never grow tired when we do what is good because God will fill us up. It is good to do God's work. It is good to serve others. it is also good to take Sabboth and rest. But even in our rest we must be focused outward to God and others knowing that our rest is for the sake of others so we can give our best to them. Let your exhaustion be a sign of the lack of good you are doing. If you find yourself tiring from what you are doing, is it really good? Refocus on God so you can be renewed to do the good God intends for you to do.
Lent: Day 5

Jeremiah 18:10b "I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it."
God intends to do good, but if we continue to do evil, God will listen to our request and will not do good. God will not join us in doing evil, but will merely remove his goodness from us. Our actions are the results of our desires. If we desire good from God we will do good. This is God's intent. But if we do evil, God will give us what we ask and will not give the good. This is not God's desire. So God grants us many opportunities to desire the good, do the good, and then receive the good God intends for us. Let us reconsider the evil we intended to do so God does not reconsider the good he intended to do for us.