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Lenten Study Notes, Mark 1-2

March 15, 2009 at 1:07 am · Filed under Scripture, discipleship, fasting, prayer and tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Lenten Study Notes
Mark 1-2

I have studied through Mark in depth five or six times and taught it in various situations at least four or five times. It is my favorite Gospel of the four perhaps because of it’s quick pace, literary value, and brutal honesty. The Gospel itself is marked (no pun) by the constant use of a small Greek phrase ‘kai euthus’, which means something like ‘and then’ or ‘immediately’ or ‘at once.’ The NIV, as do most translations, I noticed translates it differently so as to give the Gospel ‘flavor’ (although it appears that the NASB is fairly consistent in its use of ‘immediately’). This creates a sense of urgency in the Gospel as if Mark were always in a hurry to get us from one point to the next, never content to leave us lingering too long at one scene. In the overall picture, we know where Mark is in a hurry to get us and by the time we get to the crucifixion the pace has slowed (in my judgment) considerably. He wants us to drink deeply at this point.

I don’t know why Mark was in a hurry to get us through the story (as a whole). I do know that Mark starts his story of Jesus in Nazareth in Galilee (1:9) and that when the story ends, after the Resurrection, he instructs his people to go back to that very place (16:7) which I take as Mark’s way of saying something to the reader like: Go back and start the story all over again. Read it again! It becomes quite circular to the point that one might never stop reading the Gospel story Mark tells which by his estimation I gather would be just fine. We are to be engaged in the Gospel story and engaging it constantly, continuously, never stopping for a breath. I’m fairly certain that is Mark’s objective even if he doesn’t say so in so many words.

Mark tells us nothing of Jesus’ birth or childhood. He begins abruptly by announcing the appearance of John the Baptizer with a quote from Isaiah (and Malachi). There’s also another aspect of this Gospel that is intriguing and it is the first verse: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Now it could be that your Bible as put a footnote saying that ‘Son of God’ here is in ‘many’ manuscripts but not ‘all’ and thus ‘Son of God’ is either eliminated altogether, footnoted, or written in such a way as to suggest that the translators are uncertain as to whether to include it or not. I’m rather particular at this point, and I hope not too contradictory. At the end of Mark’s Gospel we encounter a similar problem: Do we take the short ending and stop at verse 8 or do we take the long ending and stop at verse 20? Well, here’s the thing. I like ‘Son of God’ included in 1:1 and I like ending the Gospel at 16:8 thus eliminating verses 9-20. It’s not the end of the world if you believe differently. Let me show you why by talking just about 1:1 and leaving 16:8 for another discusssion.

If ‘Son of God’ is included in 1:1 then we, the readers, know something about Jesus that those inside the story do not know. Namely, that this story we are reading is about Jesus Messiah, the Son of God. Inside the story, the characters never quite get this. Jesus won’t let demons talk about it (rightfully so!) and the disciples are often dense (so Peter). Jesus tells people to keep quiet about it and more than once does his best to escape detection. Thus has been born in Mark the so-called ‘Messianic Secret.’ So those of us reading the story, we are whispering things like ‘duh! It’s the Son of God. How can you miss that?’ when he calms a storm (4) or drives out a herd of demons (5) or feeds five-thousand (6) for example. But what we see, those inside the story miss or they are told to keep quiet or tell no one. Until…until chapter 15 where the most unlikely of all characters makes a startling announcement at a rather strange moment in the story.

Chapter 15 is the narrative of the crucifixion of Jesus and isn’t it interesting that the last human to speak in Mark’s Gospel (aside from the Jesus after his resurrection) is a Roman Centurion who was guarding the crucifixion. And do you know what he says? That’s right: “Surely, this man was the Son of God!” So it is not ironic at all then: Jesus doesn’t tell him to be quiet either, does he? This is the one time when it is alright for the ’secret’ to be out; that is, at the crucifixion. Jesus’ full Sonship is to be seen by us in the cross where he died.

I think this is most significant especially if the Gospel ends at verse 8 of chapter 16 where we read this: “They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” Now we, the readers, are saying this: “It’s the Son of God! Say something! Say something!” And we wonder: If they said nothing, who will? Someone has to say something. Well, that’s all very preliminary to be sure, but there might be some homiletical thoughts in all that madness somewhere.

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Notes on Mark 1-2 (includes questions)

At this point, I will offer a brief comment or two on a couple of the pericopes in chapters 1 and 2 and follow up this section with some prayer thoughts.

1:1-8: Here I like The Message translation (vs 7-8): “As he preached he said, ‘The real action comes next: The star in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will change your life. I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism-a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit-will change you from the inside out.’” Jesus would change what it meant to be clean, what it meant to be pure, what it meant to be washed and baptized. He would give these things new meaning. John says essentially, ‘I can only get you wet. The one coming after me will totally undo your life.’

1:9-13: Jesus is baptized here and immediately (‘kai euthus’) he is driven out into the desert where he is tried by the Satan. I wonder if we prepare people for baptism in this way, that is, by warning them ahead of time that once the Spirit gets a hold of them there’s no telling where he might drive them? Oh, and about the baptism of Jesus and the ‘voice from heaven’ and the ‘Spirit hovering like a dove,’ and the ‘Son in the water’…do you remember any other place in the Bible where the Spirit ‘hovered’ over the water and God spoke? (Genesis 1:1-2?) So what does this say about Jesus and the inauguration of the New heavens and new earth, new creation, new covenant? Also, see that word concerning the ‘heaven being torn open’? You know where else the Greek word for ‘torn open’ (’schizo’) appears? That’s right: The crucifixion chapter: 15:38: “The curtain of the temple was ‘torn’ (’schizo’) in two from top to bottom.” How might the baptism of Jesus be related to his crucifixion?

1:14-15: William Willimon notes, concerning Jesus’ sermon in Luke 4, his first sermon, something that fits well here too, “So one might have thought, but no-with Jesus, the attack begins in the very first sermon. Jesus, in his preaching, is a troublemaker who brings, not peace, but a sword.” (Conversations with Barth on Preaching, 197).

1:21-39: Anyone else find it ironic, or not, that the first place Jesus does a miracle in Mark’s Gospel is in the synagogue? In John, he turns water to wine at a wedding. In Mark, he drives a demon out of a synagogue. Jesus came to bind the strongman and rob his house so I don’t suppose it is odd at all that he begins by binding the strongman who sat in the midst of the worshipers. Perhaps we too need Jesus to do some house-cleaning. And judgment, wrote Peter elsewhere, begins with the household of God. As these verses continue, we see that Jesus continued to drive out demons from the midst of the people and the synagogues (1:39). It kind of makes one wonder if these demons in the midst of these places of worship were not disrupting the worship and stirring up the people so as to prevent them from hearing the Word of God spoken among them? Could we too be so blind and self-absorbed that we don’t even know there are demons among us? Or could we be so indifferent to their presence that we tolerate them among us? Or could it be that we are so weak and powerless that we believe we cannot do anything about their presence among us? Whatever the case, Jesus came among the people and began by driving out th demons from their midst. This says a lot to me about his work.

1:40-45: I love the statement, “I am willing.”

2:1-12: Again, short and sweet. I love this remark by the author of the book, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’” (2:5) He saw their faith. Hmm. Did his friends happen to recognize a connection between his physical condition and his spiritual condition? Is that why Jesus first forgave his sins? Do you think this might be true also in the life of someone we know? Do we know anyone who is physically undone and the only thing that might fix them is to bring them to Jesus so that he can forgive them their sins? Is there a connection between physical sickness and spiritual sickness?

2:13-28: If Jesus only came to ‘call the sinners’ and not the ‘righteous’ then it seems to me that before we can hear or answer his call we have to recognize that we are ’sinners.’ So long as we are convinced we are ‘righteous’ then we can be fairly well convinced that he did not come to call us. ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ is an odd question. I wonder if these people weren’t just a wee bit jealous that he wasn’t eating with them? Maybe a better question would be, “Why are the tax collectors and sinners eating with him?” They go on to criticize his ‘fasting’ habits. Evidently, he is not fasting enough for their taste. And he is also criticized for not taking the Sabbath seriously enough to actually observe it. What we see here is something that perhaps we have lost a bit of in our quest to be the biggest church on the block: Jesus truly was concerned with people. So he eats with people who invite him to dinner and it makes no difference who they are. He refuses to ruin people by forcing them to observe old habits when a new time was upon them. And he refuses to elevate a ‘day’ above a person. “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath.” So they criticize him for eating with the wrong people, for not giving up food enough, and for eating on the wrong days. What sort of people have we become when we have sunk down to the point of criticizing when and if and how people eat? Jesus is pointing out that these people are missing the greater picture: People give rules value not the other way around. The observance of a practice must never become so strict that it prevents people from practicing it with joy. Note too, that chapter 2 begins and ends on the Sabbath as Jesus helps them understand exactly what the Sabbath is supposed to be: Liberating, freeing, full of rejoicing, and rejuvenation.

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Some Prayer Thoughts from Mark 1-2

We can pray for those who are baptized because they will invariably be driven into places by the Spirit that we cannot control. They will face all sorts of trials and struggles and tests. We can and should pray for their protection and strength. Many will give up, but it must not be because we have given up on them.

We can pray for Jesus to fill our nets as we go about fishing. We can pray that those who are called to follow will follow and leave behind whatever baggage that has weighed them down. Many still carry around nets. Jesus calls us to a life without a net.

We can pray that Jesus drive the demons out of our churches. They are there. They lurk. Open our eyes Lord, that we may no longer be indifferent to their presence.

We can pray that he will raise up a generation of pray-ers. (1:35). Isn’t it striking that Jesus, the Son of God who possesses power enough to drive out demons, survive a wilderness of trials, and preaches the Kingdom still must pray? We too must be people of prayer. Pray he raise up a generation of pray-ers.

Dare we pray that God would stretch out his hand and heal lepers, raise the dead, cause the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the mute to speak, the paralyzed to walk, and the demons to be gone? Is God’s hand too short to do this in our generation?

We can pray for more people to sit and eat meals with tax collectors and sinners. We can pray that more of us would be so attractive to others that tax collectors and sinners would invite us over to their house to eat and enjoy dinner. When was the last time a ’sinner’ invited you over to their house to eat food? Would you go? Make this a simple prayer this week: “Lord, let some sinner I know invite me over for dinner.” Do you know any ’sinners’? That might be a place to start too.

The bridegroom is not with us. Have you fasted recently? Maybe now is the time to fast?

When was the last time you took a break? A Sabbath? If Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, a mere day of the week, then is there anything he is not Lord of? So examine yourself in the Lord: Is there any part of yourself that you have not submitted to His Lorship?

Finally, pray for Gospel preachers. Mark says that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the beginning of the Gospel. Then Jesus comes on the scene and starts preaching ‘The time has come. The Kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the Gospel!’ Lord prepare us to repent. Lord prepare us for the Kingdom come near. Lord prepare us to hear the Gospel. Lord prepare us to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom come near. May your will be done. May your Kingdom come. Let the Gospel be on our lips.

I hope these, admittedly, preliminary thoughts are helpful to you in your prayer life and your study of Mark’s Gospel. We learn a great deal about Jesus in these two fast-paced, whirlwind chapters. There’s much more to learn as Mark’s Gospel progresses.

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A Few Thoughts on Matthew 24

March 11, 2009 at 11:10 pm · Filed under Scripture, devotional, prayer and tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

A Few Thoughts on Matthew 24-25

There’s been a lot of noise lately by people who are terribly concerned about the state of the world. Perhaps rightfully so. It does so seem that much about the world is out of whack. A couple of articles demonstrate this point. Please read them entirely as I am only quoting portions. One preacher said it this way:

AN EARTH-SHATTERING CALAMITY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. IT IS GOING TO BE SO FRIGHTENING, WE ARE ALL GOING TO TREMBLE – EVEN THE GODLIEST AMONG US.

For ten years I have been warning about a thousand fires coming to New York City. It will engulf the whole megaplex, including areas of New Jersey and Connecticut. Major cities all across America will experience riots and blazing fires-such as we saw in Watts, Los Angeles, years ago.

There will be riots and fires in cities worldwide. There will be looting-including Times Square, New York City. What we are experiencing now is not a recession, not even a depression. We are under God’s wrath. [Dave Wilkerson his emphasis]

Another well respected blogger said it this way:

Oneida, Ky. – We are on the verge – within 10 years – of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity. This breakdown will follow the deterioration of the mainline Protestant world and it will fundamentally alter the religious and cultural environment in the West.

Within two generations, evangelicalism will be a house deserted of half its occupants. (Between 25 and 35 percent of Americans today are Evangelicals.) In the “Protestant” 20th century, Evangelicals flourished. But they will soon be living in a very secular and religiously antagonistic 21st century.

This collapse will herald the arrival of an anti-Christian chapter of the post-Christian West. Intolerance of Christianity will rise to levels many of us have not believed possible in our lifetimes, and public policy will become hostile toward evangelical Christianity, seeing it as the opponent of the common good.

Millions of Evangelicals will quit. Thousands of ministries will end. Christian media will be reduced, if not eliminated. Many Christian schools will go into rapid decline. I’m convinced the grace and mission of God will reach to the ends of the earth. But the end of evangelicalism as we know it is close. [Michael Spencer]

I’m not terribly concerned about the nature of either prediction. Either could happen. Either might not happen. Both could happen. Both could be happening right now. It doesn’t really matter if these things happen or when they happen. What matters is the manner in which we, Christian people, respond to them either way. Every so often things like this happen and people make predictions

These two stories, along with a couple of others I read this week, got me to thinking about Matthew 24-25. I just happened to be reading these two chapters as part of my Lenten discipline. I’ll quote just a bit from Matthew 24 (while encouraging you to read both chapters in their entirety):

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,[a]‘ and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24-25

The disciples had specifically asked: What will be the signs of the end of the age? I assume it is fair to suggest that they were referring, first and foremost, to the age in which they lived. Thus Jesus’ words would make a lot more sense to them then they would say to us. But this does not mean that these words have no meaning to us or value to us or message to us. Part of what makes Scripture scripture is that it has meaning and is revelatory to every generation that reads it and accepts it as God’s Word to humanity. That’s not all that makes it Scripture, but that is part. So these words must mean something to us too: “Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away” (24:35) said Jesus. At minimum this must mean something like, “Things will never change and my prophecy about man will always be true regardless of which generation hears it.”

We will always, always, always, be people of war, violence, hatred, and deceit. Jesus’ words will never fail in this regard. His assessment of us and our ways will always be right.

On the other hand, we will also, always, be people who are looking for hope, that glimmer of light, or ray of sunshine. Hence Jesus’ warning that we should be on our guard against all the false prophets and messiah’s who will make their appearance as soon as things start getting rough on earth. We must beware because there will come along people who will have ‘all the answers,’ who will provide that glimmer of hope.

I’d like to take a broad sweep at these two chapters and note briefly four pieces of ‘advice’ that Jesus has for every generation of believers who happens to exist during particularly difficult times on earth. Again, these are broad sweeps and not in any way meant to be comprehensive exegetical masterpieces.

First, covering 24:1-29: Don’t be deceived. This leads me to thing that people will be deceived or at least susceptible to being deceived. He uses words like ‘watch out’, ‘do not be deceived’, ‘do not believe it’, and others. His warning is stern: Don’t fall for it. Believe it or not, there are people who actually might be trying to deceive the elect during such difficult times as these. But it is not just deceit by false prophets and false messiahs that causes us problems. Look, we are liable to deceive one another too. “At that time many will turn from the faith and will betray and hate each other and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold” (24:10-12). Love? Our love of God? Yes. And our love for one another. That’s what happens when deceit worms its way in and we start growing paranoid about the wickedness in the world and the wars and the famines and the earthquakes. We start to lack faith and we give up loving God and loving one another. We have to guard against the deceit of thinking that we can get by without one another. We have to guard against the deceit of thinking that wickedness will abate if only we despise one another. We have to guard against the deceit of thinking we will be safe or safer just because we turn on one another. Seems to me Paul warned the Corinthian church about this same thing in 1 Corinthians 1. We have to guard against being deceived in a hundred different ways. Why? “For as lightning that comes from th east is visible in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (24:27). In other words, we guard against being deceived because he is coming back.

Second, covering 24:30-25:13: Pay close attention to yourself, not to the signs that you see around you. If you read carefully through this section of verses, you will note a refrain. It’s not always in the exact same language, but the gist of it is this: “At that time, the Son of Man will appear in the sky.” Then Jesus keeps on harping on this over and over again: “But about that day or hour no one knows…” He keeps stressing this ‘unknown’ factor in his return. He also keeps stressing that those who are waiting for his return had better be paying attention ‘…because you do not know the day your Lord will return.’ And this is how he ends this section in 25:13: “Therefore, keep watch because you do not know the day or the hour.” Over and over. The parable of the ten maids is about this very point. We have enough to worrry about trying to keep ourselves prepared and ready without having to worry about others’ preparedness. The wise servant pays attention. He works diligently because he knows his master will return and he doesn’t want to be caught unawares. The point? We are to be paying attention to ourselves because He will be returning. That is, we are to be looking forward to his return and thus making preparations for that return.

Third, covering 25:14-30: Use whatever opportunities you have been entrusted with to bring honor to the Master who entrusted them. Why? Because, as with the previous two points, he is coming back and will hold us accountable for what we have been entrusted with. We cannot escape this conclusion. The foolish servant who hid his treasure under his tent, in the dirt, did the wrong thing. It appears, at least on a surface reading, that the Master would rather us use what he has given us and fail than to sit on it and preserve it. The person who takes no risks, who ventures nothing, does so why? In order only to preserve himself. This is the person who refuses to live by faith. Jesus here is saying this: Be more concerned with the Master than you are with yourself. The one who merely hides the treasure is a person who loves himself more than his Master. But Jesus is saying that if the times are as perilous as they might appear, this is no time to be sitting on a bag of gold. Use it! Risk it! Put it to work! We shouldn’t be so terrified that the Master will scold us if we lose what he has given us in our efforts to bring glory to His name. It seems, at least on the surface, that there is no patience for those who value their own life more than they value the Master’s honor. You see, the servant’s failure was a direct and clear indication to every one else what he thought of his Master. His opinion was not high. In Kingdom economy, we might say that risk matters far more than preservation. Far too few are willing to sell out all their life for Christ: He who loses his life for my sake will find it; he who saves it will lost it. Worse, this servant blames the Master for his failure. It will be no ones fault but our own when we are rejected for possessing the treasure and not giving it away to the Master’s glory. The servant’s own words were used to condemn him! Scary. So, we must make wise use of what he has entrusted to us because he will return and ask for an accounting.

Fourth, covering 25:31-46: Understand that the manner in which we treat God’s servants is the manner in which we treat God himself. “Truly, I tell you, whatever you did for the one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mind, you did for me” (25:40). This might be hard to grasp, or to accept, but that is what Jesus is saying: If you treat God’s servants poorly, it is unlikely you will treat the Lord any differently. In fact, that is how you are treating the Lord even though you don’t know it: “When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?” If we have rejected those who minister Christ to us in Word and deed, then we have rejected Christ himself: “Truly, I tell you whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (25:45). What is more powerful than even this, however, is this: “All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” And this separation is based in large part on the manner in which we received those brothers and sisters of Christ. There is an obligation, on our part, and on the part of the world in general, to recognize Christ coming to us. And why? Because he is coming back to call us to account for the way we received Him. The manner in which we received him the first time, in the form of his servants, is the manner in which he will receive us when he returns.

Concluding Thoughts There are a lot of emerging and converging themes in these two chapters. Admittedly, I haven’t taken much time to dissect details or even explore the historical context. The historical context matters, but frankly, I think it is far more important to translate this into our own day. So, a couple of concluding thoughts.

Look for His Return. It is impossible to read these chapters and conclude that there will not be some dramatic return of the Son of Man. Call it the Second Coming, call it the Kingdom Come, call it the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord. This thought comes up over and over again, but there’s also a hook. Many think we won’t notice his return or that it will be secret. Not at all. Jesus says: You will not mistake any one else’s return for His. That is, when Jesus returns, we will know it. We will see. It won’t be mistaken for a parlor trick or dog and pony show. He will come back, and it will not be pleasant: “At that time the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the peoples of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.” No, there will be no mistaking his return and we are right to pay attention and look for it and watch for it.

Live by Faith. It is too easy, far too easy, to get worried and distracted by all the bad news we see every day in the news. This requires little thought, though. How else are the elect called to live but by faith? We will be tempted to take the easy way out and run after false messiahs and listen to false prophets. It will be far too easy to think that others have the answer to what ails the world. But Jesus is quite clear: Don’t look for the answers in false hopes. Look for me. I am all you need. I am your answer. Put your hope and faith in the only real Messiah there is. And to do this, you must live by faith.

Stay Busy. Those who live in expectant hope are not called to a life of laziness and irresponsibility. No. We are called to action. We are called to duty. We are called to be busy doing what he sets before us each minute of each day. Again, here, we see the life of faith lived out in the power of the Faith. He gives treasures and gifts and says use them. Use them to feed the poor. Use them to visit the sick. Use them to bring hope to others. Use them to the Master’s glory. You don’t have a right to sit around being lazy. We are not to be like they were in Noah’s day merely reveling and partying and dancing and whooping it up all day. No. Those in the parable were ‘in the field’ and ‘at the mill.’ In other words, they were working, getting on with life’s business. Thus it is must be.

Consequences for Failure. For some this means being deceived. For some it means growing in hatred and opposition to brothers in faith. For some it means love that grows cold. For some it means a place with the hypocrites, and weeping, and gnashing of teeth. For some it means he doesn’t know them; the door is shut. For some it means being thrown out into the darkness. For some it means eternal punishment. I suppose there are many ways to interpret these things Jesus said. Maybe they are all different ways of describing the same thing. Maybe they are degrees of punishment. I don’t know and I’m not sure it matters. What could be worse than ‘I don’t know you’ coming from God’s mouth to our ear? What could be worse than, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, in the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels”? Whatever that means, I don’t want to hear it, not even an echo. I don’t want to hear anyone hear it. At least, we might say there are consequences for our failure to heed these warnings. (Also note who it is each case who delivers the consequences for failure. It is the Master, the Lord, the King, the Bridegroom. It is He we have failed. It is He who is Judge.)

Jesus Cares. Why does he tell us all this stuff? Why does he warn us that the only way we can live is by faith? Why does he warn us of false prophets? Why tell us about false prophets? Why tell us not to get worked up about war, famine, and conflict? Why does he tell us he will be back? Why tell us that we too, like every other generation, can expect life to be tough? Why tell us of rewards and consequences? Why warn against love that grows cold? Could it be that he knew it would be a long time? Could it be that he knew we would grow weary? Could it be that he expects us to encourage one another with these words? Could it be that he cares? And could it be that his goal is to save us from disaster?

We are weak and frail and so easily duped. But we have been warned. We have been told that we are far to prone to failure in the life of faith. Could it be that he is trying to calm us down by telling us in advance what to expect? We cannot change it, he will not stop it. And yet…and yet…we will not only survive, we will be blessed. “But whoever stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (24:13-14). Oh, yes. We can expect an end. But we can also expect to live in hope that Christ has not abandoned us to hopelessness.

These chapters make no sense apart from a resurrection point of view.

Prayer Thoughts What can we pray about after reading these passages? There are a few thoughts we can consider.

Christ Minds. We are warned by Peter to be sober. Pray for clear minds and thoughts. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus warned the author of Hebrews. Pray that our minds will be clear so that we will not be deceived.

Christ Preachers. Pray for those who preach. Pray that their words will be Christ honoring and Gospel filled. Pray the Word of Christ which will not fail will be on their lips.

Christ’s Return. I should certainly think we would want to pray for his soon return. We pray that he will hasten the day and cut short the days of suffering. Also that we have eyes to see and ears to hear. We won’t miss it, but we don’t want to grow weary while we wait.

Christ Wisdom. He has given us gifts and treasures and he expects us to use them. They are still his treasures, but he has given them to us to use for his glory and his reward. Pray for wisdom to know when such opportunities are before us. Pray for wisdom to discern appropriate courses of action.

Christ Perseverance. Again, it will be easy to fail and fall behind. It will be easy to be sidetracked. We need the perseverance of Christ if we are to be standing at the end. Pray for the courage to press on even in the midst of all sorts of world turmoil. Press on toward the mark to which he has called us in Christ.

Christ Strength. He has called us to work and serve. The temptation will be to do things in our own strength and in our own wisdom and in our own power. We pray for his strength to empower us to work and serve and love. We are weak, He is strong. We pray it will be His strength that is exerted through our obedience. Persecution will come when ‘all nations hate us because of Him.’ We need his strength to stand. Pray for his strength, His resurrection power (Ephesians 2), to empower and embolden us.

There’s probably a lot more in these two chapters. This is what struck me tonight as I shared in fellowship with my congregation. I hope this blesses you and encourages your prayer life and your service in Christ’s Kingdom.

God Bless in His grace and Peace.

Maranatha!

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Lenten Study Notes, Matthew 1-2

February 25, 2009 at 10:58 pm · Filed under Scripture, prayer and tagged: , , , , , ,

I’m involved in a FB study group for Lent. We are reading two chapters per day through the Gospels with the intent of reading all four Gospels by Easter. Here’s the study notes I posted for today. jerry

Lenten Study Group Notes
Matthew 1-2
February 25, 2009

The thing that struck me most as I read through Matthew 1 is the number of different ways that Matthew identifies Jesus. In chapter 2 of Matthew we see how the birth of Jesus upset the entire order of things in the world. In this brief study, I’d like to note these for you and perhaps offer a comment or two, and close with some prayer thoughts that we can derive from this different names. These are somewhat random thoughts. I’ll post new thoughts when I can or feel moved to. I encourage you to do the same so we can all share from God’s leading. Be blessed in your reading and study. jerry

1:1-17…The genealogy might seem like a meaningless contribution to the gospel story, but in fact it is an integral part of it. This genealogy begins by telling us it is about Jesus, the Messiah (v 1). It ends by noting that this is the genealogy of the Messiah (v 17). Mixed in the genealogy are the major signposts of the gospel story: Abraham, David, and Exile. By beginning and ending with Messiah, who is Jesus, we are to understand that Messiah is both the root and the stump. He is the beginning and the end of the genealogy. The word Messiah has to do with anointing as in ‘anointing a king’ (see Psalm 2). This genealogy is the family tree of the true King of Israel.

1:18-25…In these verses we see a few other identifying names of Jesus. He is Jesus the Messiah (v 18). He is Jesus who will ‘save his people from their sins’ (v 21). He is Immanuel who is ‘God with us’ (v 23). He is Jesus (v 25). The author is heaping up name after name for his readers so that there can be no doubt about who is Messiah, who will save his people from their sins, who is God with us. His name is Jesus. There is nothing ‘normal’ about the circumstances surrounding this birth. His conception was by the Holy Spirit (v 18). His birth was protected by angelic proclamation (v 20). His birth was the fulfillment of Scripture (v 22).

2:1-18…Bethlehem is the ‘town of David.’ So it seems to me that even being born there was to invite the scrutiny of those in power. When the Magi ask their question, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?’ they invite further scrutiny. The readers sees this working itself out in the person of Herod. Perhaps the word ‘disturbed’ here is a bit weak in the NIV. What I see happening here is that the political kingship of Herod is being undone. Notice how he is being threatened, shaken to the core, by the mere mention of the birth of this child. Would this child upset the order of things? (Luke’s first couple chapters highlight this subversiveness with even more intensity.) I don’t find it odd, however, that the Magi go to Herod and Matthew doesn’t tell us that they in any way recognize his political power. That is, he doesn’t tell us that they give him gifts or that they worship him. Yet Matthew does tell us that this is exactly what these Magi do when they come into the presence of Jesus. Is it any wonder then that Herod is so angry? Jesus was taking all his glory and subverting the order of things, undoing the power structures of the day, crushing the power-brokers. I also note how it is that God is not uninvolved in the world. He interacts with the people, he breaks into the affairs of people, he subverts kings, he outwits the powerful (and they can do nothing about it at all), he protects some (but not all), and God does things in the lives of people that cause people to get really angry (to say the least). The rule of the kings of earth can bring nothing but weeping and great mourning.

2:19-23…But like all kings, Herod died. For all his rage, and anger, and venting of fury, Herod still died. Nevertheless, perhaps we are meant to understand that the spirit of Herod continued to thrive in the person of his son Archeleus.

Thoughts

1. How does the genealogy reinforce our confidence in God’s faithfulness? (Pay particular attention to the morally weak men and women whose names are included in the genealogy. It should bring us comfort and hope that if God can and did and would use them, that perhaps we should not be too quick to overlook the flawed and weak in our own time—since it seems that even God doesn’t.)

2. What can we learn about what God means to do in the world through Jesus simply by looking at the different ways Jesus is identified in chapter 1? (How does he ‘save from sins’? What is ‘God with us’ (see Matthew 28)? What is ‘Messiah’? What is ‘out of Egypt I called my son’? What is ‘he will be called a Nazarene’? etc.)

3. Note the various ways that Matthew tells us the birth of Jesus subverted the power structures of the world. Do you suppose that his birth still in any way subverts power structures in our world? (We don’t take too much note nowadays about how the birth of Jesus is subversive. For us, Christmas is much more passive and fluffy.)

4. Matthew begins his Gospel (chapters 1-2) by defining for his readers the nature of the Jesus Reign. Pay close attention to the Royal overtones in these chapters. Make note of them. Mark them out. Define them. Do you think Christians have too weak a conception of the Royal rule of Jesus Messiah? How can this be corrected?

Prayer

Perhaps we need to pray more about this rule of Jesus. How can we pray that the rule of Christ break in even in our world now? How can we pray that he undo the power-brokers of our world? We should. The birth of Jesus also brought pain to some because those in power didn’t understand the birth of Messiah. Those in power feel threatened. Pray that the Lord will show us how we can bring comfort to those who hurt. Pray the reign and rule of Christ be hastened (‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done’). Pray there will be obedient servants who will follow God’s leading (as did Mary and Joseph). Pray for those who search the Scriptures now (note the emphasis of Matthew on the fulfillment of Scripture).

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Life Under the Blue Sky

October 16, 2008 at 2:30 pm · Filed under Scripture, devotional, discipleship, prayer and tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Friends,

I feel like it has been forever since I had a meaningful post here. I need to write this morning, but in a non-connected sort of way. I have some rumblings I’d like to share with you from the past week or so.

First, I learned something interesting about ‘church’ this week. Tuesday night I went to visit a young couple who have been worshiping with our congregation. I was feeling rather pleased with myself when the husband said, “I really enjoy your preaching. It really gets deep and feeds me spiritually.” He’s a Catholic and he and his wife have been worshiping at what might be called a ‘PD’ Church and they are in their 20’s. Wow. Then Wednesday morning I went to FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) at the local Middle School where I work. We were doing sort of a survey of the kids and one of the questions was, “So when you think of church, what word comes to mind?” My 7th grade PK spoke up, “Boring.”

I guess that just goes to show that no matter what sort of congregation one has or worships with not everyone will be pleased.

Second, I watched the latest installment of Rambo this week, Rambo. It was an interesting movie. It featured some Christian missionaries who hearts were bigger than their brains and, of course, a lot–I mean a lot–of bullets. Stallone raised some important questions about war, violence, justice, peace, and, I think, Christianity. The film was unbelievably violent. I didn’t know that the human body could be shredded in so many ways (I thought once I had seen “Saw” I had seen it all.) Stallone took it to a ‘whole nover level.’ The film wasn’t the best Rambo I have ever seen: the dialogue was full of cliche, too fast, too predictable. Furthermore, I tend to disagree with the idea that nothing changes–even though I have argued otherwise here and elsewhere in the past. But the violence and horror and blood: Oh, it was glorious!

I guess it just goes to show that no matter what the plot or how bad the dialogue I will tune in to a film where the bad guys get eaten up by .50 caliber machine gun bullets, in a variety of ways, and the hero lives (Oh, and where a once pacifist Christian grows a set and bashes in the head of a child of Babylon).

Third, it has been a long week. Last night, I had a huge ‘family discussion’ with my youngest son, who is in 5th grade, because he just refuses to do his homework. Then his teacher, a 20 something just out of college who knows all about raising recalcitrant and stubborn children and what is the best way to educate them, sends me email informing me of how my son is ’still not turning in his homework’ as if to say, “You freaking moron, why won’t you make your son do his homework. I have been over this with you a hundred times now. Are you dense.” I want to respond to her e-mail, but I let my wife instead. My son simply does not see the point of doing ridiculous math problems where he has to, and I quote, ‘interpret the remainder.’ What does that mean? I can’t blame him; I hate math too. He says, in an all too eerie imitation of his father, “I can add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Why do I need to do story problems?” Oooooohhh. I get it. I really do.

I guess it just goes to show that no matter ‘important’ the work to be done, there will always be someone who refuses to see its value or significance.

Fourth, I can’t pray this week. I don’t know why. I have prayed a little. I have been reading my bible.  But I just cannot seem to find the energy to pray. My dad lost his job again. My brother had to be evacuated from his house in CA due to fires. My mother, I am convinced, hates me. I fought with my sons yesterday and hurt my oldest son’s feelings. I go to bed early and can’t get up. My wife and I were getting along and then I snapped at her again this morning. One of the ladies wants me to, get this, hang curtains at the church building this afternoon. What? Is that why I’m around here? Is that what my degree prepared me for? To hang curtains? You’ve got to be kidding me. I can’t pray this week. I’m stuck in a funk. Plus, on top of that, I just finished reading Joshua. And for the first time in my life, the book of Joshua frightened and confused me.

I guess it just goes to show that no matter how much is going right in a person’s life there will always be enough wrong to sap the strength, the joy, and the communion. Rich Mullins said it best, “It’s hard, yes it’s hard. You know it’s hard to be like Jesus.”

Fifth, I’ve been lurking this week; reading; watching; listening. The world of the blog is a complex place. One day I think, “I’m done with blogging.” The next day, I get 200 hits on my blog and change my mind. What amazes me is the depths that people are willing to go to in order to be right. (It was my oldest son who confronted me with this hard truth last night. I won’t tell him, but he was right.) I have trouble living with myself just because I am, so I don’t know how some bloggers live with themselves when their sole purpose in life and writing is to destroy everything that is not of themselves. I have to admit that sometimes I wish I had never started blogging. It’s a terribly depressing place at times. I think I’ll start praying for a worldwide crash of the blogosphere. Nah. I’m too vain for that. Someone said to me the other day, “The problem is that some bloggers are more in love with theology than they are with Jesus.” Gawd, I hope that is never me. I love theology, but not at the expense of The person.

I guess it just goes to show that everything that is a blessing is also a curse. If we find some joy while we are here, perhaps there will be distress from some place else. Thankfully, Jesus can be found.

Sixth, and finally, the world is uh, messed up. I am frustrated because there is so much hate, so much greed, so much violence, so much fear, so much disaster, so much death. Really, this place is too much. I hate it here most of the time and yet I lack the necessary courage to constantly pray ‘maranatha!’ Really, this place needs some serious help because I’m just pessimistic enough to believe that it is not going to get better before it gets worse and with presidential elections looming, taxes likely to go up, the ever-present concern of when the next terrorist strike will come, the growing concern about how all the financial stuff will affect my salary (since it depends upon donations to the church)–well, that and more, my concern about the Steelers winning every Sunday and my disappointment with Jeff Gordon’s terrible, terrible year in NASCAR. Well, the world is messed up and I have just been thinking about whether or not I am doing enough one one hand, and on the other lamenting that I can only do so much, that I feel so helpless.

I guess it just goes to show that the world is in much bigger need of someone much bigger than I to solve the problems that this world is faced with just now. (I also seriously doubt that either presidential candidate is going lessen my anxiety.)

It’s only Thursday. I have band practice and a board meeting tonight. I have a wedding rehearsal tomorrow. I have prayer meeting and a wedding on Saturday. Somewhere in the midst of all this I have to write two sermons. I don’t know if I can write sermons this week. Maybe I’ll just watch some more baseball and hope that the Red Sox get clobbered again. One can dream, can’t he? Happily, on Sunday, I can worship with my friends. In the meantime, I’m glad to know you and happy you stopped by for a visit today. Perhaps some of my angst can touch you and point you to Jesus. I’m sticking with Jesus today. I hope you are too.

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

I think I’m getting back into prayer shape. I hope you will join with me.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Reprinted courtesy of CRN.info

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Prayer Thoughts, October 7, 2008: Psalm 40, pt 2

October 7, 2008 at 6:19 am · Filed under Scripture, prayer and tagged: , , , , , ,

Friends, here is part two of my three part prayer journal entries on Psalm 40. This part takes more of a section by section approach to the Psalm. I note the verse I begin with in each section. I end with the verse before the next marked section. Don’t expect answers to questions. Often times when I pray Scripture, and journal it, I leave open thoughts in order that answers might come from the prayers themselves. That is, learning to wait upon the Lord. I have also included the Psalm for easy reference. This is not an exhaustive exegetical approach. This is praying Scripture in all of its honesty, ambiguity, and personal-ness. That is, I try to make the Psalm mine without feeling the obligation to understand everything that the Psalmist is saying or feeling. After all, that is what prayer is. jerry

Prayer Thoughts   October 7, 2008   Psalm 40, pt 2

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.
4 Blessed is the man
who makes the LORD his trust,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.
5 Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare.
6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but my ears you have pierced;
burnt offerings and sin offerings
you did not require.
7 Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll.
8 I desire to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”
9 I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips,
as you know, O LORD.
10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and salvation.
I do not conceal your love and your truth
from the great assembly.
11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD;
may your love and your truth always protect me.
12 For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.
13 Be pleased, O LORD, to save me;
O LORD, come quickly to help me.
14 May all who seek to take my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.
15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
be appalled at their own shame.
16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say,
“The LORD be exalted!”
17 Yet I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O my God, do not delay.

On the day that I made these notes (September 11) I was unfocused on ACTS and more focused on the text itself. I made a few random notes about the verses in preparation for prayer. I include a verse number beside the particular thought I had.

Verse 1. He waited for the Lord and the ‘Lord turned to me.’ Does this mean that the Lord had turned away from him for a time?!? It’s a terrifying thought, to me anyhow, that perhaps there are times when God has turned his back to us—that is, not listened to our prayers. I suppose at times when prayers go unanswered we think this is the time when he has done so. But the Lord did a lot of things here in the Psalm: He turned, he lifted, he set, he gave, he put…All these things the Lord did so that the people might ‘see’ and ‘fear’, not David, but the Lord himself; the Lord. He also wants faith. In other words, God made himself known in order that he might be known by faith. Those who do so, David says, are blessed. These are the ones who look to the Lord who made himself known and not to those whose lives are defined by their arrogance and idolatry which are, to be sure, power grabs.

Verse 5. But those who see the wonders of God are not only blessed by the self-revealing God, they are changed too (8). David continues to say that this God he has come to know will be talked about, and declared; but too, read what David says: “Here I am—I will desire to do your will. We get or become so ambitious when we know God. We want to serve him and worship him. We want to do the things that please him. Some how seeing God, hearing God, and knowing God changes everything. And David is speaking of all these things. Seeing (v 3); hearing (v 6); knowing (v 1ff). The point is that this encounter with the God who acts and saves does not leave us unscathed. It is a sad thing to see people who know God and have seen him work and do and yet they remain unchanged, unchallenged, unfermented. “You are always on their lips but far from their hearts.” (Jeremiah 12:2b) I don’t want to remain untouched by this God.

Verse 9. Another important aspect is that the one who gets to know God—through God’s self-revelation—also refuses to keep such information to himself. This has to be proclaimed—but the right ideas have to be conveyed too. None can compare with God—none; but his deeds and wonders are almost too much to talk about because they are so many (v 5). Yet David finds it impossible here to consider keeping God and righteousness, and faithfulness and mercy and love to himself (v 9-10). These things must be proclaimed in the great assembly (interestingly, ‘great assembly’ bookends these verses 9-10; who is David speaking to in these verses?) He speaks. And what else should or can a king or anyone with such knowledge do? Can we keep silent when God has done so much? Will our mouths remain sealed when God has given such a great deliverance? There is much David will declare about this God who has revealed himself, who has turned toward David and heard his cry.

  • He will sing a new song of his deliverance by God (v 3)
  • He will speak of God’s wondrous deeds—if he can! (v 5) (although at times he seems more inclined to listen than than talk, v 6)
  • He proclaims God’s saving acts (v 9)
  • He speaks of God’s saving acts and righteousness and faithfulness (v 10)
  • Eventually those David witnesses to will also speak—saying, ‘The Lord is Great!’ (v 16) I guess part of the goals is to have more and more people joining in the chorus; to have their words converted from ‘aha, aha’ to ‘The Lord is Great!’ in the great assembly.

Verse 11. Those who know the Lord will cry out to him. They will recognize in Him a Deliverer, a Protector, a Forgiver. In other words, David realizes that his prison is far more than physical. His prison is much deeper and much more complex than mere physical enemies who may be a sign of great trouble David has with sin. He says he cannot see (v 12); what can he not see? The Lord’s deliverance? The Lord himself? David, in other words, even after hearing and seeing God, still sins. He is not yet perfected. He must still recognize the sincere gap, the huge distance, between who God is and who David is. David learns much about himself when he learns about God and thus will respond appropriately to God: Deliver! I think we can look at the sin that wrecks our life as an enemy too. It surrounds us, engulfs us, consumes us. All we can pray for is deliverance. David here was being battered on all sides: from within and from without. Enemies around his house, sin within his heart. But David knows who delivers from all sorts of enemies and he turns to Him time and time again.

Verse 14. Those who seek God who has revealed himself are marked people. This seems abundantly obvious. They cannot go unnoticed by those who do not seek God. With declaration comes a certain amount of animosity from the wicked: They want to destroy. David is rightly concerned, but he is not full of fear because he trusts God. Some seek David to destroy him, but they will only meet with the Lord in one way or another. He doesn’t say if they will meet ruin or confession or not. He doesn’t say if he will be delivered from their reprobate actions or not. He trusts that God is is Deliverer, but as far as it goes, in the Psalm, we have no idea if David is rescued or not. He leaves us on an open chord—calling out for the God he has patiently waited for to not delay.

When I was finished reading and collecting these thoughts, I noted some concluding observations.

I think the question is this: Can we or will we wait upon the Lord? What if he delays? What if he never shows up at all? Do we put our trust in him or not? Do we make the Lord our trust? Do we still declare? Sing? Speak? Do his will? Wait (patiently)? Do we still trust him? Do we have confidence in his faithfullness? His greatness? His love? His mercy? His righteousness? Can we still declare with and in the assembly that God is great, even when he makes us wait? Will we trust him even when it seems that he has turned his back to us and not answered our prayers?

Soli Deo Gloria!

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Developing the Language of Prayer

August 26, 2008 at 8:03 am · Filed under prayer and tagged: , , , , ,

Friends,

It is time now to begin updating this blog on a regular basis. I have decided that for my part I will be taking a slightly different approach to what is posted here now and instead of doing what I was doing-which there was and is nothing wrong with-I will begin posting thoughts, insights, and ideas from my daily prayer walk.

I have been using the simple prayer acrostic A.C.T.S. for about the last week or so in conjunction with prayer bulletins I have been preparing for my congregation. Here’s how this works. First, I prepare a ‘prayer bulletin’ for my Saturday morning prayer team. This bulletin includes several Scriptures that we will read each day throughout the coming week. The Scriptures follow the above acrostic (A.C.T.S.). These Scriptures are read and prayed each day for the next week and then on Saturday mornings they are read again together with the prayer team and prayed.

I will post those thoughts here (probably not daily, but more often than I have been posting here). Sometimes these thoughts are homiletical (preaching) thoughts, sometimes they are worship thoughts, sometimes they are particular questions or insights, or even exegetical thoughts. There is no particular rhyme or reason to them. They will be different each day; they will be the same each day (that I post). Most importantly, they are the thoughts that grow out of my prayer time and they are the thoughts (from Scripture) that guide and shape my prayer time.

As for the acrostic, A.C.T.S. In case you do not know what those letters stand for, I’ll demonstrate for you briefly. Perhaps you will find this a helpful outline to use in structuring your prayer time. It need not be so rigid although I do believe this particular pattern is most helpful and instructive. It properly places necessary elements in a proper position to approach the Lord. Again, this is not commanded, it is merely helpful. True prayer, I believe, comes not just from the shape of the prayer or the words that fill the prayer, but from the attitude of the heart that approaches God with boldness. In other words, I believe this outline is particular helpful and useful, but it is not absolutely essential.

The ‘A’, then, stands for Adoration. This is, in modern parlance, worship, praise, giving glory to God. It is first because it is the most natural expression of our being. Hallelujah is one of the most frequently heard terms on the planet even if half the time people do not have any idea what they are even saying. Adoration comes first because, “Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name.” Worship comes first because in the presence of God, what else can we do? This is what the angels do, this is what the four living creatures do, this is what Peter did when Jesus gave him a load of fish. Worship is what we do. It is what we are wired, so to speak, to do. Our first and most natural response is to worship. And even when we are not so consumed with worshiping YHWH, we will worship something or someone. The world is filled with idols for this very purpose. We begin prayer with worship also because it reminds us of what we are doing. Prayer is response and that response is worship. Prayer is not always a petititioning (although it never excludes petition) but it is always worship. Prayer is always acknowledging the one to whom we pray and as such it is worship. Prayer is acknowledged dependence upon the one to whom we pray.

The ‘C’, then, stands for Confession. I’m willing to bet that most Christians do not spend enough time in confession. But I want to make this clear at the beginning that confession has a positive and negative aspect to it. On the one hand, negatively, we confess our sins. We humble ourselves and confess to God our transgressions. We are David in Psalm 51 and Psalm 38, “I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.” Or David in Psalm 32, “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.’ And you forgave the guilt of my sin.” Powerful is confession; greater still is the One who forgives us and reassures us of forgiveness. We do not confess in order to be forgiven, but we confess and acknowledge forgiveness already given by grace. We confess that we might continually acknowledge God’s gracious and efficacious mercy. But confession also has a positive side to it as well.

On the other hand, we make a positive confession. For example, 2 Corinthians 9:13: “Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, people will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the Gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.” Here is an example of a positive confession by the Christians. Other examples exist too, say in Romans 10: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus’ is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” These are just a couple of examples of positive confession that must accompany our prayers. It is necessary to make confession not just because it reminds us of ‘who we are,’ but perhaps more importantly because it reminds us of who he is and who we are praying to. It grounds us, centers us. It keeps us aware of the presence into which we dare enter.

Well, this is all far too simplified and condensed. I suspect that there is far more too this development of prayer language than I have actually written of. Be assured, however, that this is what I am interested in developing here: A language for prayer. I am interested in taking the tools that I have received (from the Scripture, from literature, from the Spirit and not necessarily in any particular order) and putting them to use. “Prayer is language used in personal relation to God” (Eugene Peterson, Answering God, 12). I happen to agree with Peterson that the best language we can use to relate to God in this sense is the language he has already given us in Scripture.

So as this series of notes develop, as I continue to dig deeply into this language, we should see more and more Scripture appearing on the page. In the next installment of this series I will examine the ‘T’ of ACTS which is thanksgiving.

jerry

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Podcast #2: Jesus in the Old Testament: Leviticus & Sacrifice

April 18, 2008 at 4:14 pm · Filed under devotional, podcast and tagged: , , , , , ,

Friends,

I am happy to bring you my second podcast. This is part 1 of a six part series from the Old Testament book of Leviticus. The six parts come from a sermon I did about two years ago. Part 1 is the introductory material. The sound isn’t too bad considering I do not have professional equipment. This episode is 10 minutes and 45 seconds long. Don’t forget to leave feedback after you have listened and you can use the button below to subscribe to this and future podcasts from Life Under the Blue Sky. Thanks for stopping by. (You can use the link above to open in a new window, or you can use the inline player below.)

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Soli Deo Gloria!

jerry

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Post-Christmas Prayers

December 26, 2007 at 11:19 pm · Filed under church, prayer, worship and tagged: , , , , ,

Friends,

I am glad Christmas is over this year. It has been a very long season. I’m glad there was no snow and that the Christmas Eve worship was well attended. We had a great variety of participants this year: A family of bell ringers, a guitar soloist, a young female vocalist, a poet read her original work, one young man (my son) played The First Noel on the piano, one woman read a short work by Peter Marshall and another read the story of Christmas Bells. The congregation sang just about every Christmas hymn in our hymn books (and we did not even have to turn on the video projector!) We lit our candles near the end from the Advent wreath Christ candle. We read Scripture. And we prayed. It was one of my favorite Christmas eve worship services ever. It was sort of strange, however, reading Scripture that evening. One of our regular worshipers is married to a Jewish man who was in attendance. I wondered, as we read from Scripture–especially Isaiah, how those Scriptures sounded to him. I wondered how he felt hearing Christians claim the promises that God made to Israel as their own. Later on that evening I prayed, “Father, I want you to be glorified through the events of this evening.”

Yesterday, we visited with my in-laws. It was a nice afternoon. I was blessed near the end of the day to pray with my brother in law, Bob, who is now going through a second round of chemotherapy to treat a tumor. I was ashamed of myself. I prayed with him, his wife, and my wife in a quiet room in the house before he left. He is about seven years my junior. I don’t normally pray for miracles, but yesterday I did. I felt sort of strange praying for such intervention, but I don’t regret doing so. Then when I finished he said he wanted to add something, so he prayed: “Lord, I want my life to glorify you.” That’s what he said. Bob is a special man. I just don’t have words to describe the change that has taken place in his life since his baptism several years ago. You wouldn’t know that Bob has a tumor growing in his body and that the experimental treatments he is receiving may or may not work. He really is only concerned with God’s glory.

Christmas is a difficult time of year. I have been struggling mightily with the idea of God’s blessing. I’m trying to understand how to receive all things with thanksgiving and, at the same time, give everything away so that I don’t have to feel guilty for enjoying with thanksgiving all that God gives to us. In other words, I don’t want to give away just so that I won’t feel guilty. I want to give away because I want to give away. I don’t even want to give away because someone needs something. I just want to give away regardless of the person receiving. I don’t want to do so because I feel guilty. I do not want to do so because it does something for me. I want to give away because I can.

I prayed at the end of the worship Christmas Eve: “Lord, remind us that Christmas doesn’t end tomorrow. Help us remember that the work of Jesus didn’t end in the manger any more than it began in the manger. Lord let us always keep before us the cross whence comes the victory. Lord teach us that Christmas doesn’t end in a manger.” I’m glad the season is over–the holiday aspect of Christmas. I’m also glad that I have today to enjoy every blessing that comes from the Father.

Father, my prayer is simple, but not easy. Lord, I want to be the type of Christian who blesses others. I don’t just mean with money. Instead, I want to be one who blesses others with my actions, my words, my writing, my kindness, my faith–indeed Lord, I want my entire life to be a blessing to someone, given in faith and hope and expectation that I am pleasing You and Bringing glory to Your Name. As we passed the light from the Christ Candle on Christmas Eve so enable us and strengthen us to pass on that same light to others the other 364 days that will exist between this year’s Christmas eve and next year’s. Lord, I give myself to you; make me an offering acceptable and pleasing in Thy sight. Amen. Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!

jerry

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Prayer Journey Thoughts…Coming Soon

December 10, 2007 at 9:36 pm · Filed under introduction, prayer and tagged: , ,

Friends,

Something will be coming soon…I have invited a friend of mine to blog with me. As soon as we have all the details worked out, we will begin. This will be a great adventure. I’ll talk with you soon.

jerry

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