Sunday, November 27, 2011

Week 48: Cursed on a Tree

This week's reading plan is as follows:

* Sunday (epistles): 1 John 1-3
* Monday (the Law): Deuteronomy 20-22
* Tuesday (history): Nehemiah 1-4
* Wednesday (psalms): Psalms 137-139
* Thursday (poetry): Ecclesiastes 11-12
* Friday (prophecy): Malachi
* Saturday (gospels): Acts 19-20

So many good passages this week! The book of 1 John is all about loving each other and walking in the light. Not just talk the talk, but walk the walk by forgiving one another and loving one another. The book of Nehemiah is very actual. There are so many passages that deal with real-life situations and give practical advice. I love the little 'silent prayers' that Nehemiah send up to God, like Neh. 2:4 or 4:4.

Malachi is the last of the 'minor prophets' and officially closes out the Old Testament. There's a great chapter on 'tithing', and the blessing it holds for honoring God with the first fruits of your income.

Our SOAP this week, however, will be from the book of Deuteronomy:

Scripture
Deuteronomy 21:22-23 "If someone has committed a crime worthy of death and is executed and then hanged on a tree, the body must never remain on the tree overnight. You must bury the body that same day, for anyone hanging on a tree is cursed of God. Do not defile the land the LORD your God is giving you as a special possession."

Observation
Moses gives instructions here for criminals who have committed a severe crime that deserved death by hanging on a tree. The header above these verses in my Bible says "Various Regulations", and it almost seems like these two verses are somewhat lost in the entire chapter. Yet, when you give these verses a second thought, you might make a link to Jesus.

The first time I came across these verses was on Easter several years ago, when we read through the Bible with a number of people starting on 3p.m. on Good Friday, all the way through 6a.m. Easter Sunday. We rotated new people in every hour. I sat in a group of 3 guys during the last hour on Easter Sunday, as we closed our time. We had read through the entire New Testament, and we had started in the books of Moses with Genesis. Without planning this, our last chapter was this chapter of Deuteronomy, and the above verses were our last verses. This was truly amazing... The entire reading event was done to honor our Lord Jesus on Easter, and to end on these verses was just incredible!

These verses tell us that someone hanging from a tree is cursed of God. Jesus, hanging on a tree, was cursed of God. This is symbolized in the fact that the person hanging on the tree is 'lifted' above the earth, which basically says... you are not good enough for this earth nor good enough for heaven. You are hanging between heaven and earth.

Application
Verse 22 starts with... If someone has committed a crime worthy of death... Jesus did not commit any crime, yet he was found worthy of death. He took the punishment for us. He took the curse for us, as it says... someone hanging on a tree is cursed of God. This seems to be the only punishment in the Bible that is mentioned as a curse of God. That is why Jesus had to die this way. He had to take the curse upon him, so we could be free from that curse, and have eternal life with him. There's a lot more to say about this, but the book of 1 John is full of that message, so take some time to read that this week.

Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your incredible love for us, that you sent your one and only son to die for us on a tree. He took the curse for us, and we cannot thank you enough. Thank you Lord Jesus for taking that penalty. We are eternally grateful and want to live our life for you Lord. In your name we pray. Amen.

Have a great week, and in preparation for Christmas, reflect on what Jesus has done for you, on that tree, 2000 years ago.

In Him,

Dick

Friday, November 18, 2011

Week 47: Keeping our Faith Alive and Growing

This week's Bible reading unfolds as follows:

* Sunday (Epistles): 2 Peter
* Monday (The Law): Deuteronomy 16-19
* Tuesday (History): Ezra 6-10
* Wednesday (Psalms): Psalms 134-136
* Thursday (Poetry): Ecclesiastes 9-10
* Friday (Prophecy): Zechariah 8-14
* Saturday (Gospels): Acts 17-18

We cover a lot of great biblical material this week, from 2 Peter to Acts...and many good readings in between! There are a few verses in the first chapter of 2 Peter, however, that capture the essence of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. It's one of those precious texts that causes one to say, "If I could only get my life to line up with this passage, I would have it made as a follower of Jesus Christ!"

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:5-8
"In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

"The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins."

Observation:
The first observation to make is that faith (or belief) was never intended to exist by itself. It is "supplemented" with a rich set of virtues: moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, patient endurance, godliness, brotherly (and sisterly) affection, and love for everyone. Our faith is fortified and deepened when we take up these attitudes and actions.

It is also interesting to note that Peter lists seven virtues - a number in Scripture that signifies the wholeness and completeness of the created order. As members of Christ's "new creation," we become whole and complete when we make these virtues a part of our lives.

Another takeaway from this passage is the concept of ongoing spiritual growth. "The more you grow like this," Peter says, "the more productive and useful you will be...." Our growth, productivity, and usefulness are givens. In fact, when a Christ-follower isn't becoming more productive and useful in his or her knowledge of Jesus Christ, it signals a problem - namely, spiritual shortsightedness or even blindness, which keeps them from remembering their cleansing from past sins. It is essential to remember that we are a forgiven people, because that is what instills gratitude...and gratitude inspires our desire to practice these virtues...which in turn deepens our faith and keeps us growing spiritually.

It's all connected!

Application:
Applying this passage begins with a spiritual gut check. Are we growing in Christ the way we should be? If not, why not? We can start by asking ourselves whether it may be due to shortsightedness (or, at worst, blindness) regarding the forgiveness of our former sins. When we forget that we are the recipients of God's unconditional love and forgiveness, it's easy to become spiritually indifferent, pallid.

There are two ways to reverse this condition: (1) by practicing the discipline of remembrance and (2) by engaging the seven virtues that Peter lists in this passage.

Refocusing on that wondrous moment when we first realized that God had forgiven all our past sins inspires deep gratitude and reorients us to God's economy of grace. Everything we do in the Christian life is an outgrowth of grace. We do not work for our salvation, for it was freely given to us at the outset of our lives in Christ.

Now on to the seven virtues...

We do not acquire the virtue of moral excellence in one fell swoop. It comes through a lifetime of good choices. And while no human being except Jesus will ever get through life making perfect moral choices all the time, we build moral fiber by every upright choice we make. When we opt to tell the truth instead of "a white lie," or dismiss lustful thoughts when they enter our consciousness, or make complete stops at stop signs, or use words that build up rather than tear down, we enrich our moral character.

Knowledge as well comes piece by piece. The point is we never stop learning. And it matters what we choose to study. The knowledge that Scripture envisions is the knowledge of relationship. It's not a matter of learning facts. It's about knowing a person...in this case, God. We come to know God better through prayer, Bible reading, fellowship with other believers, and sound teaching.

"Self-control" is the only real control we have. We cannot control our circumstances...and we cannot control what other people do. We can only control how we respond to the outside world. Viktor Frankl, in his famous book, Man's Search for Meaning, reflected on the prisoners of Germany's concentration camps. He noted a fundamental difference between those who survived those torturous circumstances and those who did not: the attitude they chose to have. He wrote, “The one thing you can’t take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me. The last of one’s freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given circumstance.” That, in a word, is self-control! And one key byproduct is the next virtue: patient endurance.

Moral excellence, knowledge of God, self-control, and patient endurance yield, collectively, the fifth virtue on the list - namely, godliness. Godly people are known precisely by their patience, self-control, knowledge, and moral excellence! And the more God-like we are, the easier it is to love both Christians and non-Christians, hence practicing virtues six and seven!

Prayer:
O Lord, please keep us ever mindful of the cleansing of our past sins, which keeps our gratitude, and thus our faith, alive. And by your grace, enable us to keep growing in productivity and usefulness, as we pursue the virtues that characterize your new creation: moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, patient endurance, godliness, brotherly love, and love for everyone. For Jesus' sake. Amen!

Have a great week!

Faithfully,
Chuck

Friday, November 4, 2011

Week 45: Respecting those in Authority

This week's Bible reading unfolds as follows:

* Sunday (Epistles): 1 Peter 1-3
* Monday (The Law): Deuteronomy 10-12
* Tuesday (History): 2 Chronicles 33-36
* Wednesday (Psalms): Psalms 128-130
* Thursday (Poetry): Ecclesiastes 5-6
* Friday (Prophecy): Haggai
* Saturday (Gospels): Acts 13-14

Scripture:
Peter's first epistle is filled with much practical wisdom. One of the passages that stands out is 1 Peter 2:13-14a: "For the Lord’s sake, respect all human authority — whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed."

Observation:
Criticizing "human authority" is routine practice these days. We don't have a king in this nation. The equivalent is the President of the United States. "Appointed officials" include members of the Executive Branch, the president's cabinet, the Legislative Branch, which includes the Congress and Senate House, and the Judicial Branch, which includes the Supreme Court, US Court of Appeals, US District Courts, and Territorial Courts. Beyond that there are the US Armed Forces and state and local authorities.

A day does not go by without the media criticizing or demeaning one of these officials.

Ours is a culture of criticism.

God's word calls followers of Jesus Christ to be countercultural!

Instead of getting on the bandwagon of political pundits and talk-show hosts, God asks us to respect those in governmental authority. The "king" in Peter's day was the infamous emperor, Nero, who brutally murdered Christians. If followers of Christ were to respect Nero, we have no room for excuses when it comes to respecting the governmental authorities in our nation.

Application:
I find it so easy to be drawn in by this culture of criticism. It takes conscious effort not to be! So this week, I will make an extra effort to pray for those in authority...from the President of the United states to the Sherwood police officers that protect our safety here in town.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, please forgive me for my critical spirit. Purify my heart and mind so that I can respect the people you've placed in authority. Please be with President Obama, the members of his cabinet, and all those who serve in federal, state, and local governments. Please protect those who serve in our nation's Armed Forces as well as those who serve in uniform to protect us locally. And help me be a model citizen that is known for words of grace rather than criticism. For Jesus' sake. Amen!

Have a great week!

Faithfully,
Chuck