Jan. 5 – Thoughts on Gen. 13-15 & Matt. 5

Blessing – “a public declaration of a favored status with God”*

God’s desire to bless humankind is at the core of His Covenant with His people (Gen. 12:2-3).  So the idea of blessing – God blessing us, us blessing God, us blessing each other – runs heavy through the scriptures.  It is also the purpose of our worship as we read in the Psalms, our biblical Worship Book: “Bless the Lord, O my soul” (Ps. 103:1)

The story of Melchizedek (Mehl-KEE-zeh-deck) is a short one – only 3 verses – but very important.  With a name meaning both “King of Righteousness” and “King of Peace”, Melchizedek is a messianic figure in Jewish literature and is explicitly linked with Jesus in Heb. 5-7.  He brings a gift of wine and bread (symbols used often by Jesus in his ministry), proclaims God’s blessing of Abram, gives praise to God, and then receives 10% of all Abram acquired in the battle.  Many have pointed to this as the institution of the tithe, the giving of 10% of all we have acquired to God.  Abram is blessed for winning this battle, for rescuing (“redeeming”) his nephew lot, and for his righteousness.

Our New Testament reading also encompasses a blessing but, as is so often the case with the Sermon on the Mount, it turns the traditional idea of blessing on its head.  Jesus does not proclaim blessing on those who are battle victors, heroes, the wealthy, or the famous.  Instead, Jesus proclaims a blessing on the poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungry for justice, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and persecuted.  Jesus, God’s Son Himself, makes a public declaration of a favored status with God for the least of this world, not the greatest, and promises good things for them.  This is the message of Jesus, that all wrongs will be made right, that all injustice will be rectified, that all will be well again.

Rather than seeking more blessings (for haven’t we been unevenly blessed by this world already?), how might we seek to bless someone else today?  More than a smile, a friendly hello, or even a nicety undeserved, how might we truly let someone know that they are blessed by God today?  And as always, how might we, as the Psalmist proclaims, “bless the Lord, O my soul”?

 

 

* This definition comes from biblestudytools.com/dictionary

 

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Jan. 4 – Thoughts on Gen. 10-12 & Matt. 4

Temptation is the way Satan deals with humankind.  From the Garden of Eden in Gen. 3 through the end of this world in Rev. 20, Satan’s purpose is to draw us away from God and he does so through temptations.  Today, we read about the Tower of Babel, Abram’s lie to Pharaoh in Egypt, and Jesus’ 40 day fast in the wilderness, all stories about temptation.

In Babel, God’s command was to multiply and spread throughout the earth, but the people of the world were tempted not to trust God to care for them and so they bunched together and settled.  They were tempted to seek a name for themselves (rather than trusting in the name of God) and so began to build.  God in His grace intervened, changed their languages, and sent them on to accomplish His plan to spread throughout the earth.  Sometimes God intervenes when we are tempted.

In Egypt, Abram was tempted not to trust God to protect his life and Sarai’s, so he lied to the Pharaoh and was richly rewarded.  Sometimes temptation leads to the world’s blessings, but not God’s.  When the diseases began, Pharaoh figured out the deception and should have killed Abram, Sarai, and all their people because of it.  But in His grace, God moved Pharaoh to let them leave with all they had acquired.  Sometimes God allows the consequences of our sin to teach us when we are tempted.

In the wilderness, Jesus was fasting in preparation for His ministry and, in a pretty funny understatement, the bible tells us that after non food for 40 days, “he was hungry.”  Jesus was tempted to make bread for Himself, something within His power, beneficial to His body, and hurting no one.  He was tempted to use His power as God to save His own life (the same temptation He must have faced 3 years later on the cross).  He was tempted to power, to rule the entire world under Satan’s name.  But Jesus knew His Father, His Father’s will, and the scriptures, and so fought these temptations easily.  Sometimes, our own scripture memorization, experiences of and relationship with God can help us fend off Satan when we are tempted.

What temptations are you facing as you enter 2018?  Fame, safety, wealth, power, comfort, pleasure, “a name for yourself”?  Unlike the residents of Babel and Abram, and just like Jesus, we need to know our Father’s voice, His Will, and the scriptures if we are to ward off the temptations that come to every one of us.  Memorize 1 Cor. 10:13 and Phil 4:8 if you want some handy tools when you are tempted.

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Jan. 4 – Thoughts on Gen. 10-12 & Matt. 4

Temptation is the way Satan deals with humankind.  From the Garden of Eden in Gen. 3 through the end of this world in Rev. 20, Satan’s purpose is to draw us away from God and he does so through temptations.  Today, we read about the Tower of Babel, Abram’s lie to Pharaoh in Egypt, and Jesus’ 40 day fast in the wilderness, all stories about temptation.

In Babel, God’s command was to multiply and spread throughout the earth, but the people of the world were tempted not to trust God to care for them and so they bunched together and settled.  They were tempted to seek a name for themselves (rather than trusting in the name of God) and so began to build.  God in His grace intervened, changed their languages, and sent them on to accomplish His plan to spread throughout the earth.  Sometimes God intervenes when we are tempted.

In Egypt, Abram was tempted not to trust God to protect his life and Sarai’s, so he lied to the Pharaoh and was richly rewarded.  Sometimes temptation leads to the world’s blessings, but not God’s.  When the diseases began, Pharaoh figured out the deception and should have killed Abram, Sarai, and all their people because of it.  But in His grace, God moved Pharaoh to let them leave with all they had acquired.  Sometimes God allows the consequences of our sin to teach us when we are tempted.

In the wilderness, Jesus was fasting in preparation for His ministry and, in a pretty funny understatement, the bible tells us that after non food for 40 days, “he was hungry.”  Jesus was tempted to make bread for Himself, something within His power, beneficial to His body, and hurting no one.  He was tempted to use His power as God to save His own life (the same temptation He must have faced 3 years later on the cross).  He was tempted to power, to rule the entire world under Satan’s name.  But Jesus knew His Father, His Father’s will, and the scriptures, and so fought these temptations easily.  Sometimes, our own scripture memorization, experiences of and relationship with God can help us fend off Satan when we are tempted.

What temptations are you facing as you enter 2018?  Fame, safety, wealth, power, comfort, pleasure, “a name for yourself”?  Unlike the residents of Babel and Abram, and just like Jesus, we need to know our Father’s voice, His Will, and the scriptures if we are to ward off the temptations that come to every one of us.  Memorize 1 Cor. 10:13 and Phil 4:8 if you want some handy tools when you are tempted.

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Jan. 3 – Thoughts on Gen. 7-9 & Matt. 3

An interesting convergence of texts today, with the story of Noah and John the Baptist’s warning to “flee the coming wrath”.  This is not an uncommon message for John in his public speaking career.  He preached “Repent!” to the crowds that came to see him in the desert where he preached.  He preached “Brood of vipers!” to the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to test him for orthodoxy, warning them that they would “burn with unquenchable fire”.  Today, we call this “speaking truth to power”, and John both did it himself even to his own death (Matt. 14) and proclaimed Jesus coming to do the same.

The message of God’s wrath is always welcome when it is those on the other side of the issue who will face it.  When it is spoken to us, we get angry, look for theological loopholes, and blame the messenger.  Often it is a reason for people to leave a church, seeking a more “positive and encouraging” message.  But from both of our readings today, we are forced to deal with the fact that God brings His wrath to bear on this world.  How that wrath is manifested is different all the time, and identifying every “bad” thing that happens to us as God’s wrath isn’t helpful or correct.  Sometimes God’s wrath is to leave us to our own decisions, and sometimes bad things that happen draw us closer to God and so aren’t “bad” things at all.

The consistent message in these two texts is that God will not stand for godless behavior especially among those who claim to be godly but aren’t.  From the salvation of the righteous Noah (this is a story about salvation at its core) to the promise of punishment for the unrighteous Pharisees, John’s message is that all must repent (lit. “turn away”) from their sinfulness.  Following Jesus doesn’t mean we are free from sinfulness but that we acknowledge that we cannot free ourselves and need someone to free us.  From those who just ignore the message of repentance altogether to those who believe they can save themselves, God’s wrath is real and to be feared for those who ignore Jesus’ call to grow in righteousness by following Him with our whole lives.

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Jan. 3 – Thoughts on Gen. 7-9 & Matt. 3

An interesting convergence of texts today, with the story of Noah and John the Baptist’s warning to “flee the coming wrath”.  This is not an uncommon message for John in his public speaking career.  He preached “Repent!” to the crowds that came to see him in the desert where he preached.  He preached “Brood of vipers!” to the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to test him for orthodoxy, warning them that they would “burn with unquenchable fire”.  Today, we call this “speaking truth to power”, and John both did it himself even to his own death (Matt. 14) and proclaimed Jesus coming to do the same.

The message of God’s wrath is always welcome when it is those on the other side of the issue who will face it.  When it is spoken to us, we get angry, look for theological loopholes, and blame the messenger.  Often it is a reason for people to leave a church, seeking a more “positive and encouraging” message.  But from both of our readings today, we are forced to deal with the fact that God brings His wrath to bear on this world.  How that wrath is manifested is different all the time, and identifying every “bad” thing that happens to us as God’s wrath isn’t helpful or correct.  Sometimes God’s wrath is to leave us to our own decisions, and sometimes bad things that happen draw us closer to God and so aren’t “bad” things at all.

The consistent message in these two texts is that God will not stand for godless behavior especially among those who claim to be godly but aren’t.  From the salvation of the righteous Noah (this is a story about salvation at its core) to the promise of punishment for the unrighteous Pharisees, John’s message is that all must repent (lit. “turn away”) from their sinfulness.  Following Jesus doesn’t mean we are free from sinfulness but that we acknowledge that we cannot free ourselves and need someone to free us.  From those who just ignore the message of repentance altogether to those who believe they can save themselves, God’s wrath is real and to be feared for those who ignore Jesus’ call to grow in righteousness by following Him with our whole lives.

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