ahavafriend

I was sitting in church on Sunday and read this:
Isn't that a shocking statement? How can He be called the God of PEACE if he will "crush" anything. Violence is contradictory to peace, is it not? Or is it? If we look forward in the Biblical timeline, we will see that Christ will reign for 1000 years on Earth. This will be an unparalleled time of peace. BUT, this will happen only as he violently takes captive the enemy of our souls.

God IS a god of peace, AND he will use war to secure it.

While I was listening to the sermon this morning in church, I was doing some cross referencing, as usual, and came across an undated note I had written in my bible. The note was connected to John 12:3 "Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair." Later, in verse 7, Jesus rebukes the disciples (primarily Judas) for criticizing this act of worship, by saying, "Leave her alone. It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial."

The note I wrote in the margin simply asked, "Why hadn't Mary used this for Lazarus' burial?" This event, after all, followed Lazarus' death and resurrection by Jesus. A proper funeral custom would be to use perfumes to cover a dead body to ward off the natural odors of death and to help preserve the body for the funeral event. This is what Joseph and Nicodemus did for Jesus when they took his body down from the cross and placed it in the tomb, "in accordance with Jewish burial customs" (John 19:39,40).

When Mary anointed Jesus' feet, she was doing this at a dinner held in his honor at Lazarus' home. But the question still intrigues me: Why did Mary save back some of this perfume when her brother died? Why did she not use it all just a week prior?

As a parenthetical comment, I was listening to Ravi Zacharius explain the meaning of suffering from a Christian world view in a podcast this week. At one point he explained that this issue can be addressed from an intellectual position, and from an emotional position. Having just lost a child, a parent is not looking for a theological treatise on suffering and the ways of God. Rather, they are needing an immediate emotional sense of hope, peace, trust, etc. Interestingly, when Lazarus died, Jesus engages both sisters in different ways: Martha got the doctrinal confirmation and Mary received the empathetic comfort (See John 11:17ff).

Well, I can only gather that even in Mary's grief, she was still confident in the identity of Jesus and the activity of God in her life. She did not lose hope in Christ, even in her own grief. There was a reserve that she kept. There was a portion of her treasure that was meant for Christ alone, no matter how much current loss she felt.

It is possible to get lost in our grief. It is even understandable to sense that the world has come crashing down when a spouse of 30 or 40 years passes away or a child is taken "before its time". But Mary demonstrated a faith that refused to abandon all hope in Christ or his resurrection, even with the disappointment that Jesus did not answer her "prayers" to come and help when her brother was sick! After all, Jesus may not want to heal the sick as much as he wants to raise the dead. And so in her grief, completely normal and human and real, she held back a portion of her perfume to anoint Jesus for his burial. In her loss, she looked ahead to another loss - Christ's death and burial! She demonstrated a conviction that this current loss would not be the end of the story, whether good or bad. There was more life (with all its give and take) ahead.

This doesn't explain it all, but it does open a window into the reality of our grief and of our faith, that can be sufficient in great loss. There is always something after. There is something more to come. This is not the end. Faith says to those in grief, there is a way out and you will make it through.

I've posted other verses of Scripture that seem to contradict each other previously, but recently thought of these two. Paul states in Col 2:23, " Such regulations ["Do not touch, taste, or eat..."] indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." Yet, in 1 Cor 9:27 he explains, " No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

Again, I won't explain the verses, but you should be able to read each in context and get the point, as well as discern how to integrate both of them.

What I did want to say is whenever I find verses like this, my initial reaction is: "Amazing! The wisdom of God is profound, multi-layered, and applicable to multiple areas of life. His Word is not some simplistic "how-to" book of self-help or effective human living. There is depth to truth. This complexity validates the Bible in my eyes.

I was reading the story of the Exodus of Isreal from 400 years of captivity in Egypt (Ex 13:17ff). The two following statements struck me as odd:
- God did not lead them on the shorter way, "For God said, 'If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.'"
- And at the end of the paragraph, "The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle."

So, they were armed for battle, but God knew they were not prepared to fight. The "outer trappings" of military equipment does not necessarily equate with the full capacity to "do battle."

This is a great caution for those of us who may be confident in certain acquired skills, habits, or practices in our spiritual life. Whatever our "outward" reassurances may be, this does not guarantee spiritual victory in the face of temptation or other struggles.

God's grace and wisdom are always more secure for us to trust in during our hour of need. His leading may not make sense or seem to be the easiest, but we can trust his wisdom and care for us always. He is always out for our good!

I was reading in 2 Chronicles last night before I went to bed and read the story of Hezekiah and his reign. There came a time when Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, came to attack Judah, laying siege to Jerusalem, and sending a letter to be read out loud to the men guarding the city in order to weaken their resolve. My mind was caught by verse 19 of chapter 32: "They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world -- the work of men's hands."

It struck me: this is one of the greatest sins of PREACHERS today. We talk about God as if he were any other god, as if we had created him with our own hands and we were simply trying to explain how a new gadget works to a novice. I'm so tired of getting "Dr Phil" or "Oprah" when I go to church. I am so desperate for "Jesus". Our God is holy (completely Other, unlike anything created). Note to preachers: If your sermon would make a great episode on Oprah, or would seem like a great book by the likes of Dr. Phil or Joel Osteen, you're probably giving your people nothing more than what the gods of this world have to offer.

Well, today I came across this statement that seemed to resonate with my thoughts last night:
You can find the whole article by Tullian Tchividjian here.

This phrase is repeated systematically throughout Chronicles to indicate, I believe, that what was just detailed was not intended to be the comprehensive historical treatment of the particular king, but rather a select commentary that illustrates/summarizes the spiritual contribution of that king in the spiritual life of God's people. Over and over again, there is one lesson learned by each of the kings: did they lead God's people rightly by following the ways of the Lord, or did they lead the people away from the Lord. And, interestingly enough, the most common way that most kings turned the hearts of the people away from God was through alliances with other kings, which led to reliance on other gods. Not consulting the Lord, but offering sacrifices to pagan gods was a sadly repeated habit. Of course, the details of each kings method was different, but the end result was the same.

As I reviewed this highlights, it struck me how I can be equally guilty of relying on "other gods". Not that I deny Christ or practice witchcraft (I don't consult a Ouija board or a palm reader to help with my decision making). But do I "renew the covenant with my God" in my heart each day as I go about my life? Do I seek for wisdom in resources outside of God's Word, considering the latest pop cultural trends, when establishing and evaluating my personal convictions? Do I rely on my own common sense, formal education, life experience, or other secondary resources instead of letting God fight my battles and conquer my enemies? How often do I pray for or hand my relationship conflicts over to God instead of talking to all my friends looking for consensus on what I should do?

Each of the kings had conflicts, battles, ambitions, or accomplishments that they faced during their reign. But the one thing that determined if they led well or poorly was how much and how consistently they followed after and trusted completely in the Lord.

There are many great lessons to be learned from the Kings of Judah and Israel. One of the scariest for me, however, is the sad record of those who started right and ended wrong. The longer we live, the more subtle the traps to rely on anything other than the Lord to help us govern our lives, our families, our businesses, or our ministries. God help us to learn from the kings.

Numbers 11:1 states "Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused." It is interesting to note that later in the chapter that their complaining is described as rejecting the Lord (v. 20). The idea that God brings hardship in our lives to accomplish his purposes is consistent with much of Paul's teachings in the New Testament, especially when he refers to suffering as a "gift" that God gives us.

The next time you are struggling through a difficult season, consider what the Lord may be doing and guard your heart against complaining.

I find it interesting in the final experiences of Jesus with his disciples that he makes 2 predictions, both of which come true. He predicted (better "informed") the disciples that one of them would betray him and that all would fall away. The most interesting thing is that in both cases, they all denied it.

Mark 14:19 "They were saddened [that one of them would betray Jesus], and one by one they said to him, 'Surely not I?'"

Mark 14:31 "But Peter insisted emphatically, 'Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.' And all the others said the same."

No one is ever really willing to admit their own moral deficits. After 3 years of intimate life with Jesus, none of these men (except possibly Judas) had the moral clarity or self-awareness to know his own heart. This is not to indict the disciples as much as it is a cause for pause for us. Am I just as blind to my character flaws? I am in as much denial of my own weaknesses? Am I as equally over-confident in my maturity in the faith? It may be precisely this experience that prompted Peter to warn us to be careful lest you "fall from your secure position" (2 Pet 3:17).

It is unfortunate that Judas and Peter alone are remembered for their failures in these events. Let us remind ourselves that all the disciples protested equally, and fell away equally. May we all pray with Margaret Barber, Watchman Nee's mentor, "O God, grant me a complete and unrestrained revelation of my own self."

Jesus' familiar teaching to cut off your hand or foot, or gouge out your eye, if it causes you to sin lest you be condemned to hell is concluded in Mark's account with the statement: "Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other" (9:49,50). The later phrase can be expounded by Col 4:6, "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." And it is now fairly common knowledge that salt is no good once its saltiness is gone. But the most interesting phrase is the first one. What does it mean that we will be salted (verb!), and that by fire? There's the baptism of fire mentioned in other verses (Mat 3:11, etc). But how does fire "salt" us?

Numbers 18:19 explains that the priests were to have the meat brought as a sacrifice by the Israelites. The verse specifically states, "It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord for both you and your offspring." This covenant was irrevocable. And when the kingdom was divided after Solomon's reign, the King of Judah went to battle with the King of Israel and declared in the hearing of all the soldiers, " Don't you know that the Lord, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt?" (2 Chron 13:5). This was a reminder that God would never revoke his promise/covenant with David. No matter how many armies marched against Jerusalem, David's throne was secure.

The only other verse in the Bible that mentions a covenant of salt is found in Lev 2:13 "Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings." So what is a covenant of salt? It seems this was so well understood that it never required any further explanation. But what can we conclude today?

I remember seeing a Martha Stewart show a long time ago (pre-prison). She took a plate with various kinds of food around the edges and a pile of salt in the middle and burnt it in a stove. When she pulled the plate out, all the items on the plate were completely black, except the white pile of salt in the middle. It's interesting to note that the salt did not burn (I'm thinking of Jesus in the fiery furnace with the 4 Hebrew men). Salt was the one component that marked God's presence among the sacrificial system. Salt had many practical purposes, and is actually the only substance of a rock/mineral that we eat directly (again, God is our rock!). The parallels to God and salt are plenty. And as bountiful the uses, there are equally sufficient analogies.

So if salt was the indicator, the authenticator of a true sacrifice, the sign of a non-consumable, never-ending presence that what has been said will always be true, whether the removal of offense or the fulfillment of a blessing, than is it possible that the New Testament indicator is fire? The salt-factor will be fire. Where there is fire, there is God. The fire will confirm. (And then we have the day of Pentecost and the tongues of fire that confirm God's promise of the Holy Spirit was true). So the analogy shifts from salt (at least in this one instance) to fire.

Or is it simply saying "salt purifies meat, and fire will purify you"?

I love finding verses in the Bible that pull back the curtain of someones thoughts or feelings to reveal a true bleeding heart (humanity). One such verse is Ezra 8:22,23:

Isn't it amazing? Ezra had the holy faith and boldness to declare God would protect and provide. But when the rubber met the road, he was afraid and then too ashamed to ask the king for help. I think God allows us to boast boldly about our God before we have time to really think it through in order to put us in positions where we must step out in faith and God MUST meet us there.

I once heard an old preacher say that the reason we don't see more miracles today is because we don't put ourselves in the position to need them. One way to avoid this is to open your mouth before your think!

While Hagar was exiled by Sarai when Hagar was pregnant with Ishmael, she encountered God who promised to bless her. Her response to this experience is found in Gen 16:13: “She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’” Think of it. She believed that God saw her even before she saw him! And once they "meet", she calls him by by that name.

A.W. Tozer comments on this verse: “When we lift our inward eyes to gaze upon God we are sure to meet friendly eyes gazing back at us, for it is written that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout all the earth. The sweet language of experience is "Thou God seest me." When the eyes of the soul looking out meet the eyes of God looking in, heaven has begun right here on this earth” (The Pursuit of God, 86).

The picture I see when thinking about this is merely the whites of two sets of eyes, as if in a dark cave, staring at one another, discovering by surprise that you were not alone, but knowing with just one glance the other set of eyes were those of a friend.

How do you know God is moving in your heart? Do you have a greater emotional hunger for holiness? Is there a keener sense that God is near in your daily activities? Do your appetites reflect an increased distaste of worldly sweets? Well, while reading the story of Elijah on Mt Carmel with the 400 pagan prophets, I found it striking that Elijah prayed, ”Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know…that you are turning their hearts back again” (1 Kg 18:37).

Elijah connects God’s miraculous consumption of his sacrifice as the announcement to Israel that God is drawing them back to himself. In an instant, it is as if the rebellious, faithless, godless nation will be “cut to the heart” by fire from heaven, and their “eyes” will be opened to see God wants them back. Amazing! It reminds me of Paul’s warning that God will finally give over to their desires those who persist in rebellion (Rom 1:24ff). And in that rebellious state, there will be no awareness of the true God or his ways because “their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Rom 1:21).

So what does it take to realize God desires you, that God is warming your heart toward him? Sometimes, as Elijah prayed, it takes the fire of heaven.

This is all the more supported in the story by Elijah’s challenge to Israel in 1 Kg 18:21 when he pleaded with them, “’How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.’ But the people said nothing.” It was only after Elijah presented his contest between Baal and Yahweh that the people declared, “What you say is good” (v24). They were only willing to choose sides when one of the gods proved himself. Their conviction and devotion rested completely on God’s performance.

And yet, Elijah understood it would take the light and heat of holy fire to illuminate their darkened hearts and inflame their holy passions in order for Israel to realize God was at work. O Lord, may I never get to that place. And if I do (or if I am), please send your fire again.

If there is a verse that might describe the act of sermon preparation for a preacher, I think it would possibly be Ex 20:21. Here God has just led the Israelites out of bondage and has brought them to Mt Sinai to receive His law. Verse 18 states "When the people saw the thunder and lightening and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, 'Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.'" So Moses goes to "prepare his first sermon" in verse 21:


How difficult the climb, how dark the destination, how lonely the labor to meet with God in order to bring His Word to His people!

But, how glorious and life-giving the message!

OK, this one really gets me. If you've ever read Psalm 119, you know it is the longest chapter in the Bible with 176 verses. It is actually like an acrostic where each new paragraph corresponds to a letter in the Hebrew alphabet, and the following sentences start with that letter. And most creatively, the entire "poem" is about the Word of God. If you can make your way through this in one sitting you will be overwhelmed by the veneration that David gives to the Word, God's precepts, laws, teachings, commands, decrees, statutes, promises, etc. It makes me feel so worldly that my heart does not rise up with equal praise and devotion. O to have such a hunger and submission to God's Word!

But then you read the last verse "I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have forgotten your commands." WHAT! How is this possible after everything that was just written. There is no hint, no foreshadow, no consistency with such a statement. I'm confused. After 175 declarations of the goodness, sweetness, blessings, etc that come from God's Word, how is it possible that David ends with such a confession? I almost feel deceived. But maybe this dichotomy is exactly what Paul expressed in Romans 7:21-25:

Having gone to Seminary I have had the academic exercise of wrestling with tough life issues like the death of a child, spouse, pastor, etc. I have heard professors and seasoned pastors offer the rationale that maybe God takes (by death) some "good" person because it was a preventative measure against some greater evil. Perchance they will stray from the faith or turn others away by falling into some grievous sin. This has always set a little off with me, since in many ways it just seemed like merely a reasonable and optimistic hypothesis. But then...

I was reading Isaiah 57:1,2 the other day, and had one of those "A-ha!" moments. Why had this verse never been pointed out to me before when this discussion came up? I don't know, but here it is:

"The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death."

This may not always be the case when a child dies or some believer's life is "cut short" tragically. But God is all-wise and all-good all the time. This I believe. Give us grace to trust you more, Lord!

In my new series of "Interesting Verses", Hebrews 4:11 must be included. I'm not sure what caused this to "leap off the page" at me, but a couple of years ago I was struck by the logical contradiction in the command to "make every effort to enter that rest...." Striving, working, putting effort into getting rest!?

I suppose in a culture like ours where we value productivity, so much so that a majority of Americans actually find it difficult to take a vacation (many never use all of their vacation days according to a recent poll), maybe this is applicable to us. A survey by Management Recruiters International of 730 U.S. executives in 2003 found that 47 percent surveyed wouldn't use all their vacation time, and 58 percent said that the reason was job pressures. This same study also found that 35 percent said that they had too much work to take a vacation and that 17 percent felt that their boss was not supportive of employees taking all of their vacation days. In another study by Expedia.com in 2003 they estimated that there was $21 billion in unused vacation time for that year. After repeating this study in 2004 they found that 35 percent of employees didn't take all their time off because of job pressures.

What has recently brought this to mind is my starting a new job that requires me to shift my normal sleep patterns. It is amazing the amount of discipline it takes to go to bed earlier than I want to (or my body wants to at this point). But I will strive toward this.

Ultimately, this verse is not talking about physical rest, like a vacation or a Saturday morning with nothing to do but sleep in. It's talking about an eternal rest. Whereas it may take some effort to actually unplug from our regular lives and deflate for a brief respite, how much more significant is it that we strive toward an eternal rest? The effort, work, discipline that is needed is amazing. Heaven is our prize, but the race to get there is more of a marathon than a sprint. Now is not the time to rest! Now is the time to strive. This does not mean there is no peace until we get to heaven. Having run a marathon, I can tell you there is a "peace" that comes in the rhythm of the race and the watching of pace to ensure you get to the finish line. Yes, mile 21 is the hardest mile of your life, but that's when the "strive" kicks in so that I may enter the rest that lie ahead.

Well, I didn't intend to write a devotional. Rather, I just find this verse interesting and wanted to point it out for you to ponder as well. Keep striving!

As I read my Bible, there are verses that jump out at me that "I've never seen before". I've gathered quite a list and thought I would just put them out here for others to ponder with me.

One of the first verses that made me go "huh?" is Proverbs 11:30 "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise." Remember, this is not a NT verse. There was no such thing as evangelism in the OT. So what does it mean to "win souls"?

The closest thing I can come up with is found in Luke 16:9 "I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." (I suppose that's another "interesting verse" in itself, however, only one at a time now) When we use our earthly resources to impact other humans (win souls, or "friends"), this is the only way to impact the eternal "welcome" we will receive in heaven. It would be wise to spend our time/resources on other people, as opposed to material things and earthly comforts for ourselves, in the hopes that it will impact their eternal destiny.

In the end, that seems like friendship evangelism to me, however. So, I'm just not sure what an OT reader would have thought when he read that verse. Any ideas?