Old Testament for December 3, 2023

This is one of the more intimate portrayals of the relationship of God and his people in the Old Testament. Not often is God called Father, until the teaching of Jesus; and there is a sense that Israel is completely submitted to the will of the Lord, like clay in a potter’s hands.

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 64:1-9
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This oracle from Isaiah looks both backward and forward in time. The Prophet implores the Lord to enter onto the stage of history in a dramatic way:

Oh that you would tear the heavens,
that you would come down,
that the mountains might quake at your presence.

The Prophet is asking that the Lord do what he has done in the past, and intervene in human history.

The context for this plea, according to many scholars, is the post-exilic world of the so-called “Third Isaiah” who some believe wrote at least the chapters from 56 to 64.

While this can be disputed, no one can dispute the powerful petition that Isaiah makes for divine intervention.  The Prophet makes it clear that the God of Israel is unlike any other so-called gods, because the Lord is a God who acts decisively for his people.

God’s intervention is based on a moral compass:

You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness,
those who remember you in your ways.

However, there is also a flip side to God’s intervention — when God’s people disobeyed God’s ways, God became angry.  There is a moral demand that accompanies the divine deliverance in this passage. When the people sin and turn away from God, God also turns away from them:

There is no one who calls on your name,
who stirs himself up to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have consumed us by means of our iniquities.

This oracle has some of the most striking language in the Scriptures:

• Righteous acts are like filthy rags, meaning they are soaked in blood;
• The faithless, hapless people shrivel up like leaves and blow away.

And yet there is the sense that the Prophet has that Israel is still absolutely dependent on God, and that their destiny is shaped by the Lord:

But now, Yahweh, you are our Father.
We are the clay, and you our potter.
We all are the work of your hand.

This is one of the more intimate portrayals of the relationship of God and his people in the Old Testament.  Not often is God called Father, until the teaching of Jesus; and there is a sense that Israel is completely submitted to the will of the Lord, like clay in a potter’s hands.

It is on this relationship that the Prophet presumes to plead for mercy and forgiveness.  He doesn’t deny the sins that have caused God’s anger, but he begs that God might forget those sins.

APPLY:  

When we ask for God to intervene today as he once did in the past, we might want to consider what we are asking.  Isaiah reminds us that God’s righteousness and holiness are absolute, and his expectation of us is that we also be righteous and holy!

The reality is that without the holiness of God at work in our lives, even our most well-intentioned good works and morality are tainted by self-interest and mixed motives:

 all our righteousness is like a polluted garment.

This reminds us of our absolute dependence on the grace of God.  We are to be submitted to God as completely and passively as clay is submitted to the potter.  The clay doesn’t get to tell the potter what it wants to be, or how it should be shaped. Neither should we.

So, when we ask for mercy and forgiveness from God, it is very important that we begin with a sense of complete abandonment of ourselves to God.  God has everything to offer, and we have nothing.

The only works we do that will last are those that derive from God.  Ephesians points out that we are saved by grace alone; but it also insists that:

we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

In other words, from beginning to end our salvation is all God’s work, including those “good works” that we do. The only good works that please God are those that come from God originally.

RESPOND: 

I am reminded of my own mixed motives when it comes to “doing good.”  Do I do what I do because I know that I am clay in God’s hands and that he is working through me, or because I know someone else is watching and will think more highly of me?  When I pray for God to come down and bring judgment, I need to pray first for mercy!

Our Lord, we see so much in our world that we deem worthy of your righteous judgment.  But then we realize that we also deserve your judgment! So once again we find ourselves on our knees begging for mercy.  May we be the clay in your hands, that you might shape us and our lives according to your purposes.  Amen.  

PHOTOS:
“Studio workday” by t. chen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for September 11, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 Timothy 1:12-17
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This is a first-person testimonial, seemingly from the very pen of St. Paul himself, as he writes to his protege, Timothy.  For the modern reader, though, this provides a few problems.  Many New Testament scholars today question the Pauline authorship of the letters that are called the Pastoral Epistles (1 & 2 Timothy and Titus).  They argue that the style and language of the Pastorals is very different than the other Pauline epistles, and deal with different themes and topics.

However, the claim is very clear in these epistles that they were written by Paul himself.  The autobiographical references to his journeys and other details make it clear that the writer is familiar with Paul’s life.  There is no doubt that the author intends us to take him at his word as Paul.

Without delving into the depths of the debate over the historical-critical method of Biblical interpretation, let me simply venture an opinion about the authenticity of these and other books that are called into question by modern scholarship:

• These and other books included in the New Testament under Paul’s name (Ephesians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus) that are questioned were considered authentic by the authority of the early church, and received into the canon. To call these books into question is to question the very foundation of our faith.
• The argument that Paul’s style and language are inconsistent with his other writings seems shallow. Paul appears to have dictated his letters orally to a secretary who wrote down his words.  Is it not possible that we do have the imprint of different secretaries, some of whom may have allowed their own literary skills or lack thereof to creep into the letters?
• Is it not possible that Paul’s own literary style may have evolved, or may have been tailored to a particular audience at a particular time and place? His letters to the Corinthians, for example, are written to a church he helped to found.  There are certain shorthand references that he knows they will understand.  He appears to be answering specific practical questions, and addressing particular issues that are of concern in Corinth.  His letter to Rome is different because he is writing to people he hasn’t met — so he is more systematic in his approach.  Timothy is his young friend and protege — so his style might be expected to be more vernacular and personal.

I will proceed according to the theory that this is a letter from Paul.  His very personal references here would be hard to concoct by an impostor.  If they are not from Paul, then this letter is untrue and is not worthy to be considered a foundational document for the Christian faith.

Paul expresses himself in a kind of prayer-testimony.  He expresses his gratitude that Christ Jesus has empowered him and appointed him to serve Christ — this despite the fact that Paul himself had been:

formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence.

He is no doubt referring to his life prior to the vision on the road to Damascus (Acts 9).  He also describes himself elsewhere in his epistles as a former zealous persecutor of the church (Philippians 3:6).  And yet he himself becomes a living example of the grace and mercy of Christ:

But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Paul’s life becomes a living sermon illustration of the salvation of Christ:

 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.

This is a reminder to us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is hope for the lost, the last and the least. When the scribes and Pharisees criticize Jesus for having table fellowship with sinners and tax collectors, Jesus declares to them:

Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners. (Mark 2:17).

Paul emphasizes his role as one who provides an example of those who are transformed from sinners to followers of Christ:

But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life.

Paul ends on a doxological note (praising God) — for it is only through God that such grace is possible.  Paul makes it clear that he has done nothing to save himself — all honor and gratitude are owed to God alone:

 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

APPLY:  

Paul’s testimony is a huge comfort to all of us who have sinned.  Paul reminds us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Gospel of the Second Chance.

We are reminded of the core of the Gospel:

The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners

Faith is the means by which we receive the salvation offered by Christ; and it is Christ who transforms us from the foremost of sinners into those who are empowered to follow Christ and to proclaim his grace.

RESPOND: 

I was an associate pastor years ago in a large and thriving church.  The senior pastor was quite unique in style and personality.  He was relaxed and casual, prone to jokes and references to his own somewhat shadowy past.

But one day he told me the secret to his success in evangelism and church growth.  He said:

I tell the truth about myself.  And people look at me and say to themselves — “If he can be accepted by Christ, surely I can be!”

He retired years ago. The current pastor of that church said to me that this message is still the legacy of my former senior pastor:   “This is the church of the Second Chance.  That is built into the DNA around here.”

There is so much truth there.  It was Oscar Wilde, certainly not renowned for Christian faith, who nonetheless captured a very important truth:

The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.

Authentic Christian faith begins with the acknowledgment that “I am a sinner.”  However, the Christian life doesn’t end there.  Following that acknowledgement, there is true repentance and faith, and a Spirit-sustained life that leads us toward Christian maturity.

As Jesus said to the woman accused of adultery, whose accusers had all departed in shame:

Jesus, standing up, saw her and said, “Woman, where are your accusers? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more.” (John 8:10-11).

Our Lord, I thank you that you look not at my past but at my future when it comes to salvation.  I confess my sins of thought, word and deed — and also I confess squandered opportunities and spiritual sloth.  But I am grateful that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”  Amen.

 PHOTOS:
"Every Saint has a past" by Rex Dingler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for September 11, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Jeremiah has the sad distinction of prophesying on the Lord’s behalf in a chaotic and foreboding time.

It is difficult to determine an exact chronology of most prophetic writings in part because they are written as poetic oracles.  However, Jeremiah’s mention of King Josiah in Jeremiah 3:6 may help us narrow down the dire warnings of this week’s Old Testament lectionary reading.

King Josiah reigned in Judah between 640 and 609 B.C.  We remember him from the book of 2 Kings as a good king, even great, and a religious reformer who sought to turn his people back to the Lord.

Unfortunately, from Jeremiah’s perspective, it was too little too late.  His message here seems to be that the hot wind that blows in from the desert won’t just separate wheat from chaff (as at the harvest), or cleanse the land.  This hot wind will destroy.

Hot winds in desert climates are common.  In Israel, the hot, suffocating winds of the spring and summer are known as khamsin, and are known for bringing with them violent sandstorms.  This may suggest the season in which Jeremiah writes his oracle.

The question is, if this hot wind symbolizes the judgment that is to come, does it signify an invasion by Egypt to the south, or Babylon to the east?  It is Pharaoh Neco of Egypt who would defeat and kill Josiah in battle in 609 B.C.  This wind blows from the desert, and the khamsin does blow from the south.  But the greater existential threat to Jerusalem will prove to be Babylon.  Jerusalem falls to Babylon in 587 B.C., while Jeremiah is still very active as a prophet.

In either case, the charges against Judah are clear.  The Lectionary Scripture picks up the thread at verse 22, in the voice of the Lord:

For my people are foolish,
they do not know me;
they are stupid children,
they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil,
but do not know how to do good.

Jeremiah seems stunned by the vision of the future that the Lord discloses to him — the earth is wasted, there is no light, there are violent earthquakes, all living creatures have sought refuge elsewhere, the fertile fields are now desert, and the cities are ruined.

Nevertheless, there is a measure of hope amidst even this despair:

For thus says the Lord: The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.

This is a common refrain in the prophets.  There will be judgment and dire consequences — however — there will also be grace.  In the prophetic literature, this grace is usually found in the promise that a remnant of Israel will survive the destruction and exile to come:

For thus says the Lord:
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
“Save, O Lord, your people,
the remnant of Israel.”(Jeremiah 31:7).

Nevertheless, the judgment that is coming is dire, and inevitable:

Because of this the earth shall mourn,
and the heavens above grow black;
for I have spoken, I have purposed;
I have not relented nor will I turn back.

APPLY:  

When we read prophecies such as this from Jeremiah, we can react in several ways.

One is simply to avoid such doom and gloom altogether, and tell ourselves that Jeremiah was writing to a particular nation (Judah) at a particular time.  We can tell ourselves that these words applied only to the context of the 7th and 6th century B.C., and only to the last remaining segment of the people of Israel.

Or, we can find parallels between Jeremiah’s jeremiads and our own time, in all of the usual suspects of sin.  Identifying the various social sins of our time probably will say more about our own perspective than God’s Word.  For example, some might denounce the factors contributing to global warming, pollution, racial injustice, and income inequality.  Others might rail against abortion and same-sex marriage.  Some would look at these issues and declare, “why not both/and?”

Of course it is ultimately God who determines what is just and unjust, good and evil.  And we believe his will is most clearly revealed in Scripture, although there are some issues that we face today that require careful thought and prayer.

The bigger question is — does God raise up nations and humble them today because of their moral choices?

Again, I return to the one paradigm I know reasonably well — the United States of America.  One might say that racism in general and slavery in particular were the “original sin” of our nation.  This was an original sin that created enormous national tension between North and South, and ended in a horribly violent war.  One might say that this war was an expiation in blood for the sins of our fathers.

If Thomas Jefferson could say, almost 80 years before the Civil War “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just” — what moral blindness, decadence and injustices do we see around us today that deserve justice?

The Bible teaches us that the Lord is a God of justice as well as mercy, and that as there are personal consequences for sin, so there are also national consequences for injustice.

The message is just as applicable today as it was more than 2,500 years ago — justice will be done — and yet there is still time to repent and change.

RESPOND: 

There have been times in history when we have paused and said, “where is God in this?”  We are certainly filled with nauseous wonder when we consider the gross injustice of slavery in the “Land of the Free;” or the Holocaust of millions of Jews and others by the Nazis; or the displacement of millions of families in the Middle East because of ongoing war and atrocities.

Sometimes the answers to these injustices have been glacially slow and unsatisfying.  But wars were fought to free the oppressed; and peaceful protest has been employed to bring justice nearer.  Honestly, both have been methods of working for justice.

I take some comfort in the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s observation:

The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.

Ultimately, it bends toward the coming Kingdom of God, when wrongs will be right, evil banished, and death destroyed.

Lord, like Thomas Jefferson, I sometimes tremble when I consider that you are just.  But I place my hope in your gracious mercy, that seeks to redeem and renew all of your world.  May we heed the warnings, and repent.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Indeed I tremble for my country…” by Jim McIntosh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for November 28, 2021

Note from Celeste:

Before we look at today’s lectionary reading, I’d like to draw your attention to my Advent Bible Study books.

Getting Ready for Christmas is part of the Choose This Day Multiple Choice Bible Studies series, available in paperback and ebook.

The daily devotionals take 10-15 minutes and include:

• Scripture passage (World English Bible)
• Fun, entertaining multiple choice questions focused directly on the Scripture passage
• Short meditation that can be used as a discussion starter.

Like an Advent calendar, Getting Ready for Christmas begins on December 1 and ends December 25. However, these 25 devotionals focusing on the Messiah can be used any time of year.

Use this book personally during a coffee break or with the family in the car or at the dinner table.

Order Getting Ready for Christmas  today to prepare your family for this year’s Christmas season!
CLICK HERE for Amazon’s Kindle book of Getting Ready for Christmas.
CLICK HERE for Amazon’s Paperback of Getting Ready for Christmas.

And here’s the link to its puzzle companion book: Getting Ready for Christmas Word Search Puzzles for Advent. 

It’s a large-print puzzle book with over 1,200 hidden words taken straight from the same 25 Scripture readings. (30 puzzles in all.)

If you’re not in the U.S., you can still order the books from your country’s amazon platform. Simply search for “Getting Ready for Christmas” by Celesta Letchworth.

Thank you for your consideration! And thank you for faithfully following Tom’s SOAR blog!

---

AND NOW, BACK TO TODAY’S LECTIONARY READING:

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 25:1-10
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This Psalm, attributed to David, addresses the issues that a warrior with a checkered past might wish to bring before God.

The first three verses are a statement of faith from a proud man who nonetheless understands that the Lord is the source of his strength:

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust;
do not let me be put to shame;
do not let my enemies exult over me.

This is a man whose enemies are not merely figurative, but openly and actively hostile.

He asks for wisdom and guidance in the ways of the Lord:

Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.

He reminds the Lord of his mercy and love that have been from of old. His faith is grounded in the history of Israel and Israel’s God.

But this is also a personal prayer.  Without listing his sins, he asks for pardon based not on his own merit but on God’s mercy:

Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!

A quick survey of David’s life reveals a man of courage, action and loyalty, but also a man of violence whose sexual indiscretion and subsequent crimes nearly wrecked his life.

As we learn from 2 Samuel 11 & 12, David did repent, and was forgiven.

Finally, it seems fitting to close this particular reading with David’s description of God’s character and benevolence:

Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

This description of God’s love and faithfulness is conditional:

….for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

Only those who keep God’s laws will be able to follow God’s paths.

APPLY:  

This is a good model of prayer for the believer, especially in times of uncertainty and even danger.

We are reminded as we read this Psalm in Advent that this season was not originally intended to be merely a season of Christmas lights and early gift shopping.

Advent in the liturgical season was originally intended to be a kind of “Lenten” season.  Just as Lent prepares us for the celebration of Easter resurrection by focusing on self-denial, self-examination and repentance, so Advent was intended to be a time of self-denial, self-examination and repentance in preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ.

What better way to prepare for the coming of Christ than to ask for instruction in God’s ways, God’s guidance, and forgiveness of sins?

All that David asks for is delivered in the person and teaching of Jesus.  And as we pray this prayer, we find the same answers in Jesus.

RESPOND: 

Back in the 1970’s when I was a very new Christian many Psalms were put to music and sung as praise songs in worship.  I learned this Psalm first as a praise song and then taught it to my fellow church members when we went on a mission trip to a Heifer Project site near Puebla, Mexico.

[Click here to listen to “Unto Thee, O Lord” on youtube.com]

It was a reminder that I can repent because of the great mercy of God.  I am to trust God in all circumstances. I can seek his guidance above all else.  Although I am accepted by God’s grace for the sake of God’s steadfast love, my growth in grace is conditional on my keeping the demands of the covenant. And the only way that I can keep God’s commands is with his help:

Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation.

Lord, hear this Psalm as my prayer to you — to trust you, to seek your mercy, your guidance, and to become more faithful to your covenant.  Amen

PHOTOS:
 
"True Worship Begins with Brokeness (Psalm 25:6-7)" by The TRUTH will set you free! is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for November 29, 2020

This is one of the more intimate portrayals of the relationship of God and his people in the Old Testament. Not often is God called Father, until the teaching of Jesus; and there is a sense that Israel is completely submitted to the will of the Lord, like clay in a potter’s hands.

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 64:1-9
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This oracle from Isaiah looks both backward and forward in time. The Prophet implores the Lord to enter onto the stage of history in a dramatic way:

Oh that you would tear the heavens,
that you would come down,
that the mountains might quake at your presence.

The Prophet is asking that the Lord do what he has done in the past, and intervene in human history.

The context for this plea, according to many scholars, is the post-exilic world of the so-called “Third Isaiah” who some believe wrote at least the chapters from 56 to 64.

While this can be disputed, no one can dispute the powerful petition that Isaiah makes for divine intervention.  The Prophet makes it clear that the God of Israel is unlike any other so-called gods, because the Lord is a God who acts decisively for his people.

God’s intervention is based on a moral compass:

You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness,
those who remember you in your ways.

However, there is also a flip side to God’s intervention — when God’s people disobeyed God’s ways, God became angry.  There is a moral demand that accompanies the divine deliverance in this passage. When the people sin and turn away from God, God also turns away from them:

There is no one who calls on your name,
who stirs himself up to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have consumed us by means of our iniquities.

This oracle has some of the most striking language in the Scriptures:

• Righteous acts are like filthy rags, meaning they are soaked in blood;
• The faithless, hapless people shrivel up like leaves and blow away.

And yet there is the sense that the Prophet has that Israel is still absolutely dependent on God, and that their destiny is shaped by the Lord:

But now, Yahweh, you are our Father.
We are the clay, and you our potter.
We all are the work of your hand.

This is one of the more intimate portrayals of the relationship of God and his people in the Old Testament.  Not often is God called Father, until the teaching of Jesus; and there is a sense that Israel is completely submitted to the will of the Lord, like clay in a potter’s hands.

It is on this relationship that the Prophet presumes to plead for mercy and forgiveness.  He doesn’t deny the sins that have caused God’s anger, but he begs that God might forget those sins.

APPLY:  

When we ask for God to intervene today as he once did in the past, we might want to consider what we are asking.  Isaiah reminds us that God’s righteousness and holiness are absolute, and his expectation of us is that we also be righteous and holy!

The reality is that without the holiness of God at work in our lives, even our most well-intentioned good works and morality are tainted by self-interest and mixed motives:

 all our righteousness is like a polluted garment.

This reminds us of our absolute dependence on the grace of God.  We are to be submitted to God as completely and passively as clay is submitted to the potter.  The clay doesn’t get to tell the potter what it wants to be, or how it should be shaped. Neither should we.

So, when we ask for mercy and forgiveness from God, it is very important that we begin with a sense of complete abandonment of ourselves to God.  God has everything to offer, and we have nothing.

The only works we do that will last are those that derive from God.  Ephesians points out that we are saved by grace alone; but it also insists that:

we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

In other words, from beginning to end our salvation is all God’s work, including those “good works” that we do. The only good works that please God are those that come from God originally.

RESPOND: 

I am reminded of my own mixed motives when it comes to “doing good.”  Do I do what I do because I know that I am clay in God’s hands and that he is working through me, or because I know someone else is watching and will think more highly of me?  When I pray for God to come down and bring judgment, I need to pray first for mercy!

Our Lord, we see so much in our world that we deem worthy of your righteous judgment.  But then we realize that we also deserve your judgment! So once again we find ourselves on our knees begging for mercy.  May we be the clay in your hands, that you might shape us and our lives according to your purposes.  Amen.  

PHOTOS:
“Studio workday” by t. chen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for September 15, 2019

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 Timothy 1:12-17
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This is a first-person testimonial, seemingly from the very pen of St. Paul himself, as he writes to his protege, Timothy.  For the modern reader, though, this provides a few problems.  Many New Testament scholars today question the Pauline authorship of the letters that are called the Pastoral Epistles (1 & 2 Timothy and Titus).  They argue that the style and language of the Pastorals is very different than the other Pauline epistles, and deal with different themes and topics.

However, the claim is very clear in these epistles that they were written by Paul himself.  The autobiographical references to his journeys and other details make it clear that the writer is familiar with Paul’s life.  There is no doubt that the author intends us to take him at his word as Paul.

Without delving into the depths of the debate over the historical-critical method of Biblical interpretation, let me simply venture an opinion about the authenticity of these and other books that are called into question by modern scholarship:

• These and other books included in the New Testament under Paul’s name (Ephesians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus) that are questioned were considered authentic by the authority of the early church, and received into the canon. To call these books into question is to question the very foundation of our faith.
• The argument that Paul’s style and language are inconsistent with his other writings seems shallow. Paul appears to have dictated his letters orally to a secretary who wrote down his words.  Is it not possible that we do have the imprint of different secretaries, some of whom may have allowed their own literary skills or lack thereof to creep into the letters?
• Is it not possible that Paul’s own literary style may have evolved, or may have been tailored to a particular audience at a particular time and place? His letters to the Corinthians, for example, are written to a church he helped to found.  There are certain shorthand references that he knows they will understand.  He appears to be answering specific practical questions, and addressing particular issues that are of concern in Corinth.  His letter to Rome is different because he is writing to people he hasn’t met — so he is more systematic in his approach.  Timothy is his young friend and protege — so his style might be expected to be more vernacular and personal.

I will proceed according to the theory that this is a letter from Paul.  His very personal references here would be hard to concoct by an impostor.  If they are not from Paul, then this letter is untrue and is not worthy to be considered a foundational document for the Christian faith.

Paul expresses himself in a kind of prayer-testimony.  He expresses his gratitude that Christ Jesus has empowered him and appointed him to serve Christ — this despite the fact that Paul himself had been:

formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence.

He is no doubt referring to his life prior to the vision on the road to Damascus (Acts 9).  He also describes himself elsewhere in his epistles as a former zealous persecutor of the church (Philippians 3:6).  And yet he himself becomes a living example of the grace and mercy of Christ:

But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Paul’s life becomes a living sermon illustration of the salvation of Christ:

 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.

This is a reminder to us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is hope for the lost, the last and the least. When the scribes and Pharisees criticize Jesus for having table fellowship with sinners and tax collectors, Jesus declares to them:

Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners. (Mark 2:17).

Paul emphasizes his role as one who provides an example of those who are transformed from sinners to followers of Christ:

But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life.

Paul ends on a doxological note  (praising God) — for it is only through God that such grace is possible.  Paul makes it clear that he has done nothing to save himself — all honor and gratitude are owed to God alone:

 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

APPLY:  

Paul’s testimony is a huge comfort to all of us who have sinned.  Paul reminds us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Gospel of the Second Chance.

We are reminded of the core of the Gospel:

The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners

Faith is the means by which we receive the salvation offered by Christ; and it is Christ who transforms us from the foremost of sinners into those who are empowered to follow Christ and to proclaim his grace.

RESPOND: 

I was an associate pastor years ago in a large and thriving church.  The senior pastor was quite unique in style and personality.  He was relaxed and casual, prone to jokes and references to his own somewhat shadowy past.

But one day he told me the secret to his success in evangelism and church growth.  He said:

I tell the truth about myself.  And people look at me and say to themselves — “If he can be accepted by Christ, surely I can be!”

He retired years ago. The current pastor of that church said to me that this message is still the legacy of my former senior pastor:   “This is the church of the Second Chance.  That is built into the DNA around here.”

There is so much truth there.  It was Oscar Wilde, certainly not renowned for Christian faith, who nonetheless captured a very important truth:

The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.

Authentic Christian faith begins with the acknowledgment that “I am a sinner.”  However, the Christian life doesn’t end there.  Following that acknowledgement, there is true repentance and faith, and a Spirit-sustained life that leads us toward Christian maturity.

As Jesus said to the woman accused of adultery, whose accusers had all departed in shame:

Jesus, standing up, saw her and said, “Woman, where are your accusers? Did no one condemn you?”She said, “No one, Lord.” Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more.” (John 8:10-11).

Our Lord, I thank you that you look not at my past but at my future when it comes to salvation.  I confess my sins of thought, word and deed — and also I confess squandered opportunities and spiritual sloth.  But I am grateful that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”  Amen.

 PHOTOS:
"Every Saint has a past" by Rex Dingler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for September 15, 2019

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Jeremiah has the sad distinction of prophesying on the Lord’s behalf in a chaotic and foreboding time.

It is difficult to determine an exact chronology of most prophetic writings in part because they are written as poetic oracles.  However, Jeremiah’s mention of King Josiah in Jeremiah 3:6 may help us narrow down the dire warnings of this week’s Old Testament lectionary reading.

King Josiah reigned in Judah between 640 and 609 B.C.  We remember him from the book of 2 Kings as a good king, even great, and a religious reformer who sought to turn his people back to the Lord.

Unfortunately, from Jeremiah’s perspective, it was too little too late.  His message here seems to be that the hot wind that blows in from the desert won’t just separate wheat from chaff (as at the harvest), or cleanse the land.  This hot wind will destroy.

Hot winds in desert climates are common.  In Israel, the hot, suffocating winds of the spring and summer are known as khamsin, and are known for bringing with them violent sandstorms.  This may suggest the season in which Jeremiah writes his oracle.

The question is, if this hot wind symbolizes the judgment that is to come, does it signify an invasion by Egypt to the south, or Babylon to the east?  It is Pharaoh Neco of Egypt who would defeat and kill Josiah in battle in 609 B.C.  This wind blows from the desert, and the khamsin does blow from the south.  But the greater existential threat to Jerusalem will prove to be Babylon.  Jerusalem falls to Babylon in 587 B.C., while Jeremiah is still very active as a prophet.

In either case, the charges against Judah are clear.  The Lectionary Scripture picks up the thread at verse 22, in the voice of the Lord:

For my people are foolish,
they do not know me;
they are stupid children,
they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil,
but do not know how to do good.

Jeremiah seems stunned by the vision of the future that the Lord discloses to him — the earth is wasted, there is no light, there are violent earthquakes, all living creatures have sought refuge elsewhere, the fertile fields are now desert, and the cities are ruined.

Nevertheless, there is a measure of hope amidst even this despair:

For thus says the Lord: The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.

This is a common refrain in the prophets.  There will be judgment and dire consequences — however —  there will also be grace.  In the prophetic literature, this grace is usually found in the promise that a remnant of Israel will survive the destruction and exile to come:

For thus says the Lord:
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
“Save, O Lord, your people,
the remnant of Israel.”(Jeremiah 31:7).

Nevertheless, the judgment that is coming is dire, and inevitable:

Because of this the earth shall mourn,
and the heavens above grow black;
for I have spoken, I have purposed;
I have not relented nor will I turn back.

APPLY:  

When we read prophecies such as this from Jeremiah, we can react in several ways.

One is simply to avoid such doom and gloom altogether, and tell ourselves that Jeremiah was writing to a particular nation (Judah) at a particular time.  We can tell ourselves that these words applied only to the context of the 7th and 6th century B.C., and only to the last remaining segment of the people of Israel.

Or, we can find parallels between Jeremiah’s jeremiads and our own time, in all of the usual suspects of  sin.  Identifying the various social sins of our time probably will say more about our own perspective than God’s Word.  For example, some might denounce the factors contributing to global warming, pollution,  racial injustice, and income inequality.  Others might rail against abortion and same-sex marriage.  Some would look at these issues and declare, “why not both/and?”

Of course it is ultimately God who determines what is just and unjust, good and evil.  And we believe his will is most clearly revealed in Scripture, although there are some issues that we face today that require careful thought and prayer.

The bigger question is — does God raise up nations and humble them today because of their moral choices?

Again, I return to the one paradigm I know reasonably well — the United States of America.  One might say that racism in general and slavery in particular were the “original sin” of our nation.  This was an original sin that created enormous national tension between North and South, and ended in a horribly violent war.  One might say that this war was an expiation in blood for the sins of our fathers.

If Thomas Jefferson could say, almost 80 years before the Civil War “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just” — what moral blindness, decadence and injustices do we see around us today that deserve justice?

The Bible teaches us that the Lord is a God of justice as well as mercy, and that as there are personal consequences for sin, so there are also national consequences for injustice.

The message is just as applicable today as it was more than 2,500 years ago — justice will be done — and yet there is still time to repent and change.

RESPOND: 

There have been times in history when we have paused and said, “where is God in this?”  We are certainly filled with nauseous wonder when we consider the gross injustice of slavery in the “Land of the Free;” or the Holocaust of millions of Jews and others by the Nazis; or the displacement of millions of families in the Middle East because of ongoing war and atrocities.

Sometimes the answers to these injustices have been glacially slow and unsatisfying.  But wars were fought to free the oppressed; and peaceful protest has been employed to bring justice nearer.  Honestly, both have been methods of working for justice.

I take some comfort in the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s observation:

The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.

Ultimately, it bends toward the coming Kingdom of God, when wrongs will be right, evil banished, and death destroyed.

Lord, like Thomas Jefferson, I sometimes tremble when I consider that you are just.  But I place my hope in your gracious mercy, that seeks to redeem and renew all of your world.  May we heed the warnings, and repent.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Indeed I tremble for my country…” by Jim McIntosh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Psalm Reading for December 2, 2018

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 25:1-10
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This Psalm, attributed to David, addresses the issues that a warrior with a checkered past might wish to bring before God.

The first three verses are a statement of faith from a proud man who nonetheless understands that the Lord is the source of his strength:

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust;
do not let me be put to shame;
do not let my enemies exult over me.

This is a man whose enemies are not merely figurative, but openly and actively hostile.

He asks for wisdom and guidance in the ways of the Lord:

Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.

He reminds the Lord of his mercy and love that have been from of old. His faith is grounded in the history of Israel and Israel’s God.

But this is also a personal prayer.  Without listing his sins, he asks for pardon based not on his own merit but on God’s mercy:

Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!

A quick survey of David’s life reveals a man of courage, action and loyalty, but also a man of violence whose sexual indiscretion and subsequent crimes nearly wrecked his life.

As we learn from 2 Samuel 11 & 12, David did repent, and was forgiven.

Finally, it seems fitting to close this particular reading with David’s description of God’s character and benevolence:

Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

This description of God’s love and faithfulness is conditional:

….for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

Only those who keep God’s laws will be able to follow God’s paths.

APPLY:  

This is a good model of prayer for the believer, especially in times of uncertainty and even danger.

We are reminded as we read this Psalm in Advent that this season was not originally intended to be merely a season of Christmas lights and early gift shopping.

Advent in the liturgical season was originally intended to be a kind of “Lenten” season.  Just as Lent prepares us for the celebration of Easter resurrection by focusing on self-denial, self-examination and repentance, so Advent was intended to be a time of self-denial, self-examination and repentance in preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ.

What better way to prepare for the coming of Christ than to ask for instruction in God’s ways, God’s guidance, and forgiveness of sins?

All that David asks for is delivered in the person and teaching of Jesus.  And as we pray this prayer, we find the same answers in Jesus.

RESPOND: 

Back in the 1970’s when I was a very new Christian many Psalms were put to music and sung as praise songs in worship.  I learned this Psalm first as a praise song and then taught it to my fellow church members when we went on a mission trip to a Heifer Project site near Puebla, Mexico.

[Click here to listen to “Unto Thee, O Lord” on youtube.com]

It was a reminder that I can repent because of the great mercy of God.  I am to trust God in all circumstances. I can seek his guidance above all else.  Although I am accepted by God’s grace for the sake of God’s steadfast love, my growth in grace is conditional on my keeping the demands of the covenant. And the only way that I can keep God’s commands is with his help:

Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation.

Lord, hear this Psalm as my prayer to you — to trust you, to seek your mercy, your guidance, and to become more faithful to your covenant.  Amen

PHOTOS:
 
"His way {explored}" by Charlotte Tai is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for December 3, 2017

This is one of the more intimate portrayals of the relationship of God and his people in the Old Testament. Not often is God called Father, until the teaching of Jesus; and there is a sense that Israel is completely submitted to the will of the Lord, like clay in a potter’s hands.

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 64:1-9
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This oracle from Isaiah looks both backward and forward in time. The Prophet implores the Lord to enter onto the stage of history in a dramatic way:

Oh that you would tear the heavens,
that you would come down,
that the mountains might quake at your presence.

The Prophet is asking that the Lord do what he has done in the past, and intervene in human history.

The context for this plea, according to many scholars, is the post-exilic world of the so-called “Third Isaiah” who some believe wrote at least the chapters from 56 to 64.

While this can be disputed, no one can dispute the powerful petition that Isaiah makes for divine intervention.  The Prophet makes it clear that the God of Israel is unlike any other so-called gods, because the Lord is a God who acts decisively for his people.

God’s intervention is based on a moral compass:

You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness,
those who remember you in your ways.

However, there is also a flip side to God’s intervention — when God’s people disobeyed God’s ways, God became angry.  There is a moral demand that accompanies the divine deliverance in this passage. When the people sin and turn away from God, God also turns away from them:

There is no one who calls on your name,
who stirs himself up to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have consumed us by means of our iniquities.

This oracle has some of the most striking language in the scriptures:

• Righteous acts are like filthy rags, meaning they are soaked in blood;
• The faithless, hapless people shrivel up like leaves and blow away.

And yet there is the sense that the Prophet has that Israel is still absolutely dependent on God, and that their destiny is shaped by the Lord:

But now, Yahweh, you are our Father.
We are the clay, and you our potter.
We all are the work of your hand.

This is one of the more intimate portrayals of the relationship of God and his people in the Old Testament.  Not often is God called Father, until the teaching of Jesus; and there is a sense that Israel is completely submitted to the will of the Lord, like clay in a potter’s hands.

It is on this relationship that the Prophet presumes to plead for mercy and forgiveness.  He doesn’t deny the sins that have caused God’s anger, but he begs that God might forget those sins.

APPLY:  

When we ask for God to intervene today as he once did in the past, we might want to consider what we are asking.  Isaiah reminds us that God’s righteousness and holiness are absolute, and his expectation of us that we also be righteous and holy!

The reality is that without the holiness of God at work in our lives, even our most well-intentioned good works and morality are tainted by self-interest and mixed motives:

 all our righteousness is like a polluted garment.

This reminds us of our absolute dependence on the grace of God.  We are to be submitted to God as completely and passively as clay is submitted to the potter.  The clay doesn’t get to tell the potter what it wants to be, or how it should be shaped. Neither should we.

So, when we ask for mercy and forgiveness from God, it is very important that we begin with a sense of complete abandonment of ourselves to God.  God has everything to offer, and we have nothing.

The only works we do that will last are those that derive from God.  Ephesians points out that we are saved by grace alone; but it also insists that we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).  In other words, from beginning to end our salvation is all God’s work, including those “good works” that we do. The only good works that please God are those that come from God originally.

RESPOND: 

I am reminded of my own mixed motives when it comes to “doing good.”  Do I do what I do because I know that I am clay in God’s hands and that he is working through me, or because I know someone else is watching and will think more highly of me?  When I pray for God to come down and bring judgment, I need to pray first for mercy!

Our Lord, we see so much in our world that we deem worthy of your righteous judgment.  But then we realize that we also deserve your judgment! So once again we find ourselves on our knees begging for mercy.  May we be the clay in your hands, that you might shape us and our lives according to your purposes.  Amen.  

PHOTOS:
“Studio workday” by t. chen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for September 11, 2016

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

1 Timothy 1:12-17

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This is a first-person testimonial, seemingly from the very pen of St. Paul himself, as he writes to his protege, Timothy.  For the modern reader, though, this provides a few problems.  Many New Testament scholars today question the Pauline authorship of the letters that are called the Pastoral Epistles (1 & 2 Timothy and Titus).  They argue that the style and language of the Pastorals is very different than the other Pauline epistles, and deal with different themes and topics.

However, the claim is very clear in these epistles that they were written by Paul himself.  The autobiographical references to his journeys and other details make it clear that the writer is familiar with Paul’s life.  There is no doubt that the author intends us to take him at his word as Paul.

Without delving into the depths of the debate over the historical-critical method of Biblical interpretation, let me simply venture an opinion about the authenticity of these and other books that are called into question by modern scholarship:

• These and other books included in the New Testament under Paul’s name (Ephesians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus) that are questioned were considered authentic by the authority of the early church, and received into the canon. To call these books into question is to question the very foundation of our faith.
• The argument that Paul’s style and language are inconsistent with his other writings seems shallow. Paul appears to have dictated his letters orally to a secretary who wrote down his words.  Is it not possible that we do have the imprint of different secretaries, some of whom may have allowed their own literary skills or lack thereof to creep into the letters?
• Is it not possible that Paul’s own literary style may have evolved, or may have been tailored to a particular audience at a particular time and place? His letters to the Corinthians, for example, are written to a church he helped to found.  There are certain shorthand references that he knows they will understand.  He appears to be answering specific practical questions, and addressing particular issues that are of concern in Corinth.  His letter to Rome is different because he is writing to people he hasn’t met — so he is more systematic in his approach.  Timothy is his young friend and protege — so his style might be expected to be more vernacular and personal.

I will proceed according to the theory that this is a letter from Paul.  His very personal references here would be hard to concoct by an imposter.  If they are not from Paul, then this letter is untrue and is not worthy to be considered a foundational document for the Christian faith.

Paul expresses himself in a kind of prayer-testimony.  He expresses his gratitude that Christ Jesus has empowered him and appointed him to serve Christ— this despite the fact that Paul himself had been:

formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence.

He is no doubt referring to his life prior to the vision on the road to Damascus (Acts 9).  He also describes himself elsewhere in his epistles as a former zealous persecutor of the church (Philippians 3:6).  And yet he himself becomes a living example of the grace and mercy of Christ:

But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Paul’s life becomes a living sermon illustration of the salvation of Christ:

 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.

This is a reminder to us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is hope for the lost, the last and the least. When the scribes and Pharisees criticize Jesus for having table fellowship with sinners and tax collectors, Jesus declares to them:

Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners. (Mark 2:17).

Paul emphasizes his role as one who provides an example of those who are transformed from sinners to followers of Christ:

But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life.

Paul ends on a doxological note  (praising God) — for it is only through God that such grace is possible.  Paul makes it clear that he has done nothing to save himself — all honor and gratitude are owed to God alone:

 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

APPLY:  

Paul’s testimony is a huge comfort to all of us who have sinned.  Paul reminds us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Gospel of the Second Chance.

We are reminded of the core of the Gospel:

The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners

Faith is the means by which we receive the salvation offered by Christ; and it is Christ who transforms us from the foremost of sinners into those who are empowered to follow Christ and to proclaim his grace.

RESPOND: 

I was an associate pastor years ago in a large and thriving church.  The senior pastor was quite unique in style and personality.  He was relaxed and casual, prone to jokes and references to his own somewhat shadowy past.

But one day he told me the secret to his success in evangelism and church growth.  He said:

I tell the truth about myself.  And people look at me and say to themselves — “If he can be accepted by Christ, surely I can be!”

He retired years ago. The current pastor of that church said to me that this message is still the legacy of my former senior pastor:   “This is the church of the Second Chance.  That is built into the DNA around here.”

There is so much truth there.  It was Oscar Wilde, certainly not renowned for Christian faith, who nonetheless captured a very important truth:

The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.

Authentic Christian faith begins with the acknowledgment that “I am a sinner.”  However, the Christian life doesn’t end there.  Following that acknowledgement, there is true repentance and faith, and a Spirit-sustained life that leads us toward Christian maturity.

As Jesus said to the woman accused of adultery, whose accusers had all departed in shame:

Jesus, standing up, saw her and said, “Woman, where are your accusers? Did no one condemn you?”She said, “No one, Lord.” Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more.” (John 8:10-11).

Our Lord, I thank you that you look not at my past but at my future when it comes to salvation.  I confess my sins of thought, word and deed — and also I confess squandered opportunities and spiritual sloth.  But I am grateful that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”  Amen.

 PHOTOS:
"Every Saint has a past" by Rex Dingler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.