26 Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. [Pro 25:26 ESV]  New Year's Eve is tomorrow, day of resolutions!  Lose weight, work harder, play nicer - things like that.  We all know that resolutions get broken then forgotten.  So instead of a resolution I thought I would try a "motivation" this year.  Something to give me a jump start when my battery gets low.  I think this verse is just right for that.  It is more about attitude than action.  It is about principle in the face of temptation or coercion.  It is about speaking up when it is easier and maybe safer to be quiet.  It is about self-control, quality of performance, and fairness in all things.  It is about always doing the right thing as God's word defines right.  That's a pretty tall order.  I think it will be a good verse to memorize and then repeat every morning.  If we would all do this, then maybe now and then we'd make a different decision - a better decision, a more Godly decision - just because of this verse.  How much better might the water be in a year's time?  Have a Happy New Year, and may God bless us all.

3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. [2Ti 1:3 ESV].  Paul wrote these words to Timothy while waiting to be executed in Rome.  He knew his death was near.  Look at that phrase "with a clear conscience".  Paul doesn't say this, doesn't put this in writing, because he has kept score of all the bad things he did and all the good things, and he's worked it out that he's on the top side of things.  He doesn't mean he's preached to enough people to offset the ones he persecuted and killed when he was young.  He means that he knows the gospel clearly teaches that it is about grace, not about anything we've done - good or bad.  His conscience was clear because he believed in his heart, all the way down in the secret locked vaults of his own conscience, in the place where the sins only he even knew about were hidden, that God had forgiven everything because Jesus had paid for everything.  Many of us say we believe this, but we still carry around guilt about things that we don't really think can be - or should be - forgiven.  When we do this, we are confusing regret and guilt.  Regret is a good thing in that it reminds us not to repeat our sins and makes us thankful for what God has done for us.  But guilt is a bad thing because we use it to handicap ourselves.  We ask "How can I guide someone else to Christ when I am still so guilty myself?"  Want to know how we can take a load off our shoulders this Christmas?  We can let go of our guilt about sins that were forgiven long ago.  We can remember that we have no scoreboard in heaven showing sins on one side and good deeds on the other.  There is only a big book with our names in it.  If we believe that, then our conscience will also be clear, and then we can hold our heads up while we tell others what Christ has done for us!

9 "Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' or 'Your work has no handles'? 10 Woe to him who says to a father, 'What are you begetting?' or to a woman, 'With what are you in labor?'" [Isa 45:9-10 ESV]
We all seem to know that it's a bad idea to argue with the owner about how to run the store.  We know it is foolish to tell a father he's raising his son wrong.  If it is the potter's shop, the potter's wheel, and the potters clay, then the potter decides what to make.  And who would ever think they had the authority to spank a stranger's child for misbehavior?   Everyone knows better than that!  And yet we think we can tell the God of all Creation, the Owner of Everything, that He has it wrong, and we have a better plan!  I expect that most all of us tend to do this even in our prayers.  We ought to pray that the Supreme Potter will do everything His way, and then be humbly thankful when He does - even if it is not what we would have preferred.

7 I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things. [Isa 45:7 ESV].  God makes all these things.  Light and dark, peace and disaster, joy and adversity.  We need to stop behaving as if all the things we don't like come from Satan, and all the things we do like come from God.  How arrogant of us to think we can put God in any kind of box!  Do children think their parents are doing a good thing when they get a spanking?  When they don't get a second dessert dessert?  When they have do their homework?  Parents do "bad" things all the time, but eventually we understand that these things were for our good.  We should allow God the same kind of latitude, commensurate with who He is!

Moving just a little further in Ecclesiastes 7 from last week, we find these verses:  15 In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. 16 Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? 17 Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? 18 It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them. [Ecc 7:15-18 ESV].  Is he really saying we should be no better and no worse than we have to be?  That can't be right, so what then?!  We saw last week that bad things can happen to good people.  Now we find that bad things happen to the very best people also, and the vilest of criminals sometimes have some good in their lives.  Solomon is just repeating what we saw last week because it is so difficult to accept that the quality of our lives is not about how bad or how good we are!  Our "time-locked" sense of human justice rebels at this, so Solomon is trying to drive home this crucial truth.  We must understand that no one can say "I am a great person - I am the BEST person.  I know this because my life is grand, and when I die I will go to heaven - BECAUSE I was a great person".  Nor can we judge the wicked and say "God would never ever accept such a person into heaven because he has done such horrible things.  You can tell he is wicked because his circumstances are a complete disaster!"    Solomon recognized that God chooses those He will save according to His own rules.  Being good does not guarantee a nice home on earth, being great does not guarantee a mansion in heaven.  Being bad does not mean you will be homeless, being awful does not mean God can't or won't save you.  Look at that last little bit of verse 18:  "...the one who fears God shall come out from both of them".  I think "coming out" here is about repentance of sin and submission to Jesus regardless of circumstances or history.  No one is too bad to be saved, and no one is so good they don't need saving.  The world works the way it does - a way that often seems unfair to us - so that we can understand this about God.  Anyone, from either group, may be chosen by God or rejected by God, and good people need to hear the gospel just like bad people do. 

So Monday we considered the possibility that the universe God created for man (us) has some different "rules" than the place where He is.  Those rules are undiscoverable to us.  In the very next verse, we find this:  "In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.  [Ecc 7:14 ESV]"  The observation is that God made these complete opposites, deals them out seemingly at random, and we cannot predict where either one is going to lead.  There also seems to be an implication that we aren't supposed to know where things will lead.  If we were not trapped in time where we can only "wait and see", but were like God who knows everything now, then we would know how all these things turn out.  But as it is, no theory explains the why - much less predicts how long - some will have it good and others bad.  Our sense of justice, based on the rules where we are, screams that it is never right for good people to have it bad, nor for bad people to have the best of everything!  In severe cases, when the good people are those we care most about, and they have it extremely bad, we might even scream that God must be wrong this time.  But it could be that these wrenching events are the result of some of those rules over on God's timeless side that we are not able to learn.  We cannot know what the result truly is because time blinds us to that truth.  So what are we supposed to do in such a place?  Like the verse says, enjoy the times when life is good, and do our best to get through it when things are bad, knowing that God made those also, according to what He can see.  And try to remember that it is all working the best way it can from His eternal vantage point and according to His eternal rules.  We focus on that, we trust Him through it all, and we do our best.

13 Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked? [Ecc 7:13 ESV].  Solomon is saying that it is not possible for man to decipher the intricacies of what God has done.  The how, and even more importantly the why of our existence on the planet may not be discoverable from the vantage of a physical universe.  Consider that God pre-existed all that is, and he especially pre-existed "time".  From that place where there is no time, God created this place where time is the foundational characteristic of all we know.  We have no idea what the rules are in a place with no "time", so how can we expect to figure out how God did all this?  Time for us is an impenetrable wall behind which exist the real rules - the all-encompassing rules - and the only possibility of understanding creation.  Only when we also inhabit eternity, in either heaven or hell, can we understand the hows and whys of all that is.  For now, we are limited to those things which God has decided to reveal to us in His word.  It kind of makes one wonder if it is a coincidence that our only solution to the creation problem is to extend time backward and forward so far that we make time itself an incomprehensible mystery.  We make "Time" a place where "magical" things can happen.  Things every bit as "magical" as creation by a Supreme Being!  We just find it easier to believe in time than to believe in God, because time doesn't try to make us behave.

13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness 14 your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. 15 As it is written, "Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack." [2Co 8:13-15 ESV].  This verse sums up Paul's appeal to the Corinthians for donations to the church at Jerusalem, which was having a difficult time.  He says he is not expecting the Corinthians to donate more than they can afford.  In the same way, we are not expected to starve ourselves so that others can eat.  That is not fair.  But as we are blessed - as we are enriched - we ought to increase our giving, knowing that in our own time of need, others will be charitable toward us.  Paul uses the gathering of manna in the wilderness as the example.  Those who thought they might run out of manna gathered a LOT of it, and you might say they hoarded it, or were greedy with it...but no matter what they did, they  had only enough for that day.  Those who went out and gathered just a bit of manna, leaving the rest for others that had need rather than trying to enrich themselves by gathering more, had fully enough for the day.  We need to give freely from our excess, but not impoverish ourselves in the process.  A good thing to consider during this season of giving.

1 Of David. Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; 2 he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. [Psa 144:1,2 ESV]
King David was a skilled warrior, victor in many battles.  He knew more than a little about confronting enemies.  Even so, there are many verses where David calls God a fortress, stronghold, rock, or shield.  It is interesting that all these are defensive in nature.  God is not our spear, our arrow, our trebuchet, our siege tower, or our M1A.  God is our deliverer.  So when attacked, we are to "barricade ourselves" in God, defend ourselves from there, and wait for Him to deliver us, or not.  For most Americans, this cuts against the grain.  Yet I see no verse (there may be one but I can't think of it) that says to take the offensive against the enemy.  Even the "whole armor of God" in the New Testament is defensive.  I would say it is high time to retrain our minds in the proper way of Spiritual Warfare.  It turns out that "hide and pray" is Plan A!

5 Let a good man strike or rebuke me in kindness, but let the oil of the wicked never anoint my head; for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds. [Psa 141:5 RSV]
On Monday, we saw how David prayed for help in maintaining his dedication to God's ways, especially when he had to keep company with ungodly men.  This verse continues along that line.  The idea in this verse is that criticism from a good man should be valued far above honor from a wicked one.  As Monday's verse was about not being "infected" by association with the wicked, this one is about not choosing the low road because it is easier going.  Here, David commits to always choosing the right way even if it is painful and to actively praying for the downfall of the wicked.  This may sound obvious, even easy.  But make no mistake, always choosing the right way and actively opposing the wrong way is not going to make us very popular.  (Read this in the ESV or KJV and you'll see why I  used the RSV for today!  The verse must be very difficult to translate.)

3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! 4 Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies! [Psa 141:3-4 ESV]
David prayed this prayer, probably while he was King of Israel.  David saw two sources of danger against which he asks God's protection.  First, he feared his own words, feared what he might say.  As King, his word was law.  Many lives would be better or worse depending on what David said.  People could even die if he spoke rashly.  Second, he feared the desensitizing of his conscience that might come from constant association with evil men.  He was King, he had to negotiate, make treaties and agreements, and cooperate with surrounding nations.  This required interaction with envoys, ambassadors, even kings of other nations.  But those nations didn't follow David's God, or God's ways.  There was a real temptation to compromise - to bend - in order to grease the skids of negotiation or prolong the peace between nations.  I am not a king, and neither are you...but that doesn't mean we never say the wrong things and damage relationships, shut doors, or change good opinions into bad ones.  We also can be tempted to associate with people we shouldn't or compromise our standards to gain some advantage - a promotion at work, maybe, or trying something we know is wrong "just this once" to curry favor where we think it will be advantageous.  Or maybe it is just saying nothing when something ought to be said.  King David thought these important enough to ask for God's oversight.  We should do the same.

5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. [1Co 10:5-6 ESV]  In these verses, Paul reminds the Corinthians - and indeed all of us - of the very same story we looked at last Monday.  Paul tells them that story is not just an interesting historical event, but establishes a permanent Godly principle.  Chosen or not, saved or not, God still requires obedience to His word.  Disobedience has consequences.  Paul is telling the Corinthians that the same consequences that Israel received also await them if they continue to flaunt God's laws in the name of spiritual freedom.  But there is also another application here that we should note.  The resurrection of Jesus meant freedom from the Old Testament sacrificial law.  The Corinthians have expanded this to mean freedom from ANY Old Testament rules, and are especially fond of breaking the moral laws established all the way back to Genesis.  It is important to understand that the members of the church at Corinth and the members of the churches you and I attend today, are in EXACTLY THE SAME relationship to God through Christ.  The Old Testament rules that Paul is telling the Corinthians they still have to obey - rules against adultery, homosexuality, and incest to name a few - are the same rules that apply to us, right now, today.  Nothing has happened that changes these rules for 2021.  Paul is making it very clear - to them and to us - that freedom in Christ may only be exercised within the boundaries of God's whole word.  This applied to the Israelites in the desert, it applied to the Christians in the Corinthian church, and it most definitely applies to us today.

10 For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways." 11 Therefore I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter my rest." [Psa 95:10-11 ESV]
Ever find yourself thinking that since you are a Christian, you can coast along and not work too hard at being what God wants you to be?  Or maybe we even think we can choose to do whatever we want - right or wrong - and it really won't change much about our lives?  We might think that since Jesus has already died for all the sins we have ever or will ever commit, we can just do what we want and not worry about it, right?  Well no..not really.  Here, in Psalms of all places, are the verses that make this wrong thinking.  Israel was (is!) God's chosen nation.  He promised to save them, they agreed to be saved.  God brought them out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, and through the desert to the doorstep of the promised land.  And they said "Nope.  Giants in there.  We won't go."  Here's the thing.  They thought it was all up to them - but in fact only the choice was theirs.  God did let them choose the path, just as He lets us choose ours.  But then, as now, it is God that chooses the consequences.  So God said, "Fine.  Instead of milk and honey for life you will die in the desert, one and all."  And that's how things went for the next forty years.  Did they still go to heaven?  Maybe.  Only God knows that answer.  What we know is that their lives were stagnant, withered, and purposeless because they were antagonistic to God's plan for them.  Their lives were little more than a dead end street.  These were God's chosen people yet He pulled away every good thing that would have come their way.  We should never think that God won't or can't pull back from us.  The choices may be ours but the consequences come from God, and these verses make it clear that there is a limit to what He will tolerate, even from those he chooses.  Makes you wonder just how close this nation is to the line, doesn't it?

The third axiom in Proverbs 4 is in this verse:  23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. [Pro 4:23 ESV]  I think this verse is about personal integrity and about being straightforward in all we do.  Note that the next few verses are warnings against half truths, hidden objectives, and flirtation with evil.  The idea is that if we say and do things that compromise our principles, it is just a matter of time before our principles will be lower.  We cannot be routinely untruthful in business or relationships yet tell ourselves we are still good honest people.  What we do affects who we really are.  The way to maintain our principles is to walk, talk, and think in accordance with those principles, without compromise.  This proverb says doing so results in the best, the least stressful, and the most fulfilling life we can have because our principles are protected and preserved.  The writer of this chapter was a loving father giving his best advice to his children so they would have full, rich lives.  Take a little time and read the whole chapter if you get a chance.  There's a lot here:  https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/pro/4/1/s_632001

Continuing with Proverbs 4, the second axiom is in these two verses: 14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. 15 Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. [Pro 4:14-15 ESV].   The writer presents life as a branching path.  In this context, he is not talking about salvation so much as he is talking about how to live a good long life in this world.  He wants us to think of the path we are on now as our best possible path, our straight and narrow.   The writer is warning us about the paths that branch off this one.  In this analogy, all the branches are poor choices we might make.  He  says don't ever take a branching path, don't even get near one!  Why is he stating this so strongly?  Two reasons:  because these choices start early in life and never stop, and because once we choose a bad path, we can never un-choose it.  For instance, when we're children, we might have to decide whether to admit we took an unauthorized cookie from the jar, or lie about it.  Once we lie, it is easier to lie again - that is, we have chosen a road where telling lies is now an option.  We have let that possibility into our lives.  Later, we might decide to conceal the termite damage in the house we're trying to sell.  So now we have branched off again, this time into lying for profit.  We would never have been here had we not chosen to lie in the first place.  Every time we make a bad choice, we are taking a different road - a worse road - than the one we are on now.  Note that there is nothing here about backtracking to the original path.  That's not really possible because these choices have consequences - they change us in some way.  You can't take back a lie any more than you can "un-steal" from a 7-Eleven.  Each time we choose a branch - each time we make a poor choice - we move further from the best life we might have had, from the best person we might have been.  So as the first axiom was to constantly, persistently seek wisdom and truth in life, this second urges us to consistently, deliberately avoid poor choices.  

In Proverbs 4 the writer offers us three foundational pieces of advice.  Each one is introduced by urging the reader to pay close attention to the advice about to be offered, then the advice itself is presented, and finally the consequences of ignoring the advice are given.  It is like the writer has distilled the learning of a lifetime into three crucially important axioms which are key to a full and satisfying life.  This verse contains the first axiom:  5 Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. [Pro 4:5 ESV].  The first axiom is to seek out real wisdom, real truth.  We are to search for what is true, worthy, and timeless.  This is not about haphazardly stumbling over something wise as we go about our day but about spending our days seeking out wisdom with purpose and effort.  There is also another idea that is implicit here.  Wisdom is "old", passed down from before.  Wisdom is never the newest fad, the untried truth, the "discovery" of the current generation.  For something to be "wisdom", it must have stood the test of time.  If it is wisdom, your parents knew about it, the previous generation knew, and most probably many generations before that knew it, understood it and had done their part in testing it to make sure it held up.  Consider this fundamental characteristic of wisdom in light of things going on today.  So many of the ideas that are being put forward and disturbing the peace and tranquility of our lives are brand new to us.  They were unknown as recently as the previous generation.  They are in fact little more than postulated but as yet untested theories.  These ideas do not stand up to the test for true wisdom.  Therefore we should not embrace them but hold fast to what we were taught.  If these new ideas are sound, they will stand the test of time.  The first axiom then, is that we ought to search tirelessly for true wisdom, understanding that it comes from the past, not from the present.  It is historical,not theoretical.

6 For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar. [Psa 138:6 ESV]
Sometimes God does not seem very near.  Sometimes, He seems to be ignoring our prayers.  This verse says that feeling of separation is not about Him but about us.  When He seems far away, we need to think about our attitudes and the way we're running our business.  If it turns out that we are depending on ourselves to keep things on the right track, because after all, we're pretty capable, it might be that God is just letting us handle it.  Another really clear sign that we're on the haughty side of things is feeling overwhelmed.  If it feels like the whole load is on our shoulders, it is probably because we've decided that's where it belongs.  We've decided that we are the only ones that can do it right.  Perhaps without really intending to do so, we're telling God to just step back, because "we got this".  That kind of thinking is the very definition of haughtiness.  The first step to correcting this distance problem is to get on our knees and ask for help.  I mean literally on our knees, because it is pretty hard to be haughty in that position.

24 The partner of a thief hates his own life; he hears the curse, but discloses nothing. [Pro 29:24 ESV].  Covering for the dishonest leads to self-loathing.  Making excuses for law breakers mars our own character.  Supporting a politician because of his party while ignoring his character will crush your spirit.  Few things are more difficult than calling out wrong in those we love, those we support, those we have chosen to serve.  But not doing so will be a worse choice in the end.

12 The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it. [Pro 27:12 ESV]  I wonder if we should call this the "wear a mask" verse?  Or the "get vaccinated" verse?  Or maybe the "Australia has it right" verse?  Maybe we could cover all those and just call it "the Covid-19 verse"!  Here's the problem though; is it prudent to wear a mask or to leave it off?  Are the prudent getting vaccinated or will they have side effects and ultimately suffer most over this?  Frankly, I bet we can't even all agree about whether Australia has gone crazy, or is doing the best job of any country anywhere against Covid.  I don't know.  I don't think you know either!  Does that mean we have an ambiguous verse here and can pretty much use it to take any side we choose?  Nope, there aren't any verses like that in my Bible.  So what is this verse really about?  Well what happens if we assume the source of the danger is not Covid, but sin?  And then we assume the "simple" are those who ignore sin in their lives and disdain the consequences of sin.  What if the prudent are those who read the Bible enough to recognize sin in their lives and make a real effort to stay away from it?  If we read it this way, the verse is not ambiguous at all, and we can all agree with what it says.  Sadly, people often use Bible verses to lend authority to their position on some current event.  The prudent will look up the verse and understand it before they take sides based on it! 

16 The heavens are the LORD's heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man. [Psa 115:16 ESV]  So, space exploration, telescopes, astronomy, astrophysics....all those things are about man exploring the realm of God.  Geology, oceanography, meteorology, volcanology...all those are about man exploring his own realm.  The heavens are so vast we cannot explore them directly.  Science fiction notwithstanding, the stars are too far away for us to explore.  We can only hypothesize about how galaxies, stars, and really even our own planet came to be.  We can explore most of the earth itself with our own senses and exploit it through our own efforts and understand how things work here with our own intelligence.  But the earth hangs in space and we can only conjecture about how it came to be here and why it is so far a unique place.  All our ideas about how the heavens and the earth came to be rely on millions or billions of years passing.  However, we cannot confirm these hypotheses because the time scales are too long for experimentation.  Maybe things that can only be explained by time beyond comprehension are the flashing red neon signs God put here as proof of His existence?  Maybe phrases like "It took millions of years for this to happen" would be better understood as "Only God could do something like this".  I think that second one is a lot closer to the truth!

20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute? 21 They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. [Psa 94:20-21 ESV].  Here is a litmus test for evaluating those in public office.  If a ruler votes for laws that give favorable treatment to unrighteous lifestyles, the Bible labels that ruler wicked.  If a ruler supports laws that legalize the killing of innocents - I read that as pro-choice laws - the Bible defines them as wicked rulers.  These two powerful little verses from Psalms say we are not to ally with wicked rulers.  We are not to lend our support and help to them.  I think we can safely extrapolate that we are not to contribute to their campaigns or vote for them either.  This is an easy test to apply.

10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God." [Act 6:10-11 ESV]
Stephen won the debate here, but his prize turned out to be getting stoned to death.  This story is a good lesson on how the corrupt get rid of their enemies.  Rather than embrace as truth what they cannot successfully refute, they switch to an entirely different strategy.  They go out and recruit liars to tell lies to the recruiters, and the recruiters pretend to be shocked and to believe the lies, and so knowingly - and legally - condemn a better man.  It hasn't gone this far just yet in our country, but the signs are there that it soon will.  We need to realize that if we are going to take a stand for God, and do it powerfully, and correctly, and with His help, we too should be prepared for false accusations, for conspiracies against us, and we should understand that we may well lose everything if it goes to court.  How many Old Testament prophets and New Testament Christians died doing God's will as He revealed it to them?  They were in the center of His will, and they died.  Make no mistake, "take up thy cross" is not just a catchy phrase, it's a real possibility.

16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? [Rom 6:16 ESV]  Beyond the obvious "don't sin", how can we give this verse some context for day to day living?  How about this...If you're a professional football player, and you go to a new team, then which team will you play for that week?  The old team has nothing else for you.  Now that you're on a new team, your brightest future is to give all you have for this team.  Any loyalty to the old team should be purged, because it will diminish your commitment to the new team.  When we were saved, we were put on a new team.  The new team is about doing the right things, making others more important than ourselves, and spreading the word about this great team we're on.  The old team was about whatever felt good, me first, and winning by any means, fair or foul.  It is easy to see that anything we bring with us from that old team will only hold us back on the new team.  It's as simple as that.  If you're on the new team, then play for the new team only.

But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; [Psa 63:9 ESV]
David was surrounded by enemies.  In those days, your enemies didn't plot your defeat at the next election.  They plotted to kill you.  David could have been overwhelmed by the constant danger in which he lived - if he had focused on the short term.  That's not what David does.  David is thinking that even if those who seek to destroy him are successful today, in the long run of eternity, they will be in the depths of the earth - that means in hell - and in despair of any relief ever, while David will be in paradise with God.  That's how we too should think of those who are irreconcilably opposed to us.  It is how we should think of those who hate our country be they foreign or domestic.  Even if they win now, to the extent that they are opposed to God and reject His ways they will ultimately lose, and in a far worse sense than they can ever make God's people lose.  We, as Christians, need to lengthen our horizon. We need to pray and work for a world as God wants it today but keep our hope in eternity.

1 ...Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me; 2 deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men. [Psa 59:1b, ESV]  David wrote these words as he sat in his own home, minding his own business, and while a "murder squad" sent by King Saul waited outside in the dark to kill him.  David's wife Michal, King Saul's own daughter, warned him instead of supporting her Father.  David realized he couldn't "outsmart" the conspiracy against him on his own.  There were too many enemies, too well supported and all around him, to just sneak out through their ranks.  Either God would have to make them deaf and blind to David's escape plans, or he would be captured.  After that prayer, David didn't strap on his armor and run out into the yard intending to Rambo the King's guard single handedly.  Neither did he order a two year supply of MRE's, an AR-15, and 10,000 rounds of .223 and bunker down in the basement.  He did not attack and he did not defend.  What he did was sneak out of that house with help from his wife - who he left behind - and run off and hide in the hills.  Seems a bit "off" to us but the thing is, that worked.  Kind of makes me wonder how much time I should spend prepping and/or learning Brazilian jiu jitsu instead of memorizing the fastest routes out of town?  David frequently used this non-confrontational, run away and hide strategy.  We know that David was not a coward - as his previous defeat of Goliath in single combat conclusively proved.  David's strategy is to pray for God to get him out of trouble, and then to get out of the way and let God get him out of trouble.    David's strategy is not one to which most of us are drawn.  But as many times as it was successful for David, I think we would do well to adopt it as a viable option.  We may need it if...or should I say when...things get worse.

7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! 8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. 9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. [Psa 37:7-9 ESV]
Look at the commands in vs 8...refrain from anger, forsake wrath, do not fret.  Number one way to start working on this?  Stay away from the click bait!  These articles are specifically designed and worded to incite anger and wrath.  Then, when we run out of energy from ranting about them we just sit and fret and worry.  Break the cycle!  Instead of the click bait, read about your BFF's kids.  Read about dairy farming in Oregon (a personal favorite of mine) rather than the weekend murder statistics in Chicago.  Because here's the thing.  If God wants you to go up to DC and "fix" congress, he will call you to do that and provide the means.  If he wants you to run for Sheriff of Chicago and clean up that town, he will call you, you will know you have been called, and someone will nominate you for Sheriff!  BUT, if you have not been called, then "fret not yourself" is meant for you.  For most of us, taking a meal to a sick neighbor will do a lot more good than pointing out the flaws in national political issues during lunch.  Tighten your circle.  Focus your efforts where you are, not on far off events you cannot influence anyway.  God's people should be known for a peaceful demeanor as the storm rages and for spreading calm in the middle of the riot.  It says so right here:  18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. [Rom 12:18 ESV].  Let's try a little more patient waiting on the Lord and a lot less angry wrathful fretting and see if our outlook - and our witness to the world - don't brighten considerably!

20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. [Rom 1:20 ESV]
The evidence that we can observe around us is so conclusive as to the existence of God that refusing to believe that evidence is alone enough to condemn the unconvinced.  Nothing else needs to be added to this willful denial of God's revelation in creation.  This doesn't say that we ought to ignore science and the details it uncovers.  It says we should realize that the advance of scientific knowledge reveals the original creativity of God.  We should see that there is design here, and connection, and purpose that could not arise by chance.  You don't need a PhD to see it nor should your PhD blind you to it.  Science is a search that never ends.  Every theory is superseded by a more encompassing theory.  Scientific discovery is not the advancement of the human mind, but the continuing revelation of the infinite mind of God.   The observable universe is the greatest sermon of all time on the subject of the existence of God.   And you don't have to go to church to understand it.

1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. [Pro 15:1 ESV]
An answer only happens in response to a question.  So the implication here is that someone - the someone asking the question - has trouble in mind.  The one asking is already sporting some wrath, and that has come across in the phrasing or the tone of the question.  Point is that this proverb is addressing a situation where you know already that the situation is tense.  In this situation, the one answering is in control of where things are going to go.  Will our answer make things worse or make things better?  I don't think "soft" here is about volume.  You can whisper some pretty nasty replies.  I think the best way to understand soft is to notice that it is contrasted with harsh.  A harsh word is a "word that hurts".  It is said with the intention of hurting.  So a soft answer would be an answer that intends healing.  This may not be news to you, but as someone with a long history of responding to peashooter attacks with nuclear weapons, it makes me sad to realize how many times the direction a confrontation would take was up to me, and I chose harsh instead of soft.  But I woke up this morning, so I have a chance to do things better today, now that I see the difference. 

14 Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?" [Job 26:14 ESV]  33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! [Rom 11:33 ESV]
In the photo below, it is a pretty good bet that Einstein has a clear understanding of what is written on that board.  It is equally certain that you and I do not.  We understand that Einstein is smarter than us, and it doesn't even occur to us to hate him for his knowledge.  Why then, when it is God who is smarter, do so many choose to resent and hate Him and declare war on Him instead of accepting the situation?  If Einstein showed up and said "Hey, let me tell you how you should do that", you'd listen.  God gave us a whole book about how to do that.  Stop resenting and start reading!

1 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. [Act 8:1 ESV]
Stephen's stoning was like a trigger that started a wave of persecution against the church "on that day".  This seems to be the pattern of persecution down through history.  It comes like an "explosion" triggered by an event.  Like the persecution after Rome burned, when Christians were blamed.  Or ask the church in Afghanistan today how it works.   Biden pulled out the troops, the Taliban descended and went house to house searching for Bibles and dragging Christian families out for execution in the streets.  Persecution is not a slow squeeze but is sudden and explosive.  We may think we will have time to prepare for it if it comes here, or maybe even that we can dodge it if it comes our way.  History says no.  Afghanistan says no.  Persecution bangs on your door in the middle of the night when you are decidedly NOT ready.  That is how it works.  That is what we should expect.

1 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. [Psa 14:1 ESV]
No good whatsoever is credited to those who do not believe. If you are planning on getting into heaven because you're a pretty good person and are only rarely mean to others, this verse is for you.  Your argument has been anticipated.  You are warned that it will not be accepted.  If you don't believe in God, you cannot receive any credit at all, no matter how much you give to charity, no matter how much you sacrifice for others.  God won't count it.  The way is not about what we do but what we believe.  “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
John 14:1 ESV

Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right?...If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy, if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore your rightful habitation.  Job 8:3, 5‭-‬6 ESV  These words are from Bildad, one of three friends who come to comfort Job.  This is how the three friends believe the world works.  If you do much reading in Proverbs, you will find this same concept stated in multiple ways.   In fact, you can find it throughout the Bible.  This view of how things work seems to be the standard that men require of God.  Bildad and his friends, and Job himself, believe they understand how God runs the world , and they impose this understanding on God and apply it to events in the world.  They are all wealthy, therefore they are all righteous.  When things go wrong with Job, they assume he has become seriously unrighteous and is receiving God's swift punishment.  Their understanding of reality requires that this be the case.  We do the same thing when we expect God to make the world fair.  We expect the wicked to be defeated and the "good guys" to win because the standard requires it.  However, anyone who believes it really is this way has to be deliberately blind to reality.  We see things every day that prove the world does not work that way.  I think the disconnect here is that Bildad and his friends are trying to apply an ideal to reality.  Things would work as Bildad describes in a perfect world, but sin ruined that world.  It no longer exists.  It never existed, because sin and perfection are mutually exclusive.  Still, the part of each of us that is created in His image craves that standard - we want this to be true.  But we shouldn't expect that standard, and we should not interpret events using that standard.  The danger is that it can make us ungrateful for our blessings because we think we deserve them.  Worse, it can make us callous toward the suffering of others, because they surely must deserve their punishment.  In both of these positions, we are sadly mistaken!

11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face." 12 And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand..." [Job 1:11-12a ESV] Here is a lesson about how it can sometimes happen that horrible things happen to very good people. Look closely at what this says. Satan asked and received permission to torment Job. The calamities that are about to overtake Job are all conceived of and orchestrated by Satan - by the Adversary. God did not do any of this. Satan did it all. So there you have it, God is not to blame in any of this. Does that explanation work for you? Because it doesn't work for me at all. I mean, sure, it was Satan that did the dirty work, but he had God's permission. Just like when a general gives the orders, and the battle is lost. We don't blame the soldiers we blame the general. Argumentative atheists are quick to trot Job out and accuse God of being unfair. Frankly, you can't argue with them. The whole point was to have unfair things happen to Job. How are we to answer them? Where is the "Ohhhh! Now I see!" that explains why Job is even in the Bible? Well maybe placing blame is not really the issue. After all, there's never any dispute about who's in charge. Even Satan is not arguing that point. So what is Job about? Last Monday, we noted that God told Satan Job would remain faithful even if he was treated unfairly. So let's look at Job's reaction in these two verses: "And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord ." In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong, Job 1:21‭-‬22 ESV. Job didn't jump up and call God a liar for not blessing a righteous man. Job didn't revolt - like Satan - and scream that if God treats His best people like this he'd rather worship a pile of rocks. Nope. Those are the things Satan did. Job knew who the general was, and win or lose, the general was and still is the general. As we go through the next 30 or so chapters of Job, we'll see him say again and again that God is behind all that's happening to him. He will blame God for it - so can we. Job will ask for an audience with God, for an explanation from God, for justification from God. So can we. What we cannot do is believe that God is doing the wrong thing. To say that God can be wrong means He is not God anymore. To say He is wrong is sin. In "judging God" we make ourselves God. And that is what Satan did, and it hasn't worked out well for him. There is no "Now I see" kind of epiphany in Job. Job isn't in the Bible to make us feel better when things go wrong. Job is in the Bible so we learn never to fault God even when we are angry with Him about what He does or what He allows. God is never wrong. His reasons are sometimes incomprehensible to us, but He is never wrong. This is a hard thing to deal with when tragedy comes. This is a grown-up concept. Job is in the Bible to show us how grown-ups should behave.

8 And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?" [Job 1:8 ESV].  Note first that Job is unique on the planet.  It is only Job who is so nearly righteous that God blesses him, and does not need to correct him.  So I think God is pointing out to Satan that even this lowly human, created a little less than the angels, remains faithful to Him while Satan, one of the most nearly perfect creatures God ever created, was unfaithful and rebelled.  Satan counters that Job is only faithful because there is no injustice in his life.  Satan is saying that he only rebelled because he was being treated unjustly.  He believed - and still believes - himself equal with God.  He thought he should be worshiped as God, and that God's refusal to allow these things was an injustice.  Therefore he rebelled.  Satan predicts that Job will also rebel in such circumstances and challenges God to send some injustice Job's way.  Here is how that went:  11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face." 12 And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand." So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. [Job 1:11-12 ESV]  This sets up the dispute in heaven that unravels every aspect of Job's blessed life, and explains why Job could not know the reason behind what was happening.  God made angels a little more like Him and humans a little less, but the ability to make moral choices is equal in both.  God's point is that you don't have to be perfect to choose the right way, and you don't have to be living in luxury, either.  You just have to have faith.  Faith is what Job had more of than any man on the planet, and he would have been crushed by events without it.  So would we!

10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. [Job 1:10 ESV] Lucifer is pointing out that Job was living a charmed life. God was protecting him. This protection extended to his children, their families, to his livestock, lands, and slaves. All who were associated with Job benefited from that relationship. All was well with Job, and he felt great about his life. Job was obviously not brought up Baptist. If he had been, this verse would have been drilled into him: For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” Hebrews 12:6 ESV. According to this verse, Job should have been concerned that God didn't love him at all, and that his earthly good fortune was a sure sign that he was headed for hell after death. Why was he not worried about his good fortune? As we read through this book, we will see Job tell his three friends repeatedly why he was not worried. Job continually examines his life for sin, for problems, for omissions. Job isn't resting on his laurels just because he has all he could ever want in the world. Neither does he sit around patting himself on the back because he is such a great business man, community leader, and father. Job knew that his standing with God was not measured by what he had, but by the quality of his daily walk with Him. Job had a constant, solid relationship with God through prayer, thanksgiving and sacrifice. It was that relationship, that certainty of heart, that made him rejoice in his blessings instead of worrying that they were a bad sign. We should try to be the same. When things are going well with us, which they occasionally do, we should be happy about that, and praise God all the more. If good times prompt you to thank God instead of patting yourself on the back, then you are doing just fine. Don't let groundless guilt steal your joy in God's blessings.

Last one from Nehemiah.  They got the walls built to half-height, and they put in the gates and they closed them.  They were significantly safer than they had been, and I'm betting everyone slept a little better, but there was still a LOT to do.  Nehemiah put it this way:  19 And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, "The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. 20 In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us." [Neh 4:19-20 ESV]  Nehemiah is talking about tactics here.  He recognized that he could be attacked from anywhere, and the defensive manpower at any one place would be too thin to hold.  So he devises a "rallying cry" to quickly concentrate his forces at the point of attack.  You can bet he was still praying for God's help, but he was also doing his part.  What does this look like today?  It looks like prayer chains backed up by tangible assistance to those at the point of attack.  Did someone get fired for speaking out about God's rules?  Feed his family, find him a job, pat him on the back!  It looks like churches full to the brim every Sunday morning.  It looks like Sunday School classes taking food to grieving families.  The church is not a single building that we can all run into and defend.  The church is people, that we can support, supply, and sustain.  It is to people that we rally, so when the attack comes, sing out and let us know!  Nehemiah's prayers for God's help are intertwined and inseparable from his own preparations.  This isn't an either/or situation.  It is about both prayer AND preparation.  Nehemiah's little 13 chapter book will be my "go to" from now on when I start to feel morale slipping.  I cannot recommend enough that you read it too!

The more I read the book of Nehemiah, the more it seems to be written for our times.  There is so much here about how to deal with "incoming" and about how to keep going when the outcome  seems uncertain.  Nehemiah had organized the wall building and defense of the city.  At any given time, half the people in Jerusalem were rebuilding the wall while wearing swords, and the other half were trying to sleep fully clothed and armored up so they could be in battle in a heartbeat.  Morale would have started high as the wall-building got going, but as problems mounted, enemies appeared, and the sun got hotter, morale would have begun to slip, then slide.  Stressful work and sleep deprivation would have severely aggravated an already fearful situation.  Nehemiah, with his finger always on the pulse of his nation, recognizes the problem and once again he comes up with the words they all need to hear:  14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes." [Neh 4:14 ESV].  When it seems like the opposition is overwhelming us, when we know they are there but we can't figure out how to confront them, when it seems like everyone else is believing the propaganda the enemy is spouting, and even our friends seem to be switching to the other side, why should we keep going?  Because God is greater than any or all of the enemy, and because this is not just about us, it is also about those we care about.  To give up on ourselves gives up on them too.  As this though motivated those in Jerusalem to keep going, it should motivate us, our families, and our churches to continue.

Last Thursday I posted a prayer of King Jehoshaphat's, where he asked God to "remove" an enemy army that was threatening Jerusalem.  Here is another "non-defensive" prayer, offered up by Nehemiah about 450 years later, expressing the same kind of petition to God:  5 Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders. [Neh 4:5 ESV]  Nehemiah is praying for God to deal with a couple of guys named Sanballat and Tobiah, and all who follow them.  They are running a propaganda campaign to discourage the workers rebuilding the wall and gates of Jerusalem.  Nehemiah does not take it upon himself to deal with this, he asks God to take care of it.  He asks that God NOT forgive them for what they're doing because they are publicly belittling the power of the God of Israel.  Nehemiah thinks now would be a good time for God to correct them, and he prays for God to do so.  Also like Jehoshaphat, Nehemiah doesn't just pray and then go hide.  There is this, just four verses later:   9 And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night. [Neh 4:9 ESV].  In both cases, a prayer of petition to God was offered and then action was taken by those doing the praying.  Jehoshaphat did not attack the invading army, but he did go out to meet them in the field.  Nehemiah didn't grab some guys and some swords and go looking for Sanballat and Tobiah, but he did set some armed guards up on the wall in case they were needed.  We see from these that sometimes God says "Come out here and see how I take care of enemies", and sometimes he says "set some guards and keep working on your defenses".  Which strategy should we use?  Well Jehoshaphat knew where the enemy was, so he went to meet him head on.  Nehemiah knew who the enemy was, but not where or when he might attack.  So Nehemiah chose to strengthen his defenses.  For us, it is the same.  On those days when it seems like the whole country is spinning out of control and the enemy is everywhere, and you don't know what to do, then you build your defenses - pray, read your Bible, encourage your friends and family, and make plans.  When the enemy is out in the open, concentrated together, and moving toward an objective, go get in their way!  In both cases, we start with prayer and ask God for immediate justice, and then we do what the situation calls for!

Shortly after he becomes King of Judah, Jehoshaphat goes and helps the evil King of Israel in battle.  When Jehoshaphat gets home, a prophet tells him that God is very angry with him for his actions, and as a result, bad things are coming.  A large army comprised of Moabites, Ammonites, and some Meunites decides to make war on Judah.  Jehoshaphat's army is no match for the combined armies of these nations.  The prospects are gloomy indeed.  So all the principle men of Judah meet with Jehoshaphat in Jerusalem and Jehoshaphat prays this prayer:  12 O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you." [2Ch 20:12 ESV].  I call this a non-defensive prayer.  Jehoshaphat isn't asking God to make them leave him alone, he is asking God to judge them.  To do something to them.  After this prayer meeting, Jehoshaphat takes what little bit of army he has and heads out to meet the invaders.  The story continues with this verse:  24 When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. [2Ch 20:24 ESV].  It seems that the invading armies, from three different nations, had developed some internal animosities and killed each other before Jehoshaphat even arrived.  That's about the best Jehoshaphat could have hoped for.  I think it is worth another look at that prayer he prayed.  He did not ask God to "fabricate" an army for him, so he could march out and win.  He did not ask that each soldier become a superman so they could defeat the invaders.  He doesn't ask to be "empowered", he just admits to God that he he has no chance at all.    Note also that after he prays he does not go hide under his bed.  He still marches out to meet the enemy - trusting God no matter the outcome.  I think it is the same when we recognize that a very powerful enemy with resources far beyond our own is attacking us, attacking our country, attacking our faith.  It can be overwhelming.  The thing to do on those days is to pray Jehoshaphat's prayer, mount up, and advance to meet the enemy.  The outcome isn't up to us anyway, it is  up to God.  Trust Him.    

John says it was after the second questioning that Pilate let them put the thorny crown on Jesus' head, flog him, and mock him.  Even after this denigration, Pilate tries repeatedly to release Jesus, and wants no part of putting him to death.  Yet in the end, he agrees.  This verse summarizes the situation:  12 From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, "If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar." [Jhn 19:12 ESV].  The accusers tell Pilate that Jesus claims to be King of the Jews, and thereby makes himself an enemy of Caesar, an thus an enemy of Rome.  This puts Pilate on the horns of a dilemma:  On the one side, will he free Jesus, whom he believes to be innocent, and then defend himself to Caesar when the Jews report his actions?  Or instead, will he sanction murder by the state to calm a situation growing rapidly toward riot?  At the end of the day, politician's actions are driven by political ambition.  Pilate answered to the higher authority of Rome.  He was tasked with keeping order.  Even in that place and time, when so much power was wielded by provincial rulers, the locals were still thrown a bone from time to time to keep things calm.  Allowing them to revolt was evidence of inept rule, and would lead to removal and disgrace at least, and possibly to execution.  So Pilate made his choice.  Pilate's situation would have tested the character of anyone.  We are unlikely to be faced with stakes so very high.  For us, the choice will most often be one of speaking up or keeping silent.  At risk will be our popularity, our reputation, perhaps a promotion, or even continued employment.  Against these will most likely be a moral position - because that's really where God and the world part ways - on abortion, homosexuality, gender identity, race, chastity, marriage, poverty - any number of others.  Imagine speaking up about one of these when the CEO is in the room, or the VP, or even just your immediate supervisor.  Pilate's character failed him and Jesus died on a cross.  If we fail, perhaps we lose a couple of friends or make a couple of enemies.  Or maybe our failure unplugs the hole in the dam that supports our self-respect, our integrity, our very Christianity.  It is possible, though, that if we fail, the soul of someone who desperately needs a good example - a friend, co-worker, son or daughter - slips forever into hell instead of heaven.  None of us will ever have to sentence Jesus to death, but make no mistake, deciding whether to speak or remain silent can have dire consequences for ourselves and others.  Think about those consequences the next time you have to choose. 

4 Whom are you mocking? Against whom do you open your mouth wide and stick out your tongue? Are you not children of transgression, the offspring of deceit, 5 you who burn with lust among the oaks, under every green tree, who slaughter your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks? [Isa 57:4-5 ESV].  Isaiah wrote this to people who had decided to disdain God, and pretend He had no power over them, and worship idols instead.  In their worship rituals to these idols, they were sacrificing their own children by burning them to death.  How very sincere of them.  They were so devoted to their gods that they were willing to torture and burn their own beloved children to death.  Of course, it is true that afterward they could go home and get back to partying and never have to worry about a baby sitter or kid's homework or paying for college again.  They wanted to be seen as devoted, thoughtful, responsible people, but all they really wanted was sex without consequences, unrestricted pursuit of self-gratification, and praise for their selfish irresponsibility.  This was how they did it when there was no birth control.  We are so much more modern and efficient today.  Today, killing children is every woman's right, and so very often it is fathers who pay for the procedure.  The idol today is not called Molech or Chemosh. Today the idol is called reproductive rights.  Yet the underlying motivations - with very few exceptions - are the same and the ultimate choice is the same when regret finally comes:  13 When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you! The wind will carry them all off, a breath will take them away. But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land and shall inherit my holy mountain. [Isa 57:4-5, 13 ESV].  When regret comes, there is either despair because "rights" cannot give you peace or forgiveness following heartfelt repentance for sin. 

In John 12, the chief priests find out Jesus is in Bethany, and that many Jews have come there to see him.  They also learn that Lazarus is there and many are believing in Jesus because of Lazarus.  There are a lot of witnesses there who know firsthand that Lazarus was dead but is now sitting right there beside Jesus having lunch.  This is compelling evidence that Jesus is more than man and because of it many are believing in Jesus.  So as the religious elite plot to murder Jesus, they also decide to kill Lazarus.  Why?  So he cannot persuade others of the truth of Christ.  Here are the verses: 10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. [Jhn 12:10-11 ESV].  This same principal is in full force today.  This is why those who  are outspoken about Christ so despised today.  The darkness hates the light, and despises the sources of light.  Let's think that through a little...If darkness hates light, then the brighter the light the more the darkness will hate it.  Lazarus was a pretty bright light.  Lazarus was proof - dazzlingly bright proof - and he was right out in public, shining for all to see.  Lazarus was a bright enough light to make the darkness plot his murder.  But what about me?  How brightly am I shining?  If I walk into a dark room will the darkness turn and look or will they just keep talking like nothing happened?  If we evaluate ourselves honestly and realize we aren't giving off much light, what can we do?  How do we change that?  Here is a thought...even dim lights shine brightly in a dark place.  So next time we find ourselves in a place that's pretty dark - a secular place, away from church - let's try to make a spark by saying something that sheds God's light on a conversation.  Throw off just a short bright flash of light by putting God in a conversation.  Practice that a few times, and then be a burning candle, not just a spark, in a larger group, or a darker place.  Build on the light.  No one is going to be a floodlight the first night out.  But if we want to push back the darkness that is encroaching on the world, we're going to need to turn on a lot more lights!

21 Others said, "These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" [Jhn 10:21 ESV]  It seems that any time there was public debate about who Jesus really was, two arguments were made in his support.  Listen to what he's saying and look at these miracles he's done.  These people grew up hearing about miracles and they knew that Jesus wasn't just doing "routine" miracles, he was doing miracles unprecedented in kind and quantity.  Time and again the Bible says Jesus healed ALL those who came to him.  Jesus also makes the same argument:  25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, [Jhn 10:25 ESV]  Jesus affirms the "proof" offered by his supporters.  If you don't believe the words, believe the miracles.  The question is the same today.  Did these miracles actually happen?  First, we should ask whether the people of Jesus' own time believed the miracles were real?  Don't think for a second that his enemies were less skeptical than modern science would be.  There is not one recorded instance in the Bible of anyone claiming the miracles were fake.  Even his enemies believed he was doing the miracles, they just couldn't make that fit into their updated and revised theology.  So they accepted the miracles but refused to attribute them to the power of God.  They claimed Jesus was making people better, healing disease, restoring sight, and raising the dead on behalf of Satan.  This conclusion was the basis for their plans to murder him.  So in the Bible at least, the reality of the miracles was never the question.  I have never read nor heard of any historical source from Jesus' own time that claims Jesus faked the miracles or that they were extreme exaggerations.  Today, I find it hard to believe that a carpenter from Galilee born around 6 AD would still be a familiar name worldwide if these miracles weren't real.   I mean, just think about that...That leaves us making the same choice about Jesus that the Pharisees made.  All these miracles were really done by this man Jesus.  We have to decide whether we believe he was God's Son doing his Father's will, or a tool of Satan doing good deeds in the devil's name.  Blowing off this decision is the same as making a decision.

1 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. [Jhn 10:1-2 ESV]  In last Thursday's verse, from Chapter 9, Jesus told the Pharisees that their new version of the Law was a big mistake because it missed the whole reason for the Law in the first place, which was to show clearly that no one can be sinless before God.  They have "bent" the Law so they can get into heaven on their own merits.  They believe that's what God intended...because surely He would not set an unattainable  standard.  He must have made the Law achievable, else no one at all could get into heaven.  They don't realize this is exactly what the Law was to show, and so open the door for God Himself to provide the way to heaven by sending Jesus.  Now, in Chapter 10, Jesus goes further.  Not only have the Pharisees gotten it all wrong themselves, but they are also trying to break in and lead others down their own easier, but deadly wrong road.  And since they've eased up on the standards and made perfection achievable for all, they cannot understand why anyone would be following this man from Nazareth instead of them!  So Jesus explains it to them with a metaphor.  Sheep, though rarely considered brilliant, always recognize their own shepherd and they turn and run from anyone else.  People are leaving the Pharisees and following Jesus because they recognize him as their shepherd, as the real thing.  So here's the point:  If you don't understand why anyone would ever consider Jesus credible, and instead think you have it all figured out without him, then the verses from last Thursday, and these today, ought to scare you to death.  Today's verses make you of one kind with Pharisee's he called thieves and robbers.  If you think living a good life and not being mean to people will get  you into heaven, well that's just lowering the bar on God's clearly stated standards, just like the Pharisees were doing.  It's already been tried, and Jesus himself said it won't fly.  Today's post ends the same as last Thursdays:   6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." [Jhn 14:6 ESV].  Stop trying to climb in another way.  The door is not hidden.

41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, 'We see,' your guilt remains. [Jhn 9:41 ESV]. Jesus says this to the Pharisees. Though their sect had only been around a couple of hundred years, they had taken the Law and figured it all out. They had taken an ancient religion bristling with rules and requirements impossible to get right and made it doable, relevant, and culturally popular. They were held in high honor for their "sinless" compliance with ALL the Law. Jesus didn't see it that way. He says these elite religious leaders are more guilty before God than the ignorant who have never even heard of the Law. Their problem was that they believed they could obey the Law so completely that God would judge them righteous. But the purpose of the Law was to show them how impossible it was to be righteous enough. They had completely missed the point that only Jesus would be righteous enough, and they didn't "see" him when he arrived. It is the same today. Any modern religion, code, or philosophy that claims a way to some version of eternal bliss through any door but Jesus Christ proclaims itself guilty, shallow, and blind. They are all roads to hell. There is only one way to heaven, as Jesus tells us here in his own words: 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [Jhn 14:6 ESV]

King Ahab sets his eyes on a piece of property that he would really like to own.  He makes an offer to the owner, who turns him down.  The King sulks back to the palace and is so depressed that his wife, Queen Jezebel, decides to get the land for him.  Here is her plan:  8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city. 9 And she wrote in the letters, "Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. 10 And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, 'You have cursed God and the king.' Then take him out and stone him to death." [1Ki 21:8-10 ESV].  Jezebel recruits people in high places  - leaders, wealthy men, local employers and so on - to hold a fake religious ceremony and give Naboth a seat of honor.  They are also to invite a couple of  worthless men - men who will lie for money - to tell the same lie about Naboth.  In those days, two witnesses telling the same story was "truth" under the law, even though all those assembled knew it was just two liars telling the same lie.  So Naboth is wrongfully but legally accused, sentenced and executed all in an evening.  Then Ahab takes the property.  This is the reality of unchallenged corruption in high places.  We should have no illusions about the possible consequences of choosing a side and openly confronting the enemy.  Being on God's side does not guarantee protection against corruption in high places.  It didn't protect the prophets of old, or the apostles of the New Testament, and it did not keep Jesus off the cross.  This country can be turned around if God's people will take a stand.  But we have to understand - and accept - that we could pay dearly for speaking up.

The third answer starts with this verse:  28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. [1Ki 18:28 ESV].  The prophets of Baal went to great lengths to get their god's attention, but no fire came down.  Then it was Elijah's turn, and what did he do?  36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. [1Ki 18:36 ESV]  Elijah came near and quietly spoke.  He didn't shout, he made no music, he did not cut himself.  Choosing a side might get a little loud, and confronting the opposition might get really loud, but this last one is quiet.  When we pray to an omnipotent all-knowing God, he knows what we will ask before we begin.  He knows our hearts, so he needs no public demonstration of our devotion.  Elijah quietly asks God to do a God thing and show His power.  We need to realize that we can bring the most potent force in the universe to bear with just a whisper.  We just ask God to be God.  One simple prayer asking God what I can do - what each of us can do - to turn back the tide of sin overflowing our country gave me three clear answers:  choose a side, confront the enemy, and ask God to do what only He can do. 

I wrote Friday about God's first answer to my prayer about how to fight back against the hate and evil that that is advancing so rapidly in our country - we have to get out of the middle and pick a side.  Here is the second answer:   24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, he is God." And all the people answered, "It is well spoken." [1Ki 18:24 ESV]  Elijah confronted the opposition.  He proposed a contest that pitted his beliefs against what the prophets of Baal believed.  In Elijah's day, the proof would be shown by fire from heaven falling on the altar of the true God.  A supernatural event - unpredictable and unexplainable - would determine who's belief was correct.  Elijah didn't offer a little prayer for world peace and then hide in a cave waiting for it to happen.  He prayed for a miraculous event and then stood there with all eyes on him believing it would happen "right now".  I'm not suggesting that we go out and start calling down fire from heaven, but I think our prayers are too small.  We ask in proportion to our faith, rather than in proportion to God's power.  We need to challenge sin and expect results that defy explanation.  We need to ask God for the impossible and know that He will prove He is in His heaven, and that He answers the prayers of His people.

A couple of days ago, as I was praying, and after hearing that the high school in Midwest City is going to march in the Oklahoma City pride parade, I told God that I didn't know what to do.  I didn't know how to fight back against the sin overwhelming our country.  I told Him I could see that evil is expanding by leaps and bounds, taking over in so many areas.  Hate is at full boil, and running over into every aspect of our lives.  How do we fight this?  What do we do?  Later that morning, as I read my Bible, there were three answers.  Here is the first:  21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." And the people did not answer him a word. [1Ki 18:21 ESV]  In this story, we see that tolerance was running amok in Israel.  Their King - their government if you will - has manufactured a couple of golden calves and built a temple for Baal and is coercing Israel to worship these false gods, false teachings, false religions.  So the two traditional sources of truth and justice  - government and religion - are spewing premeditated lies.  Because of this, right and wrong are merged.  Even so, these people have decided not to push back.  They  have decided to lay low, keep quiet, and just let sin run rampant.  After all, who are they to impose their morals and their religion on others?  Live and let live, right?  This is what tolerance does.  This is what silence does.  This is where being afraid to call a sin what it really is always leads.  Elijah says they need to make up their minds, and follow one or the other.  He takes away the middle ground of tolerance.  That should be our first response also.  If we want to fight back we must first get out of the middle, stop hiding behind tolerance, and choose a side.  We must stop being afraid to offend.  We have to be vocal and public about the side we've chosen.  We have to stop compromising God's principles, stop backing away from what we believe, and stop being silent when confronted with sin.  Because here's the thing.  If we silently tolerate sin, we are also tolerating its consequences.  We are saying to friends and strangers alike, "Go ahead with that.  It will send you straight to hell, and I don't even care".  That is where Israel was, and I fear that is where we are. 

1 Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, 2 and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. [Luk 21:1-2 ESV]  I have heard these verses preached as a story of the "best" sort of giving.  I have heard them used to convince, or maybe coerce people to give beyond their means, to the point of giving the rent money to the church and trusting God to provide that money - again.  But I don't think Jesus was praising her for starving herself in order to tithe.  The widow's copper coins - leptons is the Greek word - were each worth 1/128th of a denarius.  A denarius was a day's pay for a laborer and would feed that laborer and his family for a day.  So this offering was not the difference in eating or not eating that day.  It was much less than that.  I think she had enough to eat, a roof over her head, and this tiny bit beyond, and she gave this extra as her offering.   I think Jesus' point was the contrast between her commitment and that of the rich men who gave before her.  He says that while the monetary value of her coins was small, they represented all her worldly resources.  She gave everything she had today, making her wholly dependent on God for tomorrow.   The rich gave only a fraction of their fortunes.  She went to sleep trusting God for her tomorrow, the rich men went to sleep trusting their bank balances.  The lesson here, I believe, is that God knows the value of what we give, and He measures it in faith, not in dollars. 

18 And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" ... 20 You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'" 21 And he said, "All these I have kept from my youth." 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. [Luk 18:18, 20-23 ESV]. The commandments Jesus recites are about worldly relationships. About how to behave toward other people. Jesus knew this man considered himself a really good guy. He doesn't treat others badly, doesn't cheat people, gives generously to the poor, takes care of his parents. Sure enough, the man says he is great at those things. So the man and Jesus agree that he is good guy. All should be well, right? But then Jesus tells him to give up the wealth that makes it easy to be a good guy and focus on a different kind of wealth. His reluctance tells us that he is dependent on how own wealth and works rather than on God. Jesus' point is that being a good man is fine, and being wealthy is fine, but these are not the basis of eternal life. You don't earn your way to heaven by being a good person, nor can you "pay at the door". If eternal life is what you want, don't bring money. 16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [Jhn 3:16 ESV]

6 And he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, 'Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?' 8 And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'" [Luk 13:6-9 ESV]   I think this parable was about Israel, but still applies to people who have rejected the gospel.  The owner has checked regularly to see if any good has come of this tree he's planted.  Each time the tree is bare.  Finally, prudently, he decides to make room for something productive.  But the vinedresser pleads for one more chance, one additional little season.  Even the vinedresser is doubtful at this point.  That's why he only suggests one more season.  After this little bit of time the vinedresser won't ask again.  If you won't know Christ, if you refuse to know Christ, you are like this little tree.  Your time is short, even if you are young.  It isn't really up to you to decide when.  Pretty soon, the master will decide not to come around any more at all.  Imagine you finally decide to say yes, but no one ever asks again, because that time has passed.  The message of this parable is that time is getting away and there is only one last chance.  Don't wait.  I pray you don't wait.

21 Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake." [1Sa 26:21 ESV]  In this verse, near the end of chapter 26, David has declined the opportunity to kill King Saul for a second time.  Saul's statement repents of his own murderous intentions and promises David peace henceforth.  But...in the first verse of the next chapter, we find this verse:      1 Then David said in his heart, "Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines..." [1Sa 27:1a ESV].  David doesn't buy in to Saul's promises of sunshine and daisies forever.  In fact, David foresees further attempts on his own life.  So why doesn't David feel great about Saul's promises?  Because David has a history with Saul.  David understands that it is not up to him to seek revenge against those who hate him,  but should instead forgive them.  Vengeance should be left to God.  David also understands that his kindness toward Saul was unlikely to be returned, and he based his plans on that realistic understanding of how the world really operates.  David knew his reward for doing things God's way was waiting in God's kingdom, not Saul's kingdom.  About 1,000 years later, Jesus put it this way:  35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. [Luk 6:35 ESV]

3 Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'" [1Sa 15:3 ESV]
We are sometimes quick to judge God unworthy when we read verses like this.  The thinking goes like this...We forget this verse is about a time far removed and a culture alien.  We forget total destruction was the rule in all cultures back then.  In our rush to judge we declare ourselves superior in wisdom, benevolence, tolerance, and mercy.  We extrapolate that since we are too ethical to ever give such an order, our culture must surely be superior to their culture, and since the order was from their God, we must be ethically superior to Him also.  We conclude, therefore, that we have no need for a God less ethical than ourselves, and that we should rightly reject Him and all his laws on this basis.  BUT!  Let's not forget that this ethically superior culture of ours allows, condones, and encourages the murder of children in their mother's wombs.  That old culture destroyed enemies without mercy.  We destroy our own - and our most innocent - without mercy.  I recently read that we've allowed 66,000,000 abortions in this country in the last 50 years.  I wager that is more people than were killed in all the wars and all the battles recorded in the entire Old Testament.  That is more than Pol Pot killed in Cambodia, more than Hitler killed in Germany, more than Stalin killed in Russia.  So to those who reject God because His ethics are lacking, I say the blood of 66.000,000 non-combatants killed without remorse is on your hands. 

11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? [Luk 11:11-12 ESV]  The point of this verse is that even sinful men don't respond cruelly toward those they love.  As corrupt as rebellious men are, they still show generosity to those they love.  If men are "above" such meanness and give good gifts to those they love, then God, who loves all people, is certainly above meanness and cruelty.  No cruelty that befalls us is from God.  I would go a step further...and maybe this is correct also...I would say that if someone gives us a gift that is cruel or mean, we can be sure that person does not love us.  I would say that a cruel gift is unmistakable proof that the giver has no love for us at all.  I would also suggest that if we pray, and the "answer" is cruel or mean, then that "answer" is not from God, but from the evil one who hates all mankind, and is intended to undermine our faith in God and distance us from Him. 

12 And Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" [Luk 4:12 ESV]  These days, I often think of this passage about not tempting God in the context of our Covid 19 pandemic.  This verse was Jesus' response when Satan prodded him to prove he was the son of God by surviving an obviously deadly stunt.  Jesus refused because doing so would show a sinful arrogance toward God.  It seems to me that if there's a deadly disease out there, and you go out there anyway, it's the same kind of arrogance.  There are no New Testament verses saying the early churches invited the local leper colony to join them for Sunday services.  That's because in those days, leprosy was deadly, and flirting with it was arrogant.  Same today, with Covid-19.  But there is another side to this.  If I include it here, the post gets too long.  It is included on my website, linked below, if you are interested, and especially if this post offends you.

9 And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?" [Luk 6:9 ESV]
Jesus heals a man's withered hand.  The Pharisees are incensed because it is done on the Sabbath.  But Jesus' statement made it clear that the Pharisees were making a wrong application of the Mosaic Law.  They were completely missing the heart of God behind the Law of God.  Jesus is showing them that there is nothing in God's word that is intended to postpone doing good or to prolong evil.  The time to act in either case is right now, today.

In Luke 3, we are introduced to John the Baptist.  He is preaching a radical new message that says actions are more important than rituals or ancestry.  The crowd asks for some practical examples.  The first part of John's answer is here:  11 And he answered them, "Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise." [Luk 3:11 ESV]  First he tells them to be charitable with food and clothing if they already have enough for themselves.  He doesn't tell those with only one tunic to give it away but to give as God blesses them with extra.  Second, he tells them that charity is about meeting basic needs, not about equalizing possessions.  There's nothing here - nor elsewhere in the Bible - about giving away that extra television or that second car.  The idea seems to be that when fundamental needs are satisfied, other ambitions are both possible and encouraged.  Ambition to extricate oneself from a bad situation for example.  If one is worried about where the next meal will come from, one is unlikely to explore his educational options.  Likewise, if one expects all his needs and desires to be provided by charity, he is just as unlikely to explore his options. 

"If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, 'Let us go after other gods,' which you have not known, 'and let us serve them,' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  [Deu 13:1‭-‬3 ESV].  This says that no matter how compelling the miracle, sign, or wonder performed, if the performer tries to persuade us to worship anyone or anything but God, they are false.  I would add that a miracle worker who urges us to disregard any part of the Bible is also false.  God says He will test us by allowing imposters to do real miracles.  Therefore, even confirmed miracles do not endorse the teaching of the performer.  We still must examine their teaching about God, about Christ, and about the Word before accepting them.  Another good reason to know our Bibles!

5 And they said, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan." [Num 32:5 ESV] When Israel came to the border of Canaan two of the twelve tribes decided the land East of there (Gilead) would be better for them. They were rich in livestock and Gilead was great cattle country. They hadn't seen Canaan but they had seen Gilead. God had promised much to those two tribes, but in Canaan.  As good as Gilead was, the bigger picture is that they were giving up God's best by choosing their eyes over the promises of God. These two tribes lived very well for a long time, but ultimately Gilead was overrun by enemies, and the land has never been recovered.  Because God’s protection was in Canaan, not in Gilead.  In this country we are all very blessed. It is easy and enticing to do what we do and float along on the current in this good land. It is easy to let the preachers preach, the Sunday school teachers teach, and just leave the neighbors to themselves while we sit contentedly in our own little versions of Gilead.  But God did not promise to bless us for sitting at home. Our focus should be to value less the things that WE see and value more the things HE promises. Sometimes we have to leave a good place in order to gain the God’s best place.

9 ...behold, a people dwelling alone, and not counting itself among the nations! [Num 23:9b ESV].  King Balak hired Balaam to curse Israel as Israel camped just outside his border.  They went up on a hill overlooking the Israeli camp and Balaam asked God what he should say about Israel.  The quote is part of God's reply.  God described Israel as He saw them, in stark contrast to the way Balak saw them.  God saw them as His favored people, separated from all others by their obedience to His laws.  Balak saw them as adversaries, a threat to his way of life, and an irritant to his conscience as he lived an ungodly lifestyle.  Balak hated Israel.  He viewed Israel then as the world views Christians today. If we are doing it right, we will be a people apart, easily recognized by our intentional separation from the worldly way of doing things.  God's rules for Israel deliberately estranged them from those around them just as living according to God's rules today will separate us from the world.  Jesus affirms this in the New Testament:  19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. [Jhn 15:19 ESV].  The choice - for us now as for Israel then - is to be loved by the world or chosen by God.  It is that simple.

35 And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the LORD, and when he comes out, so that he does not die. [Exo 28:35 ESV]  This is about some little bells that were to be sewn onto the bottom of the High Priest's garment.  Why was the sound necessary to keep him alive?  It's not because God didn't like people sneaking up on Him.  Nobody sneaks up on God.  So if the bells aren't about God, then they are about the High Priest, a reminder of some kind.  I think it was to remind the High Priest that he was in the presence of Almighty God, who didn't just know the High Priest was there, but what he'd had for breakfast, how he'd talked to his wife that morning, and everything else he'd ever done in his whole life.  It was to remind the High Priest that if he went in there with the wrong attitude, he wasn't going to just sneak in and sneak out and no One the wiser.  If he got it wrong, they'd soon be dragging his lifeless body out by the rope around his ankle.  I suspect those bells inspired great reverence in High Priests for a very long time.  We don't have a Holy Place today.  But make no mistake.  Approaching God with the wrong attitude can still have some dire repercussions, even in our time.  When we pray, we are approaching the very same God that Aaron approached that first time he went into that room all those years ago.  Might be good to think about those bells just before we pray.

19 Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked, 20 for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out. [Pro 24:19-20 ESV]
Thing about Proverbs is that they don't always work out like we would prefer.  This one, for instance.  We tend to want this one to happen today!  Think of your favorite "evil politician".  Chances are, that politician will still be around when you're not.  This verse doesn't promise that we'll get to see the lamp put out, but it says God is going to take care of that in His time.  We can have the same attitude about those politicians that we have about the bad guys in a movie we've seen before.  We know how the movie ends so there's no suspense that second time around.  We shouldn't be in suspense about these politicians either.  With this verse in mind, we know how all truly evil people end.  So just relax, you know how this one ends!

25 The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe. [Pro 29:25 ESV]  When I read this, I think of Peter, in the courtyard of Caiaphas, claiming not to know who Jesus even was.  His foot was in the snare when Jesus looked at him across that fire.  It is the same for us when we ought to disagree with ungodly statements but find it easier - less risky - to just keep our mouths shut.  But the more we do this, the harder it gets to do it any other way.  At the same time, denial gets easier with practice.  Eventually, if we're silent long enough, we lose our voices entirely.  At that point the snare triggers and we've become just one more anonymous person in the crowd as everyone shouts "Give us Barabbas".  It scares me to remember how many times I've already kept quiet while the crowd shouted.  I remember though that Peter came back from this.  When he looked Jesus in the eye that night it gave him the strength to pull his foot out of that trap. We can get out of the trap the same way. 

2 "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. [Mat 23:2-3 ESV] Jesus spoke these words in Jerusalem, just a few days before the death he knew was coming.  This is essentially his very last public sermon.  Picture Jesus, in the capitol city of occupied, oppressed, and greatly distressed Israel.  There is a foreign governor on the local throne, and that governor is subject to a remote emperor who calls himself a god and expects to be worshiped as such.  Yet Jesus makes not the tiniest reference to the current political situation.  Instead, Jesus focuses 100% on the state of the religious practice in Israel.  Jesus doesn't tell the people to throw off the pagan rule of Rome, but rather to avoid behaving like their own religious leaders.  He tells the Jews to obey the law of Moses, but not the clarifications of their own elite.  Jesus isn't worried about the Roman Empire in the slightest.  His concern is the Kingdom of God and the souls of his people.  If, in this last direct communication to the chosen people of the nation of Israel, Jesus didn't care a whit about what the government was doing, then why should we, today, care any more about ours?

15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?' [Mat 20:15 ESV]  This verse comes at the end of the parable of the laborers.  Four groups of workers have been hired at different times of the day.  Those hired first were promised a certain wage.  Those hired later were promised "whatever is right".    The last group was hired with only one hour left in the work day.  When it came time to pay the workers, each one received the same pay, regardless of how long they had worked.  Those who worked all day thought this unfair, and today's verse is the answer they are given when they complain.  It is not up to the workers to decide how the master should conduct his business. There is no requirement that the workers agree with the master's payroll decisions. In this parable, the master chose to be fair to those hired first and generous to all the rest, and yet this master is accused of unfair labor practices.  Of course, this little parable is not really about fair wage guidelines at all.  It is here to show that the good works we do are not the basis for our entry into heaven. Salvation is only about the Master's generosity. Those who are saved at a young age and spend their lives in God's service will share the same heaven with the thief on the cross who believed for only a few hours.  This is not unfair to those who believe early in life, it is instead generous to those who believe later. Where salvation is concerned, it is certain that all of us fall into the "treated more generously than I deserve" category, so we should be ecstatic that the Master chose to do things this way.

One more verse about the words we say:  1 "You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. 2 You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, 3 nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit. [Exo 23:1-3 ESV]  This is God's formula for an effective justice system.  This is the standard.  Notice that this doesn't even mention judges or lawyers.  The standard of justice is built on the integrity of the witnesses.  They must be truthful, unbiased, and unwilling to lie.  They must tell the truth even if it is far easier to lie.   The witnesses needed to ensure justice won't lie for a dishonest friend, won't buckle to peer pressure to sustain a lie, and won't lie out of pity for a poor man.   A lie told to polish a poor man is as much a lie as one told to throw dirt on a rich one.  We see so many examples today of witnesses buckling under the pressure to comply, to avoid being cancelled, to avoid directed economic reprisals, or to say what audiences want to hear.  Worse, we see witnesses who won't speak up at all for fear of reprisals from the hidden guilty and so the truth is never even heard in court.  Note that in all these cases the pressures applied to suppress the truth is aimed not at judges and lawyers, but at the witnesses.  Make no mistake, truth in the face of such pressures is the difficult choice, not the easy one, but the result of the easy choice is a widening spiral of injustice.  Telling the truth starts with speaking up in every day conversations.  We all need to be practice truthful witnessing whenever and where ever we have an opportunity.  Justice depends on it!

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person." [Mat 15:10-11 ESV]  The Pharisees are still obsessed about people eating with dirty hands.  Dirty hands make dirty food, and dirty food makes unclean people.  This is their logic.  We saw Monday that Jesus was not interested in non-Biblical handwashing rules.  Now, Jesus is also uninterested in the digestive tract.  Jesus is interested in the heart.  Jesus says it is not the foods we take in but the words we spit out that reveal whether we are clean or dirty on the inside.  Yet in our modern culture, we really don't seem to think much about what comes out of our mouths.  We spew words out like they are cheap and plentiful so why not use a lot of them?  And reading the comment section of just about any article on the internet will show some very awful things spewing from supporters and detractors alike and show how little regard people seem to have for the targets of their disagreements.  But in these verses we see that what a person says isn't just a weather report or a political opinion or a movie review.  Words also tell us what kind of person the speaker really is, deep down where it matters.  Likewise, and more importantly, the words we use inform others of our own true character.  Our words are so diagnostically precise that God Himself will use them to judge us, as this verse shows:  36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." [Mat 12:36-37 ESV]   I'm know I already have a very long "verse 36 list" waiting for me to explain.  But I am trying very hard to stop adding to it.  I am trying very hard to say only what I will be proud of at that judgment.  And so should we all!

2 "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat." [Mat 15:2 ESV]  Doesn't this question have a familiar ring to it?  Does it sound a little like "Why do those women wear their dresses so short?"  Or how about "Why do you sing those choruses instead of real hymns at your church?"  Oh, and this one, too:  "How can you keep a preacher that wears jeans and a t-shirt in the pulpit?"  Here is Jesus' answer to the Pharisees' question:  3 ..."And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? [Mat 15:3b ESV]  I would paraphrase that as "Why do you make your own rules more important than God's?"  Jesus went on to point out one of many "rules" the Pharisees obeyed that circumvented specific commands in the Law of Moses.  They were giving priority to tradition over the commandments of God.  Kind of like we sometimes reject what the Bible clearly says because it is out of step with our own interpretations or the dictates of our own modern culture.  It is easy for us to spot the hypocrisy of those Pharisees but we can be a little blind to the same problem in ourselves.  In these times so saturated with widespread division, shouldn't we focus on purging ourselves and our churches of any and all tradition-based prejudice toward our brothers and sisters in Christ?  No matter how far out of our own comfort zone they might be, we need to make "Show me the verse!" our ONLY criteria for right behavior.  We need to remember that Jesus also said  "40 For the one who is not against us is for us."  [Mar 9:40 ESV]

28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" [Mat 14:28-31 ESV]
We saw Monday that Peter didn't just jump out of the boat and go for a walk.  He verified the source of the call, and then he answered the call.  But in verse 30 we see that even with all this done right, he suddenly finds himself going under, overwhelmed by storm and wave and turmoil.  Even when we are properly following God's will for us, even when we have already overcome impossible odds and seen first hand that God is guiding our steps and holding us up, fear can still suddenly upset us and take our eyes off the source of our support.  When that happens, we sink, we flail, we splash to no avail.  The solution to this situation, again modeled for us by Peter, is to cry out, reach out a hand, and know that Christ will pull us out of our trouble.  This is not time to be brave and dig deep into our own resources.  This is the time to look back at the source, realize that we are helpless, and seek help from the source of all help.

28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" [Mat 14:28-31 ESV]
Ever have one of those almost overwhelming compulsions to do something for God even though you know it is beyond you?  Yet no matter what we tell ourselves about it being impossible, the compulsion is still there?  Peter demonstrates the proper response to such things.  First thing we do is find out if it is God behind the compulsion, our own selfish ambition, or Satan setting us up to fail and so discourage us.  In this case, it wasn't that Peter thought it would be very cool to walk on water.  God had "called" Peter to walk on water, and we know this because the verse starts with "Peter answered...  You only answer when you've been called by name.  Peter heard A call, but even so, his response is to verify that he's heard THE call by testing the caller.  He asks, "Lord, if it is you..."    And as I think it will always be when God is the caller, Peter gets a clear answer.  The answer is not a complicated, drawn-out, step-by-step of how things are going to go.  There is just that one word.  It is simple, clear, and unmistakable and leaves no doubt about what to do next.  Peter got out of the boat in the middle of the storm. 

18 While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." [Mat 9:18 ESV].   We are told elsewhere that this ruler was Jairus, the ruler of the local synagogue.  He was at the very top of the religious hierarchy.  He was so untouchably religious that sinners couldn't even get close to him.  Yet Jairus came right into the feast at Matthew's house - a tax collector's house.  This alone ruined him in the eyes of his former friends.  His tenure at the top was already over.  But he went even further.  In front of all those assembled sinners and this "charlatan" Messiah, he scorned public rebuke, rumor, and gossip and bowed before Jesus to ask for a miracle.  What a lesson there is here for us! 

22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! [Mat 6:22-23 ESV]
It is not about what we see, but how we see it.  If we see as God sees, and we consider as He considers, then the world is a place of possibilities filled with the joy of caring for those we love as God cares for all those He loves.  But if we see as fallen man sees, and let the horrors in this world guide our perceptions of life and purpose, then the world is a truly dark place.  Everyone sees the same things, but not everyone has the same vision.  No one can control what they see, but we can all control our vision.

5 And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. [Gen 15:5-6 ESV]
Verse 6b is another of those verses that we hear often, but rarely with the context behind it.  God has just told Abram that he will be a great man, and Abram replies that he has no son to even continue his name.  God assures him that there will be a son, and follows that with vs 5.  Abram believes what God tells him.  That is what counted.  It wasn't just that Abram believed in God.  After all God was right there talking to him.  God existed in an observable way to Abram.  Of course Abram believed God was real.  That's not what counted so much.  What mattered was that Abram believed God's promise despite very compelling, visible, explainable evidence that the promise could never be reality.  Abram believes he will have a son even though he and his wife are well past childbearing age - because God said so.  That son was only possible if natural law was set aside.  Abram believed God could do that.  This is the faith that saves:  expecting what cannot happen because God said it would.  It is believing in the promise because of the one who promised.  This is the fundamental difference between believers and unbelievers.  Unbelievers always require an explanation that fits within the boundaries of human understanding while believers see inexplicable events all around them, every day.  This is the difference.  This is the faith that saved Abram, and it is the faith that saves us.  This is the test then:  Do I believe God can do anything - even a little thing - that cannot be explained by man's science or philosophy?  Anything at all?  I hope yes is your answer.

10 And the LORD said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. [Gen 4:10 ESV]  There is no such thing as a "secret" murder.  No human blood is shed that God does not "hear" about.   There are man-made laws to insure justice, but when these fail the cry gets louder.  When it is loud enough,  when injustice accumulates enough, God steps directly into the affairs of men.  For Cain, this was God's justice:  11 And now you are cursed... 12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth." [Gen 4:11a, 12 ESV].  In our terms, that would be a failing economic system, ever more "work" for less and less return, an unstoppable erosion of lifestyle, prosperity, and hope for the future.  Does that sound familiar?  And also, an increasingly irresistible sense that we no longer  belong where we are, together with an oppressive feeling of Isolation, distance, and separation.  Have you  noticed it?  Today, in the US, we shed the blood of nearly a million innocents a year.  The cry from the ground must  be a cacophony; the volume unprecedented in human history.  And surely God is asking "What have you done?" 

6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives." [Heb 12:6 NKJV]  This verse is familiar to most people, but I wonder if we often miss the context of the verse.  The writer is encouraging his readers to be strong in their faith when they face difficulties and problems.  But here is the interesting part:  he has also has just told them they aren't really suffering very much.  Here's that verse:  4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. [Heb 12:4 ESV].  Unlike Jesus or Stephen or Paul, no one receiving this letter has been so persecuted as to have shed blood because they are Christians.  That makes them a lot like us, doesn't it?  We label ourselves Christians but it costs us very little to do so.  Daily living presents us with situations we choose to cope with as Christians...or not. These are trials to be sure, but they seem trivial compared to the stories of faith in the Bible.  We lose loved ones over the years, and we deal with health and financial difficulties along the way.  We either trust God through these as evidence of our faith or complain about injustice.  Maybe a few have had to stand up for their beliefs to the point of being shunned by other church members or associates at work or close friends. Maybe some have even been ridiculed or disowned by their families because of their faith.  But I don't think most of us have had to endure even this level of persecution.  Compared to the heroes of the faith that we read or hear about, we might often feel small and of little use to God.  But these verses say that we don't have to be thrown into prison or beaten senseless by a mob for God to consider us worth training.  God doesn't save anyone because of what they will accomplish for Him.  He saved each of us for a reason - His own reason - and God knows what is in front of us.  It is up to us to fulfill His purpose for our lives - whether that be patient endurance of a mundane existence or perseverance through the fire.  He knows who we are and saved us anyway!  He knows what is coming and is daily bringing us along, building us up, preparing us for the trials -however great or small - that we will have to face.  This is an encouragement for us to do well when we face even the little trials that come our way.  And if the day comes when our faith is truly tested, we can be sure that God has prepared us for the moment, and so face the test with confidence...even if we've never shed a drop of blood for our faith. 

3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. [1Jo 2:3 ESV]  In this little book, the Apostle John has said some very direct things to his readers in Chapter 1.  He has not bothered with subtlety or tact, but opted instead for clarity and simplicity.  He tells them that if they are allowing/tolerating/embracing habitual sin in their lives, then they are not Christians, not children of God, not regenerated, and headed straight to hell when they die.  He leaves them (us!) no wiggle room at all.  But then in chapter 2, his approach softens just a bit.  He lays out a test.  It is a simple test that we give to ourselves and grade ourselves.  It would be nice if the simple test gave us a simple yes or no as to our salvation.  Instead, this test is more along the lines of asking "is your check engine light on?"  If we are not keeping His commandments, the light is on.  If the light is on, something, somewhere, needs attention.  It is up to us to check further and determine how serious the problem really  is.  The problem might be an indulgent attitude toward some sin we enjoy - a bad thing, a wholesale slide into carnality - even worse, or it may indicate a previous lack of true conversion - a very serious condition indeed.  And just like with our cars, once we think we understand the problem, we ought to see a good "mechanic".  We should talk to someone well grounded in faith - a pastor or a Christian friend - and get an outside, objective, and more expert opinion about our problem.  We should do some guided study to help us diagnose the extent of the problem, identify the step by step of correcting the problem, and calculate the "cost" of the repairs.  The question will be whether or not we are willing to pay the price to turn that warning light off.  This is not a check engine light that we should ignore.  This light could mean life or death and seeing it on should give us a profound sense of urgency.  In fact, the less urgency we feel when we see this warning light, the more serious the problem really is.  Ignoring this warning light will almost certainly lead to problems that are increasingly difficult and expensive to correct.  Don't go through life with that spiritual check engine light on all the time.  Check it on a regular basis using this little test, and any time it is on, take care of it right away.  Doing so will make life a lot less stressful.

20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. [Pro 13:20 ESV]  This short little verse is long on application!  Note that this isn't about picking your friends, but about prioritizing time spent with those who are wise.  I think this is about spending more time face to face with wiser people, rather than about following someone wise on Twitter.  I think the influence of wise friends on our lives is more effective at close range.  During this extended isolation we're all going through, this has become a lot more difficult, even while it has become more critical.  We are all dealing with situations and decisions outside our previous experience.  Wouldn't it be nice to learn first hand how others are dealing with these - especially how those we consider wise are dealing with them?  It is surely worth our efforts to find ways to "walk with the wise".  And who knows?  Maybe those friends who are not at the top of the "wise friends" list will start to look to you as their "wise friend"?

23 So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. [Act 25:23 ESV] 
This is the third time that Paul has stood before a Roman official for judgement.  The first two found no fault with him, but both kept Paul in custody for political reasons.  Here is some background on King Agrippa and Bernice...Agrippa's great-grandfather was Herod the great, king when Jesus was born, killer of children, builder of Herod's temple in Jerusalem.  When he dies, Joseph brings Mary and Jesus back from Egypt.  Agrippa's great-uncle is Herod Antipas, the "Herod of the gospels", and he comes to power when Herod the Great dies.  Agrippa's father, yet another Herod, is the one who had the apostle James killed and imprisoned Peter intending to do the same to him.  So King Agrippa had quite the pedigree, and knew much of the history of the region since his family was so much a part of it.  Then there is his "wife", Bernice.  She was not his wife, but his sister, and their incestuous relationship was known to all, and the subject of much gossip in Rome.  Bernice later became the mistress of Emperor Vaspasian, and then of his son, Titus - who conquered and burned Jerusalem and the Temple to the ground in 70 AD.  So these are the people in charge of "justice" in this little part of the Roman Empire.  All were put in place legally and legitimately according to the laws of Rome.  We tend to think that political developments in this country, in our time, are unique in being brought about by corruption in high places.  This is not new at all.  I think the point is that the US is not becoming a "bad place".  The US is becoming a place like everywhere else.

The previous two posts dealt with some difficult propositions for Christians.  They said we are to pray for those that seem beyond God's help rather than pray for their downfall.  Then we saw that we are to love our enemies, not curse them, return evil for good.  These aren't just for reading, they are for doing.  And now comes the most difficult of all, again in Romans, and right after the other two:
1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. [Rom 13:1-7 ESV]  The Bible is not written with loopholes built in so we can still behave the way WE think, instead of the way He commands.  This is just one of many places where this specific command is presented.  Here's a link to the others: https://www.peppergt.com/government-authority
We don't really have a choice here.  We also don't have it nearly as bad as the people to whom Paul was writing - in Rome, under Nero.  We will be standing shoulder to shoulder with those people eventually, and judged by the same standard as they are.  It could be seriously embarrassing, or it could be a very proud moment.  We need to decide now how we want that to go and put a shoulder into it.

In Romans 11, we saw the pitiable condition of those whom God has blinded to His grace and that it is far more Christian to pray that God will open their eyes and change their hearts than to pray for their downfall.  As if to confirm this, the very next chapter says this:
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ... 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." 20 To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. [Rom 12:14, 17-21 ESV].  Taking these verses to heart can be like trying to swallow a boiled egg whole, especially on those days when it feels like we are completely surrounded.  We should remember that these verses aren't written to just everyone, but are meant as instructions to those who follow Christ about how to live our lives.  Behaving this way is characteristic only of Christians because no one else  would even consider behaving this way.  So I ask myself, "If a stranger reads my Facebook page, will they think "That guy must be one of those Christians that just stand around saying God will work it all out", or will they think "That guy is an ultra-conservative Republican right-winger out to overthrow the election""?  Even more importantly, I ask myself "Which one of those banners do I want draped across my chest when I stand before God?"  We all need to pick a banner now, and then live our lives to make it true.

8 as it is written, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day." [Rom 11:8 ESV] This verse is about Israel - it is about the Jews. This verse - in fact all of verses 7-10 - makes it very clear that Israel is under a God-ordained "stupor" such that they cannot comprehend grace - its meaning, its reason, its person. This stupor is not about intelligence, or familiarity with the word, or anything like that. God has not limited to Jews to a below average IQ. Instead, as a consequence of their rejection of God, God Himself has disconnected the "logic circuits" between Law and Grace. They cannot get there from here because there is no road for them. With the exception of just a few elect, Israel is "stuck" under the Law. They do not understand because God won't let them understand. Such a terrible situation. If God would blind his chosen people as a consequence of their sins, why would we ever think that he wouldn't blind some of us also? Consider the possibility that those in high places that "call evil good and good evil" may be blinded in the same way that Israel is blinded. Should we not feel pity for anyone whom God has hardened to His gospel? We complain and whine that there is no justice in this world, that the corrupt rule in high places and lovers of God and His ways are despised and helpless. I say there is justice in this world and if you want to see it then look at Israel. Justice has been heaped on them for century upon century because of their idolatry and rejection of God 3000 years ago. Millions have died in their sins and in stupor with never a real chance at grace. If that is justice in this world, then for my part, I would rather not have justice, thank you. I do not want the justice I deserve in this world, I want God's grace, patience, and forbearance. Now if I would rather God grant these things for me, isn't it only right - isn't it only Christian - to want those same things for "the other side"? Wouldn't my prayers be better spent asking mercy and redemption for these pitiful blinded hopeless people instead of shouting about their failures to anyone who will listen? For my part, I will not pray "God, send them all straight to hell!", I will pray "Please, God, open their eyes as you have opened mine, and save them all".

This verse is part of a sermon Paul preached in Antioch on his first missionary trip.  He is recounting the story of Jesus' arrest and crucifixion to the people in Antioch:
27 For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. [Act 13:27 ESV]  Paul says that even though these people in Jerusalem were ignorant of some of the finer points of the Bible, they were still cast as "players" in that unfolding story.  They didn't get it, but they were still part of it.  They didn't comprehend it, but they were still accountable for it.  Very likely, many had not attended either the trial or execution of Jesus, but they were still guilty before God in the death of His Son.  As I was.  As some of you are.  The Bible does not give us a pass because we are ignorant of its meaning.  We don't "get out of jail free" if we decide we don't really want to know what's in there.  And we are not counted innocent of His blood if we decide we just don't believe a word of it.  It didn't work in Jerusalem back then, it doesn't work here today.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to grasp the basics.  The core of the Bible's  message is simple enough for anyone.  Just start with these concepts:  1 "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ... 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ... 15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. [Jhn 14:1, 6, 15 ESV].  Accepting and believing these statements as the simple truth will be an excellent start!

I think the verses that follow, from Paul in the New Testament, will put into perspective the principles we’ve established for understanding supernatural events in a natural world.  When Paul and Barnabas are preaching at Lystra, Paul heals a lame man.  Those who see this believe that Paul and Barnabas must be gods, and call them Hermes and Zeus, and prepare to make sacrifices to them.  Paul and Barnabas are upset by this because it is directing attention away from God and toward the idols these people worship.  Here's what they do about it:  15 "Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 17 Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness." [Act 14:15-17 ESV]  What Paul is saying is that if we observe how nature operates, we will see that it stays within the confines of what we call natural law.  The science of modern times makes this fact ever more certain.  More importantly, we should also see that natural law operates to the benefit of mankind more than any other creature.  If rain was random, we could never count on a crop getting water when needed.  If winter and summer were random, we wouldn't know when to plant crops.  Animals don't depend on sowing and harvesting.  Only man depends on order for his survival.  Paul says God made it work this way so it would be obvious that He must be there.  The proof of God is that these laws are for the benefit of man.  Evolution, as we know it today, plays no favorites.  But if you look at how things really work, what we refer to as "nature" certainly does play favorites, and the clear favorite is mankind.  The people Paul is talking to had always attributed beneficial natural events to the mood and whimsy of the idols they worshiped as gods, and they looked to magicians, sorcerers and so on to influence those gods when things were not going well.  Paul tells them to look at the evidence.  Based on the evidence, praying to stone idols or paying vast sums to "rainmakers" are alike a waste of time and resources, because natural laws established by the creator determine the timing of the rain.  So if you want the rules changed, don't look to the pretenders.  Direct your prayers to the One who made all the rules - and He made them for our benefit.
This post is related to the last three, and each has been a bit long.  I put them together on my web page and linked it below.  I think the picture is more clear when they're all together.  Here's the link:  https://www.peppergt.com/looking-for-god  The title is "Where to Look for a Supernatural God in a Natural World". 

Continuing the theme of the last two posts, why is it that we find it easy to believe that ESP, voodoo, and witchcraft have some basis in fact?  Why are fantasy movies and books that portray magic and supernatural abilities as harmless - movies like Harry Potter or even Frozen - so universally popular?  And why are there so many places to get your palm read, your fortune told, or your own seance?  We all allow a little room in our minds for these "unscientific" things to be real.  Yet so many who accept that voodoo and fortune telling might have some credibility will absolutely reject the possibility that God could ever do anything supernatural.  So many flatly discredit claims that Jesus could be born of a virgin or that He could have cured every disease from leprosy to blindness in front of hundreds of witnesses.  Or how about the claim that Jesus rose from the dead after a brutal public execution and then showed himself to those who knew him best and would recognize any attempt at trickery?  Just look at the contrast in the power God has exercised to save mankind and the low tricks of the trade that Satan trots out to win us to his sorry side!  The difference is plain as day.  If we are not only willing to believe, but downright enthusiastic about the world's counterfeit signs and wonders, why do we balk at the miraculous things that God did to establish and verify that Jesus was God incarnate?  How can we accept one and reject the other?  And while this obvious contradiction in what so many are willing to believe may not seem like a big deal, there is this verse to consider:  15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." [Jos 24:15 ESV]  I think it is ok to believe that supernatural things really happen because the Bible is full of supernatural events.  What is not ok is believing that black magic, ESP, and fortune telling are real and harmless, but that God is neither. 

The last post was about God choosing order instead of randomness in his creation of the universe, and how only He can decide to change the rules for His own purposes.  I mentioned though that to a lesser extent, Satan and his angels can do a little rule breaking also.  When Satan and his crew break the rules we call it clairvoyance, magic, voodoo, witchcraft, sorcery, ghosts and things like that.  Now that we understand how and why God set up the rules, and that sin entered by man's choice at Satan's instigation, we can see why God would hate these things - Satan and his angels break the physical laws for no other purpose than to divert us from the true ruler of the universe.  They are pretenders to the power of God.  Their purpose is to deceive us into believing they have the same kind of power to bend or break rules that God does, and that they will be far more liberal with their favors.  If they can convince us of this they can demand our worship in exchange for their services.  God wants us to worship Him exclusively and He hates it when Satan disguises himself in this way so that we will worship him.  These verses sum up God's attitude about Satan's petty rule breaking:  10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. [Deu 18:10-12 ESV]  God cuts no slack to those who participate with or assist Satan in his deceits.

22 "The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. 23 Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. ... 25 Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, ... 27 When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28 when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, ... 30 then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, 31 rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man. [Pro 8:22-23, 25, 27-28, 30-31 ESV]
If you go back and read this chapter from the beginning, you see that the "I" and the "me" in these verses is wisdom.  I've left out a few verses to shorten this up, but it is worthwhile to read the whole section.  It's a pretty big deal.  Most of us think of wisdom as really insightful and pithy sayings that old people know.  "When the horse dies, dismount" and stuff like that.  That's not what's meant here.  In these verses wisdom is order, and repeatability, and predictability.  God chose these instead of chaos, disorder, and randomness as characteristics of His creation.  He did this because He wanted man to live in an ordered, predictable world where effect always followed cause.  Apples always "fall", hot air balloons "rise", and days last 24 hours.  Orbits are stable so the location of the moon can be precisely calculated in advance and we can send men there and bring them back.  Every time.  The rules that insure these things have names like Newton's Laws of Motion, The Laws of Thermodynamics, and Relativity.  God invented the universe and made everything in it, including us, subject to these laws.  He picked order over chaos.  Only God and to a much lesser extent Satan and his angels, can do things outside these laws.  When God goes outside the laws, we call it a miracle.  When God set it all up to start with, His intentions were only good so all "causes" led to desirable "effects".  But Satan messed that up when he convinced Adam to sin.  Sin put sand in the gears of the universe.  Sin led to the rise of causes intended to do harm instead of good.  And the laws still worked, even though the intent was harm, because the sand didn't stop the gears.  So when bad things happen to good people, it is not because God decided to shorten their lives.  He would never do that.  Bad things happen as a result of natural laws running from cause to effect, just like they are designed to do.  We don't always see, know, or understand the causes, but they were there.  If we understand this, it is easy to understand why we pray.  When we pray for someone who is sick, or has a terminal disease, we are praying for God to do something that defies the natural laws that He set up.  And that is the definition of a miracle.  We want God to turn back the natural laws that brought this about and change the outcome.  That's a big deal, and we need to realize what we're asking Him to do.  And if we understand that even the bad things that happen are following the rules of the universe, shouldn't the real question be to ask why God is ever merciful enough to make an exception, instead of why He doesn't always do so?

The Pharisees, who were kind of the religious PhD's of their time, have asked Jesus to give them a sign that proves who he is, and then they'll believe what he says.  These verses are part of his answer to them:
39 But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ... 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. [Mat 12:39, 41 ESV]  Everybody knows about Jonah.  After three days inside a fish, he gets spit out onto dry land.  It had never occurred to me before, but I think there were witnesses to Jonah's "return from the dead".  Surely the ones on the ship that threw him overboard told the story when they got to land.  And yet here was Jonah, alive and well.  I also suspect that he was spit out of that fish on a crowded beach, not a deserted one.  People saw that fish swim up, Jonah climb out and walk out of the water.  He probably needed a day or two to recover and then he headed straight for Ninevah.  But stories about men getting spit out by fish travel fast.  By the time Jonah got to Ninevah, I believe those people knew this was the fish guy!  So they listened to what he said and that whole city turned itself around.  It wasn't because of Jonah's forceful yet eloquent preaching, but because he was a walking talking miracle.  The people of Ninevah knew a bona fide sign when they saw one, and they responded.  But the Pharisees of Jesus' day would not respond even though a man truly rises from the dead and walks around where people can see him for 40 days.  But it isn't just the Pharisees that ignore this greater sign.  Witnesses of Jesus' resurrection told people about it, many wrote down what they saw, and have passed the story of the dead man who came back to life all the way down to us.  To you and to me.  So who do we want to be like?  The Ninevites who were at least smart enough to believe the evidence right in front of them, or the Pharisees with their PhD's who were too smart to believe their own eyes?

7 Like a lame man's legs, which hang useless, is a proverb in the mouth of fools. 8 Like one who binds the stone in the sling is one who gives honor to a fool. 9 Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools. 10 Like an archer who wounds everyone is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard. 11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.
When I read these verses it was pretty obvious they were about someone else.  If you just skim over them, like you do, they're just some stuff about foolish people.  Not about me.  Probably not about you.  But...if that's right, why does vs 12 come right after? 
12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. [Pro 26:7-12 ESV]  It occurred to me right about here that maybe Solomon had set me up big time.  Maybe the whole point of those first verses was to make me feel superior, and then hit me with vs 12 while I was still patting myself on the back.  I read those proverbs again, and I can't say I'm sure about what they mean, but here's what I go out of them the second time...7) Ever get some really good advice that you ignored, and as a result slowed your own progress to a crawl?  8) Ever keep your mouth shut about an injustice, because you don't like to tattle, even though some other person had been hurt by it?  9) Ever get warned a decision you made was going to bring you some real pain, but like a belligerent drunk you plunged right on ahead?  10) Ever trust a task vital to your group to someone you knew was not reliable, and when they let you down, they also let down a lot of others?  And this one gets us all, 11) Ever make the same stupid mistake twice...three times...more?  Solomon's point, I think, is that the most foolish fool of all is the person who thinks he is never the fool!

4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. [Pro 14:4 ESV]
I think this says that technology will dirty things up a bit, but the benefits are worth it.  Just remember, you own the ox, not the other way around!