Tag: God

Sermon: The Good Shepherd

Beth - blogger, coach, consultantLeave a comment

Welcome to the Good Shepherd Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Easter (or the third Sunday after Easter if you prefer), where every year we remind ourselves of a special relationship that we have with our Creator.  Each year, we read on Good Shepherd Sunday two particular readings:

  • Psalm 23:  The Lord is my Shepherd
  • John 10: 1-10

Throughout our three-year cycle of the Revised Common Lectionary, while we may read different Epistles or different Prophets, the reading of the Psalm and this particular Gospel remain unchanged.  So I would like us to consider, this morning, what we can learn from them regarding our day-to-day living, because being of the Christian faith isn’t something you do on Sundays: it’s how your live your day-to-day life.  And the Creator’s offer to “shepherd” us is not something that we only need on Sundays: it’s a protection, guidance, purpose, security, blessing, and healing that should happen every day for each of us.

In the Old Testament, like in the book of Exodus, Yahweh is represented as a shepherd.  The prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel compare Yahweh’s care and protection of His people to that of a shepherd.  “He is like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against His breast and leading the mother ewes to their rest” (Is. 40:11).

I would like to start with some thoughts, briefly, regarding the Gospel from John, and then focus on Psalm 23.

10:1 Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit.
10:2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

John starts chapter 10, speaking metaphorically of us as sheep and of the Christ as our shepherd, and he begins with entrance into our lives.  John reminds us that the legitimate way into our lives is through the gate: anyone who climbs in by any other way is a thief and a bandit.  Leaders may enter our lives through false pretenses, lies, manipulation, false promises, deceit, masquerade, pressure, threats, or playing on our fears (think of political leaders, electoral promises, fears that are preyed upon), but I AM enters our lives through the relationship that we voluntarily establish with God’s Presence, drawing our spirit into Oneness with God’s Spirit.  It is only in the presence of pure love that we can openly and willingly open the door our hearts, souls and spirits, to become one with the Holy Spirit, voluntarily.

10:3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

Whose voice are you listening to? Maybe you are listening to political commentary, webinars, self-help gurus, podcasts by your favorite fitness guru. But do you take time in your day to listen to the voice of the Shepherd?  Is your life so busy and so caught up that there is no time for silence?  If you are feeling like you are a hamster on a wheel, maybe it is time to start saying “no” and learning to enjoy the Silence and stillness of “Be Still and Know that I AM that I AM”.  The promise we have in John 10 is that I AM will call you by name and lead you out, but in order for this promise to be fulfilled, you need to actually hear I AM’s voice.  That means time in silence.  Time in prayer.  Time in quiet peace and meditation.  And once you hear I AM’s voice, then you will hear where he wants to lead you.  Not your plans, but I AM’s plans and leadership.

10:4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.
10:5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Do you know and hear the voice of I AM?  Or have you become so deaf to this voice that you are following the voice of strangers?  Searching for an earthly shepherd to take care of you, to allay your fears, to give you safety and security?  Who is your shepherd?  When we start to only follow the voices and advice and direction from our leaders, we start to believe that only they can hear the voice of the Shepherd and we simply do what they are telling us.  It’s certainly easier this way, we can abdicate “responsibility” and if anything goes wrong, “it was their fault”: certainly nice to have a scapegoat.  And that’s a sermon for another day…  Are you running from the strangers and following the voice of the Shepherd?  Or have you become so accustomed to the voice of the stranger that you have stopped following the voice of the Shepherd?

As I said at the beginning, I want us to turn now to Psalm 23, and go through this line by line, understanding a little bit more today our relationship with I AM.  Some of you may be wondering why I have used I AM so frequently through my sermon this morning:  God’s name is almost always translated LORD (all caps) in the English Bible. But the Hebrew would be pronounced something like “Yahweh,” and is built on the word for “I am.”  So every time we read or hear the word “Yahweh”, or our poor translation of it as “LORD” in the English Bible, you should think: this is “I am”, reminding me each time that God absolutely is. “YHWH Raah” – I AM, my Shepherd.

And Psalm 23 starts with this:

The Lord is my shepherd,

I AM is my shepherd.  I want you to think about this “I AM” for a moment.  This I AM is the same I AM that Moses encountered at the burning bush;  this is the I AM that the children of Israel followed out of Egypt and through the desert.  This is the I AM that is the way, the truth and the life. This is “I am the bread of life”.  “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8:58). I am the light of the world.  I am the door of the sheep. “I AM the good shepherd.The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11) I am the resurrection and the life.  “You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. (John 13:13). I am the true vine.  “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8).  I am the first and the last.   That’s our shepherd: all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, all-presence.

This verse speaks about our relationship with I AM. And I would like to invite you, for a moment, to consider your idea of who and what God is.  If we are to effectively pray, listen and communicate with God we need to become clear on exactly who and what we think God is, and become clear about our feelings toward God.  Religions around the world typically classify God as Thou/You, Me (the indwelling Spirit), or He/She/It.

This first view of God: Thou/You – is “Our Father, who art in Heaven”.  The second view of God, is problematic for some Christians, as it views God as being within us, and yet we profess that we believe the Holy Spirit to abide inside us, and say “not I, but Christ that lives in me”.

 

And that third face of God is the Omni-Presence of God in all of life:  I AM the way, the truth and the life.  It is the breath of life that we breath each moment of every day.  As Christians, we are quite fearful of this face of God, seeing religions that are idol worshipers, because they focus on God in things and creation.  Yet, we fail to see that this is God:  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  God, as Omni-Presence does not mean God in the air, “around” all things… it is God IN all things.  It is God that is IN this pulpit, it is God IN the floor, it is God IN the pew-bench on which you are seated, it is God in your car, in your steering wheel, in the gear shift.  It is God in your home, in your sofa, in your bed.  It is God in each bird, each butterfly, each mosquito (sorry… terrible example!). We say we believe God to be Onmi-Presence, but then when we talk about God, we seem to limit God to just being in the air “around”, rather than literally EVERYWHERE.

Let me try to explain this a little better:  you stand on a beach looking out at the vastness of the Ocean.  There are waves breaking on the shore, and in each wave that breaks on the shore, you will find the Ocean.  You take a bucket and you fill it with water, and in this water you will also find the Ocean.  If you took just one drop of that water, it would still be part of the Ocean.  Now, that drop of water is not the whole Ocean, obviously.  But how do you separate that drop of water from being Ocean.  And that, for me, is the Omni-Present God:  God is much more than JUST the bird or the butterfly or the mosquito… but God is there!

And having said all of this, I will admit, I don’t understand God: I don’t even begin to. God remains unfathomable to me!  I cannot wrap my tiny human brain around a definition that even comes close!

So, I invite you this morning to answer this question this week:  Who or What is God for you?

I apologise that I have spent so much time discussing this first verse of Psalm 23, that it will not leave me much time to go through the rest of the lines of Psalm 23, but I felt that “how we see God” is the very crux of how we interpret Psalm 23.

I AM is my shepherd,

And so, let’s continue with Psalm 23:

I shall not want.

Some translations write this as “I have everything I need” or “I lack nothing”.  YHWH Jireh, my provider.  I AM, my provider.  Are you allowing God to provide for you? Physically? Mentally? Spiritually?  Do you allow God to nourish your soul?
As a parent, I reserve the right to say “no” to all the whims and requests of my daughter. She would love ice cream, M&Ms and candy every day: I think about the teeth, the enamel and vitamins and minerals.  She will not lack anything, she will have everything she needs.

Do you accept that God may say “no” to your whims and fancies?

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

Are you resting with God?

He leads me beside still waters.

Are you following God beside still waters, so that God can refresh your soul?

He restores my soul;

How do you allow God to heal you?  YHWH Rapha: I AM that healeth.

He leads me in paths of righteousness,

We sing “Jesus take the wheel”, but do you let God actually drive?  You ask for guidance, but do you follow the guide?  “No, not there!  That’s not where I want to go… I want you to take the wheel when I’ve already got myself into trouble – just get me out of this and then give me back my steering wheel!”

For His name’s sake.

Are you living a purpose driven life?  I AM that I AM… His name’s sake…

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

Sometimes, on the road to greener pastures there will be trials and hardships and difficult paths.  Do you trust I AM?

I will fear no evil;

I will fear no evil.  This is a powerful declaration!  I will fear no evil.  How often do we allow fear to dictate our lives?

For You are with me,

YHWH Shammah – God is faithful, omni-present, everywhere we are.

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

The rod and the staff – they are for fighting off the wolves, the lions and the bears.  And for stopping us from going down the wrong path, to pull us back us (sometimes around the neck) when we’ve started to go over the edge.  Sometimes pulling us kicking and screaming from the edge, when we don’t realise we are about to step over the edge.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies,

We have hope and abundance and moments of rejoicing!  Do you enjoy those feasts that God provides?

You anoint my head with oil;

We are consecrated to God.  Do you live your life as a consecrated child of God?

My cup runs over.

Are you truly thankful?

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

You are blessed – richly blessed!  Goodness and mercy follow you – do you show goodness and mercy to everyone in your life?  Do your acts reflect this goodness and mercy you have received?

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord

God is everywhere… you dwell in his house at every moment of every day.  Not just while you are here in the house of the Lord which is this building. But every moment. Do your actions and thoughts reflect that?

Forever.

Eternity… it’s a long time.

As you leave today, consider this:

  • Who, what and where is God for you?
  • What is your personal definition of God?
  • What does that definition mean for your relationship with God?  With others?
  • Who are you listening to? Do you recognise the Shepherd’s voice?
  • Do you allow the Shepherd to guide you?  To provide what you need?
  • Do you give thanks for the rich blessings, allowing goodness and mercy to shower those who come into contact with you?

Be blessed in every way!

 

Originally in the sermon, but then edited out to make it more understandable:

In The Three Faces of God we read:

“Most of us are familiar with three different perspectives from which to approach and describe God. These perspectives determine whether we address God in the first, second, or third person:
God as Ground of Being is the First Face of God. It is the experiential “I”—God within us, or God immanent.
God as an entity to whom we relate and pray to is the Second Face. It is God as “Thou” or “You.”
God present in the manifest world as the Web of Life, as Nature, as All That Is, is the Third Face. It is ‘He/She/It’ and is understood through our senses.”

This book, the Bible, attempts to teach us that God is all three.  We know this as the Trinity: God, as Holy Spirit, is the “I” within each one of us, the “not I but Christ that liveth in me” that connects directly with our spirit, bringing us to complete Oneness with God.  When we completely still, when we allow ourselves to finally connect, it is the still small voice that speaks to us.  God as the Father we know as Thou or You, this is the God that we pray to.  In many senses, it is the God we have a relationship with – some see God as a Santa Claus, that we make our requests to, others see God as an angry or justifying abuses.  The Three Faces of God reminds us:

“It’s the unhealthy version of the Second Face of God that has created so much trouble throughout history. Since medieval times and within hierarchical religions, the Second Face of a judgmental God who metes out punishments and rewards has been used as a weapon to marginalize, kill, emotionally wound, and control people and circumstances. Abuse of the Second Face of God resulted in a judgmental superbeing before whom we all stood as sinners.”

“Yet by rejecting the Second Face of God relationship entirely, we miss the richness offered by a healthy version. This is an understanding of God with whom we can experience personal and intimate relationship in our daily lives, to whom we can express gratitude and love and surrender. It’s God as unconditionally loving parent, comforter, supportive friend.”

Sermon: Laboured in Vain

Beth - blogger, coach, consultantLeave a comment

I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing…

Over one hundred years ago, Teddy Roosevelt gave what would become one of the most widely quoted speeches of his career.  In addition to touching on his own family history, war, human and property rights, Roosevelt railed against cynics who looked down at men who were trying to make the world a better place.  People like Isaiah, trying to turn the people of Israel back to God, and yet failing miserably at it.

Teddy Roosevelt in this speech said:

“A cynical habit of thought and speech, a readiness to criticize work which the critic himself never tries to perform, an intellectual aloofness which will not accept contact with life’s realities—all these are marks, not … of superiority but of weakness.”

Life is made up of challenges – for each one of us they are different!  And there is always going to be someone on the sidelines criticising your performance, as you struggle to be “wonder woman” or “super man”.  And that intimation of failure often causes us panic, even despair.

Failure is considered an unpardonable sin in a world where we sanctify the successful and worship winners.  Everybody wants to succeed – no one wants to be considered a failure!  How many people do you know whose life goal is to fail?  But this emphasis on success can put an enormous stress on us.  No one wants to be called a failure.  If I fail, what will happen to me? What will others think?  Will they reject me?  Are they going to think I’m worthless?   And yet, our responsibility is to rise from mediocrity to competence, from failure to achievement.

Simply put:  your task on earth is to become your best version of you.  You are unique.  God made you specially just like you – there is no one else exactly like you – and you have a special purpose on this earth, otherwise God would not have made you and put you here! And if you haven’t done it already, you need to take a day or two and sit and medidate (in silence – and for pity’s sake, stop talking and turn off the mobile devices!), and listen to hear what that purpose is.  The Bible of full of examples of ordinary people who did extraordinary things. We’ll talk more about that next week!

The world has a few examples of failures that went on to do some remarkable things:

  • I’m sure you’ve all heard of that guy Henry Ford, bankrupted 2 automobile industries and ruined all his chances of good investors.
  • Or maybe that guy Fred Astaire.  His first screen test didn’t go so well: “Can’t sing. Can’t act. Slightly balding.  Can dance a little.”
  • Then there’s that guy that had trouble adjusting to the culture and classes at Yale, so he dropped out.  He went back again later, and it still wasn’t for him, so he dropped out again.  His name’s Dick Cheney.  Never going to amount to anything!
  • Or there’s that single mother on welfare who was trying to write.  I think her name was J.K. Rowling or something.
  • Or that kid whose teacher told his mother he was “too stupid to learn anything”.  He was unfortunate enough to be called Thomas Edison.
  • And there’s that guy who was so frustrated trying to write his first novel, that he threw away the entire first draft!  His wife found this manuscript for a book “Carrie”, and rescued it from the trash.  You might have heard of him – Stephen King.

There’s a reason you are in church this morning – maybe you are stuck in a place of despair, ready to give up, not sure how to keep up the good fight. But men and women can change: once again we have a Bible full of examples of people who stopped in their tracks and had a heart change, which became a totally new person.  To mention a few of the better know examples from the New Testament:  Saul who became Paul; Simon who became Peter; Jonah (in spite of his best efforts to the contrary); Levi the tax collector who became Matthew the disciple.

But on the road to that transformation, there are holes.  And if we’re not careful, that hole becomes a rut.  And before you know it, you’re stuck in that rut, and your following that rut instead of the path that you’re supposed to be on, because it’s much more comfortable to stay in the rut than to try to get out of it.  And let’s be honest, sometimes getting out of that rut looks impossible!  You tell yourself, it just can’t be done! This is is – the best I can do, the most I can be.

Isaiah is in a rut (and feeling sorry for himself), in verse 4 of our reading this morning:

“But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.”

This is the same servant that said:

“Before I was born, the LORD called me:  from my birth he has made mention of my name.”

He knew what his calling was! He was predestined to do God’s work!  There’s an amazing amount of expectations upon him! And God gave him all the gifts and tools he needed for the task.  Remember verse 2:

“He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me:  he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in His quiver.”

I was MADE for this.

But his progress report in verse 4 is not very encouraging:

“My work  is so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.”

Probably a good time just to go back to bed! The task is too great!  I’m inadequate.  I can’t do it!

Now the whole book of Isaiah can be divided into 2 principle sections:

  1. Part one is chapters 1 to 39, which address Israel’s continuing sin and rebellion, where their hearts are so hardened that no matter the strength of Isaiah’s tone and words, nothing will turn them. They became self-centered and inward-looking; they forgot their covenant.  They forgot they were a people belonging to God. Finally, Isaiah brings a message of judgement and exile – the Old Jerusalem is condemned and will be no more.
  2. Part two, chapters 40 to 66, opens with words of consolation “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God”.  It finishes with the emergence of the NEW Jerusalem.

So we see in Isaiah a transformation – from the old to the new:  the old Jerusalem is torn to the ground and then rebuilt as a new Jerusalem.  You see, when everything is stripped away, our spirit starts to show through, and then our relationship with God and the eternal comes clearly into focus.  Maybe right now you’re sweating and you can’t see the results of all your hard work: and instead of giving up, maybe it’s time to take a small rest and remember WHO you are and WHY you were put on this earth!

1 Peter (2:9-10) reminds us:

You are a chosen people… a people belonging to God… Once you were not a people, but now you are a people of God…”

 

And I have another little gem for you, God expects you to fail!  Yes, you heard that right: God doesn’t expect you to get it right the first time. In fact, he has an expectation that you are going to fall!

How many of you have children and have taught that child to ride a bicycle?

The first time you put them on the bike – did they get it right?  How many chances did they need to learn?  How many got it on the 2nd time? the 3rd? What do you mean it took 54 times before they learnt?

Well, why are you so hard on yourself?  Why do you expect to learn in just one go?  Let’s go back to the kid on the bike:  you have a little hill (without a main road down the bottom!), it’s a safe place to learn to ride.  So you have this kid who has finally mastered balance and steering (for the most part), and they riding down the hill now pretty well!  So you finally reach the moment when you think they are ready, and instead of pushing the bike back up to the top of the hill again for the kid, you tell, well, why don’t you ride UP the hill now?  And what’s the first thing that happens?  They fall off!  Because it’s easy to ride the bike down the hill and keep your balance when you have a little momentum!  But when you meet resistance and you have to keep your balance AND pedal hard, and you’re new at this, you fall over the moment you push too hard on the left side without adjusting your balance on the right side to counterbalance the force you’re using to get yourself up the hill!  Right?

And God knows this!  God’s been watching us since the Garden of Eden.  How many people has he seen fall off the proverbial bicycle since the world was created?

Matthew 26 reminds us that on the night of the betrayal, when Judas betrays Jesus and gets him arrested, that Jesus said to ALL the disciples (not just one of them, not just Judas):

Tonight, all of you will desert me.

We all remember Peter’s response to that, right? Oh no, not me!  I’m good.  Even if everyone else does.  I won’t.  I’ll be the man.  And in the garden, when Jesus is taken, Peter tries to live up to his word, taking out his sword and cutting off the ear of one of the soldiers.  I’m sure he’s flabbergasted when Jesus heals the ear!

But there was one lesson that Jesus hadn’t taught his disciples yet, and they needed to learn it the hard way – enough with parables and teaching. They needed to experience this first hand.

How do you handle failure?  What do you do in the face of fear?  

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what we are going to talk about next Sunday.

 

I want to leave you with one parting thought today from Teddy Roosevelt’s speech in 1910:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Let’s pray!

Sermon: Living with the Consequences

Beth - blogger, coach, consultantLeave a comment 
Lectionary: 2 Samuel 11:26 - 12:13

Last week I spoke about David’s adultery, conspiracy and murder, how he broke at least 4 of the 10 Commandments:

  • murder
  • adultery
  • theft
  • covetting your neighbour’s wife

Today I’d like to continue with the lessons that we can learn from David.

Now remember, it wasn’t that David was starved for female companionship. By this time as a wealthy king, he has many women: Ahinoam of Jezreel, Abigail the widow of Nabal, Maacah daughter of a king from Geshur (east of Galilee), Haggith, Abital, Eglah — that’s six while he was living in Hebron — and then “David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him” (5:13). In addition he has Saul’s concubines in his harem (12:8). So, don’t think that was the issue here!

I didn’t mention this last week, but some commentators have blamed Bathsheba, saying “she came without any hesitation and offered no resistance to his desires.”  hmmm…  The person with the power here is David, not Bathsheba, and in chapter 12 of Samuel, we find that David is held solely responsible for the sin by God (12:9).

At the beginning of this morning’s Reading, we see that after Bathsheba’s time of mourning has passed, David sends for her and makes her his wife.  This is nothing new for David – he’s added wives before, and so she is simply another.  But, for many, what David did was an act of heroism:  He has taken into his harem the poor, pregnant wife, widow of one of his fallen captains.   It was not unusual for a king to take a widow to wife immediately after the death of her husband. It was viewed as charitable, since the king would provide for her provisions and protection.

“Look at the way he stands behind his men!  If they are killed in battle, he will take care of their widows!  What a great King!”

Right?

The Bible clearly points out that this displeased God!

Since Adam & Eve sinned,we have attempted to cover it us.  We fall into guilt and estrangement from God and from our fellow man!  We are embarrassed by it, and we try to put our fig leaves in place to cover it up.  And when that fails, we hide!

Unlike Nixon, Clinton or even Martinelli, David seems to have gotten away with his shenanigans.  His cover-up was very effective and culturally appropriate.  No one is pointing the finger at him for what he had done.  And it looks like he’s gotten away with it.  A whole year has passed.  The baby has already been born…

But during this time, David is suffering from the guilt!  One of the Psalms written about how he felt during this period is Psalm 32:

… When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer.

But even though David knew what he had done was wrong, he still hadn’t dealt with it!  David knew the stress and agony of living a double, false life.

Even in his deceit, David was still leading the worship of Yahweh. You can imagine the tension going on inside of him. He was the judge of Israel. So, during that time God just wrings him dry. Until he is finally ready to face the real issues in his heart.

And so we read that God sends Nathan to speak with David.  We don’t know how long Nathan took to prepare this message, but his approach was nothing less than masterful!  He confronts David with his actions, brings him to acknowledgement and repentance, and stayed alive in the process!

Remember, David is the judge of Israel, and he has, so far, gotten away with murder and adultery… No one knows… and so he thinks he’s being told a real story, to pass judgement, when really, he’s being hung out to dry by his own tongue.

“There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor.  The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb 

A little ewe- remember – David was a shepherd, and had probably, at one stage, had his own little pet lamb. So he immediately identifies again with the poor man and this one little lamb.

I remember we had a pet lamb once, Mum & Dad named him LambChop… you can imagine my horror when I worked that one out!

and so, this poor man had bought and nourished this little ewe lamb; and it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, and was like a daughter to him.

it was dear to their hearts, something special, just like Cecil the lion…

and so the parrable goes that a traveler 

just a passing fancy, like a look over the parapet at a naked woman, no love, no commitment, just someone going by… a little like the dentist that just wanted to hang a great head on his Wall to boast to his friends about… until his next great hunt…  

came to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd, to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him; rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”

Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan,

“As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. And he must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.”

Most of us are umpires – we jump at the opportunity to call strikes on someone else.  It’s so easy to apply God’s standard to others – but we dodge its application on ourselves.  Isn’t it wonderful when you can find somebody who is worse than you?  You can vent upon them the spleen, the wrath, that you feel about yourself. That is exactly what David did.

He had been a shepherd. He had had a little ewe lamb. He knew what it was all about.  Then here was this totally callous person, this rich man with flocks and herds, who grabbed this poor little ewe lamb, all the poor fellow had, and took it for a wayfarer, not even for his mother-in-law or some important visitor.

He is pronouncing judgment on himself, and he doesn’t even realize it.  He’s strict about applying the law in THIS case!

And then, once he has him where he wanted him, Nathan comes in with the punchline:

“You are the man! 

Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. I also gaveyou your master’s house and your master’s wives into your care, 

Remember that harem I mentioned?

and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these!  Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. 

Notice, no mention is even made of Bathsheba – this is ALL on David!  You used treachery; You used deceit; and You used pagan enemies. Collatoral damage – all the men that Uriah was leading at the time… it wasn’t just one man on his conscience!

And yet Nathan says “you sinned against God”.  Why God? Because David failed to accept and believe God’s promises:

if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these!

What does repentence look like?  While it’s difficult to describe, it’s easy to recognise.  You know it when you see it!  And there is no mistaking it here with David:

I have sinned against the Lord!

That’s a short response.  No excuses. No qualifications.  Guilty as charged.  David didn’t say “well, we all mess up once in a while” or “well, I didn’t expect it to go that badly?” or “but I had legal permits for hunting a lion, I just didn’t realice it was Cecil… well, except that we tried to destroy the GPS tags”…

No, he takes full responsibility for everything, including the consequences.  Accepting responsibility is liberating. Yes, it’s hard to admit you were wrong. But it demonstrates strength, courage, and a commitment to personal excellence. It’s respectful. By doing so, you demonstrate that you care about yourself and others.

And David was forgiven!  He should have died for this, as he says in his own condemnation of the rich man!  But even though he will not die for his deeds, he still doesn’t get to escape the consecuences.  Unfortunately, many times, even though we have admitted our mistakes, we still have to live with the consequences.  Most of us think that God’s forgiveness is escaping the consequences, but that’s not usually the case. Even when we’ve admitted we’re wrong, there are often still consequences that we are going to have to live with.

And so we have Psalm 51:

  1. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your lovingkindness: according to the multitude of Your tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
  2. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
  3. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
  4. Against Three, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight: so You are justified when You speak, and are clear when You judge.
  5. …
  6. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part You make me to know wisdom.
  7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
  8. May be to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which You have broken may rejoice.
  9. Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
  10. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
  11. Cast me not away from Thy presnece; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
  12. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free Spirit.

This is why David is a man after God’s own heart!  Because he acknowledges, heartfully, when he has screwed up and offers true repentence!

The Invisible Hand of God…

Beth - blogger, coach, consultantLeave a comment

Just coincidence? Or hand of God?

Lectionary Readings:

  1. 2 Samuel 18:5–9, 15, 31–33
  2. Ephesians 4:25—5:2
  3. Psalm 130
  4. John 6:35, 41–51

A couple of years ago, I took it upon myself to read the Bible, from start to finish, SLOWLY.  Without any hurry.  Without trying to read 3 chapters a day and 5 on Sundays and finish within 12 months. Simply cruise through it slowly, and let it take as long as it takes…
Intent on reading it again for the first time.
Did I make it all the way through to Revelations yet? No… still chugging along, slowing. Getting side-tracked along the way. Enjoying the scenery and where the winding roads take me.

But, during this time, I re-read these verses from Samuel that we have in our lectionary today.
I wasn’t struck by the choices that David had to make between his public persona – King of Israel – and his private persona – father of Absalom.  I wasn’t moved by the grief of a father, upon hearing that his wayward son had been killed.  And I wasn’t even intrigued by whether Joab had done the right thing or not in slaying Absalom, the traitor.
No, the verse that caught my eye was 2 Samuel 18, verse 8.

… and the forest swallowed up more men that day than the sword.

At the end of Samuel we read, verse 31:

“… The Lord has vindicated you today by delivering you from the hand of all who rose up against you.”

But there is no mention made that God’s hand played a role in winning this battle.  I’m pretty sure that this wasn’t an “enchanted forest”, like the one in Lord of the Rings, where the trees talk, and walk around, and where vines reach out, tangling themselves around your legs, and pulling you to the ground.
There were probably just uneven ground, where horses would stumble, throwing their riders into oncoming immovable objects, broken branches, sharp as swords that would slice through you if you ran into them, vines and debris under foot that would cause you to stumble and fall.
And yet… all of this contributed to the defeat of Absalom’s army.  He outnumbered David’s men. He had the favour of the people.  He should have won…  but he was out-done by a forest.

And more than that, I find it particularly intriguing that David’s first instructions to his commanders was:

Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake.

We read in verse 9 of Absalom’s undoing:

He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s head got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in mid-air, while the mule he was riding kept on going.

Notice that even the tree followed David’s instructions: “Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake.”

Yes, Absalom was brought off his high horse, in the most humiliating way – hung out to dry by his pride and joy: his head of hair.  Ironic – The very source of his pride, brings about his down-fall.  (I wonder if the angels were laughing).

But he’s not killed by this – he’s killed by human hands.  By a person that takes the choice into their own hands to put an end, once and for all, of this rebellion.
So, was this all just coincidence?  Or was God’s hand directing the battle and the slipping banana skins under the rebel’s feet?

As I’ve said many times before, I find it so easy to find God in the woods and forest.  There I find it easy to sit, at peace, in solitude and quiet, and commune with God.  To hear the birds singing praise and odes to joy.  To listen to the quiet running of the streams and brooks.
But there’s a greater challenge:  We don’t live in the mountains.  I don’t always have time to get to Summit park or Parque Metropolitano, or better yet, further out of town and away from everything.
Monday to Friday I spend a good eight to ten hours a day confined inside an office, under fluorescent lighting.  No mountain vista, no deep oceans to contemplate, no soaring eagles to admire.

Where’s the supernatural in my life?
I haven’t seen any burning bushes like Moses.
I haven’t watched a wind come up and blow at gale force for a couple of hours, strong enough to move water out of the way, so that I can walk across on dry land and then when the wind stops the “tidal wave” that comes swelling back in as the water recovers its normal boundaries.

Just another mundane Monday morning?
So, maybe we need to start looking for God in the ordinary places.  A little closer to home, perhaps.

For me, as many of you know, the past few months have been fraught with health challenges.  To re-wind a little and give you the bigger picture:

  • For the past 10 years I have suffered from what I thought (mis-diagnosis it turns out!) from IBS – Irritable Bowel Syndrome. This was brought on by a horrid bout of food poisoning or Montesuma’s Revenge that I got in Nevis… yes, I can still vividly remember that night and the next day!
  • About 2 or 3 years ago I was diagnosed with Insulin Resistance, which is a common problem which plagues men & women, when they are accidentally starving their bodies from bad eating habits.  In order to ensure your body is getting the right amounts of sugars and not rapidly digested sugars, the doctor’s recommend a whole-wheat diet, with a switch over to whole-wheat pastas, bread, and cereals.  I learnt to eat on schedule, with controlled portion sizes and to avoid highly processed foods.
  • But about 5 weeks ago, after 5 years of trying to get pregnant to no avail (“assisted conception techiques”, 4 artificial inseminations, 2 in vitro), my doctor sent me to test for Coeliac Disease (allergy to gluten).  It turns out that’s exactly what I have.  Good-bye whole-grain pasta/bread/cereals.  Welcome back easy to digest carbohydrates…
  • So, after those positive results, I went in for an endoscopy, and the biopsy came back positive for little monsters: helicobacter pylori.  So, I was sent on a round of 15-days of antibiotics and treatment to kill my internal monsters.  The side-effects of these anti-biotics have drawn on every ounce of my strength to carry on.
  • One of the effects of helicobacter and Coelic Disease is that my iron reserve levels are through the floor and my B12 is almost non-existence. So, to add injury to insult, injections for 10 days.  I’m black and blue…

Even though I feel that I should know better, I couldn’t help but ask – WHERE is God in all of this?  Why am I being put through this?

I have felt totally like Absalom, hanging in a tree by my hair; knocked of my high horse, the one that has always enabled me and given me the strength to “push through” any obstacle along the way.
This time round, I have felt defeated.  I have felt that “I can’t go on”.

But the Spirit speaks to me and says “there’s a lesson to be learned here” – search for it.  And as I started looking, I fell across (as one usually does accidentally) the Hand of God in my health and well-being.  I was looking at the characteristics of vegetables & fruits, to see which ones would boost my immune system and which would rebuild my reserves of iron, B12, Omega 3, etc.

And I tripped over “The Doctrine of Signatures” – the relationship between us and God – how God placed a signature on each plant indicating what it was useful for.  Without realising it, I started reading articles on how the qualities of plants are often reflected by their appearance.
Is this just coincidence?

For example:

  • the seeds of skullcap – they resemble small skulls – and the herb is known to be effective in the treatment of brain and nervous system disorders.
  • The hollow stalk of the garlic – resembles our windpipe – useful for throat and bronchial problems.

There’s a whole area of science dedicated to “Teleological Nutritional Targeting”  – every whole food has a pattern that resembles a body organ or physiological function, and this pattern can indicate to us the benefit the food provides to us.

Here are a few better known examples, and some that may simply astound you:

  • Sliced carrot – resembles the human eye – the pupil, iris and radiating lines… and we all know that if you eat your carrots you’ll be able to see better in the dark!
  • Try some heart food!
  • Tomatos – with their four chambers and blood-red colour. They’re loaded with lycopine – essential for the functioning of the heart and blood.
  • Grapes – the cluster often resembles a heart, with each grape looking like a blood cell
  • Beetroot – excellent for cleansing the blood. A fantastic source of iron, helping you to produce haemoglobin
  • Need some brain stimulation?
    • Walnuts – open them up and there you have it: left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums.  These little nuts will help you develop more than 3 dozen neuro-transmitters for brain function
  • Having kidney problems?
    • Look no further than your kidney beans.
  • Need to strengthen your bones?
    • Bones are 23% sodium – and so are these food items that look a little like bones:
      • Celery
      • Bok choy
      • Rhubarb
  • Having female problems? How about looking for some vegetables that resemble the womb and cervix?
    • Avocado – interesting detail – it takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit!
    • Eggplant
    • Pears
  • Problems with your ovaries?
    • Try olives
  • Need to improve sperm count and mobility?
    • Try figs – they are full of seeds and hang in twos when growing.

You cannot imagine how the list continues…

This isn’t just a formula for healing – it’s a spiritual quest.  The expansion of our spiritual quest will lead us to a complete cure, if only we would listen and open our eyes to see.

If we would return to the study of plants, we would learn that they are so much more than just the nutritional attributes that we focus on.  They are each unique, created for a purpose, as only our Great Creator could have designed.
Coincidence? No.  I don’t think so.  Definitely the Hand of God!

It has been stated that this generation is the first to suffer from “Nature Deprivation Disorder” – a lack of regular, intentional interaction with nature is causing a definable syndrome in children and adults.  Perhaps we overlook the importance of creation in our understanding of God and ourselves.  When we look to nature, God’s handiwork is evident – order, variety, colour and even a sense of humour.

Throughout human history we have seen God’s reflection in nature. The same way that we can feel that we are at one with all creation, the creatures that walk the earth, the plants, and air, the water, and earth itself.  And most importantly, a Oneness with that Spirit which permeates all and binds all together and gives life to all – a Oneness with God.

Mis-quoting Emerson:

The happiest man is he who learns from nature the lesson of worship. The noblest ministry of nature is to stand as the apparition of God. It is the organ through which the Spirit speaks to the individual, and strives to lead back the individual to his Creator.

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the word of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard. … [1]

Job 12, verses 7 to 9 instructs us:

Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?

St. Francis of Assisi is rumoured to have said:

Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.

According to Genesis we were put on this earth to be its stewards – to look after it and care for it.  Nature is not independent of its Creator.  Each day, creation looks to God for provision: they seek their food from God.

Hosea has warned us:

Hear the word of the LORD, … because the LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying.”

How often have we failed in our responsibilities before God? Everything that we say & do affects the balance of the earth – the natural, the human and the supernatural.

The most important part of our example of our relation with the Creator is in our actions.  What we have learnt will be reflected in what we do: how we live our lives, day to day.

Our reading from Ephesians provides us with some solid instructions to show that we have a special relationship with our Creator – that we allow the Spirit to control our lives:

Don’t grieve God – don’t break His heart.  The Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life. Don’t take this gift for granted.

  1. Suddenly you will find, you are walking in the Spirit – and this means no more lies, no more pretences. We are all connected to each other. Tell your neighbour/brother/sister/work-mate the truth –When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.
  2. Watch carefully the way you talk. Let nothing cruel, degrading, hurtful or dirty come out of your mouth.  Instead – say only what helps.  Each word out of your mouth should be a gift; gentle & sensitive
  3. Go ahead and be angry – but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. Don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. You have to let it go.  Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God, in Christ, forgave you.

[1] Psalms 19

Do you not know? Have you not heard?

Beth - blogger, coach, consultantLeave a comment

Lectionary Readings:

1-    Isaiah 40: 21-31
2-    Mark 1: 29-39
3-    1 Corinthians 9: 16-23
4-    Psalms 147

Once upon a time, there was a man who groaned within himself:

My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”. [1]

And to this man we reply fervently:
Don’t lose hope!

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.[2]

“Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.[3]“

From time immemorial man has faced 3 great questions: [4]

  1. Does God even exist?
  2. And if God does exist, then what is His nature?
  3. Does God love me?  Is God a personal god? Does God care for me?

Man has sought to answer these questions by examining the nature of the universe and life as we know it.

Paul says in Acts that God has not left us without clues, in that He did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.[5]  And then in Romans:  even though His eternal power and divine nature may be invisible, they have been understood and seen through the things He has made ever since the creation of the world.[6]  The truth of creation expresses the thought that everything existing outside of God has been called into existence by Him.

Does God exist?

Consider the heavens, and poetic way in which David describes God’s existence:

When I consider the heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained[7]

No… forget the poetry…

Think of the cold hard facts:  the complexity of the balance of life points to a deliberate Designer that sustains our Universe.  Astro-physicist Robert Jastrow, a self-described agnostic, stated (when discussing the Big Bang Theory): [8]

“The seed of everything that has happened in the Universe was planted in that first instant; every star, every planet and every living creature in the Universe came into being as a result of events that were set in motion in the moment of the cosmic explosion…The Universe flashed into being, and we cannot find out what caused that to happen.”

We live on earth, whose size is perfect, such that our gravity is exactly right to hold a thin layer of nitrogen and oxygen that only extends about 50 miles around the Earth’s surface.[9]  A little smaller, and no atmosphere, a little larger and the hydrogen would be free.  For some peculiar reason, Earth is the only known planet equipped with the right mixture of gases to sustain plant, animal and human life.

And consider our distance from the sun – any further away, and we would be freezing.  Any closer, and Earth would burn up.  And yet somehow, we remain the perfect distance from the sun, while rotating at a speed of nearly 67,000 mph.  Add to that the complexity of the rotation on our axis, so that we have day and night, heating and cooling all sides of the planet.

How about the moon, and its gravitational pull, creating ocean tides and movement?  No tides – and there would just be stagnant water.  Had you considered that?  And yet if there wasn’t the ebb and flow of gravitation, the oceans would overflow onto land.

When the Apostle Paul set foot in Athens he said to those assembled there:

“As I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘To an unknown God.’ What you worship as unknown, I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, is Lord of heaven and earth…” [10]

Jeremiah proclaimed:

Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.[11]

This is the God that made the earth by His power and wisdom, and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.[12]

Now, consider that liquid that forms more than 2/3rds of the human body, and most of the world’s surface: “WATER”.[13]  Both David and Jeremiah tell us that God makes the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he makes lightning for the rain, and brings the wind out of His treasuries.[14]

Without water, nothing can survive: plants, animals or humans.  It’s colourless, odourless and has no particular taste.  With an unusually high boiling point and freezing point, even though it is an integral part of our body and cell-structure, we are able to stay at 37 degrees (Celsius).  And this water, an integral part of our blood, carries food, medicines and minerals through our body to be absorbed and used.

And here are some more interesting facts about water:[15]

  1. Because of its unique surface tension, it is able to flow upwards in plants, against gravity, and taken life-giving water and nutrients to the top of trees.
  2. It freezes from the top down, and when frozen it floats – so fish can still live under the ice during winter.
  3. Most of our water is in the oceans: salt water.  But it evaporates, forming clouds, and is then distributed throughout the world in clouds that disperse the water over land, plants, animals and people.  This system of purification and supply sustains life on this planet Earth – recycling at its most basic and essential form.

The writers of the Bible had noticed all of this, and commented:

All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full…[16]

God makes the drops of water; they pour down rain according the evaporation, which the clouds then drop and cleanse man with abundantly.[17]

“You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. The grasslands of the desert overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing.[18]“

Scientists have discovered laws of nature that never change. But why is the universe so orderly, so reliable?  Why should the Universe obey rules, let alone abide by the rules of mathematics?  Why doesn’t our Universe have conditions which change unpredictably from moment to moment? Why is it even mathematical?[19]

At the beginning of the 20th Century, many of the laws of nature and physics had been described so successfully that many scientists felt that all that remained were just a few final decimal places.[20]  Isaac Newton had described the laws of motion and gravity, Maxwell the laws of electromagnetism.  The small anomalies were ignored or unrecognised by the physics community.

And then along can Albert Einstein, with this theory of relativity, in 1905. This theory shocked the scientific community – it was a staggering new view of space, time, matter and energy.[21]  Einstein’s theories revealed that the flow of time & the structure of space were relative to the velocity, mass and acceleration of their observers:  their observed values were actually fixed, they were relative to each other.  Einstein was able to show that time was not merely a mental contrivance of man:  it is a physical property of the universe and that rate of time that flows depends entirely on the physical conditions present where you are measuring the time.  Space and time were somehow connected.

Imagine, then, several years later, the shockwave that was felt throughout the scientific community when the astronomer Willem de Sitter found a small error in Einstein’s equations – and when he corrected this error he suddenly discovered that the Universe was finite![22]  Space, time, matter and energy had a beginning.

The prophet Amos tells us:

Seek Him that makes the seven stars and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night: that calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth: the LORD is His name.[23]

The law of cause and effect states that the cause is always greater than its effect.[24]  This being true, our God – Creator of the Sun, the moon and stars – must have more power and energy that the Sun and all the stars together combined.  Our Creator is more powerful than all of the energy stored in all of the stars in all the galaxies of the entire Universe.  Are you starting to get an idea of how powerful our God is?

He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; He suspends the earth over nothing. He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight. He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it. The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at His rebuke. By His power He churned up the sea…. By His breath the skies become fair…. And these are but the outer fringe of His works; how faint the whisper we hear of Him! How then can we understand the thunder of His power?” [25]

The earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made…for he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded and it stood forth.[26]

So, if that is God, why do we need Jesus?

We need Jesus, because He shows us that God, while omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, is gentle, loving, aware of our self-centeredness and shortcomings, and wants to be a personal God.[27]  We need Jesus to teach us about the personal God and the relationship that we can EACH have with this all-consuming fire and energy of life and knowledge.   That we have forgiveness for all of our sins, short-comings and hang-ups.

And we also learn from Jesus that every morning is a new day and a new opportunity to spend time with the Creator.  We read in Mark this morning:

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.[28]

Some of our most vivid encounters with our Creator will be when we are alone with Him, surrounded by His Creation!  We need to know the God of the forest, the God of the hills, the valleys, the rivers and the oceans.  The Spirit of Peace finds us in that quiet place of contemplation. Creation can teach us constant awareness of our Creator and reverence for Him.[29]

Have you ever noticed how birds praise their creator, first thing in the morning?  When you wake up, you can hear them singing their hearts out – praising God.  (You know the one I’m talking about – that annoying little bird that at 5.30 a.m., before you’re really ready to get up and face the day, is sitting outside your window jabbering and singing and saying “Hallelujah” – and you just want to throw a shoe at it! Yeah! That bird! That song!) Thanking God for another day.  Joyful and energetic.  After they have sung their praises, then they go about the business of getting some food, building their nest, collecting twigs or whatever they need.  But first, they sing praise to God the Designer, Artist, Architect, Engineer, and Life-giver.  We each need to take time to meditate daily about our Maker.

Isaiah 40: 26 reminds us:

Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things …

When we take that moment to meditate on our Creator, we will see His nature more clearly:

Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all the depths; fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling His word; mountains and all hills; fruitful trees and all cedars; beasts and all cattle; creeping things and flying fowl; kings of the earth and all peoples; princes and all judges of the earth; both young men and maidens; old men and children.[30]

When I look at the beauty in a forest, I see that every one of God’s creatures is a masterpiece. From the ant or caterpillar crawling along a twig, to a panther, lion or elephant – each is unique, beautiful, bringing harmony and balance to the forest, with careful attention to detail, precision, accuracy, and symmetry.  Notice the variety of each species! Everything has its purpose and fits harmoniously into earth’s web of life. Even the bugs and flies have a purpose.
And yet, the Bible reminds me: I have a special value!  I am special!

Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?[31]

Creation also teaches us to take care of God’s property:[32]  Genesis says that we were put here to tend and keep God’s garden!  Our Creator is the owner – we are the stewards and caretakers.

A righteous man regards the life of his animal.[33]

And there are even rules in the Bible about cutting down trees![34]

When in your war against a city, you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees, wielding the ax against them. You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down.
Are trees of the field human to withdraw before you into a besieged city?
Only trees that you know do not yield food may be destroyed; you may cut them down for constructing siege works against the city that is waging war on you, until it has been reduced. [35]

If we paid a little more attention to the instruction manual we’d received regarding our relationship with God and His creation, we might have a few less problems.

And finally, creation teaches us that our Creator knows best[36] – we need to look to Him for help and healing and to solve every problem.  When we are feeling down and neglected, and our rights disregarded, we are promised:

He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.[37]

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.[38]

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.[39]

For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is His also. The sea is His, and He made it: and His hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.[40]

[1] Isaiah 40: 27
[2] Isaiah 40: 28
[3] Job 12:7-10
[4] Mark EASTMAN, M.D. “Science & the Bible: Cosmos & Creator” http://www.khouse.org/articles/1999/233/
[5] Acts 14:17
[6] Romans 1:20
[7] Psalms 8:3
[8] Robert Jastrow; “Message from Professor Robert Jastrow”; LeaderU.com; 2002. Quoted in Marilyn Adamson “Is there a God?” http://www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html
[9] Marilyn Adamson “Is there a God?” http://www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html
[10] Acts 17:23-24
[11] Jeremiah 32:17
[12] Jeremiah 51:15
[13] Marilyn Adamson “Is there a God?” http://www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html
[14] Psalms 135:7; Jeremiah 51:16
[15] Marilyn Adamson http://www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html
[16] Ecclesiastes 1:7
[17] Job 36:27-28
[18] Psalm 65:9-13
[19] Marilyn Adamson  http://www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html
[20] Mark EASTMAN, M.D. http://www.khouse.org/articles/1999/233/
[21] Mark EASTMAN, M.D. http://www.khouse.org/articles/1999/233/
[22] Mark EASTMAN, M.D. http://www.khouse.org/articles/1999/233/
[23] Amos 5:8
[24] Mark EASTMAN, M.D. http://www.khouse.org/articles/1999/233/
[25] Job 26:7-9, 11-14
[26] Psalms 33:5-6, 9
[27] Marilyn Adamson  http://www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html
[28] Mark 1: 35
[29] “Crucial Lessons from knowing God is our Creator” http://www.freebiblestudyguides.org/bible-teachings/God-crucial-lessons-knowing-our-creator.htm
[30] Psalm 148:7-12
[31] Luke 12:24
[32] “Crucial Lessons from knowing God is our Creator” http://www.freebiblestudyguides.org/bible-teachings/God-crucial-lessons-knowing-our-creator.htm
[33] Proverbs 12:10
[34] “The Jewish Way to Wage War: War & Peace in Judaism” http://judaism.about.com/library/3_intro/level2/bl_war.htm
[35]Deuteronomy 20:19-20
[36]http://www.freebiblestudyguides.org/bible-teachings/God-crucial-lessons-knowing-our-creator.htm
[37] Psalms 147:3
[38] Matthew 7:7
[39]Isaiah 40: 28-31
[40] Psalm 95: 3-6

choose life, thy will be done, have it your way, doubting God, painful trial, you are suffering, rejoice, overjoyed, god, goddess, dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, energy, joy, wisdom, love, boundless power, mere human beings, God has been making it grow, earthly life, all religions are true, a better Christian, child of God, relationship with God, personal transformation, eternal life, gift of forgiveness, omnipotent, onmiscient, ever-present God, no other gods, loving God, walking in His ways

Choose life

Beth - blogger, coach, consultantLeave a comment

C.S. Lewis said:

“There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, “All right, then, have it your way”. ”

For those of us who have a hard time saying “Thy will be done” C.S. Lewis identifies:

We may be thinking about those verses in 1 Peter chapters 4 & 5 that say:  “Beloved, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering… but rejoice that you participate in the sufferings… so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.”  “… those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.”   “and the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Chris, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself make you perfect, strong, firm and steadfast.”

C.S. Lewis goes on to say:

“If we let Him–…we can prevent Him, if we choose–He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less.”

cslewisOur 4 lectionary readings have a common theme: they demonstrate to us how simple and yet profound the choice presented in the Bible is.

1st Corinthians 3, verses 3 to 7:

You are still worldly.  For since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly?  Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says “I follow Paul” and another “I follow Apollos” are you not mere human beings?  What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? … I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.  So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

We are not to get caught up this earthly life, or on whose teachings we follow, who is right or wrong.

Gandhi said:

“all religions are true … So we can only pray, if we are Hindus, not that a Christian should become a Hindu … But our innermost prayer should be (that) a Hindu should be a better Hindu, a Muslim a better Muslim, a Christian a better Christian.”

Spiritual maturity is being able to admit “God makes me grow” – not what I do. I am not “trying” to become a “child of God”: I already am a child of God. We have all been redeemed and bought with a price.  Our objective is not to win salvation; our objective is to become more Christ-like.  As my relationship with God evolves, I realise that salvation, sanctification and justification is about personal transformation.  I am not looking forward to eternal life when I die: eternal life began the day that I accepted God’s free gift of forgiveness.

But, am I allowing God to work in me or holding Him back?  Do I love myself and God enough to become a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as I cannot now imagine? Or am I caught up in this world?

In my adventure of getting to know the omnipotent, omniscient, ever-present God, Deuteronomy 30: verses 15 to 20 sheds light on my relationship with God.  Deuteronomy means “the second giving of the law.” In this Book, Moses repeats the law of God for those who will cross the Jordan into the Promised Land.

If you recall, before going up Mount Sinai to receive the 10 Commandments, Moses challenged the Children of Israel with the basic rules. Exodus 23:25 “Worship the Lord your God and His blessing will be on your food and water.  I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land.  I will give a full life span.”  And so, in Exodus 24: 3: “they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said, we will do.”

A couple of days later, while Moses is up on Mount Sinai getting the 10 Commandments, these same people ask Aaron to make them the golden calf.  Who here can honestly say they’ve never done this? “Everything the Lord has said, we will do” except for the “no other gods”, or whatever your favourite exception is.  We promise God one thing, and days later have completely failed.

So, here we have Moses, in Deuteronomy 30, repeating the law of God to the new generation; he offers them a choice:

See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.  For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commands, decrees and laws… This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life, that you and your children may live, and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to Him.  For the Lord is your life…

This passage is about my relationship with God, not about material prosperity. No magic formula for worldly success.  Nor was this was some “altar call”.  This was a call to surrender, each new morning, to Him.  “Choose life” refers to loving God, hearing Him, walking in His ways, keeping His torah, holding fast to Him and not going astray (each morning, each moment of each day).  It’s a radical difference – a life-style choice.

Psalms 119, verses 1 to 8 remind us.

1-     Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.

2-    Blessed are they who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart.

3-    They do nothing wrong; they walk in His ways.

4-   You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.

5-    Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!

6-    Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.

7-    I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws.

8-    I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.

Even David, a man after God’s own heart, admits that he is NOT perfect in obeying God’s decrees.  He feels put to shame when he considers God’s commands.  “I’d love to say I am obeying fully, but I’m messing up”.  If we are truly honest with ourselves, obeying God’s Word is challenging.  It’s a very high standard!  The Bible is the mirror in which we see our own inadequacies.

David admits he’s still learning God’s law, and finishes with “I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.”  Don’t give up on me God; I’m going to keep on trying.  We know David had some serious slip-ups in keeping God’s commandments.

He coveted his neighbour’s wife.

He committed murder.

So, how is it that he’s the man after God’s own heart? Well, firstly, although he obviously went through a period of rebellion (more than just a couple of months… maybe more than a year). He was far, far from God.  Yet, when Nathan confronts him, he repents.  There is true remorse, grief and shame.  There is a certain tenderness that comes with this repentance.  Surrender.

We see it again in Peter, who rejecting Christ 3 times, realises his rejection and rebellion, and goes out weeping bitterly.  Somehow, having reached the bottom, Peter was able to put aside his pride, accept Jesus’ forgiveness: was able to bow down and surrender.

Sai Baba said:

“Give up all bad qualities in you, banish the ego and develop the spirit of surrender.”

As a child of God, in our walk to become more Christ-like, we have to understand the importance of the spirit of surrender to God:  “Choosing life.”

Jesus makes it clear, in the sermon on the mount, that it’s not about legalistic fulfilment of the law.

It’s not enough just to know the law.  Last week we read: “let your righteousness surpass that of the Pharisees”.  Pharisees followed the letter of the law; even added a few for good measure. What have we humans done with God’s law?

Let’s see:

The Law of Moses established that we should fulfil our oaths:  Human interpretation says: “if I don’t make an oath, I don’t exactly have to tell the truth”.

Likewise, with respect to divorce:  what was “objectionable” enough about a woman to warrant divorce?  There were different views between various rabbinic schools:

One said:  A man may not divorce his wife unless he has found unchastity in her, for it is written, Because he hath found in her indecency in anything.

Another said: [He may divorce her] even if she spoiled a dish for him, for it is written: Because he hath found in her indecency in anything.

And yet another: Even if he found another fairer than she, for it is written (and this translation is a little more liberal than “because he had found in her indecency in anything), And it shall be if she find no favour in his eyes.”

And so Jesus explains that the true meaning of the law is to honour God, not just with your actions, but also with your thoughts, your motives and your attitudes.  What does it mean to “Choose Life”? Even Gandhi taught:

Before the throne of the Almighty, man will be judged not by his acts, but by his intentions.  For God alone reads our hearts.

These rules from the Sermon on the Mount are deeper and more personal than the laws of any country.  It delves deep into the innermost part of man, where only God sees.

We may think that our “thought life” is our own, hidden from others.  We indulge in “my thoughts” –save a little space, some room, for us to live in our little indulgences.  This hypocrisy of a secret thought life! – One way on the inside and another on the outside – This deep corruption and confusion is not “choosing life”.

We see another example of this when Jesus rebukes us for holding onto our anger, rather than choosing the higher way.   What do I choose to do with my anger?  Do I deal with it?  Buddhist teachings warn:

“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; while holding it, you’re getting burned.”

Jesus says there is no real point in priding myself on the fact that I have never actually killed someone. Why? Well, because unresolved anger leads us to sin: saying “Raca” (empty head) or “you fool” (moron) – My angry, thoughtless words KILL my relationships, chipping away at the trust and love.

Jesus values our earthly relationships – important enough that he says we should leave worshipping God and go and make things right with our neighbour or brother.  We are to actively seek reconciliation.

True happiness and fulfilment comes from putting our relationship with God right and then our relationships with all of those around us.

Sai Baba says:  “Once we surrender our mind to GOD completely, HE will take care of us in every way.”

How do I really put into practice, in all aspects of my life, the grace that I have received, living a life of righteousness and holiness before God?  How do I “do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God”?  I “know” (head knowledge) it means to desire Him above all else: He demands first place in my life.  No half-hearted or part-time love: “just Sunday mornings.”

Much like Christ says in the gospels to the young rich ruler:  No one is good except one–God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not give false testimony,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and mother.’”  The young ruler said to him, “Teacher, I have observed all these things from my youth.”
Jesus looking at him loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack. Go, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, taking up the cross.”

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen “choices” in the Bible.  Genesis: starts with the exercise of free will.  We can choose to eat the forbidden fruit or not – our eyes will be opened: but… will we like what we see?

Augustine said:

“When people choose to withdraw far from a fire, the fire continues to give warmth, but they grow cold.  When people choose to withdraw far from light, the light continues to be bright in itself but they are in darkness.  This is also the case when people withdraw from God.”

God doesn’t want me to pick and choose when I will love him, or under what conditions.  I am to Love God with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength.

I’m happy to be a Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet lapping up all the teachings.  I enthralled by His teachings.  But that’s not enough: how do I let go of earthly things, daily struggles, and become a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as I cannot now imagine?

If I loved God, really, truly, loved HIM, I wouldn’t have any problem keeping His commandments; I would have complete faith in Him and His Word, put absolute trust in Him.  I’d allow Him to guide me, not snatch the reigns back when things get tough.  I would surrender all and trust Him, be filled with His light, and let it shine through me into the lives of others around me.

We know (head knowledge) that “things” cannot give us life – they don’t satisfy the inner longing of our soul.  No harm in trying, right? And so, like the rich young ruler, we distance ourselves from God, putting our trust in our “security”.

True righteousness is more than just legal or external obedience.  It’s not about seeing how much I can “get away with” and still be considered “righteous”.  Wrong-doing arises because of the mind.  But if my mind is transformed, wrong-doing has no place to live.  God’s righteousness is concerned with His “shalom” – well-being, peace and harmony.  This is His righteousness: a peaceful, life-giving relationship with God.  I want, this day, to choose life.

And so, as C.S. Lewis said:

“He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly … His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less.”

And so, I repeat:

So, as you walk out of here today, which of the 2 types of people do you choose to be?

Those that say to God: “I choose to surrender and banish my ego. I trust you to do the best for me and to give me the strength I need for whatever You have in store, however painful the growth process may be. I want to become more Christ-like. Thy will be done.”

Or those to whom our Father in heaven, with great sadness in His heart says, like as to the rich young ruler, “All right then, have it your way”.

Remember: When we lose God, it’s not God who gets lost.

does your religion forget god, power of God, power of the divine, divine presence, practising the power of divine in our life, ignoring those who need help

Does your religion forget God?

Beth - blogger, coach, consultantLeave a comment

“Does your religion forget God?”

As I stand up here this morning, I am reminded about why Jeremiah said to God “I don’t know how to speak; I am only a child”.  Well, maybe not a child, but Mum & Dad are sitting in the congregation listening, and I feel like a child. Are they going to like what I said? What are they going to say in the car on the way home?

Like Jeremiah, I feel that there is something important to share this morning, for the strengthening, encouragement and comfort of each one of you.  So, with some fear and trembling, I dare to ask “Does your religion forget God?”

When I read Luke 13: 10-17, titled: A Crippled Woman Healed on the Sabbath, I wonder whether I am the crippled woman or the Synagogue ruler.

For a moment, I want to consider the crippled woman.  Luke tells us:

  • She was crippled by a spirit (other translations mentions that it was a spirit of illness or infirmity).  This doesn’t mean demon possession: it’s more like the torment that Job endured when Satan afflicted his body.
  • For 18 years she’s been suffering!
  • She’s bent over, unable to straighten up – Now, If you get Ankylosing Spondylitis (a chronic progressive form of arthritis distinguished by inflammation and stiffness) today’s medicine can relieve the pain, but not actually cure the condition.
  • She was in the synagogue on the Sabbath
  • Finally, she was standing somewhere at the back, because Jesus had to call her forward.

I wonder how this spirit of illness attached itself to her: did it start attacking her slowly, surreptitiously, taking over her health a little at a time, so that she didn’t notice it at first?  Or did it crash in and knock her over and out, that she was overpowered and unable to fight back? For 18 years, she lived with this condition, probably in reluctant acceptance… something uncomfortable, but irreversible.

Sighing: “Oh well, this is my lot in life, I’ll just have to live with it”.

“It’s been this way for so long, I’ve learnt to live with it. In fact, I’m almost beginning to notice the benefits of this condition: SEE – I have a really good view of the floor for sweeping and mopping, it’s easy to do the laundry and the washing, I can pick up the kids clothes and toys easily, I don’t bump my head much on the low-handing doors or cupboards, preparing the food over the wood fire is effortless, and all the rest of the household chores are easily handled from here. I know I shouldn’t complain: there are a lot of others that are much worse off than me.  Overall, I’d say I’m doing pretty well: But, sometimes I wonder what the blue sky looks like, and I miss seeing rainbows.”

Is that why she wasn’t rushing to ask Jesus to heal her?  Had she lost hope, over the 18 years?  Maybe she’d prayed about it, when she was first afflicted by the pain and the spirit of illness, but there was no answer, and she decided that God was much too busy with other people and other problems and hers was just a little problem.

While there is the possibility that she relished her infirmity and felt that she was better than others, or she enjoyed feeling sorry for herself, I don’t think this was her view.  Given her reaction to the healing, “she straightened up and praised God”, I think she’d given up hope, but there was just that tiny, small, almost unspoken wish, that MAYBE, just maybe, Jesus will notice me and say or do something.  Maybe she was too scared or nervous or ashamed to ask for healing or speak to Jesus.

What we know is that she had the courage to step up and come forward.  When Jesus called her, not knowing whether he would call her to bless her, to question her, to rebuke her, or to speak with her, she came forward.  What do I do when Jesus asks me to step forward?  Do I cower in the background, hoping he’s talking to someone else?  Do I hide behind another?  Or do I walk forward to receive his Word and his healing touch?    What do you do when Jesus speaks to you?  Do you even realise that it is Jesus speaking?  Or think, “oh, he’s talking to someone else”?

Or maybe you’re so overcome by the problem, the weight on your shoulders, your human condition that you can’t drag yourself into Church.  And you say to yourself, I went to Church last week, and he wasn’t there and he didn’t talk to me, so why’s it going to be any different this week?  Are you busy looking at the earth? Stooped over? Looking down, instead of looking up?  Are your eyes fixed on God or on your own condition and its results?

Let’s have a look at the Synagogue ruler:

We know that he was INDIGNANT about Jesus healing on the Sabbath.  I remember reading somewhere that righteous indignation is usually 1% righteous and 99% indignation.  He’s so indignant, in fact, that he doesn’t even address Jesus and directs his speech to those present: “There are 6 days for work: so come and be healed on THOSE days, not on the Sabbath.”  Was the synagogue ruler right?  We know that the rules about the Sabbath are repeated or clarified 12 times throughout Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Exodus 20 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.  On it you shall not do any work…”  Exodus 23 “ … so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the slave born in your household… may be refreshed.”  Chapter 34: “… you shall rest; even during the ploughing season and harvest you must rest.”  And Exodus 35:  “Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”  In Leviticus 23: “a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly.  You are not to do any work; wherever you live…”  In Numbers we read of a man found collecting fire wood on the Sabbath, who Moses had stoned outside the camp, “as the Lord commanded Moses”.   This was SERIOUS!  The Sabbath was to be kept holy, set apart for God.

But the real nitty gritty rules, how to put it into practice, were rules made by man (yes, probably the lawyers)… These clarified that “rest” meant you couldn’t walk more than about 1.5 km from your home, but if you left food for 2 meals at the 1.5 km mark, you could walk another 1.5 km on from that point, since it was now your “dwelling”.

And yet we also find in the Bible, exceptions to this rule:

  • Leviticus 24:5-9 – the Levites were to present to God fresh bread EACH day, including on the Sabbath, for which they were to light fires and cook, even on the Sabbath.
  • In John 7, verses 22 and 23 we find that it was acceptable for a baby boy to be circumcised on the Sabbath
  • And in Matthew 12 we read that if a sheep falls into a pit, any owner would pull it out.

The Mischnic tractate “Sabbath” has precise definitions for the purpose of determining what was allowable and not allowable on the Sabbath.  And I’m sure that the synagogue ruler had memorised them all!   We all know his kind: they’ve been in and around churches for decades.  He doesn’t see this healing as an “act of God”, but rather a natural act of healing (that somehow must therefore be work).  How much criticism, condemnation is there in churches, excluding the possibility that it is God working the miracle, healing, restoration or freedom from bondage?

So, we have the crippled woman and the synagogue leader; now let’s have a look at Jesus:

I find it curious that the woman was not up the front, looking to get healed.  Jesus singled her out of the crowd, and called her forward.  He must have known that this was going to get a rise and reaction out the Pharisees, scribes or other synagogue leaders.  I believe he was taking the opportunity not just to heal her, but to bring restoration as well by confronting a problem.

The synagogue leader plays right into his hands and overreacts.  Just when the woman is praising God (not Jesus, but God), the synagogue leader steps up and tells everyone that the healing services in this church will only be held from Sunday through Fridays. “There won’t be any healing services held on the Sabbath. It’s NOT God’s will that anyone be healed on the Sabbath.”

And so Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, that same Lord that has already said previously in another synagogue and to another group of Pharisees that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath, confronts him with:  “You hypocrites!”

I don’t know about you, but I might be a little embarrassed, maybe even a little offended!  I’m standing in MY synagogue, in front of MY friends and cronies, I’m the big fish in this little pond, and this guy (that I probably hadn’t even invited to come and teach) steps up to the microphone, takes over the teaching, and on top of that calls this woman forward from the back, who is OBVIOUSLY a sinner, (in case you hadn’t heard, she’s crippled by a SPIRIT), and he heals her, ON THE SABBATH.

To make matters even worse, Jesus insinuates that this woman has as MUCH right as I do to salvation and freedom?  He categorically states that she is a daughter of Abraham!  As if she was somehow at the same level as the sons of Abraham.

Without mincing his words, Jesus asks if this woman, whom SATAN (not herself through her sin) has kept bound for 18 long years, doesn’t have the right to be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?  (I’m sure the synagogue ruler wanted to say: “Well, maybe, but Not in MY church!”).

So, I come back to the question that I started with:  Does your religion forget God?

The 10 Commandments, they start with “You shall have no other gods before me” and “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything…”.  I’m certain that the synagogue leader firmly believed that he had no idols or any other gods.  He knew the laws and followed them religiously.  And I imagine that in the crippled woman’s house, we would have found no idols or other images.

And yet, in a way, each of them had something that held their attention, that defined them:

  • The woman was burdened, weighed down under the circumstances of her life.  She was living in defeat, possibly sapped on strength and vitality.   I imagine she felt like an outcast, maybe a hunchback, and probably in pain.  Probably the vertebrae of her spine were fused together.  And so, she’s come to accept this bondage – she accepts her condition.  She forgets that God is over and above all, even though she still somehow clings to that slender thread of belief that somehow, in the synagogue, she will still find the answers.  But she has given-in; she’s no longer asking God to be bigger than the problem.  The problem is obviously bigger than God.
  • The synagogue leader, on the other hand, has a god or idol that is much easier to identify (at whom we can point the finger): his ego, his knowledge of the scriptures, ME, ME, ME.  I AM.  I KNOW, I OBEY, I FOLLOW. He wants to keep control of the synagogue: he wants everyone to obey and follow the law the way he does. His way.

And just because we don’t assist religious temples dedicated to nonexistent deities, we think we are free from idolatry as well.  Our biggest idol, in secular society today, is what encourages us to worship ourselves:  greed, jealousy, self-indulgence, selfishness, pleasure, pride, arrogance, injustice, self-pity, hate, anger, and such like.  We work for money, for pleasure, for power, for importance, for a sense of self-worth or self-importance.   Our lives are centred and revolve around ME, MY FAMILY, MY JOB, MY CAREER, MY FEELINGS, MY SALARY, MY RAISE, MY REPUTATION, MY IMPORTANCE, MY EFFORTS, MY HOUSE, MY DECISIONS, MY WAY… and even go so far as to be about MY GOOD WORKS, MY MISSIONS EFFORTS, MY CONTRIBUTIONS, MY INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE, MY WALK OF FAITH, MY SUFFERING, and so on.

How far is my religion from actually loving and serving the Almighty God?  What do I need to be freed from, like this woman, to be like Jeremiah and accept that before God formed me in the womb, He KNEW me and set me apart for a special purpose even before I was born?  Am I living in the freedom that I have through the salvation of Christ Jesus?  Or am I still focused on the idols or bondage and burdens of my life?  Am I fulfilling my calling in Colossians 3: 12-15:  “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience; forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord as forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body.  And be thankful.”

From personal experience I can tell you that when I started to examine my life, and identify those IDOLS that I put ahead and are more important than God, it startled me.  There were the obvious idols: my ego and pride, my career as a lawyer, my intellect, my achievements, my relationships… Susy (my Chihuahua) – on a pedestal of love.  My finances and my business – because we all know, my professional life and my relationship with God are mutually exclusive, right?  God is for Sundays and devotional time each morning or evening, and then from 8 to 5 I work and am a professional.  There’s no reason for the two to overlap or meet!  I tithe my money to the Church, and what I do with the rest of it is mine to decide, right? What does Christ mean he wants to be Lord of ALL?

On the one hand, I know that Jesus came to bring liberty to the captives and healing to the sick, as well as to save each man from sin.  He wants us to be His followers.  But, for some reason, we overlook that this means a radical life-changing experience.  Galatians 3:3 warns all Christians not to be foolish “… After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” The Holy Spirit was sent to help us, so that we wouldn’t rely on our human effort alone, becoming self-centred.

God asks us to put HIM first, Lord of ALL… we are each faced with a decision: Do I trust God enough to hand over my business? Do I really trust Him? Who is God that I should trust Him?  What does it really mean to hand over my life, my finances and business to God?

This life-changing decision is now about asking God for His opinion and His permission, and there is no longer any sphere or area of life which is exclusively MINE, where God doesn’t have a part!  It means that before I go to work each day, I put the day before Him in prayer and ask Him for His strength and guidance, rather than depending on my own wisdom.  I must have the courage to do things differently: look at problems, issues and people from His perspective, not mine.

When we decide to put God first in our lives, as Jesus would have us do, we realise that it’s no longer MY synagogue, or MY burdens and bondage, but that we are to live under HIS freedom.  We are to show His love to every man, woman or child, not just those that we believe deserve it or are entitled to it. He is an equal opportunity freedom fighter.

Jesus knows that it’s not ONLY our possessions that may get in the way of our relationship with God, but also our self-pity, our sense of self-worth, our hopelessness, our piousness, our knowledge and human intellect.

At the end of the day, Jesus is looking for all of us to accept His deliverance, to have a new identity, and to give the praise to whom it is really due: to God, as the crippled woman did and those that saw her healing.  Having a personal relationship with Jesus, being His follower, means living in freedom from bondage and trusting in Him, so that it is no longer I (or me) but Christ working through me. He would have us all say, as we did in our prayer of confession at the beginning of the service, with the security that we trust Him in every area of our lives:

In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me.  Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. For you have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.  From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you.  (Psalms 71: 1-6)

A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.
A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.