Contemplative Bible Reading

Nehemiah 13:31b

Remember me, O my God, for good.

Nehemiah prayed often. Sometimes about big things and sometimes about little things. One of the lessons I learned from Nehemiah is that with God there are probably fewer little and big things than there are with me.

One of the prayers Nehemiah says several times is that given above.

Please God, remember me; please God, bless me.

Brief, clear, powerful.

James 4:13-16 (New Living Translation)

¹³ Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” ¹⁴ How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. ¹⁵ What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.

My grandmother Istre quoted this passage every five minutes. Whenever asked about anything that was to happen after now, she would start with the words, “Lord willing.”

These two words come from verse 15. The NLT uses the phrase, “If the Lord wants us to.” The King James Version and the American Standard Version, most likely what my grandmother read, both state, “If the Lord will.”

This is a simple reminded that we don’t know the future. Anything we say about the future is an estimate and is not sure. God knows and God controls. We merely carry out His will.

All that puts us in our little place. Which makes the fact that God came to earth and died for us all the more wondrous.

Romans 9:10-12 (New Living Translation)

¹⁰ This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins. ¹¹ But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; ¹² he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, “Your older son will serve your younger son.”

God chose Jacob over his twin brother. Well, let me explain why. You see, Jacob had the qualities that would…STOP

God chose Jacob for God’s purposes. Jacob didn’t do anything to earn God’s choice.

That is not fair! We live in a free market economy. Those who do right and well reap the benefits of their doings. Surely God understands how that works, right?

Sometimes I am the most arrogant and immature person that can exist.

God understands what I cannot imagine. God selects people for situations for His purpose. That also means that what I am doing is probably what God has selected me to do and to be. I will try to fit in God’s purpose and not mess it up too much. And I am so pathetic that I don’t really know what that is or how to do it.

God, please guide me.

Romans 5:1-2 (New Living Translation)

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. ² Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

Notice the progression: faith brings us peace, but not because of my wonderful faith. The peace comes from what Jesus the Christ did for me. Jesus brings me to undeserved privilege.

Let me repeat that for emphasis: Jesus brings me to undeserved privilege. Sometimes I groan when it hits me how much I am blessed. God looked at little, miserable me and blessed little, miserable me.

A poet once said it so much better than I ever could:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

1 Corinthians 10:17 (New Living Translation)

And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body.

People don’t eat from the same biscuit. Well, maybe sometimes you will see a husband and wife or a parent and child pull bites from the same biscuit. No one else does that. That only happens in a family.

The next time your church assembly has communion, watch the miracle. When my church assembly has communion, I see complete strangers pulling bits of bread from the same piece and eating the bits.

That is crazy. That is a miracle.

Somehow, rational sane people forget all the norms of society and share the same piece of bread with their hands just like they are all in one family—just like they are one body.

Hmm, sounds that that verse above: one body.

Notice the miracle: a room full of strangers become one body, one family.

Romans 1:22-23 (New English Translation)

22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.

Imagine the fools: the are putting God into little statues of things they know like people, bird, animals, and reptiles. How could anyone transform the infinite God into a little category of familiar things.

I am glad we, even Christians we, don’t do foolish things like that. oooops. I guess sometimes we put God into the image of a Santa Claus (be nice not naughty and you get good stuff). I guess sometimes we put God into the image of a fantasy family father. I guess I could go on with how we mean well, but still start a conversation with, “God is like fill-in-the-blank.”

Well, we can console ourselves with, “That is just a figure of speech, you know?” but we are doing just like those people mentioned in Romans.

1 Corinthians 8:1 (New English Translation)

With regard to food sacrificed to idols, we know that “we all have knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

This is one of those verses that I dislike. I am educated, well educated, probably overly educated. I have a lot of knowledge. This verse puts knowledge in its place relative to love, and knowledge comes in a distant second.

Did I mention that I don’t like this verse? Surely there is something else to understanding this verse. There must be something twisted in the translation. But I doubt it. The verse means just about what it says.

People with a lot of knowledge are tempted to show their knowledge and live their knowledge as some sort of badge that proclaims, “I am better than the rest of you.”

Love builds up the body of Christ—the church. Love brings unbelievers to the body of Christ. Love keeps the body of Christ together. Yes, knowledge has a place and plays a role, but folks like me have to keep it in second place.

Romans 1:20 (New Living Translation)

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

People know God exists. They may not know that name or this or that philosophy or theology, but they know the creator exists. From time to time, we puff up a bit and claim that no one and no thing created us. We are here of our own doing. We are the fit who have survived. Look at the glory of us!

Silly atheists, right? How about silly Christians who think that God is lucky to have us? We have followed the rules or guidelines or admonishments. We are not quite worthy, but hey, we are doing something right, huh? Those are just little ticks on a man-made scale of degree with God on one end and us on the other end.

Let’s try this again. God is the Creator, and we are the created. We are not on the same scale.

1 Thessalonians 3:12 (New Living Translation)

 And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow…

These words are in the middle of a short prayer that Paul writes in a letter. I find them to be something to pray everyday.

God, help us love one another more today than yesterday.

Simple. Profound.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 (New Living Translation)

See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.

“God needs someone to give that guy just what he deserves, and I’m just the person to do it.”

Isn’t that silly? Yet, we try to live it — often. ooops, look here in black and white, a prohibition on that silly and oft-acted behavior. Instead, God wants us to do good to each other. Okay, I can manage that.

But another 0000ps, how did those last four words get into the text? Does God really want me to do good to all people. I mean, what about…yes, him, too, but what about…yes, that one, too..but surely not…yes, even him, and can’t I leave out…no, he is included in all.

I think I will need some help with this one, and God is just the one to provide it. Thanks, God.