Contemplative Bible Reading

Exodus 23:14 (New Living Translation)

“Each year you must celebrate three festivals in my honor…”

Consider this one: God commanded His people to celebrate three festivals each year. Imagine that, being commanded to celebrate three times a year. And these were big celebrations, not a little birthday party for a child. Some of these celebrations lasted a week.

Today?

We celebrate Christmas. Some Christians see this as the true coming of Jesus to the world. Other Christians don’t see any inference in the New Testament and celebrate Christmas as a cultural holiday.

We celebrate Easter as the resurrection of Jesus. Again, like Christmas, some Christians don’t celebrate a single day for this.

I have often heard that every first day of the week is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.

I have often heard that every day is a celebration of the grace that God has extended to us.

Every day is a spiritual celebration of our life in Christ.

Today? Each of the above answers has merit and each has flaws. I don’t have an answer.

Proverbs 15:27 (New Living Translation)

Greed brings grief to the whole family,
but those who hate bribes will live.

These Proverbs were written several thousand years ago or last weekend. Sometimes I confuse the two time periods. This proverb tells me that greed can ruin a family or a community or a nation. How did the proverb writer know about what would happen in America in the early 21st century?

Wall Street, Washington, Hollywood – those places are symbols of finance, politics, and entertainment. There are fine people in these sectors. There are, however, also lots of greedy people in those sectors.

It is a shame that we can’t take all the greedy people and place them in a corner so they can continue in their greed and not hurt the rest of us. Maybe the desire for the freedom from the acts of greed is greedy.

Proverbs 15:15 (New Living Translation)

For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.

Can we describe life any simpler than this? I don’t know how. Then again, I wasn’t sure of the definition of despondent. Let’s look at this definition:

Adjective: In low spirits from loss of hope or courage

The trouble stems from a loss of hope or courage. I’ll concentrate on the hope. That, to delve further into definitions, has a desire plus an expectation. Hope differs from wish in that with a hope there is a realistic expectation of the good happening.

Hence, the despondent don’t expect any good to happen in the future.

I’d rather go wit the happy heart crowd where life is a continual feast. God offers that to us. Do we believe and accept it?

Acts 2:37 (New International Version 2011)

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

This verse comes from the Day of Pentecost. Peter is preaching what some call the first sermon. This is the critical point in any attempt to bring someone the gospel. It is when the listener feels something burning inside and is moved to ask a question.

In this instance, the question is:

what shall we do?

Peter responds by telling them what to do. Notice later in verse 41:

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Not everyone liked Peter’s answer. Three thousand people followed Peter’s answer, and that is a big number, but that was not everyone.

Nevertheless, the message is a good one that God uses when people are drawn to ask a question. As a spreader of the gospel, seek that moment when the listener has a question. Listen to that question and be ready with an answer.

James 4:8 (New International Version 2011)

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Notice the three things the writer encourages the reader to do:

• come near to God
• wash your hands
• purify your hearts

How did wash your hands make the list?

I can argue that wash your hands is a metaphor for something else, something spiritual. It cannot be literally washing dirt from the hands.

The other two tasks in the list sure seem to be literal. Why would the one in the middle be a figure of speech or something else?

I don’t know the answer, but I thought it was an intriguing question.

Galatians 2:4 (four different translations)

New Living Translation: Even that question came up only because of some so-called Christians there—false ones, really —who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations.

New International Version 2011: This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.

King James Version: And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage

Common English Bible: But false brothers and sisters, who were brought in secretly, slipped in to spy on our freedom, which we have in Christ Jesus, and to make us slaves.

This post is a little different from others. I have included four translations of this one verse. I tried to select four translations that would differ, but they all have the key word: spy. People walked into the early churches to spy.

What were these spies trying to learn? Who would use the intelligence they gathered?

The topic of conversation in these verses was that people were telling Gentiles the good news of Jesus. That telling of the gospel was a great freedom. Somehow, enemies of the church were going to enslave these sharers of the gospel by learning of this freedom.

These are significant words: freedom, slavery, spy. These significant words were being used concerning one question: Could believers share the gospel with everyone?

I don’t consider that question significant today. The answer is, “of course.” I don’t recall anyone debating that question in my lifetime. In some respects, we have come a long way in the right direction since the times of the early church.

Joshua 24:14-15 (New International Version 2011)

14 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

This is at least the second time I am using these verses. This time I noticed yet again something different. Note the phrase

Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt

and especially the words beyond the Euphrates River. How many generations and hundreds of years had it been since God’s chosen family had lived beyond the Euphrates River? That is where God first found Abraham (then called Abram). Four hundred years in Egypt, Jacob, Isaac, and then Abraham. That is going back a long way in history, and yet God’s family still remembered those gods.

What gods do we cling to from our distant past?

Romans 14:17 (New International Version 2011)

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

Items of major importance:

• righteousness
• peace
• joy in the Holy Spirit

Items of minor importance:

• eating
• drinking

Let’s move on.

Romans 13:13 (New International Version 2011)

Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.

This is a bad list, but what is the last one doing there? Is jealousy as bad as these others in the list?

What is jealousy? There are too many definitions. Wikipedia has a good discussion of the concept and envy and lots of related items. I go to a short definition of jealousy:

My fear of losing something that I have.

What does a Christian have? A relationship with Jesus Christ. Can I lose that? No. I can give it away, but no one else can cause me to lose it. What else does a Christian have? Lots of things like a job, a car, a house, a nice watch, and so on.

Should a Christian fear loss of these things? Stupid question. I guess that is why jealousy is on the above list. If, as a Christian, I am fearing the loss of some of my stuff, I am still living in darkness.

Ephesians 3:20-21 (New International Version 2011)

²⁰ Now to him (God the Father) who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Paul is writing about God the Father (see verse 14). The Father is able to do immeasurably more. I have thought a few hours about that word “immeasurably.” I am not sure what it means. What comes to mind is something that we cannot measure, but how much is that? How big is that?

Anyways, the Father can do more than we can ask or imagine. I know some people who can “imagine a whole lot.” Regardless, the Father can go a distance farther than we can measure beyond what we can imagine.

Let me write something certain:

I have no idea how far that is.

And all I have to do is imagine and ask. I am so small; the Father is so big, and he knows me and cares about me. This has been one of those mind expanding days.