Contemplative Bible Reading

Matthew 6:19-21 (New International Version)

19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Song Title: We Fall Down, by Chris Tomlin

We fall down

We lay our crowns

at the feet of Jesus

The greatness of

Mercy and love

At the feet of Jesus

We cry holy, holy, holy

We cry holy, holy, holy

We cry holy, holy, holy

Is the lamb

We lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus

We sang that song today in church.

A crown is a symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a god, for whom the crown is traditionally one of the symbols of power and legitimacy. ([wikipedia]).

What are my crowns? What are the things that I have that mean power to me? What are the things that I treasure above all else? Am I willing to lay those things at the feet of Jesus? Am I willing to surrender all power and glory that I have accumulated for myself and give those things to Jesus?

treasures on earth

What are my treasures on earth? An obvious interpretation is money and the things that money can buy. There are lots of examples of those things. They include cars, houses, computers, TVs, jewelry, and such. Those things will rust and fade away.

Other treasures? Sure, there are lots of those as well. My title, my standing in the community, what other people think of me, my appearance, my bearing – funny how most of these things are preceded by the word “my.”

What are my treasures? How can I realize what they are? Imagine someone taking something away or speaking badly about something of mine.

For example,

• you went to a cow college, so your degrees don’t count
• you wrote crummy books that no one would buy, so they don’t count
• your kids aren’t at the top of anything, so you failed as a parent
• no one attends your classes at church, so no one respects you

treasures in heaven

What are these treasures? The passage hints that they last forever. The passage also hints that no one can take them away from me either by physical stealing or by saying or feeling badly about them.

Examples?

where your treasure is there your heart will be also

Where is my heart? Is it in heaven or is it on earthly things?

What can I do so that my heart is in heaven?

How about this idea: What comes first, my heart or what I do? Can I do things by force of will or by my mind and keep doing those things enough so that I change my heart?

How about this: I spend my time on other people. I spend my money at church. I spend my money on other charities. I don’t buy stuff.

Will a life of depravation change me heart? Will a life of giving change my heart?

Sometimes I think that I can work with anyone. I am smart enough, have the knowledge, have the patience, and have whatever it takes to work agreeably with anyone. Then, I read this verse from Proverbs.

Proverbs 22:10 (New International Version)

Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended.

Maybe, just maybe, I need to stop trying so hard to work with some people. Maybe, just maybe, I am not smart enough, knowledgeable enough, patience enough, or have enough of whatever is needed. Maybe I am not perfect when it comes to working with people.

Sometimes there are people who won’t work with others. Sometimes there are people who bring strife, quarrels, and insults with them. Sometimes it is time for those people to leave.

I am not sure what this verse means by the word “mocker.” The site dictionary.com defines mocker as “one who treats with riducule or contempt.” I suppose Proverbs is talking about a mocker as a person who ridicules those around him. Who wants to be around someone who is ridiculing you all the time? In that light, I suppose the answer is pretty easy. Perhaps it isn’t wise to try to be so everything that I often think I am.

Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

In this verse, Paul was referring to the old law as the “yoke of slavery.” The Galatians were reverting back to something they knew. They were “addicted” to the rituals and regulations of the old law.

Yes, I used the word “addicted.” What else do you call something that you know is bad for you, but you still keep going back to it anyway?

Just this morning I received some news at work that I didn’t like. The news wasn’t important. What was important and what caused me to notice this verse was my reaction to the news. I was angry and dejected. My reaction was to brood on the news for several hours. Heated discussions ran through my head. I knew just what needed to be said to a few people at work, and I was just the person to say those words. If I just had my chance at those conversations, I would set people straight on what was really happening what we should really be doing.

How many times have I fallen back into that slavery of “I will tell everyone just what they need to know?”

That childish and vindictive reaction has been with me as long as I can remember. When will I throw away that yoke that hinders me?

So, when is a good time to discard an old, destructive yoke? How about everyday? How about every hour? How about every time that it raises its head and says, “Hey Dwayne. Come back to me right now.”

I don’t have to be vindictive any more. I have Christ in me and I can give a cool drink to someone who curses me. I can throw away the old trash that weighs on me.

Titus 3:10 (New International Version)

10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him.

This verse struck me this afternoon. Three strikes, and the person is out.

I don’t know if this is the origin of three strikes in baseball. It seems that way to me. Much of western culture comes from passages in the Bible. This seems as good an explanation as any.

This is a tough topic. I don’t have all the answers and I’m not sure I have even half of the questions. In the spirit of weakness, let’s go into this.

Proverbs 24:30-34 (New International Version)

30 I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; 31 thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. 32 I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: 33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- 34 and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.

Lately I have been thinking about my home town and how people in that congregation accept and don’t accept other people. This also leads me to think about how I accept and don’t accept other people.

I went past the field of the sluggard. This is the lazy person. Where I come from, one of the worst things a person could have been labeled was “lazy.” Good people – read into that Godly people – were not lazy. Good people worked hard and tried hard. Good people (continuing with verse 30) had good judgment.

Righteousness came with hard work. People who worked hard, people who tried were righteous. As the verses say, these people had good judgment. If the Proverb said a person had good judgment, then they were right by God, and that means righteous. Is that a logical argument or stretching things a bit too far?

Acceptability came with hard work. If a person worked hard and tried, they were “worthy” of acceptance. People greeted them at the church door. People had conversations with them after church.

The sluggard wasn’t acceptable. People didn’t greet sluggards at the door. People didn’t have conversations with sluggards after church. The sluggards didn’t usually come back to church a second time.

Is this right? Is this respecting persons or judging by appearances – something we are instructed not to do.

Another thought on this subject. Trying hard or not trying hard (being a sluggard) is a choice. A person may be born into all sorts of circumstances. Being industrious or being a sluggard is a choice I make each day. I can choose to try hard today and not be a sluggard. Hence, the sluggard chooses to be unrighteous.

A problem with this thought is that we often link success to effort. If a person is not successful, they must not be trying, that is they must be a sluggard. Therefore, a poor person is one who chooses not to try hard and make something of himself. This disagrees with the verse in Ecclesiastes that tells us “the race is not always to the swift.” It is easy, however, to link success and effort.

I think it is easy to read a scripture and take it too far. I don’t think some of the people in my home town were bad people. I consider the vast majority of them to be good, Godly Christians. I also think some of the were wrong sometimes.

Yes, the Proverbs tell us that the sluggard lacks judgment. Many other scriptures tell us to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Here is some more material on this subject.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 (New International Version)

6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”

11 We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. 13 And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.

14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

This seems to lend validity to the idea of not associating with a person who does not work for their food. Notice keep away from every brother who is idle and Do not associate with him.

This is strong language for a person who does not work, who is not industrious, who is not a hard worker.

Should we keep a person who does not work out of the church? I don’t think so. What about the direction to not associate with such a person? At this time, I don’t know the answer to that.

God help me to love people – all people.

This is one of those stories that takes about ten years to finish. Years ago, I saw parts of the 1982 (?) movie “Ghandi.” In one scene, Ghandi is speaking with a group of Indians in South Africa. They are upset about a government policy that will require them to do something they do not want to do.

Various people argued that they should fight the government. Ghandi felt that fighting was wrong, but disobedience to the policy was right.

A man asked, “What if they come into my home and beat me?”

Mahatma Ghandi, said something like, “Then they will have my broken body, but they will not have my obedience.” In other words, Ghandi would not yield to their desires.

I don’t know much about Ghandi and his life. I tried to do some research on him this morning, but gave up due to lack of time. I guess that is something I could do at a later time.

Fast forward to yesterday. I was reading in Matthew chapter 5. First, towards the end of the chapter.

Matthew 5:38-42 (New International Version)

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Let me paraphrase and relate to what Ghandi said, “You may have my tunic, you may have my cheek, you may have my second mile. You may persecute me, but you won’t have any hate from me. I will not sin.”

Now let’s look back towards the front of the chapter.

Matthew 5: 21-22 (New International Version)

21″You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

This is a famous passage where “hate equals murder.” Will I hate someone when they slap my face? Will I hate someone when they steal my clothes? Will I hate someone when they steal my time?

A couple of ways to look at this.

First, I can do the physical act that someone wants and still be right on the inside. I can have someone take advantage of me, steal from me, and be right on be inside.

Second, I can not do the physical act that someone wants and still be right on the inside. “Either worship another god or we will kill you.” This happened to Daniel and to his three friends on separate occasions. They did not follow evil. Daniel’s friends went into the deadly furnace serving God all the way.

Another way to look at this.

I can do the right physical act with the wrong heart. I can walk another mile with a person and hate them all the way. That, according to verses 21-22 is the same as murder.

Isaiah 44:16-19 (NIV)ß

16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”

17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, “Save me; you are my god.”

18 They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand.

19 No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, “Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”

The above verses discuss the folly of making idols. The idol maker uses a piece of wood to make a fire and uses the rest of the piece of wood to make an idol that he worships.

The beginning of verse 19 struck me, “No one stops to think.”

I consider my self a thoughtful person. To a fault, I think about a situation before I do something. I have been able to see a situation and understand the absurdity of the things I do and I see other people doing. It is especially easy to see the folly in other people. Sometimes I can see my own inability to stop and think. Sometimes I even see this soon enough to stop myself.

Stop to think. I know what is right and wrong. I can see if my actions are right or wrong. I can see if I am worshiping part of a thing while using the rest of the same thing as junk.

After some discussion of this topic, a thought came to mind. When someone has a strong reaction to something, I think we have found an idol. Some examples, a person explodes in rage when

• someone tracks mud into their car
• someone touches their computer
• someone walks in front of the television when they are watching some program

Other examples should be easy to recall. I guess that means we have many idols.

Acts 4:20 (New International Version)

For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.

Two items struck me about this verse.

What we have seen and heard

First, “what we have seen and heard.” This is the answer to the “data question.” That is, what have you seen or heard to lead you to believe such-and-such?

In Myers-Briggs Type terms, this is the question for an “S” person – a sensing person. Sensing people, I am one of them, gather information through our senses. We see, hear, taste, touch, smell (I think that is all of them) items. Intuitive people, the “N” in Myers-Briggs terms, have an intuition about things. An “N” person reaches a conclusion, but has difficulty explaining why. The data question helps an “N” person concentrate on things to help explain why they have a conclusion.

In this passage, the apostles have seen and heard Jesus, the miracles of Jesus, and the things they and others like them have done through the power of the Holy Spirit. They have facts to support their beliefs.

I find it fascinating that the data question appears in scripture. I had not noticed it before.

We cannot help speaking about

Now to the second item in this verse: the phrase, “we cannot help speaking about…”

Years ago I heard an old country preacher repeat something that he was told as a young man. The old preacher in his youth was considering preaching as a life. He was also considering the small economic rewards of that profession. An older man told him one thing. It was, “Don’t preach if you can keep from it.” In other words, preaching wasn’t a good profession. Do something else unless “you cannot help speaking.”

The apostles were in this situation. They could not stop themselves from speaking about Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit, and the things they had seen and heard through them.

I have known people who had to preach. They could not keep from it. They could not keep from speaking and sharing the Gospel with others. I have known people who had to write. They could not live without putting words to paper or to a computer screen.

I am almost like this. I write. I struggle when I do not or cannot write. I have to write. I know people who are farther into this situation than myself. They cannot breathe if they are not writing.

The apostles give me an example. Can I live without sharing the Gospel? What if I can? What does that say of my faith?

This note differs from most of the others. In it I am looking at the different translations of one verse – Mark 14:1. What grabbed my interest is the use of the work sly in the New International Version. I don’t recall seeing that word in many Bible passages. How did the other versions render this verse?

Below I give the version that interested me and several other versions. I don’t really have any comments on this verse, but to point out the different words and phrases.

Mark 14:1 (New International Version)

Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him.

Mark 14:1 (King James Version)

After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death.

Mark 14:1 (Contemporary English Version)

It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Thin Bread. The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses were planning how they could sneak around and have Jesus arrested and put to death.

Mark 14:1 (American Standard Version)

Now after two days was the feast of the passover and the unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him with subtlety, and kill him:

Acts 8:4 (Revised Standard Version)

Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

Now this is making the best of a bad situation. These people were really scattered. Saul and others were chasing them down to kill them. They had lots of motivation to scatter far, wide, and quickly.

This was a bad situation, but what other kind of situation is there on this earth? This is a sinful world with plenty of bad to go around. Sure, as a middle-class, educated American with a cush government job, I have plenty of things going in my life that are good. Still, I live in a sinful, that means full-of-sin, world. I see plenty of jealousy, back stabbing, and hate each day (and that is just at the coffee shop on the way in to work).

I may not be scattered physically although I have been close enough to the end of the world to see it clearly. I may be scattered mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I may, no I often, struggle with these things each day in my life. What am I going to do when I am scattered?

These people in Acts 8 went about preaching the word. What does it mean to go about preaching the word? The obvious answer is to stand on a raised object, speak loudly, and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

There are other ways to go about. I think that phrase says it – go about your life as a follower of Christ. Be a Christian every day.

What else would I do with my time and energy? What else would I do but go about preaching the word? I don’t have a good answer for that. That seems to be the only answer.