Contemplative Bible Reading

Jeremiah 10:5 Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.”

I love this phrase, “Like a scarecrow in a melon patch”

Who would worship a scarecrow? Isn’t that silly? And isn’t that so much like us?

The next part shows something about the one true God. Notice the phrase, “they must be carried because they cannot walk.”

Try to imagine yourself 3,000 years in the past. Most peoples of the world worshiped different kinds of local gods. The gods were in special places. If the people migrated with the weather, they carried their gods with them.

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob didn’t need to be transported. The true God was everywhere that the people went. He was in Jerusalem, in Samaria, in Egypt, in Ur of the Chaldes. He was and still is omnipresent – everywhere at the same time.
Well, do we do this today? Do we have special places where magic exists?

• Disneyworld
• Las Vegas
• Niagara Falls (that goes back a couple of generations)
• The Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day (another old one)
• The campus of (fill in the blank) University

Maybe we don’t worship these places, but at one time or another they are special to people.

Consider, “I can think better when I am in the library.”

Consider, “I sleep better in the country than in the city.”

These are nice things, and I have my favorite places. I love to write in my journal while in Greenberry’s Coffee in Reston, Va. I love to read and write e-mails while in Moonbeans Coffee in San Jose, Ca.

Now consider, “I am more at peace with myself when I am in the chapel,” or “there is nothing like being in the old church building on a Sunday morning.”

Do we limit our peace, contentment, love, prayer, or closeness to God to a certain place and time?

Something to contemplate.

Proverbs 1:1 and 1:4 (New International Version)

1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:…4 for giving prudence to the simple,

I love the phrase giving prudence to the simple. I had to study the word prudence.

From http://dictionary.com,

prudence, noun, caution with regard to practical matters; discretion. Prudence, calculation, foresight, forethought imply attempted provision against possible contingencies. Prudence is care, caution, and good judgment, as well as wisdom in looking ahead

The proverbs of Solomon gives a simple-minded person forethought, caution, the ability to set aside provisions against possible contingencies. These are powerful; these are things that are not found in the simple, the unprepared, the naive.

I can sit and feel that this doesn’t apply to me. I am educated, sophisticated, and accomplished. Look at me now; I am writing a blog on the Internet. I am not simple – or am I?

Compared to the power, cleverness, and deviousness of Satan am I not simple? I now have much greater respect for the proverbs of Solomon and their power.

Deuteronomy 8:10-14 (New International Version)

10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

This passage is addressed to God’s people in the Old Testament as they are about to enter the Promised Land. As I was reading through the chapters of Deuteronomy, I knew what was coming. I knew that God’s people would stray eventually. They would go through cycles of obedience, prosperity, disobedience, ruin, and back through the cycle again.

I read through the passages waiting to read something about the coming cycles. Here it was in these verses of chapter 8.

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.

Of course they would praise God. He gave them a land that was already built. There were fields already cleared of stones and planted with vineyards. There were cities already built with houses ready for people to occupy. The land was good; God would provide good weather, and the harvests would be plentiful. How could anyone forget to thank God?

But then verse 14 tells us what would become of God’s people, what would become of me today.

your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God

The people would become so proud of themselves for the good they had accomplished all on their own. Bad pride would creep in. In their hearts, they would say, “Look at me; look what I have done. I don’t need any help from anyone or anything (like God).” They wouldn’t say that out loud lest others think they were conceited. They would just feel it in their hearts and maybe they would feel it just for a part of a second.

God, however, hears what we feel in our hearts. He knows.

I forget things for a variety of reasons. Some of those reasons are:

1. fatigue
2. too many other things to remember
3. human failure (that’s the way I am)

I don’t often include pride as one of the reasons for a failing memory.

Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God…Otherwise…your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God

Forgetting God brings (bad) pride. Such pride brings more forgetfulness, which brings more pride, and on and on.

God, help me remember you and what you do for me each moment of my life.

2 Corinthians 13:10 (second half) (NIV)

This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority — the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.

I had read something several years ago that the ultimate power is the power to influence others. The key to this power was that everyone has it. We all have the power to influence others.

I believe that to be true, but I sometimes forget it. There have been times in my life where I influenced other people. There have been many times in my life where I felt powerless and sat back and did nothing. I truly was powerless in those situations and my actions proved it.

Now here is the apostle Paul speaking about the authority that God has given him. When I think of authority, I think of “positional power” as in, “I have been appointed the boss, so you have to do what I say. I have power and authority.”

Paul, however, is not talking about that kind of authority. Instead, he is talking about the “authority for building up.” I think that is the authority to encourage others, to teach others, to equip others for works of loving service. Is that authority? Is that power?

Now I go back to the power to influence others. God gave Paul the authority to encourage the Corinthians. He didn’t give Paul the authority to “be their boss.”

Has God given me the authority to build up? Will anyone fight me if I try to build up their spirits? Will anyone fight me if I try to encourage or equip them? Maybe some people will fight me. I am guessing, however, that most people will not. I am guessing that if I act in the love of Christ, people will accept my authority to build up.

Nehemiah was cup bearer to King Artaxerxes. He was troubled by the news that came from Jerusalem. Nehemiah wanted to ask the king for a favor – actually a huge favor; the kind of favor that you don’t ask often; the kind of favor that if answered with a “no” comes with an execution for asking.

Before asking the a favor from the king, Nehemiah prays. His prayer ends with:

Nehemiah 1:11 (New International Version)

Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.” I was cup bearer to the king.

I paused as this passage had great relevance to my life. I often go to people and ask them for something at work. That is my job – to cause change that will help us work.

My question was, “how often do I pray before asking someone for something?”

I am afraid that the answer to that question was, “almost never.”

I paused, thought, and prayed.

I wrote the verse Nehemiah 1:11 on a 3″x5″ card. I keep that card in my pocket. It serves as an effective reminder to pray before going before someone to ask for something.

I find that this works. People respond the way I would like them to respond when I ask. I think that one day someone will say “no.” I also think that on those occassions the “no” answer will be for my long-term benefit. I believe that an answer that comes after prayer will be an answer from God.

2 Timothy 3:12 (New International Version)

12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

I have been persecuted a lot in my life. It must be because of the godly life I have lived in Christ Jesus.

Really? Probably not.

I have met many mean people in my life. There were the boys in junior high school who would play “flinch” (see below). They seemed to rejoice in punching people; especially people who were smaller than they. Was that religous persecution? Was that just teenage boys being bullies?

I still meet mean people as an adult. They say things about me that aren’t true. I don’t like that; it hurts as much as a punch in the arm. Is this religious persecution? Is this just people being mean?

I cannot point to a time in my life when I was persecuted because of my belief in Jesus Christ. Maybe I am too dense to notice these things, but I doubt it. I have lived a blessed life. Am I fortunate that I haven’t been persecuted?

I know people who believe they have been persecuted because of their religious life. I don’t know about all the cases they recall, but I have been around during some of the cases. I have to disagree with them on those cases. People are often frustrated, angry, tired, and just plain feel bad about themselves. At these times they are mean to others. This isn’t religious persecution; this is life on earth where Satan tugs at people during moments of weakness.

I cannot prove this theory, but I believe in it.

Flinch

“flinch” is a “game” that boys used to play (I hope they don’t still play it). You walk up to someone (it works best when they are much smaller than you), make a fist, and jab at them, stopping short of actually hitting them. If they flinch, which of course they will, you then say, “flinch,” and you get to hit them in the arm as hard as you want.

Romans 12:21 (New International Version)

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Something I have heard in the past few years is that I should not worry so much about removing bad things from my life. Instead, I should concentrate on putting good things into my life.

The theory is that good displaces bad.

I think this verse from Romans speaks of the same thing. Fill my life with good. Good will overcome or displace evil.

Have you ever worked with concrete? I recall a day in the mid-1980s. I was in Louisiana and watching a crew pour concrete for a new building. It had rained recently – I think that statement holds true for most days in Louisiana – and the hole in which the concrete was to go was full of muddy water.

I was wondering how in the world the crew would extract the muck from the hole before pouring concrete. The answer was simple – they wouldn’t. They poured the fresh, clean concrete into the mud-filled hole. The concrete sank to the bottom of the hole and the muck bubbled out of the hole.

The good concrete displaced the bad mud.

That is what good is like. Good displaces bad. Good – righteousness – displaces evil.

1 John 2:15-17 (New International Version)

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Several points in this passage caught my attention this morning. The first is If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

This tells me that you either love the world or you love the Father – God.

What does this mean to love the world or to love the things in the world? There is much good in the world as it is God’s creation. What is it in the world that is evil, that we are not to love?

Let’s look at verse 16, the part without the dash. For everything in the world comes not from the Father but from the world.

What is it that comes from the world that is to be avoided by the person wishing to love and follow God?

This took my thoughts back to Genesis chapter 6 before the flood.

Genesis 6:5 (New International Version)

5 The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.

When left to himself, man had degenerated in his heart and thoughts. Every inclination was only evil all the time. Notice the use of three absolute terms in one statement. The verse says every, only, and all. A writer would not do this unless it were true and the writer were certain. This is a terrible condemnation of the state of man at the time.

So what is it in the world that is in great opposition to God? I look back to verse 16 of 1 John 2 to the part of the verse inside the dashes. the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does… The King James Version gives these three as

1. the lust of the flesh, and
2. the lust of the eyes, and
3. the pride of life

This is what is in the world that opposes God. This is what the Christian is to avoid and instead turn towards God.

The lust (the intense yearning and desire) for what the flesh feels, for what the eyes see, and the pride of life. The http://dictionary.com gives pride as a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct,

These are the things that separate us from God. The intense yearning for what feels and looks good. (Yikes! Those things fade fast as does the ability to feel and see them.) The inordinate opinion of myself (“look at me – I am great”).

Yes, we are not to love these things in the world.

Romans 8:1 (New International Version)

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

I was reading something yesterday. The author was concerned about failing in the endeavor that God had called her to do. She was failing God.

She sounded awful guilty.

That isn’t a good way to write. The phrase “awful guilty” is weak, but that is what comes to mind. The person had the awful feeling that she was disappointing God and that He would disapprove of her for her failure.

I believe that my actions can disappoint God. I believe that God disapproves of some (many) of my actions.

The verse in Romans convinces me that God does not disapprove of me.

I have accepted His son as my Lord and savior. That is the main thing God wants from me. He also wants me to love Him and love my fellow man. I am trying to do those things in my walk of acceptance.

1 John 4:18 (New International Version)

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Over the years I have read and written about fear and the workplace. “Drive out fear” is one phrase that comes to mind over and over. When people are afraid at work, they work poorly; they spend more time guarding themselves than they do working.

This passage strikes my heart. Complete love for a person and fear of that person cannot coexist. Love drives out fear says the second clause of the verse.

How does that work? As the third clause states, fear has to do with punishment. Will someone who truly loves me punish me? How can that be?

Notices that this verse does not state love does not discipline. I believe that love can and does discipline, correct, rebuke, and instruct. I believe that love does not punish.

The last sentence in the verse tells me that when I fear a person, I do not completely love them. I am too afraid of what they can do to me. That fear consumes my energy, causes me to watch the other person lest they hurt me, and keeps me from loving them.

This is all challenging. I have not driven out all fear from my life and have not yet achieved full love. I pray the Lord strengthens me to do so.