Contemplative Bible Reading

Leviticus 18:3 (New Living Translation)

3 So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life.

God is talking to the people. God tells them that they are different. They don’t act like the people around them act. They have a special purpose in God’s plans; they will behave differently.

“But everyone is doing it,” cried every teenager since the invention of the teenager in America in the 1940s.

“And if everyone jumped off a cliff, would you jump off a cliff?” replied every parent of every teenager.

No. You are different. You are set aside for a special purpose to serve God in a special manner. This is contrary to the human need to belong. This also abides by the human need to be unique or special.

Do we want to be special as God wants us to be special? Do we want to belong to the crowd when the crowd behaves in a detestable manner?

The answers are simple while sitting here in a coffee shop—nice and comfortable drinking a good cup of hot coffee. At other times, however, the answers aren’t so simple.

Please God, in these other times when I cannot accept the simplicity, help me. Help me in my unbelief.

2 Timothy 2:14 (New Living Translation)

14 Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God’s presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them.

“Them’s fight’n words” is a famous expression, or its used to be.

Let’s see, we shouldn’t argue over the meaning of words. What about words in the Bible? Are they important enough to “argue” over?

Let’s read further. The next few sentences discuss “correctly explaining the word of truth.” Well, ahem, I know the word of truth and I am explaining it correctly and if you disagree then you don’t understand the truth and you are not as good as me and … whatever else I can say that makes me feel good and you feel bad.

Oh, perhaps not.

A couple of sentences later we have,

Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior.

Do my words lead to godless behavior? If so, my words are useless arguments that ruin those who hear them. The discussion (argument) can continue endlessly. My words lead to godly behavior. Your words are godless. Simple, huh?

Not so simple. Not so favorable to me at all times. There are times when Christians disagree over words. There are many times when Christians disagree with non-Christians over words. Am I moving towards God? If not, I need to stop and pray for wisdom.

Genesis 27:21-22 (New Living Translation)

21 But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. 22 “Why should we shed any blood? Let’s just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll die without our laying a hand on him.” Reuben was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his father.

This is part of the (hi)story of Joseph, his coat of many colors, his jealous brothers, and redemption.

The brothers of Joseph were going to murder Joseph and lie to their father about what happened. They had a foolproof plan. There were no witnesses. They had a solemn pact to “stick to their story.”

Then there was Reuben. For some reasons, he was going to rescue Joseph from the brothers. How did Reuben do it? He lied. He had a plan to rescue Joseph and he “kept it secret.” He flat out lied about what he was going to do.

Instead of standing up and saying, “This is wrong. We will not murder our brother. Stop this foolish talk. Get back to work,” he said, “Let’s not hit him or stab him or club him to death. Let’s put him in this hole where he will die slowly. Same result, just less blood.”

Why didn’t Reuben stand up and say what was obvious and righteous?

Reuben was probably afraid. The brothers were to murder Joseph. There was nothing to stop them from murdering him as well. They were murderers. That’s what murderers do.

Reuben told a lie. That is what liars do.

Well, it all worked out for the best and … No. Reuben sinned to stop a sin. Still, he sinned. But but but… Sure we can justify and appreciate the bad situation and how one lesser evil prevented a greater evil and all that. And Reuben could have been murdered just like Joseph was to be murdered.

Still, it was wrong. We live in a world where wrong is everywhere. I do a little wrong here and there to keep big wrongs and that is…it is wrong. Tough situations; tough decisions. Please God, help me in my unbelief.

Ephesians 4:21-24 (New Living Translation)

21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

Paul is writing to Christians in Ephesus. There are many sentences in this section of Paul’s letter encouraging the Christians to be “like Christ” instead of like all the folks living around them. Those folks lust and crave after every shiny object and every pretty person they see. Get this; get that, and grab it all.

“Stop that childish behavior,” says Paul.

But it is more than that. It is more than “good clean living.” Put on the new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

In the eyes of many, Christians behave. That is one reason people sort of like us some of the time. We cut our grass, put our trash cans at the right spot on the right day of the week, and everything else to keep up the property values in the neighborhood. We are nice folks. Good neighbors.

There is more to it. I shouldn’t be satisfied with that. Let the Spirit of God renew our thoughts and attitude. This happens daily, hourly, minute by minute. I have the strength of God in me. I can do and be much better. Please God, help me in my unbelief.

Genesis 41:16 (New Living Translation)

16 “It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.”

Joseph was talking to Pharaoh. We read earlier that Pharaoh was “very disturbed by the dreams.” He was so disturbed that on the advice of a household servant he demanded that some foreigner who had been in prison 13 years be brought to him immediately. After a shower and shave, here is Joseph.

This is Joseph’s big chance to get out of jail and live the fine life. What does Joseph say? “Me? Can’t do a thing, but God can set you at ease.”

Come on Joseph. You don’t need to be so candid. Seize the moment. Take the credit. Gosh.

God can:

1. Interpret dreams
2. Set you at ease

Let’s focus on the second miracle (I believe they are both miraculous). Many times we learn from the Bible that God grants peace of mind and peace of heart and relief from the worry and angst we suffer. Telling this one man what his dreams meant would set his mind at ease. The problems would not go away (the famine came), but the worry would. The problem became known; the problem solvers and project managers went to work. All was not well, but all was settled.

Pharaoh’s mind was at ease.

Heaven. No worry. Peace of mind. They are all part of the same thing.

Yes, we have terrible days here on earth. Sickness, death, debt, and worse. Promise of better. Peace of mind and heart. Thank you God.

Romans 10:3 (New Living Translation)

For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law.

God has a way of making people right with God. Some of us have our way of making us right with God.

Ego? Maybe. We just have to be smart enough to create something of our own instead of using something provided to us.

Rebellious? Maybe. I don’t like your way. I have my own way.

Self-centered? Maybe. I have this under control. I have my way. I keep saying “I” and “me” and “my” instead of “God.”

I like to be God. I like to “call the shots” or say “what’s what” or some silly expression like those. Poor pathetic me. When will I realize once and for all that God is God and I am not? At least I am not alone as this seems to have been happening for a few thousand years. Please God, help me in my unbelief.

Hebrews 3:12-13 (New Living Translation)

12 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.

Hebrews 3:12-13 (English Standard Version)

12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

I am posting two translations today. I focus on the first verb in verse 13. One translation says “warn each other every day” while the other says “exhort one another every day.”

I like the word “exhort.” When I was a child, an acquaintance published a newsletter call “The Exhorter.” That was a good news about those who preached the good news newsletter. I’ve had a fondness for that word ever since.

These sentences above tell us that each day each of us is confronted with sin and temptation in one form or another. These temptations are different for each of us. Some of us laugh at how “easy” and “little” the temptations given to other folks are when compared to what is pushed in my face. I have it tougher, you know (probably not).

Regardless of the size of the temptation, each is confronted daily. And as fellow followers of Christ, each of us should warn each of us about these temptations. Each of us should encourage and exhort each of us to stay closer to Christ and move farther from the sin that entices.

Good grief. Does this following Christ ever get easy or at least easier? Why can’t we just coast a little for a while? Sorry. The deceitfulness of sin is there all the time. It is in our faces every day.

So, we had exhorting or warning to our list of daily duties as a loving follower of Christ. Please God, help me to meet this challenge.

Acts 5:12-13 (New Living Translation)

12 The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them.

Miracles everyday. Inspiration from the good news of salvation everyday. People meeting everyday, well believers meeting everyday. Those meeting were held in high regard by all the community because of the righteous nature of their lives.

Yet, no on else—no non-believers—dared to join them.

I can speculate all day about why no one else came by and stayed for a while to listen. Later sentences tell us that people were added to the believers every day. Someone was listening or joining or visiting or something. Still, we are told here that no one dared to join them.

Fear is powerful. The unknown brings a strong form of fear. Perhaps that was it. Perhaps it was that simple. Here was something new and something that no one could explain. The ill were healed if the shadow of Peter fell on them. That is crazy. No one could explain that.

What is keeping non-believers from stopping by and spending a little time with believers? I should learn. I should remove the barriers. We should not have a church where no one else dared to join.

Mark 8:1-2 (New Living Translation)

Jesus called his disciples and told them, 2 “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat.

Jesus had been speaking to the lost. He spoke, they listened, and many changed their lives. And what does Jesus say to his closest followers?

They have nothing left to eat.

Here we go again. This is another occasion when Jesus doesn’t seem to know how to act. He is delivering a discourse on the grand scheme of salvation and he concludes with … well, let’s eat lunch or something like that. He notices that these folks don’t have any lunch and it is lunch time. How can you have a dinner on the grounds without any food?

Food is necessary for life. God created food and us that way. We burn energy, we need food to replace that. Still, when compared to a lesson on salvation from the Son of God, who can think about food? The Son of God does.

We are physical beings. If we are to love one another as Jesus encouraged us to do, we are to love one another as physical beings. We are to provide food, clothing, and shelter to one another. Basic needs. Basic response. Basic love.

Please God, help me to always pay attention to what Jesus did. Help me to provide basic human needs as a show of Godly love to one another.

2 Corinthians 8:5 (New Living Translation)

5 They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.

This is from a letter that Paul wrote to Christians in Corinth. He is relaying what some Christians in Macedonia had done. This chapter is often used to exhort Christians today to give money to further the work of Christians in the world.

Their first gift, however, was not money. They first gave themselves to God. Next, they gave themselves to Paul and his fellow missionaries.

The first gift a follower of Christ gives is themselves. We give our lives to God. Then we do all that other stuff. Too bad we seem to focus on all that other stuff. We forget what the first and greatest gift the person gave. We lose the appreciation of that gift. Someone walks into a church building Sunday after Sunday as evidence of that first gift, and we don’t see that for what it is.

Sure, I want other Christians to “do a lot more.” There is a time and place to discuss “a lot more.” First, however, recognize that first gift. Then we move to other stuff.