Contemplative Bible Reading

Romans 10:4 (New Living Translation)

4 For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.

Thank you Jesus Christ. Jesus already accomplished the purpose of everything—be right with God. We call that “be right with God” righteousness.

Jesus already accomplished this. Now wait, if Jesus already accomplished this, am I right with God? I think so. But wait, what about this and that and this other thing and give me a minute to think of a bunch of things. Let me make a list (I’m good at making lists).

There must be a mistake in translation or something as this doesn’t make sense. How can I be right with God? Why, that is a miracle. Perhaps that is the answer. It is all a miracle. It is all something far beyond my ability. It is all something far beyond any explanation. It simply is.

I want to think about this a while. I want to find the explanation. I want answers!

Silly me. On good days, I simply accept this and live in the wonderful grace of it all. Then there are all the other days. Please God, help me in my unbelief.

Acts 11:2-3 (Christian Standard Bible)

2 When Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, 3 saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

The above verses were written about the early days of the church, i.e., the followers of Jesus. There was a group of persons in the church known as “the circumcision party.” Forget the issue at hand, note that the description of this party or that party or some other party.

What about “united in Christ?” Parties? What was that all about?

Well, that was all about what most of us are still about today—this party or that party. We have this group or that group. We just seem to be able to organize ourselves into groups of folks who think alike about this or that.

Why can’t we just be disorganized? Wait, is that what we want? What do we want? We are an odd lot.

Please God, even with my ability to organize and join organizations and think this way or that, help me in my unbelief.

Colossians 1:6 (New Living Translation)

6 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.

The Good News that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God sent to the world to take away everyone’s sins for all time was going out all over the world. That Good News bore fruit everywhere in how it changed lives.

Wow. Pretty impressive stuff. I believe this Good News still changes lives. When I sit still and open my eyes and ears, I see and hear it. It is right in front of me all the time. It is universal. Of course there are places where, well, things aren’t so changed (see, for example, Russia and Ukraine). Inside those places, however, there are lives that are changing.

Now, if these folks would just change the way I want them to change… Nope. Wrong. Stupid. God changes folks the way God wants them to change in the time and place of the changing. I don’t decide, I don’t choose, I don’t get to approve. That is good news, too.

Acts 6:1 (New Living Translation)

1 But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

The church was born. Everyone was excited, cut to the heart, ready to explode, all in agreement. Well, uh, er, maybe the last one wasn’t quite true.

There were rumblings of discontent.

It seems that some of these rapidly multiplying believers came from a background of speaking Greek while some others came from a background of speaking Hebrew. Something was lost in the Greek-to-Hebrew-and-back translation. A little misunderstanding here, a little misunderstanding there, and perhaps some all-too-well-understood thoughts.

Anyways, someone felt there was an unbalanced distribution of food to widows. That seems trite to me today as there is more food around than anyone could possibly eat (at least here in this comfy coffee shop in a rich place). Still, this was an issue at the place and time of the newborn church.

Can’t we all just get along? (Someone said that, right?) Well, if we just adjusted a little here and a little there, we would all just get along, right? Perhaps not. Perhaps rumblings of discontent is a human malady that has always and will always persist.

Sigh. The church would be wonderful if it were just me and Jesus, right? Seems that way on some days, but that is pretty selfish and downright stupid. Please God, help me to love my fellow follower of You.

Colossians 1:22 (New Living Translation)

22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

The writer is contrasting life before Christ and after Christ. We are now reconciled to God. I looked it up and found many definitions for “reconcile.” I struggled to find a definition that applied well to these sentences. Instead, let’s allow the sentences to inform me.

After this reconciling (theologians like to use “reconciliation”), we are blameless before God. We are without a single fault.

Well, this must be a translation problem because God knows that I have … Nope. Not a single fault. How can that be? Not a single fault? I mean, my clothes probably don’t fit just right or… Nope. Not a single fault.

That is impossible. Anyone can understand that just by standing there I have collected dust and that has marred my appearance and all that. Faultless? Impossible.

And God does the impossible all the time. That is … uh, well, impossible. And God does the impossible all the time. Praise be to God. Please God, help me in my unbelief.

Acts 5:24 (Christian Standard Bible)

24 As the captain of the temple police and the chief priests heard these things, they were baffled about them, wondering what would come of this.

The Apostles were teaching and healing and doing all sorts of things that drew large crowds of people. Filled with jealousy, the High Priest and the Sadducees had these Apostles put in prison. At night, an angel led the Apostles out of the prison and back to the Temple courts where they continued what they were doing.

The High Priest told the prison officials to bring the Apostles before them. Uh, well, uh, you see… the Apostles weren’t in prison. They, well, uh, somehow…

And now we read that the chief priests were baffled. (Other translations read “perplexed,” etc.)

These chief priests were well educated and experienced men. They were not buffoons or others who were frequently “baffled.” They were respected in the community. They were rarely surprised and left to wonder what would come of this.

This is how God often does things. God leaves us baffled, wondering, and just plain unsure what is next. Rats. If I want to understand everything about something, I shouldn’t think about God and the ways of God. God is far beyond me. I will often be baffled. Praise be to God.

Ephesians 2:12 (New Living Translation)

You lived in this world without God and without hope.

This is the last sentence of the verse. The writer is reminding Christians what life was like without God—it was a life without hope. The writer provides several examples of life without God.

• Far from God
• Far from peace
• No unity, constant enmity
• Hostile barriers between everyone
• Burdensome regulations
• Open hostility
• No access to God

Okay, anyone want those things back in their lives? I don’t. Well, at least when I am in my right mind and my heart is not troubled, I don’t want those things. On other days, I have this twisted sense of what I want and why I want it and what I want to do and all those and many other twisted desires.

Go back to life without God? Sigh. No thank you.

Acts 3:6 (New Living Translation)

6 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”

This is part of the (hi)story of Peter healing a man who was lame. The man asked for money. Peter didn’t have any money, but what Peter had was miraculous and worth more than money (to some).

Notice what Peter gave: what he had.

Hmmm, I may not have the power of healing. I may not have a million dollars in my pocket. I may not have… lots of things I could list, but I do have what I have and I can give what I have in all circumstances.

I can give:

• A smile.
• A handshake.
• One dollar (or two).
• Hope.
• Love.
• Joy.
• Peace.

And this list can go on and on.

Like Peter, I can give what I have.

Numbers 1:5-15 (New Living Translation)

5 “These are the tribes and the names of the leaders who will assist you:
Reuben Elizur son of Shedeur
6 Simeon Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai
7 Judah Nahshon son of Amminadab
8 Issachar Nethanel son of Zuar
9 Zebulun Eliab son of Helon
10 Ephraim son of Joseph Elishama son of Ammihud
Manasseh son of Joseph Gamaliel son of Pedahzur
11 Benjamin Abidan son of Gideoni
12 Dan Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai
13 Asher Pagiel son of Ocran
14 Gad Eliasaph son of Deuel
15 Naphtali Ahira son of Enan

The people are out of Egypt and wandering around. It is close to the time to enter the land promised to them. God told Moses to, “…record the names of all the warriors by their clans and families.”

Then we have this list of those who are to assist in the task. This is the part of Bible reading where we skip down a few inches on the page because we can’t pronounce the names and these folks are all long gone anyways, so what’s the difference?

There are a million or so folks out there with Moses. God names twelve specific men to help Moses. God knew the names of every single person in the great, big mass of persons. God knew their name, their father’s name, their grandfather’s name, and on and on for 400 years of fathers and names. Every single person in all those lines of relatives was important to God. And God didn’t even have a database or content management system to track it all and Google to find what was needed.

Every person was in God’s heart.

I believe nothing has changed since that day in the desert when God demonstrated the importance of every single person. God knows every single person alive today and considers each one of us important.

Maybe one day I will learn how to pronounce all those names in that list and I won’t skip over them as I read. An important thing to remember is that God knows and remembers and notices me as I sit in a coffee shop drinking my now cold coffee and God has a plan for me. Perhaps I am not to count the million persons, but I am to do something of great importance in someone’s life.

Luke 22:3 (New Living Translation)

3 Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot…

This is part of the (hi)story of the death of Jesus which precluded the resurrection of Jesus. The prior sentence tells us “The leading priests and teachers of religious law were plotting how to kill Jesus…”

Right into the plot steps Judas Iscariot. Well, let’s rephrase that one as right into the plot enters Satan. Satan is clever; Satan is smart. Satan had devised an ingenious plot of how to arrest Jesus in a place where there would be no witnesses at a time when people were busy with other things. Satan had “inside information” on the perfect time and place. Satan used Judas, and Judas was ready to be used.

Then Satan entered the hapless Judas. I believe this act repeats countless times each day. Satan enters someone with a little nudge like, “Hey, bump that person so they spill their coffee and curse,” and “Pull over into the left lane real quick right and watch the anger,” and “Let’s all six of us arrest that one little fella’ and teach him a lesson or two.”

And we let Satan enter because what’s the harm? It’s just a little fun. Everyone has a sense of humor, right? As the old saying goes, “It’s good fun until someone starts crying” or something like that. Before you know it, someone has their ear cut off and someone is lying about who they know and what they saw.

Then Satan entered. Please God help me keep that door closed.