Contemplative Bible Reading

2 Corinthians 4:2 (New Living Translation)

2 We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.

“Got ya,” we would shout in triumph.

We were kids (little boys as maybe little girls didn’t do this to each other so much). One game was called “flinch.” You would fake a hard punch on someone. If they flinched, you new could punch them as hard as you wanted in the arm. Some would twist their arm out of shape to increase the pain. Some would point a knuckle out of shape to make a painful point.

Those were shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We “tricked” other kids into doing what we wanted.

Adults? We do the same as the game of “flinch.” “If you examine the contract we signed, I didn’t dot an ‘i’ on line 23 of page 13. Therefore, the contract is void per the void-dance statements in the footnote on page 41.” See? Got ya!

Sigh.

Paul taught people about God and Jesus Christ. The teaching was straight. No shameful deed. No underhanded methods. No “bait and switch,” no game of “flinch.” This is the situation. This is what God offers. Do we accept? Honest. Candid. Truth.

I pray that we stay with those things. Nothing else is need. Anything else is shameful.

1 Corinthians 4:4 (New Living Translation)

4 My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right…

Paul is writing to Christians in Corinth about his explaining of God’s mysteries. Paul is trying to be helpful. Paul is trying to be correct. Paul is making all the good faith efforts he can.

Paul, being human like the rest of us, may be incorrect on some things he does.

Paul was a good fella. Most people liked him. Sometimes he “rubbed people the wrong way” in how he did things and what he said. And sometimes Paul was just plain wrong.

It is possible to be a good fella and be just plain wrong at the same time. Being wrong doesn’t make us bad; it just makes us wrong on this thing at this time.

I am wrong on plenty of things at plenty of times. I keep trying. I keep writing. (I keep being wrong.) God forgives me. The grace of God covers all my occasions of being wrong.

Thank you God. Help me to keep trying.

Philippians 3:1 (New Living Testament)

Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.

Simple four words. Rejoice in the Lord.

Sad? Tired? Just plain beat and need a nap? Sure. Those days happen.

We, however, have something else to do. Let us rejoice. Scream happiness. Jump for joy. Celebrate. Have a cookout. Whatever comes to mind as rejoicing.

And do all these things in the Lord. We can celebrate in alcohol or drugs or…boy is that a long list of things we can make. Cut it back to one: in the Lord.

Whatever happens, rejoice in the Lord.

Romans 3:21-22 (New Living Translation)

21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

Paul is writing to Christians in Rome. The Christians were a mixed group of Jews who chose to follow Jesus as the Son of God and Gentiles who were introduced to Jesus also followed Jesus as the Son of God.

There is now a way to be right with God without keeping a law. To help myself understand this “law,” I think of work, salary, and buying a ticket. If I work hard enough, long enough, and just right enough, I can earn enough money to buy a ticket to heaven. I just keep working and working and working just right enough. The trouble was and is, no matter how much and hard and right I work, no matter how much money I save, I can’t afford the ticket to heaven.

Rats.

Okay, so now what? We need something different. Here is it: faith in Jesus Christ. Believe. No matter who we are, where we came from, who we know, what we do for a living, and all that other stuff we use to divide people. Faith in Jesus Christ.

Now that is pretty simple. It isn’t easy, but it is pretty simple. Somehow we have made it complicated and … well just plain complicated.

Going to heaven? Oh, that. Faith in Jesus Christ makes us right with God. We can be with God now. That’s heaven, and that is a topic for another day.

3 John, verse 2 (New Living Translation)

Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit.

John is writing to his friend Gaius. John wishes a strong body—a body that is as strong as the spirit of God in Gaius.

I know people who have the spirit of God strong in them. They follow Christ daily and deeply in their lives. Their body, however, is weak and failing.

We live in a physical world. Our physical bodies move us about from place to place to meet this person or that person and show them Christ in our lives. When the body is failing, we don’t move about. We don’t meet as many persons. We don’t show Christ as much.

There are many ways that those who have strong spirits but weak bodies can still show Christ to others. Our virus year of 2020 showed how we can Zoom to meet others. We can use the old-fashioned method of writing letters and cards on paper with a pencil and love.

Still, a healthy body brings a smile face to face and a warm embrace of love.

Please God, give healthy bodies to the followers. Help us all to do the things we know we should do to keep our bodies well. Thank you for the gift of health. Let us cherish it as we should cherish all the gifts You give.

Revelation 2:5 (New Living Translation)

…Turn back to me and do the works you did at first…

This is part of the revelation given to the church at Ephesus. It appears that this church had grown complacent in its heart and actions. They are encouraged to turn back to how they lived at first.

Fatigue wins in this world. When tired, I don’t think as well. My mind isn’t as quick. My body isn’t as nimble or strong. I just want to take a nap before going to bed at night.

God provides us an escape from this world and the ball-and-chain of fatigue. No, feeling tired doesn’t go away; it is still here. What does go away is the feeling that, “Well, that’s just the way it is and there is nothing that can be done about it and we all just might as well do what we might as well do and take another nap and sit on the couch and …”

God provides us an escape from this world. Physics wins. God invented it that way. There is, however, a difference.

What is different is that God provides us a Spirit that changes us. Sure fatigue is here, and so is God’s Spirit, and so is the promise and hope that I can still do the works I did at first. Complacent, lie on the couch…those things don’t have to win. No matter my age, no matter my health, no matter my circumstance, I can still smile, I can still say an encouraging and uplifting word, I can still pray, I can still bless another, I can still…well, I hope we all get the picture and turn back to the works at first.

Thank you God. Please help me to live according to Your promises.

John 4:39 (New Living Translation)

39 Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!”

Once there was a woman from the village of Sychar. This woman went to a well to draw water in the middle of the day.

She didn’t associate much with the other women in her town. Actually, the other women of the town didn’t associate with her. She had been married to five different men. Bad luck? We don’t know. Regardless of her marital status, she was okay financially because she found a man who would live with and support her.

Anyways, she happened to meet a Jewish man at the well. This Jew didn’t know how to act; he spent the while speaking with her. This Jew spoke of water that you drink once and were quenched for life. She wanted that, but the Jew was speaking in riddles. Those riddles, however, came back around to tell her things about herself that no one, especially a Jew, could know.

Despite all this mess and embarrassment, the Sycharian woman became a disciple. She discipled her entire town—even those women who looked down on her. She was one of the most successful disciple-making disciples recorded in the Bible, as she brought the entire town to meet this Jewish man, and they believed.

Ephesians 2:10 (New Living Translation)

10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Paul is writing to a group of Christians long ago in a place called Ephesus. To many folks, being a Christian means “don’t do this, don’t do that, don’t have any fun.” I am sorry to write that the incorrect idea comes from poor teaching and preaching by Christians. It certainly doesn’t come from the Bible.

What does it mean to live as a Christian? Read this verse. Long ago, God created mankind to do good things. Mankind sort of messed up the situation (well, we actually really messed it up). God, however, gave us a big second chance or third chance or however many chances. God created us again in Christ Jesus.

Okay, now what? Having been created again in Christ Jesus, we can go out and do all those good things God planned for us. Now, who is opposed to doing good things? Well, anyone want to raise their hand on this one? Sigh. Still waiting.

Sure, we can argue that doing this is good or doing that is good-er or something. And then we can argue about what standard or reference or guide we will use to define “good.” Let’s look to the Bible.

Jesus said kind words to some people. I can say a kind word or two to the folks behind the counter at Starbucks this morning and at the gas station tomorrow and at the grocery store next week and …

Jesus provided food to folks who didn’t have any. Well, I can certainly do that. Jesus… well, there are lots of examples of what Jesus did—good things planned by God long ago. I guess I could get started now, and maybe I could even tell non-Christians about this little-know part of being a Christian.

Luke 22:2 (New Living Translation)

2 The leading priests and teachers of religious law were plotting how to kill Jesus, but they were afraid of the people’s reaction.

Those in positions of religious authority were figuring. What would they do?

First, these are good people in difficult positions. They put their lives at stake for their belief in Jehovah God. History records their self-less-ness on many occasions. They were responsible for how the people lived in relation to God.

Second, they were just plain wrong about Jesus. They did not connect what they knew of the old prophecies with what they saw right in front of them.

Third, you can be good people and just plain wrong at the same time. This is not either one thing or the other. This is both at the same time.

And one more—they were simply afraid. They decided it was best to kill Jesus. They were afraid of how the people would react to their well meaning, prayer filled, contemplated decision. The people might do all sorts of crazy things that would be good in the short term and horrible in the long term.

At this point I am supposed to tie all this together and make a statement that resolves all this conflict and fear. Sorry, I can’t do that today. Good, Godly people pray, meditate, listen to God, love one another, and make terrible mistakes. We are afraid of our family, friends, and fellow Christians. We are afraid of rejection. We try. We fail. We are covered by the Grace of God. We know that, but still, we fail and fear. Please God, help me in my unbelief.

Daniel 6:16 (New Living Translation)

16 So at last the king (Darius the Mede) gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to him, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.”

Here we have King Darius the Mede. He was tricked into declaring that no one seek after any greater authority than himself. Those who tricked the King knew that Daniel would be sentenced to death by the jaws of hungry lions. The King, once he learned of his own arrogant folly, was grief stricken.

The King violates his own decree. He calls on God for mercy on Daniel. He recognizes there are higher powers than himself.

It always comes back to God. Human rulers—and those of us who think we are authoritative or occupy some higher ground than others—one day realize that we are just us and God is above all. We fall to our knees and ask God to help us out of the deep hole we dug for ourselves.

Please God, push a ladder down into this hole so I can climb back up to nothing.