Contemplative Bible Reading

Hebrews 9:13-14 (New Living Translation)

13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.

The writer to the Hebrews is comparing the old system (Old Testament) to the new. Animal sacrifices in the old system clean bodies to be pure for ceremonies.

The blood of Jesus Christ cleans our consciences. I have to stop and think about this one for a while. The blood cleans my thoughts from sin so that I can worship God all the time. That blood came from a perfect sacrifice—one that lasts forever.

I don’t understand that; it is too much for my mind. How do you clean a person’s conscience? How to you clean a person’s ability to judge right and wrong? Perhaps the cleaning enables a person to clearly judge right from wrong. That is a big help right there.

I think it goes further than that. I cannot think through all of that. I am left to wonder about all this. I do, however, recognize the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is bigger and more powerful than I can recognize. Does that make sense? I know that Jesus is greater than I can know.

Thank you, God. Thank you for blessings that are beyond my recognition.

Genesis 6:5 (New Living Translation)

5 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.

What a world. Can you imagine such a place with such an extent of human wickedness? Everything thought or imagined was evil.

We are not talking about deeds; we are talking about thoughts. Sometimes we think of good things to do, but we fail to do what we can imagine. At this time in Genesis, the thoughts were evil. What kind of deeds come from thoughts that are consistently and totally evil?

This begins the (hi)story of Noah, the flood, and sort of a second start.

What a place this must have been. Thank you God that I did not live in that place. And what am I thinking minute to minute, day to day? Please God, keep me from repeating this history.

James 1:3 (New Living Translation)

3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

James is writing to Jews who believed that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God. These groups of believers had been scattered to the winds and found themselves in little groups here and there. No roots in the local area and no connections to help them through the politics and culture. They were all stranded.

They were double refugees. Cast off from mainline Jews and cast off from their homes.

They believed something they weren’t supposed to believe. “Oh, how quaint. You are one of those losers who believe in that silly stuff! No wonder you ended up living in that part of town with nothing to show for your ideas.” Their faith was tested everyday.

The daily tests of faith were an opportunity to grow. Huh? Pretty naive thought, huh? This is no fun. This weighs on us daily. Opportunity? Grow? Really?

Yes, an opportunity to grow. When faith is tested today, it endures. When it is tested again tomorrow, it endures more. With each day of testing, endurance increases. This is sort of like with each day of doing pushups, muscles grow. And I don’t like doing pushups, but I like muscles to grow. And I don’t like reading, but I like knowledge to grow. And I don’t like that, but I like this to grow.

Of course it is simple. Of course it is nuanced and complicated and not naive. Of course it is difficult when others scoff at my belief in Jesus Christ.

And Jesus Christ is with me every step of the way. Thank you Jesus.

Ezekiel 18:31 (New Living Translation)

31 Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel?

There is a sermon in every phrase in this sentence.

Let’s consider the first one. God is talking to the people through the prophet Ezekiel. The people have lived sin-filled lives. Sure they sin; sure we all sin, but these people at this time were full of sin and rebelling against what they were taught.

Righteousness was no where to be found. What should they do? Put all the rebellion behind you. Simple. Yesterday is gone. We start fresh, right here, right now.

What’s the catch? There must be a catch. Sure there is a “catch.” There are many catches. My mortgage still exists. My car note still exists. My extra 50 pounds stretching my pants and making it hard to breathe still exists. Those are big catches.

Those are temporary and tiny catches compared to what is ahead. Eternity with God is farther away from my mortgage than the sky is the from the ink stains on a piece of paper that tell me how much I still owe on my house.

What’s the catch? There is no catch. God forgives. God doesn’t forget, but God acts as if yesterday never happened. God wants me to act as if yesterday never happened. God enables me to act as if yesterday never happened. That is one of the countless blessings from God.

All I have to do … sigh. All I have to do is put my rebellion behind me. Please God, help me push myself out of my own way and do it.

1 Timothy 1:13 (New Living Translation)

In my insolence, I persecuted his (God’s) people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief.

This is Paul telling of his past sins and God’s mercy. Paul would smash into gatherings of Christians and kill and torture those he found. That is an ugly picture. Consider it for a few moments.

Paul didn’t understand how the old prophets were predicting the Son of God coming to save mankind. Paul didn’t believe that Jesus fellow from Nazareth was the Son of God. Paul was ignorant and unbelieving.

That didn’t matter to God. We are told about how God’s mercy worked in the life of Paul. Paul is famous—people for 20 centuries knew of him.

Paul is alone in his fame; Paul is not alone in his redemption.

We cannot count the people through the centuries who were ignorant and unbelieving, yet still received the mercy of God. Ignorance and unbelief pains God. They do not cause God to turn away and “write us off.” God is still there waiting for us.

Praise be to God for unfailing love, grace, and mercy. (Now, if I could just grow up enough to act a little more like God.)

Ezekiel 2:6 (New Living Translation)

6 “Son of man, do not fear them or their words. Don’t be afraid even though their threats surround you like nettles and briers and stinging scorpions. Do not be dismayed by their dark scowls, even though they are rebels.

God is speaking to the prophet Ezekiel.

Words can hurt. The bite in a few chosen adjectives is powerful.

A glance can hurt. Those piercing unblinking eyes cut through the body and soul.

“Fear not”, encourages God. Nettles and briers and stinging scorpions of rebellious persons are not to be feared.

“Do not be dismayed,” encourages God.

Fear and dismay can be crippling. They can push the brave and righteous into a corner of inactivity. Don’t go there. Don’t cower in darkness. Continue to speak, love, and act in righteousness.

This is all pretty simple when you think about it. This is all pretty daunting when words and scowls hit. Please God, grant me strength.

Genesis 6:9 (New Living Translation)

9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.

So begins the (hi)story of Noah, the ark, the flood, the rainbow, and all that goes with it. God was disappointed with what his ultimate creation (mankind) had done to itself. It was time for a reset.

God noticed Noah. Noah was “the only blameless person living on earth at the time.” Wow. Noah was a great guy! Was Noah happy?

Noah was alone. He alone was blameless. He alone walked in close friendship with God. If you are to pick a companion, God is an excellent one. Still, God is not … well, not physical and doesn’t bring some of the companionship that other folks bring. There had to be something lacking in Noah’s life.

What was it like to be the only blameless person? How did Noah see everyone else? Did Noah wonder about them? Did Noah try to convince them otherwise? I have lots of questions about Noah, but few answers.

I read of many of the main characters in the Bible. Adam, Noah, Moses, Mary, Peter, and so on. They are the heroes of thousands of years. What, however, was it like to be them? Often, not so good. Often, lonely. Still, God used them to help me. How is God using me to help someone I don’t know, will never know, and will live generations after I am gone?

Lamentations 1:3 (New Living Translation)

She (Judah) lives among foreign nations
and has no place of rest.

The writer is lamenting or mourning the fate of Judah. Hauled away from home, the Judeans live in other countries. They never rest. They mourn continuously.

In what country do Christians live today? Oh, well, uh, just about every country. And we have rest in the grace of God regardless of geography.

Well, of course we do. How could it be any other way and why make note of the obvious. It is obvious, so we don’t notice it often enough and we almost never thank God for it. Really folks.

Let’s thank God that regardless of where we are on earth, we are with God and we are covered by the love and grace of God. That is a miracle whose blessing we enjoy every moment of every day with every breath. Thank you God. Let me never forget the obvious and the miracles all around me.

Ezekiel 33:11 (New Living Translation)

11 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?

God is speaking to the people through the prophet Ezekiel. God encourages Ezekiel to warn the people before it is too late. Seems like an easy job? No, it isn’t.

Living in sin dooms the people to death. That is a plain statement, but it is hard to hear. The prophet expands on God’s warning in great detail. It didn’t get the message across. The people continued to ignore God and suffered from the result.

Pleasure? No. God had no pleasure in this. Death was a consequence. Much of that consequence was natural—a natural result of the lifestyle of sin. It grieved God. It grieved those who shunned evil and had to witness death.

A sinful life, a life full of sin, may have its pleasures here and there, now and then. It ultimately leads to death. It ultimately leads to pain, suffering, and anguish. Let us all please listen to these ancient words that are still true and urgent.

Galatians 1:4 (New Living Translation)

4 Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.

I hate to mention it, but we live in an evil world. Evil is everywhere. You don’t have to look far or long to see it. Woe is us. Nope. We have been rescued from this evil world. God the Father planned and executed the plan for the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins.

Let’s consider two points from this (there are many, many more we could consider, but those will have to wait for another day or year).

Point one: Let’s not skip over the words, “for our sins.” Our sins contribute to the evil in this evil world. Let’s be honest about that one. Uh, no wait, must be a problem in translation. Nope. I am a big contributor to this evil world. My sins—not just the sins of that other fella sitting across the coffee shop.

Point two: We are rescued from all this. Jesus’ death on the cross was not just for dramatic affect. It was a sacrifice of rescue. It worked. We are lifted out of the evil mire of this place.

God, never let me forget my part in the evil of this place. Never let me forget the rescue. Thank you, God.