Contemplative Bible Reading

Isaiah 1:5 (New Living Translation)

Why do you continue to invite punishment?
Must you rebel forever?
Your head is injured,
and your heart is sick.

God is sending a question to the people through the prophet Isaiah. Simple question:

What are you doin’?

Their lives were bringing pain and suffering. Their minds were sick; their hearts were sick. Notice how their rebellion hurt both thought and emotion. Notice how God understands that some of us lean towards emotion while some lean towards intellect. It doesn’t matter as both were hurting and hurting themselves.

God the Creator, hmmm, that means God created us. God knows us. God advises us to do what is good for us, good for our hearts and minds.

But I want to try something here that might…

Proceed with caution. Please, proceed with caution. And God, please help us to know how cautious caution is and where the lines are the show caution, fear, hope, love, bravery, boldness, and all those subjective things that we tend to confuse.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—The Declaration of Independence

The “founding fathers” of the United States of America declared their independence from the King of England and English rule. Perhaps you have heard the above words before, perhaps not.

In the first sentence, the founding fathers mention the Creator—Jehovah God of the Holy Bible.

Not all of the founding fathers were “religious” or “devout Christians” or whatever we might approve or not. Still, they used these words to describe how they viewed the human condition. They viewed the human condition with respect to the Creator God who created each soul as having access to the Creator and the opportunity of living with the Creator eternally.

The founding fathers had their failings and hypocrisy as we all have. Still, God is mentioned in the first sentence of the first document of America.

Something to remember.

Proverbs 22:2 (New Living Translation)

The rich and poor have this in common:
The Lord made them both.

The two phrases in this sentence seem to be opposite.

• God created us all equal in His sight (the second phrase).
• There are unequal people—some rich, some poor (the first phrase).

Hmmm, doesn’t make sense to me.

I believe it is a matter of perspective. The first phrase is from an economic perspective of the world where we judge or label people according to their bank balance. Some persons certainly have more money in the bank than others.

The second phrase is from God’s perspective—the value of a soul created in His image.

The first perspective sure is easier for me to use. I know that 10 is more than 2. Bank balances; simple and easy. Cars; Mercedes are worth more than Chevys. Simple and easy.

Value of a soul created in God’s image? Tough one for me. There are moments when I catch a glimpse of that value. The other 98.6% of the time…well, I don’t do so well.

Please God, help me in my unbelief. Help me to choose the right perspective.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 (New Living Translation)

History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.

So, what’s the use? The Bible tells us that nothing changes. Injustice, hate, sin—they just roll on and roll over us.

The key phrase in this verse is “under the sun.” That doesn’t mean “during the day when the sun is shining.” It means “life without God.” God was in the heavens up there with the sun. “Under the sun” was “down here where there was no God, no Creator.” (The writer wrote an exaggerated error to make a point.)

God, however, is here. One day God sent himself in the form of His Son to be with us and make us right with God. I don’t understand that statement, but I know it to be true.

History didn’t repeat itself.

God and His Son changed history forever. Thanks to God for this unfathomable act of grace.

1 Samuel 6:18 (New Living Translation)

The large rock at Beth-shemesh, where they set the Ark of the Lord, still stands in the field of Joshua as a witness to what happened there.

This sentence comes at the end of a (hi)story about how the Ark of the LORD (a treasure chest that held the ten commandments and a few other sacred items) had been lost to an enemy at the end of a lost battle. The enemy had returned the ark by placing it in a field next to a stone, a large rock.

“This rock”, proclaims the prophet Samuel, “is a witness to the events of this (hi)story.”

hmmm, a rock is a witness. Run that one by me again. Rocks are rocks; they aren’t alive, and they can’t witness events. Hmmmm, that isn’t how the prophet with a message from God described it. Perhaps I should reconsider my consideration of rocks.

There are many occasions in the Bible where rocks and dirt and such are described as if they were alive, i.e., they do things that people do such as witness events. The rocks are part of God’s creation. God can give the rocks the ability to do whatever God wants them to do. Well, I guess so, but I don’t know about …

No more “I guess so.” God said it, God did it, and God still does it. Please God, help me in my unbelief.

2 Peter 3:3-4 (New Living Translation)

3 Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. 4 They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”

Peter warns the Christians of “scoffers” who will come and mock the truth.

The trouble is, these scoffers will be telling the truth, well, at least they won’t be lying.

Truth is, for the past several thousands years sun comes up, the sun goes down, it rains in rainy season, it’s dry in the dry season. My grandfather told me of his grandfather, and I tell my grandson about all of us, and the stories are the same.

That’s one of the problems with the truth: you can say things that are true, but not tell everything that is true, so is that the truth? Philosophy hurts the head.

Peter was warning the Christians of the scoffers and rightfully so. Saying things that are true and leaving Jesus out of the story, is not full truth. Peter goes on the explain how God views time and how we view time are different. Hmmm, now that we mention it, how we view just about anything is different from how God views those same things.

Please God, help me to consider the folly of how I view things. Help me to reconsider my views and the words that accompany them.

Psalm 101: 6 (New Living Translation)

I will search for faithful people
    to be my companions.

Companions can define a person. I choose my companions. I choose my life.

The writer of this 3,000-year-old verse searched for people who were faithful to God the creator to be his companions, to define his life. This is certainly virtuous.

Notice that this person is not hiding behind a wall. This person is not gathering the faithful to hide with him. He is gathering the faithful to strengthen himself.

He then goes out into the world where there are plenty of persons who are unfaithful to God. Perhaps some of these will come into the circle of faithful companions. Perhaps some of these will move into someone else’s circle of faithful companions.

This is part of the tension of the life of a person who is faithful to God. We need faithful companions. We need time with the unfaithful. We need guidance and wisdom.

Please God, grant me guidance and wisdom to live in this tension.

2 Peter 2:19 (New Living Translation)

They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.

This is but one verse and one description in a chapter full of them. The persons described herein “know better.” They are surrounded by those who live for Christ, but they are going the other way.

This verse summarizes the tragedy: they are prisoners of a life that ends in destruction. This is a horrible life. Today is as good as it will ever be. Everything is going down and will continue.

“But they are having fun.”

Really? Every night is a nightmare. Every morning is a hangover. Everyone they know suspects them. They hate everyone in return.

Fun?

Tragedy.

God thank you for your grace.

John 6:59-61 (New Living Translation)

59 He (Jesus) said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

60 Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”

61 Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you?

Jesus taught people daily. Sometimes, it just didn’t make sense to those who heard what Jesus said.

Well, no duh. Jesus was the Son of God sent from God to teach mankind the matchless wisdom of God. No wonder it gave some of us a headache, and 2,000 years later it still hurts the head and heart.

I don’t understand everything about God.

Of course I don’t. If I understood, I would be greater than God. Perhaps that is the problem many of us have with all this. On some days we want to be God. We just can’t give up that job to God. Ego I guess.

Deuteronomy 24:19 (New Living Translation)

When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don’t go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all you do.

These sentences are the start of a section that discussed several types of crops. The message is clear to the land owner, the farmer, the person who owns.

Leave something for those who are passing through. Leave something for those who have no means of sustenance. You will have plenty. Trust that God will give you plenty.

I’m not a farmer. I don’t forget part of my paycheck on the sidewalk somewhere to go back and retrieve it or let someone else have it. I have to do something to allow someone else to have part of what God has given to me.

Did I forget to do that this week? Oh, must have slipped my mind. I need to remember better, huh? Please God, help me in my unbelief.