Contemplative Bible Reading

John 3:17 (New Living Translation)

God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

This is pretty simple. How did we miss it?

“God just doesn’t want me to have any fun. God hates us. God just wants to slap me around.” I’ve heard these and the like for many years.

How did we miss this little verse? Perhaps the verse before it, you know, God so loved the world that …, has overshadowed this one. There is certainly nothing wrong with John 3:16, but let’s not forget John 3:17.

Jesus wasn’t sent to squash folks under His thumb like little pests. He came to lift us up. Why do we fight that?

Romans 3:23-24 (New International Version)

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

These verses are translated with different words and different punctuation in the many different English translations of the Bible we have today. Let’s consider the New International Version translation here.

We often read and know the first part of the sentence given in verse 23: for all have sinned and… We are all sunk. We all fall short.

Let’s remember to keep reading the rest of the sentence: and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Hey, I like that second part of the sentence. We A L L  have hope. We A L L  have this grace of God there in front of us brought by the redemption that came by Jesus Christ.

Salvation is there for us. It is free. Thank you God.

Note: Let’s not take this sentence out of context. Paul also writes about trying to work our way into God’s presence. Working our way doesn’t work. Paul also writes about an active, believing, living faith on our part. It is complicated; it is simple. Some days I don’t fully know what I know about this.

Romans 1:16 (New Living Translation)

16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.

This is early in Paul’s letter to Christians living in Rome. Paul isn’t ashamed of what he writes. He is bold in it.

Great stuff. Right? No big deal. Let’s back up a minute and consider the situation.

There is no city on earth today in 2019 that compares to Rome in the day that Paul wrote his letter. Rome was the capitol of everything. Finance, business, entertainment, luxury, education, sophistication, and so and and so on. To live in Rome meant you were pretty darn special and everyone everywhere else envied you with good reason.

Now consider Paul. A little Jew. His people, his nation (actually his nation no longer existed as a nation. It was just a place.) was small, powerless, conquered. Jews were a bunch of conquered folks who lived out there somewhere with all the other nameless, powerless, conquered folks in the great Roman empire.

Paul was nothing.

Rome was everything.

Yet Paul wrote boldly to Romans. The good news of Christ empowered a nothing to write to everything and explain the power of Christ. The power of Christ overcomes all. It even allows a conquered Jew to boldly tell Romans about a dead Jew who is saving the world.

And so what is scaring me?

John 1:46 (New Living Translation)

“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.

People were gathering around a fellow who had appeared from the little hamlet of Nazareth. This Jesus fellow was saying things that amazed them. The things he said weren’t complicated, but were simple, basic, clear, and touched their hearts.

Those who had seen and heard this Jesus fellow were calling their friends to come. As usual, the burning hearts caused these callers to say things that just weren’t believable. The second-hand friends were skeptical. Who wouldn’t be?

Philip replies with a short, simple request: Come and see for yourself.

Let’s try to follow Philip’s example. This gospel is marvelous, almost unbelievable. Let’s keep it so and not try to introduce lots of fancy smart stuff.

Romans 16:20 (New Living Translation)

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

Read this one a few times. Satan, a powerful entity, a fallen angel, a being of almost limitless power. One day, Satan will be crushed under the feet of those who follow Jesus Christ.

Do I live like I believe this will happen? If I believed this, how would I live? Would it make a difference in my life?

Luke 21:36 (New Living Translation)

Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.

Bad times will come. Bad things will happen in life. This verse is talking about a specific event. Allow me to extend it to life in general.

Not every day is wonderful. Loved ones decide poorly and go down the wrong path. That hurts. Loved ones die. Their absence hurts. Sickness hits me. That hurts. The list goes on.

Pray for strength. Give us this day our daily bread. Please God, provide what I need for this day, whatever the events of the day be.

Ephesians 5:8-9 (New Living Translation)

…So live as people of light! ⁹ For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.

God puts a light within us. God asks that we merely live what he has given us, i.e., live the light. The result is a life that is good and right and true.

Who doesn’t want that? Who doesn’t want to live GOOD and RIGHT and TRUE?

I find it a shame that we ask that question. Of course everyone wants to live good and right and true? Don’t we all? The answer is, “No.” And why not? I believe that there are many among us who have not received the blessings I have received. Social commentators call it “social capital” or the things that my earthly parents gave me as a child.

Go to bed. Brush your teeth. Go to school. Do your best. Learn your memory verse. It’s time to go to the church building. Who is your Bible class teacher? What did you learn in Sunday School today?…and many more things that my earthly parents said.

Still, “good and right and true” must mean something to all of us? Don’t they? Perhaps it is left to me to offer a cool drink of water to someone who didn’t have social-capital-granting parents. Perhaps it is left to me to offer a smile, an encouraging word, an example of good and right and true.

God, bless me as I walk out into the world this day.

Luke 20:20 (New Living Translation)

Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent spies pretending to be honest men. They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor so he would arrest Jesus.

There is much happening in this (hi)story. Let’s focus on the spies. A group of respected religious leaders, and let us not reduce the importance of this fact—these were RESPECTED RELIGIOUS LEADERS—call me into a room. “There is this fellow named Jesus. He comes from backwoods no where, but claims to be the Son of God. He appears to be healing sick people miraculously, but that must be some trick or something. Anyways, follow him. Listen to everything he says. Watch everything he does.”

Hmmm, being hired to spend day after day with the Son of God. What would that job be like? We aren’t told anything about what happened to these “spies.” Did they become dedicated followers of Jesus? Did they go back to their old lives? Did anything matter to these persons?

I don’t have the chance to walk around with Jesus. I can read much of what Jesus said and did. Do I take that opportunity or go do something else with my day?

Luke 20:20 (New Living Translation)

Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent spies pretending to be honest men. They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor so he would arrest Jesus.

Jesus had told a story to illustrate what God wanted and didn’t want in our lives. The leaders were upset because they knew the story showed their, what shall we say, less-than-right lives.

The leaders sent “spies”—people pretending to be honest me, but who were really trying to find something wrong with Jesus. Something that would cause the ruling Gentiles, a.k.a. occupying army, to shut up this Jesus fellow once and for all.

Imagine being one of these spies. “Go spend a lot of time in the presence of the Son of God. Ask the Son of God questions. Listen carefully to what the Son of God says. Take detailed notes for the record about the Son of God living among us.”

In a few verses we are told that these spies were amazed by what Jesus said.

What else? We aren’t told. Were the spies so dedicated to their mission that they ignored Jesus? Were the spies human enough to be touched by the love and words of the Son of God? I suspect the latter. After all, billions of us have been touched and changed by the recorded words of Jesus. These spies heard them first hand.

2 Samuel 8:15 (New Living Translation)

So David reigned over all Israel and did what was just and right for all his people.

This is the start of the reign of David, King over all of God’s people. What words are used to describe it? Peace? Prosperity? Security? Military might? Health Care? Or one of today’s favorites…It’s the Economy stupid?

Just and Right.

What? Where did that come from? Some translation use the words “justice and righteousness.” In a short sentence we learn what God values and what God feels is important.

What do I value? When was the last time I told people that “just and right” were the qualities of candidates that I value? When was the last time I used the words “just and right” in any way? What do I value?