Contemplative Bible Reading

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (New Living Translation)

19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

This choice was given to God’s people several thousand years ago. I believe God gives us this choice today.

I manifest my choice by loving God, obeying God, and committing myself to God. That choice brings life and blessings.

Stated that way, it is a pretty simple choice. Still, it perplexes mankind. Oh God, help us in our unbelief.

Luke 2:8-9 (New Living Translation)

8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,

This is part of the familiar (hi)story of the birth of Jesus and the shepherds with their sheep. A messenger from God appears. The reaction?

They were TERRIFIED.

Well, of course they were. The power of God is unimaginable when experienced first hand. Even in our post-post-post…modern world of computer generated movies and super duper heroes doing super duper hero stuff, the power of God is unimaginable. Let us not try to explain away the reaction of these ancient simpletons (who somehow figured out how to live full lives with none of our advanced advantages, who are the simpletons?).

When the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounds us, we are TERRIFIED.

Me? When I read this—when I read how the love of Jesus Christ has changed mankind—am I amazed? Is this, “yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ve read this before, blah, blah, blah.” Do I realize the Lord’s glory? Am I numb? Is my heart seared hard and sealed to any feeling?

Ecclesiastes 12:13 (New Living Translation)

That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.

There is much that can be written about fearing God. For today, let’s consider it in light of the rest of the sentence: obey his commands.

I should be afraid of rebelling against the “commands” of God. I should fear the consequences of stealing. I should fear the consequences of murder. I should fear the consequences of worshiping other gods.

Now let’s move to the less obvious but more prevalent. I should fear the consequences of hating other persons instead of loving them. I should fear the consequences of a drunken and drugged life. I should fear the consequences of not caring for my spouse and progeny.

I can make a much longer list. I hope we all understand the concept. God has given commands, guidance, and just plain good advice to us. We don’t have to obey or heed these. We can do otherwise. I hope we consider the consequences of ignoring the Creator.

Please God, hope me to fear you and obey your commands. Help me in my unbelief.

1 Thessalonians 5:26 (English Standard Version)

Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

We usually joke about this verse. Then we dismiss it as something cultural that was done a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

I think we miss the key word in this little sentence: HOLY.

Throughout this letter to a church, the writer reminds the Christians again and again that they are different now that they are in Christ Jesus. They see things differently. They react differently. They treat people differently.

And they greet one another differently.

They don’t just kiss when they meet—the norm of the culture then—they give a HOLY kiss. A greeting that everyone can see is different; a greeting that shows everyone they live differently in Christ Jesus.

When I meet a new co-worker, we greet each other per the norms of our culture.

When I meet my granddaughter, we greet each other in a completely different manner.

When Christians meet, our greeting should show everyone that we live differently in Christ Jesus. Let us give HOLY greetings to one another. HOLY handshakes. HOLY hugs. HOLY smiles.

Matthew 11:25 (New Living Translation)

At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike…”

God sent His Son to bring the good news to man on earth. Some understood the message—the childlike. Some, those who thought themselves to be wise, just didn’t get it.

How wise am I? I thought wisdom was a good thing. I thought thinking was a good thing. I think these things are good things. Am I thinking too much?

Sometimes we simply try too hard. We miss what is plain to see right in front of us. God, please help me to be childlike. Help me to see what is plainly present. Help me to be present.

Luke 19:26 (New Living Translation)

‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away…’

Jesus is telling what many call “The Parable of Ten Talents.” This verse is near the conclusion. There are many lessons to discuss from this parable. One is:

Learn something, know something, that enables learning more, and teaching.

Learning and learning and learning just to be learning is a self-described problem: it is learning just to be learning. Learning with a purpose, however, is different. Learning to teach and to serve has a godly purpose.

One more caution about learning: I should not have a set plan to learn first, then do. “I will learn for two years before I set out to serve and teach.” Please, don’t.

Learn a little, serve and teach a lot. Repeat often How much is “a little?” I am not sure, but it is something less than a lot. Please God, don’t let me wait for the right day or the right year or…have me to serve and teach this moment.

Matthew 11:28-30 (New Living Translation)

28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Ever have a tough day? Work hard and people fuss at you; go home and the faucet is leaking and the car battery is dead. And then someone quotes the above verse about how light my burden is. Where did that come from?

Life can be tough. Salvation, when considered in light of these verses, isn’t so tough. Jesus will find rest for us. Uh, err, what about the faucet and the car battery and the kid’s crooked teeth and…

Examine what Jesus said: we will find rest for our souls.

The rest and light burden is for our souls, not our family logistics. My salvation is His burden in that He does it all. I merely accept it.

Some days are tough. Things pile up high. Physical fatigue wins.

Salvation—the important thing—is taken care of by Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.

Luke 12:29-30 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

29 Don’t keep striving for what you should eat and what you should drink, and don’t be anxious. 30 For the Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

Jesus is speaking in these verses. He has just finished describing the birds and how God cares for their needs. Jesus tells us not to strive after the things that sustain us. And Jesus adds that God knows we need them.

Jesus doesn’t say, “God knows you want these things.” He says, “God knows you need them.”

God loves and cares for us. He will provide what we need. Also, wanting what we need is not a sin, and we need food, drink, and clothing. Enough italics to emphasize verbs.

Jesus urges us to forsake striving for what we need to strive for life with God. The necessities will come through one vehicle or another, and God—whether we realize it or not—provides those vehicles.

Still, it is not sinful to want food and clothing for my children.

Luke 19:36-40 (New Living Translation)

36 As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him. 37 When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.

38 “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”

39 But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”

40 He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”

This is the conclusion to the (hi)story of the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the height of popularity quickly followed by execution.

The people are shouting, singing, and praising God. The religious leaders are indignant. The people should not be hailing some wanderer from Nazareth as a King.

Jesus’ replied, “If they didn’t praise me, the rocks would.” In this case, the rocks—the lower part of God’s creation—don’t need to praise Jesus. The people are.

Try to turn this around in our minds. If we didn’t praise Jesus, if we were silent, the rocks would praise Jesus. Our numb silence would be the reason for the lower parts of God’s creation to praise Jesus. Let us never be the numb silence that is the reason for the rocks doing what we should do.

Luke 8:34-35 (New Living Translation)

34 When the herdsmen saw it, they fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. 35 People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been freed from the demons. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid.

This is part of the (hi)story of Jesus freeing a man from demons that were living in his body. After the miracle, people came from the nearby town to see for themselves (no fake news allowed).

How did they react? Here was a crazy man sitting calmly next to this Jesus fellow. The crazy man was perfectly sane and dressed well in the business casual attire of the day. Rejoicing? Thrilled?  They could see their neighbor was no longer a menace but now a good member of the community.

Afraid. There was no explanation of what they saw. It was impossible.

I like to think that when the impossible becomes possible that this is a great thing. Everyday, science and technology advance and we can do things that… That, however, has explanation. What these people saw had no explanation. It was super natural, i.e., beyond any explanation of natural events.

Of course they were afraid. Demons had power over demons. Maybe this Jesus was a super demon. I would be afraid of a super demon. Then again, the prophets of old could do these things. Was a prophet standing before them. If Jesus was a prophet, he would be well known, but he wasn’t.

None of the explanations fit. Of course they were afraid. I would be as well.

Are people today afraid of Christians? Should they be? Should our lives show things for which none of the regular explanations fit?