Contemplative Bible Reading

1 Peter 3:8-9 (English Standard Version)

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

Peter is writing to Christians. This is one of those verses that I should burn into the wood of the front door or the sheet metal on my garage door so that I see it everyday.

Christians are called to B L E S S.

That seems simple enough, so much so that Peter contrasts it with what other folks do: evil for evil and reviling for reviling. (When was the last time you heard someone say, “They reviled us! Let’s revile them back!”) Those things sure seem like fun at times, but they are for others, not for us.

Regardless of ego and pride and all those things that tug at me to do the e4e and r4r (I think I just invented some hashtags) let’s concentrate on called2bless (hey, invented another hashtag? No, just checked, that one exists already).

Enough levity. Getting even should be foreign to me. Please God, help me rid it from my life.

Isaiah 29:13 (New Living Translation)

And so the Lord says,
“These people say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me
is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.

rote: noun – mechanical or habitual repetition of something to be learned.

God’s people worshiped Him. At least they thought they were worshiping. Through the prophet, God declared their worship noting more than a mechanical or habitual repetition.

The people had lost:

• We are the highest creation of the great creator (Wow! What a position of glory!)
• Glorifying God with our voices
• Cherishing God in the Hearts that God gave to us alone

The people had traded those for, and I am mechanically repeating myself here, a mechanical or habitual repetition.

This is not yet another woeful rendition of, “I don’t like church because it is the same old people, doing the same old things, the same old way, again and again.” I have experienced church where the same old people did the same old thing the same old way each week and fell to their knees in tears while doing it. There was a repetition, but it was heartfelt glorifying of God.

God is cautioning us. God knows our hearts and can see past the surface of “Wow, this is exciting. We have never done it this way before,” to what motivates and drives us.

Please God. Help me to worship in spirit and truth from a heart that is close to you.

Isaiah 29:10 (New Living Translation)

For the Lord has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep.
He has closed the eyes of your prophets and visionaries.

God the Creator is punishing the chosen people for their disobedience. The punishment? Deep sleep. Those who are supposed to see, hear, and envision are…well, their minds are asleep. They lose the ability to think beyond the moment. They lose the ability to think at all.

God has blessed us all with amazing minds. It is a shame that we don’t use our minds to the power God has given.

God has the power to take away the wonderment of our minds. What a curse on the chosen people. Please God, don’t curse me with such. Don’t pour on me a spirit of deep sleep.

Acts 17:16-17 (New Living Translation)

16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city. 17 He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.

Paul saw things that troubled him in the city of Athens. He went to the Jewish schools (synagogues) to discuss these things. He went to the public square to discuss these things. He spoke to everyone he met about the one true God and the grace of God.

Notice how the existence of the city state of Athens enabled Paul to speak of God and the grace of God.

Yes, the city state of Athens enabled all sorts of evil to exist and all sorts of people filled with evil to run amok. Still, the city state enabled the spread of the gospel. I believe that God helped mankind establish civil order that enabled the spread of the gospel. Civil order enabled us to live peacefully.

There is much that I do not like about America today. There is much that I do not like about the nations of earth today. Nevertheless, I give thanks for God helping mankind a sense of civil order.

Philippians 3:20 (New Living Translation)

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

I am a citizen of heaven. I am not a citizen of this place—earth. I am stuck here for a while. Jesus, the one anointed to take away my sins, lives in heaven—my homeland.

I eagerly await someone from home to come and take me home.

In the meantime, I should do what I can to show others the blessings of citizenship in my homeland. I should do what I can to show others the life that is lived in my homeland.

Pretty simple stuff. How is it that I am confused about it so often?

Acts 10:1-4 (New Living Translation)

In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius…One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said. Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel.

Cornelius was one of THEM. He was a Roman, not a Jew. He was part of an occupation force, not a native. He was a warrior, not a peace maker. He was this and that and a lot of other things. Cornelius wasn’t one of US; Cornelius was one of THEM.

Nevertheless, an angel of God went to Cornelius and spoke with him.

Pause here a minute. I don’t recall any instances in my life when an angle of God came to me to talk—at least if it happened I didn’t recognize it as such. AND I AM ONE OF US, NOT ONE OF THEM.

God sent a messenger to one of them and caused one of them to become one of us.

This isn’t the way these things are supposed to happen—at least that is the way I see it and that isn’t the way I would do this. Be still; I am not God. Please God, help me to accept that each day. Help me in my unbelief.

Isaiah 3:5 (New Living Translation)

Young people will insult their elders,
and vulgar people will sneer at the honorable.

The is part of a passage about God judging and punishing the people. It is a long list including the scarcity of food and water—necessities for life.

And here we have another punishing: youth disrespecting those they should respect and the vulgar sneer in derision at the honorable.

• respect
• honor

Old-fashioned words and concepts?

• insults
• vulgarity
• sneer

Well, what can we say about these?

When I was young—here we go again, but please hang in there with me—I was pushed into respecting and honoring those who had earned such. If I didn’t, I was punished. With time, I learned to do these things voluntarily. Maybe I wasn’t taught with the best of methods, but I was taught.

I live in a society characterized by insults, vulgarity, and sneers. No, this isn’t about the current President. It is about the past several decades. Too bad for us. Perhaps God is judging us.

We don’t have to live like this. Please God, help us to learn.

Proverbs 15:29 (New Living Translation)

The Lord is far from the wicked,
but he hears the prayers of the righteous.

What a curse. Does God hear the prayers of the wicked? Does God only hear the prayers of the righteous?

I believe God hears the prayers of all who call on the name of the Lord. Still, why would I want to be far from God? Stay close.

Galatians 6:4 (New Living Translation)

Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.

I think God wants us to do well. Hence, we have the phrase “a job well done.” The result of a job well done is that I don’t have to fall into the temptation of comparing myself to others. I find satisfaction in what God has given me the ability to do.

Notice something “missing” from the second part of the verse. It doesn’t say that a job well done will bring riches. A mistaken omission? I doubt it. Riches are not the reward for doing well, for doing as God wishes us to do.

Maybe God and I should have a chat about this one and I can get a rewrite and… No. What God has given is more than what I deserve. Please God, help me to be satisfied. Help me to do a job well done.

Proverbs 17:9 Holman Christian Standard Bible

Whoever conceals an offense promotes love,
but whoever gossips about it separates friends.

How do I react when someone offends me or offends another in front of me or simply makes a bad mistake that affects me?  (I can go on quite a while here, but this will suffice)

Perhaps the word “conceal” isn’t what I like. Why hide or sort of lie about something? Perhaps the word “conceal” is exactly what I need to read.

Don’t mention the offense—to anyone. Instead, promote love.

Slow burn as I consider all the times I did the opposite. Perhaps this is translated incorrectly or perhaps I just need to …

Should I mention the offense to anyone? To anyone? The result of that is simple in black in white in front of me.

Sometimes I don’t like to read the Bible as it highlights my failings. Please God, help me in my unbelief.