Reading from Thursday, July 22

Oh yeah. What is up?

So my friend Andy came over last night. Andy is a pastor at my church and has always been somewhat of a Biblical mentor of mine. In 2004 when I didn't have a job, Andy would give me a specific assignment to read in the Bible, and then take me out to lunch every week and we would talk about it.

Now that I'm doing this blog thing, and many of these profound questions are revealing themselves to me, Andy wanted to hang out and talk through some of these difficult things. And while his answers didn't completely satisfy my skepticism or anger at God for certain things, he provided a fresh mental approach to looking at things.

For instance, when talking about "the big picture" of the Bible, he said that if you try to rationalize things in a mathematical sense, it will never work. But rather try to rationalize them in a aesthetic way. So in the same way there are dark and light elements in a painting, there are dark and light elements in the story of God. In the same way that there are elements of a painting that aren't noticeable the first time you look at it, the Bible has hidden treasures of wisdom. And in the same way that there are elements that aren't part of the subject of a painting, they add to the overall image and mosaic of the beauty of it - so too the Bible has elements that don't move toward the ultimate goal of salvation, but paint a larger, more beautiful mosaic of love, redemption and forgiveness.

He had some other, really fantastic thoughts as well, and I'll probably bring them up in context as I get to things that relate to them. But for now, let's hit the good book.

Reading for July 22
2 Chronicles 6:12-8:10
Once again we see a direct Ctrl+C Ctrl+V job here from Kings to Chronicles. This section recounts the completion of the temple, and then Solomon giving a great prayer of dedication. Sol's prayer is incredibly insightful, but like I said, I've already read it. However, he highlights something that I think is very important.

³⁶ "When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy...

This idea of no one being worthy before God is something I thought was unique to the time after Christ. But here in this one line, we are witness to the abject hopelessness that the Israelites are doomed to live in. And yet there was hope. Because of the sin in the world, the population of the earth probably deserved to be annihilated every day. Their hope came from God's grace - which, admittedly, he gave out in small doses in the Old Testament. Their hope eventually turned to a savior that would one day come to rescue them from the bonds of sin.

This is something else Andy and I were discussing last night - the narrative of the Bible. If you look at the Old Testament only to contrast it against the New Testament, you will see that all of this was done for you. Specifically, you. And while I don't believe God had planned for his people to turn away and for him to have such a terrible relationship with them for centuries upon centuries, I do believe that time of suffering for humanity was something awful that God turned into good.

We live in a free society today. We have very little to worry about when compared to the people of the OT. Without that context of horror and fear that the Jews lived in, we would have absolutely no appreciation for what Jesus did for us. And I think until a new Christian fully understands the contrast between the two time periods, they cannot fully realize their faith. I've proudly called myself a Christian for almost about 17 years now, and I am just now starting to catch a glimpse of what that title truly means.

Romans 7:14-8:8

²¹So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²²For in my inner being I delight in God's law; ²³but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ²⁴What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
      So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

This, I think is the only way to preach God's message. We as Christians today are so ready to condemn others for being a certain way, being interested in a certain thing. Or we protest events or businesses for the things they practice.  But remember, just as Solomon said, "there is no one who does not sin". So to preach the message of God with a finger pointing out is to make the already wide gap that much wider. Rather, if we find ourselves in a situation where we have an opportunity to share the message, we need to first make the point that we are equal to the person with whom we are talking. All are guilty. That means you too, Westboro Baptist.

It also means me.

Psalm 18:1-15
This Psalm paints God as the toughest dude ever. David is praising God after he was delivered from the hand of Saul, who was trying to kill him.

⁸ Smoke rose from his nostrils;
       consuming fire came from his mouth,
       burning coals blazed out of it.
¹³ The LORD thundered from heaven;
       the voice of the Most High resounded. ^[c]
 14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies ,
       great bolts of lightning and routed them.
 ¹⁵ The valleys of the sea were exposed
       and the foundations of the earth laid bare
       at your rebuke, O LORD,
       at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

Boom. You've been Godded. 


Proverbs 19:24-25
 ²⁴ The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
       he will not even bring it back to his mouth!
 ²⁵ Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence;
       rebuke a discerning man, and he will gain knowledge.

Sham wow.