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Wednesday in the Word

The Two Basic Uses of Prayer–Yes, There ARE Two

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James 5:13
13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.

In one simple verse, James outlines the two ways we use prayer in our daily lives–either as requests for aid or as praise for requests answered.

Most of us likely do a lot of the “praying while in trouble;” I certainly do (especially while in traffic!). In fact, that’s how praying is viewed even by non-Christians…it’s something that is done as a last resort, when it seems nothing else will work. It’s also seen as something foolish to do, or something that weak or non-rational people do, at least in pop culture. Even Christians sometimes have trouble praying when it seems there’s “nothing to pray about,” i.e., no illness or trouble to ask God for help about.

But our prayers do serve another purpose beyond that. We can also pray when we are happy, as James depicts here; our words can be “songs of praise” to God, not only for what He’s done for us, but for Who He is. If we took time every day in prayer to affirm that God is Almighty and has everything under control, how much less stressed might we be? How much less worry might we have? It’s worth thinking about, and worth praying about.

Prayer isn’t just an “In Case of Emergency” type of communication with God; it can be our daily phone call to God, a chance to catch up and talk, to tell Him how much He means to us. And if that sounds like a silly thing to do, then consider this: if the only time your family members called you was to ask you for something, how strongly would you say they valued their connection with you? Our connection to God should be considered the same way–He is our Father, after all.

Wednesday in the Word

False Idols Don’t Even Compare to God

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Jeremiah 10:11, 15-16
11 Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.’ … 15 They are worthless, the objects of mockery; when their judgment comes, they will perish. 16 He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things, including Israel, the tribe of his inheritance—the Lord Almighty is his name.”

Jeremiah, speaking the Word of God to the wayward Israelites, is very clear: the idols and gods that other tribes and peoples in the region worship are not like God–they are false. They “did not make the heavens and the earth,” and thus they will “perish from the earth,” because they are nothing like God even though they purport to be.

False idols, according to God through Jeremiah, are worthy only of mockery. Earlier in chapter 10, the prophet describes how the false idols must be propped up, dressed, and carried because they cannot actually do anything for themselves, nor can they affect the world around them. By contrast, God made the earth, the heavens, and everything within them, and He not only watches over everything He created, but has power over it all as well.

Even today, we see the truth of this passage. Praying for anything else besides God to save us or help us does no good, but praying to God can and has caused some miracles to happen. God is definitely still active and still in the business of protecting and caring for His people. This is why the false idols, the false gods that have tempted the Israelites away, do not even compare with God–they can never do what He can, can never help people the way that God can. This is why the “Portion of Jacob” (a title for God only used here and one other place in the Bible) is so much better than those other idols; He is real, and they aren’t.

Wednesday in the Word

Leave Behind Your “Starting Line” of Faith

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Philippians 3:13-14
13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Speaking in rather athletic terms, Paul describes the Christian life as a striving towards the “goal” of godliness and ultimately the “prize” of heaven. Just like a runner leaving behind the start line to race toward the finish, Paul is leaving behind the “starting line” of the sinful life he once led, and running toward the “finish line”–a reunion with God in heaven.

Note that Paul is not saying he strives this way in order to be saved; he is already saved thanks to his faith in Jesus. But he looks forward to going to heaven. He knows he’s not “there” yet in terms of godliness and in terms of deserving it, but the gift of salvation allows him to one day experience that everlasting life and glory with God. That is what makes his life on earth bearable–knowing where it leads.

We too can have this hope. Looking forward to heaven, a life without pain, tears, or death, and a life with God, is every Christian’s gift personally delivered by Jesus. We just must first put aside the petty, selfish things of this world and this life, and rely on God for our needs, both human and spiritual. It’s all about leaving behind your starting line, your own past sins, and running on with Jesus toward heaven.

Wednesday in the Word

Being Dependent on God is Not a Bad Thing

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Proverbs 16:19
19 Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.

As part of the “Proverbs of Solomon” contained within the larger Book of Proverbs, this verse cautions us not to be “proud,” but rather “lowly in spirit.” But what do the words “proud” and “lowly” mean, in this context?

According to other similar verses in the Bible (Proverbs 3:34, Isaiah 57:15, Matthew 5:3, Proverbs 1:13-14, and Judges 5:30), being “proud” in God’s eyes means being too self-sufficient to acknowledge your need for God, or too bent on worldly wealth, prestige, and power to remember God. By contrast, being “lowly in spirit” means being humble and remaining dependent on God for spiritual strength, blessings, motivation, and forgiveness (both for yourself and for others through you).

In our modern culture, calling someone “dependent” is an insult–it usually means that the person wants others to do things for him or her because of laziness. We highly value self-sufficiency and individuality, and frown on people who act helpless so that they don’t have to make an effort. But that is not the kind of dependence this verse is asking us to have. Living a life dependent on God is actually rather active; it means praying to Him about what you’re going to do, lifting up your efforts to God while you work to accomplish things, and trusting God with the results, including setbacks or do-overs. It’s about acknowledging that everything we do is by the grace of God.

I’ve lived a proud life, a self-sufficient life, before, and I’m working on living a humble, dependent life now. I know which life feels less muddied, less drifting, and which life felt empty and meaningless after a while. Life honestly does work better if we trust God and are actively dependent on Him to lead us. After all, if all we truly depend on is ourselves, what room is there for God?

Wednesday in the Word

Jesus’ Identity Confirmed by Scriptural Eyewitnesses

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1 John 1:1-3
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched–this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

Given that “the Word of life” references Jesus, we can see how John sets up Jesus’ identity as both divine and human. Jesus was indeed “that which was from the beginning,” having always existed and being one with God (see the Gospel of John’s opening lines). And yet, Jesus lived on earth in a fleshly body as well, and the disciples could look at Him, see Him, even touch Him; He lived a mortal, human life. He was truly both–God in flesh, God come to earth.

This is what the disciples could “testify” to firsthand–that they saw Jesus live (and die) as a human, but also saw Him rise from the grave, talk to them, and ascend to Heaven some days after. They had eyewitness testimony of their experiences walking alongside Christ, both before and after His crucifixion; they knew only the Messiah, the Savior, could do this. This is what John is joyfully “proclaiming”–the truth of what they all saw. And they share about this experience because they want others to know the reason for their joy. The Savior has come, has died for our sins and risen again, and the gift of salvation is ours to claim if we so choose.

These days, we want more than eyewitness testimonies to believe something; we want scientific studies, empirical data, DNA samples, anything that is concrete and incontrovertible “proof.” All of that scientific innovation is wonderful, and it has its place in our society’s workings. But faith asks that we take a step beyond what is absolutely provable, opening our minds just long enough to admit the idea of God. We may not be able to get a DNA sample from Jesus or measure God’s footprint, but if we even temporarily allow that God exists, we might just be able to grasp what John’s talking about here, and to believe.

Wednesday in the Word

God Says “Act Like You Got Some Sense!”

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Deuteronomy 32:28-31
28 They are a nation without sense, there is no discernment in them. 29 If only they were wise and would understand this and discern what their end would be! 30 How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up? 31 For their rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede.

In this passage, which is part of Moses’ song to the Israelites near the end of his leadership, Moses warns Israel to stop straying from God. Israel has waffled back and forth between worshipping other deities and worshipping God, and in so doing has become a very lost and divided people, even by the end of Moses’ tenure. (The Book of Joshua and Judges, next up in the Bible, show that this behavior continues even after Moses’ warning.)

God sounds pretty harsh all the way through this song, which might be understood better as a verbal warning from on high. But He’s warning the Israelites that if they don’t shape up and start following properly, He’ll have to show them what life is like without His blessings and protections. (Verse 30 shows one particular vision of combat with other nations without God’s protection.) Yet even the enemies of Israel acknowledge that the Israelites have a God Who is stronger and more powerful than theirs (verse 31).

All too often, we too forget how powerful God is in the pursuit of our rather self-sufficient lifestyle. We, like the ancient Israelites described here, sometimes act like a “nation without sense” or “discernment;” we don’t realize how our lives always rest in God’s hands. God often takes a backseat to other things in our lives, regarded more like a last-resort, “Break Glass in Case of Emergency” deity. But God does not want that kind of treatment, any more than our parents like to be treated like human ATMs or gift machines. He wants us to walk with Him, just as He wanted the ancient Israelites to do. That’s what Moses’ whole song is about.

Wednesday in the Word

Paul’s Guide to Being a Serene Witness

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Acts 19:8-10
8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

In this passage, Paul has visited Ephesus and is doing missionary work there, preaching about Jesus and sharing the various truths of the gospel with the Ephesians. Here, we see that a few people become resistant to Paul’s message and disparage it. Yet, rather than sit there and verbally duke it out with the few resisters, Paul simply leaves them, and takes his discussion elsewhere (namely, the “lecture hall of Tyrannus,” who was likely a philosopher or teacher of rhetoric of the day).

This does not mean that Paul was angrily giving up on these people, nor that they “won” the debate somehow. Instead, Paul knew that any angry argument with these resistant people would only obscure the message for others, and would degrade the quality of his witness. There was no point to argue with people who were only interested in shouting him down.

But notice that Paul doesn’t leave Ephesus entirely. He still has daily discussions with people who are interested, and the discussions seem to be open to anyone and everyone. He is preaching to both Jews and Greeks (both people of Abrahamic descent and people of other ancestry); he is presumably speaking to anyone who is interested in learning the gospel, and no one is left out. And Paul stays in this same location two years more doing this, so that everyone hears at least something about the gospel, and those who are interested can come and find out more if they wish.

To me, Paul’s open sharing of the gospel, staying away from conflict and instead inviting peaceful discussion, is what we as Christians should aspire toward. Too many times, modern Christians make headlines because they act too confrontational and angry, and in fact that is the way many nonbelievers see Christianity–as an angry, self-righteous faith, quick to judge and even quicker to condemn. Just as indignant confrontation would have only muddled Paul’s message in Ephesus, such negative communication can only damage us modern Christians and keep others from ever wanting to hear our own stories of how God has worked in our lives.

Any time we talk about Jesus with someone, we should make it as serene as possible, being willing to share our own experience and answer any questions the other person/people may have. Not everyone will want to hear our message, and that’s okay; they can make the choice for themselves, just as we did. Accepting and respecting their choice, whether it’s to listen or to walk away, is part of our job as witnesses for Christ. And, just as Paul did, we can continue to share our testimony and our understanding of the gospel elsewhere if need be.

Wednesday in the Word

God’s Love Song to Humanity

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Song of Songs 8:6-7a
Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. 7 Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away.

In Song of Songs, a Biblical love song of 8 short, poetic chapters, the above verses appear as the speech of the Beloved, a young woman, speaking to her Lover. Yet these verses are not just depicting human romantic love, but love in its totality–the unconditional, divine love that God has for each human on this earth.

Think about that for a moment. He loves us all so much and so strongly that He sent Jesus (God in flesh) to pay the sin debt we never could, so that we could be reconnected with Him. Love “strong as death,” as “unyielding as the grave,” unquenchable and unmovable as a “seal,” marks each one of us, even before we are Christian. God loves us even as we flounder around and make mistake after mistake, sinning all the while.

The best part? That same love can save us from sin, can put that “seal” on our hearts so that we know we are saved. That unsurpassed love can transform us, make us want to live a fulfilled Christian life instead of the empty, drifting life we had led before. The personal seal of Jesus, placed there by a simple choice on our part, can help us feel that encompassing love and see it work in our lives. What a love song, indeed!

Wednesday in the Word

Have We Forgotten to Love Like Christ?

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Revelation 2:1b-5
1b These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2 “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”

In the Book of Revelation, there are seven letters, one to each of the seven historical churches (“seven golden lampstands”) of the day; the above verses are from the first letter, to the Church of Ephesus. John, the writer of Revelation, dictates the words of Christ (“[he] who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands”) in each of these letters.

In this first letter, Christ says that the Ephesians have done well, doing their Christian work unrelentingly, and making sure that all the people who want to serve the church are truly worthy of their posts. Yet there is a problem; in doing all this hard work, and in checking people for their “fitness” in serving God, the Ephesians have actually forgotten Christian love–the first and most important commandment Jesus ever gave us. They have forgotten how to reach out to the world with compassion and love, rather than judging the outside world “righteously” (actually pridefully).

It seems silly, perhaps, to think that a group of people who is so obviously “doing work for God” could have forgotten how to love like God loves. But I think more Christians (and more churches) today suffer from the “Ephesians Syndrome” than we would like to admit. Too many times, I’ve heard Christians speak ill of others who have made mistakes, judging them harshly, saying they were “no longer fit to serve the church” because of their mistake. Or I’ve heard churchgoing people say that “so-and-so just doesn’t fit in our church. He/she’s not our kind of people.”

We are all guilty of judging each other too harshly like this in the secular world. What is sad is that we don’t realize how much that same judgmental nature can carry over into our church lives, tainting our relationships with nonbelievers and believers alike. God loved us despite our mistakes, despite our flaws and sins, and yet sometimes we deem others “unworthy” to serve Christ because of similar mistakes.

In this light, “Remember the height from which you have fallen!” is an admonition not only to the Ephesians, but to us. We should remember how much God loves us, and extend that unconditional love to others, as we did when we were first saved. If we don’t, Christ warns us that He will remove our lampstand (our beacon of Christian influence) from its esteemed place. If we aren’t shining the light of Christ’s compassionate love out into the world, but instead spewing pride and judgment everywhere, what good works are we doing for Jesus, anyway?

Wednesday in the Word

Worldly Things Cannot Satisfy, but God Can

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Eccl 3:9-11
9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

In this passage, contained within the rather sobering and depressing early chapters of Ecclesiastes, we see the writer (who may or may not have been King Solomon) wonder about all the worldly “toil” we humans do. It all feels meaningless–a word repeated throughout the early chapters. What good is our work and its products when we won’t get to enjoy them forever?

The “burden” God has laid on the human race is simply mortality itself–we were made for eternity, as v. 11 states, but we only live a short time. We don’t get to enjoy the “beautiful” things, either of the natural world or of man’s world, for very long. And we don’t live long enough to “fathom what God has done from beginning to end,” either.

So what’s it all for? Where’s the meaning? Why are we even living? This cry for meaning is not only found in the Book of Ecclesiastes, but throughout the world; we all want to know what life is about. Thousands of books, dramas, poetry, art objects, and songs have been created about the meaning of life, especially looking for meaning through worldly things.

But, as the writer of Ecclesiastes has found out over time, trying to find life’s meaning through the quest for power, the pursuit of pleasure, the accumulation of money or friends, etc., is in itself meaningless and does not give any lasting joy. These are all worldly things, just as ephemeral as we are. But there is an eternal One who can bring meaning to our lives–God. Living for His glory, bringing comfort and strength to others in His name, and seeking to lead a moral and just life, brings a more global and eternal understanding of humanity. Being Christian, knowing we are saved by faith, knowing how short a time we have, makes us want to use that short time to share our blessings with others.