The story of Joseph is one of the most compelling stories in the Bible. It is thought to mirror many of the parts of the life of Jesus. For example, Joseph is sold out by his brothers ... Jesus is betrayed by his brothers. Joseph is left for dead ... even the disciples were counting Jesus out. Joseph becomes the great power of his day and becomes the salvation for those that sold him out ... Jesus is resurrected and becomes the way of salvation for all people, including those who killed Him. I could go on, but let's leave this line of thought to say, the stories in Scripture are intertwined because they were inspired by the God who desired them to have living meaning from beginning to end.
Now for that forgiveness thing. While Joseph was prideful and probably arrogant (he was the favorite) he didn't deserve to be sold into slavery, imprisoned, forgotten and accused unjustly of wrongdoing. Still, he excelled everywhere he was placed because he knew the God of the Covenant. When his brothers come to Egypt where Joseph is in command of the food supply he had every right to treat them badly (at least by worldly standards). They had lots of grief coming their way. But it didn't happen. Instead Joseph forgives them and even blesses them with a government bailout and a relocation to a place they could practice their trade of shepherding. In the moment Joseph does this he makes a profound statement " You meant it for evil but God meant it for good, so that many people could be saved." The moment Joseph's attitude goes to forgiveness several things happen. First, I believe his heart had a weight lifted. The Scripture says he wept, I think in a moment of release of the bad baggage that he had carried around. You might want to try this ... it is amazing!
Second, Joseph begins to see something we seek and wonder why we are not able to perceive it. What I am speaking of is God's will. Joseph pieces it all together from start to finish, seeing God's hand in his provision, his industriousness, his new position and his place as an agent of God's blessing.
Finally, Joseph sees that God has used him for a mighty and far-reaching purpose ... the salvation of many people. Isn't that just what God promised Abraham ... that his offspring would be a blessing to all the nations.
Maybe it's time we begin to see ourselves not as victims but as agents of blessings who are in this place at this time to bless the world. May we see it clearly, forgive well and live as the Covenant people we were made to be!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
New Things for Old People
WOW, what a fun day at church today! I was blessed and I hope you were as we remembered the lessons of Noah and redesigned the "scorecard" for what God wants to see happen. We are now to the covenant with Abraham. Genesis 12 thru 20 is the basis for most of this story but the idea of God's Covenant runs throughout Scripture. The terms New Testament and Old Testament really mean New Covenant and Old Covenant respectively. As God steered Noah's ark to safety in a world that was a new start for Noah and his family, God steers the Hebrew people through a series of barriers, road blocks, armies, rivers, twists and turns. The most formidable barrier is (and still is) stubborn people who lack the maturity, wisdom, humility, understanding and love God desires for them. Usually they lack these things by their choices (again, a modern problem).
At the beginning of Genesis 12 we learn that Abram (who will become Abraham) has a characteristic of all the folks God seems to select to be carriers of the Covenant promise. That trait is faith (read Hebrews 11). Abram is told to leave his country and go to the place God will take him. He doesn't know where. He doesn't know what lies in his path. But he 'walks' with God and has a faith-relationship with God. Genesis says, at the ripe old age of 75, Abram departed with all he had and with his family. When Abram arrives in Canaan God tells him that this land will be given to his descendants (God has told the childless Abram this will include you becoming a great nation). In Chapter 13 God renews this promise saying "I will give you so many descendants they cannot be counted"). Through several stories of intrigue, a rescue of Lot (Abram's nephew (this will become a pattern), division of land and the institution of the tithe (yes ... this happened before the giving of the Law) and several other events God and Abram enter chapter 15 where God gives some specificity to the promise. Abram is getting a little impatient and God and Abram enter into a more formal Covenant. The prophecy about his descendants being enslaved for 400 years, the birth of Ishmael (Abram and Sarai tried their plan to have a son through the handmaiden, Hagar) and many years take place (Ishmael is born when Abram is 86).
When Abram is 99 years old God decides to do a new thing with him. Abram is given the name Abraham and Sarai is given the name Sarah. The other new thing is that Abraham and Sarah are a year away from having a son named Isaac (which means laughter, since Sarah laughed when she was told she would give birth at 91 and when Abraham was 100). I bet that kid was spoiled!
Lessons? 1) God is into doing impossible things ... we should remember this when we doubt Him. 2) God keeps His promises in His time frame, not ours. 3) God's plan is beyond our logic and reasoning ... why do we try to put God in the box of our understanding? 4) God is the planner, we are the followers. 5) regarding Ishmael, his descendants would live in a part of the world we call Iraq (he is said to be the ancient father of many Arab tribes). God did say that there would be constant struggle and strife between Ishmael and others and this would be passed to his descendants. Seems that struggle continues.
Out for the evening! May God inform and bless your study!
At the beginning of Genesis 12 we learn that Abram (who will become Abraham) has a characteristic of all the folks God seems to select to be carriers of the Covenant promise. That trait is faith (read Hebrews 11). Abram is told to leave his country and go to the place God will take him. He doesn't know where. He doesn't know what lies in his path. But he 'walks' with God and has a faith-relationship with God. Genesis says, at the ripe old age of 75, Abram departed with all he had and with his family. When Abram arrives in Canaan God tells him that this land will be given to his descendants (God has told the childless Abram this will include you becoming a great nation). In Chapter 13 God renews this promise saying "I will give you so many descendants they cannot be counted"). Through several stories of intrigue, a rescue of Lot (Abram's nephew (this will become a pattern), division of land and the institution of the tithe (yes ... this happened before the giving of the Law) and several other events God and Abram enter chapter 15 where God gives some specificity to the promise. Abram is getting a little impatient and God and Abram enter into a more formal Covenant. The prophecy about his descendants being enslaved for 400 years, the birth of Ishmael (Abram and Sarai tried their plan to have a son through the handmaiden, Hagar) and many years take place (Ishmael is born when Abram is 86).
When Abram is 99 years old God decides to do a new thing with him. Abram is given the name Abraham and Sarai is given the name Sarah. The other new thing is that Abraham and Sarah are a year away from having a son named Isaac (which means laughter, since Sarah laughed when she was told she would give birth at 91 and when Abraham was 100). I bet that kid was spoiled!
Lessons? 1) God is into doing impossible things ... we should remember this when we doubt Him. 2) God keeps His promises in His time frame, not ours. 3) God's plan is beyond our logic and reasoning ... why do we try to put God in the box of our understanding? 4) God is the planner, we are the followers. 5) regarding Ishmael, his descendants would live in a part of the world we call Iraq (he is said to be the ancient father of many Arab tribes). God did say that there would be constant struggle and strife between Ishmael and others and this would be passed to his descendants. Seems that struggle continues.
Out for the evening! May God inform and bless your study!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Reading ... Books to "Tweak" Your Walk
Over the last two years I have encountered several books that are important in that they 1) warn of current issues and 2) offer ideas for a Biblical change in direction. I am reminded of the phrase in the Flood story which says that Noah "walked in close fellowship with God." The Hebrew word is Halakh and it means "human locomotion without any suggestion of a definite destination." The word in the NT is the word for community. We walk in community with Christ, meaning we have an open and honest relationship that extends to God, others and self. What does this have to do with reading? Lots!
When we are willing to listen to critique and learn from that critique we are in the act of being honest. Of all the groups I am part of the Church should be willing to look honestly at itself and make changes. The Psalmist said it like this "Search me o God and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything that offends me and lead me along the path everlasting![Ps. 139:23-24NLT]." We should have that same desire to walk with God, even when we can't see the destination.
So ... here are some good reads that look (with honesty) at the Church. They are both critical and medicinal as they offer solutions. They are not for the squeamish.
The Present Future, Reggie McNeal
Radical, David Platt
They Like Jesus But Not The Church, Dan Kimball
Unchristian, Kinnaman and Lyons
The Forgotten Ways, Alan Hirsh
Leading Beyond the Walls, Adam Hamilton
Exiles, Michael Frost
God's Word tells us the truth will set us free. Let's work toward Good News being a Church and a place of freedom to live out our walk with God in joy, peace, love, fear, awe, community and honesty!
When we are willing to listen to critique and learn from that critique we are in the act of being honest. Of all the groups I am part of the Church should be willing to look honestly at itself and make changes. The Psalmist said it like this "Search me o God and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything that offends me and lead me along the path everlasting![Ps. 139:23-24NLT]." We should have that same desire to walk with God, even when we can't see the destination.
So ... here are some good reads that look (with honesty) at the Church. They are both critical and medicinal as they offer solutions. They are not for the squeamish.
The Present Future, Reggie McNeal
Radical, David Platt
They Like Jesus But Not The Church, Dan Kimball
Unchristian, Kinnaman and Lyons
The Forgotten Ways, Alan Hirsh
Leading Beyond the Walls, Adam Hamilton
Exiles, Michael Frost
God's Word tells us the truth will set us free. Let's work toward Good News being a Church and a place of freedom to live out our walk with God in joy, peace, love, fear, awe, community and honesty!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Clarification
Just a note that the size of the ark is expanded by the three decks ... the top one 450'x75'. This makes the area more like two and one half three football fields ... my bad math!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Destroyed, Restored
The story of Noah and the flood is one of the most perplexing stories in Scripture. On one hand we see and hear the mighty and creative God destroy that which He has created (many have trouble with this, but let's go a little deeper). On the other hand we see and hear the relational Yahweh as he makes a way of salvation for people ... something He always does for the remnant. A few interesting facts:
1) Noah is very old in this story, about 480 when the building of the ark begins.
2) The building of the ark takes about 120 years (plenty long enough for the his neighbors to repent of their wicked ways).
3) Noah is professed to be righteous in the story but this might have been relative to those around him. They were a motley bunch!
4) The flood happens when Noah is 600 years old (that's a lot of work for an old guy ... I think I will stop complaining).
5) Noah goes on to live to the ripe old age of 950. It is interesting to note that the lifespan of people drops rapidly from this point on. For example, Moses is 120 when he dies.
6) I think the ark was about the size of 6 football fields ... hope there were no termites!
Lots of questions arise from this story. * Could it have happened? Science seems to confirm an ancient flood covering a large part of the known world. But I'm good with the written Word of God and feel that someday science (if the truth is pursued without bias and wrong assumptions) will be in total agreement with the truth of God's Word. * Could Noah have been that old? I hear people try to place the truth of this story into the context of our current knowledge. They say things like "Well years were counted differently then." Seems to me that the same measures for time have been written down by those inspired by God's Spirit to write. That would have certainly been true in the first five books which are attributable to Moses. The ages of people decline to what we view as 'normal.' And remember, there were no McDonalds and KFC's to clog our arteries. While I cannot fathom living 950 years, it isn't my book ... it is God's book, given to us for instruction, guidance, and living out life. * What is the point of this story? That could have multiple answers. One could be that the people were deemed "wicked" because they were corrupt and violent. This might be a good time to do a gut-check and ask our culture "Are we better?" The Tuscon shooting, government officials constantly on the take, slick 'procedures' for politicians to get their way (all parties), televangelists investigated for misusing the gifts given from well-meaning people, actors that are retained because they "can do the lines" even though they abuse women, pornography, terrorism ... you get the idea. My gut says we have a problem, The first point of this story is to do what the people of Noah's time did not ... repent (turn aroung ... go in a different direction). Another point of this story is that God always has a plan that will save His creation. It may sound crazy at the time (hey ... read the Bible and you will see some pretty strange things) but God's plan doesn't have to meet my standards ... I need to submit to God's standards. His way may seem hard, long, unpopular, even downright ridiculous, but if I trust God (like I sing on Sunday and Saturday) then I am the servant, not the master.
We'll leave it there for the evening. Thanks for being on this journey of learning, submission and love!
http://www.biblicaltraining.org/52-major-stories-bible/william-mounce
1) Noah is very old in this story, about 480 when the building of the ark begins.
2) The building of the ark takes about 120 years (plenty long enough for the his neighbors to repent of their wicked ways).
3) Noah is professed to be righteous in the story but this might have been relative to those around him. They were a motley bunch!
4) The flood happens when Noah is 600 years old (that's a lot of work for an old guy ... I think I will stop complaining).
5) Noah goes on to live to the ripe old age of 950. It is interesting to note that the lifespan of people drops rapidly from this point on. For example, Moses is 120 when he dies.
6) I think the ark was about the size of 6 football fields ... hope there were no termites!
Lots of questions arise from this story. * Could it have happened? Science seems to confirm an ancient flood covering a large part of the known world. But I'm good with the written Word of God and feel that someday science (if the truth is pursued without bias and wrong assumptions) will be in total agreement with the truth of God's Word. * Could Noah have been that old? I hear people try to place the truth of this story into the context of our current knowledge. They say things like "Well years were counted differently then." Seems to me that the same measures for time have been written down by those inspired by God's Spirit to write. That would have certainly been true in the first five books which are attributable to Moses. The ages of people decline to what we view as 'normal.' And remember, there were no McDonalds and KFC's to clog our arteries. While I cannot fathom living 950 years, it isn't my book ... it is God's book, given to us for instruction, guidance, and living out life. * What is the point of this story? That could have multiple answers. One could be that the people were deemed "wicked" because they were corrupt and violent. This might be a good time to do a gut-check and ask our culture "Are we better?" The Tuscon shooting, government officials constantly on the take, slick 'procedures' for politicians to get their way (all parties), televangelists investigated for misusing the gifts given from well-meaning people, actors that are retained because they "can do the lines" even though they abuse women, pornography, terrorism ... you get the idea. My gut says we have a problem, The first point of this story is to do what the people of Noah's time did not ... repent (turn aroung ... go in a different direction). Another point of this story is that God always has a plan that will save His creation. It may sound crazy at the time (hey ... read the Bible and you will see some pretty strange things) but God's plan doesn't have to meet my standards ... I need to submit to God's standards. His way may seem hard, long, unpopular, even downright ridiculous, but if I trust God (like I sing on Sunday and Saturday) then I am the servant, not the master.
We'll leave it there for the evening. Thanks for being on this journey of learning, submission and love!
http://www.biblicaltraining.org/52-major-stories-bible/william-mounce
Sunday, January 9, 2011
No Free Lunch
You have heard that phrase before ... "There's no such thing as a free lunch." At no time in human history was this more true that that terrible day when Adam and Eve tasted fruit that was pleasing to the eye. They bought into the enemies great lie ("you will be on par with God and will know good and evil like God does"). Note that only half the lie is untrue. We cannot, of course, be like God but we did gain that knowledge of evil. God didn't desire that for us. He had made us for the perfection in the garden, filled with His good things and following the perfect order of the original creation. I wonder what it was like to be the first that lost their innocence by believing that something that looked and tasted so good could cause that much destruction? I wonder about the look on their faces as all sorts of unpleasant thoughts and visions passed before their eyes for the first time? Maybe it was like the sudden shock of knowing my anger caused pain for another person. My selfish outburst caused another to run from their faith. My gossip caused someone to leave their church. My encouragement caused someone to leave their marriage. My bad behavior led another to think similar behavior was consistent with their Christian faith. My apathy gave another the permission to become a lazy Christian. My witness became and excuse for another to be a Sunday-only believer. My sin led another into sin. That is the story of the fall. We are sons and daughters of Adam and Eve. Sin is second nature to us. But God says, "remember your first nature ... the way I made you. You were all made in the likeness of God but I desire you to grow into the likeness of Christ."
So spit out the apple. Tell Satan to go packing. You have been bought with a price. Let this be a day you exercise your free will to say yes to God and no to evil. Let God make a change in you and in how you do life. When Satan tells you the fruit is pleasant and pleasing to the eye tell him you are on a diet. You will be glad you did!
So spit out the apple. Tell Satan to go packing. You have been bought with a price. Let this be a day you exercise your free will to say yes to God and no to evil. Let God make a change in you and in how you do life. When Satan tells you the fruit is pleasant and pleasing to the eye tell him you are on a diet. You will be glad you did!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Some Words
Ok ... for all of you reading the blog you get the "words" first. CB posted about God's definition of special verses God's view of special (i.e., humble, meek, Beatitudes). In Genesis 1 the words God uses to describe the first people are the words "in our image," "in our likeness" and "male and female." All of these are important and we will unpack them on Sunday. However let's stop and take these three phrases. The first means that we bear a resemblance or similarity to the creator. Theologians have spent lots of time about what this means but it can be summarized as people can think, reason and have free will ... traits that God would share and that He could convey. The second term (in our likeness) is thought to be more spiritual and means traits like conscience, transcendence and the ability to maintain complex relationships that are both physical and spiritual. This trait is the most damaged in the fall (January 16th). The third phrase, male and female, is a very unusual one for the male dominated culture handing this story down. It basically means that God's image cannot be conveyed without both male and female genders (God is beyond gender). This is good, deep and foundational stuff upon which we begin to build our knowledge and understanding of Scripture. I hope our journey remains God-filled and God-led!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Special
One of my favorite stories is the Max Lucado story "You Are Special." It is about fictional people called Wemmicks who value how high other Wemmicks can jump, how popular they are, whether they can sing well and other popular characteristics. They place stars on the favored Wemmicks and dots on the unfortunate Wemmicks that don't stand out. Sound familiar? The story ends with God's encouragement to go to Him daily and seek His favor ... not the favor of the other Wemmicks.
Genesis is a story about God creating and then establishing a relationship with people. People who are created perfectly but very quickly make mistakes. It is a story of equality, love, judgment and God's passion to provide us (those mistake makers) with a path back to Him. It tells of a big God, special people, the foundation of marriage, the cost of sin and God's plan to make His good creation ultimately good at the end of all things. It is about promises broken (ours) and promises kept (God's). It is about pursuing God's plan and God's promise even when it looks hopeless or helpless. It is about life in God's kingdom as a blessing to all other people. This is a truly impossible task except that we are empowered by the God who makes all things possible. God steers His people, His promise and His plan to the ultimate good He will bring about with us (that's His plan) or without us (that would truly be sad). I'm down for that journey ... what about you?
Genesis is a story about God creating and then establishing a relationship with people. People who are created perfectly but very quickly make mistakes. It is a story of equality, love, judgment and God's passion to provide us (those mistake makers) with a path back to Him. It tells of a big God, special people, the foundation of marriage, the cost of sin and God's plan to make His good creation ultimately good at the end of all things. It is about promises broken (ours) and promises kept (God's). It is about pursuing God's plan and God's promise even when it looks hopeless or helpless. It is about life in God's kingdom as a blessing to all other people. This is a truly impossible task except that we are empowered by the God who makes all things possible. God steers His people, His promise and His plan to the ultimate good He will bring about with us (that's His plan) or without us (that would truly be sad). I'm down for that journey ... what about you?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)