Tag: worth

Perspective and Significance

Psalm 144; Ezekiel 19:10–14; 1 Peter 2:4–10 (ISV)

In the fictional universe housing the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (written by Douglas Adams), there is a machine called the Total Perspective Vortex. Originally built (per the fictional universe) to provide beings a comparison of themselves to the infinity of creation, it became a torture device to (effectively) destroy a being’s mind.‌

‌It sounds a little extreme, except that much of the religions over the years are concerned with is much about finding our place in the universe.‌

‌The (Roman Catholic) Church attacked Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de’ Galilei for proposing that the earth revolved around the sun, rather than the sun (and the other planets) revolving around the earth. While the majority of the (entire Christian) Church now believes Galileo Galilei, we need to recognize that Galileo Galilei’s hypothesis was, for that era and theological framework, similar in effect to the Total Perspective Vortex.‌

‌On the other hand, in contemporary fiction and philosophy, there is a deep concern regarding the Butterfly Effect. This is the theory that if time travel were possible, a person going back in time could catastrophically affect the timeline (including the era from which the time traveler came). Many people have bought into this concept, and yet disparage the one small thing they do today.‌

‌Perspective matters deeply to how we function in life and how we treat others.‌

‌For me one of the most peaceful things is to stare at the night sky at the stars (most effective away from city light pollution). It brings peace to my soul and heart. It also guides me to have a better perspective of myself. I am tiny compared to the entire of Creation. I am only 1 person among over 8 billion people walking the earth at this moment.‌

‌For you, this may be disquieting. We have a need to be significant, but so much around us shows how insignificant we are.‌‌

Lord, what are human beings, that you should care about them, or mortal man, that you should think about him?
Psalm 144:3 (ISV)

‌‌God cares about us. No matter how insignificant we believe or are told we are, God cares for and thinks about we humans. In comparison to the infiniteness of God, we are not even microscopic, yet God loves us.

‌‌If we derive our significance from others, we are often emotionally and spiritually doomed. If we derive our significance from God, however, that is a solid foundation on which to place our worth and identity.

‌‌There is, though, the danger of arrogance. “I’m loved by God, so I can do…” We are all guilty of this to some degree.

Now it is planted in the desert, in a dry and thirsty land!
‌Ezekiel 19:13 (ISV)

‌When we get too full of ourselves, or when we look too much to others, we can be in the desert of faith and relationship with God. It’s not that God ceases to care, quite the contrary. We can be chasing after things that we think will water and feed us, but we end up in a desert, where receive the bare minimum to live.‌

‌The desert experience isn’t necessarily bad, ultimately. It can teach what is really important if we let it. On the other hand, far too many people stubbornly refuse to move from the desert, and so end up dry and withered. That doesn’t have to be the end.‌

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
‌1 Peter 2:10 (ISV)

‌God is merciful. Yes, we’ve done stuff that doesn’t please God. We could even say that because we are fallible and fragile creatures, we will never measure up to God’s holiness and love. God is merciful.

‌⁜Reflection⁜‌

‌To whom are you significant? Why?‌
‌How do you think significance and mercy are related?‌

‌⁜Act⁜‌

‌Share with someone what makes them significant to you.‌

‌⁜Prayer⁜‌

‌God, it is often so hard to see my significance to you. Help me to be understand my significance to you, and help me focus on you defining my significance, rather than leaving it to others. Amen.

‌

2023-10-09
Burning Call
Psalm 145:10–18; 1 Kings 19:19–21; Colossians 1:9–14

One of the issues that has come up in the last year in church-ish circles is the ordination of women. Saddleback took a bold step and ordained women which went against the predominant grain of their partner body (SBC). There was an unexpected explosion in certain circles against Beth Moore. Along with misogynistic proclamations and male misconduct issues in the SBC, Moore left that body that she had grown up in.

One of the claims against women being ordained are some contextually misused verses and the traditions of the Israelites. The Church of the Nazarene has ordained women since its founding, but over the years has struggled to fulfill that promise. It’s on the right track, but there is work to be done, still.

There is often a wringing of hands in Christian Complementarianism (where only men can be leaders/pastors/elders) circles that there aren’t enough faithful men to fulfill empty roles. The Roman Catholic church, on top of its complementarian issues also requires celibacy, is also experiencing this problem. Some churches in both groups are finding creative ways around their limitations, but the reality is that there aren’t the faithful men needed.

For me, there were two transformative experiences in this regard. The first was experiencing the preaching of Dr. Nina Gunter. Any person with any spiritual sense and without theological blinders could experience her spirit-led preaching. The second was during my “Discovery” weekend of my pastoral journey, where I had to preach to my peers, senior pastor, and District Superintendent. I preached from Luke 19:38–40, where Jesus was told to rebuke his disciples. He responded, then the rocks will cry out. When I was praying over the words to preach, it came to me; God will not wait for us to proclaim God’s glory.

In other words, in the tradition of the Church of the Nazarene (and our sibling Holiness denominations) already assumed there were faithful women (and, yes, there are deeper theological reasons). I came to realize that complementarianism may actually already have its answer. If the men won’t rise, perhaps the women will (see Judges 4:4–9). Not the most Nazarene answer, at the time, but it resonated with my heart (and its implications went far beyond the ordination of women).

Faithfully responding to God has long been an issue. It goes beyond gender. It goes beyond status. It goes beyond wealth. It is a reflection of sin.

To understand, Elisha was, at minimum, plowing in a community, where people worked fields together (theirs and each others’). Some commentators believe that Elisha owned (or was the son of the owner of) all the oxen. That would be 24 oxen, so that would have been a lot of wealth (kind of like having 24 Jaguar cars). Elisha (and/or his family) owning 2 seems much more likely. That would still put him (in modern terms) in a very comfortable middle class.

Then some famous guy comes and puts his mantle (Elijah’s symbol of the prophetic office) on Elisha’s shoulders. Elisha understands that Elijah is declaring him the heir of the prophetic office, which was an unusual example in the Scriptures. Elisha’s response was (basically), “let me show respect and love to my parents.” Done. Then Elisha burns the equipment required for a yoke of oxen, then kills same oxen for a celebration.

Elisha opening, publically, severs himself from his old life. That is a lot of money to just be burning. It’s a great party, but there is no financial way of coming back from it easily. It’s similar to “burning the ships”. Hernán Cortés was famously said to have done this (he really just sank them) to keep his men from trying to return home or mutiny (there is a lot more to the story, and much of it not so positive). Elisha did it for himself.

One of the challenges that the Western Church faces is trying to return. This isn’t just buildings (So, let’s not burn them or just sell them). Actually, it’s more of a way of thinking. Looking back for guidance and encouragement? Yes. Looking back for the plan to navigate this new world? No.

You, too, have a call on your life. You, too, have oxen to burn and ships to sink.

※Reflection※
- What items/events/fears of your past or present are keeping you from living an on fire life for God? (Yes, that is a question worth asking daily)
- If there was one “thing” in your life that would indicate that your are moving on, what would it be?
- Why are we so attracted to stories like that of Cortés or Elisaha, but don’t put it into practice? What other cultural icons (generic or specific) are similar to Cortés and Elisha?
※Prayer※

Lord, there is no question that we are called to live for you. Let our lives be the bonfires that bring people into your light. Amen.
2021-07-22
And Now We Worship
Psalm 142; Amos 9:11–15; Luke 7:31–35

As mentioned previously, Amos’ prophetic mission was to the Israelites, the nation of the 10 tribes that separated from Judah and Benjamin. As part of the “rebellion” the leader of the Israelites, Jeroboam, made 2 golden calves for local worship to protect his “kingship” from reverting to Judah and Jerusalem should the people of Israel choose to faithfully worship at the temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:26–33). He was quite successful.

As the Temple had remained in Jerusalem, and the false worship at Bethel (gold calf), it seems strange to mentions the “tent of David”. The original Tent of Meeting was replaced by the Temple. The Temple in Jerusalem wasn’t destroyed. The temple of false worship in Bethel would fall in a few years due to an earthquake. The people of Israel no longer claimed David as one of their own (1 Kings 12:16–17).

The best way to explain this is to understand the underlying message of Amos: false worship was separating the people of Israel permanently (by their actions, not God’s) from God. True/pure/heartfelt worship would reunite the people of Israel with God. In other words, the false temple won’t help you (and the implication that even the Temple in Jerusalem wouldn’t). Only being someone “after” God’s own heart would restore things as they ought to be. The message to the Israelites was, be David, a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).

However, no matter how we slice it or define it, we will often worship that which isn’t God, thinking that it will bring us closer to God. Quite often it is behavior. And, while certain behaviors (repentance, love of God, worship of God) will, we all too often confuse which behaviors.

Take Jesus’ words as shared by Luke. John the Baptist and Jesus the Prophet (yes, the Messiah, but for this point, we’ll leave it as prophet) didn’t fit into idealized behaviors that were expected. John wore uncomfortable clothing (a type worn by ascetics as a form of penance or self-denial), and ate “cakes” of dried honey and locusts (yum?). They said he had a demon. John the Baptist, for the record, was unique in his ministry, not his “taste” in clothing and food.

The same people that questioned John the Baptist’s sanity, purity, and holiness, used a completely different measurement tool for Jesus. Jesus dared to drink a lot (whether it was high alcohol or not was never the argument of his contemporaries), eat a lot (he was probably a popular guest), and spend time with the less socially advantaged.

Bluntly, these almost word-for-word statements have been used by far too many Evangelicals (even the demon-one) against Christians of other traditions (and sometimes even within). Far too many worship (yes, worship) forms of worship and obedience far more than they worship God.

There is, of course, a slippery slope. That, too, is an issue worth pointing out. If everything is allowed, then the holiness and righteousness of God are impinged upon. The freedom to do “whatever” is also often worshiped and causes its own troubles (Romans 5:20–6:14).

Who, what, how we worship are all critical considerations for our lives of faith. We just need to be careful that which we call unrighteous (or otherwise inappropriate) worship is not because of the way we see it, rather than how God sees it.

※Reflection※
- What does worshiping as a person after God’s own heart look like? How might it be different than your current practices? How might it be the same?
- Why do we often overcomplicate the worship of God? What kind of actions have you experienced that have hampered your worship of God? Have those same actions been a vital part of another’s worship experience?
- How does the worship in our hearts work with or against the worship of our actions (i.e., body)?
※Prayer※

Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us; glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and always. Amen. [Ephesians 3:20–21]
2021-07-14
God of Boxes
Psalm 85:8–13; Amos 4:6–13; Luke 1:57–80

God speaks shalom to his people [who follow him] and to his faithful [where he is the core] ones (a very loose paraphrase of Psalm 85:8)

Salvation is close to those that honor God (Psalm 85:9).

Then…we get Amos. When we first read Amos, we are tempted to think, “This is a loving God?” As with most prophetic speech, being too literal can be problematic. This is more of the arc of the story of Israel. In other words, it wasn’t one thing after another. It was one thing…time passed (even generations)…they didn’t return…another thing, and so forth. When it’s all tied together seemingly in a short time span as we read it, it can leave us breathless and/or anxious.

Which…it should.

The symmetry of these issues goes along with Egypt, who would not “see” the power of God as worth listening to until the death of the firstborn (see Exodus 4:8–12:33). Then there is the addition of Sodom and Gomorrah (still used today as a prophetic whip). This also builds on Moses’ warnings which promised that the curses on Egypt would be inflicted on Israel if they did not choose God (see Deuteronomy 28:15–61).

This is where we who focus heavily on the love of God and the nature of God loving all need to pay attention ourselves. God is love. That doesn’t mean permissiveness. It often means discipline.

“Know then in your heart that as a parent disciplines a child so the LORD your God disciplines you.” —Deuteronomy 8:5

We don’t like this. The fact that our emotional response to discipline is, “you don’t love me,” is one of the greatest struggles for our modern sensitivities. We struggle (and that’s fine) with the concept that God would discipline through pestilence, famine, war, etcetera. We will often use the language of “God allows”, or explain things as “an ‘old world’ understanding”. While this is understandable, there is a fundamental soteriological (theology dealing with the nature and means of salvation) flaw in it. When we diminish God’s acts to solely “natural” consequences, we remove God’s movement (including that of the Holy Spirit) in our lives, even the concept of prevenient grace (the grace that goes before us).

Removing Godly discipline is removing God.

Zechariah (the father of John the Baptist) was muted (disciplined) by God (through an angel) when he questioned how he and Elizabeth in their advanced years could have a child. Want to see a preaching/teaching pastor freak out? Mute them. Zechariah’s duties may not have been preaching as we understand it, but in an oral culture (most people couldn’t read) not being able to speak was a severe handicap. Instead, when Zechariah confirmed that his son’s name was John and he was no longer mute, he praised God. After his discipline, he praised God. Being that praise was Zechariah’s first response (and praise not being, “thank you for healing me.”), it is quite probable that Zechariah was praising God even while mute. Praising God while being disciplined; that is hard.

It isn’t impossible. Yet we want to put God in a box. The box of the God of love is often the one where God doesn’t punish or discipline. God doesn’t fit into our boxes.

※Reflection※
- In your life, what boxes have you put God into? How do these boxes deal with punishment, discipline, and/or love?
- Why might a God of discipline also be a God of love? How do we often confuse these?
- What do we lose when we remove discipline form the nature and/or character of God? Is that important?
※Prayer※

Lord, there are things in life and in the Scriptures we just don’t understand. Grant us your grace to see you in and through it all. Amen.
2021-07-10
Defining Justice
Psalm 52; Jeremiah 21:11–14; Revelation 21:22–22:5

“This then is how you should live, begin your morning by administering justice. All those who know and follow the will of God will rescue people from their oppressor, particularly for those whose God promised gift has been stolen from them.” [A paraphrase by Ian]

There is no question that oppression, justice, and theft are phrases that are repeatedly thrown around right now. How they change from place to place and culture to culture also cannot be ignored. There is also a historical aspect to this as the time of Judah and Israel what was meant by this was pretty clear cut.

Today, it isn’t so clear-cut. There are several possible reasons: (1) we’ve made it too complicated, (2) our understanding has matured, (3) we are applying worldly concepts and understandings to Biblical ones. There are probably a couple of more.

In almost all societies in history, there is a gap between those who “have” and those who “have not”. How “having” is just or not is part of the question. For many, medical care is a matter of justice (and they have a lot of unjust things to point to). For others, medical care is a personal matter of responsibility (and they can point to a lot of unjust things, too).

Matters of justice include (depending on perspective) skin color, national origin, first language, career, order, social standing, economics. From the standpoint of the Law, what was oppression and stealing was very clear cut. That doesn’t mean that the Law was followed, hence Jeremiah’s statement about starting the morning with justice. Where it gets really difficult for many of us is beyond the Law version of justice. A great many Christians from the early church to today believe that Jesus went beyond the Law to Love God and Love Others. Yes, that is the summation of the Law and the Prophets provided by Jesus. Yet, Jesus also commands to not sin, and he expanded (yes, expanded) the concept of sin from actions to relations.

Administering justice is easy when it is written down and defined sharply, though some of the gymnastics lawyers and judges go to redefine things gets interesting at times. So, what happens when it is relationships? If you want a simple answer, I’m sure someone sells a book on it.

Justice is not the same across all situations. It would be nice. Different people, different contexts, different histories, create different justice. Yep, there. A different justice.

※Reflection※
- How do you emotionally respond to different justice issues?
- How do you think through the Law and Jesus when you think about justice issues?
- Why is it worth, and why is it essential, to wrestle with justice, especially in the light of the City of God from Revelation?
※Prayer※

Lord, help us to live, love, learn, heal, and reconcile all things and peoples justly; where you define just. Amen.
2021-06-15
Wrong Thing Vision
P salm 52; Ezekiel 31:1–12; Galatians 6:11–18

“When a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound?”

That philosophical question is designed around the presence of a human being. “Sound” being a human word, the implication is that the tree wouldn’t make a sound, as there is no one around to hear. From a purely scientific standpoint, of course, the tree makes a sound. We understand that even when we are not present, there still will be sound waves. The animals will certainly hear it and try to move out of the way.

Yesterday, when we read about the cedar, it was referring to the David line. In today’s passage, is refers to kings and leaders, just not the Davidic ones. The cultural awareness that the cedar represented royalty helps us understand that the cedar might be used in multiple contexts to represent the kingly leaders.

The difference here is that the tree representing Assyria goes down and has no legacy. Yesterday, the Davidic cedar had a bough taken off and replanted. Here, there is no legacy. In fact, the land animals resting on it show that it is worth nothing more than dirt.

The tree, oddly enough, goes down not necessarily for Judah and Israel’s benefit, but to show Egypt who God is. Or perhaps we should say, remind Egypt who God is (reminding Judah and Israel, too).

Governments, as they are a gathering of people, look to other governments and other people to get an idea of how to succeed, and often how to beat the other guy. Governments too busy looking at the other “guy” aren’t looking to God.

Often when we are busy looking at the “other” (whether people, governments, and many others), we are not looking at the right things, let alone the things we can control.

Paul refers to the new creation. When we look too much to the world we lose sight of the new creation that is inside of us. It’s not that we corrupt it, but we can avoid it. As we look to others to define us or oppose us—instead of God—we miss out on the new creation. As the “others” look to unGodly things, they are often looking at the unGodly things of others, creating a vicious cycle.

We need to break the cycle. How we break the cycle will be a very individual thing. We, like Paul, may end up bearing marks like Christ on our bodies. We almost definitely will bear them on our souls.

※Reflection※
- How much do you reflect on the new creation inside of you?
- Do you ever see when the world tries to change this new creation?
- Are you more driven by leaders, governments, or people within your circle? How do you try to influence them for Christ?
※Prayer※

Lord, give us the freedom to recognize that we have been freed from the ways of the world. Help us to look to you first, so that we may transform the world through your love for us. Amen.
2021-06-14
Hand Power
Psalm 115; Numbers 8:5–22; Titus 1:1–9

In Numbers, the outline for priestly behavior is pretty minimal. Do your job. They also have an end date, 50. Yes, there were other concerns (as the children of Eli showed in 1 Samuel). By and large, though, the duties of the priests were what set them apart, not their character. However, there is an aspect of their installation (i.e., becoming priests) that is well worth looking at. The people laid their hands on the priests.

This might sound kind of strange, and even unrelated, to us. In “priestly” circles, laying on of hands has long been a tradition. In non-Evangelical circles, it is an expected rite and theologically necessary. Traditions such as the Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Anglican hold to an unbroken chain of laying on of hands since Peter. Based upon the tradition of Levitical priests and the laying on of hands, it actually is pretty reasonable from a Jewish and Christian perspective.

The Church of the Nazarene doesn’t particularly hold to the “unbreakable” aspect of the laying on of hands, but it does hold on to the tradition itself, as each ordained person has hands laid on them during their ordination by both the presiding Superintendent, but also all those who are ordained within the confines of the district (except in weird times as now).

When a pastor is called to a church, during the installation, the Church board will lay hands (and often the congregation). Often, when a board is elected by the membership of church, hands are laid upon them by the congregation.

There are multiple meanings within the laying on of hands. For the Israelites, there was an aspect of confession and there was an aspect of commission. The priests were set apart for the direct ministerial work of God on behalf of all of Israel. They were God’s “portion” (or “tithe”) of the people of Israel. So, the laying on of hands was integral to their mission for the people.

With ordination, it is different. This is in recognition of the laying on of hands in the New Testament which would be accompanied by the imbuing of the Holy Spirit (correlation, not causation). While it is important both as legacy and ceremony, it really is an “inside” thing.

However, the interaction between the pastor, board, and congregation is significant. What it isn’t is an abdication of responsibility. What it is is a bestowal of authority and a recognition of submission to the designated (bestowed upon) authority.

And it is that last piece that is the rub for so many. We all are more than willing to give all the “grunt” work to others, but we often don’t want to recognize the submission aspect. Of course, coming from a pastor this may seem self-centered. Honestly, I have others do “my” grunt work, too. We all do, to some degree.

As fellow members of the kingdom and family of God, we all need to be willing to dig in for others, for the benefit of others and not ourselves, and ultimately produce fruit worthy of God’s children.

※Reflection※
- Have you ever experienced have hands laid on you? Why? What was your feeling resulting from it?
- Have you ever laid your hands on someone? Why? What was your takeaway from participating in that?
※Prayer※

Lord, we minister to each other through touch. We cannot always answer how or why, but we know that the Holy Spirit is present. May our touch bring others closer to you. Amen.
2021-05-18
Sharpening Together

Psalm 98; Deuteronomy 32:44–47; Mark 10:42–45

What are your two pet sins? Or, what sin of others sets you off (lying, adultery, etc.)? And, what sin of yours do you just try to brush off as not being that significant?

Most of us have these. It may be severe, and it may be mild. Regardless, we rarely appreciate either our response to others’ sins or our own sins being confronted.

The end of Moses’ speech (the entire book of Deuteronomy) is all about a disciplined relationship with God. Yes, disciplined. All of our relationships have some sort of discipline. Moses helped provide the guidelines of the discipline.

Discipline, in this sense, means to control oneself. Control oneself so that one doesn’t walk away from God and toward all the things of the world that can pull us away.

As hard as the law was to fulfill, it was also filled with grace and forgiveness when people failed. There were ways out.

Yet, in Moses’ words, there is a foreboding sense that he knows that his words (and God’s) will be tested. From Moses’ perspective and experience, following God is life. For him, the Israelites choosing to follow God or not would determine whether all the trials were worth it.

Moses didn’t have much trust in the discipline of the Israelites.

In the Christian life, discipline is not a solo initiative. We need people around us, while they too need us. The real struggle, of course, is being willing to put ourselves in both the place of being held accountable and truly holding others accountable. Both places are uncomfortable.

Jesus’ words to his disciples provide some limits—discipline—to what this relationship is supposed to look like. We are not to hold things over one another, for that is a relationship of power. When we hold one another accountable, it is as a servant, meaning we look to the improvement or betterment of the other. Of course, there is a trick to this, which is also what Moses was addressing. The improvement and betterment is toward God not automatically “improving” ourselves. Theoretically, they should be the same, yet much of the world’s self-improvement is not toward becoming more Christ-like, but becoming what Jesus warned his disciples against.

※Reflection※

Who are you helping to be disciplined, and who is helping you do be disciplined?

※Prayer※

Lord, help our hearts to follow your words that we can build each other up. Amen.

2021-05-08
Wages of Worth

1 Corinthians 9:1–16

Wages are not a small thing. There have been a number of studies that for the same position and experience women make less than men, and minorities make less than whites. The results of such studies can be quite disheartening.

Numbers can be deliberately misinterpreted or mishandled or presented in a deceiving fashion. Numbers don’t lie. People do.

If numbers were to portray the value of people, many of the remuneration studies would “say”: “white man” > “white woman” > “minority man” > “minority woman”. This is even the case in technical organizations that function in numbers and where skills and experience supposedly guide the way.

I have been in a position to know the pay of others. Some were paid more than others due to experience, skillset, and talent. Others were paid more than others because they came at a time where their skillset (even if normally inadequate) was needed (premium pay). To my knowledge, no one was paid differently because of their race or gender, but that part was never part of my purview.

Paul chided the Corinthians about their tight-fisted-ness. Based on previous verses, it is likely that people are maligning Paul either because he doesn’t take payment or because others were getting paid. As a bi-vocational pastor, I have been told I was (and have been treated as) not a “real” pastor because I wasn’t paid. I was also told that a “real” pastor wouldn’t be working a second job (even though that’s the one feeding my family).

To protect the innocent, I will say there once was a church with a pastor and his family (and this isn’t about me). They paid their pastor so poorly (and the church was in a wealthy community) that their pastor was on food stamps. In outrage, one of the board members successfully pushed a pay increase, putting the pastor over the food stamp eligibility. The only problem is that because of that, the pastor and his family went into a higher tax bracket, and he made less. The family was worse off. The board was fine with it, as the optics of their pastor on food stamps was removed.

These differences in the treatment of pastors (my experience and the innocent pastor) give me a good reason to look at Paul. This weird dichotomy of it’s bad that Paul isn’t paid to it’s bad these leaders are paid makes a person’s head hurt.

Paul’s biblically grounded response of, “Yes, I have earned the right to be paid; you have the obligation to pay me,” and then saying, “but I choose not to be paid so that I am not a burden to you,” is amazing. His defense of his fellow leaders, who were getting paid, displays a lack of jealousy or a sense of being where he belongs.

The whole situation might seem strange. However, as we look at our own society and culture, we can recognize similarities. “You get what you pay for,” would put Paul in question as he was “free”. “I can get a better orator or cheaper speaker here,” would put the other leaders’ wages in question. If we’re honest with ourselves, many businesses (we should that churches wouldn’t do this) can look at an employee and see which one costs more. If they have a family, they will naturally require a higher wage. A young unmarried person has nothing to tie them down (they might work more), so they can accept a lower wage.

We say that people are equal, but we often don’t treat them that way. Wages should not define a person, but we often treat them as the test of their worthiness. God forgive us.

2021-02-04
Wolves Invisible
Psalm 62:5–12; Jeremiah 20:14–18; Luke 10:13–16

Do you know the story of “The Boy Who Cried, Wolf”? The shepherd boy who falsely cried “wolf” so many times that after some time no one would come to his aid. Of course, as the case with moral tales, the real wolves came, he cried “wolf”, and no one came. He died.

This could be a tale of bearing false witness (the 9th Commandment). It also could be because not everyone has the same vision.

We see that all the time from politics, to businesses, to churches, to families. Each person has a slightly different “vision” of the future. Often, we criticize, minimize, denigrate, and insult those that have a different vision. It can be hard, especially if they’re family, yet those differences are the “spice” and “flavor” of life.

The 11 Apostles (remember, one of the original 12 died) received their commission, “I’ve received all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.” [Matthew 28:18–20, CEB]

Go into the [whole] world. Such a small thing. It’s kind of like a commencement address, full of a huge concept that sounds awesome and inspiring, then (just like commencement) on the other side, reality hits.

It is what is on the other side that reveals the foundation of our life.

The Psalmist that God is “rock and salvation”, a “stronghold”. If indeed humans are nothing but a breath, nothing but lies, and don’t even register on a scale (all from an “absolutist” infinite deity perspective), what little remains of a human’s worth is based upon their foundation.

Jeremiah mourned the event of his birth. His grief was based on a couple of things. First, he was a “messenger of doom” for Israel. That was pretty rough.

Second, he mourned the hardness of heart of the Israelites. He couldn’t understand how the Israelites could be so heart- and faith-less toward God. The entirety of the story of Israel revolved around what God did!

Jesus’ reprimands to Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum echo what Jeremiah said. “Doom is coming. The consequences of your decision to harden your hearts and reveling in that hardness is coming.” (Ian’s summation)

The reprimand is a result of cities not welcoming the harbingers of the Kingdom of God (it’s more of an advance warning for when it happens). The disciples of Jesus were to be completely dependent upon the towns and people they would come to.

They were not sent with massive amounts of money, food, clothing, or protection (no weapons). They were sent as they were. They might have had a drachma or denarius or a few. They had a pair of sandals (which they were wearing). They had the clothes (again, that they were wearing). That’s it.

And off they went, the commencement of the first missionary event.

Most of us are uncomfortable with being missionaries. Regardless, the Great Commission is still our mission. You are a missionary right where and when you are now.

If you think there is no one that you are and are to be a missionary to, pray that God gives you the spiritual eyes to see who is before you. Perhaps why the church is so weak right now isn’t because we are “set aside” or are “unimportant”. Perhaps we have long forgotten that we are to not just be missionaries to the world; we are also to be missionaries to each other (the “bible-ish” word is edify).

Many of us are looking for that special answer or that perfect argument. Others of us want to be an example yet realize that compared to Jesus we are not much to look at.

We are called to cry, “wolf”, and the world doesn’t believe us. It’s hard to explain the wolves coming that they cannot see.

※Reflection※
- When we looking for the special answer, perfect argument, or being the example, what is the real foundation of that?
- Why is it necessary to be missionaries to one another (to edify)?
- The example of the disciples’ first missionary journey is not burdened with “stuff”. How can that be an example of our journey? What could be a wrong application of this lesson?
※Prayer※

Lord Jesus, you have called us to go into the world. Help us be the encouragers of others, that all your church—your bride—will reach the world for your name’s sake. Amen.
2021-01-22