Looking Around or Looking Down - Psalm 14:1-2, Psalm 85:10-11

Psalm 14:1-2 

“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,

there is none who does good.

The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,

to see if there are any who understand,

who seek after God.”

Psalm 85:10-11

 “Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;

righteousness and peace kiss each other.

Faithfulness springs up from the ground,

and righteousness looks down from the sky.”

These verses follow the pattern we often see in the Psalms,* God looks down on the earth (Big picture) and we look around. (Little picture.). When one can only see the little picture, limited by time, space, and lack of wisdom, one must live by faith.  Yes faith, but faith in what becomes the critical question.  

One can put their faith in themselves and hold tight to the small picture one can know.  We can find all kinds of things, people, gurus, philosophies on which we place our faith/trust, but in the end, all are just looking around just like us.  Or, we put our faith/ trust in the One who looks down on the earth.  The implication is that He is separate from yet interested in what goes on down here.  I love the picture here in this Psalm that attributes righteousness to this perspective.

Perspective matters. If we are flat-landers, only looking around because we are too ignorant, foolish or stubborn  to look up, the consequences are that we become evil rather than good.

God looks down. This vertical component is what gives perspective and weight to the looking around.  When we look up, as He looks down, when we engage, "knowledge" (Wisdom) is the result.  Knowledge is connection, relationship, engagement, and it gives perspective that can lead to good.

The One who looks down is good.  The Biblical Story is that the One who looks down, is good, is the author of all that is down here, and desires an intimate connection with down here.  The Story tells us that the One looking down has revealed Himself to us and will show us the way, the meaning and connectedness to time, space, and wisdom if we follow Him.  How connected, how good, we become is related to our faithfulness in following.

“Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;

righteousness and peace kiss each other.

Faithfulness springs up from the ground, 

and righteousness looks down from the sky.”

Am I drawn to these words as I read or do they push me away?  The answer to that question will tell me the condition of my heart.

LHM/CHM

*Ps. 14:1-2, 33:13-14, 53:1-2, 80:14, 113:4-7, 146:3-8.

**3/3/20 This is one of what I hope will be a regular entry in my blog.  This is a shift from what I have done in the past which has mostly been episodic accounts of things I experience in life.  I may continue to post more of the same from time to time, but the drift of the blog, at least for now, will be my observations, prayers, questions, and grappling with the Bible as I read through it over the next two years with some friends.  We are together following a 2 year reading schedule and meeting monthly to compare notes.  Your comments are welcome and if you are interested in what the reading schedule looks like reply in comments and I will be glad to send it to you.  

The Swallow’s Nest - Psalm 83:1-4

Psalm 83:1-4 

“ How lovely is your dwelling place,

O LORD of hosts!

My soul longs, yes, faints

for the courts of the LORD;

my heart and flesh sing for joy

to the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O LORD of hosts,

my King and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house,

ever singing your praise! Selah”

We are all looking for home, a place,  or maybe better said, a people to whom we belong. One of Mounce's  (Hebrew dictionary) synonyms for this Hebrew word is tribe or clan. We are made for community and we are not whole without it.

The picture that comes into my mind with this verse is the dove that sits now in the corner of the trailer shed with her brood.  From below all I can see is her head over the edge of the nest, but she is settled in, comfortable, at home with her brood.  A place to lay her young on God’s alter, the Psalm says.

A nest as an alter, what a cool picture.

In verses 5&6 later in the Psalm it says that  this "place" begins in the heart. "...in whose heart are the highways to Zion."

On the alter comes an invitation by the Trinity to a place at the table, an invitation to the dance...the place we all long for and were made for.

I am reminded of my friend Kathy’s comment at our gathering the other night, “I just want a place that is home.” The comment was made in the context of what she wants from church.  Verses 5&6 of the Psalm’s  reference to community begining in the heart, it is about what the heart desires and is willing to give.  We equate church with structure/organization, but it is more about the heart and relationship.  The place/function of structure is to creat space for heart/home to be nurtured and experienced.  Disillusionment with church comes from two directions, too high expectation for the organization from its people and too high expectations from the organization on the people.  From both directions there is a subtle expectation for the organization to provide what only the heart is capable of providing...response to God’s invitation to the dance and resting in it.

Our church has created a small town (Home) within the larger confines of Knoxville for Jan and me to live and raise a family and make friends (be community).  The nature of this small town has shaped how we think and go about many aspects of our life, but ultimately the life we enjoy, or not, has been up to us to create with what is given.  We can love the small town or not, we can agree with what and how it is run or not, we can like who runs the town or not, but the town does not determine the quality and depth of the relationships built.  The depth of these relationships is determined by how we love and are loved, by the intentionality and openness of our engagement, by the humility and honesty with which we engage and the faithfulness of our presence over the long haul.   It is these that make that town home or not and all of these begin in the heart.

**3/3/20 This is one of what I hope will be a regular entry in my blog.  This is a shift from what I have done in the past which has mostly been episodic accounts of things I experience in life.  I may continue to post more of the same from time to time, but the drift of the blog, at least for now, will be my observations, prayers, questions, and grappling with the Bible as I read through it over the next two years with some friends.  We are together following a 2 year reading schedule and meeting monthly to compare notes.  Your comments are welcome and if you are interested in what the reading schedule looks like reply in comments and I will be glad to send it to you.  

Rules To Live By - Leviticus 18:1

Leviticus 18:1-5

“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the LORD your God. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.“

These verses give some insight on why God is giving Israel a new rule to live by. It is a rule that will teach them a new Story, worldview.  It is a story that speaks of unity, connectedness, presence, holiness, One God not many, etc.

I must remember that the people of Israel are coming out of 400 years of slavery.  At the beginning of the 400 years they were approximately 60 in number when they moved to Egypt.  From 60 in number to over a million with only some oral history of this God of Abraham to give them some sense of identity.  Now here in the desert God is giving them an identity as a nation, a people of the God who is present not far away like all the other nations around them.  He is giving them a way to live that is in stark contrast to all they have ever known.  They had no idea what holy looks like or that there is one God not many gods.  They must learn what life ordered by a holy God can look like.   They must experience a God who is for them and wants to be present to them.

They are not to be be like Egypt which they are leaving or like Canaan to which they are going.  It appears that many of the rules define them as opposed to either of the above.  All the prohibitions given imply that this is what characterized one or both of the them.  God’s desire for us is that we look like Him, image Him.  Psalm 115 tells us that we become like what we worship, or another way to say it is, what we gaze at or what we are drawn to.  This is why God is so adamant about us worshipping nothing other than Himself.  He is Life and anything else, becoming anything else, is death.  This is not a metaphor, it is reality.

It is interesting that even the land of Canaan is defiled by the actions of the people inhabiting it. (v. 25). God’s plan is for redemption, not just for His people, but for the cosmos. (John 3:16, Rm 8:20-22)

See the video from The Bible Project for Joshua for thoughts on the judgement rendered to the Canaanites, also Gen 15:16 for God’s patience before bring judgment.

One of the take aways from all of this for me is the realization again that I am a malleable being.  Everything I do in life shapes me and shapes my desires or affections, as Johnathan Edwards calls them.  The rule I live by matters, because the rhythms and choices I make shape me to be more like the One who breathed Life into me and wants to draw near or are shaping me into something whose ultimate end is death. 

**3/3/20 This is one of what I hope will be a regular entry in my blog.  This is a shift from what I have done in the past which has mostly been episodic accounts of things I experience in life.  I may continue to post more of the same from time to time, but the drift of the blog, at least for now, will be my observations, prayers, questions, and grappling with the Bible as I read through it over the next two years with some friends.  We are together following a 2 year reading schedule and meeting monthly to compare notes.  Your comments are welcome and if you are interested in what the reading schedule looks like reply in comments and I will be glad to send it to you.  

Resource/Need - Acts 10:45

Acts 10:45

And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.

This is such a picture of the reciprocal nature of resource - need.  We/I see myself as as the resource and others as the need, a form of arrogance I would add. Yes, sometimes I see it as the other way around and am in a "take" mode, sucking the life from the resource.  The truth is that in a cosmos that derives its nature from the One who is a relationship, the order of the universe is relational, healthy interactions are always reciprocal and have the resource - need that flows both ways.  In an odd way their need is the very resource I need.

Cornelius was very aware of what He needed and God could have given him all he needed in the vision, but God knew that Peter and those with him needed to see the full measure of who the Gospel was intended for.  Peter's perception at the beginning is that he was in the "have" seat, but found in the process that He, like Cornelius needed something more.  Peter an his friends have their understanding of the bigness of God expanded by their participation  in God’s grace to Cornelius and company.  God uses each of their needs and then each of them as a resource for the others need to properly understand Him.  Such a picture of a trinitarian relationship, how cool is all that?

We, mankind differ from God in this respect.  He does not need us, He is complete in the Trinity, we are the result of His overflow and are dependent on it for our existence.  Our inherent deficiency is what is noted in Gen 2 when God notes that Adam is not complete, he has no one to overflow into as God fills him.  So God created Eve, someone with a need into whom Adam can truly be a resource while at the same time being a reciprocal need for her to overflow into.  Adam and Eve both are not their own resource, but receive all their resources from God, they are conduits for God in this relational exchange.

This dynamic helps us understand why we are not complete in ourselves, we must have one another to experience this give/take or we cannot be fully human, but we must have Life breathed into and through us to be truly alive.

**3/3/20 This is one of what I hope will be a regular entry in my blog.  This is a shift from what I have done in the past which has mostly been episodic accounts of things I experience in life.  I may continue to post more of the same from time to time, but the drift of the blog, at least for now, will be my observations, prayers, questions, and grappling with the Bible as I read through it over the next two years with some friends.  We are together following a 2 year reading schedule and meeting monthly to compare notes.  Your comments are welcome and if you are interested in what the reading schedule looks like reply in comments and I will be glad to send it to you.  

What Is For Dinner? - Acts 10:11-12

Acts 10:11-12

“(Peter) saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”

See also Lev. 11:1ff

This seems to indicate that the “eating” laws given to Israel (Lev. 11ff) had to do with bringing them into relationship with God, not health reasons etc. as some propose.  The laws were not moral, but relational, i.e. will you abstain because I ask you to.  Because the laws are not moral there is no problem when God changes the playing field and declares them now clean.  To eat will not and does not interfere with the relationship.

The take away here for me seems to be, that God initiates, He determines what opens the way for relationship, it begins with Him not us.  He sets the table and invites, we can respond by moving toward or away.  The particulars are not the point, submission/humility, the moving toward and opening oneself to those to whom God opens Himself is the point.

In the larger story of history we see God moving toward a human race that essentially wants nothing to do with Him.  He is willing to start small, one man, Abraham, through a long span of time ~ 1500 years, to shape and mold a people through whom He can bless all nations.  What is needed to shape and mold Israel into a model and a conduit for His redemptive process is not the same thing that is needed after the resurrection and the wider invitation to the whole world.  God is more interested in calling a people to Himself than in maintaining processes that have served their place in time, but are no longer helpful.

We can see the same idea currently in denominational, or church organizational structures for example, that become tied to traditions, policies, and practices, that hinder rather than helping our relationship with God and with the community of believers.  The how of things is usually of secondary importance to the why of things.  Hows matter, but are secondary to whys and the first why is usually, “Do you want me more that this?”

**3/3/20 This is one of what I hope will be a regular entry in my blog.  This is a shift from what I have done in the past which has mostly been episodic accounts of things I experience in life.  I may continue to post more of the same from time to time, but the drift of the blog, at least for now, will be my observations, prayers, questions, and grappling with the Bible as I read through it over the next two years with some friends.  We are together following a 2 year reading schedule and meeting monthly to compare notes.  Your comments are welcome and if you are interested in what the reading schedule looks like reply in comments and I will be glad to send it to you.

Random Thoughts - Acts 9

Acts 9

There are so many interesting things in the story of Saul’s conversion story.  I don’t have one theme to pull them all together so I will stick with random thoughts.

The Way:

The Way is a way of suffering.  In Luke 3:1 John the Baptist claims  that he comes preparing The Way (Same gk word as here in Acts.) as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah. Jesus never minced words as to the suffering He came to endure on our behalf.

The book of Acts is the beginning of the story of the people of The Way and this chapter tells us how one of the main characters, Saul, who was on his way (v. 3) was invited into the story.  It is a wild story about God bringing the two ways together in an amazing story of transformation.

 Very quickly we see the contrast between The Way and Saul’s way.  The Message translates  v. 16,  “And now I'm about to show him (Saul) what he's in for—the hard suffering that goes with this job.”

Paul,  confidant in his “rightness” is working from a position of power, so God completely humbles him, blind is powerless.  In his powerlessness he is filled with the HS and becomes the conduit for real power.  There is power in enduring suffering that exceeds the power of those who inflict suffering.

This reminds me of Jesus and Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter inflicting suffering (Cutting off ears with a sword.) and trying to use power to bring in the kingdom, but Jesus brings him up short with the words, it is not by power, but by suffering that the kingdom will come.  Following Me, the Way, is to participate in my suffering.  The Way means absorbing suffering, taking it upon us vs. inflicting suffering.  Am I willing to walk this way?

Bit parts in a big story:

I love this story of transformation and the participation of a disciple, Ananias, heard about only one time, who plays a part.  Then later Barnabas, who was willing to take a risk on a violent man and bring him into the fellowship of believers.  Acts is full of these kinds of references, faithful people who show up in the story once or twice and then we never hear about them again.  It was faithful people like these, who like extras in a  movie don’t show up in the credits, but changed the known world.

I love this quote from I know not where, “Maturity is to be at home with being ordinary.”  I have never wanted to be ordinary, but there are far, far, more  bit players like Ananias than there are stars like the apostle Paul, and God is slowly wrestling me to the ground on this one.  Maturity is still out there on the horizon for me, but I think I am least headed that way. (Pun intended.)

The timeline of transformation?

Jonah in the belly of a fish for three days.  Jesus in the grave for three days.  Saul blind for three days. Can you think of any others?

Son of Man - Acts 7:53

Acts 7:53

And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

With this short phrase Luke affirms the fulfillment of the promise given from the beginning of our dilemma in Genesis 3:15.  The offspring of the woman (A son of mankind.) promised to deliver us.  This is affirmed in the vision of Daniel 7:13

 “I saw in the night visions,

and behold, with the clouds of heaven

there came one like a son of man,

and he came to the Ancient of Days

and was presented before him.

And to him was given dominion

and glory and a kingdom,

that all peoples, nations, and languages

should serve him;

his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

which shall not pass away,

and his kingdom one

that shall not be destroyed.

We see it fleshed out here.  A son of man taking His place at the right hand of the Father.  “Son of Man” was the title most used by Jesus for himself in the Gospels.  More so than Messiah or the more universal son of God.  It was His way of stating who He was while distancing Himself from the current Jewish perception of a political king.

Stephen, just before he dies is at one of those places in time where the vail between time and eternity thins and one sees a glimpse of what is to come.  It is gracious reminder from the Father of the truth of who Jesus is and that resurrection is a reality moments before he is brutally stoned by the mob.  The crowds apparently did not see what Stephen saw and what was peaceful for him was enraging for them.  It is a case one again of believing is seeing vs. seeing is believing.  We do not have eyes to see reality for what it is until we believe. For any who have been with one who is in their dying days or minutes you may have experienced them “seeing” things that we cannot see.  The hospice nurse reminded us of this in my father in laws last days and we watched this with him.  

I love this reminder from Acts and find myself asking myself again, do I insist on seeing before I am willing to believe, or do I trust open handed and open minded so that I am enabled to see?  LHM/CHM

 **3/3/20 This is one of what I hope will be a regular entry in my blog.  This is a shift from what I have done in the past which has mostly been episodic accounts of things I experience in life.  I may continue to post more of the same from time to time, but the drift of the blog, at least for now, will be my observations, prayers, questions, and grappling with the Bible as I read through it over the next two years with some friends.  We are together following a 2 year reading schedule and meeting monthly to compare notes.  Your comments are welcome and if you are interested in what the reading schedule looks like reply in comments and I will be glad to send it to you.  

Gray Hairs - Psalm 71:14-18

Psalm 71:14-18

But I will hope continually

and will praise you yet more and more.

My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,

of your deeds of salvation all the day,

for their number is past my knowledge.

With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come;

I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

O God, from my youth you have taught me,

and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

So even to old age and gray hairs,

O God, do not forsake me,

until I proclaim your might to another generation,

your power to all those to come.

I looked in the mirror this morning Father, and the guy staring me in the face didn’t have just a few gray hairs on his head, it was all gray and it had drizzled down his face to fill his mustache and beard…

In his book, A Million Miles In A Thousand Years, Miller makes the statement that  "a good story is about someone who wants something and goes through difficulties to get it."  He follows with the question, "What do you want?" I have been sitting in that question since my last reading of the book several weeks ago. What do I want?  What do I want the last chapters in my story to say?

Verse 17 describes what has been true for me, and verse 18 feels like it is speaking to that question about the current desire of my heart.  I feel most alive when I engage twenty-thirty somethings in conversations about life and I feel a deep burden for my grand kids as I look at the world they are growing up in. This feels like a worthy calling, something to which I can give myself for the remaining days You give me.

What a challenge, to proclaim Your might and Your power to a generation to come. Can I do that? Do I even know Your might and Your power? Am I passing on something that is true for me or at least something You are growing in me?

Verses 14-16 give me some perspective on how to go about this:

1. Hope continually. (This is Your gig and Your power at play...so is it hopeless, really?)

2. Praise You yet more and more. (Perspective and attitude.)

3. Speak of Your righteous acts. (Intentionality and stepping up.)

4. Your power present in me. (2 Cor 4:7, I am a vessel filled with Your power. Your power, I am the means for presence, so be present. Jesus with skin on.)

5. Holiness matters.  It is who You are and what I am to reflect.

So what do I do with this now and as I look at the coming days? What do I need to cut out, what do I need to add? What will you place on my plate? Am I open to whatever?  What will hold me back?

This I am going to need for sure; v. 3 “Be to me a rock of refuge,

to which I may continually come.”  LHM/CHM

**3/3/20 This is one of what I hope will be a regular entry in my blog.  This is a shift from what I have done in the past which has mostly been episodic accounts of things I experience in life.  I may continue to post more of the same from time to time, but the drift of the blog, at least for now, will be my observations, prayers, questions, and grappling with the Bible as I read through it over the next two years with some friends.  We are together following a 2 year reading schedule and meeting monthly to compare notes.  Your comments are welcome and if you are interested in what the reading schedule looks like reply in comments and I will be glad to send it to you.  

Power At Play: Stephen vs. the Religious Leaders - Acts 6:8

Acts 6:8

Stephen, full of grace and power,

was doing great wonders and signs among the people.

In this chapter we get an interesting contrast regarding the source of power and how real power works.

The chapter begins with the selection of godly men to perform a sensitive task, the equal and fair care of ethnically different people in the congregation of believers.  The men were to be men with a good witness, wise, and full of the Spirit.  You will recall that in Acts 1:8 Jesus connects power with the presence of the Spirit. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you…”. The implication here in Acts 6:3 being that one who is filled with the Spirit is one living a powerful life.  This will be borne out as we read later in the chapter v. 6,  “And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.”

It is clear that the religious leaders cannot compete with Philip’s power face to face because they must revert to subversive means to try and hold their own.  “But they [Religious leaders.] could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit [Power]  with which he was speaking.” (v. 10)  For lack of wisdom and power the religious leaders resort to lies and subterfuge. 

Ah, you say, do the religious leaders not then win when their subterfuge results in Stephen’s death?  It depends on whether you see things in the long view or the short view.  Certainly when the dust settles and one looks around it appears that Stephen has been silenced.  We will move into chapter 8 and see Saul on a rampage persecuting the Christians and the church scattered from Jerusalem…so where is the power.

In the Psalms we read “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;

there is none who does good.

God looks down from heaven

on the children of man

to see if there are any who understand, (Wisdom.)

who seek after God.”

How you read the outcome of this event depends on whether you are looking around, man’s limited short term perspective or whether like God you are looking down, with an unlimited perspective over time.  History records that on the short term, yes, Stephen is dead, the Church is scattered and the religious leaders have control of the temple, but, over the long haul the temple is destroyed, the Jewish people are scattered, and the religious leaders lose control.  The Church grows by leaps and bounds, spreads to all the known world, and changes the world and the course of history.  That is power!

Is my life characterized by wisdom, looking down rather than looking around (Understanding), and power, a life filled with the Spirit?  On this I will meditate today.

LHM/CHM

**3/3/20 This is one of what I hope will be a regular entry in my blog.  This is a shift from what I have done in the past which has mostly been episodic accounts of things I experience in life.  I may continue to post more of the same from time to time, but the drift of the blog, at least for now, will be my observations, prayers, questions, and grappling with the Bible as I read through it over the next two years with some friends.  We are together following a 2 year reading schedule and meeting monthly to compare notes.  Your comments are welcome and if you are interested in what the reading schedule looks like reply in comments and I will be glad to send it to you.  

Communism or Communal? - Acts 5:4

Acts 5:4 

While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal?

A while back I was listening in on a quasi political discussion between a left leaning Canadian friend to whom all things USA are fraught with evil and greed and a conservative American arguing the benefits of capitalism.  The Canadian played a trump card, (Trump as in a card game not as in Donald.) quoting from Acts 4:34 (“There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.”) and concluding that they were socialists or at least more that way than not.  But is that a valid conclusion?

“After it was sold was it not at your disposal?” is the same gk word as dominion.  "Was it not within your domain?" Peter seems to be saying, “While it was yours it was yours to do with as you pleased.” In fact before you sold it and after you sold it, it was yours to do with as you pleased.  It does not become communal until it is given by choice.

Mt 20:15. “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?”  The practice of the Church in Acts was communal, but not communism.  The difference seems to be this, ownership and what to do with assets was personal, but personal ownership does not preclude a responsibility, even a moral responsibility to care for and have compassion your neighbors.  The property belonged to the individual/family and they could choose to give as they pleased or felt led.  The beauty, and the wonder of what we see happening was that the caring for one another’s needs came out the desire of the heart not an outside “authority.”  Some one has said, “Compassion is not compassion when you are giving away someone else’s resources.  It is not compassion unless it costs you personally.”

There is a significant difference between communism/socialism where assets are owned (By outright ownership or taxation.) by the state and redistributed according to its parameters, be they good, bad, self serving or not. Can the state be relational, can it truly have any assets short of taking them from someone else?  Can the state be compassionate?  This seems to be some of Samuel’s caution to Israel  when they decided they wanted a king.  He described how the king would acquire assets, by taking their land, by taxes, and their children, to serve in his house and his armies.

Yes, you may argue that God also taxed Israel, for example the temple tax that even Jesus would later pay.  But there is a difference even here.  I recall when on giving my son at age 2 an ice cream sandwich, it was mine not his, and then asking if I could have one bite, his responses was, “No, mine.”  Asking for a portion back of something given is categorically different than asking/taking/taxing something that was not previously yours.  The heart of a two year old unfortunately still seems to color my choices six decades later.

We saw in the making of the tabernacle in Exodus (Blog 3/5/20) that all the resources for the tabernacle were given out of the desires of the hearts of the people in such abundance that they had to be stopped from giving any more.  They were not coerced into giving, but gave out of desire.  Unless desire is part of the equation there can be no relationship.  It is out of desire, or not, that free will is exercised.

There is no doubt that the Jesus way, love your neighbor as yourself, puts a premium on sharing of our assets.  As we read through the Bible it is clear that in God’s creation there is always enough.  The problem is one of distribution not resources.  Governments of all styles, from dictatorships to communism, have their distribution methods and equations, some more just than others.  It is clear that because the desires of our hearts are often tied to something other than loving our neighbors as ourselves any and all forms of government will develop their own forms of injustice or unfairness, and lack of compassion.  When the kingdom comes and we live as Jesus lives, the abundance of creation will not be distorted by our selfish, fear based, distribution or lack thereof, but will become motivated to live with open hands and hearts as Jesus is.

This is the order if the universe, my abundance given for your need knowing that in a different time or different way, your abundance will meet my need.  2 Cor 8:13-14 “For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness.”

The kingdom coming, that is the gospel good news.  Do I live it now as Jesus offers, or do live out of scarcity and fear.

The way of the kingdom is a mindset  of abundance and a heart of compassion.  No one is forced to care for his neighbor, but is likely inclined to do so if one has the heart of Jesus.  What is my inclination today with the one given to me or to whom I have been given?

**3/3/20 This is one of what I hope will be a regular entry in my blog.  This is a shift from what I have done in the past which has mostly been episodic accounts of things I experience in life.  I may continue to post more of the same from time to time, but the drift of the blog, at least for now, will be my observations, prayers, questions, and grappling with the Bible as I read through it over the next two years with some friends.  We are together following a 2 year reading schedule and meeting monthly to compare notes.  Your comments are welcome and if you are interested in what the reading schedule looks like reply in comments and I will be glad to send it to you.  

Rivers Full of Water Psalm 6:9-11

Psalm 65:9-11

You visit the earth and water it;

you greatly enrich it;

the river of God is full of water;

you provide their grain,

for so you have prepared it.

You water its furrows abundantly,

settling its ridges,

softening it with showers,

and blessing its growth.

You crown the year with your bounty;

your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.

Father, You are characterized by abundance. Vs. 9-13

We do not have a resource problem, we have a distribution problem.  Yet my default is to horde, to worry about having my fair share, etc.  Yes, I would say, in the new heaven and new earth there will be enough for all, but now things are in a mess...do I not believe that the kingdom is present now?  Do I believe that man, or fate, or circumstances are the guiding force in all things? Or, do I believe that You, even now, in these times are ultimately in control, that it is You on whom I must lean and not on my own reserves, stuff, skill, fortune, wisdom, and hope?

As Greg Boyd says, it doesn't matter what I say I believe, the question is how do I live?

2 Cor 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

**3/3/20 This is one of what I hope will be a regular entry in my blog.  This is a shift from what I have done in the past which has mostly been episodic accounts of things I experience in life.  I may continue to post more of the same from time to time, but the drift of the blog, at least for now, will be my observations, prayers, questions, and grappling with the Bible as I read through it over the next two years with some friends.  We are together following a 2 year reading schedule and meeting monthly to compare notes.  Your comments are welcome and if you are interested in what the reading schedule looks like reply in comments and I will be glad to send it to you.  

How Do You Build A Tabernacle? - Ex 35&36

Ex 35&36

Maybe the prior question to ask as we look at the question of how, is why are they building a tabernacle.  We find the answer in Ex 25:8 “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.”  What a wonderful statement from our Father about His desire to be with us.  This is a fundamental difference in our God from all the surrounding gods, this God who dwells in our midst.  Deut 4:6-7  describes how the other nations observe this difference.  Their gods are far off and therefore they make images/idols  to worship.  God has strictly forbidden any form of “graven” image because He is in our midst and He wants nothing to distract us from Him.  We are notoriously prone to become infatuated with our created images (Idols) over His presence.  

Note that He first calls it a sanctuary.  The first sanctuary God created was a garden which we polluted and from which we were removed.  This story will show that in time we will be removed, forcefully I might add, by Jesus in His time, from the temple, but returns at Pentecost to dwell in a new temple, His people.  It is interesting that He calls this “temple/sanctuary” a city which we see descend on the earth in Revelation 21.  All of these pictures and actual physical places house the presence of our God.  Sorry, this could turn into a whole blog on its own so lets move on.

It as clear as we read this passage that God is the One who determines the purpose (Ex 25:8) of the tabernacle, He is the architect (Ex 34:4) in every detail of its construction, and He provides the inspiration (Ex 35:34) for those who participate in the building of this sanctuary.  He provides the vision and the means for this important undertaking.

You have all heard me say that we are made, God’s design, to be drawn and not pushed.  This undertaking is a beautiful picture of how God relates to us.  Typically God provides a context, paints a picture and then invites us to participate.

What do I mean by providing a context?  We see it clearly here.  He has chosen a people for Himself, He has brought them out of slavery, He is giving them a huge opportunity to respond to His request, He has given them all the resources they have, He gives the, the skills they need, and the inspiration and creativity to contribute.  All of these are His gifts to them, freely given and received, but not of their own making.  Ex 35:4- 36:7.

Then God invites.  He provides, gives every aspect of the context, but He does not command, force, or manipulate a particular response.  He opens the door for desire to walk through.  Note the many phrases we see like; “Whoever is of a generous heart” Ex 35:4, “And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him” Ex 5:21, “All who were of a willing heart” Ex 35:22, “… [those] whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord” Ex 35:29, “[those]whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord” Ex: 36:2, “They still kept bringing him freewill offerings” Ex 36:3”.  And I love how in this case it ends, “So the people were restrained from bringing more.”  Their desire was so great that they had to be restrained from giving more.  Invitation invites response, invitation into something larger than ourselves is something that at out core we all desire.  This construction of a tabernacle is God’s invitation to His people to be in relationship with Him and the clarity and compelling nature of the offer caused a response so great they had to be restrained.  Wow!

God’s desire is to dwell in our midst. How cool is that?  This is how God relates to us, invitation and response.  Our hearts are designed such that they are moved by desire responding to invitation.  The condition of our hearts, where our deepest desires lie dictate what our response will be.  We push against command or manipulation, but our desire is kindled by invitation into something other than ourselves.  The work is commanded not the response. The gifts for doing the work are given, inspiration (vision) is given, participation (calling) is an invitation opening the door to desire which creates relationship.

Is my heart, Father, so moved by desire that I must be restrained?  LHM/CHM

**3/3/20 This is one of what I hope will be a regular entry in my blog.  This is a shift from what I have done in the past which has mostly been episodic accounts of things I experience in life.  I may continue to post more of the same from time to time, but the drift of the blog, at least for now, will be my observations, prayers, questions, and grappling with the Bible as I read through it over the next two years with some friends.  We are together following a 2 year reading schedule and meeting monthly to compare notes.  Your comments are welcome and if you are interested in what the reading schedule looks like reply in comments and I will be glad to send it to you.  

Digging Deep - Psalm 64:6

Psalm 64:6

“For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.”

The evil that we seek, the distance we try to place between us and You, O Lord, lie deeper within us than we can fathom on our own. We require Your word, Your Spirit to pierce to our very joint and marrow to root out our rebellion and desire to be our own god.

Only when my heart is quickened with desire for You over myself can Your Spirit begin to dig out this that is rooted deep within me.

I confess that often I do not want You as ought, but I know that even my wanting to want You pleases You.  Draw me to Yourself in spite of me, my Lord, I pray.  LHM/CHM

**3/3/20 This is one of what I hope will be a regular entry in my blog.  This is a shift from what I have done in the past which has mostly been episodic accounts of things I experience in life.  I may continue to post more of the same from time to time, but the drift of the blog, at least for now, will be my observations, prayers, questions, and grappling with the Bible as I read through it over the next two years with some friends.  We are together following a 2 year reading schedule and meeting monthly to compare notes.  Your comments are welcome and if you are interested in what the reading schedule looks like reply in comments and I will be glad to send it to you.  

Clay Pots - Acts 3:12-13

Acts 3:12-13

And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.

How quick we are to attribute the good and wonderful things people do to their own power and piety.  We might be quick to acknowledge that the power is not theirs, but assume they are used because of their piety. (Note this is Peter speaking and he will point out in the following verses their denial of Christ, something with which he is intimately acquainted. Peter is known for his denial, not his piety.)

Father, more to the point, I live as though it is through my power and piety that things will be accomplished for You.  I feel the pressure to have and be those things, when in truth they can be mine only if You gift me with them. In that case they are Yours and not mine, I am merely the beneficiary.

You will accomplish Your work in me.  The clay pot? Me. The power. You.

LHM/CHM

**3/3/20 This is one of what I hope will be a regular entry in my blog.  This is a shift from what I have done in the past which has mostly been episodic accounts of things I experience in life.  I may continue to post more of the same from time to time, but the drift of the blog, at least for now, will be my observations, questions, and grappling with the Bible as I read through it over the next two years with some friends.  We are together following a 2 year reading schedule and meeting monthly to compare notes.  Your comments are welcome and if you are interested in what the reading schedule looks like reply in comments and I will be glad to send it to you.