Why Pray?

“While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him.” (Hebrews 5:7, The Message)

I'm reading Philip Yancey's excellent book Prayer:Does it Make any Difference?  It is a good question, given the fact that God is sovereign and unchanging.  What good is prayer to a God like that?  Practically the first thing that Yancey says is that we pray because we see Christ praying, as the writer to Hebrews comments here.  Christ offered up priestly prayers while on earth as he faced death.  Who would have less need to pray then God-incarnate? and yet again and again we see Christ praying.  It is a pattern we ought to obey if for no other reason than this.

Notice also that God answered Christ's prayer because Christ honored God, or as the ESV puts it: he was heard because of his reverence.  God hears and answers prayer.  We see that from this passage.  However, it is easy to overlook the fact that Christ was heard because of his reverence.   The word means "reverent awe" or "fear." 

God doesn't answer the prayers of the flippant; he hears the genuine.

"Laying us Open"

“God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey.” (Hebrews 4:12, The Message)

The Message takes a little bit of leeway with Heb 4.12, but in a good way.  His powerful word (The word of God) cuts through everything laying us open to listen and obey.  This part is not in the text, but it does, I think, get to the point.  The purpose of the word of God is that we hear and obey it, and it is powerful enough to cut through our defenses and objections and yes, doubts, so that we will.

Unbelief: Danger, Danger!

“So watch your step, friends. Make sure there’s no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God.” (Hebrews 3:12, The Message)

The writer to Hebrews warns of the danger of unbelief in Heb 3.12.  According to the Louw-Nida lexicon, the word unbelief here means to refuse to put one’s trust or reliance in something or someone—‘to not believe (in), to refuse to believe, to not trust in, unbelief.  BDAG defines it as: unwillingness to commit oneself to another or respond positively to the other’s words or actions.  Implicit in the definition seems to be the issue of self-will, one refuses to put one's trust, or; one is unwilling to commit oneself.  

Unbelief then, does not mean incredulity, as if the message was just too "out there" to believe.  Unbelief implies self-will and choice, one understands a message, one chooses not to trust or rely upon it.  

This helps us get at why the writer to Hebrews warns so strongly against unbelief, or as the ESV translates it: an evil, unbelieving heart.  The stakes are incredibly high, indeed they could not be higher because unbelief can lead to falling away from the living God, and if that happens, what is left?

"There's my lover! Do you see him coming?"

“Look! Listen! There’s my lover! Do you see him coming? Vaulting the mountains, leaping the hills.” (Song of Solomon 2:8, The Message) 

While the immediate context of this is the relationship between a girl and the man she loves, we understand the message of the Song of Solomon as a type of the relationship between God and Israel, and by extension between Christ and the Church.  So that when we come across passages like this one, we see it as an expression of the desire that Israel had for God/the Church has for Christ.  What higher relationship on earth could one imagine to illustrate the beauty and connection between God and his people than the relationship between a man and woman who love each other?  There is nothing that Solomon can grasp which illuminates God's love so well as a human love relationship.

The church is ever looking and ever waiting for her husband to come and bring his eternal presence and by doing so complete the picture of the Church as Christ's bride.  As individuals we study and embrace the beauty of Christ now as an anticipation of the beauty that will be present when Christ returns.  Truly the church says: "Look!  Listen!  There's my lover!  Do you see him coming?"

Created to take on a Name

What’s more, our hearts brim with joy
since we’ve taken for our own his holy name. - Ps. 33.21

I suppose there are many ways to make our hearts brim with joy...temporarily; the birth of a child, a wedding, good news, etc. here in the Psalms we have one of the things at can make our hearts brim with joy forever: We take for our own his holy name.

What might that mean? In Hebrew culture the name was identified with everything about a person, their character, conduct, and identity. When we take on God's holy name we are setting our destiny with God (and therefore against anything or anyone that opposes God). We are, to put it in the vernacular, all in, because it is God or nothing. This makes our hearts brim with joy because we are doing what we were created to do.

Solid Truths for Wayward Hearts

Your job is to speak out on the things that make for solid doctrine. Titus 2.1, The Message

Paul to Titus, and we see here how important Paul felt that sound doctrine was. One needs only a cursory understanding of Christian history to see why Paul was so insistent on sound doctrine. Faulty doctrine led the Catholic church astray from truth into error and even oppression of those who were striving for sound doctrine; faulty doctrine led to people being put to death for their faulty beliefs (no where does Paul command death for those with faulty doctrine); we could go on, but you get the point.

We ought to know and guard sound doctrine.

What is God Doing?

“When I determined to load up on wisdom and examine everything taking place on earth, I realized that if you keep your eyes open day and night without even blinking, you’ll still never figure out the meaning of what God is doing on this earth. Search as hard as you like, you’re not going to make sense of it. No matter how smart you are, you won’t get to the bottom of it.” (Ecclesiastes 8:16–17, The Message)

These verses highlight the whole theme of Ecclesiastes; if one looks high and low and searches with all of his might and strains hard to understand, one will not be able to figure out the meaning of what God is doing on this earth.  Why do evil people appear to flourish and Christians do not?  Why does a tsunami kill 250,000 people in a matter of hours?  Why do wicked people keep gaining control of nations and oppressing their citizens?  We could go on and on, but you get the point; God's way of working in the world is most mysterious and try as one might—and Solomon certainly tried—one cannot discover the "secret" to the way that God runs the world.

Fortunately, for us we do know God's ultimate end for the world, which is to collect a people to himself by the righteousness of Christ imputed to sinners.  Meanwhile, we must just trust.

Waiting for God to get Here

“Be brave. Be strong. Don’t give up. Expect God to get here soon.” (Psalm 31:24, The Message) 

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who doesn't like God's timing.  I wish God were on my timing, because (well to be frank and honest) then I wouldn't have to learn to trust him.  Hmm...perhaps part of his timing is right there, when we have to wait on God's curious timing, we learn dependence and trust.  This is not an easy lesson; not easy at all.

David has obviously experienced waiting for God to come and deliver him (and of course we know this from his life story).  The Message paraphrases David's advice for us while waiting, no doubt learned in the fires of danger, pursued by Saul and his forces.  

Are you waiting?  asks David.  Be brave.  Be strong.  Don't give up (heart).  Live as if, expect, anticipate, that God will get to where you are soon.  (Of course we already know from Ps. 139 that he is already where we are; he just has chosen not to demonstrate his power yet, because we need to learn dependence and trust).

You are waiting for God to arrive in your situation? Be brave.  Be strong.  Don't give up.  God will get there at just the right moment.

The Love of Money - More Smoke

“The one who loves money is never satisfied with money, Nor the one who loves wealth with big profits. More smoke.” (Ecclesiastes 5:10, The Message) 

How truly Solomon writes here (perhaps from experience?).  The one who loves money will never have enough because money is never satisfied.  It always wants just a little more.  Get a little more and one finds that one needs just a little more than that.  The pursuit of money is a path that can never carry one to contentment.  This is all smoke; it is all vanity and chasing after wind.  

"Thou hast  made us for thyself and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee" writes Augustine to God.  Just so.

"Run Hard and Fast"

“Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12, The Message) 

“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12, ESV)

Paul calls Timothy to fight the god fight of the faith, or as The Message paraphrases it: Run hard and fast in the faith.

Here we see the mysterious juxtaposition of how it is that we work at the faith (run hard and fast in the faith) and God works in us.  After all it was Paul who also wrote: Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in us both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Phil 2.12-13).  We work; God works in us.  How the two come together the Scriptures leave a mystery.

John Piper put it something like this in a recent tweet:  "Preparation is essential, but it is not decisive."  We run hard and fast in the faith; God works in us.  God gets the glory; we get eternity.  Sounds good to me.

 

"Take Care of Widows who are Destitute"

“Take care of widows who are destitute.” (1 Timothy 5:3, The Message)

This is one of those crystal clear commands that we couldn't get around even if we wanted to.  "Do you have widows in your congregation who are truly destitute?" asks Paul, "then take care of them."  Their first possibility of support ought to come from their own families; however, if their families can't take care of them, or if they have no families, then the church ought to take care of them.

There are so many other possibilities of support in our culture; social security, government assistance, etc., that it might be easy to forget Paul's admonition to churches and our responsibility to widows.  We must not.  The church is being the church when it takes care of widows who are destitute.

"No Spiritual Flabbiness, Please"

“Stay clear of silly stories that get dressed up as religion. Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please!” (1 Timothy 4:7, The Message)

We are all subject to spiritual flabbiness; to getting comfortable where we are in the faith; to putting our spiritual lives in cruise control.  Indeed, this seems to be the human condition, fighting with ourselves over spiritual disciplines.  I wish it were easier.  It's not.

We have to exercise daily in God to prevent spiritual flabbiness.  We must tend to the daily building blocks of our spiritual lives as we do our physical lives.  This means fundamentally reading the Scriptures and prayer.  It means other things as well, but those two things are the starting point.

Pray

“The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.” (1 Timothy 2:1, The Message)

Prayer is always the first thing, or rather, it should be.  I find that I always seem to struggle with prayer—there is always some other "urgent" thing I need to be doing—which leads me to believe that prayer is of utmost importance, why else would the devil work so hard at getting us not to pray?

Such an easy command.  So difficult to implement.

"The Voiceless Poor"

“Leadership gains authority and respect when the voiceless poor are treated fairly.” (Proverbs 29:14, The Message) 

How true it is that the poor are so often the voiceless poor in real life.  If there is anyone advocating for them, often they are using them as political pawns in the name of power rather than genuine concern.  Christians must be different, especially christian leadership.

Leadership gains authority and respect by treating the voiceless poor fairly because both the poor and the rest of society see the difference.  One can always discern genuine concern because it hangs around when the klieg lights get turned off, because it isn't there for the publicity; it is there for service.  

Oh that we as individuals, and the church collective would treat the poor fairly, and call for society to do the same.  

Oppress the Poor? The Bible Calls you Wicked

“The wicked who oppress the poor are like a hailstorm that beats down the harvest.” (Proverbs 28:3, The Message) 

I don't think that we take the Scriptures admonitions to help the poor seriously enough sometimes.  Here Solomon says that if you oppress the poor you are wicked, because it is wicked people who oppress the poor.  

It is one thing to disagree on how the poor should be handled.  Should we make them work (if able) for money handed out to them? There is a good argument that this is not only biblical, but helpful.  One person would make them work, another would just want to hand things out.  This is a disagreement in principle which is no sin.

However, when the poor become a political football, useful for no other reason than to get one elected; or when they are oppressed by the financial powers that be (which often happens in our country), now we have wickedness.  This is when we as followers of Christ should stand up and call the oppressors out.

The Strange Behavior of Lust

“Hell has a voracious appetite, and lust just never quits.” (Proverbs 27:20, The Message) 

Solomon, who had 700 wives and 300 concubines, would be intimately familiar with the strange behavior of lust.  With almost anything else, the way to conquer it is to make it freely available in vast quantities.  Addicted to chocolate?  Fill up your cupboard with as much of any type of chocolate that you want and pretty soon you won't be eating any.  You'll be sick of it.  Love soda?  Bring in case after case and make it freely available and pretty soon you'll prefer water over soda.

Lust is different.  Lust is insatiable, or as The Message paraphrases: Lust just never quits.  It morphs into something deeper and uglier.  It is true that lust adheres to the Law of Diminishing Reward, which says that the more you get of something, the less satisfying it is.  Lust doesn't go away when it gets diminishing rewards, it just demands more and uglier, more pornography and more disgusting perversion, and pretty soon one is a slave to perversion.  This is when one discovers, along with Solomon, that Hell has a voracious appetite, and lust just never quits.

This is also why it is in your best interest to battle sin and lust and never give in. 

"You've Ignored me Long Enough, God."

“Long enough, God— you’ve ignored me long enough. I’ve looked at the back of your head long enough.” (Psalm 13:1, The Message) 

“I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms— I’m celebrating your rescue. I’m singing at the top of my lungs, I’m so full of answered prayers.” (Psalm 13:5–6, The Message) 

Psalm 13 is a good example of why I love the psalms.  David goes from asking God how long he is going to ignore him: “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1, ESV)—The Message captures this question very well in contemporary words—to words of faith at the end: I've thrown myself headlong into your arms.

We worship a God who allows us to ask him tough questions, indeed one wonders if God isn't positively happy when we ask him tough questions, because the psalmists never shy from posing them, from pouring out the feelings in their heart to God.  We do not have to hide our feelings from God—as if we could anyway.

You have some tough questions for God?  Go ahead and ask, but don't ask defiantly, as if God needs to justify himself to you, ask passionately.  Be like David. 

Riches Disappear in the Blink of an Eye

“Riches disappear in the blink of an eye; wealth sprouts wings and flies off into the wild blue yonder.” (Proverbs 23:5, The Message)

How quickly can wealth disappear through any number of causes; the stock market crashes, a partner runs off with the money, medical bills escalate.  We could go on and on, but to put one's hope in wealth is to be a fool.  Why hope in what can literally be gone in a day?  

Solomon doesn't list what to hope in positively here, but it doesn't take much though to figure it out, especially since we have the New Testament.  Our hope ought to be in the power of the cross to make us new; in the efficacy of the finished work of Christ; in a renewed spirit which cannot be taken away or lost.

Wealth is temporal; Christ is eternal.

Rescued from Certain Doom

“They marvel at how expectantly you await the arrival of his Son, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescued us from certain doom.” (1 Thessalonians 1:10, The Message)

I'm glad that Paul was not interested in being politically correct when he wrote to the church in Thessalonica—or any other letter for that matter.  Here he tells the believers in Thessalonica that the only person who can rescue us from certain doom is Jesus, or as the ESV puts it: Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Notice what Paul either states implicitly or implies here:

1.  There is wrath coming

2.  We are by rights, subject to that wrath; we need deliverance from it.

3.  There is one person who can deliver us from this wrath: Jesus.

Much as the world (not to mention part of the Christian church itself) hates the idea of the penal substitutionary sacrifice of Christ—which is to say that in dying on the cross Christ paid the penalty for sin and was a substitute for us—Paul embraces it here, and well he should, because this is our only way of being delivered from the wrath to come. 

"I Lay out the Pieces of my Life on your Altar"

“Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar and watch for fire to descend.” (Psalm 5:3, The Message)

Love this.  

It is a psalm of David and speaks of his commitment to offer up an offering every morning and then watch for God.  Since we live in the New Covenant period in which Christ died for sins once for all, we have no need of a daily sacrifice as David thought of it.  I think Eugene Peterson strikes the right note here when he recognizes that what we do need to do every morning is lay out the pieces of our lives on a metaphorical altar and allow God to do with it what he will.

On Being God-loyal People

“God-loyal people, living honest lives, make it much easier for their children.” (Proverbs 20:7, The Message)

 One of the best ways that we can help our children is to be—as The Message paraphrase puts it—God-loyal people.  Which is to say, people who love and enjoy God and who treasure him above all other things.  In other words, the best  thing that we can do for our children is to put God in front of them in our affections. 

We are all Rebel-Kings

“So, rebel-kings, use your heads; Upstart-judges, learn your lesson: Worship God in adoring embrace, Celebrate in trembling awe.” (Psalm 2:10–11, The Message) 

If there is one thing that people-watching teaches us, it is that when it comes to life, and especially to our particular culture, we are all rebel-kings.  We live by our own authority (or so we think anyway); we have our own particular theology (with ourselves as god and God as a genie); we brook no opposition to our own set of beliefs and bow to no other god (okay, maybe we bow to the gods of materialism and entertainment, but not to the Creator-God).

Psalms 2 was written to strike down any hope we might have that being a rebel-king will be successful.  The only way we can be successful is to lay down our arms; to wave the white flag of surrender; to yield; to worship God in adoring embrace.

Lay down your arms, Oh rebel-king.  You who think that you can live by your own authority and will.  Yes, you.