"Therefore my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses." -- Acts 13:38-39

It's hard for us to place ourselves in the time period of the New Testament.  Imagine being a person of faith, and someone for whom a relationship with God was most important in your life... but as much as you wished to be loved by God, something kept getting in the way: you.  To live according to the law of Moses was the greatest burden of faith imaginable.  No matter how hard you tried, no matter how much you desired to be righteous and holy, your human condition made you fall again and again... always keeping you just out of reach in having a full connection and confidence in God's love for you.  Imagine now the good news as it hits you that no longer are you condemned by God, but are forgiven and freed of your debts because someone named Jesus comes along and shows you the way to God.  Would you follow?  I imagine so!  Who wouldn't?  Well there's an answer to that one too... who wouldn't follow are those who enjoy lording the law over others.  If you play the gatekeeper to God and others allow it, you have enormous control and influence.  The Good News for you is bad news for the corrupt religious abusers.  2000 years later, they're still out there... preying on the unsuspecting and people who lack understanding of the Bible.   But that's not you, faithful reader.  You know the Good News.

For a contemporary look at how religious abuse can occur, check out the post-apocalyptic film The Book of Eli.  Not for kids though.

Readings:  1 Kings 22:1-53; Acts 13:16-41; Psalm 138:1-8; Proverbs 17:17-18

"One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off." -- 1 Kings 20:11

Oh the things we are going to do!  How many times have you said to yourself or someone else, "I'm going to..."  In our mind we see no roadblocks, no turns, and no reason why we shouldn't succeed at whatever we set our hearts and minds to accomplishing.  And that's true.  There shouldn't be a reason you can't do anything you set your mind to doing.  But intending to do something, expecting to do something, and wanting to do something are all considerably different from actually doing it.  We've been told so much that if we want to achive something, we have to believe it will happen.  Some of us get the cart before the horse though, and start talking as though the dream has been realized-- even going so far as to convince ourselves it has.  And what of the dream?  It fades.  Then our speech takes a turn.  It goes to: I would've, I could've, I should've...

So go after it, but have reality checks along the way.

Readings:  1 Kings 20:1-21:29; Acts 12:24-13:15; Psalm 137:1-9; Proverbs 17:16

"Then I heard a voice telling me, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.' I replied, 'Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' The voice spoke from heaven a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.'" -- Acts 11:8-9

This reflection is actually from yesterday's readings... Peter is undergoing massive transformation as he moves from identifying himself as primarily Jewish to this new understanding of what it means to be a Christ-follower.  It's a struggle moving from such strict legalism to a newer transcendent understanding of the law and its purpose.  Here, we see Peter beginning to understand what Jesus meant when he said "it's not what goes into the mouth, but what comes out that defiles..."  It's a hard thing to break a lifetime's worth of reinforcing a habit or an understanding.   That's why you and I have to really listen to the old tapes that run through our minds of  what we perceive in the world to be okay and what's not.  Our tendency is to react to situations based on what we've always known.  How have we known?  It's what our parents told us.  How did they know?  It's what their parents told them... and so on.  Do you see how the cycle goes?  Peter wasn't just fighting his own understanding, but a cultural understanding that had been passed down for generations.  What are we blind to today?  How resolute are you in the assumptions you make when taking a position on something?  Pray for fresh and clear guidance today.  Pray that God remove the scales from our eyes.

Readings:  1 Kings 19:1-21; Acts 12:1-23; Psalm 136:1-26; Proverbs 17:14-15

June 15-17, 2012

I will be without internet for the next three days!  So, I will pick back up on the reflection on Monday, but in the meantime, here are the assigned readings for Friday-Sunday:

Friday, June 15:  1 Kings 14:1-15:24; Acts 10:1-23A; Psalm 133:1-3; Proverbs 17:7-8


Saturday, June 16:  1 Kings 15:25-17:24; Acts 10:23B-48; Psalm 134:1-3; Proverbs 17:9-11


Sunday, June 17:  1 Kings 18:1-46; Acts 11:1-30; Psalm 135:1-21; Proverbs 17:12-13

"Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children." -- Proverbs 17:6

Some things remain the same.  This text, written thousands of years ago, gave insight to the joy and source of pride grandchildren were for their grandparents.  It also speaks to the importance of the place held by the parents in a child's life.  As a father of teenagers, I'm in the phase of eye-rolls and head-shaking, as my teens wonder how adults in this world got to this state of stupidity.  It wasn't long ago, though, that we parents were the heroes in our kids' lives.  In their mind we knew everything-- every answer to every mystery to every part of the universe.  Maybe they're just still coming down from their unavoidable disappointment after finding out we're human after all... but there are still moments when they desperately need guidance, support, encouragement, and correction.  I look at their eyes expecting the eyes to roll, but they don't.  They are there, just for a moment, fully engaged... ears listening intently... minds processing at lightning speed... and I realize they still need me.  So parents, don't ever think for a minute that just because your kids don't want your input and guidance that they don't need it.   They'll thank you one day for it... or maybe they won't.  But you are still the #1 influence in their lives. In case I haven't thanked my own parents... thanks Mom and Dad.  Though we're grown, we still need you.  Now about keeping the grandkids for a while...

Readings:  


1 Kings 12:20-13:34; Acts 9:26-43; Psalm 132:1-18; Proverbs 17:6

"He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished." -- Proverbs17:5

Poverty is shameful to our society.  And it is not the poor who should be ashamed-- it's society.  War is evil.  Those who fight aren't necessarily evil, but the existence of war is evil incarnate.  We tend to boast a bit when life is moving in our favor.  We have money and power... we exert our will over others... and we think nothing of it.  We pity and even fear the poor, wishing we didn't have to face that reality.  But Jesus says they are blessed for they shall inherit the kingdom of earth.  When we go to war, our nation often comes together (some wars not included), and we act as though we were at a giant pep rally for a football game.  Fact is, we're scared that someone would hate us so much that they would want to kill us, and so the "just war theory" calls for us to defend ourselves.  And when we see the rich and powerful fall... culturally speaking, we tend to glean some twisted pleasure from that.  Whether it's Tiger Woods, Lindsey Lohan, or the Kardashians... why would we enjoy the stories of their fall?  There is a line that we are not to cross:  we are not to celebrate when other people's misfortunes becomes fodder for cultural entertainment.  Terrible things happen to people.  Maybe their situation is due to their own undoing.  It's sad.  Don't celebrate.  Don't laugh.  Don't participate in the circus that comes at the cost of other people's pain.

Readings:  1 Kings 11:1-12:19; Acts 9:1-25; Psalm 131:1-3; Proverbs 17:4-5

"If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared." -- Psalm 130:3-4

I read this and think of Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 13 where he says "Love keeps no record of wrongs..."  and am reminded that the most perfect model of love is God.  The psalmist had a sense of this, though not with the same understanding as one has from a New Testament perspective.  Regardless, he was correct in writing that if God was not loving-- was not Love-- we wouldn't have a chance.  If we were created to be in relationship with God and with each other, how many times have we dishonored those relationships?  How many times have we fallen short of being the friend we could have been, the spouse, the brother, the sister, the daughter, the son, the father, the mother, the teacher, the student... we all fall short.  And yet, we find forgiveness and new beginnings in our relationships that are fashioned out of the love of God.  Ever feel dread connecting with a person you knew you really let down?  And then you're surprised to find they love you, forgive you, and continue in relationship with you anyway?  If so, then you understand "grace".  As God has loved you, so you should love others.

Readings:  1 Kings 9:1-10:29; Acts 8:14-40; Psalm 130:1-8; Proverbs 17:2-3