Friday, February 20, 2009

Reflections on Psalm 139 (God knows all about me)

Here are some reflections on Psalm 139. As you start meditating on Psalm 139 you begin to realize that verses 1-18 tell us about who God is. These verses are divided into three sections of six verses each that correspond to three classical attributes of God, His Omniscient Knowledge of us, His Omnipresent Hope and His Omnipotent Love. As we read the first six verses, let's see how David recognized how God intimately knew him, and as you read think about how intimately God knows you and consider what that might mean for your life.

GOD KNOWS ALL ABOUT ME
You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain. (Psalm 139:1-6)
Look at how these first six verses demonstrate how God knows us intimately, God knows us inside out, through and through. Everything I do, every thought that goes through my mind, every step I take, every plan I make, every word I speak, He knows them before they ever happen. God knows what is behind me and before me. How does that make you feel, the fact that God knows every aspect of your life?
Well, the fact that God knows everything about me and about you can either be a very comforting thought, or a very disturbing thought or both at the same time.
I’m reminded of a story where these children are all lined up in the cafeteria of a religious school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The teacher made a note: “Take only one, God is watching.” At the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A boy wrote a note: “Take all you want, God is watching the apples.”
Think about it, God knows all of my faults and my failures, but he also knows all of my feelings and frustrations as well as my future and my faithfulness. So because God knows us so intimately, we can talk to him about anything. Jesus says that the very hairs on your head are numbered, so there is nothing too small and nothing too large that you can’t talk to God about. Are you worried about something? God knows what you are worried about and why you are worried about it. So give him your worries.
Do you stay up at night thinking about your faults and your failures? God does know all of them, but if you come to him and ask Him to forgive you and help you walk with Him, He is quick to forgive. You don’t need to carry your guilt with you. Guilt just weighs you down, it sinks deep into your being and even effects your health, which is why James tells us that if we want to find healing, that we also need to confess our sins to one another, for it is a sure way to get relief from guilt.
Are you feeling frustrated and you feel that nobody knows what you are going through? Listen, God knows. He is aware of every tear you have shed, every heartache that you feel. Ps. 56:6 says, “You know how troubled I am, you have kept a record of my tears.” Listen; there is no hurt that goes unnoticed by God. He sees it all. Often when we are hurting, we feel very isolated, we feel very lonely. Maybe you have gone through a death in the family, maybe a girlfriend or boyfriend just broke up with you, or maybe you have had a difficult time finding a mate. Maybe you are having an incredibly difficult time at work, or you are facing tremendous financial difficulties, maybe you have an incurable sickness and when we do we feel all alone and we think NOBODY UNDERSTANDS THE WAY I FEEL, NOBODY CAN TELL HOW I FEEL, NOBODY FEELS THE PAIN. But God knows. And he understands my hurts, my feelings and frustrations

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The Rich Young Ruler and the Modern Christian

In order to answer the question, “does the command that Jesus gave to the rich young ruler, ‘sell everything you have and give it to the poor’, apply to us today?” we must understand the context in which his command is given. I intend to explore Mark 10:17-31 and discover the relevance of Jesus’ command to the rich young man.
 We must take into account that Mark sets the stage for this story with Jesus calling for the children and telling all who could hear, “anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will not enter into it.” Children in that day were not highly valued: infant mortality rate was high, children couldn’t work the fields and were an extra mouth to feed, were not required to obey the commandments of God and were thought of as unrighteous. They have nothing to offer, they are the least, last, most undeserving examples Christ could have used, but he did it with intent. Kids ask on no merit of their own (I deserve this) they must receive solely on the grace of one greater than themselves granting them their request. Everything is a gift (freely given) to them and Christ is saying this is the way in to the kingdom. 

Enters the rich young ruler. He comes with a profound question, “good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Jesus obviously senses that the question of the man’s lips is not the question of his heart.” (Edwards, 309) So Jesus begins to dig deeper, through the superficiality to the core. “Why do you call me good, no one is good except for God alone?” Jesus is saying if you see me as just a Rabbi (teacher), a mere man, and you call me “good”, you must believe that you being a man can be good, and moreover, good enough to the kingdom as you are. After further boasting from the young man on his ability to keep the law, Jesus asks him to sell all he has and give it to the poor. The man knows he can’t do this and walks away sad. The idea here is Jesus requires all of us no half-hearted commitments. This man thought, in his heart, he was good enough all by himself to enter in. He must have thought Jesus would praise him for how “good” he is and make him the example for all to see and follow. But the truth is Jesus is the example for all of us to follow and the only way into the kingdom is by no merit of our own, just as the little children, but through complete trust in Jesus. Evidently this was to much for the young man.
 It wasn’t the money; it was the placement of trust. This man obviously trusted more in his possessions than he did in Christ. If we are going to inherit eternal life we must sell out to our own ability to provide for ourselves a way of goodness and completely fall on the mercies of God. “To the question what the man must do to inherit life in the future, Jesus directs him to the present. He must do something now. His full adherence to the moral law, good and necessary as it is, is no substitute fro following Jesus…In following Jesus the man “will have treasure in heaven” (v. 21). Jesus offers himself as a substitute for the man’s possessions.” (Edwards 312)

Jesus looks to his disciples and asks them, “How hard is it for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God?” He tells them it is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle then for a rich man (one consumed with earthly possessions) to enter the kingdom of God. R. Alan Cole says, “There does not seem to be any good early evidence for the view that the phrase eye of a needle means a postern-gate in the city wall, with a consequent need for the camel to kneel and be unloaded if it is to be pushed through. The ninth century AD is the earliest reference that Shcweizer can find for this interpretation: it therefore reads like a pious late fabrication. It is better to see the metaphor as one of sheer impossibility.” (Cole 237-238) Cole is suggesting that the disciples, the first century reader, and the modern Christian all hear this as an impossible task. Christ is making an emphatic declaration that it is impossible to think you can be good enough to enter the kingdom or rich enough to buy eternal life with God. It is in no way by our own merit, it is purely by the grace and goodness of God.

For the modern Christians, we must understand that this command of Jesus is not at all about the money, but rather it is completely about the heart and perception of our own worth and goodness. It will be impossible for us to inherit eternal life if we are not willing to give complete control and absolute trust of our present lives over to the reign of Christ and follow him no matter what the cost. If we are not willing to do this, we will have no part with him.

Edwards, James R. "The Gospel According to Mark", TPNTC. 2002
Cole, R. Allen. "Mark", The Tyndale New Test. Comm.", 1st ed. 1961

Thursday, February 12, 2009

The Canvas

I read this poem yesterday and found it a great source of reflection and great for a personal devotion. Enjoy.

The canvas is blank, it’s right there before me,
I’ve got colors and brushes galore,
And when I stare at the canvas it stares back at me,
Just waiting for me to explore.

But there’s something inside me that brings me great fear,
That won’t allow me to paint or to dream,
‘Cause I worry that the outcome of my strokes over time,
Won’t be as good as the others I’ve seen.

So I stare at the canvas with tears in my eyes,
And I slowly paint one little section,
But the rest of the canvas remains free of life,
Because I only see my imperfection.

So Father, I beg you, as I go through today,
And the next chance to paint I pursue,
I ask you for courage to use all these brushes,
As I color the canvas for you.

I have this strange feeling that as the painting ensues,
And the reds, blues, and greens start to splatter,
I’ll come to see that when my eyes are on Jesus,
Comparing my painting won’t matter.

‘Cause at the end of my life, when the painting is finished,
I just know that my Jesus will love it,
‘Cause both the painter and canvas are washed in his blood,
And it’s that grace, not great art, that I covet.

- Anonymous

Tuesday, February 3, 2009