Jon Harris

Why doesn’t everyone worship Jesus like that?

Deuteronomy 15; Psalm 102; Isaiah 42; Revelation 12

My wife Amy and I recently attended a live music event with approximately 22,000 other fans. It was a sold out show so the stadium was packed. This band has enjoyed great success over the last several years represented by multiple awards as well as a large and energetic fan base. Amy and I are familiar with every one of their songs and it seemed the crowd was as familiar as we were. From the opening song through the encore, the crowd cheered, clapped, and sang with hands held high.

Amy looked at me during the show and asked “why doesn’t everyone worship Jesus like that?” I love her simple, yet insightful observations… what a great question because he is SO WORTHY of our heartfelt, relentless worship! When I shared the theme of this post with a peer, (thanks to Kerry Myers for your input on this) he responded: “People exhibit great passion and enthusiasm at their favorite concert because they’ve approached the event with great excitement and anticipation about who they are going to see”. Shouldn’t that be how we approach our worship, no matter where we are? Are we excited and in great anticipation as we approach our God because he alone is God, or are we going through the motions, serving him our leftovers?

Jesus did so much for us, and he has promised much more goodness to come. Today’s reading has several worship-worthy attributes of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and here are just a few:

Psalm 102:12 tells us that he is enthroned forever. All other earthly kings have been, or will be dethroned. Our king will never be dethroned; he will remain in authority over all things for eternity!
He “hears the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die” (Psalm 102:20) While this can hold true for physical prisoners which is likely the context of this verse, I cannot help but think of this metaphorically in that the prisoners are us in our sin, and that Jesus is the one who sets us free from the death of our sins.
Psalm 102:25 tells us that God made the earth. He made this place! Think for a second about the making a planet. He did it, and it is oh so good! Thank you God!
Praise God for what he says is true, that he gave prophecies that have been fulfilled through Jesus Christ. The Old Testament (before Jesus walked the earth) prophecy in Isaiah 42:1 refers to God’s servant, in whom his soul delights and that God has put his Spirit upon him. Isaiah 42:1 gives me chills because I know deep in my heart that it plays out much later in the New Testament in Matthew 3:16-17: And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street (Isaiah 42:2). This verse is also documented in the book of Matthew as being fulfilled: Matthew 12:14-21

Today I’m praising and thanking God for my dad, Don Harris, and wanted to say happy birthday to him. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of my dad as a lifelong trait is that he is wise. He has always taught me the importance of seeking wisdom, and has always shared his wisdom with me. In addition to his wisdom he’s an excellent businessman, humble, forgiving, kind to all, generous, and fun. My commitment to exercise comes from his example; too bad I did not follow his example in being an excellent golfer… Happy birthday dad!

Good Morning!

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. (Psalm 90:14)

When I read that verse it reminded me of one of the questions I’ve been so intrigued by recently: What do you look forward to when you wake up each morning?

Deuteronomy 7; Psalm 90; Isaiah 35; Revelation 5

I heard a sermon a while back where the question was asked, “why wouldn’t your first morning act be to thank God for the new day?” Every breath we have, and every new day happen because he allows it. This act helps remind us of who God is, that he is in control, and it acknowledges him as first in our lives.

Think about the other things that we often look forward to when we wake up. While I’ve made progress in my first thoughts and actions in the morning I still too often fall short and make it “me first”. I’m praying over this verse right now that it will speak to all of us as we consider seeking God’s help to grow into the people he designed us to be. This is a verse to help us acknowledge our sins; he already knows our sins, we have no secrets from him.

You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence. (Psalm 90:8)

Let’s look to some of the Ten Commandments to help guide us.

“‘You shall have no other gods before me. (Deuteronomy 5:7)

What sort of habits can we develop as our first morning thoughts and acts so as to reflect there is no other god before God Almighty? What are our actions as adults saying to our children and others who observe us in the morning? How can we influence our children to develop “holy habits” in the morning without becoming legalistic and thus pushing them away?

“‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, (Deuteronomy 5:8-9)

Have our smartphones become our idols? Do our phones serve us or do we inherently serve them? While hopefully no one “bows down” to their phone, do we metaphorically bow down to social media with the amount of time we spend, with our seeking to be validated by someone else rather than our God who made us and loves us unconditionally?

but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Deuteronomy 5:10)

It is refreshing that this portion of the Ten Commandments closes with a promise of love. Our God is not a god who seeks to destroy us; he is seeking relationship with us, he is seeking the best for us because he loves us.

So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

Time is our only limited commodity. We can earn more money, we can buy more things, but what equalizes the super wealthy and super poor is time. While we may not have an equal amount of time on this Earth, none of us can make more time, so let’s not waste it! Let’s LIVE ROBUSTLY and say no to the good things so that we can say YES to the GREAT things!

Father God, teach us to number our days; to live them robustly for your glory, to live in a way you designed us to live. Reveal to us the distractions and increase our faith to focus on you. Help us to be a light that shines for you so that our friends, families, and those who observe us notice a difference; that we may not be “of this world” but living with eternity in mind.

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands! (Psalm 90:17)

Amen.

Restoration

A recent post by Mike Somers asked two great questions that challenged me, and hopefully challenged our readers as well:

What do you long to do each day?
What do you look forward to when you wake up each morning?

In line with those questions but adding a scenario: What do you long to do, or what do you look forward to when things in your life seem wrong or misaligned?

Numbers 36; Psalm 80; Isaiah 28; 2 John 1

Once in a while my route home takes me near the entrance to the emergency room at a local hospital. When slowly passing by I will see things like police cars, ambulances, concerned individuals rushing toward the door, and injured people seeking immediate medical attention. These symbols always remind me of times when either myself or someone I care about was not well. I don’t know about you, but when I’m sick, injured, or have a major issue, I don’t care about much else other than wanting to be well again; I seek restoration.

Psalm 80 is about restoration; not from illness but the relationship between God and his people. Three times it repeats a request to God for him to restore them; for His face to shine, that they may be saved (verses 3, 7, 19). So many of us seek restoration in things such as human relationships, physical and mental health, and finances. However, if we are not restored first and foremost with our creator, things will always seem off. He made us for a purpose, for relationship with him and to give him glory.

The Bible overall is a story about restoration between God and his people. In the beginning Adam and Eve had a close relationship with God, then came sin and the fall of mankind. This sin separated them and us from God, thus the need for restoration. The only way we can be restored is through faith in Jesus Christ; he can be our restorer if we so choose to follow him.

This week I had the opportunity to meet some amazingly gifted and humble individuals from a non-profit organization called Spread Truth. This organization has produced a captivating video that in just six minutes brings the story of the Bible to life through animated video, voice, and music. It is a simple story for all of us, one that starts in the beginning and ends in restoration. This video is a great evangelism tool to help spread the gospel. Check it out: Story4.us/jonbharris

In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord

Dear Readers,

It is Monday which means this post is supposed to come from Jillian however, her son Ollie is still in the hospital, and still in severe pain. The McGriff family is now seeking answers after Ollie’s recent surgery.

Numbers 32; Psalm 77; Isaiah 24; 1 John 2

The world might see these struggles as a reason for a decrease in faith, but what we’re observing from Jillian’s Facebook posts is that their faith has remained strong, and seems to be growing stronger. Jillian referenced the following verse as Ollie’s verse, and this speaks volumes as to where they are choosing to put their trust.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

If you’re not following Jillian’s story, this Facebook update sums up much of what is going on. It is post from a mother who yearns for relief for her son, for healing, and for answers.

I’ve been with Ollie all day until this evening. Today was hard as post op pain came in a big way. I tried about everything I could to help him today but the feeling of helplessness was overwhelming. Overall he looks worse than when this started….mostly because he’s weaker, in more pain and is so malnourished. He cried a lot today and then would sleep. Mercy came at the end of the day with some better pain meds and some news that maybe the antibiotic they are trying is helping a bit. Lynden was able to get tomorrow off so I came home alone with the girls tonight. The house is so empty without O. I laid in his bed and shed a few tears. My heart is so torn as I miss the girls so much and now feel so badly leaving the hospital. I want him home. His Star Wars backpack is still sitting by the back door…his shoes kicked off on the rug. He needs intentional prayer that this fever will not come back. That his biopsy will yield answers soon and that his pain will subside. We need an end to his pain. We know in our hearts that God has a plan for us. Pray it’s revealed gently and soon. ~Jillian McGriff 5/21/16

Psalm 77 is part of today’s reading and the more I read it, the more it just feels like a McGriff family Psalm in their current situation, and somewhat mirrors Jillian’s FB post. There is despair, crying out, faith, and memories of better times.

The McGriffs have asked for nothing but intentional prayer. With that, can I ask that you read Psalm 77, and consider it the “McGriff family prayer”, and please pray with, and for them? Psalm 77

To donate a meal, time, and/or finances, please go to: McGriff Family Meal Train

It is good to be near God

I’m going through a short period of solitude while my wife and kids are away for several days. Some of the plans in anticipation of this period were that I’d get some “me time” and catch up on work. To avoid boredom I’d fill up my schedule until I’m so tired that I’ll just crash at the end of each day. While there was much good intent, these plans had several errors and omissions.

Numbers 29; Psalm 73; Isaiah 21; 2 Peter 2

While digging into the scripture readings for today I learned, prayed, and reflected. As usual, I came to the place where I admit to God that these posts are nothing without Holy Spirit guidance, wisdom, and truth. I sat and stared at the screen, hoping for some divine intervention, and truthfully was hoping the intervention would hurry up because I needed to get to work. Then this verse hit me:

But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works. (Psalm 73:28)

At the time I didn’t feel near God, and I didn’t feel like I made the Lord God my refuge. It felt like I was on my mission, not his. It was time to step away from the distraction of the computer and the agenda, and worship him. It was time to make him my refuge so that I may tell of all of his works.

Two of the ways that I worship are:

Getting outside and looking at the beauty of nature, thanking him for each thing I see, and acknowledging him and thanking him as the one who thought of it, created it, and sustains it. This act sets me back in line with who God is, and who I am (and who I am not) in his sight. He thought of me, created me, and sustains me. Everything I am, everything I have, and everything I will become is because he allows it.
Listening to praise and worship music. The music makes my soul dance. Since I cannot sing nor play an instrument, I feel that there is something inside of me that appreciates music even more because it is a gift very far from my understanding. Others have created music so well, and when some of my favorite artists pour it all out for Jesus with their gifts and talents, it is like house cleaning for my soul, and sets me back on the right path. Sometimes it convicts, sometimes it educates, sometimes it just gives me joy to worship along with the music acknowledging God’s many perfect attributes.

These acts of worship restored my soul in a supernatural way that only God can deliver. I was lonely because I was seeking after the thing of this world; food, fun, escapism, and mindless entertainment.

They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. (2 Peter 2:19)

When I turned back to him, the way he wants us to turn to him, the loneliness subsided and joy filled its place.

Those are just two of the many ways we can worship… Would any of our readers like to share your favorite worship activities? How do you “fill up” on God?

Lessons From Mom

But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. (James 5:12)

Numbers 22; Psalms 62–63; Isaiah 11–12; James 5

James 5:12 has a long history in my life. It was perhaps the first verse of the Bible that my mom shared with me in my adult years during a time I was willing to listen.

With James being the half brother of Jesus, he must have heard Jesus preaching the word over and over, observed Jesus perfection and closeness to God the Father, and witnessed Jesus perform numerous miracles. Growing up in a Godly home, observing the Sabbath, obeying the laws of Moses, and having Jesus Christ as a sibling would surely equate to immediate conversion to becoming a Christ follower right? Nope.

For not even his brothers believed in him. (John 7:5)

As Jillian mentioned in an earlier post, James became an ambassador for Christ only after the resurrection. All signs pointed to Jesus as the Christ through the entire life of James but his eyes weren’t opened and his heart just didn’t believe right away.

I compare this to those of us who grew up in a home where there was christian teaching and regular church attendance, but we don’t come to a true faith in Jesus until later in life. This post isn’t about all of the reasons why it took me so long; it is about the fact that there were many seeds planted over the years by someone who cared, and at least not all of those seeds were lost. I’m so thankful that while I may not have fully believed, I knew there was some deep down truth to be sought.

Thanks mom for never giving up on me, and more importantly for being a christian leader, teacher, and humble servant. This post was written on Mother’s Day 2016 and is dedicated to you.

My mom taught me many valuable life lessons, some that she probably doesn’t realize she taught me and some that I don’t realize came from her.

Here are just a few of the things that stand out that I learned from my mom. Of course this is not a comprehensive list, nor are they written in any order of importance, but just the first main themes that came to mind:

She’d remind me, “tell the truth Jon…” More important than this being a rule to be obeyed, she taught me why it is so important. That when lying, it is nearly impossible to regain someone’s trust. Fortunately my loving, caring mom taught me this at a young age so that I didn’t have to learn it the hard way.
She was relentless in teaching me the proper usage of “to, too, and two” and “their, they’re, there”, etc. Please don’t blame her for any of my grammatical mistakes or shortcomings; those are all on me. You might say, “seriously, number two on the list is spelling and grammar?” Well, the most important lesson learned wasn’t actually the subject matter. The most valuable lesson in this was that she instilled in me a desire for precision and accuracy. Much of the success in my ability to generate income for my family goes back to this. I’ve made a living over the last twenty years assessing the preciseness and accuracy of computer software systems, seeking to identify small nuances and patterns that can result in major problems.
She has been a visible example of a Christ follower and prayer warrior for most of her life. Having this influence in the home where I grew up set the foundation for my life in eternity with our creator. For any moms out there reading this wondering if your children will ever turn it around and follow Jesus, I have two things to say. Don’t stop praying, and don’t give up.
My mom didn’t teach me how to cook as much as she taught me something more important. She taught me why I should cook, and she taught me the art of cooking rather than the science. Why cook? To serve others, to create something new, to collaborate with someone, and to talk and bond in the process. As for the art: My mom has this amazing ability to throw a bunch of seemingly random ingredients together and make a meal taste amazing. She taught me to experiment with food, and while I possess a giant stack of cookbooks and subscribe to cooking related magazines, I rarely follow the recipes. My wife loves it when I play “test kitchen” in our home, and I love it too.
Love one another. When my sisters and I didn’t get along, my mom didn’t go the punishment route. She insisted that we treat each other with love and kindness; she rightfully mandated that we “get along”. In other words, “figure it out”, there is a solution, but you have to work together. It means compromise, compassion, patience, and love. This mandate has greatly shaped my parenting skills. Our boys realize that human relationships can be hard, but we that they cannot give up on each other. I pray that this is a principle that transforms their own marriages and children for generations to come.

Thanks mom!

Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor!

Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor!
    The Lord rescues them when they are in trouble.
The Lord protects them
    and keeps them alive.
He gives them prosperity in the land
    and rescues them from their enemies.
The Lord nurses them when they are sick
    and restores them to health. (Psalm 41:1-3)

Numbers 6; Psalms 40–41; Song of Solomon 4; Hebrews 4

Take a look at this sweet young lady. Her name is Ruth-Naelle and we have the privilege of being her sponsor family through Haitian Christian Ministries. My wife Amy stared at Ruth-Naelle’s picture numerous times Sunday saying “I love her! I’ve gotta get back there right away!!!” Amy was experiencing the true joy in being kind to the poor. I wish you could hear Amy say “I love her”… her voice rings; it softly raises and lowers as though she is singing a song.

This example is just one of an infinite number of reasons the following verse continues to prove true:

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

God’s word is alive. It speaks to us in our daily lives, we just need to listen to it and allow His will to take over our will. The joy of being kind to the poor from Psalm 41:1 and this experience are God’s word coming to life. We get to experience that joy not because of what “we did”, but because God the ultimate giver, gave first. He gave his son Jesus Christ so that we can be saved. He gave us his word through the Bible. He gives us resources to steward appropriately. He gives us sound preaching, wisdom, churches, friends, and family to guide us along our path. This joy comes from God; to him, and only him be the glory.

My mom commented on Amy’s related Facebook post saying “She’s a blessed girl”… while true Ruth-Naelle is blessed, we too are surely blessed and you can be as well.

For only $30 a month, children sponsored through Haitian Christian Ministries receive a nationally recognized Christian education, uniforms, a daily hot meal and vitamins, access to the medical clinic, mentoring through the Pillatre Christian Church and above all else… hope. (from the HCM web site)

Haitian Christian Ministries is a real organization sponsoring real humans with real needs in Haiti; one of the world’s poorest countries. Amy visited Haiti in 2015 and had the opportunity to visit with many of these wonderful children and young adults in person. It’s legitimate, check it out.

Amy with our first sponsored Child, Osky. We love him too!

For more information on Haitian Christian Ministries, please go to http://www.hcmin.org/about-us.

National Day of Prayer

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! (Psalm 33:12)

Leviticus 26; Psalm 33; Ecclesiastes 9; Titus 1

The people of the United States of America are incredibly blessed to have religious freedom, and as far as our government is concerned we are free to worship as we choose.

This freedom as well as an acknowledgement of God goes back to the foundation of our great country. The Declaration of Independence refers to a Creator. Note the uppercase “C” represents a proper noun; there is no doubt that this is referring to God Almighty, the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth. This document makes its appeal to the “Supreme Judge” of the world; again reflecting the belief in one being, the ultimate and just judge. The United States of America was founded by people and principles acknowledging God and His laws as authoritative.

Psalm 33:12 refers to nations being blessed when their God is the Lord, which I think is a great verse to reference on the National Day of Prayer.

The mission of the National Day of Prayer Task Force is to mobilize prayer in America and to encourage personal repentance and righteousness in the culture.

Would you join me in prayer through portions of Psalm 33 in observance of The National Day of Prayer?

God we sometimes act like we do not fear you; instead we should be in awe!

⁸Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!

God, your word created this earth and its inhabitants. For this you deserve our praise.

⁹For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

Our plans are nothing without you God.

¹⁰The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

Your wisdom Lord lasts forever, ours is temporary. Lead us God with your wisdom.

¹¹The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.

We invite you into our lives and we ask you to become our God, the God of our families and this nation. God show us the way to put you back on the throne of our lives and of this country.

¹²Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

We recognize God that no matter how hard we try, no matter whom we elect, no matter how strong our army is, only you can save us. You are our strength.

¹⁶The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
¹⁷The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.

Father God, we recognize that our nation is struggling in many ways, especially in this election year. There is dissension among the people of this country, in part because we have strayed away from honoring you as our God. Without you we would have nothing. We thank you for the truths and principles that this country was founded upon. We thank you for the many men and women who have served this country in various forms to defend our freedom and values in a way that honor you. We ask today a special blessing on the 2016 National Day of Prayer and on those who are leading and organizing it. Would you miraculously intervene through this day of prayer and touch the lives of millions of people? We ask that millions of Americans “wake up” to your call. Thank you God, you are so good. Amen!

Training Plan

Leviticus 19; Psalms 23–24; Ecclesiastes 2; 1 Timothy 4

Last Wednesday around 3:30 AM I was lying in bed wide awake. The alarm was set for 4:30 AM and I wanted to go back to sleep, but thoughts of the new day were creeping in. The thoughts started with my excitement for that day’s workout; first a spin class (indoor cycling as part of a classroom format) then Tabata (high intensity interval training), then finish with 10-15 minutes of deep, intensive stretching. While this for some might sound like pure torture, for me it has become exhilarating and extremely rewarding to push my body to its limits – I love it! I hadn’t had an intense workout in four days and was really missing it; my body was rested and ready to go.

Except it wasn’t time to go yet, so I started praying. Since I was thinking about exercise, I started by thanking God for making the human body with purpose. I was thanking him for giving me the strength to exercise, for the joy that it brings to me, for what the human body is capable of, and for the health benefits that come with exercise.

My medical understanding of exercise is that it benefits us in many ways such as controlling blood pressure, helps keep cholesterol at proper levels, strengthens the heart, and helps us maintain a healthy weight (and much more). From my own experience, when I think of exercise I enjoy “sweating out my problems”, where I’ll go for a long run and really process a situation; it helps me think positive and oftentimes brings clarity through the fog. I also love the after-effects of exercise; increased energy, the feeling of accomplishment, and the post-workout shower is a great reward.

There is a problem though. Exercise involves physically training a human body, and human bodies are not built to last forever. Physical training is a temporary investment in something that will eventually fail and die. Just like Ecclesiastes 2 where we read about the futility or vanity of pleasure, work, or even living wisely; while enjoyment of these things is a blessing from God, they all will fade in this life.

There is a solution to this problem. It is called Godly training. Godly training is a spiritual investment in something that will last for an eternity.

⁷Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; ⁸for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:7-8)

Godliness is of value in every way. What a great promise! I’m reflecting on the post God Speaking to Us where David LaFrance mentioned that Godly training has strengthened his soul and state of mind. He also uses words like revived and restored, and shared that God’s word breathes “new life” into him.

Training in Godliness trains us how we should live so that we can live abundantly. Today’s scripture reading has numerous, valuable training instructions as an explanation of the ten commandments including:

Revere (honor) your mother and father and observe God’s Sabbaths (days of rest). Leviticus 19:3
Do not turn to idols; Leviticus 19:3.
Give to the poor; Leviticus 19:10
Don’t steal, don’t lie; Leviticus 19:11
Don’t swear falsely using God’s name. Leviticus 19:12
Don’t oppress or rob your neighbor. Leviticus 19:13
Treat people with disabilities fairly. Leviticus 19:14
Judge in righteousness; not out of partiality. Leviticus 19:15
Don’t gossip. Stick up for your neighbor. Leviticus 19:16
Don’t hate. Leviticus 19:17
Love your neighbor. Leviticus 19:18

Spending time thinking through that list reminds me of much room for improvement and some necessary repentance. How about you?

God, thank you for the instruction you give through your word as it guides us, corrects us, and points us toward you. Thank you for allowing us to experience pleasure and joy here on Earth. May we experience these gifts in a way that honors you. Please show us where we may be idolizing earthly pleasures and experiences so that we may put you in the rightful place in our lives as our first and foremost. We recognize this life on Earth is temporary, but your kingdom is forever; thank you for the grace and mercy that we receive through your son Jesus Christ. Amen.

Contradiction?

The word detest (or detestable) is used eleven times in Leviticus 11. This word was used in describing the animals and insects that the Jewish people were to abstain from touching or eating.

Leviticus 11–12; Psalms 13–14; Proverbs 26; 1 Thessalonians 5

God was conveying that these detestable things would make them unclean, defiled, and the people would become detestable themselves should they break God’s commands within this realm. I see this as another example of what I like to refer to as “binary”; it is one thing or the other, and nothing in between. God is holy (set apart) and therefore he expects us to be holy because he is holy. We can be either holy or unholy, clean or unclean.

For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:44-45)

One of the unclean animals was the pig and reading this reminded me of a verse from the Sermon on the Mount that had previously been confusing to me:

Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. (Matthew 7:6)

Dogs and Pigs

In the east, dogs are much more viscous; they are considered dirty and detestable, similar to how the pig was detestable. Picture yourself passing by a fence, and a big nasty looking dog comes running, snarling, growling, barking, and jumping at the fence with the intent to attack you. This actually happened to me just the other day and it scared the heck out of me!

Holy and Pearls

Things that are holy to us, or our “pearls” are God’s word and his precious truth. We need to treat God’s word as sacred and use it with the special intent that it was given. Tying this all together, the verse is saying that we should not be attempting to give God’s precious truth to those who have the intent to twist or abuse the truth or to use it to attack us. It might seem odd to suggest not sharing Biblical truth with those who may need it most, but I believe there is a time and situation for everything. For example…

A Biblical contradiction?

⁴Answer not a fool according to his folly,
lest you be like him yourself.
⁵Answer a fool according to his folly,
lest he be wise in his own eyes. (Proverbs 26:4-5)

First it says not to answer a fool, then it says to answer a fool. What are we supposed to do about that?

Verse 4 is talking about arguing with a fool; it becomes pointless when someone clearly doesn’t want to listen to you, or if they are twisting your words and trying to use them against you. Verse 5 is saying that if someone says something unwise, hurtful, or perhaps the opposite of sound spiritual doctrine, we need to respond at some point. We shouldn’t for example, argue with someone who is a drunken rage. They won’t listen, they would be much like the pig or dog who turns to attack us. We should however, wait for an appropriate time, when the person has sobered up or calmed down.

As I consider today’s readings there were a lot of negative, depressing words like detest, fool, sluggard, wicked, and hatred; the list goes on and on. These words remind me of the light overcoming the darkness that Mike Somers and BJ Armstrong have recently posted on. Alas, let us be reminded that we need not live in the darkness, and God has destined us for salvation through Jesus.

⁵For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. ¹¹Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:5, 9-11)

I want to close today with saying thank you to our readers and to my Bible Journal team, to build you up as you have built me up. Thank you for all of the encouragement and feedback, and for some of the stories people have shared personally regarding the impact that Bible Journal has made on their spiritual journey already. These posts are extremely challenging to write, from a mental, spiritual, and time perspective but I cannot imagine my life had I declined to be part of this. The overall experience is so far beyond rewarding, words cannot explain, so all I can say is thank you all, and give God all the glory for He has great things in mind for ALL of us!