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Exodus 1; Luke 4; Job 18; 1 Corinthians 5

Have you ever noticed the use of the word “bread” in the Bible? It’s everywhere.   I began thinking about it as I read through Luke 4 today when the Devil tempts Jesus to eat after forty days of fasting in the desert. In response to Satan’s offer to turn rocks into bread, Jesus quickly quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 telling Satan that, “man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”   When I am honest, I have to admit that I would not have responded the same way. Instead, I would have likely been eating rocks. How is it that I can avoid such temptation in the future? The easy answer is found by considering three things that ruled Jesus’ life.

Jesus understood the scriptures. A deep understanding of Deuteronomy 8:3 allows him to quickly and confidently retort Satan. We must also have this knowledge close at hand. Paul gives evidence to this conclusion in Ephesians 6:17. He calls the Word of God “the sword of the Spirit.” When we know it, it will cut down the enemy, allowing us to stand strong.

Jesus understood his true needs. I cannot imagine how great a piece of bread would feel in my stomach after not eating for forty days! Jesus could. In fact, he knew that it would not compare to the life-giving bread that he was already receiving from God himself. Jesus clarifies this in John 10:10, explaining that he came to us so that we can have abundant life. Now, I am positive that he was not talking about food, as American’s, we already have that! No, instead he is talking about spiritual renewal and growth that comes from feeding on His bread, “the bread of life” (John 6:53).   When we eat it, we receive His fruits, which look like love, joy, peace patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.   (Galatians 5:22-23)

Jesus understood God’s way.  He would not waver even though he was capable of producing food from rocks.  He refused to circumvent God’s plan for his own comfort. I find it noteworthy that he didn’t even flinch. I would have at least asked God for a quick nibble. Instead, Jesus was sold-out. Nothing could make him choose his own will over God’s.

I am thankful today for the opportunity and freedom to study and know God’s word. BibleJournal is an excellent way for all of us to sharpen our swords, deepen our dependence and understand God’s His way. Thank you for following along!

Today’s reading: Genesis 48; Luke 1:39–80; Job 14; 1 Corinthians 2

I have been looking for wisdom most of my life.  At first it was so that I might be considered smart or wise by others, later it was for wanting to distinguish myself in the halls of academia, and in the market place.  Wisdom I believed (along with knowledge) would help me compete for prosperity and notoriety.  I believed the more knowledge and wisdom I gained, the more worldly success I would attain, and to some extent this was true.  As luck (or providence) would have it, being born in the twentieth century into a productive and well educated American family made my prospects for prosperity all the better — or so I thought.  The pursuit of achievement sometimes drove me to exhaustion, and this clearly took my focus off things that mattered more, like loving God and others.  There was no doubt I wanted to do things my way.  Still at times I looked to God in the process for help.  But the help I looked for was to get more of the things I wanted for me.  Essentially, I just wanted help building my kingdom and was happy to have God’s help if necessary.

I’m not sure I can say exactly when the change took place for me.  There were certainly moments, and seasons, where the light of truth seemed to get brighter in my misguided brain. But mostly it has been a process and a struggle with my flesh, like some great sports contest with momentum shifting many times.  Recently the outcome of this game of life has become more certain for me despite my many struggles and poor choices.  Through prayer and worship, studying God’s word, and in fellowship with other believers wisdom has crept into my life.  Through the life and death and resurrection of Jesus my transformation was made possible, thank God!

Perhaps the better metaphor for this new life is climbing mountains.  As I reach the peak, now I look out across the land, and off in the distance I clearly see the next mountain I must climb.  The big difference in my new life is this; now the climb is mostly filled with joy which goes beyond any feeling of accomplishment.  Once I reach the summit, any feeling of accomplishment is exceeded by the exhilaration of seeing the next mountain off in the distance.  Wisdom tells me that in the challenge of the new mountain there is hope, and this hope is in the knowledge of the blessings from the transformation that awaits me.

Sure there are still dangerous moments and dark times, but more and more, each day I have come to rely on the Holy Spirit to guide my path.  I am now more aware of the limitations of my knowledge and wisdom which pails in comparison to the wisdom from the presence of God’s Holy Spirit which has been proven over and over again.

When I read the passage today about Joseph traveling to see his ailing father and seeking Jacob’s blessing upon his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh, I was moved to tears thinking of my own sons and how much I hope to bless them, and for them to receive the blessing of my Heavenly Father.  I’m not sure if these feelings represent the presence of the Holy Spirit, but they come at times when I’m thinking about the majesty of God and about the people I love.  These are powerful emotions that correlate with the rare times that I am deeply focused on God and people, other than me.  They rise up from some better place deep within, a place in my spirit where I believe God is able to dwell, if I am willing to allow it.  This is a place of power, courage, strength, hope and freedom.  It is a place that is prepared in my surrender, when I release my desire to control my destiny.  It is a place of joy made ready by love.

God please help me to understand your plan for my life.  I need your help to navigate between the world and your kingdom.  I seek Your wisdom, not mine, and I long for your guidance, especially how I use my time.  Help me invest in others, the lives of my family, good friends and those that you place in my path, directing me to serve.  Help me build up and encourage the people that I have the privilege of interacting with — those who are close to me.  Help me demonstrate your love through a life that points to you, glorifies you and demonstrates my openness to the incredible power and legacy of your wisdom.  Let your Holy Spirit, in all your infinite wisdom, dwell within me and flow out from me, all the days of my life.  Amen.

Family: Genesis 47; Luke 1:1–38. Secret: Job 13; 1 Corinthians 1.

Last Tuesday, Rick’s post was about Spiritual Capital, the spiritual goods and possessions that allow the production of the fruit of the spirit. He reminded us that everything began and ends with God and everything belongs to God, even our hearts.  Because God has given each one of us free will, Rick then challenged us to consider where we will invest.  Today’s passages focused me again on God’s economy.

How great the contrast to what we know as The American Dream, the ideal that every American should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. Our entire culture is obsessed with the notion of trying to be the best.  I am not immune, and must admit, I have thoroughly enjoyed following ESPN.com’s recent analysis of the Top 100 NBA players of all time (agree MJ is still #1) and the 2016 class of NFL greats elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame last week (glad Brett Favre and Tony Dungy made the cut).  This is good fun, but the power of our culture makes it that much more critical that we continually ground ourselves in the truth of God’s word.  To follow Christ requires that our motivations be different.

I Corinthians 1:27-28, But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are…

The struggle to be the best is not unique to us in 21^st century America.  In Mark 9, we read about the disciples’ debating with each other about who was the greatest.  When Jesus heard the discussion, he sat them down for a lesson on God’s economy.

Mark 9:35, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

I don’t have much athletic talent, and for those of you who know me well, it is unlikely that I am going to “be the greatest” at anything. But not being first or the greatest is a whole lot different than choosing to be last and a servant to all.  Not being the best involves admitting someone is better than you.  Servant-hood requires that you make yourself lower than another, choosing to place your needs and desires in submission to theirs.  This is hard, and not something we will achieve on our own.  Fortunately, God’s economy is fueled by grace.

Today, in Genesis 47, we read about the last days of Israel (Jacob). He had been reunited with his son Joseph.  Because Joseph had found favor with Pharaoh, Israel’s last 17 years were fruitful in the land of Goshen with his descendants.  He dies peacefully and Joseph buries his body with his fathers, according to Israel’s wishes.  What?  Is this the same person who was born in Genesis 25, stole his brother’s birthright, tricked his father into giving him the blessing that belonged to his brother, and then had go live with his uncle Laban to avoid being killed by his brother?  It is.

In Genesis 28, we read the account of Jacob’s dream where God promises to bless Jacob. See, God chose Jacob just like he chose us.

Notice as Jacob’s life goes on he begins to make some different choices. In spite of Laban’s deceitfulness (on more than one occasion), Jacob served him for twenty years.  Later, in preparation for a reunion with his brother Esau, Jacob sent gifts and messengers ahead to meet Esau with a message from Jacob, “his servant”.  Do you see Jacob’s actions beginning to reflect a change in attitude, motivation and position?

God’s economy is remarkably different than the world’s economy. How can we combat the irresistible pull of our culture to be the best/know the best/worship the best?  As we see with Jacob’ life.  It is never too late.  God’s grace is greater than all our sin.

1 Corinthians 1:4-9

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Genesis 45; Mark 15; Job 11; Romans 15

Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, marking the first day of Lent. Since I do not come from a tradition that celebrates or promotes Lent, I needed to do a little research.  What I knew is that Lent is an opportunity to grow closer to God.   It starts on Ash Wednesday, 40 days before Easter with the forty days mirroring the time that Jesus spent in the wilderness. (Matthew 4:1-11).  What I did not know is that the ashes, on that Wednesday are to remind us of our sin and mortality.  Despite my non-participation in Lent, I fully agree with taking time to remember Jesus’ sacrifice. Ironically, today we read from Mark 15, which details the story of Jesus death. While this is a morbid and depressing topic, it is right that we become intimate with it.

To be honest, I find that I have become desensitized to it. Jesus crucifixion is talked about so often that the conversation has become routine. In fact, how many of you glossed over the terrible circumstances surrounding Jesus’ death march? Take a moment to digest these words that Mark uses to describe it:

Mocked

Reviled

Bound

Accused

Struck

Spit Upon

Derided

Forsaken

Betrayed

Do you hear the malice and hatred in these words? I can feel it. While I want to elevate myself above Jesus’ assailants, I cannot. I am compelled to ask, who am I? Have I not done this to him myself? Think about it, every lie (even the little white ones) every selfish ambition, each time I try to position myself a little higher, I aggravate his suffering. I am the betrayer. The benefit of studying Jesus death is that I must confront my own actions. Doing so takes me straight back to Peter at the end of chapter 14, “and he broke down and wept.”

Today’s link: Genesis 42; Mark 12; Job 8; Romans 12

I have been well educated in the idea of capitalism.  And the more I learn about God’s kingdom, the more I see parallels between the workings of God’s world and ours.  Ours is merely a shadow of His, but because in large measure it is created out of the wisdom of men, it is something less.  I wonder where our big ideas come from in the first place?  Ideas that might be just a little off, especially if we start to forget their origin — or as we lose touch with the Originator.  Since capital is the cornerstone of the economic system called Capitalism and since all things emanate from God, it made sense that there must be a thing that I could describe as spiritual capital?  Webster’s dictionary defines capital: (2) : accumulated goods devoted to the production of other goods (3) : accumulated possessions calculated to bring in income. So spiritual capital would seem to be the spiritual goods and possessions that allow the production of the fruit of the Spirit, such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control…. (Galatians 5:22).

I have often wrestled to reconcile various teachings of the bible with my limited understanding of the world.  For example, how does the social gospel (giving to the poor) relate to capitalism, an idea seen through the history of civilization.  The Bible sheds some light on this.  Interestingly, Jesus’s parables sometimes use the constructs and principles of capitalism to make bigger points about God’s kingdom and His economy.  I often think about the parable of the talents in Mathew 25:14-30 which illustrates how God wants us to use all we have been given, to take chances and invest our talents for His sake.  Jesus uses the description of bold investing to encourage our investment in God’s kingdom.  Throughout the Bible we are told to grow this investment, to seek out God’s kingdom, to pursue it, even beg for it — and only then can we objectively compare life in God’s kingdom with life on our own.  This investment is clearly not financial, but spiritual.  We are called to invest with (and to build up) our spiritual capital, for this is the means of production and the path to accumulate true wealth in God’s kingdom.  God’s kingdom is a place where the most valuable currency is love, and it is spirit based.  The greatest and truest measure of success is found when God, through His Holy Spirit, opens the gates of heaven and pours His power into our lives — providing riches that we then in turn are able to share with others by loving them.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the value proposition God offers us when we trade a life that can never satisfy us, for an abundant life in the presence of God.  The price of sin is so incredibly high it establishes a value for grace which is beyond our understanding.  This transaction is so ridiculously out of balance in our favor that it seems too good to be true.  Nevertheless because of the troubles of the world and the deceit of riches, this is sometimes hard to see.  But it really is an offer you can’t (or shouldn’t) refuse, and still many do.  Again, I thought of specific scripture; For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.  Then I read more; For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul…(Matthew 16:25-26) and in wisdom I am reminded that the value of the human spirit, part of our created being, is infinitely valued by God, it’s creator.

Today’s reading gives us much to think about.  God had shaped Joseph through trials, then blesses him with an amazing life.  Now Joseph is reunited with his brothers and has an opportunity to seek revenge or forgive.  What would I do in that situation?  And the widow who gives a mite in the offering, is favored above all by Jesus, which tells me that God wants our hearts not our money, once again proving the value God places on the human spirit — on our souls.

In Mark Chapter 12, Jesus offers parables that use elements of the worldly economy to illustrate how God’s economy works.  One parable uses a vineyard and a wine press as an example of this world.  We are like the tenants, given this splendid creation to grow fruit and make wine, which represents the privilege to produce good things in our lives and to be a blessing to others.  It is expected that as tenants we honor the owner of the property and the means of production, including sharing some portion for the greater good of God (and His kingdom), the owner of all.  Like the evil tenants who dispatched the masters servants, we often take what is not ours for our own glory, turning away messengers and signs sent by God.

When the Jewish leaders attempt to trap Jesus by questioning his wisdom about Roman law and paying taxes he says in Mark 12:17 …Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s… He doesn’t say, don’t pay taxes, but implies everything is God’s, a clear concept in the Old Testament — and they marveled at him.

In adressing the question about the greatest commandment, in Mark 12:30, Jesus reinforces the fundamental truth that everything belongs to God, even our hearts.  Still, we must choose to give our hearts to God!  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your mind and all your strength.  This clearly points us to God from the beginning to the end of our lives, while establishing what our primary focus should be.  As Christians, how can we miss this?  Aside from this being a command from our maker, again, here is an offer that we can’t refuse.  This truth becomes increasingly more apparent when we begin to really understand why this command is so valuable to us.  Yet again, God in His wisdom has given us the free will to chose to obey or not — to invest in the spiritual capital of His kingdom, or not.  If we are honest, as we compare our wisdom against His, truth is revealed.  He gives us the freedom to look for truth and invest our lives where we will.  Where will you look for truth?  In what will you invest in today?