Today’s Readings: Ezekial 34-36, Psalm 86, John 12
11 Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.
12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. 13 For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of the dead.
Do you remember what it was like to feel dead? Have you ever experienced moments where you felt useless, lost, or confused? I have.
David’s prayer on today’s readings was a prayer I’ve prayed for many nights, days, and moments when I’m seeking direction. This prayer is one I pray today. His Word can take a divided heart and mind and point you in a direction where you can find hope, peace, and truth. Every day, I try to remember to invite the Lord into the moments I open His Word. I ask Him to show me all I need to hear, all I need to know to take my heart that can feel divided towards my desires and help me understand, believe, and obey.
I seek God to answer my anxious thoughts, prayers, and struggles. I’ve realized the closer I grow to Him and the more I seek Him, the more I have less of a divided heart. Teach me and unite my heart. Cast your worries on Him and choose to be thankful. Lord, I pray You will help us walk in Your truth and Fear Thy Name. No matter how close we are to our Lord, we can always ask Him for ways to increase our awareness and improve our obedience. Lord, help me always to know You will provide and are the source of my hope and joy. Will you commit this prayer to memory with me?
On Saturday, Holly-Rae wrote about Noah’s Ark from Genesis 7. She mentioned that many people believe it to be a metaphor and I was reminded that the reason someone built a replica in Kentucky is to help us understand that these stories are real. I will admit that when I read the story, I have the same thoughts. In fact, it’s easier to read Bible stories as metaphors, in order to pull every ounce of wisdom from them. For example, in today’s reading, I might review the powerful imagery of ravens, doves and olive branches (Genesis 8:6-11). I’ll reflect on them and consider how they relate to my life today. I might even work up a strategy or two so that will allow me to be more intentional with my life. Most of the time I stop right there. I take the wisdom and don’t even consider, let alone contemplate, the bigger picture. It’s easier that way. Truth is, stopping there debases God and the Bible. In fact, it reduces my relationship with God to a self-help guru or a life coach. Sure, I will walk away with big thoughts about Noah’s faith and maybe even his leadership capacity. Those are good things. But, those are not the purpose of the stories in the Bible. When I read it right, God reveals to me who he really is. To get there, I have to get messy.
Getting messy means that I have to ponder what kind of being, what kind of God, has the ability to do all those things. In fact, how can that actually be? I have to poke at my own understanding to determine why this God would do all those things. I have to wrestle with what is good or bad about it. Even what I like and don’t like. I have to discover that these are things that God wants to reveal to me about himself but I have to seek them out (Luke 11:9). In my seeking, I would discover that God is far bigger than a piddly little flood. This was nothing for him. I would discover that the answers I find create even bigger questions about who he is and what that means for who I am. He would reveal to me his righteousness and holiness along side his justice and his mercy. In fact, I would encounter the mystery of God and begin to realize that there is no way I can really experience him in this lifetime (1 Corinthians 2:7). In many ways, I would begin to feel like a foreigner here on this earth and understand that I was created for far more than this life. My heart would start to sing “holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty” day and night, without ceasing (Revelation 4:8).
Or not. I could just go with the metaphor theory. Besides, I have a lot to do today.
Jesus says in John 8:44, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
Even Christians, often have trouble acknowledging the Devil’s presence in our lives and in the world. However, the Bible does not. In fact, the Devil or Satan is mentioned 90 times in the Bible. Jesus calls him the “father of lies” here which makes complete sense due the fact that the first sin started with his lie in Genesis 3:5 when he told Adam and Eve they would be like God if they ate the fruit. This is the first lie that Satan still tells us today…you are God.
This may seem silly, but when you take a step back it’s not too difficult to see in our own life and in the world today by what is found to be socially acceptable. Primarily it rears its ugly head when God tells us to do whatever “feels good” and that others should be able to do the same. We trade temporary satisfaction for joy and peace which God knows will come from following Him and restraining from what He calls a sin in the BIble. The “father of lies” also then furthers this lie by others telling us (which we then believe to be true ourselves) that we are judging others when we call what God calls a sin a sin and “that is not the Christian thing to do.” When we call a sin a sin and at the same time acknowledge that we ourselves are sinners as well needing forgiveness and that one sin is not worse than another sin (except for blaspheming the Holy Spirit) and all sin separates us from God, that is not judging..it’s speaking the truth.
The 2nd lie Satan tells us is God does not love you. Even when we acknowledge God exists and know that He sent His Son to die on the cross for us, this lie can subtly bind us from experiencing joy and most importantly keep us from truly being at peace through complete understanding God’s love . Up until the last few years, I found myself wondering at times if something didn’t go my way if it was because of a entirely unrelated sin I committed recently. While sin does have consequences in our lives and God often doesn’t stop the consequences, God does not make bad things happen to you because of something you did. Romans 8:1 says, “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:31 then says, “…If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us, will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” God is not against us. He does not punish us for sins. He says here in John 8:11, “Neither do I condemn you.” He does also then say,” …go and from now on sin no more.” He came with both grace and truth.
Jesus says in John 8:12…”I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in the darkness, but have the light of life.” We all seek truth. That is what the world is looking for…truth. We find truth in the Word. John 1 refers to Him as the Word, and here in John 8:31 He says, “….If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Acting on how we we “feel” and the world telling us its ok for others to do the same will not set us free. This is what the “father of lies” tells us. But, Jesus tells us in John 8:34, “..Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” Sin (which is what God tells us is sin in the Bible..not the world) does not set us free as Satan tells us…it imprisons us. Jesus says again in John 8:36, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free in deed.” Read the Word. Run to His loving arms and be free. There you will find what we all need to have peace and joy…you will find truth and love.
