December 16 - Ephesians: God's Adopted People Walking Down God's Way

Today’s Reading: Ephesians

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Jesus broke down the barrier between God and the Gentiles. The appropriate answer is walking in faith down God's Way.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Paul to the believers in Ephesus:
Long ago God decided to adopt us through Jesus. God embraced us when we wanted the world. Through Jesus' Sacrifice everyone has an equal claim on "Christian"—which angers some Jews. God can do anything!
Run God's Road as one. Live honest, temperate, and forgiving lives. Love like Jesus. Expose the darkness. Sing loudly because of the Spirit, not alcohol. Treat each other well, especially wives, husbands, children, parents, servants, and masters.
Be God-Strong in this life-and-death struggle over our souls. Use all of God's Equipment. Help each other.
Jesus' Grace be with everyone.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

God's Plan to set all things right was set before Adam and Eve brought death into the world.

How awesome to serve a God who wanted to set things right even before they needed to be set right! God's Plan is awesome because God knew He would die because of our mistakes and yet created everything anyway.

The Church is Christ's Body on Earth.

Our purpose is to show Jesus to the world. We want to help them set their relationship right with God by being ambassadors of God.

God brought outsiders in—which angered His Chosen People.

Paul is in prison because the Jews were angry that he taught God's Message through Jesus to Gentiles. They wanted an exclusive claim on God and would not share. Yet Jesus treats everyone as equals. There is now one group.
We love splitting everyone into two groups—the church and the world. However, there is no difference between the two. The world can be part of the church. This is why Paul mentioned that the church is central to the world. There may be many who do not want anything to do with God but it is their decision, not God's.

The answer for being sought by God is to walk down His Road.

In chapter four Paul transitions from theoretical to practical. Since we are all included, we should be unified as we walk down God's Way—in the same direction, not looking and acting alike. We must mature or be left behind. This means we must get rid of the old life. The truth is, we already know what we need to do to set things right. We must choose to do it.

Wives must respect husbands like the church respects Jesus. Husbands must love wives as Jesus loves the church.

A few weeks ago we read how husbands have authority, not priority. Adam was created first but men now are born to women. We are interdependent. Today Paul uses the church's relationship with Jesus as a template for marriage. Jesus gave Himself for the church, His Body, to set its relationship with God right. The church, in return, respects and submits to Jesus. No husband should beat his wife because Jesus would not beat Himself. No woman should disrespect her husband because the church would not disrespect Jesus. We cannot argue against the first without also arguing against the second.

Children and parents have a responsibility to make sure children become mature Christians.

Paul does not put the onus on children or parents alone. They share responsibility. Children must honor their parents. Parents must guide their children with gentleness.

We are in a battle for our soul.

Paul uses warfare imagery at the end of the letter. He wants to make sure we understand that this is not a pleasant, intellectual discussion. This is war. We must be prepared with both defensive armor and offensive weapons. Both come from God.

Behold the awesome mystery of God!

May 11 - 2 Samuel 10; 1 Chronicles 19; Psalm 20: Hanun Insults David's Emissaries

Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 10; 1 Chronicles 19; Psalm 20

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Hanun allows his leaders to cloud his judgment.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, died. David sent a message of condolence.
Hanun, Nahash's son, was convinced by his leaders that David's emissaries were war scouts. Hanun shamed them by cutting off half of their beards and cutting their robes past their butts.
David allowed his men to re-grow their beards in private at Jericho.
The Ammonites hired 20,000 Aramean soldiers to help fight David's army. At first they all ran from Joab and Abishai's men. Later, they regrouped and fought at Helam. David's army defeated the Arameans and earned their vassal kings' tributes.

Psalm (P)Synopsis

Psalm 20

David blesses his army—may God bless you in your day of war. He calls out to God to answer on the day of battle.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

Hanun allowed his leaders to make him paranoid against David's messengers.

The Ammonites and the Israelites had a rocky relationship in the past. However, David and Nahash had a good relationship. But Hanun's leaders allowed the past to overshadow the present. Unfortunately, Hanun listened to these leaders and insulted David's messengers, to his own detriment. Beware paranoid advisors, they may lead you down the road to disaster.

Joab submits to God's ultimate work.

Joab musters his men and encourages them to have courage—if they need backup the other half would help. But in the end he says, "And God will do whatever he sees needs doing!" (2 Samuel 10:12; 1 Chronicles 19:13, The Message). Joab knows that no matter how well they fight, God will win in the end. Submit to God's will even in the midst of a great foe.

David asks God for help with the expectation of help.

David knows God will help his army. So he calls on God to help, tells God what they will do when He defeats their enemies, then tells everyone not to worry—help is on the way! Call out to God—in expectation of getting what you are asking!

May we never think ill of those who come to comfort us.

April 16 - Psalms 56, 120, and 140-142: David Cries Out to God for Protection

Today’s Reading: Psalms 56, 120, and 140-142

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

David is experiencing a range of emotions—despair when he is being chased and joy when he is vindicated.

Psalm (P)Synopsis

Psalm 56

David faces opposition daily from people who want to hurt him. He prays for God to punish them. When they are punished David knows God was the source. He praises God for fulfilling His promises.

Psalm 120

In this short psalm, David cries out to God to deliver him from the warmongers. He yells at the liars and those who want war. He fears that his life will end in exile because no one will offer terms of peace.

Psalm 140

David asks God to remove him from his present company—those who only want to do evil. He calls out for God to thwart their evil plans and allow their words come back to bite them. God is on the side of the victims.

Psalm 141

David asks for God to hear his voice. He wishes to stay away from the wicked ones who are around him. He wants to stay wholly for God. He asks for God to bring chastisement on the evildoers and to protect him from their evil schemes.

Psalm 142

David cries out to God while he feels completely alone and without friends. God is all that he has left. He wants to be rescued so he can praise God in public.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

Unlike Job, David knows the source of his troubles.

In a move that makes us feel uncomfortable, David openly asks God to take up his cause and punish his enemies. Unlike Job and his friends, he never believes God is punishing him. He knows that men are the cause of his troubles and he calls out to God for help.

David's joy will come from God protecting him, not God's punishment of his enemies.

David wants to praise God for what He has done. Some of the psalms have the outcome by the end. Others leave the answer up in the air. But all of them have one thing in common—David always praises God for saving him. We should praise God for God's willingness to protect His Chosen People, not His ability to punish our enemies.

David wants peace but any call for peace is met with violence.

In a verse which could describe peace discussions throughout the ages and continuing to now, David laments, "I’m all for peace, but the minute / I tell them so, they go to war!" (120:7, The Message). Peace takes two sides.

David's description of warmongers then is accurate today.

I am writing this in the middle of a peace crisis with North Korea. They are angry with South Korea and the USA because the two countries are practicing what would happen if North Korea were to attack South Korea. it is interesting to hear warmongers on both sides speak of war. They have several doomsday scenarios which always end with hundreds of thousands of casualties. They both try to see how they could single-handedly defeat the countries that would line up against them. So David's description that

All they do is think up new ways to be bad;
   they spend their days plotting war games.
They practice the sharp rhetoric of hate and hurt,
   speak venomous words that maim and kill. (140:2-3, The Message)

serves as an apt description today. God's chosen people want peace and plan for peace. War should only happen when the other side will not stop attacking.

David asks God to keep him away from doing evil.

As much as David complains against his enemies he also understands that he could just as easily fall into their ways. So he cries out to God to prevent his dreams from slipping evil into his consciousness. He wants to be completely different than the ones who face off against him. God's Chosen People should pray that we do not fall into the same evil our enemies are guilty of.

Do you only have eyes for God?

March 17 - Deuteronomy 17-20: Moses Reminds Israel to Purge Evil from Among Them

Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 17-20

The Message

English Standard Version

The next three days' readings are chocked full of laws, many repeated from Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers with some new wrinkles added. I will not comment on the same laws as before but try to discuss the new wrinkles.

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Moses uses the rhetorical device of repetition to ingrain the most important laws into their minds.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Moses reminded the people to execute anyone worshiping another god—only by the testimony of multiple witnesses who start the execution. The priests and judges would try difficult cases. Their verdicts were final.
Kings must not use their position for gain but study God's Law.
The priests would receive part of every sacrifice. No child sacrifice or any type of dark magic was tolerated.
God would provide prophets for Israel.
Accidental killings were forgiven.
Only willing warriors entered battle. Enemy cities were offered peace. If they fought, only their men should die. Others became servants—except the people in Canaan.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

The multiple witnesses to a crime were to be the first to throw the stones, in other words, start the execution.

This law is what Jesus referenced (and modified) when He shows mercy to a woman caught in adultery. Those who see what happen should be the one who punish an evil act.
God will not allow one person to pervert justice. There are too many variables which could prevent justice from happening.

A priest's and a judge's verdicts were final. Anyone caught changing the punishment was to be purged.

Priests were God's chosen people to represent Him on the earth. Judges were the people's choice to make decisions. Therefore any person who disagreed with their decisions went against both God's and Israel's leaders. This would not be tolerated. God demands respect of His Chosen Leaders and the people's chosen leaders.

A king must not use his position for personal gain.

In what could amount to the most neglected and ignored part of the entire Law, this section (17:14-20) may have never been read and obeyed. It is ironic that God would push the people against having a king (in 1 Samuel) but include this section in the Law. It is almost like He did not want them to have a king but knew their hearts that they would want one anyway.
The problem with having a king is that the king believes he is above everyone and the law and takes control over God—which is sin. This is why God writes this law—to force the king to remember that he is under God's Law. By building a massive army he begins to think he guarantees his own strength. By sending trade emissaries to other nations he begins to think that peace comes based on his own diplomacy. By collecting gold and silver he begins to think his wealth comes from his own greatness. By marrying many women he begins to think his popularity comes from himself. And these wives would lead him to worship other gods. Power tempts a heart to leave its dependence on God. Studying God's Law prevents a heart from usurping God's control.

God provides a test for potential prophets.

God wanted to make sure the people could tell the difference between His Prophet and a fake prophet. So he gave them a test—if what the prophet says came true they were to believe him/her. If what the prophet says did not come true, they were to execute him/her. It was quite simple. Why would a person imitate being a prophet if they knew once being caught they would be executed?

God wages a peaceful and brave war.

First, God will allow anyone who wishes to go home to leave. Those who have just built a house, planted a vineyard, or recently become engaged are allowed to go home. Then He tells anyone who is afraid to go home so as to not make others afraid.
God's battle plan is peace because Israel must first offer terms of peace. If the enemy rejected peace then bloodshed came. God's way of war is to prevent bloodshed unless it is absolutely necessary.

God will not stand for evil to live among His Chosen People.

God repeats the idea at the end of several laws that the Israelites were to "clean" or "purge" themselves of evil, meaning the person who had done the evil must be executed. This repetition is to make His point clear. God will not stand for people who willingly do evil to live among His Chosen People.

What do you think of the command to "purge the evil from your community"?