October 22 - Matthew 18: Jesus On Forgiveness and Arrogance

Today’s Reading: Matthew 18

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Jesus wants forgiveness to rule—both in seeking it and giving it.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

The Apostles asked about rank. Jesus responded, "Childlike people rank highest. Treat them well. It's better to be handicapped and God's than whole and the Devil's. Watch your arrogance.
"A shepherd searches for lost sheep. So will God. Seek lost Siblings: first alone, then with a small group, and finally with everyone. If no resolution, treat them as an outsider who needs God. All spoken words are binding."
Peter asked how often to forgive. Jesus spoke a parable, "A servant, forgiven a huge amount, was greatly punished for not forgiving a small amount. God forgives those who forgive others."

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

Childlike people are the highest in the Kingdom. Treat them well.

I never realized these verses went together. I had always thought the "children are first in the kingdom" scripture was separate from the "chop off your hand if it offends you" scripture. Jesus wanted them to go together. He understood the heavy cost of discouraging a young, childlike Chosen Person.
How many times do we see a person new to His Chosen People want to do something or set things right with an undesirable group be rejected by a "mature" person who "knows better". We need to heed Jesus' warning,

Watch that you don’t treat a single one of these childlike believers arrogantly. You realize, don’t you, that their personal angels are constantly in touch with my Father in heaven? (v. 10, The Message)

Jesus wanted conflicts to end with friendship, not bitter partings.

All my life I thought Jesus meant if the person would not listen to the church you should throw them out. However, reading this time alongside Jesus' discussion of the 99 vs. the 1 I realized He does not want people to throw their hurtful Siblings out the door. He wants them to continue seeking a way into the person's heart but treat them as a person who lives an open life of sin. Jesus dined with sinners and called them to repentance. So should we.

Everything a person says is heard and heeded by God.

In an interesting ending to the discourse on regaining a Sibling Jesus says the following,

Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there. (vv. 18-20)

Jesus wants to make sure we know not to go and tear a person down around others, even if they hurt us. This saying both encourages and terrifies. It encourages us because no person is insignificant to God. God hears all. That, on the other hand, terrifies us, God listens to everything we say. Be careful what comes out your mouth.

God's Forgiveness is conditional on our forgiveness of others.

One of the few conditional parts of God is forgiveness. God's Love is boundless. His Compassion knows no end. But His Forgiveness will be taken away if we hold on to our bitterness and do not forgive others. This is a hard saying.

Do you need to forgive someone?

October 8 - John 5: The Pharisees Read the Bible but Miss Jesus

Today’s Reading: John 5

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

The Pharisees read the Bible thinking they could game the system.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Jesus healed a man by telling him to get up and carry his bedroll. Jews accused the man of working during the Sabbath. Later, Jesus suggested he put it down to maintain peace. The Pharisees confronted Jesus.
He answered, "The Father works on the Sabbath, and so does the Son. Dishonoring Me is the same as dishonoring the Father. I am not out for My Interests. My Works prove My Authority. By missing Me you miss the Father.
"You think that reading the Scriptures will set things right but they point to Me! If you believe Moses, believe Me."

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

The Pharisees did not understand the purpose of the Sabbath.

All of the Gospels will have something to say about the Sabbath. Today is John's day. All of them say similar things about the Pharisees, too. They are zealous for the Law. They want to obey God, but they are more interested in rules than finding God. God said not to work, so they were determined not to work. They dissected every action to see if was work or not. But in doing so they missed the purpose of the Sabbath—growing closer to God through rest. If we spend our time dissecting the Law, we may miss its purpose—setting our relationships right.

Jesus told the man to stop sinning to keep peace with the Pharisees.

Jesus' suggestion to the man is strange. We have no clue what sins the man has committed in the past and Jesus asked him to carry his bedroll. Why would Jesus, then, tell the man to stop sinning so nothing worse would happen to him? What was his sin? I believe the suggestion was Jesus not wanting to give the Pharisees fodder for their complaints against Him. It's possible (to me, at least) that when Jesus says "sin no more" He doesn't mean a "sin" like we think—going against God's Way. I believe He means "offend", as in the man was offending the Pharisees by carrying his bedroll in front of them. Jesus is protecting the man from the wrath of the Pharisees.
For today, I believe it may be better from time-to-time to conform to the less-free people in a congregation just to keep the peace. We know what they want is not important in the long-term, but in the short-term peace is better than fighting. Sometimes, the better choice is peace over freedom. Sometimes, not always.

Jesus and God were One because They were of the same Mind.

Jesus was God. Jesus became flesh so we might see the Light. He did only what God did because they wanted the same thing—to set things right. Jesus did nothing to make His name greater than God. This is why dishonor of Jesus is the same as dishonor of God. They do the same thing.

Those who set things right will live forever. Those who do not will be punished forever.

God's Judgment through Jesus has often become the only thing Christians want to talk about. We wonder if every action will help us gain Eternal Life or if it will cause Eternal Punishment. Although that level of interest is not good, we cannot go to the other end of the spectrum and state that God's Judgment is no big thing. It becomes the day when everyone will either be punished or rewarded for their role in setting things right. We should want to set things right not only because God's Way is superior, but because we want everyone to have Eternal Life.

Reading the Scripture does not give Eternal Life.

I cannot comment on this verse without the sense of irony that for over nine months I have been reading through the Bible for several hours a day. With that said (or written), this verse led me to do this project. I felt with all of my years of study, all of the lectures and sermons I had heard, and the years of class I attended I had one, important deficiency—I struggled to see Jesus in the Scriptures. I did what Jesus complained the Pharisees did—I "miss[ed] the forest for the trees" (v. 39, The Message). So much of theology today falls into that category. We debate the authenticity of Moses writing the Pentateuch, Isaiah's authorship of the book bearing his name, and how much written in the Gospels actually happened. We argue over church theology, personal theology, and whether we should fight liberalism or conservatism. We read to see how much we can get away with before we land on the hot seat or how rigid our lives must be to be acceptable. In the end, I think Jesus would say the same to us,

You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you’ll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive from me the life you say you want. (vv. 39-40)

Reading the Scriptures alone seeing how little you must do to gain eternal life will not set things right. We must see God in them to understand the Scriptures.

Do you read the Bible thinking it will give you Eternal Life?

April 13 - 1 Samuel 18-20; Psalms 11 and 59: Saul and David's Relationship Heads South

Today’s Reading: 1 Samuel 18-20; Psalm 11 and 59

The Message 

English Standard Version 

We have reached the section where reading the Bible in chronological order comes in handy. Since many of the psalms are attributed to David they will be intermingled with the narrative when they fit the circumstances. We will have days of narrative, days of narrative and psalms, and days of psalms only. Today is a mixture. Having the Psalms interspersed throughout the history helps to put them into context and heighten the understanding we can have of God setting things right.

Thought to Guide Your Reading

David impresses everyone—much to Saul's consternation.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Jonathan and David were soul mates. David excelled at everything. The women sang his praises more than Saul's. Furious, Saul tried to kill David twice. Hoping David would die, Saul gave David his daughter Michal if he killed one hundred Philistines. David and his men killed two hundred. Michal loved David and helped him escape during one of Saul's fits. God embarrassed a naked, babbling Saul when he chased David to Naioth.
When Saul told his servants to kill David, Jonathan tried to intercede for his friend. Saul almost killed his own son. Jonathan and David cried when they parted.

Psalm (P)Synopsis

Psalm 11

This short psalm by David sets the record straight—God is not moved, so why should I run?

Psalm 59

David writes in response to Saul's command to kill him. He cries out to God to rescue him and defeat his enemies. He requests a slow punishment on the wicked to prevent any confusion as to the source of their comeuppance. While they do their evil works at night he sings by night and day the wonderful nature of God.

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

God's Spirit causes David to gain allies on all sides—which infuriates Saul.

David has now earned the love and respect of Saul's children, his army, his servants, and the general public. The women now sing David's praises more than Saul's. When we allow God's Spirit to move us, the whole world works for us.
However, one person does not like David's new popularity—Saul. Saul sees in David what he once was and wanted to become. Because he rejected God and took control over God he no longer had the love and respect of his people. Instead of repenting and joining David in serving God Saul tries to kill him in fits of rage and hatred. When we allow God's Spirit to depart from us, nothing can replace our joy.

Jonathan becomes a peacemaker.

Jonathan wants to set things right between his father and David. He campaigns for David twice, succeeding to suede his father once. He even allows David to hide while Saul has a death sentence against him. In the end, Jonathan's friendship comes between him and his father, with Saul throwing a spear at him in public. God can set things right when people make peace between enemies.

God's business is setting things right and we can be as straight as God if we join Him.

David's psalm is absolutely brilliant:

God’s business is putting things right;

   he loves getting the lines straight,
Setting us straight. Once we’re standing tall,
   we can look him straight in the eye. (Psalm 11:7, The Message)

David calls on God to set things right by punishing the wicked slowly.

David's psalm against Saul's men seeking to kill him shows God's purpose of punishment. The call is not for God to slowly wipe them out so they would die horrible, painful deaths. The purpose for their punishment is to bring justice upon them and contrasts the difference in God's treatment of the wicked and righteous. God's Chosen People can call for the punishment of others—when we want God's justice to reign on Earth and others to learn from their mistakes.

What prevents you from standing upright to see God eye-to-eye?