DAY 196

MISCHIEF

Psalm 10, 11 & 12 and Acts 19:1-20

“But you (God) do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands.” Psalm 10:14.

There is “mischief afoot” and as Paul labors for two years in Ephesus the sons of Sceva, Jewish Exorcists, try and cast out demons in the Name of Jesus. Things go terribly wrong, but God used it for good because “many who were believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them…” in fact so many people that the value of all that was collected was fifty thousand pieces of silver.

Consider a few observations from this reading of Acts. There is first of all the part about “which baptism did you receive?” and then the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” which led to them speaking in tongues and prophesying. Then there is the part where he first spent three months in the synagogue, and then a total of two years in the city. We have the part about how “handkerchiefs or aprons” that touched Paul’s skin were carried to the sick, and their diseases left them and evil spirits came out of them. Finally we come to the “sons of Sceva” and the story I commented on above.

Wow, where to begin? Do you understand all that is taking place? Certainly “God is seeing mischief,” but there are so many things taking place in this early church that many of us do not see today, and because we don’t see them, we wonder a few things. Some of us wonder if we have somehow missed something (like baptism in the Holy Spirit) and that are faith isn’t quite where it is suppose to be. Then there are some of us who just conclude that this happened in the early church, but that day-and-age has long past. Finally there are some who just “write off the Bible,” or parts of it, because of these hard to believe stories – after all, Jesus walking on water is one thing (he is Jesus) but mere humans doing these things is quite another. So let’s jump into a few of these topics.

Today when we do baptisms, we baptize in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is a specific part of the service that anoints the candidates head with oil and in my tradition we say a beautiful prayer about them receiving the Holy Spirit and it ends with “you are sealed with the Holy Spirit…” No one that I have baptized immediately began speaking in tongues. What do I make of this situation? I don’t. I don’t try and figure it all out. Jesus did not say go and get people to speak in tongues…He said, “Go and baptize in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” So that is what I (and we) do. I cannot explain what was going on in Paul’s day and I have seen people speak in tongues and in a later blog I will write more about that subject. Please know that the Scriptures say there is “one baptism, one faith and one Lord” (cf. Ephesians). You do not need another baptism. There can be times in your walk with Jesus where you ask God to pour out his Spirit upon you. One person describes it this way, “I am a vessel, but I leak and need refilling,” and another says, “I am a vessel, a cracked pot, and I leak and need refilling.” The “cracked pot” is not “crackpot;” the point is that we all have some brokenness in us. Ask God to fill you up – “don’t stand far away O Lord, come near!” (Psalm 10:1 a bit modified by me.)

The next thing I want to comment on is how the “believers” had a pile of stuff that was not godly. Yes it was magic, but the point is that followers of Jesus don’t just “magically” (sorry about that) become perfect. We are “followers,” we walk along the way trying more and more each day to become like Jesus (we do this knowing our salvation is secure). There are some moments in our walk when, all of sudden we realize we need to deal with something that has been hidden, we realize we need to get rid of some junk – for we are all mischievous to one degree or another, no one is perfect.  

What about the power of God that flowed out of Paul and even his aprons? Well that is a tricky one in this day and age. Maybe you have had your fill of TV Evangelists. You know, the people who say, “Send me $50 and I will pray for you and God will heal you.” Those folks give Christianity, the Church and Jesus a bad name. Those folks make us skeptical on anyone who talks about God’s power flowing out of them. Yet “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” I have had some people put their hands on me and pray to God and it has been amazing – God’s Holy Spirit flowed through them in real and powerful ways. The point – God’s power still flows.

Lastly there is the bit about evil spirit and exorcisms – like the subject of tongues I will provide a separate blog on that subject. This entry is already a little long and I don’t want to rush either of those subjects.

For today, I am struck by the “mischief” and asking myself what do I need to bring to God and have it burned…how about you? Maybe today is one of those moments when we realize there are a few things we are treating as “hidden.” I say “treating as hidden” for “the Lord’s eyes see” (cf. 11:4). Don’t panic that He sees – remember His love and bring them to him, asking him to remove, maybe even destroy them so they are no longer a part of your life…or mine.

DAY 195

RIGHTEOUSNESS

Psalm 7, 8 & 9 and Acts 18

Having just read Job, I feel like Psalm 7 is throwback to much of that book. I personally am a bit squeamish to say to God, “…judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness…” The Psalm starts with the phrase, “O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge…” and it ends with “I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness. It is just that middle bit that makes me uneasy – my righteousness – really?

Psalm 8 is praise, pure praise; it is that simple. Have you ever just wanted to pour out you heart to God in praise? Psalm 9 proclaims the deeds of the Lord. It also contains a sense that God is just, that the wicked are punished and those that are righteous but downtrodden are set right.

The Psalms are beautiful, but they contain that sense of theology that we have seen in Job. Now it is very true that God is righteous and he is interested in his people being righteous, but…well let’s hold that thought as we turn to the New Testament lesson.

Acts 18 is full of action and events: we read first about Paul in Corinth. He spends one and a half years there preaching and teaching. His method is the same. Start with the Jewish community and then go to the Gentiles. He has great results as “many of the Corinthians believed” including the synagogue ruler. Of course it turns sour and people oppose and try to persecute Paul. God speaks to Paul to not be afraid!

We then read of Paul going to Ephesus, Philippi and Galatia. Think about the letters we have in the New Testament. We have two to Corinth, one each to Ephesus, Philippi, and Galatia.

So here is the question, “Why is Paul running all around, going and debating with people about Jesus?” Because he believes that Jesus is the Son of God…God come to earth, and even more then his earthly visit, his death and resurrection have settled the account of sin…in other words made us righteous!

What Paul is so excited about is that God has come and fulfilled the Covenant Promise and made us his sons and daughters. Now we can, as Psalm 7 proclaims say, “Judge me O Lord according to my righteousness” because our righteousness is found in Christ Jesus. 

DAY 194

SEIZE THE MOMENT

Psalm 4, 5 & 6 and Acts 17:16-34

Today we see Paul using the culture of the day to present the Gospel; he seizes the moment. He is on “Mars Hill” or the Areopagus if you prefer (pictured above). The men of Athens are challenging him, yet he sees a monument to “an unknown god.” Paul improvises and says basically that there is this unknown god, but not just god, but GOD…and he then presents the Gospel.

The result is mixed, some mock, some say “come back tomorrow and we will listen some more, and some believe. It is like that today. We need to be ready to proclaim the Gospel in our culture. I love to use science, it so much opens the doorway to God…and yes some will mock, some will say “come back tomorrow,” and some will believe. My reaction often times varies, a little like the Psalms today.

In the Psalms today each have a different thrust, but the last line of each proclaims God faithfulness.

Psalm 4 seems to be describing what it is like to live surrounded by a wicked world, and yet ends “I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; for only you, Lord, make me dwell safely.” Maybe the doubters of Paul’s day and ours make us feel this way.

Psalm 5 seems to be even more of a plea, “Give ear...O Lord.” The Psalmist at once highlights what the wicked do, and in parallels both pleas and praises God ending with “For you O Lord will defend the righteous…” God did defend Job, but it took awhile, did it not? Maybe the mockers of Paul’s day and ours make us feel this way.

Then in Psalm 6 the cry is even more personal, “Do not rebuke me in your anger…I grow weary…every night I drench my bed and flood my couch with tears…” Have you known those kind of moments? We all have. And yet the Psalmist proclaims “The Lord has heard my supplication…” The tense is “past” it is done and God has heard and accepted.

Which Psalm or Psalms resonate with you today, any? The Psalms are the place to go when your soul is not quiet, for in them you will find your heart beating with the Psalmist’s and God’s ready answer.

DAY 193

WHAT TO DO WHEN CHALLENGED

Psalm 1, 2 & 3 and Acts 17:1-15

In this chapter of Acts we see Paul’s method…again. This time he is in Thessalonica. He goes to the synagogue and reasons with the Jewish people and their teachers. It says in this instance he did it for three Sabbaths. For three weeks Paul worked to show them that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, and in fact the Messiah of the world. Many Jews and Gentiles believed…but then there was jealously. This pattern has happened over and over, from village to village, for Paul and his compatriots.

In fact we see when he arrives in the next village, Berea, go again to the synagogue. They receive him but some from Thessalonica come and stir up trouble. There is always opposition to Jesus – opposition to God.

Consider how those opposed to Jesus reacted. They wanted Paul, when they could not find him, they took another man, Jason. Then they went to a neighboring village to stir up trouble. Rather than look at them, I am asking myself what sort of opposition I am facing, and then how am I responding. As I ponder that question I am reminded that it is through prayer and reading God’s Word that I stay grounded in a way that helps me face such times. One of the great parts of God’s Word is the Psalms, and we turn now to them.

Today we are starting to read the Psalter – that is the word we use to describe this “Book of Psalms.” There are 150 of them. Consider how others have described them:

John Calvin called them a “mirror” for they reflect all the moods of the human experience – joy and sorrow, excitement and depression, confidence and doubt, triumph and defeat. Another author has said they contain “all the music of the human heart.”

The Psalms contain a range of genres: from private devotion to public liturgy, lament and penitence, praise and prayer, remembrance and prophecy. I was taught they are also Jewish Poetry. Jewish Poetry is often written in a “parallel” manner. The second half of a phrase reinforces the first half. Consider: “Blessed are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked” – who is it that are blessed – those who “nor lingered in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seats of the scornful.”

It is best to have a Bible or eBible that has the Psalms written in prose format, vice paragraph format; it allows you to see the parallelism in an easier manner.

So now onto to the beginning of the Psalms: Psalms 1, 2 and 3. There is quite a range of emotions in the first three. Jill Stellman a priest at the Cathedral notices that the first Psalm is like a conversation on a front porch when the weather is nice. There is airiness about it. Psalm 2 is a bit stormy as it challenges the rulers of the earth to remember who is God. Psalm 3 is more a prayer of petition. It begins with a cry, “I have too many adversaries” and it ends with an expression of confidence in the Lord “Deliverance belongs to the Lord.”

In these three Psalms we see the range of emotions and feelings. Are any of these emotions yours today? Let me invite you to slow down when you read them.

I am always convicted by Psalm 1 verse 2 – “O how I delight in your Law, I meditate on it day and night.” I don’t measure up to this. Do I delight in it? I can tell you I do not meditate on it day and night. Yet to do so is to be like trees planted by streams of water! There is a point, a huge point, which I suggested earlier. When I questioned whether I could face what Paul faced, I also noted that I am best at facing challenges when I have been praying and reading God’s Word…you might say meditating on it!

DAY 192

GETTING REAL WITH GOD

Job 41 & 42 and Acts 16:22-40

As we come to the end of Job I continue to be struck by the literary nature of this book. The description of the Leviathan and all that goes along with him/it is amazing. Our journey though through this book has been about much more than enjoying a well written work. Our journey has been about entering the world of suffering and asking “why.” Remarkably we knew “why” it was all happening, yet we too have been drawn into the debate and dialog of Job and his friends as they try and answer this exact question – “why.” As we come to the end we see the idea of expecting one singular reason is naïve. We see the utter futility of such a question. Even if we know the answer, the suffering, the pain, is none the less. The key is whether or not we can hold onto God, and feel God holding onto us. If we feel the presence of God, then amid the suffering, we will not lose hope.

Think back to the point where Job exclaimed exactly that point. Job knew that the worst that could happen was the end of his human life on earth. And it is the worst. We have family and friends…all these relationships that can mean so much to us. We have vocations and avocations…that which add to our purpose. Our lives have meaning for we are created in the image of God. Yet the question remains, when it looks as bleak as death, do we have enough of a sense of, and enough of a connection to, God that we will not lose hope. In some ways for the last 190 days or so I have been more then hinting about our relationship with God. Don’t misunderstand, I enjoy religion and church (after all I am a priest), but those things cannot replace a relationship. It is our relationship with God that will sustain. Jesus is the source of that relationship.

This idea of having a relationship of God through Jesus Christ is what Paul has been running all over “Timbuktu” telling people about. He can only do this after he first is grabbed hold of by God. Rather than dive into the Acts reading I would suggest you ask yourself about your own suffering, that which you have experienced, that which you are experiencing. Press the “pause button” on the “why” question, and lean into God, pray to God, let tears run down your cheeks asking God to plant in you the kind of hope we read about.

God might deliver you from your situation, but He also might for the first time feel you seeking Him above all else, even your own deliverance from a situation that He well knows is difficult. I am not trying to minimize your pain…wasn’t Job’s pain excruciating. What I am suggesting is that it is the story of Job that holds up to us the reality of our own lives and the offer of God presence. Said directly: What Job offers us is an opportunity to get real with God. 

DAY 191

IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

Job 38, 39 & 40 and Acts 16:1-21

Then the Lord answered Job out of a whirlwind, “Who is this that darkens my counsel by words without knowledge?” Whenever I read these verses of God speaking I get a chill. Can you imagine God saying to you, “Get up and get dressed, I will question you!” I cannot imagine that I would have the ability to stand.

Then God speaks. I encourage you to read and reread some of the words. “Where were you when the earth’s foundations were laid?” Or “Who gave the heart it wisdom,” or “who made the eagle proud?” This list goes on. I love the idea of taking Leviathan home as a pet.

After this powerful opening statement by God, God says to Job, “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer.” Job has been asking for his “day in court” and he is about to have it. This moment falls under the general heading of “be careful what you ask for, you might actually get it.” Job, in awe of God, says he has nothing to say!

We have one more day of the Book of Job, enjoy these last few chapters, they are magnificent. One of my favorite singer/songwriters is Michael Card. His music is often in the ballad genre. Here is a link to his ballad about Job. It is a little under 10 minutes, but now that you have read almost all of Job I think you will enjoy it even more. (If you like Michael Card there is a lot of his stuff on YouTube.) Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7XVS1VIzHc

Job is in awe. Awe is a healthy kind of fear. Often times the word translated as “fear” in the Bible can easily be translated “awe.” This moment that Job has washes away, like a tsunami, the 30 some odd chapters that have gone before. I imagine that Job cannot remember a single piece of logic that he has been espousing. When you are in the presence of God, all else pales by comparison.

Tomorrow I will comment about Paul’s escapades in chapter 16 of Acts. For today I just want to encourage you to dwell in the presence of God as His words linger in your mind. Sometimes I go into the Cathedral and just sit. There I am, surrounded by the big and grand place, and I just sit in the silence and try and imagine being in God’s presence. Where do you go to sit and be in God’s presence? Do you have a place? Maybe it is in your car, I have friends who do that. Maybe it is in your bed, I have other friends that do that. Maybe it is out in nature. I don’t propose that these experiences replace your time with God in a Sunday Service; being with others in worship is critical.

Yet there is also a need for you to have time with God, alone…alone and naked and honest. That is where Job is in these chapters. All has been stripped away from Job, all that is left is a malnourished man with a skin disease that has lost all but his life…he has poured out his heart to God…so there he sits, naked and alone and honest. It is a good place to be, let me encourage you to find such a place.  

Day 190

DAY 190

AGREEMENT & DISAGREEMENT

Job 36 & 37 and Acts 15:22-41

Tomorrow we will return to Job, Elihu continues to proclaim his message, a singular and somewhat overconfident message about God. My comments today relate to all of chapter 15 of Acts of the Apostles. Chapter 15 of Acts seems to all be about agreement and disagreement.

In this Chapter we read about the first Council of the Church – the Council of Jerusalem. The council is being held to sort out how non-Jewish followers of Jesus should live. Should they be circumcised? Should they follow the Jewish dietary laws? There are even more questions and so Paul and Barnabas set out to meet with the leaders in Jerusalem. A parallel account of this moment, from Paul’s perspective, is in Galatians. Galatians gives you a little more detail.

The issue is “What determines your relationship with God, is it your relationship with Jesus, or is it your relationship with Jesus plus extra requirements?” Paul and Barnabas’ perspective is that it is Jesus Christ and him crucified and risen, period! Others have come into those town and villages and basically been pleased that people have accepted Jesus as the Christ, but have added requirements.

This is an important situation because the question is not about dietary laws, but rather what is at the core of following Jesus. To address this situation a council is held. People get together and share their views and then the leaders take council together. Notice the flow in the reading. The situation is described and then there is “much debate.” Peter then weighs in and reminds them that “in the early days” he has shared the Gospel with the Gentiles. Then they listen more to the experiences of Paul and Barnabas with James making the final proposal, and his proposal seemed good to all the apostles and elders.

What I am struck by in chapter 15 is that the first 75% of the chapter is all about how a successful Church Council is held. They are listening to each other, drawing on the Scriptures and what they each have experienced. They reach a conclusion, write it down in a letter, and then send the letter along with a few people to go along with Paul and Barnabas to encourage the churches outside of Jerusalem.

Towards the end of the chapter there are just a few short sentences that describe a disagreement between Paul and Barnabas. It might catch you off guard. Barnabas is called the encourager. Flip back through your Bible and scan how many “tight spots” these two have been in, only to see God intervene. Yet they split apart because they disagree over whether John-Mark should come with them.

What this event points out to me is that we should not expect everybody at church to agree about everything...that is simply unrealistic. What we should expect, and pray for, is that everybody agrees about the “main thing,” about Jesus. I don’t believe as Paul went his way and Barnabas his, that they preached different Gospels…certainly not. The issue between them was about the method (with or without John-Mark) but the message was the same. Do we desire peace and complete unity – certainly, but we should not be surprised when we have different ideas about how. The key is to remember the core, the rock, the cornerstone – Jesus the Christ crucified and risen – He holds it all together.