This and That

I am in the midst of the second week of "The Summer of Fun" around here.

You see, starting in the fall, my family is going to be experiencing a milestone--a transition, if you will, which is going to change things around here quite a bit. And while it will be a good development (I believe all stages of life have a sweetness) it will also mark the end of an era that I have found to be particularly sweet. And in an attempt to savor the very last drops of sweetness in this current cup of mine, I have declared an all out extravaganza of fun and activity this summer.

Basically I'm going devour my kids all day, every day. I tell you this so you will understand why this post is going to be a few random, mostly underdeveloped thoughts strung together. You are just going to have to forgive me. I've been up to urgently important things, like reading piles of library books, and making up ridiculous knock-knock jokes. (Oh, if you only knew!)

But my mind hasn't completely given up the contemplation of Scripture over the past few weeks, and in that vein, allow me to present the following for your consideration:

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You know that verse, 2 Thessalonians 3:10, that says, "For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat."

I heard someone railing against the 'welfare state' in our country and using this verse to condemn it as unbiblical. Well, let me just say, I ain't taking a position on politics here, but a little bit of proper context seemed to me to be in order.

You do realize that Paul was addressing this statement to the church, right? Not the government. He was saying that church members must not be allowed to loaf around and sponge off of their fellow saints. Apparently some of the Thessalonians believed that Christ's second coming was so imminent that they gave up working and caring for their everyday responsibilities. Paul was having none of that, and said so. I don't think he had any kind of 21st century American political agenda in mind.

And by the way, all of that loafing led to some other problematic behaviors, as Paul goes on to list in verses 11 and 12. "For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread."

Busybodies. Every known one of those? Bet she didn't have enough work to keep her busy!

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I've been increasingly discouraged lately. I hesitate to blog about it, because it is so very negative, and I hate to fill this blog up with criticism. But I can't escape the awful realization that so many of my fellow Christians are by and large biblically illiterate and lack even the most basic level of discernment.

There, I said it.

And to add salt to the wound, I am specifically talking about people who have grown up in church, or have spent a majority of their life involved in church.

Now, before you go thinking what a snob I am and feel offended, let me add this: I have been there. I grew up in the church. I played the role of sweet-christian-do-gooder for a while. Not very well, I'll be the first do admit. But still, I do have some empathy for church attenders who don't know that much about Christianity and the Bible.

It's just that my empathy is starting to wear thin, and I'm thinking "Come on people! Do you believe this stuff at all? How can you believe the amazing, overarching message in Scripture and not be serious about it?"

Christian friends of mine tell me from time to time that they are not smart like me, and they just don't know as much as I do. Well, let me tell you something. I'm not all that smart! And I wasn't born knowing the things that I have come to understand. I have just taken the time to study and read and question and challenge and discuss. I've asked the hard questions and remained dissatisfied until I got an answer. I mean, if you understand that the God and Creator and King of the universe bore a curse, and became sin, and died in your place, how can you really be content without exploring Him and His revealed Word to the fullest understanding possible? It is quite simply the most fascinating topic in, well, the universe.

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So, I went blueberry picking a few days ago, and now my fridge is full of blueberries. I'm going to make a real, homemade blueberry pie tomorrow, and I an PUMPED!

While reading in quest of a great blueberry pie recipe, I happened upon this scintillating cooking tip: Cake batter cooks well in a waffle iron.

Are you imagining the possibilities? Cake batter waffles surrounded by a topping bar. Think of it! Ice cream and syrups and chopped nuts and whipped cream. I'm going to have to think of an excuse to throw a party.

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And finally, credit goes to my dear husband for pointing this one out to me.

In Romans 8:16 we read "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,"

This is not only an internal assurance for each and every Christian that we indeed posses a true faith, but it is also a legal requirement for establishing the truth of a matter.

Deut. 19:15

"One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established." (emphasis mine)

In the Romans verse, Paul is describing the two witnesses that will testify to our adoption as sons of God. The first witness is the Christian, and the second is the Holy Spirit. And by the testimony of these two--the truth of the matter is established.

Refreshing

For those of you who might be wondering, I am still kicking and breathing. I just haven't had much to say lately. At least, nothing that would be of any worth to this blog. I've been kind of taking a break from all things blog related. I haven't even been reading the blogs that I usually follow. (And the laundry pile has been mysteriously less imposing during these past weeks. Connection? Hmmm...)

But two of you, my dear readers, have contacted me today to make sure that I am alright. Neither one of you may have realized it, but you were responding to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

If only one of you had reached out, I wouldn't be so sure, but after weeks of silence, to receive two messages of care and comfort on the same day is too striking to be a mere coincidence.

I am refreshed, and encouraged, and I might even get passionate enough to post something in the next week. I'm teaching Ruth Session Six on Wednesday, so I'm a bit busy with that for the time being.

Anyway, if you have been thinking of a friend, or have had someone on your heart lately, reach out and touch...

The Holy Spirit might be prompting you to minister to a sister in Christ.

The Sword of the Spirit

After Jesus was baptized, Scripture tells us, "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." (Matthew 4:1)

There are a few things in just that one sentence that are pretty interesting. Did you notice that Jesus temptation was not outside of God's plan, but seems to actually be part of it? After all, it was the Holy Spirit that led Jesus out there into the wilderness. He wasn't tempted to journey out there by Satan. God planned that it would happen exactly as it did happen.

We know from James 1:13, which says, "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does He Himself tempt anyone", that obviously God was not the one who tempted Jesus. And in fact, God never tempts anyone. But is seems pretty clear that God allows us to be tempted, just as here He allowed Jesus to be tempted. I find that comforting. God is sovereign even over my temptations. They don't catch him by surprise.

But what happens next, in the account of Jesus temptation in the wilderness, is equally fascinating.

First of all, let me just say, that sometimes the Bible understates things to the point of humor. I don't mean to be irreverent about God's Word, but when I read Matthew 4:2, I just had to grin.

"And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry."

You think? I'd say something more like, "He was starving to death" or "He was famished." But, still, we get the point; Jesus was feeling real, physical, (probably) overwhelming, hunger.

I'm trying really hard to stay on my message here, and I haven't even gotten to it yet. But this section of Scripture is just full of interesting things, and I can't help but point some of them out. Like, for instance, did you notice that Jesus fast lasted for 40 days? Does that number sound familiar for some reason? How about the length of time that it rained in the days of Noah? Or, how about the number of years that Israel wandered in the wilderness before entering the promised land?

But here is the what I really wanted to point out. Satan tempts Jesus three times and with three different sins. But each and every time, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, refutes Satan by quoting Scripture. He uses the same defense against temptation that is available to every single one of His children: Scripture.

When Satan tempts Jesus to exhibit a lack of faith in God's physical provision for Him, by turning stones into bread, Jesus says:

"It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:4) This is a quote of Deuteronomy 8:3.

When Satan tempts Jesus to pridefully prove that He has the power of God to call angels at His whim, by telling Him to throw himself off of the temple wall, Jesus says:

"It is written, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'" This is a quote of Deuteronomy 6:16.

And finally, when Satan tempts Jesus with an offer of kingship, a way to rule the earth without suffering on the cross, if only Jesus will bow down and worship Satan, Jesus replies:

"Away with you Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD you God, and Him only you shall serve.'" This is a quote of Deuteronomy 6:13 and 10:20.

Now, if that is not sufficient motivation for all of us to get to know and understand Scripture, let me point out one more thing. And this last bit kind of gives me chill bumps when I think about the potential damage it can cause.

In this encounter between Satan and Jesus, Jesus is not the only one who quotes Scripture. Satan does the same thing. Only when Satan quotes Scripture, He does it out of context and twists its intended meaning.

When Satan tempts Jesus the second time, by suggesting that He throw Himself off of the temple wall and call on angels to rescue Him, He adds this little barb:

Matthew 4:5-6

"If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

'He shall give His angels charge over You,'

and,

'In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

Satan is quoting Psalm 91 to Jesus. The problem is, Satan is quoting it in exactly the opposite way it was intended. Psalm 91 is a declaration of trust in the care and provision of the LORD. It contains that famous verse, "I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, In Him I will trust." (Psalm 91:2)

When Satan tempts Jesus to throw Himself off of the temple wall, He is tempting Jesus to test God, instead of have faith in God. Testing God is a result of little faith, not a result of great faith.

I don't know about you, but I find it startling and disturbing that Satan quotes Scripture. And if Satan can know and quote Scripture, twisting the truth right out of it, then we can be sure that Satan's servants can as well.

Let me counter that statement by saying that Jesus is already declared victorious. The battle has been won, and Satan has been defeated. He is still our enemy, and he can still cause us harm, and we need to be wary of him, and his servants.

But we have God on our side. And we shouldn't forget that. And, we shouldn't forget that God has provided us with an extremely powerful weapon against evil: the sword of the Spirit: God's Word.

But the sharpest, most lethal sword in the world isn't going to do you any good sitting up on a shelf collecting dust. The more time you spend with your sword, the more precise you will become in defeating the enemy.

Ephesians 6:17

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;"

Against You, You Only, Have I Sinned

I've been in a weird place the last few weeks. You can see that my blog posts have been less than frequent lately. And I can't seem to get anything significant done on the Ruth study I am working on. I had a big breakthrough in that area a few weeks ago, and it was thrilling: I finished the first speaking session and discussion outline. But since then, nothing. I literally feel a deep resistance to working on it any further. I keep writing outlines in my head, and thinking of scripture that would be good to bring into the discussion, but I can't make myself sit down and write anything.

Last night I prayed for some clarity, and I think I got some this morning. I read Psalm 51, David's prayer of repentance after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan over his affair with Bathsheba. I was struck by David's astounding statement in Psalm 51:4,

"Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in your sight--"

How is it possible that David can qualify his sin as being only against God? Um, what about poor Uriah? Or Bathsheba for that matter? Or David's many other wives whom he dishonored by committing adultery with Bathsheba? How about the entire nation of Israel? Didn't they get cheated by a king who acted so deceitfully and treacherously?

Yet despite all of that, it is God (only!) who David says he sinned against. Have you ever really thought about that and its implications? We think about sinning against other people all the time; gossiping or lying or cheating or stealing from someone. Or even just treating people disrespectfully or without love. Aren't all of those things sins? Aren't they sins against our neighbor? I've always assumed that they were. But the longer I think about it, the more convinced I am that David's words in Psalm 51:4 are more profound than I originally gave them credit for.

God is the one to whom we owe obedience. Every time we sin against our fellow man, we are ultimately sinning against the commands of a holy and righteous God. Our neighbor may get caught in the crossfire of our sinful actions. But come judgement day, it is not our sinned-against-neighbor who will sit in jugement of our actions. It is God. And all of our sin will be counted as offenses against His holiness and His commands.

Which brings me back around to the spiritual slump I find myself in. I've tried to think of all the reasons that I find myself in this situation. I could lay the blame on any number of things, and believe me, I've tried. But this morning, as I was reading Psalm 51, I saw something very clearly. If there is anything to blame for this thickness I am struggling to cut through, it is my sin, specifically, my sin against God.

I can't blame it on this, that or the other. I have to look straight inside at my own heart. It is a disheartening prospect (slight pun slightly intended.) I've been on the spiritual high. I've been to the peak. I've been dedicated and motivated and everything you associate with a woman who is "on fire" for God. But I don't think any of us get to stay there forever. We have, and will always have, too much natural sin remaining in us in this present flesh. There is no final escape from it until we leave this life for the better life that comes next.

Not to say that I won't get back to the peak. In fact, I'm determined to push past my natural inclinations and get back up there again. But it's hard. I have to fight myself in the process.

I don't want to stand out as strange. I don't want people to think of me as bizarre. I don't want women to walk the other way when they see me coming, because I might want to talk about something spiritual. I don't want to be constantly vigilant against pride or anger or idols or apathy creeping up on me. I'd rather just float through life, enjoying the luxurious and self-absorbed modern American lifestyle, and worry about eternity, well, right before I get there. Those are the things that I want.

Thank goodness its not all up to me. Thank goodness that God has sent me a Helper, the Holy Spirit, who lives in me and constantly transforms me from glory unto glory.

But the path to the peak has a crucial first step that you can't hop over if you ever want to get up there. Its the all-important step of repentance. And if I want to get past stalled and start moving forward again, I need to get on my face and repent.

Against You, You only, have I sinned, O God. Against you have I withheld my heart, my mind, my soul and my strength. Forgive me.

Psalm 51:1,2,12

"Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin."

"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit."

Always Be Prepared

I've been thinking a lot since yesterday. I suppose that the visit I had from the Jehovah's Witnesses may have been as much for my benefit as anything else. I promise I'm not going to let this blog shift its focus onto apologetics. (Apologetics, by the way, is the reasoned arguments that you provide to defend your faith, that is not the formal definition, but I think it works just fine. In other words, it is the reasoning that explains why you believe what you believe.)

But, ladies, I came to realize something yesterday. Far too many of us are woefully ignorant of Scripture. And I feel the need to gently fuss about it.

My misguided visitors were rather surprised when I not only opened the door and spoke to them, but when I also proved to know a thing or two about the Bible. If their reaction is to be trusted, this is a rare occurrence. Shame on us!

I know all the arguments against engaging the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Mormons who come knocking: they have memorized their doctrine and the Bible verses that appear to support them, their logic is intentionally tricky and they might manage to confuse you, you won't change their mind anyway, so why bother.

But I'm afraid there are two bigger reasons we don't open the door. One, we don't really care about the lost souls on our front porch who are earnestly heading straight toward eternal damnation. That is simply terrible! Second, we don't know how to make a reasoned defense of our faith, and so we are afraid to even try. This is just as bad!

In 1 Peter 3:15, we are told, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;." (emphasis mine) I know that some people see this verse as encouragement to freely give your personal testimony. But even the Buddhist can give an honest and genuine testimony. That doesn't make his faith true, it just means that he really, sincerely believes it. We, who posses the truth, must be able to provide more than just our personal experience. We must be able to assert the authority of Scripture.

Now, don't think I'm going to fuss at you today without giving you a little help in the right direction. I can't pretend that I've memorized every single section of Scripture that points to, or explicitly claims, or obviously shows, the divinity of Christ. I did read many of them today, but in a pinch, I doubt I would be able to recall them immediately.

But I did see something that I thought I could remember, and you can too. Any one of you who read this blog can remember two numbers: 20:28.

That's right, before I even tell you what the verses are or what book they are in, I want you to make yourself a giant mental sticky note: 20:28. Say it out loud, write it down, or whatever helps you to remember. 20:28.

OK, now, remember this: the last and the first. That's easy isn't it? We are going to find our key verses in the last of the Gospels, which is John, and the first book that comes after them, which is Acts. John and Acts, got it?

Here we go:

John 20:28

"And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

In this verse, Thomas explicitly calls Jesus not only Lord, as he was accustomed to calling him prior to this point, but he also explicitly calls Jesus "God." The Greek word used here for God is "theos." And in your Bible this word is translated with a capital "G" not a small "g." That means God as in the one true God: Jehovah. Now, it is true that elsewhere in the Bible, this exact same word is translated with a little "g." But even if that were the proper translation, it doesn't matter. Because in the very next verse, John 20:29, Jesus commends Thomas for believing that He is God. Jesus cannot possibly be sinless as a man, AND accept worship as God. He must be either God, or a sinner.

You may get some convoluted argument about mistranslations, misunderstandings, etc. But stick to your guns. Either Jesus has just committed a sin by accepting worship as God, or Jesus is sinless AND IS GOD. The text is plain and speaks for itself.

Then we have Acts 20:28:

"Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." (emphasis mine)

This one is simple. Here we have it explicitly stated that God purchased the flock (that would be the church) with HIS OWN BLOOD. This must mean that the blood which Jesus shed was the blood of God. Jesus, must therefore, be God.

Let me tell you, I've looked at so many Bible verses today pertaining to the divinity of Christ that my head started to spin at one point. I am realistic enough to realize that not all of you are going to do the same thing. But really, if you can remember these two addresses (verses) you are well on your way to being able to defend the divinity of Christ.

So, please, next time, open your door, too. Don't view the person on the other side as a threat. Allow the Holy Spirit to use you. Show love, be polite, be gentle and respectful. But be prepared to show the truth. Even if it goes badly, and you feel like you botched the whole thing, it is good practice. You can do better next time. More importantly though, it is not up to you to be perfect or to know every detailed argument. The Holy Spirit is the one who works in people's hearts to lift the veil and reveal the truth. It's an amazing privilege to be used by Him in the process. So even if you bumble and stutter and feel ignorant, fear not. If God has a purpose, it will be fulfilled, regardless of your abilities or lack thereof.

And don't forget: 20:28, the last and the first. How hard is that?

P.S. To my regular readers: I am well aware that this post may attract some strange comments. It's OK if that happens. They are welcome to read my post, but I really wrote it for all of you who normally drop by for a visit.

Feed My Sheep

I came across some verses in Ezekiel a few days ago that have been running through my mind ever since.

Ezekiel 33:31-32

"So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them."

The "you" in these verses is Ezekiel himself, and God is addressing Ezekiel directly. God is condemning the Israelites (they are in captivity in Babylon) who come and listen to Ezekiel, and at times even seek him out, as a source of entertainment and amusement. The people seem to be paying attention, and a few verses earlier, we are told that they make Ezekiel and his prophesies a subject of frequent conversation. But after they have been entertained by him, they go their way and do their own thing. They are unaffected by the message he shares with them. And this is a message that comes straight from God, bear in mind.

I will admit, if I had lived as a contemporary of Ezekiel, I would probably have been pretty entertained by him too. God made Ezekiel do some pretty strange things, as a way of "acting out" the judgments and prophecies that were given through him. I'm sure his friends and neighbors thought he was a bit "off." That is, until everything he revealed to them came true.

But back to our verses. When I first read them, I thought, "Ooh, good post material here. It looks like things haven't changed much in all these thousands of years! People still go to church to be entertained by "a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument."" And I'm not even talking about church service music, I'm talking about the message from the pulpit. There are plenty of modern day church attenders who go to church, listen to the nice sermon, walk out the door, and completely revert to a self-motivated lifestyle.

And I stayed in that train of thought for a couple of days. I even started thinking though the great points I would make in my post. And then, of course, I was convicted of a recurring problem I have.

I can be kind of self-righteous. If you know me, you might be surprised by this confession. I TRY not to be self-righteous in my interactions with other people. And I've come a long way in this area. I am convicted of self-righteous thinking pretty quickly nowadays. Sometimes, immediately. But still, it keeps popping that nasty little head up in my thought patterns.

After thinking about our "entertained" churchgoers for a day or two, I looked at the verses again, and a new thought occurred to me. God specifically calls these Ezekiel-listeners, "My people." Ouch. Do I really think that I am supposed to be self-righteously comparing myself to God's people? No. And then, I remembered who it was they were gathering to listen to: Ezekiel, God's chosen mouthpiece, His chosen watchman, His chosen prophet. The people weren't gathering to listen to some nice sounding, empty messaged smooth talker. This man was the real thing, a man of God, speaking God-breathed truth.

I realized that I was making an unfair comparison. Sure, you can find plenty of churches today that have sweet sounding preachers who have very little gospel truth in their sermons. And I betcha they've got a big audience showing up every Sunday to be filled with a bunch of nice sounding emptiness. But, as I have realized again and again, there are also wonderful, Bible teaching churches out there who are filled with genuine Christians, and some of them are simply immature. They believe God, they attend church, they live a "clean" lifestyle, but their hearts are unaffected by God's Word to the point of real change. I used to be one of them.

And believe me, when that attitude changed in me, it wasn't because of anything I did. God shook me so hard that I had to stop and pay attention to Him. I didn't have a choice. Well, I suppose that technically I did, but in reality, the shaking was so severe that it would have been almost impossible for me to ignore Him.

After the shaking, which was no fun at all by the way, major change took place in my heart, and thus in my life.

Now I want to share something with you that is kind of personal. There are some verses in John 21 that the Holy Spirit will often quicken in my heart. In fact, these verses are the main tool that God uses to convict me of self-righteousness when it pops up. And I call this personal, because this is the personal application that I have taken from them.

In John 21:15-17, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him. And every time Jesus asks, Peter answers with a yes. And all three times, Jesus says in essence "Feed My sheep." In other words, if what you say is true, if you really do love me, then you must feed My sheep as a result of that love.

I can't tell you how many times my heart has had this "conversation" with God. It goes something like this: Hadassah sees error in other people, Hadassah starts to feel self-righteous, the Holy Spirit hammers Hadassah's heart with the question: do you love Me?, Hadassah says, yes, or course You know I love You!, the Holy Spirit hammers Hadassah with the command: feed My sheep.

Self-righteousness is of no nutritional value to God's sheep. They will starve to death if that is all I have to feed them. And, hey, I don't think that I am Peter or anything like that. But I have an overwhelming urge to take people by the hand and lead them where God has led me. And I believe that God has given me this desire to feed His sheep. By the way, implicit in this motivation is the requirement to feed myself, a fellow sheep, from God's Word.

John 21:17

"He said to him a third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love me?"

And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You."

Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep."

The Ark of the Covenant

With the new Indiana Jones movie hitting theaters, I started thinking about that older Indiana Jones movie. You know, the one where he races against the evil Nazis to find the ark of the covenant. That scene, when the ark is opened by the bad guys, and their faces melt, is forever imprinted on the memory of my childhood. Never had a cooler or creepier movie been made as far as my preteen self was concerned.

And then last weekend, my husband and I watched a rather fascinating documentary about a man who set out to track down and discover the real ark of the covenant. He didn't find it. He did find something sort of like it that was about 800 years old (maybe 600, but pretty old nonetheless) which was located in modern day Zimbabwe.

A few days later, I came upon this verse in Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 3:16

"Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days," says the LORD, "that they will say no more, "The ark of the covenant of the LORD". It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, not shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore."

Hmm. That last part, "nor shall it be made anymore" intrigued me. Does that mean that the original ark is now "unmade" and therefore doesn't even exist? I sure could have saved Mr. Documentary a whole heap of trouble if that were the case.

A couple of different commentaries seemed to think that that last phrase meant the ark wouldn't be repaired anymore. It would just sort of be forgotten and allowed to deteriorate. It is fairly certain that the ark was carried away during the Babylonian captivity, and we know that it was not restored when the temple was rebuilt. So I suppose that the physical form of the ark could possibly exist somewhere amidst undiscovered Babylonian or Assyrian treasures. But, I kind of doubt it. I think the thing has ceased to exist.

More importantly, though, is the reason that the original ark, and its current location, are completely irrelevant to us, except as a historical curiosity.

The ark served as God's dwelling place on earth. It was his figurative throne, and all of Judaism, with its intricate ceremonies and symbolism, revolved around it. The ark was so holy that touching it brought certain death. Only after going through excessive ritual cleansing could a priest approach the ark, and then only once a year, and then bearing blood to atone for Israel's sins.

Once, when the Philistines captured the ark,their cities were afflicted with tumors and plagues of rats. Nice. The Philistines returned it pretty quickly. Upon its return, the Israelites treated it casually, and they were struck dead. You can read the full story in 1 Sam 4-6. In other words, the ark was holy, precious and terrifying, all at the same time.

OK, but why is the ark now irrelevant? Quite simply, its because God doesn't dwell in it anymore. He has abandoned the ark for, what I think, is a much better throne: the hearts of His children.

1 Corinthians 3:16

"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"

One more thing. The ark held several items: a golden pot with some manna in it, Aaron's rod that budded (Aaron was a priest), and the stone tablets on which were written the ten commandments (the law).

Well, guess what else God has put in our hearts besides His Spirit?

Jeremiah 31:33

"But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."

Did you see that? The law, which was once written on tablets of stone and kept in a box, is now carved into our very hearts and minds. Amazing.

I suppose that I could stretch this post out and explain that we now receive manna directly from God through His daily provisions for us, and we are all priests, just as the budding rod of Aaron indicated. But, that would make this post waaaay too long. Maybe you could just take my word for it?

So, next time a friend of yours starts to muse about "whatever happened to the ark of the covenant," you can tell them exactly why it doesn't matter anymore. (What? You and your friends don't talk about stuff like that? What kind of friends do you have, anyway?)

Do you think I should write Mr. Documentary a letter and fill him in too?

God in a Box?

I want to challenge you a little bit today. Do you have God in a box of your own making? Do you perhaps believe in a God who only exists in you imagination?

I don't mean to imply that God is not real. To the contrary, I believe God is more real and more evident than any other thing in all of existence. But I think that there is a great deal of misinformation about God floating around our culture. This is certainly nothing new. Almost since God revealed Himself to His creation, people have misunderstood Him. I also don't want you to think that I somehow have all of the answers about God. I don't. Not at all. But I do strive to understand Him as He has chosen to reveal Himself to mankind--through His word--the Bible. And I have no doubts that there are some things we can and should be certain about regarding God. I say that so you don't mistake me for someone who claims that everything about God is unknowable. I think that is hogwash.

So, in order to challenge you, I'm going to share some Bible verses that have the potential to confuse you or trouble you. If you find yourself confused or troubled, then good. I want you to seek the answers. For that reason, I'm not going to share with you how I have reconciled these verses with who God is. If you really want to know, leave me a comment and I'll get back to you. But really, what I want is to inspire you to seek that answer for yourself. I think the best way to accomplish that is to read the Bible. So here goes!

1 Samuel 6:19

"Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the LORD had struck the people with great slaughter."

Just as a reference, you should realize that the people God had struck with a great slaughter in this verse are not foreigners or strangers. They are His chosen people, Israel.

1 Samuel 2:25

"Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the LORD desired to kill them."

In this verse, one of God's priests has admonished his two sons. They were also priests, and they had been committing all kinds of atrocities in the LORD's temple. But as you can see, their father's warnings fell on deaf ears.

1 Samuel 16:14

"But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him."

Saul was the first anointed king over Israel. Because he did not obey God, the above verse took place. Another extremely interesting verse that deals with God sending and them removing His Spirit can be found in Numbers 24:2. I'll leave that verse to those of you who want to look it up for yourselves.

1 Samuel 15:3

"Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.

Did God just command Israel to kill woman, children, infants and nursing babies? Yes, He did.

Judges 9:22

"After Abimelech had reigned over Israel three years, God sent a spirit of ill will between Abimelech and the men of Shechem."

Abimelech was one of Gideon's sons (born to his concubine.) He slaughtered all 70 of his own brothers and controlled Israel through force.

And if those verses are not enough to challenge you, try this. Look up Deuteronomy 28: 52-57. It is horrifying almost beyond belief. It details some of the curses that will come upon Israel if they refuse to obey the commands of the LORD.

Now, can you reconcile these verses with your idea of who God is? If you see God as a lovable teddy bear in the sky, I think you will have a hard time digesting all of this. If you see God as some kind of cosmic self-help guru, you will be equally confused. If you see Him as a bleeding heart that just really wishes that folks would do the right thing, you are still missing Him.

God is holy. And God is good. The problem is not with God. It is our understanding of what it means to be holy, and what it means to be good.

Psalm 145:8

"The LORD is gracious and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy."

A Good Example...

...of why it is dangerous to imagine that every whim entering our hearts is the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Just so you know, I really should be cleaning up my kitchen right now. But this sounds like more fun, so I'll load the dishwasher later.

Earlier this week, in the morning Bible Study, I had what I thought was the inspiration of the Spirit. But it proved to be my own imagination. Now, I think that we do get lead by the Spirit at times. And I have had experiences that I believe were divinely set in motion by the hand of God. Not visions or tongues or anything like that. But experiences that, in retrospect, were so unique or unlikely, that I had to chalk it up to divine intervention. But I do not believe that every whim or fancy that passes through my human mind is a direct communication from God.

Here is a great example of why, I think, that would be foolishness.

A woman was sharing the story of a friend's son who had spent a majority of his youth in serious rebellion. He was heavily involved in illegal drugs, and a generally unhappy lifestyle. Part of that lifestyle included having his arms and chest covered with tattoos. He has since completely turned his life around and become a Christian. But because of his tattoos, he must often wear a long sleeve shirt. For example, at his job, the tattoos must be completely covered.

While this woman was speaking, I had an inspired thought. I remembered a sermon I had heard about Jonah, and how his skin was covered with scars as a result of being exposed to the digestive juices inside the whale, or whatever it was, for three days.

We had just been discussing how God will use everything in our lives for His own glory ultimately.

So I thought, AHA! Those tattoos are a testament of the rebellion and sinful lifestyle that God delivered that young man from, just as Jonah's scars were a testament of the rebellion that God had delivered him from. I have to admit, I was pretty proud of my profound connection, and shared it with the entire group.

I even thought that it must have been an idea that was inspired by the Spirit, in just that moment, specifically so that I could share such a profound insight with my Bible Study group.

THEN, on the ride home, I decided that I had better look up the story of old Jonah, and verify that there was in fact some reference to him being covered with scars as a result of being inside the belly of the sea beast. It's a good thing I did. Turns out I imagined the whole thing. Well, maybe imagined is too strong a word.

I did in fact hear a sermon once, where the pastor suggested that it was likely that Jonah would bear some physical scarring as a result of what he had been through. But such an idea was mere speculation, and is in no way indicated by anything that can be found in scripture. I know because I looked. Extensively.

And then I sent out a group email to the entire Bible study group, explaining that I had been mistaken. Because, in the joy of what I thought was the "leading of the Spirit," I had actually claimed that scripture referred to Jonah's scars. It was an honest mistake, really it was. I certainly had no intention of misleading those women. But I did.

I think it is more likely that if the Holy Spirit were involved in that whole scenario in any way, it was by prompting me to go back and look at what the Bible ACTUALLY said. Not what I thought it said.

So that, all two of you who read this blog, is why I think it is best to be very cautious about what we attribute to the Spirit. Sometimes it is just our own human minds getting carried away.

Now, I think my dishwasher is calling my name. Or is that the Holy Spirit?????