Standing Firm (Job 10-13)

“Your hands shaped me and made me. 
Will you now turn and destroy me?  Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again? Did you not pour me out like milk 
and curdle me like cheese, clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit.”

Job 10: 8-12

I'm not sure that I will ever figure out prayer. Recently at Radiant we have began walking through the Lord's Prayer and wrestling with God's heart for our relationship with him. My Friend and mentor, Mike Bradley shared with us that God wants us to tenaciously stand up in prayer and not roll over at the first sign of resistance. Yet there is this line in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done" that another friend, Bill Dogterom, taught us as a prayer of surrender. How on earth do I put these two together?

As I have been reading Job, this time around, I am struck by the honesty and tenacity of Job's prayers to God and interactions with his friends. He boldly defends himself before both, asking God to speak and "remove his hand" from Job, and roughly telling his friends to shut-up as they imply that Job is at fault for his current situation. 

Ever had a friend that, though well meaning, made a situation far worse with their words of comfort. It happens all the time. There are times I've been on the receiving end of someone else's theological "go sit in the corner with the dunce cap on" pep talk. Sadly, there are also times where I have met another's struggles with those same kind of consolations. Left to our own devices, don't we usually think we can live others lives better than they can? By the way... If I have ever done that to any of you reading this, I'm really sorry. I annoy myself just typing about it.

When Job stands up in prayer I've noticed that even when he is pointed with God it is always rooted in affirmations of God's core character. For example Job says things like;

“Keep silent and let me speak; then let come to me what may. Why do I put myself in jeopardy and take my life in my hands? Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.”

Job 13: 13-15

First he tells his friends to keep silent, then turns his address to God. He knows that God can destroy him. He has awe in his awesome power, but he also knows that God is one whom you can put your hope in. With each volley of conversation between his friends and prayer with God, Job affirms the core character of who God is. Even when he shares his frustration, he begins and ends with statements about the Character of the one he puts his hope in.

My wife and I made a commitment when we were first married that in every argument we would have, that we would always push ourselves to come back to the core character of the other. Reminding ourselves, despite the present circumstances, who God created the other to be and call that out through our actions and words. Though we don't do this perfectly, it has been a helpful tool in our life together.

I wonder if prayer might require the same thing from us, that despite the present circumstances, we work to bring ourselves back to God's core character and to our own in light of who he is. May we be reminded of God's great compassion for us, and presence with us in our prayer. May we comfort others with that same encouragement.

In Jesus' Name

Amen

Perspective (Job 6-9)

“How then can I dispute with him? How can I find words to argue with him? Though I were innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.  Even if I summoned him and he responded, I do not believe he would give me a hearing.  He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason.  He would not let me catch my breath but would overwhelm me with misery.”

Job 9:14-18

James Houston, a spiritual giant, once said to a friend of mine, "I desire to be a Christian, but in spite of that I desire to be honest." What I love about Job is that he is brutally honest. I have found at times, it is difficult to be honest with myself or others about my own attitudes toward God. For much of my late teens and early twenties I was angry with God for having allowed my father to taken from me by Alzheimer's. I didn't talk about it. Looking back now I realize that I felt I lacked faith, that a "good Christian" wouldn't feel they way that I did. And so I curved inward, allowing my anger and hurt to leak out in behavior rather than honest conversation.

I desire to be Christian, but in spite of that I desire to be honest. Job can teach us a great deal about faith and honesty. He comes to God and his friends openly, wounds bared. He didn't stuff them down or keep silent. If you search the scriptures, you will find example after example of complaint towards God. Almost half of the Psalms carry this tone. It is anger, fear, complaint directed toward God, rather than about God, that can be a powerful statement of faith. 

Have you ever felt that God was ignoring you? Or even further, that he was out to get you? Though we know in our head that this certainly is not the case, our perspective of the present circumstance gives us this creeping suspicion that we simply have lost God's favor, just like Job. The main question of the book of Job is not the ever popular "Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?"  The real question behind Job is, "do people only worship God for rewards and blessings?" 

The good news in all of this is that God has plenty of room for our honesty with him. The state of our heart doesn't surprise him in the least. I remember the first time I admitted to God that I was angry with him about my dad. It was like the lid was taken off of my heart and I boiled over. At the end of my anger and rage I began to cry my first tears about him that weren't soaked in unspoken resentment. I cried and felt sad... and really knew that God was beside me.

Who do you know that is suffering? We can help create the space for them to be honest. let us listen without judgement, without trying to "fix" them or the situation and reflect back God's presence.

May God grant us his perspective in difficult days and give us the courage to be honest with him and ourselves in all seasons of Life.

In Jesus' Name

Amen

     

Friendship (Job 1-5)

When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

Job 2:12-13

What does it mean to be a friend? In today's world, I fear that much of friendship has been boiled down to common interests, mutual financial benefit, and "nice" conversations that rarely scratch the surface of the soul. True friendship is far more robust. Job having lost everything was in the depths of despair, covered in sores and sitting in the ashes of his life, with none to support him. His own wife told him to curse God and die. And then come Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophaz to come in comfort their friend in silences. They wait... and wait.... silent for seven days, waiting for their friend to speak.

I remember a time when I sat in the empty church building of my youth. Everyone had gone home and I sat alone praying. It was silent. At 23 my circumstances and choices in life had brought me to a place where I felt alone, defeated, a failure. A dear friend and father figure in my life, pastor Glen Carlson, came and sat beside me silently for a long time as I cried. He didn't offer advice or even tell me things would be okay. He just sat with his arm around my shoulder, showing me that I wan't alone.

Presence is an incredible power. While Job's friends may not have had the best perspective on his circumstances, they cared for their friend enough to sit silently with him in his grief and confusion. This is a far thicker form of friendship than much of what we see on our TV, internet and movies. John tells us that Jesus came and "made his home among us" giving us the gift of presence. It was Jesus sitting face-to-face on a beach with Peter that brought the failed disciple back into his calling. In the same was It was Jesus, who ministered through Glen's presence with me and began great healing process. 

From whom are we present? Even if we have missed the mark in the past,  could we be present for them today; a friend, a family member, a neighbor, the checker at the grocery store? Even now, as I write these words, my daughter sleeps beside me. Lord, help me to always be present for her, and for all you bring in our paths whom you wish to love and befriend.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen         

Rainbow (Gen 8-11)

“I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.  Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.”

Genesis 9:13-15

God love to make promises! Not the thin kinds of promises that you and I make, like "I promise to leave the toilet seat down" or "I promise to rinse off my dishes".  God makes thick promises. The difference between our promises and God's is that God always means and keeps his promises. Even in our best attempts we can't come close to God at being a promise keeper.

It seems ironic to me that the rainbow has become, since 1978, a symbol of a socio-political battle. God's use of the strikingly beautiful technicolor archway is quite different. For God, the rainbow represents peace, the end of battle. With it, God shows humanity his turn from justified anger to tender mercy and sets his mind on re-creation, starting with one man and his family. In the original language of the scriptures the rainbow is far more than a beautiful optical illusion. The bible paints a portrait of a warrior who is literally "setting down" his bow, his weapon. If God keeps his promises, then the promise of setting down his weapon is the best kind of news for us. Just as the waters of the flood un-created the world only to be recreated, in Jesus, we are put to death in the waters of baptism and re-created. In Jesus, God has permanently set down his weapons against us. Even more amazing, is that he has invited us into his family and to be about the family business, loving people into the Kingdom. God loves us and keeps his promises.

  

May we see do the same for our neighbor today.   

In Jesus' Name,
Amen

The Seventh Generation (Gen 4-7)

Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, "listen to me; wives of Lemech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times."
Genesis 4:23-24


I've been thinking a great deal about vengeance and the kingdom of God lately. Vengeance, anger, and hate seem to overrun much of our world today. I would venture to guess that it is the most abundant emotion in human history, but not the most powerful. In my opinion hatred is the third most powerful force on earth, followed by... well, you might not keep reading if I gave it away this quickly.


In this portion of the Scriptures Cain has killed his brother Able and the linage of two very different branches of the family tree follow. On the one hand Cain, cursed for his act of murder but protected by a mark bringing seven-fold upon anyone that would harm him, made his home East of Eden (also the name of my favorite book by Steinbeck by the way) in Nod and had children, who had children, who had... you get the picture. On the other hand Seth, who replaced Able as the favored son, had children, who had children... etc. The seventh generation of Adam's line list two men, Lemech from Cain and Enoch from Seth.


In the bible that number seven is very important. It is the number of completion, wholeness, fulfillment. There are seven days in creation, and thus seven days in the week. the seventh day is the day of rest, shabbat (roughly meaning: stop). Both the books of Daniel and Revelation are fond of this number in talking about the future. So important is the number in Revelation that it appears 55 times out of 93 in the whole New Testament. I better be carful lest I bore you to death with my bible geekiness. All this is to say that this seventh generation sets the trajectory for these two families.


Enoch, "walked with God" and was seen no more because God took him up. Amazing, this seventh generation from Adam was so close to God that once again human kind "walked with God" (see Gen 2-3). While Lemech, now a murder as his ancestor before him claims ten-fold the curse of Cain. Each generation has lead to the completion of obedience or disobedience. Anger and Vengeance have fully taken hold in Cain's line. This power would eventually lead to the complete un-creation and re-creation of the world through the flood.  


Where have the powers of anger, leading to hate, resulting in vengeance taken you in your life? We have all succumbed to these forces at times. They can be loud and violent, or quiet and cancerous. They may look like jealousy or rage, prejudice or bigotry. They may come out through "telling it like it is," and  character assassination. Ultimately all of this boils down to the second most powerful emotion on earth... Fear. Fear of being left alone, of being rejected, forgotten. Wasn't that Cain's issue? Fear not faced and uncovered, curves us in on ourselves. Fear hinders forgiveness. It is the LDL Cholesterol of the soul and will eventually kill us if it remains unchecked.


But Jesus knows us. He knows the weakness of the human heart and prescribes the best diet-excercise regiment. It is no accident that the same language Lemech uses to cures, Jesus uses to forgive when Peter asks him...


Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times."
Matthew 18:22


You might have guessed by now but the most powerful emotion on earth is love that leads to forgiveness. It is the HDL cholesterol of the soul protecting us from the heart attack of self-centered fear.


May God shape us today to live in the line of Seth and Enoch, freeing us from fear and hatred of Cain and Lemech.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Darwin, Adam, and God (Gen 1-3)

I am making a commitment this year not to worry about the bible. I know that sounds a little odd but its true, its a huge problem in churches all over America. Conferences are devoted to the worry that if Darwin was right than the bible was wrong. I want to let you know a secret, the bible has done a great job defending itself for thousands of years. In fact, in my own worries over the years, I have lost sight of what God wants to tell us the first chapters of Genesis. God's thoughts on the creation of the world are far more interesting than those of Charles Darwin, Lee Stroble, or Richard Dawkins.  


When Genesis was edited down to the final draft you see in your bible today the people of Israel were captive in a land of a pagan people with pagan gods. The creation stories they came in contact with told of Gods killing each other and using the blood and dust to create servants (us) to work on the earth for them. But our story, though using much of the same imagery, tells of YHWH who breathed his very spirit into the dust to make us as carriers of his image in this world. This God created a beautiful and ordered world from the forces of chaos, which were worshiped as gods by others, as a loving gift to us. While other gods wanted to serve themselves and where whimsical, the one true God created as an expression of his nature of selfless love.


What does this mean for you and I? It means that no matter how beat down you have been, no matter how many times you and I have messed up, God's mark on us is a sign of love and that we were created for more. We were created to be radiant with the Imago Dei (the image of God). As you start your day, you can look out your window and say; "This day, this world was made for me to thrive in."


Father, let me live today as a new day in the life you breathed into me.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen