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Chapter-a-Day

Final Message

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Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you.
Deuteronomy 4:1 (NIV)

There is a seriousness about Life that takes stage whenever Death is standing in the wings. I’ve experienced in hospitals and the rooms of hospice. I’ve observed it in homes where families tend to their loved one’s final days. The seriousness can take many different forms, but I find that they are always holy moments.

I find it important as I meditate on the chapters of Deuteronomy to remember that this entire book is one of those holy moments. Death is standing on the banks of the Jordan River in wait for Moses. Moses is ancient. His body is decimated with age. His face is lined with the stress of decades of leadership. Deuteronomy is Moses taking the face of his people lovingly in his withered hands and looking them in the eye one last time. These are the words of his deathbed.

“Listen,” he is whispering with final breath earnestness. “No. Really listen to me.”

When Moses uses the word “hear” it is the Hebrew word shema. It is more than auditory reception. Shema is listening with your heart as well as your ears. It’s hearing channeled into action. It is listening that love transforms into obedience. It’s the same Jesus asked whenever He said, “Those who have ears to really hear, hear this….”

Suddenly, the words of today’s chapter have another layer of meaning. They are the love-filled plea of the man who has given everything to lead his people. I don’t just want to read the words. I want to shema what Moses is communicating in this holy moment as I see Death standing in the background along Jordan’s shore.

Guard the appetites of your heart. Moses begins with a plea to his people to guard their hearts. They serve a living God. They’ve seen what He can do. They’ve heard His voice though they saw no form. There is no form that can adequately represent His being. So don’t fashion idols for yourselves and bow down to animals, or people, or the sun. Don’t give your love and devotion to things that can never love you back.

Be ever aware of God’s nearness. God is with them. He’s pitched His tent in the center of their camp. He goes before them. He goes with them. He is not god up above somewhere. God is always right here, right now.

Remember. Remember. Remember. Moses repeats the word over and over again.

Remember the fire on the mountain.
Remember the voice with no form.
Remember the covenant.
Remember who rescued you.
Remember who claimed you.

Memory is a mentor. The moment you begin to forget you are one step closer towards being lost. Then Moses prophetically foresees that his children, whom he knows all too well, will indeed lose their way.

Home awaits every prodigal. He wraps up his message by reminding them that no matter how far they wander, no matter how badly they lose their way, God is waiting. He’s not waiting with crossed arms but arms that are open. It doesn’t matter what distant pig stye they find themselves mired in. If they, like the prodigal, will seek Him with all their heart they will find Father God there on the porch at home with his eyes glued to the driveway. He just waiting to welcome the prodigal home and celebrate His lost child’s return.

I feel a weight in my meditations in the quiet of my home office this morning. Placing my feet in the sandals of a child of Israel standing along the Jordan River listening to Moses’ heartfelt final plea gives the words added potency. Suddenly the message is more meaningful. Life suddenly gets more serious whenever Death is near.

The neighbor’s diesel pick-up truck has begun to idle across the street. It’s my daily reminder that it’s time to move out of the quiet and into all that awaits me on the calendar and task list of the day. Thankfully, I’m unaware of Death being anywhere nearby today. Nevertheless, I head out with the heart of Moses’ message informing how I want to go about whatever awaits me.

Have a great day, my friend.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

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Chapter-a-Day

The Sex Thing

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The Sex Thing (CaD Lev 18) – Wayfarer

“You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.”
Leviticus 18:3 (NIV)

Sex is always such a hot topic. It is one of our most basic human appetites, and it is naturally one of the strongest and most pleasurable as it drives the perpetuation of life. Like all human appetites, we sinful human beings love to indulge it to excess.

We indulge our appetite for food into gluttony.
We indulge our appetite for rest into sloth.
We indulge our appetite for pride into vanity.
We indulge our appetite for daily provision into greed.

All of these appetites are natural and God-given. We need them for life. One of the insidious effects of Alzheimer’s Disease that I watched slowly destroy my mother’s body is the loss of appetite for food. She forgot that she was hungry. For the last several years of her life her diet consisted of some blueberry yogurt and chocolate nutritional drink. My dad had to practically force her to eat that, or she wouldn’t have eaten a thing. At one point she weighed under 90 pounds.

Our appetites are good and meant for our physical health and life. This includes our appetite for sex. God even dedicates an entire piece of the Great Story, Song of Solomon (a.k.a Song of Songs), to an ancient poem about the sexual appetites of young lovers. When I attended a fundamentalist Baptist Bible college I remember observing the professors contort themselves to explain all of the human sexuality out of the text, turning it into nothing more than a spiritual allegory. One of the problems I’ve observed with the institutional church is that it picks the things on which it focuses, and the subject of sex (other than prohibiting a few aspects of it) is avoided more than any other.

Of course, what makes our appetite for sex different than the other God-given appetites is that all the other appetites and our indulgence in them affect the people around us. Sex involves direct participation with another person. This adds potent and intense dynamics of human relationship, power, intimacy, and abuse.

Today’s chapter is all about sexual prohibitions that God gave to the ancient Hebrew people. Along my life journey, I’ve observed that only one verse of this chapter (the prohibition of homosexual sex) gets quoted or discussed today. That’s a shame, because the context in which that verse was given is, I think, important.

A couple of observations:

First, the list of sexual prohibitions in today’s chapter is preceded with a preamble. God makes it clear that all of the behaviors he’s about to prohibit are things that the Egyptians and Canaanite people groups indulge in. Sex was indulged in without boundary or restraint, and the bulk of the list of prohibitions have to do with incestuous relationships. The Egyptian royals were infamous for their practice of incest to “keep the bloodline pure.” King Tut was a classic example of the consequences, his body genetically disfigured and his life shortened.

Second, these were all patriarchal, male dominated cultures. Guess who drove the indulgence of sexual appetites out of their sheer power, authority, and domination in family and culture? [cue: looking in the mirror]

Third, the sexual appetite was designed by our Creator God for the perpetuation of life through reproduction. It is a physical appetite and it is pleasurable and intimate, but the ultimate physical result is new life. New life (a.k.a being “born again,” resurrection, redemption) is an overarching core theme of the entire Great Story that can’t be ignored. In the last hundred or so years of human history we’ve developed countless ways to indulge in the pleasure of our sexual appetites and mostly eliminate the possibility of new life. The ancients did not have this luxury. Today’s chapter also addresses the way the ancients dealt with the unwanted consequences of their sexual indulgences. They sacrificed their babies to gods like Molek. An appetite that was intended to perpetuate new life becomes a catalyst for systemic infanticide.

Fourth, while today’s chapter does briefly mention a prohibition of homosexual sex, it also clearly mentions a prohibition of adultery. A fundamentalist standing in protest of homosexuality who has committed or is committing adultery is a hypocrite. As Jesus said, “Let he who is without sin…”

Fifth, as I went through the list of prohibitions today, I wrote in the margin the names of individuals within the Great Story who committed the prohibitions. David committed adultery. Solomon with his hundreds of wives and concubines took adultery to even greater indulgent excesses. David’s son Amnon and daughter Tamar had an incestuous romance going before Amnon raped her (see my second point above). Jacob married rival sisters as prohibited in verse 20. A powerful and natural sexual appetite will naturally lead to sexual indulgence like an appetite for food will lead to gluttony at the church potluck. Spiritually, they are equal in their negative effects, but we tend to focus on one and ignore the other.

Finally, in the quiet this morning, God reminds the Hebrews at the beginning and ending of the chapter that He wants them to be different than all the sexually indulgent people around them. He wants them to exemplify and enjoy pleasurable, loving, intimate, and yes productive fulfillment of sexual appetites, avoiding the negative consequences of indulgence for themselves and those around them.

Enjoy fulfilling the appetite without indulging in excess. That’s a worthwhile endeavor for me as it relates to both my sexual appetite and all the others.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
Chapter-a-Day

Best of ’24: #1 Filet-o’-Fish or Flesh & Blood?

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For the last two weeks, while Wendy and I have been away enjoying some warm weather, we’ve been counting down the top ten chapter-a-day posts/podcasts of 2024 (based on total views and plays). It’ s always interesting which posts/podcasts resonated with readers and listeners. Today is the #1 post/podcast from 2024. The chapter for Monday’s new series is at the bottom of today’s post.

Filet-o'-Fish or Flesh & Blood? (CaD Jhn 6) – Wayfarer

“Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.”
John 6:26 (NIV)

The further I’ve progressed in my spiritual journey the more I have come to believe that today’s chapter contains among the most critical messages that Jesus uttered in His earthly ministry.

John begins the chapter with two of the seven signs he chose to write about as he thematically presents Jesus to his readers. First, Jesus miraculously turns a couple of loaves and a few fish into an all-you-can-eat filet-o-fish feast for a crowd of thousands. That night, as The Twelve are making their way across the Sea of Galilee in stormy seas, Jesus walks on water to join them. They end up back in Capernaum, Jesus’ base of operations on the north shore of Galilee.

Meanwhile, the crowd of thousands who enjoyed the filet-o-fish woke up the next day to find that Jesus was nowhere to be found. It was common knowledge that Jesus always returned to Capernaum, so the thousands decided to hoof it in that direction. Sure enough, they find Jesus teaching in the synagogue there.

The conversation that follows is what I find to be most critical. John had already made a point that Jesus did not allow Himself to be swayed by the fame and popularity His signs created amongst the crowds. Back in chapter two John wrote, “Jesus would not entrust Himself to [the crowds], for He knew all people.” That’s a key piece in understanding Jesus’ conversation with the crowd in today’s chapter.

The crowd begins by questioning the fact that Jesus had left them for Capernaum without telling them where He was going. Jesus responds by questioning their motive for following Him, and this is the critical piece. Jesus told Nicodemus back in the third chapter that “flesh gives birth to flesh and Spirit gives birth to spirit.” Jesus now unpacks how spiritually important that distinction really is. The crowds are focused, not on God’s eternal kingdom, but on their earthly appetites. Their focus is on making Jesus king and getting free fish sandwiches for life. Jesus is focused on helping people understand that He came, not to feed the stomach, but to feed the soul. “The Spirit gives life,” He says. “The flesh counts for nothing.” He tells the crowd that from that point on, the only feast He will be providing is his flesh to eat and his blood to drink as he foreshadows His last supper and the sacrament of Communion which He will eventually leave for His followers.

I find the progression of the crowd’s attitude to be telling. It is so like a crowd. They move from eagerly seeking out the trending Jesus to trying to manipulate Him into more free food (vss 10-11) to grumbling about Him (vs. 41) to turning on one another and sharply arguing (vs 52). Eventually, the crowd walks away and stops following Jesus (vs. 66).

As a disciple of Jesus, this entire episode calls my own motives into question. Why am I following Jesus? Why do I go to church? Why would I wear the label “Christian?” Show? Spectacle? Tradition? Family Pressure? Duty? Obligation? Keeping up social appearances? Living up to someone else’s expectations? Being a good example to the kiddos? Community?

As I meditated on the crowd begging for more free lunches, I couldn’t help but remember the hated Samaritans who only needed to hear Jesus’ words and they believed. I think there is something about the Samaritans being the suffering and persecuted outcast that identifies with Jesus’ true mission which was not to be an earthly king feeding His posse’s earthly appetites, but to be a suffering servant sacrificing flesh and blood to bring eternal spiritual provision to starving, emaciated, and dying human souls. “The crowd,” on the other hand, were Jesus’ own people, and they failed to get it. John already foreshadowed this in his epic prologue: “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”

In the quiet this morning, I find myself pondering Jesus’ continuous message to His most intimate followers:

“They hate me. They will hate you, too.”

“Get ready for persecution.”

“In this world, you will have trouble.”

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. “

“They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.”

This begs the question: Am I a filet-o-fish follower, or am I a flesh-and-blood follower?

It’s a question worth pondering. Jesus made it abundantly clear that the answer makes a difference.

Monday’s Chapter: Leviticus 1

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
Chapter-a-Day

Filet-o’-Fish or Flesh & Blood?

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Filet-o'-Fish or Flesh & Blood? (CaD Jhn 6) – Wayfarer

“Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.”
John 6:26 (NIV)

The further I’ve progressed in my spiritual journey the more I have come to believe that today’s chapter contains among the most critical messages that Jesus uttered in His earthly ministry.

John begins the chapter with two of the seven signs he chose to write about as he thematically presents Jesus to his readers. First, Jesus miraculously turns a couple of loaves and a few fish into an all-you-can-eat filet-o-fish feast for a crowd of thousands. That night, as The Twelve are making their way across the Sea of Galilee in stormy seas, Jesus walks on water to join them. They end up back in Capernaum, Jesus’ base of operations on the north shore of Galilee.

Meanwhile, the crowd of thousands who enjoyed the filet-o-fish woke up the next day to find that Jesus was nowhere to be found. It was common knowledge that Jesus always returned to Capernaum, so the thousands decided to hoof it in that direction. Sure enough, they find Jesus teaching in the synagogue there.

The conversation that follows is what I find to be most critical. John had already made a point that Jesus did not allow Himself to be swayed by the fame and popularity His signs created amongst the crowds. Back in chapter two John wrote, “Jesus would not entrust Himself to [the crowds], for He knew all people.” That’s a key piece in understanding Jesus’ conversation with the crowd in today’s chapter.

The crowd begins by questioning the fact that Jesus had left them for Capernaum without telling them where He was going. Jesus responds by questioning their motive for following Him, and this is the critical piece. Jesus told Nicodemus back in the third chapter that “flesh gives birth to flesh and Spirit gives birth to spirit.” Jesus now unpacks how spiritually important that distinction really is. The crowds are focused, not on God’s eternal kingdom, but on their earthly appetites. Their focus is on making Jesus king and getting free fish sandwiches for life. Jesus is focused on helping people understand that He came, not to feed the stomach, but to feed the soul. “The Spirit gives life,” He says. “The flesh counts for nothing.” He tells the crowd that from that point on, the only feast He will be providing is his flesh to eat and his blood to drink as he foreshadows His last supper and the sacrament of Communion which He will eventually leave for His followers.

I find the progression of the crowd’s attitude to be telling. It is so like a crowd. They move from eagerly seeking out the trending Jesus to trying to manipulate Him into more free food (vss 10-11) to grumbling about Him (vs. 41) to turning on one another and sharply arguing (vs 52). Eventually, the crowd walks away and stops following Jesus (vs. 66).

As a disciple of Jesus, this entire episode calls my own motives into question. Why am I following Jesus? Why do I go to church? Why would I wear the label “Christian?” Show? Spectacle? Tradition? Family Pressure? Duty? Obligation? Keeping up social appearances? Living up to someone else’s expectations? Being a good example to the kiddos? Community?

As I meditated on the crowd begging for more free lunches, I couldn’t help but remember the hated Samaritans who only needed to hear Jesus’ words and they believed. I think there is something about the Samaritans being the suffering and persecuted outcast that identifies with Jesus’ true mission which was not to be an earthly king feeding His posse’s earthly appetites, but to be a suffering servant sacrificing flesh and blood to bring eternal spiritual provision to starving, emaciated, and dying human souls. “The crowd,” on the other hand, were Jesus’ own people, and they failed to get it. John already foreshadowed this in his epic prologue: “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”

In the quiet this morning, I find myself pondering Jesus’ continuous message to His most intimate followers:

“They hate me. They will hate you, too.”

“Get ready for persecution.”

“In this world, you will have trouble.”

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. “

“They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.”

This begs the question: Am I a filet-o-fish follower, or am I a flesh-and-blood follower?

It’s a question worth pondering. Jesus made it abundantly clear that the answer makes a difference.

I’m back on Facebook for those who liked to read my chapter-a-day posts there! Facebook refuses to give me access to my old, hacked account, but I have started a new account. Please search for me on Facebook and friend me. If Facebook won’t let you friend me, please go to my Facebook profile and “Message,” which should then allow me to friend you. Cheers! -Tom

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

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Short-Cuts

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Short-Cuts (CaD Hos 12) – Wayfarer

The merchant uses dishonest scales
    and loves to defraud.
Ephraim boasts,
    “I am very rich; I have become wealthy.
With all my wealth they will not find in me
    any iniquity or sin.”
Hosea 12:7-8 (NIV)

When I was a young man, I was not great with money. I confess this. It took me some hard lessons, both financial and spiritual, along with some time to get things straightened out. It has been one of the most important spiritual lessons of my entire life journey. Part of that hard lesson I learned was that sound financial strategies, much like spiritual maturity, require discipline and longevity. Short-cuts appear tempting, but they make for long delays.

Along that journey, I’ve had a number of living parables present themselves.

I’ve personally known two individuals, both sincere and devout followers of Jesus and men I considered wise, who placed all of their retirement savings in one risky investment and ended up losing everything.

My father, the accountant, has regaled me with stories, repeatedly told, of businesses he discovered were cooking the books and kiting checks. The stories end up with law enforcement, businesses closing, and business owners in big trouble.

Years ago it was recommended to me (once again, by devout followers of Jesus who I considered wise) that we switch to using a broker who was making money hand-over-fist for clients. All the powerful and wealthy were flocking to this firm. Then, I witnessed that firm quickly and suddenly implode. The palatial offices were suddenly closed. Employees were quickly spinning off to create their own companies. Investors stuck in bad investments were livid and litigious. All these years later, I hear the lawsuits are still being settled.

In today’s chapter, the prophet Hosea raises charges against ancient Israel for the corruption and dishonesty that was happening among the wealthy and powerful elites who were packing the administrations of a string of crooked kings. He describes them as sitting atop the societal and governmental food chain working their dishonest schemes and feeling untouchable while the poor and marginalized suffered.

Hosea even uses the metaphor of Jacob to describe these ancient elites. Jacob was their patriarch who deceived his older twin of his birthright and then deceived their father to get the blessing of the first-born. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, and Hosea makes it clear that the nation of Israel was guilty of their namesake’s deceptive ways.

In the quiet this morning, I am sobered by the trip down memory lane and the number of good people I have known who made foolish choices out of an out-of-control appetite to have greater financial security or to increase their earthly treasure. I’m reminded of Paul’s words to his young protégé Timothy: “godliness with contentment is great gain.” I’m also reminded that Jesus constantly spoke of being wise about what we treasure. He repeatedly spoke of the Kingdom of God as a hidden treasure worth giving up everything to acquire, while He spoke of earthly treasure as the worst investment one can make from a spiritual and eternity perspective.

Where am I susceptible to making foolish choices? What “too good to be true” opportunity would I be foolish enough to consider? Where am I most tempted to take short-cuts in life?

Short-cuts make for long delays.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

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Kings in Heat

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“Ephraim is like a dove,
    easily deceived and senseless—
now calling to Egypt,
    now turning to Assyria.”
Hosea 7:11 (NIV)

Wendy and I live on the outskirts of our little town with a giant field behind us. As such, we get to enjoy a proximity to wildlife that can be both beautiful and annoying. As we have our morning coffee and smoothies, we often get to enjoy the sight of wild turkeys grazing in our backyard. We’ve heard the eerie sound of coyotes and their kits on the hunt in the evenings. And, the fire bushes we’ve twice planted along our back fence row have struggled to survive because the deer consider them a tasty snack.

Just last week we were driving home late in the evening and came upon a gorgeous eight-point buck. We see does, fawns, and yearlings on a regular basis, but it’s extremely rare for a male to show himself.

The following morning, we were on our way into town and it suddenly became clear why the male had been so bold to show himself. As we were driving, a doe shot across the road about ten yard ahead of us running at full speed and paying no heed to the fact our car was right there. I hit the brakes as the same buck we’d seen the night before lustfully tore after the doe.

“I know what he’s after,” Wendy exclaimed. We giggled and watched as the buck pursued and the doe did her best to evade him through the field on the other side of the road and into the tree line.

In today’s chapter, Hosea uses a stealthy double entendre describing the rulers of ancient Israel. The prophet describes them in culinary terms as “burning like an oven whose fire the baker need not stir.” He writes that they are “inflamed with wine” and “hot as an oven.” Of course, he’s describing the heat of passion. Their base appetites were out-of-control driving lustful behavior unbridled from reason.

It’s helpful to know a little history of ancient Israel to understand Hosea’s message. When the ancient kingdom of Israel split in two, the southern Kingdom of Judah continued to place on their throne direct descendants of King David. The northern Kingdom of Israel, however, had no such loyalties. The throne of Israel was constantly up for grabs to any bully or usurper who had a lust for power and the cunning to pull it off. Ten different dynastic “houses” ruled Israel in less than 300 years. As such, the kings and rulers of Israel tended to be self-centered tryants with a lust for power and wealth. Their children and their administrations were filled with similar ilk. These were not the type of men and women who were spiritually sensitive or possessed hearts of generosity, justice, and the things of God.

Hosea then describes these power-hungry, lust-driven rulers as easily deceived and senseless. They understood the blunt force power of being a local bully and seizing power of a relatively small kingdom, but when it came to the international diplomacy of dealing with empires, the seemingly endless string of usurpers were out of their league.

Hosea says,

“Ephraim is like a dove,
    easily deceived and senseless—
now calling to Egypt,
    now turning to Assyria.”

History records that Hoshea (not to be confused with Hosea), the last king of Israel, had made an alliance with the Assyrian empire. When, however, there was a change of leadership on the Assyrian throne, Hoshea followed his lusts and tried to cut a better deal with Egypt. The betrayal caused Assyria to make an example of disloyal Israel. Assyria attacked, destroyed, and took Israel into exile and captivity. Just as God predicted through Hosea, the heat of Israel’s unbridled appetites would be the achilles heel that would lead to her destruction and exile.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself bringing the national-level lessons of ancient Israel down to personal-level application.

My grandfather used to be fond of saying “I’m king of my castle,” and as I’ve made my way on this earthly journey I recognize the truth of the matter. I am ruler of my own personal kingdom. Just like the kings of Israel, I can rule over my kingdom like a buck in heat following my base appetites for wealth, power, control, and pleasure. I can also rule over my kingdom with love, reason, humility, generosity, and justice. For me, the difference has been the acknowledgement and understanding of who is really on the throne of my personal kingdom. Many years ago, I agreed to submit my own personal kingdom to the Lordship of Jesus and the Kingdom of God. That has made all the difference.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Privileged Citizen

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“For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven.”
Philippians 3:18-20 (NIV)

It was our daughter who I first heard use the phrase “first world, white girl problems.” It made me laugh, and Wendy and I regularly conjure up the sentiment when catching ourselves getting bent out-of-shape by a simple annoyance in life that most of the inhabitants of this planet would love to have. As Wendy and I peruse the headlines and discuss current events, we often take a moment to recognize that it is our affluence that allows for the making of major issues of silly and/or trivial things.

Modern readers of Paul’s letters often have little or no knowledge of the historic location or circumstances of the people to whom Paul wrote and the cities in which they lived. But the history often provides important context that adds layers of new meaning to the words.

For example, the city of Philippi was a very affluent Roman city. The city had always enjoyed the prosperity that came from nearby gold mines. Gold mines needed heavy security, so it always had a strong military presence. The Romans treated Philippi as a colony for retired, highly influential military veterans. It was governed by two military officers appointed by Rome. For being a relatively small city, it was very affluent and patriotically Roman.

Of course, the culture of Rome was historically libertine. The Roman orgies rooted in the cult of Bacchus are the stuff of legend (see Bacchus in featured photo). Affluent Romans of high standing enjoyed prosperous lives and sensual indulgences. Roman citizenship (which was bought or bestowed to relative few) had its perks and privileges, and as military town full of retired veterans and Roman citizens, it strikes me as being kind of a gated community of its day.

Paul, by the way, was a citizen of Rome. Like everyone else, he understood its privileges. In fact, he commonly leveraged his citizenship and the privilege it carries. In one instance, Paul’s citizenship saved him from being scourged. Another privilege was that any Roman citizen who got in trouble with the law had the right to appeal their case to Caesar himself, which Paul did.

Followers of Jesus seeking to further Jesus’ teaching of moral constraint and generous care of societal outcasts didn’t exactly fit well in the culture of libertine Roman excess and affluence. At best, Romans made life difficult for followers of Jesus, at worst it outright persecuted them in heinous ways. It was into this cultural clash in Philippi that Paul was addressing to the believers there in his letter.

In today’s chapter, Paul reminds the believers in Philippi that their “Citizenship” was in heaven, and that both their minds and lives should be focused on things there. Every day they saw military retirees leveraging their Roman citizenship and affluence into a focus on making sure their waning days on earth were filled with an indulgence in earthly sensual appetites. Paul appeals to Jesus’ followers that their citizenship was in eternity, to which they would retire at the end of this earthly journey.

I can’t help but think of C.S. Lewis’ famous thoughts:

“If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

In the quiet this morning, I find myself contemplating my own desires and appetites. The truth is that my reality is not unlike that of the followers of Jesus’ in Philippi. We are a culture that increasingly values and celebrates the indulgence of human appetites, even if our wholesale excesses fall short of Roman bacchanalia. What I find Paul pointing to is the same as Jesus when He urged His followers to invest earthly resources in heavenly treasure. Is my focus on earthly citizenship, appetites, and treasures, or my citizenship in heaven and treasures?

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

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The Bride

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The Bride (CaD Jer 2) – Wayfarer

“This is what the Lord says:
“‘I remember the devotion of your youth,
    how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the wilderness,
    through a land not sown.”
Jeremiah 2:2 (NIV)

One of the keys to unlocking the power of the ancient prophets is to understand both the context of their time and circumstances in history and the metaphors they use in addressing them.

Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry began during the reign of King Josiah of Judah (648-609 BC). The authors of Kings and Chronicles have made it clear that the Hebrew people have spent most of their nearly 300 years as divided kingdoms breaking the first two of God’s Top Ten rules for life (1. No other gods 2. No idols). By the time Josiah ascends the throne, there had been 19 successive kings in Israel who all promoted the worship of local and regional pagan idols. Of Josiah’s 15 predecessors in Judah, seven had been outright idolatrous and most of the others maintained a policy of appeasement with those who wanted to worship gods other than Yahweh. The result was that even the worship of the God of Abraham, Moses, and David had been diluted to the point that it was an empty shell of what God had prescribed for worship as Moses led the Hebrew tribes out of slavery in Egypt.

King Josiah led a massive reformation after a copy of the Law of Moses was discovered in a storage closet in Solomon’s Temple. The fact that it had been lost in a Temple junk room lends evidence to how far worship had strayed from God’s design. Even the priests of God had not read or taught God’s law in who knows how long. Solomon’s Temple itself had become a polytheistic religious center in which shrines and altars to pagan gods were placed alongside the altar God had prescribed back in Exodus. After three hundred years of polytheistic political accommodation, it’s hard to believe that young Josiah’s dictatorial reforms were universally well-received by his people.

It’s in this period of religious reformation and the resulting political tension that a young Jeremiah begins his prophetic career. Jeremiah and Josiah got along well, and Jerry’s career took off under the power and protection of Josiah as his benefactor.

Today’s chapter is the first of Jerry’s recorded prophetic messages. He addresses God’s people with one overarching metaphor: marriage. The Hebrew people were God’s young bride. God initiated through Abraham and then again in Moses, God pursued her in Egypt, God secured her, and God led her out of slavery and into a covenant relationship. God provided for her and led her to a home He prepared for her. What He asked of her was faithfulness.

By the way, Jesus used this same marital metaphor. His followers are His bride. At the Omega Point of the Great Story is a wedding and the greatest wedding feast of all time (Rev 19:7-9).

As for Jeremiah, he sits amidst Josiah’s mandated reform and hears the grumbling of the idolaters who desire to go back to their shrine prostitutes and fertility orgies. He sees those who gave lip service to Josiah’s reforms but meet secretly with their idols on the down-low. In this, he envisions God’s bride following indulgent appetites into adulterous liaisons only to justify her actions and lie to herself that her husband doesn’t care.

In the quiet this morning, I can’t help but escape the power of Jeremiah’s metaphor as I face my past. I know the reality of a broken marriage and divorce. I have experienced “youthful devotion” that led to a broken marital covenant. I stand guilty like Jeremiah’s audience. The unspoken question, of course, is “What am I going to do about it?” The calling of a prophet is to call God’s spiritually wayward people to repentance, to find the Prodigal knee-deep in the pig slop, and suggest he consider returning home. And from his first message, Jeremiah is on-task.

As I meditated on the chapter this morning, a line from an old hymn popped into my head and heart:

“Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the one I love.”

I head into today with introspection. Where, in my spiritual journey, am I prone to wander? In what ways do my own appetites beckon me to indulge and lead me away from the One I love? The following line in the hymn describes my heart’s cry:

“Here’s my heart. Oh, take and seal it.”

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

People of the Lie

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People of the Lie (CaD Jude 1) – Wayfarer

For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.
Jude 1:4a (NIV)

Wendy and I recently spent the evening with a young couple, enjoying a leisurely dinner followed by casual conversation. Among the many topics of our conversation that evening was the current state of culture and discourse in our world. A repeated phrase I heard that evening was, to paraphrase, “if only people would just be kind to others.”

Wendy and I later discussed this simple sentiment and the fact that no matter how much we desire such an elementary and obvious expectation of others, there have always been those who will not do so. There have always been those whose blind self-centered and self-gratifying nature mark them, as Scott Peck named them, “people of the lie.”

Today’s chapter is an oft-forgotten one-hit-wonder stuck in at the end of the Great Story. Jude is most likely the half-brother of Jesus and brother of James, leader of the followers of Jesus in Jerusalem. He pens this quick letter warning to fellow believers about “people of the lie” who had been worshipping among followers of Jesus. In modern terms, the Urban Dictionary’s definition of “poser” might just be an apt moniker.

In those days, there were no church buildings. Followers of Jesus met together regularly in people’s homes. Their potluck meals doubled as opportunities to worship, meet the needs of one another, and would end with the sacrament of communion. Jesus’ followers called them “Love Feasts.” These people of the lie would join the fellowship, eat and drink to excess, take advantage of generosity, and then claim that if Jesus’ grace increases to cover a multitude of sins, then it would only make sense to sin more so that there would be more of Jesus’ grace produced.

The thing that I found fascinating as I read Jude’s warnings about these people of the lie is that he starts by providing historic examples of such characters from the Great Story: Cain, Balaam, and Korah.

He then provides metaphorical descriptions of the posers who had infiltrated the Love Feasts of the believers to whom he was penning the letter:

  • Shepherds who feed only themselves (not their sheep)
  • Clouds without rain
  • Autumn trees with no fruit
  • Untamed, wild waves of the sea
  • Wandering stars getting sucked into a Black Hole

Jude then ends with the “apostles” warning that in “the last times” these people of the lie would be everywhere, scoffing at Truth, following their base appetites, and creating division among believers.

In other words, people of the lie have always been around, they were present among Jude and his contemporaries, and they will still be around in the end times.

I couldn’t help but notice that Jude’s antidote to the “people of the lie” problem was not to create an inquisitorial committee to root out the evil. The answer was not to find these people, hold a trial, and hang those found guilty. The things Jude admonished his fellow believers to do were intensely personal:

  • Keep exercising and building up your own faith
  • Keep praying in the Spirit
  • Keep yourself in God’s love
  • Be patient
  • Wait for Jesus’ mercy
  • Be merciful to others
  • Save others through mercy and respect
  • Keep your own nose clean

So in the quiet this morning, I find myself circling back to our young friends’ sincere desire for “everyone to just be kind to one another” and balancing it with Jude’s observation that people of the lie have always been a part of the mix in this world, they are part of the mix now, and they will likely be an even bigger part of the mix when history reaches the final, climactic chapters of the Great Story. This is a reality that I must always consider as I look around me and try to interpret the signs of the times.

As for me, I’m just going to continue to press on in faith, hope, and love; Just another wayfaring stranger making my way home.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

The Gray

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The Gray (CaD Heb 7) – Wayfarer

The former regulation [the Law of Moses] is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.
Hebrews 7:18-19 (NIV)

I have a confession to make this morning, As the youngest of four children, seven years younger than my eldest twin brothers, I took full advantage of my birth position. Some of this was good. For example, I remember observing what patterns of behavior and/or argument actually escalated our parents’ anger and frustration. Not only was the conflict unpleasant but it never worked out well for my sibling. I correspondingly avoided making those same mistakes and had a relatively pleasant childhood and adolescence in the department of parental relations.

It wasn’t all good, however. Being the youngest also afforded me the opportunity of learning how and when to take advantage of skirting rules and, by and large, how to get away with it. The age gap between me and my twin brothers was key to this. When I was twelve, my brother Tim was 19. At little sibs weekend at the University, I not only got to enjoy attending a college keg party and drinking beer but also made a lasting memory with my brother. Tim had me stand around the keg with him. When cute girls came to fill their red solo cups, Tim leveraged the novelty of my presence to find out who they were as he introduced me as his genius little brother who was a Freshman at the university that year.

Long story short, I learned along the way that rules were meant to be skirted, not broken. I became quite adept at getting away with all sorts of things as I stealthily discovered a parallel dimension of gray that existed (at least in my perception) around the black-and-white rules.

In today’s chapter, the author of the letter to the early Hebrew followers of Jesus is explaining how the Jewish priesthood and Law of Moses have been completed and transformed by Jesus. The Law of Moses took sinful humans born to Aaron and Levi and made them part of a human system of rules, rituals, and sacrifices for the forgiveness of sin. The human priest first had to atone for his own sin so he could then atone for the sins of the people. Jesus was the sinless, spotless once-and-for-all sacrifice, risen from the dead, and existing eternally at the right hand of the Father, a forever high priest. He is not a priest of the Law of Moses, the author declares, but of the mysterious eternal order of Melchizedek that is older and greater than the Law of Moses.

The author boldly states that the Law of Moses was “weak” and “useless” arguing that rules can never make a person perfect. Ah, there’s the rub. Religious rule-keeping never deals with the self-centered motives and uncontrollable appetites at the core of the human heart. In my case, it was my personal motives and appetites that fueled my finding of gray areas in which I justified skirting rules for my own personal pleasures and advantages.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself thinking back to some of the things I used to get away with skirting rules, from silly to the somewhat sinister. I may have gotten away with a lot of things, but my heart knew that it wasn’t right. I knew, even at a young age, that I needed more than just rules. I needed to deal with the core issues of a self-centered heart and appetites run amok. I discovered what the author of Hebrews is revealing, Jesus who became the ultimate sacrifice for my core heart issues, an eternal, living high-priest who understands my weaknesses and receives me with mercy and grace.

It still doesn’t make me perfect, but it does make me forgiven. I am no longer bound to rules that only prove that good, I am not. I am freed to live out the love, and good, that I ought.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.