Tag Archives: Choices

Chapter-a-Day

Selective History

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Selective History (CaD 1 Chr 10) – Wayfarer

So the Lord put [Saul] to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.
1 Chronicles 10:14b (NIV)

I enjoy reading the book reviews every Saturday in the Review section of the Wall Street Journal. I’ve found a lot of great books to add to my library and to my wish list. One book that made it on my wish list recently is entitled The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson. It focuses on the months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and his inauguration, and how those months contributed to the eventual secession that led to the Civil War.

I’ve noticed when reading critical reviews of books about history, the critic will often talk about what the author chose to include and exclude. For example, the reviewer of Erik Larson’s book lauded Larson for including “neglected figures” as well as for diminishing his attention to Abraham Lincoln as he is “so familiar a figure.”

In today’s chapter, the Chronicler finally switches from nine chapters of genealogies to the actual narrative of Israel’s history. What’s immediately fascinating is that he picks up the story with the battlefield suicide of mad King Saul, King David’s predecessor.

Back the truck up.

What’s fascinating about this is that the story of Saul is a huge part of King David’s backstory. I would argue that one does not have a true understanding and appreciation for who King David was without the years he spent on the lam from the mad King, refusing to take Saul’s life just to fulfill God’s prophetic anointing as the next King.

At the time the Chronicler is writing his retelling of history, the books of Saul and Kings are well-known. The story of Saul and David is well-known. Much like Mr. Larson, who chose not to tell the history of the entire Civil War, but only the fateful months preceding secession, the Chronicler is being selective in his retelling. He cuts directly to the start of David’s reign. The Chronicler already tipped his hand when he gave precedence to the genealogy of Judah and David in the opening chapters. His focus is on the story of King David’s reign and the reign of David’s dynastic line.

As I meditated on this in the quiet this morning, I found my thoughts floating down two rivers of thought.

Along my life journey, I’ve observed that most people are selective when it comes to which parts of the Great Story they take time to read and study. The four books dealing with Jesus’ life and teaching always make it to the top of the popularity charts and with good reason. The letters of Paul are always popular, as well. They’re quick reads packed with helpful spiritual truth and instruction, much like Proverbs which along with Psalms, You get where I’m going here. The ancient laws of Leviticus and the prophecies of Habakkuk aren’t “go-to” reading for most people. It’s not unusual for the Chronicler to be selective in his retelling, we all do it. What I’m curious to learn is which bits of history he selects to include and exclude, and what lesson there might be in that.

The other river of thought my mind wanders down in the quiet this morning is the reality that if I am endlessly selective in the bits of the Great Story I read and study, I will never fully understand or appreciate those bits and how they connect into the much larger Great Story that God is telling from Genesis to Revelation, from the Alpha-point to the Omega-point, from the beginning to end.

Last year, our local gathering selectively studied seven “I Am” statements that Jesus made in John‘s version of Jesus’ story. I was tasked with unpacking three of them. In each of my lessons, I sought to unpack how “Bread,” “Gate,” and “Resurrection” are recurring themes throughout the Great Story. With each metaphor, Jesus was saying “I Am the entire Story in bodily form.”

But I don’t fully appreciate each metaphor unless I know the entire Great Story, and how everything is connected.

FWIW: Here are links to those three messages:

“I Am the Bread of Life”
“I Am the Gate”
“I Am the Resurrection and the Life”

Having floated down two rivers of thought, I found that they converged in the words of the Teacher of Ecclesiastes: There is a time to be selective, and there is a time to be exhaustive. The Chronicler has chosen to be selective. Great, I’ll go with the flow, and try to learn from his selectivity.

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

Chapter-a-Day, Uncategorized

Focus

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Focus (CaD 1 Chr 8) – Wayfarer

Ner was the father of Kish, Kish the father of Saul, and Saul the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab and Esh-Baal.
1 Chronicles 8:33 (NIV)

I often get asked if I play golf. Our house sits nestled in a neighborhood on a golf course with the clubhouse just a couple of blocks away, so it’s a natural question for people to ask. My answer is that I’m a once-a-year charity best-ball tournament golfer. My goal in this once-a-year charity best ball tournament is to have ONE of my shots over 18 holes be the “best ball” of our foursome. If I do that. I consider it a win.

I do know a lot of people who are avid golfers, and I know it can be addicting for some people. Along my life journey, I’ve met a person or two who were obsessed. It was all they talked about and it was where all of their time and money went. I remember one person whose marriage was on the rocks because his wife considered herself a “golf widow.” Yikes!

I’ve observed along life’s road that you can tell a lot about a person by observing where they invest their time and energy, and what they like to talk about.

In today’s chapter, the Chronicler turns his genealogical focus on the Hebrew tribe of Benjamin. What’s odd about this is that he already listed the tribe of Benjamin in yesterday’s chapter seven (7:6-12) squeezed between the tribes of Issachar and Naphtali. Now he circles back to give a much more extensive look at Benjamin. Why?

The Chronicler is sitting in the rebuilt Jerusalem where the rebuilt Temple stands. He is among many former citizens of the southern kingdom of Judah who have returned from exile in Babylon. As he writes this retrospective history of his people, he is trying to make sense of where he and his people stand at this moment of their Great Story and their relationship with God. We learn a lot about where his mind is focused based on where he spends his genealogical time and energy.

For example, the Chronicler chose to begin his vast genealogical research focused on the tribe of Judah, even though Judah was the fourth oldest of Jacob’s sons. Judah was the largest tribe, made up the majority of the southern kingdom of Judah, and was the tribe from which King David came. He now focuses on Benjamin because when the kingdom split into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, the tribe of Benjamin stuck with Judah. It was from the tribe of Benjamin that Israel’s first king, Saul, emerged as well as Saul’s son Jonathan who played a large role in David’s story as David’s best friend. Many of the exiles returning from Babylon were from the tribe of Benjamin, perhaps even the Chronicler himself.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself meditating on focus. I’m not an obsessed golfer, but that’s not to say I don’t have other obsessions. I still make daily choices about where I spend my time, attention, and resources. What are they? What do they reflect about me and my life priorities?

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

Uncategorized

Listen Carefully

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Listen Carefully (CaD Lk 8) – Wayfarer

Therefore consider carefully how you listen.
Luke 8:18a (NIV)

Along my life journey, there are so many people I have met and with whom I have shared the journey for a particular season of life. Over forty years I have spent stretches of my journey amidst at least eleven different local gatherings of Jesus’ followers across two states. In each case, I had some opportunity to use the gifts I’ve been given in some kind of spiritual leadership.

I woke up this morning and the lake. My father and I made a quick trip down yesterday to winterize things and button the place up for the winter. As I sat in the quiet this morning, watching the sun come up over the cove, I let my mind linger in the memory banks. I thought of each of those gatherings. Faces and names came to me that I had not thought about in so very long. There are so many lives and stories.

There were so many individuals that I have no idea where their journeys led them or what has become of them.

A beautiful, intelligent, and personable young woman whom I visited in the suicide watch section of a mental health clinic. The death in her eyes concealed so many secrets.

A young man with so much happening inside of him, and he didn’t know what to do with all of his anger. He had flaming red hair to match that anger and he struggled as the only child with a single mother and absent father.

The rough, rebellious, foul-mouthed, drug-using offspring of a fundamentalist family system. Man, I loved him. His rough exterior, which put so many people off, hid a heart of gold. Come to think of it, I imagine Simon Peter was a lot like him.

The beautiful trophy wife of a wealthy, prominent attorney. No amount of expensive clothing and cosmetics could hide the loneliness and pain that had her dying inside. Her exterior was so put together for someone so spiritually desperate.

Then there are those whose stories I’ve known or learned about along the way.

The prank-pulling, immature dude who was not serious about anything ended up getting his act together, succeeding in business, and being a great husband and father to his kids.

A different beautiful, intelligent, and personable young woman whom I watched walk through her suicide attempt, struggle with her inner demons, and find her way.

Several individuals came out of the closet, (some to me personally) and found very different roads leading to very different places.

Multiple seemingly wise individuals made very different tragic and foolish decisions that led to painful consequences affecting so many others, which also led to very different places.

In today’s chapter, Luke presents a series of episodes from Jesus’ ministry, when the crowds were huge and He was riding a wave of popularity. The chapter begins with a parable Jesus told about a sower who scatters his seed. The seed falls in different places on different types of soil which leads to very different results. Jesus tells His disciples that the parable is about how God’s Word lands with different individuals which leads to very different results.

As I meditated on the chapter, I thought about all the different individuals mentioned in the chapter:

The wife of Herod’s house manager who became a member of Jesus’ entourage and a financial supporter of His ministry.

The man possessed by many demons, who after being delivered by Jesus, asks to join His entourage. In this case, Jesus tells him to stay home and tell his story to the people in his community.

The angry pig farmer whose pigs (and livelihood) the evicted demons entered and killed.

Jesus’ own biological family members trying to get in touch with him (and who, at the moment, think he’s crazy).

The little girl who dies and whose spirit leaves her body, only to be called back by Jesus. What did she experience while she was absent her body?

So many individuals encounter Jesus, hear Him, touch Him, and witness His interactions with others. So many different lives. So many different experiences. So many different outcomes.

Each person has their journey. Each person has their story. Each person ends up in different places with different outcomes.

I found it fascinating that after the parable of the sower, Jesus tells His followers: “consider how carefully you listen.” With each story choices are being made about listening, receiving, and responding. With each choice, different directions lead to different places. My story, my journey, and my trajectory in life that led to intersections with all of these different individuals I mentioned are rooted in how carefully I listened, how receptive my heart had been, and how I chose to respond. It led me to each of those people.

Indeed, that process continues today and each day of this earthly journey.

Lord, help me listen well, be receptive, and respond appropriately to Your Word and Spirit.

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

Chapter-a-Day

Living Metaphor

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Living Metaphor (CaD Hos 1) – Wayfarer

When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.”
Hosea 1:2 (NIV)

In 1994, after working for six years in vocational ministry, I took a job working for the company I now own and lead. My mother was not happy. For many years, about once a year, she would ask me if and when I was going to return to vocational ministry. My response to her was that I never left ministry. It just looks different. That didn’t seem to appease her, though she eventually gave up asking the question.

Having just finished the ancient prophecies of Amos, our chapter-a-day journey pivots to the prophecies of Hosea. Like Amos, Hosea’s prophetic words were directed at the northern kingdom of Israel, and he appears on the scene right after Amos. Perhaps he actually heard Amos preach and the two knew one another. Which, is why I wanted to go right into Hosea. It’s interesting how God uses two very different men in two very different ways to communicate similar messages to the same people.

The contrast between Amos and Hosea is immediate. Amos was the archetype of the lone stranger. He was a blue-collar nobody from Judah who shows up out of nowhere to preach his prophetic messages against the nation of Israel. Hosea is from Israel. He’s a local boy that people know. He’s not just going to stand a preach in the temple. God tells Hosea that his daily life, his wife, his marriage, and his children are going to be a living metaphor, a message to his nation. God tells Hosea:

Marry a promiscuous woman, because this people have been adulterous with me in worshipping other gods.

Name your son “Jezreel” (“God scatters”) because I’m going to punish the house of Jehu (a former king of Israel) for the massacre at Jezreel (when Jehu violently usurped the throne from his predecessor).

Name your daughter “Lo-Ruhmah” (“Not loved”), as I will no longer show love to Israel, though I will show love to Judah. God miraculously delivered Judah from the Assyrians.

Name your son “Lo-Ammi” (“Not my people”), because I’m not your God, and you’re not my people.

Hosea’s poor daughter. What a moniker to put on the wee girl!

Having lived in more than one small town along my life journey, I can tell you that Hosea’s life choices would not have gone over well with his family and community. My mother was upset that I left vocational ministry. I can’t imagine her reaction had I married a woman everyone in town knew was of ill-repute and then started giving my children strange names. I can guarantee you that when Hosea walked by the elders swapping coffee and commentary by the city gate, the ol’ boys were shaking their heads. “That Hosea. Did you hear what he named his daughter? He’s a weird one. I feel sorry for his mother.”

But, that was the point. Amos’ forthright preaching seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. Hosea’s life as performance art appears to be God trying to get people’s attention by having the local boy make crazy life choices that everyone in town would question. When they questioned Hosea as to why he married that no-good Gomer, or why he named his daughter “Not loved,” he would tell them the reasons God told him to do so. And, believe me, it would definitely be talked about all over town.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself looking back at my life journey. Ever since I became a disciple of Jesus in my teens, I have continually and actively sought to discern and follow where God was leading me. There were certainly some choices I made along the way that raised eyebrows as well as questions from my family and friends. I’m sure that my life has not ended up where others would have predicted back in the day. But, I can tell you that I have no questions about the fact that I am right where I have been led, doing what I am supposed to be doing.

I get the feeling that Hosea was similarly at peace doing what God asked him to do.

I also get the feeling that his mother never stopped asking him about it.

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

Chapter-a-Day

Money Matters

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Money Matters (CaD Mal 3) – Wayfarer

“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
“In tithes and offerings.”
Malachi 3:8 (NIV)

I have a confession to make.

For much of my life I was terrible with money. It started as a child when I spent money as fast as I received it, and not wisely. I loved the thrill and experience of new things. When I got into college and discovered that Sears would give me a credit card and I could buy that cool stereo and pay it off over time, I was like a drug addict taking his first hit.

During my childhood, I was also taught about tithing. It’s a concept that goes back to the law of Moses. The first ten percent you make is offered to God in thanksgiving.

That felt very legalistic.

So, as young adult I gave on occasion. When I had a little extra. Which wasn’t often. Especially when my debts were piling up.

You get the picture.

The subject of money, wealth, and possessions are deeply and intimately personal. In some cases, I’ve observed that it’s a more taboo subject than sex. One friend of mine, who has been in pastoral ministry for decades, told me that the most harsh and angry reactions he has ever received from his messages over the years has been when he talks about money.

Here’s what I’ve learned along my own life journey: A true disciple of Jesus cannot escape dealing with the subject of money, wealth, and possessions. Jesus talked about it more than almost any subject because it has such a huge impact on my very understanding of myself, of God, and of others. When I hadn’t surrendered to Jesus’ teaching about money, I found my spiritual growth and development stalled in pretty much every area of my life.

Today’s chapter was instrumental in changing my fundamental perspective about the relationship between my finances and my spiritual well-being. It was in my memorization and meditations of verses 8-10 that were life-changing. I began to realize that my thoughts and perceptions about money were flawed at the very core. When I thought about tithing and giving God the first portion of my income as a legalistic rule, it was because I mistakenly thought that the money was mine. Therefore, wrenching my money from my possession was limiting the amount of my money that I could spend on the my desires.

Then I came the realization of what Jesus really taught. As a disciple of Jesus, I am to understand that nothing is mine. Everything is God’s. My job and my income are God’s blessings I have been graciously given that I might be a generous steward. And, I’ve learned that God’s modus operandi is the wise management and investment of resources for the sake of extravagant generosity which God has modeled for me and asks me to practice with others.

The story of my spiritual journey is inextricably woven with the story of my financial journey. My progress in the former is predicated on my progress in the latter. I humbly admit to making many mistakes along the way, and I am by no means perfect. Nevertheless, over a period of time I changed my core understanding of money, wealth, possessions and resources. I clawed my way out of debt. I learned how to practice financial discipline. Perhaps most importantly, I began to increasingly take the resources God has generously given Wendy and me and generously channel them to God and others as we are led.

It’s really what God was trying to teach His people through the prophet Malachi: If you don’t get the money thing right, you’ll never get the Spirit thing right.

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

Chapter-a-Day

Choices and Destiny

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Choices and Destiny (CaD Jer 43) – Wayfarer

[Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon] will come and attack Egypt, bringing death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and the sword to those destined for the sword.
Jeremiah 43:11 (NIV)

One of the grand, never-ending, conflict-inducing debates in theology is that of the dance between free will and predestination. Am I really free to make my own choices, or are my choices and their outcomes predestined by God? This is the stuff about which theologians find themselves getting all worked up about. Like most hotly contested debate topics, along my journey I have observed small groups of individuals staunchly rooted at both extremes and a whole lot of people who occupy the gray area in-between. Like most hotly contested theological debates, I find the debate itself can be a huge waste of time.

Nevertheless, the question does occasionally present itself in the quiet on this chapter-a-day journey, as it did this morning. In yesterday’s chapter, there was a remnant of Hebrews who gathered in Mizpah after the Babylonian army left the area. Many people and soldiers fled elsewhere before and during the Babylonian siege. They avoided captivity the first time, but after the assassination of Governor Gedeliah they’re afraid Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar will send his army back to kill them or take them into captivity as well. Jeremiah gives them a message from God telling them to stay put and trust that God will deliver them from Nebuchadnezzar.

One of the things I found interesting in yesterday’s chapter is that Jeremiah twice addressed this remnant considering a move to Egypt as “determined to go” (vs. 15, 17). Then Jeremiah says at the end of his message that they “made a fatal mistake” when they sent him to seek the word of the Lord and said they would obey whatever the Lord said through Jeremiah. It was a bit of foreshadowing. Jeremiah seemed to know that these men had already made their decision and were looking for a rubber stamp from the Almighty.

Sure enough, in today’s chapter the leaders of the remnant reject God’s word through Jeremiah. They not only fly to exile in Egypt, but they force Jeremiah and his scribe, Baruch, to go with them.

The group settles in an Egyptian border town called Tahpanhes which was an important stop on the major trade route between Egypt and Judah. It would have been like Americans fleeing to Canada in Vancouver or to Mexico in Tijuana. It was just over the border. Tahpanhes would have been a popular destination for Hebrews fleeing to the land of Egypt and there was likely an active Hebrew community already in residence. there.

Upon arrival, God gives Jeremiah a message for those who drug him there again his will. It’s a repeat of the message from yesterday’s chapter that Nebuchadnezzar will indeed attack the city “bringing death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and the sword to those destined for the sword.” I couldn’t help but focus on the word “destined.” Because of my many experiences with the “free will vs. predestination” theological smackdowns, the word “destined” set off some alarms in the back of my brain. So, I dug into the original Hebrew text. Interestingly, there is no Hebrew word that translates into English. Rather, the direct word-for-word translation of the Hebrew is “death whoever death, captivity whoever captivity, sword whoever sword.” The translators have added the English word “destined” by implication.

In the quiet this morning, I found myself mulling over these “arrogant men” (vs. 2) who were determined to go to Egypt. It appears to have been their will to do so even before asking Jeremiah to inquire of the Lord. Once they settle in, God doubles down in pronouncing judgment. Nebuchadnezzar will attack. People will die, be taken captive, and will be struck down by the sword. By the way, there are textual references regarding Nebuchadnezzar attacking Egypt during two different years late in his reign. History records very little about the campaigns. While he didn’t conquer Egypt, Neb certainly would have attacked towns along the border such as Tahpanhes. We will have to wait for archaeologists to excavate any further evidence in order to know more.

So was the remnant free to will themselves to Egypt or were they destined to do so as part of God’s larger plan?

I have found on my spiritual journey that there is a certain humility required of me as a disciple of Jesus. The humility comes from acknowledging that there are certain spiritual mysteries that lie beyond my earthly, human comprehension. The mystery of the “Trinity” (greek word: perichoresis or literally “circle dance”) is a great example, and I love the word picture of a dance. It moves, it turns, it spins, it weaves and flows. I find that we humans love our simple binaries. The more fundamentalist I becomes in my thinking , the more black-and-white my lens will be in how I view both God and the world around me. The further I get in the journey, the more mystery I find in the dance between black-and-white, the more truth I find in the tension between the extremes, and the more humble I become in trying to cognitively understand that which lies further up and further in than my earthly synapses allow.

Today, I make my own choices. My choices have consequences. How God weaves that into the grand design of the Great Story is beyond me, though I am sure that He does.

Today, I make my own choices.

Lord, allow me the grace to choose well

and… May“Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

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

Chapter-a-Day

Do the Right Thing

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Do the Right Thing (CaD Jer 22) – Wayfarer

This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right.
Jeremiah 22:3a (NIV)

Doing the right thing is not always the easiest thing. It sounds so simple, but it is not. Like yesterday’s post, it sometimes requires surrender. I spent some time meditating on my life journey and the times I’ve had to make a willful decision to do the right thing.

I lost friendships because I chose to intervene and try to get my friends the help they needed rather than let them destroy themselves further. I still grieve the loss of those friendships.

I gave up multiple jobs because I refused to be a part of the corrupt or unjust things going on in the workplace. I’ve never regretted it.

As I meditate on those decisive moments, it strikes me that my decision was fairly simple because the circumstances were fairly black and white to me.

What’s less simple are the times when being a follower of Jesus has meant I had to forgive those who wronged me and choose grace instead of anger, judgment, retaliation, and resentment. If I’m honest, the hardest have perhaps been the times when doing the right thing meant surrendering my very strong personal will and self-centric desires in order for a greater good to flourish.

In today’s chapter, God sends Jeremiah to confront the kings of Judah. He begins by laying out what God expects of the King:

Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.

Jeremiah then goes on to pick apart those who have inhabited the throne for “building the palace with injustice” and for setting their “eyes and heart on dishonest gain.”

It’s fairly easy for me to gloss over Jeremiah’s prophetic smack-down of kings who lived 2500 years ago, but then in the quiet this morning I thought about a message I gave just a couple of weeks ago. In that message I talked about my “sin” being simply my personal, willful indulgence of my base and self-centric appetites and desires. I used two kings from the works of Shakespeare as examples. I even wore a crown as I did so.

My grandfather used to say, “I’m king of this castle! And, I have my wife’s permission to say so.” All jokes aside, I am very much ruler of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I can choose to rule my life with self-indulgence, chasing after dishonest gain, and seeking only my own personal desires. Or, I can surrender my crown and my will in order to love God and love others with my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

I enter this day which will be filled with a myriad of choices and decisions. I endeavor, O Lord, to consistently do what you ask of me: do the right thing.

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

Chapter-a-Day

Cross Road Blues

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Cross Road Blues (CaD Jer 6) – Wayfarer

This is what the Lord says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
    ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
    and you will find rest for your souls.
    But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV)

It is the quintessential legend in the history of the blues. It was 1930. A late teenager named Robert Johnson got up to play in a Mississippi juke joint. No one was impressed. He was told his guitar playing was below average. He played harmonica slightly better.

That night, Robert Johnson disappeared for three years.

Upon his return, the young man had not only improved, he was a master. To many, he had been transformed into the master of the blues. From one of the most famous songs he ever recorded sprung a legend that lives to this day: That Robert Johnson met the devil at the crossroads of highways 49 and 61, where he sold his soul in exchange for becoming the greatest blues man of all time. Here, feel free to give a listen while you read the rest of the post:

Standing at the crossroads is a powerful metaphor. How many times in my life journey have I found myself with multiple roads that lie before me? How many times have I stood in a “crossroads moment” between doing what I know to be right or choosing to do the wrong thing, the destructive thing, the foolish thing, or the defiant thing? I’ve stood at that crossroads countless times, and I have my own stories of choosing both and the consequences of doing so. Buy me a pint or a cup o’ Joe and I’ll be happy to share few with you.

The Cross Road Blues is far older than Robert Johnson, even though he was the one who set it to music and made it famous. In today’s chapter, God speaks through the ancient Hebrew prophet Jeremiah to tell His people to wander out to the Cross Road. Once there, he tells them to find the path that will lead them back.

Back to the time He delivered them from slavery.
Back to the time He provided for them in the wilderness.
Back to the time He protected them from their enemies.
Back to the time He prospered them in the Promised Land.

Long before Jesus had ever shared the story of a man with two sons, God tells His prodigal people to pick themselves up out of the pig slop of their circumstances and hit the road for home.

In the quiet this morning, I think about some of my loved ones and the crossroads of life at which they stand.

My father comes to mind who, after my mother’s death two weeks ago, stands alone at the Cross Road for the first time in 65 years. What will he do with the remaining days God has granted him on this earth?

Our children stare down a myriad of paths that lie in front of them which will determine where they live and what their lives will look like in the coming years. Some of the paths might be blocked. Paths that are currently open don’t seem right.

Friends stand at the Cross Road of career choices, spiritual choices, relational choices, and some who stand at the Cross Road and (as Bob Dylan sang) “now behold this chain-of-events that I must break.”

The truth of Robert Johnson’s legendary story will forever be shrouded in mystery. Such is the stuff of legends. Nevertheless, his lyric on Cross Road Blues seems to fit the story of what God’s people did with their crossroads moment in today’s chapter:

“Standin’ at the crossroad, baby, risin’ sun goin’ down
I believe to my soul, now, poor Bob is sinkin’ down.”

For myself, my friends, and my loved ones standing at a Cross Road today, I pray we find the result that Bob Dylan did in the song I quoted a moment ago:

“In the fury of the moment I can see the Master’s hand,
in every sparrow fallen, in every grain of sand.”

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

Chapter-a-Day

“The People Said Nothing”

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"The People Said Nothing" (CaD 1 Ki 18) – Wayfarer

Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people said nothing.
1 Kings 18:21 (NIV)

Wendy and I had dinner with friends last night. Our friends’ children are in their college and young adult years, and we had a fascinating conversation about children and their spiritual journeys. It is quite common for the college and young adult years to be a time when one contemplates the belief system with which they’ve been raised, and begins to make their own determinations regarding matters of faith and spirit. For me, it was the emotional angst of adolescence that led me to search for what I really believed. I was a little ahead of the game compared to a lot of people’s experiences.

Today’s chapter contains one of the most fascinating and exciting episodes in the Great Story. Elijah urges the people of Israel to stop their duplicitous worship of Baal and Asherah and to commit themselves wholeheartedly to the worship of the God of Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and David. Interestingly, Elijah’s appeal receives no response.

The prophet then challenges 450 prophets of Baal to a competition. Sacrifices are prepared and prayers raised for fire to descend from heaven to burn the sacrifices. The God who answers with fire is the true God. Let the spiritual smackdown begin.

The prophets of Baal rave all day long. They dance, scream, cut themselves, and whip themselves into a religious frenzy, while Elijah talks trash from the sidelines. There isn’t so much as a spark. Elijah then repairs the altar of the Lord and prepares the sacrifice. He then soaks the sacrifice and the altar with water. After uttering a simple prayer, fire falls from heaven and consumes the altar and the sacrifice.

The people fall on their faces in awestruck fear and humility.

Along my life journey, I have observed many, many individuals whose faith appears to be like the people of Israel when Elijah made his appeal: non-commital and silently unresponsive. I observe many who go through the religious motions of maintaining membership, giving a little money, and regularly making an appearance for an hour or two. The other 165 hours of the week, however, are void of any tangible signs of faith.

God’s fiery demonstration on Mount Carmel, however, shook people to their core and motivated both change and commitment. I have often observed similar reactions in people when a life event or tragedy shakes them to the core, like that of being in college or on your own in the world without parental supervision. In the routine and complacency of everyday life, it’s easy to fall into spiritual atrophy. No matter what anyone says about my spiritual need, I just go about my life and don’t respond. It’s only when circumstances shake me to the core that I fall to my knees.

I’m reminded this morning that what God desires is not a complacent, silent, religious routine that has little impact on my daily life. What God desires is an ongoing relationship of spirit and conversation with me that informs and motivates my thoughts, words, and actions each and every day.

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

The featured image on today’s post was created with Wonder A.I.

Chapter-a-Day

Great Stories, My Story

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But Absalom said, “Summon also Hushai the Arkite, so we can hear what he has to say as well.” 2 Samuel 17:5 (NIV)

It is said that one of the aspects of great stories is their timelessness. When I studied theatre in college there were entire sections of study devoted to Greek tragedies like Antigone and Oedipus Rex and, of course, the works of William Shakespeare. It was the late 20th century and in many classes, I spent more time studying plays and stories that were hundreds and thousands of years old than contemporary works.

As I read ancient stories like the story of David we’re wading through now, I can’t help but hear echoes of other timeless stories and make connections between them. Power plays for the throne (Game of Thrones), tragic human failure (Anakin Skywalker), and the intrigue of family rivalries (Succession) are the stuff of which classic stories are made. Today as I was reading the chapter, I thought of The Godfather films and the saga of the Corleone family; A timeless classic in its own right. As they led their mafia family, Vito and Michael Corleone always tried to have a guy, loyal to the family, on the inside of a rival family or faction. Luca Brasi dies while trying to convince the Tataglias that he wants to betray Don Corleone. Michael sends his brother Fredo to Las Vegas which not only serves to get Fredo out of his sight but also plants his own brother inside of an operation he doesn’t trust.

A few chapters ago, amidst the chaos of Absalom’s coup, the last thing that King David did before fleeing the palace was to plant his man, Hushai, inside Absalom’s inner circle. It proved to be a cunning move. Absalom took the bait hook, line, and sinker. In today’s chapter, David’s scheme comes to fruition and Hushai sets the hook which will be the undoing of Absalom. Absalom was a cunning young man and had planned his moves against his brothers and father well. In the end, however, he underestimated all the wisdom and experience his father had gathered while running for his life in enemy territory for many years. In addition, Absalom’s self-seeking motivation was about anger, vengeance, hatred, and personal power. The repentant David may have been facing the tragic consequences of his own blind spots and failings, but at the core of his being his heart was still humble before God.

In the third act of Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather epic, Michael Corleone’s son confronts his father about the “bad memories” he has of his family and childhood. “Every family has bad memories,” Michael replies. And, so they do. Another appeal of great stories is the connections we make to our own lives and experiences. We are all part of the human experience. Even in my own family, there are true tales of tragedy and intrigue. Times change, but people are people, and our common human flaws source similar tales in our own lives and families. We each play our part in the story. We are each a cog in our family’s system. The cool thing is that we get to choose our character and influence the story with our daily choices of words, relationships, and deeds.

How will I choose to influence my story, and my family’s story, today?

 A Note to Readers
I’m taking a blogging sabbatical and will be re-publishing my chapter-a-day thoughts on David’s continued story in 2 Samuel while I’m taking a little time off in order to focus on a few other priorities. Thanks for reading.
Today’s post was originally published in May 2014.

The featured image on today’s post created with Wonder A.I.

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