Tag Archives: Enemies

Chapter-a-Day

Shrewd

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/5qcGgGae6DDppOyFCzPZcS?si=lC4QotPKROGyg_TI751KzQ

Esther replied, “My petition and my request is this: If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.”
Esther 5:7-8 (NIV)

In The Godfather, Michael Corleone shares one of the secrets of his success with a compatriot. “My father always said, ‘Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”

It wasn’t just a line. It’s a theme running through the entire trilogy of the classic trilogy. While the family celebrates, Vito eliminates rivals. Michael embraces betrayers at the table, only to deal with them when the moment is right. Baptisms and executions unfold in parallel.

One of the more fascinating, and challenging, of Jesus’ parables are those that honor shrewdness. The vineyard owner hires workers throughout the day and agrees to pay each the same amount of money. Those who worked ten hours agreed to the same wage as those who worked two. They are angry, but Jesus says that the vineyard owner was generous, and while Jesus doesn’t specifically say it, the owner was also shrewd. In another parable, a manager who has just been sacked goes to all the vendors who owe his boss money and settles their debts for a fraction of what’s owed. In the parable, the fired manager is complimented for being so shrewd.

These things came to mind this morning as I read today’s chapter. Esther is Queen. The villain Haman has set genocide into motion for all the Jews in the Persian Empire. Mordecai has implored Esther that God has put her on the throne “for such a time as this.” Now, she has to risk her life by going to the King without being summoned, and pray he shows her his favor.

Once again, the author of Esther’s story proves a master story-teller, for today’s chapter does not resolve a single thread of the story line. Instead it builds the tension and ratchets up the anticipation.

And Esther proves herself shrewd.

She goes to the king in full royal regalia.
The king likes bright, shiny, beautiful things, and she knows it.
She doesn’t barge into the throne room making accusations.
The king loves banquets, and being honored. They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Rather than calling Haman out in a courtroom, let’s invite him to a feast.
Even with the king begging her to tell him what she wants to talk to him about, and seemingly disposed to do whatever she requests, she puts him off a second time and invites him and Haman to a second feast.
Esther understands the appetites of power — indulgence and intrigue — and she feeds both.

Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself meditating on the lessons Esther has for me with her shrewdness.

I rush into rooms swinging anger.
Esther enters wearing dignity.
I demand justice now.
Esther prepares a table.
I confront fast and furiously.
Esther lets pride expose itself.

Esther reminds me that when it comes to dealing with enemies and those who wish me ill will, I don’t need to force the outcome.

Faith is not frantic. It is patient courage.

Esther channels Paul’s advice to the believers in Rome (who were dealing with their own brand of enemies wanting them dead):

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

In addition, Esther wears her identity. She doesn’t enter the King’s presence as an orphan. She enters as queen.

As a child of God, I am a child of the King. I can approach the “throne of grace” with the matter of any enemy I may have. And I don’t approach God or the world in rags of insecurity.

The gallows may be rising in someone else’s backyard.
The banquet may still be unfinished.
But I am robed in calling.
And I trust the Author with the timing of the third act.

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

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Chapter-a-Day

The Microscope & the Wide-Angle Lens

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“He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.”
Matthew 22:3 (NIV)

Along my journey, I have experienced many meetings in which what is really going on is not apparent to the casual observer or to those who might read a transcript of the meeting. What is really going on is happening in the sub-text of the words and the passive aggressive interplay between conflicting participants within the meeting. It happens in business. It happens in family. It happens in church. It happens in politics. It happens in community organizations. It’s part of any human system.

In Jerusalem, it is the biggest week of the year. It’s Passover week. The city is packed with Jewish pilgrims from all over the world who have come to celebrate the biggest festival of the year at the Temple, the epicenter of Judaism. Every day the courts of the Temple are packed with crowds. This year, everyone is buzzing about this preacher from the sticks, up north in Galilee. There was a big parade on Sunday when He came to town. Some say He’s the Messiah. He raised a guy from the dead just a week before in Bethany, just a few miles away.

This is the scene of today’s chapter and tomorrow’s. This is the final week of Jesus’ ministry. We’re in the home stretch and everything in these final chapters leads to the cross and the empty tomb. It’s important that I ponder all of the words and events of these next few chapters in this context to get at what is really going on. There is a conflict brewing between Jesus and the religious, political, and commercial power brokers in the Temple.

In today’s chapter, Matthew shares five episodes:

Jesus tells a parable that points a finger at the religious leaders and their ecclesiastical forebears throughout history. The parable is fascinating because it sums up the relationship between God and His people through the entire Great Story to this point, and it foreshadows what is about to happen as Jesus’ Message expands beyond the boundaries of Judaism and to all peoples and nations. What His enemies hear is Jesus’ sharp criticism. It is truth, but it is offensive. Jesus takes the opening round. His opponents are 0 and 1 and it prompts them to counter.

The next three episodes Matthew shares are different constituencies of Jesus’ enemies coming to debate Jesus and trap Him into saying something they can use to dismiss Him, criticize Him, and tell the crowds why He is wrong. Matthew is careful to point out that these constituencies, though rivals within the religious power structure, are working together behind the scenes against Jesus.

First, it’s the most popular and powerful political party within the religious power structure: the Pharisees. They try to play on people’s hatred of Rome and Roman taxes. They ask Jesus about paying taxes. Jesus famously asks whose head is on the coin and then says, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” Ouch 0-2.

Next, it’s the rival political party in the religious power structure: the Sadducees. They are a smaller faction, but the High Priest is from this faction. It’s the old guard, the conservatives, who wield power and hang their hats on a religious belief that there is no life after death. They try to trap Jesus in a doctrinal debate about resurrection. Jesus responds with a scriptural argument for which they have no answers. His rivals are now 0-3.

Finally, they send a hot-shot lawyer to argue a legal matter of religious Law. Jesus handles the question easily.

Jesus deftly navigates every one of the their three (there’s that number again) argumentative mine fields. Adding on Jesus initial critical parable, His enemies are 0-4. They’re humiliated in front of the biggest crowds the Temple will see all year on their home court. They’re pissed off.

The chapter then ends with Jesus going back on the offensive. He refuses to let His enemies lick their wounds. He throws out a debate question of His own to which they have no good answer. They finish today’s chapter 0-5.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself reminded of my observation that most people take the episodes in any given chapter and focus on them individually. Even teachers and preachers do this regularly in messages. Just yesterday I gave the first of three weekly messages that I was assigned. Each week I’m assigned one episode from Luke’s version of Jesus’ story. It’s like looking at one of the five episodes in today’s chapter under a microscope to find the lesson within. There is a lesson there, of course. Metaphor is layered with meaning. For me, however, the most powerful spiritual lesson in today’s chapter is not under the microscope but in the wide-angle lens.

Jesus is touching on historic themes and realities that are rooted in Genesis, present in God’s relationship with the Hebrew people from Exodus through Malachi, and are foundational to the very conflict in which He’s engaged. The humiliating defeat is going to ramp up His opponent’s hatred of Jesus. Jesus is pushing all of their buttons.

Let me clue you in on tomorrow’s chapter. Jesus is not going to relent. He’s going to double-down.

He’s going to seal His own fate.

But there is something larger going on in today’s chapter that did begin in Genesis and will end with a new beginning at the end of Revelation. If I miss this, then I’m missing a major spiritual lesson. It is the spiritual lesson I find that I perpetually need on a Monday morning as I look at the task list for the coming week on my earthly journey. I can focus my spiritual microscope in on this week, this life, these current circumstances as if it’s the most important thing or the only thing. Or, I can look at this week with a wide-angle lens and understand that this week is part of a larger story of what God is doing in me in my life, and my story’s role in the larger story of what God is doing in the Great Story.

Suddenly, I see my week with a renewed perspective.

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: #2 Responding and Reacting

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For two weeks, while Wendy and I are away enjoying some warm weather, I’ll be counting down the top ten chapter-a-day posts of 2024 (based on total views and plays). It’ s always interesting which posts resonated with readers and listeners. The chapter for tomorrow’s post will be listed at the bottom.

Responding and Reacting (CaD Rom 12) – Wayfarer

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:19-21 (NIV)

This past weekend, the world was stunned when the opening ceremony of the Olympics featured what appeared to be a parody of Da Vinci’s The Last Supper using drag queens and a large lady with a plunging neckline in place of Jesus. There have been all sorts of reactions to the scene, but it came to mind this morning as I read today’s chapter.

I will admit that my initial reaction was one of shock then offended anger. I scrolled my feed on X to see how people were responding. I ran across one tweet from a young Muslim woman. “As a Muslim, even I am offended by this. Where are you Christians? Why are you so weak?”

As a disciple of Jesus, however, I don’t want to be a slave to my emotional reactions but rather respond in the Spirit. So rather than spew my rage to the masses, I took some time to ponder the French parody and how Jesus would respond. Here are the conclusions I came to.

Jesus would not be surprised at all by it. In fact, He told me that this is exactly the thing I should expect from the world. Here are a couple of key statements:

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.”
Matthew 24:9

“Everyone will hate you because of me.”
Luke 21:17

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
John 15:18-19

…in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.
John 16:2b

“But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’”
John 15:25

Jesus asks me to respond differently than the world reacts. Anger, rage, and retribution are the ways of the world. To me, this silly mockery is a metaphorical slap in the face, and a classic opportunity to respond in the very way Jesus taught me.

God does not need me to be His avenger. A few years ago, the offices of Charlie Hebdo in France were attacked and the workers were massacred by Muslim terrorists. They did this because the French satire magazine parodied Mohammed in a comic. I wondered, “Is this what the Muslim young lady thinks Christians should do so as not to be ‘weak?'” Jesus made it very clear that God can handle vengeance on His own without my help, and that my job is to love, bless, and pray for those who mock, hate, and persecute.

The very heart of Jesus’ example and teaching is that real spiritual strength is found in what the world perceives as weakness. Jesus willingly surrendered Himself to be crucified and said that I should take up my own cross and follow His example. Resurrection power does not come from marching in the streets, taking up arms, political leverage, or trending social media outrage. Resurrection power only comes through death. Sometimes that means I have to die to my desire or need for a sense of justice, or revenge, or self-righteous satisfaction.

In the quiet this morning, I’m thinking about an article I read yesterday in the Free Press in which the author commented that the people who should really be angry are not the Christians, but the citizens of France who had a chance to show the world the best they’ve got to offer with regards to art and culture and have to ask themselves “Is this is the best we could come up with?” In the meantime, I’m not too worked up about it. I have people to love, clients to serve, and a bunch of meetings today in which I hope to be an example of Jesus’ loving kindness and self-control.

Tomorrow’s Chapter: John 6

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

The Real Love Chapter

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And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)

The followers of Jesus in Corinth were a classic dysfunctional human system. There were not only differences of opinion, pride and arrogance had escalated to the point there were factions in conflict with one another and people suing one another. There were not only humans making honest human mistakes, there were individuals flaunting and taking pride in their immorality. Conflict, anger, hatred, favoritism, envy, greed, and selfishness were in the driver’s seat. It’s the very reason for Paul writing his letter.

Which I think is important to remember when reading today’s chapter which is one of the greatest and most familiar passages ever penned. “The love chapter” is regularly read at weddings because of its beautiful and thorough description of love. I’ve actually always found this a bit ironic because the Corinthians believers were definitely not feeling the giddy love of newlyweds towards one another. They were in divorce court with one another, and that’s the context which inspires Paul’s famous words about love.

As a disciple of Jesus, I have learned two critically important lessons along my life journey.

The first lesson is that I don’t get to pick and choose who I love. Enemies, critics, people of other nations and cultures, people on the other side of the political aisle, sinners, and people who have wronged me, cheated me, persecuted me, judged me, spoken evil about me behind my back, and even injured me are all at the top of the priority list of people Jesus commands and expects me to love. It’s more important than going to church. It’s more important than my morality and purity. It’s more important than my spiritual disciplines. It’s more important than anything else. Jesus asks me to love Him so much that I’m compelled to love my enemies, haters, and those who’ve injured me the same way He did. This is my ultimate spiritual calling and priority.

\The second lesson is that there are no exemptions to lesson number one.

In the quiet this morning, I find that I’m not thinking about love in grand and glorious poetic ways. It’s too easy to do that when you read today’s chapter outside the context of the situation it was originally addressing. I’m meditating on love in the down-and-dirty realities of those people I don’t want to love, those I feel I shouldn’t have to love, and those my soul tends to justify hating, condemning, cursing, and generally wishing ill-will. As a disciple of Jesus, if I am unwilling to do that, then talking about love in grand and glorious poetic ways is both empty and meaningless.

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

Opposition!

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Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”
Mark 2:18 (NIV)

One of the things that I have learned along my life journey and in my career is that when you step up into the spotlight in front of a group of people, and you have something to say, you make yourself an easy target. When the something you have to say pushes against the orthodoxy of whatever group you’re addressing, then you’re an easy target stirring a hornet’s nest.

Mark’s biography of Jesus is the shortest of the four biographies of Jesus known as the “gospels” (Gospel means “good news”). In fact it’s 3700 words shorter than the next one on the list as far as word count (John) and almost 10,700 words shorter than Luke’s account.

What that means is that Mark is moving fast through the story and he’s only sharing the essentials. John wrote at the end of his biography that if all the stories were told about Jesus that could be told then all the libraries in the world could not contain them all. So, it begs the question of me as a reader, what can I learn from the choices Mark is making?

In today’s chapter, Mark shares four quick scenes from the early days of Jesus’ ministry. In each of the four, Jesus’ words or actions are challenged by others. Three of the four challenges come from different constituencies.

Jesus tells a man that his sins are forgiven, and “teachers of the law” told him he’d committed blasphemy. “Teachers of the law” refers to Scribes, which can be considered vocational lawyers who spent their lives interpreting the Law of Moses (the first five books of the Bible).

In the next scene, Jesus is having dinner with His new disciple, Levi (Matthew). Matthew was a tax collector, which meant he was seen as a Roman collaborator, he had money, and he didn’t hang out with good, religious Jews. Jesus is challenged by “teachers of the law who were Pharisees.” The Pharisees were a quasi-political party who held sway over the Jewish religion in Jesus’ day. So these challengers were not only vocational lawyers, but they were members of the most powerful political party within the rulers of Judaism. They challenged Jesus for mingling with socially and religiously unacceptable people.

As Jesus is beginning His ministry, His cousin John the Baptist, is at the height of his own popularity. John was rogue preacher. The same religious and political establishment who challenged Jesus, challenged John as well. John had a huge following with a lot of his own disciples. So in this next scene, it becomes clear that John has his disciples fasting and they notice that Jesus’ disciples are not. I love that Mark mentions “some people” who questioned this because along my life journey I’ve had many experiences with being told that “some people” have taken issue with something I’ve said or done. Even Jesus is getting the “some people” challenges from within the constituency of people who would naturally be His likely supporters and followers.

The final scene Mark shares has to do with rule-keeping. This time it is the straight-out members of the Pharisees who challenge the fact that Jesus’ disciples were picking off grain in a field for an afternoon snack. It happened to be the Sabbath, a religious day of rest that Pharisees policed to a fault.

In these four scenes, mark is telling us:

Jesus claimed to have the divine authority to forgive sins, and did a miracle to prove it. The religious establishment called it blasphemy.

Jesus socialized with people who were socially unacceptable to the fundamentalist and orthodox religious set.

Even the anti-establishment, populist types who were followers of John and were keenly interested in what Jesus was doing challenged the fact that He didn’t demand the same rigorous spiritual disciplines that John did.

And Jesus taught His disciples to follow the Spirit of the law of the Sabbath and not worry so much about the rule-keeping bureaucrats who took it upon themselves to police such things and punish the rule-breakers. Those rule-keeping bureaucrats got stirred up like hornets when Jesus claimed that His authority as “Lord of the Sabbath” trumped their authority as bureaucratic, establishment minions.

In the quiet this morning, I’m reminded of a quote by Albert Einstein who said that “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” I can’t help but be reminded that life is not only full of challenges, but also challengers. Mark seems to be telling me that Jesus Himself was challenged and opposed on all sides by both His supporters and His detractors. In the same way, I can expect to be challenged when I am being who God calls me to be, doing what God calls me do to, just like Jesus.

As a disciple of Jesus, I already know what He expects of me when challenged. It starts in my spirit which He tells me should be love, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. It then comes out in the form of blessing and praying for those who challenge me, hate me, and say all sorts of bad things about me. Jesus said,

“Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.”
Matthew 5:11-12 (MSG)

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

Chapter-a-Day

The End Times & .38 Special

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The End Times & .38 Special (CaD Ezk 38) – Wayfarer

“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars.”
Ezekiel 38:10-11 (NIV)

I once had a professor who was a vain know-it-all. Among the many things that he loved waxing eloquent about in his intellectual pride was the prophesies regarding the end times. Even when a class had nothing to do with the subject, he found ways to bring up the subject. I also noticed that he regularly used the occasion to hawk his recorded messages on the subject.

A number of years ago, I recalled some of the professors assured interpretations that didn’t come to fruition as he said they would. I’ve added it to a mental heap of modern-day prophets and end-times interpreters who made sure-fire predictions and interpretations that turned out to be completely wrong.

Along my spiritual journey, I’ve learned that one has to approach the prophetic with humility. The prophetic is mysterious, and I’ve observed that it’s very easy for people to get lost down the rabbit hole with the vast minions of those who’ve gotten lost in it before them. While it can certainly be an entertaining pursuit, I have never found it to be of much value from a personal, spiritual perspective.

In addition, I constantly remind myself that all of the greatest and most learned scholars and interpreters in Jesus’ day got the Messianic prophecies completely wrong. The Messiah they predicted was almost the exact opposite of who Jesus turned out to be. If all of them got it wrong, why should I expect that all of the modern scholars and interpreters have everything right when it comes to the end times?

This all came to mind today as we enter two of the most mysterious prophetic chapters in the entire Great Story. They speak of a mysterious land of Gog and Magog (Magog may simply mean “leader of Gog”). Today’s chapter speaks of Gog leading the nations in an invasion of Israel. John also references “Gog and Magog” in describing a final great battle against God led by Satan and the “kings of the earth” in Revelation 20:8. So Ezekiel 38-39 are prophetically connected to Revelation. Exactly how and what it all means? There’s a lot of different interpretations and I humbly confess I don’t know for certain.

What I do know, is that as I read today’s chapter it felt a bit like it was ripped from the headlines of the past year. My mind immediately conjured up images of the unsuspecting Kibbutzes in Israel last October 7 as I read:

“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land.”

I also know that the description in today’s chapter of all the nations of the earth joining in a combined hatred of Israel seems pretty apt when you look at the current political landscape.

So, I know that there are prophecies about how this Great Story ends. I believe them to be true and that they will eventually be proven true in the course of time. This is what’s called faith. I can even share with you various interpretations and schools of thought regarding how it’s going play out and the identity of the mysterious Gog in today’s chapter. I can even muse with you about which of those interpretations are more plausible in my mind. Yet, I will also humbly admit that they could all be wrong.

So when it comes to the prophetic and the end times, I take my interpretive advice from .38 Special: “Hold on loosely, but don’t let go.”

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

Chapter-a-Day

There’s No Plan B

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There's No Plan B (CaD Ezk 35) – Wayfarer

“‘Because you harbored an ancient hostility and delivered the Israelites over to the sword at the time of their calamity, the time their punishment reached its climax, therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you.”
Ezekiel 35:5-6 (NIV)

I am often amazed at how relevant the ancient prophets can be, even today. For over a year now, since October 7, 2023, the world has witnessed an ancient conflict coming to violent escalation in Israel. This is an ancient conflict, and it didn’t begin with the Zionist movement of the late 19th century. It goes back thousands of years. The current iteration is simply the latest example of it rearing its ugly, ancient head.

The setting for today’s chapter is that Jerusalem has fallen. It has been destroyed just as Ezekiel and Jeremiah had both prophesied would happen. Those who could escape the bloody siege scattered. Many of them scattered directly to the east across the Jordan and entered the land of Edom. But rather than having compassion on the refugees, the Edomites reveled in Jerusalem’s destruction and slaughtered the refugees. Even though the Israelites were family.

The Edomites were descendants of Esau, Jacob’s (aka Israel’s) twin brother. Yes, Esau who surrendered his birthright in exchange for a cup of soup. Israel, the second-born who deceived his blind father into thinking he was Esau in order to receive his father’s blessing of the first-born.

Family feud. Bad blood. Bitterness. Resentment. Ancient wounds and deep scars so fraught with endless reciprocities that over a thousand years later, neither side could see past the history of mutual offenses.

That’s what bitterness does to the human soul. I have observed along my spiritual journey that the institutional church has historically focused on the sins of morality (sex, drugs, alcohol, rock-and-roll, etc.) while ignoring the sins of the spirit that Jesus talked about in His Sermon on the Mount: anger, resentment, lust, lies, violence, bitterness, lack of forgiveness, lack of generosity, pride, greed, judgement, and condemnation. Even as I write these words my mind has filled with the faces of people I’ve known along my own journey who have harbored bitterness for so long and fed angry grudges to the point that their faces and countenance begin to shrivel into a perpetual scowl long after their souls had done the same.

In today’s chapter, God tells Zeke to prophesy against the children of Esau, who refused to have compassion on the Israelite refugees and instead saw it as an opportunity to settle old scores with violent slaughter.

Violence begets violence. Bloodshed begets bloodshed. Or, as Jesus put it, “Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.”

In the quiet this morning, I find myself mulling over political and international relationships between nations and people groups. It’s hard to wrap my mind around conflicts that are thousands of years old. It feels futile to even do so.

I’m reminded this morning that Jesus did not come to save nations. He came to save individuals. When Jesus changes my heart of bitterness and resentment into a soul full of forgiveness and grace, that impacts people in my family, my network of friends, and my circles of influence. Other individuals are changed in the wake. Suddenly our circles are influencing our community, our community influences other communities, and eventually our communities influence nations and empires. That is what happened in the first century. But it begins with the individual.

Just as the conflict between Israel and Edom began with individuals, twin brothers, the answer begins with an individual: me. Just as the conflict between Jews and Muslims began with individuals, half-brothers named Isaac and Ishmael, the answer beings with an individual: me.

What grudges am I harboring?
What bitterness am I clinging to?
Who have I refused to forgive?
Who do I hate?
Where is anger ruling my heart?

Peace begins with Jesus in me, and His grace through me.

I’ve read the entire Great Story multiple times.

There’s no Plan B.

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

Chapter-a-Day

“…the More They Stay the Same.”

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“…the More They Stay the Same” (CaD Ezk 25) – Wayfarer

For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel, therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations.
Ezekiel 25:6-7 (NIV)

Sometimes on this chapter-a-day journey there are moments of synchronicity. Today is one of those days.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Hamas’ massacre in southern Israel. The horrific acts of that day included rape, the murder of infants, children, and women, decapitation, and the mutilation of the living and the dead. It was the worst terrorist act ever perpetrated against the modern state of Israel and the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

What has been fascinating to watch over the past year is not just the diminishment of the event and its atrocities but the schadenfreude and rejoicing on a grand scale. The depth and scale of anti-semitism that remains in this world has come to light.

In today’s chapter, God’s prophetic messages through Ezekiel make a clear and dramatic shift. After 24 chapters of prophetic warnings to His own people, God now turns his lens onto the surrounding nations. In Biblical numerology, seven is a number that designates “completeness” (e.g. Seven days of creation). Today’s chapter begins a series of seven prophetic messages to seven different neighbors of ancient Israel. The seventh message has seven parts to it.

The four nations mentioned in today’s chapter are Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia. All of them were longtime enemies whose lands bordered and surrounded Israel. God cries out against them because they rejoiced in Israels downfall, they refused to help refugees fleeing the Babylonian and Assyrian massacres, and used the opportunity to carry out vengeance.

In the quiet this morning, I can’t help but be a bit awed by the sheer irony of it. Prophecies uttered some 2,500 years ago feel eerily like they are addressing current events. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

When I visited Israel, during the second intifada, I had the unique experience of having two guides. One was Jewish woman named Devorah. One was Arab man named George. They were both amazing, wonderful individuals with very different perspectives about almost everything. Despite their profound disagreements (they argued in Hebrew), they loved and respected one another. They were both followers of Jesus. In the time I spent with them, I realized that, for the two of them, Jesus’ command to love your enemies and bless those who curse you came with a lot more baggage than I will ever know. That baggage is thousands of years old, and it is still with us.

I find myself grieving the massacre of October 7th this morning, the hostages that remain to this day, and the timeless conflict from which it sprang. I have no profound answers to this historic hatred which is rooted in the depths of the Great Story. I’m simply reminded that Jesus calls me to be an agent of love, mercy, grace, peace, and truth. Not just with my allies, but also my enemies.

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

Chapter-a-Day

Responding and Reacting

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Responding and Reacting (CaD Rom 12) – Wayfarer

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:19-21 (NIV)

This past weekend, the world was stunned when the opening ceremony of the Olympics featured what appeared to be a parody of Da Vinci’s The Last Supper using drag queens and a large lady with a plunging neckline in place of Jesus. There have been all sorts of reactions to the scene, but it came to mind this morning as I read today’s chapter.

I will admit that my initial reaction was one of shock then offended anger. I scrolled my feed on X to see how people were responding. I ran across one tweet from a young Muslim woman. “As a Muslim, even I am offended by this. Where are you Christians? Why are you so weak?”

As a disciple of Jesus, however, I don’t want to be a slave to my emotional reactions but rather respond in the Spirit. So rather than spew my rage to the masses, I took some time to ponder the French parody and how Jesus would respond. Here are the conclusions I came to.

Jesus would not be surprised at all by it. In fact, He told me that this is exactly the thing I should expect from the world. Here are a couple of key statements:

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.”
Matthew 24:9

“Everyone will hate you because of me.”
Luke 21:17

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
John 15:18-19

…in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.
John 16:2b

“But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’”
John 15:25

Jesus asks me to respond differently than the world reacts. Anger, rage, and retribution are the ways of the world. To me, this silly mockery is a metaphorical slap in the face, and a classic opportunity to respond in the very way Jesus taught me.

God does not need me to be His avenger. A few years ago, the offices of Charlie Hebdo in France were attacked and the workers were massacred by Muslim terrorists. They did this because the French satire magazine parodied Mohammed in a comic. I wondered, “Is this what the Muslim young lady thinks Christians should do so as not to be ‘weak?'” Jesus made it very clear that God can handle vengeance on His own without my help, and that my job is to love, bless, and pray for those who mock, hate, and persecute.

The very heart of Jesus’ example and teaching is that real spiritual strength is found in what the world perceives as weakness. Jesus willingly surrendered Himself to be crucified and said that I should take up my own cross and follow His example. Resurrection power does not come from marching in the streets, taking up arms, political leverage, or trending social media outrage. Resurrection power only comes through death. Sometimes that means I have to die to my desire or need for a sense of justice, or revenge, or self-righteous satisfaction.

In the quiet this morning, I’m thinking about an article I read yesterday in the Free Press in which the author commented that the people who should really be angry are not the Christians, but the citizens of France who had a chance to show the world the best they’ve got to offer with regards to art and culture and have to ask themselves “Is this is the best we could come up with?” In the meantime, I’m not too worked up about it. I have people to love, clients to serve, and a bunch of meetings today in which I hope to be an example of Jesus’ loving kindness and self-control.

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

Chapter-a-Day

Insult and Injury

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Insult and Injury (CaD 1 Chr 19) – Wayfarer

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, Joab led out the armed forces. He laid waste the land of the Ammonites and went to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. Joab attacked Rabbah and left it in ruins.
1 Chronicles 20:1 (NIV)

Today’s short chapter continues the Chronicler’s overview of King David’s military exploits, but it’s also a continuation of the story in yesterday’s chapter when the newly crowned Ammonite King humiliated King David’s entourage by shaving their beards off and cutting holes in the backsides so they returned with their butts exposed for all to see. David’s army attacked the Ammonites and their mercenary allies, the Arameans. While the attack was technically a win, most of the Ammonites fled into their walled city and escaped. But David considered the job undone.

Warfare in ancient times was typically dependent on the weather and the seasons. The first attack on the Ammonites must have been late in the season because David’s army withdrew back to Jerusalem. When the following spring arrived, they returned to the land of the Ammonites and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. This time, they were successful in deposing the King who had humiliated David’s men.

In the quiet this morning, I thought about the King of the Ammonites’ foolish act on the advice of his commanders (be careful whose advice you heed). I thought about the anger he roused within David. David told his men to stay away until their beards grew back so they would not be humiliated in front of their family, friends, and community. That means during the season the army was on stand down and they were waiting for spring the absence of these men was a constant reminder of the insult. When their beards finally grew back and they returned, it was yet another reminder of the Ammonites’ offense. The King of the Ammonites had ensured that David’s anger would fester and the insult would be perpetually remembered.

As I meditated on these things, I was reminded of Jesus words:

“This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.

“Or say you’re out on the street and an old enemy accosts you. Don’t lose a minute. Make the first move; make things right with him. After all, if you leave the first move to him, knowing his track record, you’re likely to end up in court, maybe even jail. If that happens, you won’t get out without a stiff fine.”
Matthew 5:23-26 (MSG)

Of course, Jesus was talking about interpersonal relationships and not international diplomacy. Nevertheless, the King of the Ammonites is a great object lesson of the principle. When David’s army returned in the spring, the King did not send his army out to face them in the field. Perhaps the same commanders who advised the King to insult David now advised him to keep them and their army safely sequestered inside the walls of the city. In doing so, the Ammonite King abandoned his own people in the lands and villages around the city sacrificing his own people to David’s army who easily captured and plundered them. In the end, the King paid dearly for a proud and foolish insult.

I’m reminded this morning that following Jesus’ teaching means treating others, even enemies, with humility, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. Sometimes that’s hard, but I find that it avoids escalation of the conflict and the consequences that brings. I’m also reminded of the importance of initiating peacemaking when I’ve knowingly offended someone else. Ignoring it allows for anger and resentment to fester, and the consequences could very well be regrettable.

Just ask the King of the Ammonites.

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