Tag Archives: Sign

Chapter-a-Day

Bringing it Together

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Bringing it All Together (CaD Lev 12) – Wayfarer

“‘On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised.’”
Leviticus 12:3 (NIV)

As we’ve been making our way through this ancient instruction manual for the newly appointed priests of the ancient Hebrew people, I’ve alluded to the fact that God is doing something new with His people. He heard their cries from slavery. He approached Moses and then the people. He delivered them from slavery. And now He is establishing a formal way of daily living in community with them.

But, it didn’t start here.

The relationship between God and the Hebrew people began with Abraham back in the book of Genesis. God called Abraham and made a covenant with him. At the time, God prescribed a physical sign of that covenant which would make Abraham different as I addressed in yesterday’s post/podcast. That physical sign was circumcision, the removal of the foreskin of his penis. This sign was passed on through Abraham’s descendants Isaac, Jacob, Jacob’s sons who became the patriarchs of the twelve Hebrew tribes that God delivered from Egypt, the very people who are now going to live in daily community with the God of their ancestors.

The ritual of circumcision prescribed on the eighth day (remember that the eighth day symbolizes “new things come”) was performed with a knife made of flint rock. What God had done through His covenant with Abraham, He is now codifying as part of what He is doing through the ritual system for the Hebrew people. What “was” is being brought together with what “is.”

Yet, with the Great Story, God is always about “was, and is, and is to come.” (Rev 1:8, 4:8). As humanity matures, the Son of God, Jesus, comes to sacrifice Himself for the sins of the world and rise from the dead. Once again, “new things come.” What had been a physical sign for the ancient Hebrew people is transformed into a spiritual sign for all who are in Christ. Paul explained this to the largely non-Hebrew gathering of Jesus’ followers in Rome:

A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.
Romans 2:28-29 (NIV)

It began as a physical sign that would make them different from all other peoples, that all other peoples would see and know there is something different about these people and their God. Jesus transformed into a spiritual sign for all who would believe and receive. A priest with a rock knife cutting off the foreskin of a boy’s penis became Jesus the Great High Priest and the Rock of My Salvation doing spiritual heart surgery, taking away my heart of stone, and giving me a heart of flesh (Ex 36:26).

It’s also interesting to note that many Christian traditions transformed the eighth day ritual of circumcision into the ritual baptism of infants. This was largely built on a connection between the ancient covenant and the new. This is fascinating, as the only ancient covenant spoken of in connection to baptism in the Great Story is a covenant even older than the covenant of Abraham, the covenant of Noah (1 Peter 3:20).

So in the quiet this morning, I am once more blown away at how God perpetually connects all things together even as He perpetually recreates, with old things passing away and new things coming. Along my spiritual journey, this has developed within me a continuous spiritual posture:

Appreciation for what was.
Discernment for what is.
Expectation for what will be.

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

The Mark and The Choice

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The Mark and The Choice (CaD Ezk 9) – Wayfarer

Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”
Ezekiel 9:3-4 (NIV)

When I was a young man serving as a pastor, I once got in hot water with certain members of my congregation when I used the abbreviation “Xmas” in reference to “Christmas.” It’s always amazing to me what gets people’s undies in a bunch and just how upset they can get. I apologized for offending the offended, but I also used the opportunity to offer an explanation.

In the early days of the Jesus Movement, especially during times of persecution, disciples of Jesus used symbols and metaphors for referring to Jesus rather than writing the name out. The icthus, or fish symbol, can still be seen on car bumpers everywhere. But the Greek letter Chi which looks like an X, was also commonly used. Why? Crucifixions were often carried out on an X-shaped cross. It was a sign of the cross, and it logically became a metaphor for referring to Christ. Therefore, the abbreviated “Xmas” does not technically “take the Christ out of Christmas” as my critics with bunched undies believed. Christ is still there for all to see for those who aren’t blind to metaphor.

In today’s chapter, Ezekiel’s vision continues from the previous chapter. God took Zeke to the Temple in Jerusalem and gave him a tour of the temple and all of the pagan idols and altars that had been set up inside the Temple for people to worship instead of Yahweh. Now, Zeke sees six men with weapons in hand along with a seventh man who had a scribe’s kit. He tells the scribe to start at the Temple and go throughout the city of Jerusalem and place a “mark” on the foreheads of all those who had been faithful in their worship of God and had lamented the detestable things that were happening in the wake of all the pagan worship.

Much like in the final plague of Egypt when the Angel of Death “passed over” the homes that had the blood of the lamb coating their doorposts, those who had the mark were spared as the six executioners spread out across the city to judge and put to death any who didn’t have the “sign.”

The “sign” was a Taw, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In ancient Paleo-Hebrew script, that letter was an “X.” The same sign that some 400 years later will become a metaphor for Christ and the disciples who place their faith in Him.

In the quiet this morning, I’m simply marveling at the way certain metaphorical threads and themes weave their way throughout the Great Story and tie it together. Ezekiel’s vision echoes the same theme as the Passover in Exodus. It foreshadows the Judgment Day that Jesus promised will one day arrive for everyone. All three instances end with either life or death based on the acceptance or rejection of God as evidenced by faith or no faith.

As I meditated on these things this morning, I couldn’t help but hear God’s words to the Hebrew people at the very beginning of their formal relationship in Deuteronomy:

“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.“
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NIV)

Thousands of years later, the choice is the same.

I choose life.

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

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.

Chapter-a-Day

Willingness

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Willingness (CaD Jud 6) – Wayfarer

That same night the Lord said to [Gideon], “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.”

So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.
Judges 6:25-27 (NIV)

I recently read the story of Angie Fenimore’s Near-Death Experience (NDE). Her body died and she descended to a hell-like place. This is an excerpt of her story:

I knew that I was in a state of hell, but this was not the typical fire and brimstone hell that I had learned about as a young child.

Men and women of all ages, but no children, were standing or squatting or wandering about on the realm. Some were mumbling to themselves. The darkness emanated from deep within and radiated from them in an aura I could feel. They were completely self-absorbed, every one of them too caught up in his or her own misery to engage in any mental or emotional exchange. They had the ability to connect with one another, but they were incapacitated by the darkness.

But worse was my growing sense of complete aloneness. Even hearing the brunt of someone’s anger, however unpleasant, is a form of tangible connection. But in this empty world, where no connections could be made, the solitude was terrifying.

Then I heard a voice of awesome power, not loud but crashing over me like a booming wave of sound; a voice that encompassed such ferocious anger that with one word it could destroy the universe, and that also encompassed such potent and unwavering love that, like the sun, it could coax life from the Earth. I cowered at its force and at its excruciating words:

“Is this what you really want?”

Suddenly I felt another presence with us, the same presence that had been with me when I first crossed over into death and who had reviewed my life with me. I recognized that he had been with us the whole time, but that I was only now becoming able to perceive him. What I could see were bits of light coming through the darkness. The rays of light penetrated me with incredible force, with the power of an all-consuming love.

I had to ask, why me? Why was it that I could see God while the vacant husk of a man next to me could not? Why was I absorbing light and being taught, while he was hunkering down in misery and darkness?

I was told that the reason is willingness.

Read or watch Angie’s complete story.

In today’s chapter, we have the beginning of the ancient story of Gideon in which God calls Gideon to lead the Hebrew tribes against their enemies. What struck me as I meditated on the chapter was the structure of the interchange between the Angel of the Lord, and Gideon:

  • Gideon expresses doubt that God is even around.
  • Gideon expresses doubt that God would call him, since Gideon is from the weakest clan in Manasseh’s tribe and Gideon is the “least” in his family.
  • Gideon asks for a sign.
  • God provides a sign and Gideon builds an altar in response
  • God tells Gideon to tear down his Father’s altar to the idol Baal and the idolatrous Asherah pole next to it, and then sacrifice a bull on the altar Gideon had built to the Lord.
  • Gideon does it, but for fear of his people, he does it at night.
  • When called out by his people for this deed, the Spirit of God comes upon Gideon and he calls his people to rise up against their enemies. Despite his doubts and fears, his people answer favorably.
  • Gideon expresses doubts and asks God for another sign. God answers.
  • Gideon expresses doubts and asks God for another sign. God answers.

Last year when I was making this chapter-a-day trek through the Psalms, I discussed the fact that the ancient Hebrews loved to plant metaphorical structure in their writing. In the Psalms, the central theme to the song lyrics is often at the very center, with corresponding or contrasting themes before or after.

Today’s chapter has similar symmetry if you outline the chapter. There are two episodes of Gideon’s doubt and a request for a sign that God answers. There is a command to tear down his father’s idols and offer a sacrifice to God, which Gideon does, despite his fears. Then God miraculously raises Gideon to a position of leadership and his people agree to follow. Then there are two more episodes of Gideon’s doubt and request for another sign.

In other words, the only thing that Gideon brought to this story was his willingness, despite his fears, to tear down the idols and make a sacrifice to God. This made me think of God telling Angie that the reason she was able to see His light in the darkness, and all the poor souls around her could not, was because she was willing to see Him.

In the quiet this morning, I couldn’t help but think of myself and my own fearful doubts about the things to which God has called me. I am no different than Gideon. My journals are full of letters I’ve written to God expressing doubts, focusing on my weaknesses, recalling my many shortcomings, and asking for signs. I want to see the signs before I believe. God always reminds me, ironically, of “doubting Thomas” who refused to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead until he saw the nail holes from the crucifixion and the place where the Roman spear pierced his side. to whom Jesus answered his doubts as he did Gideon’s before saying, “Blessed are those who never see the sign, but still believe.”

And that is where I find myself standing at the beginning of this, a new day in the journey. Am I willing to step out in faith and pursue the things to which God has called me? Or, will I stand still, distract myself with other things, and wait for a sign?

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

Chapter-a-Day

The Slippery Sweet-Spot Between Acting and Waiting

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Moses answered them, “Wait until I find out what the Lord commands concerning you.”
Numbers 9:8 (NIV)

There are many forks in life’s road. There’s no avoiding it. It just is what it is.

Where do I go to school?
Should I marry him/her?
Do I speak out or hold my tongue?
Should I take this job that’s been offered to me or hold out for the job I really want? 
Should we rent or should we buy?
Do I invest in new or get by with used?
Should we stay or should we go?

As we traverse the Book of Numbers there is a pattern or repetition that many readers don’t catch. The phrase “The Lord said to Moses” is used repeatedly. In fact, it’s used over 50 times. In today’s chapter, some of the people bring Moses a question about how to handle an exceptional circumstance regarding the Passover celebration. Moses simply says he’ll check with God and God provides a seemingly quick answer.

We then go on to read in today’s chapter that the decision of going or staying was miraculously provided for the ancient Hebrews. According to the story there was a cloud that hovered over their traveling tent temple which gave them indication whether God wanted them to move or stay put. When the cloud remained over the tent they stayed put. If the cloud lifted they broke camp and moved.

Wow, I’d love it if God’s guidance and direction were that easy for me to see. At the same time, I have to acknowledge that this may have been the only easy thing in the experience of the Hebrews. I’m quite sure I’d struggle living the life of an ancient nomad wandering in the desert with a couple million cousins.

I have discovered along life’s road that there is a slippery sweet-spot of tension between discernment and decision. We live in an age when time is measured in nanoseconds and we are used to getting things “on demand.” I perceive that the virtues of patience, peace and prayer are increasingly found in short supply in our culture. At the same time, I have known many followers of Jesus who take so long to “prayerfully consider” decisions that they make no progress in their respective  journeys.

This morning I find myself once again seeking to both find and hold the tension between acting and waiting. I don’t want to be so quick to make decisions that I forget to pray for guidance and to give wise consideration to options and potential consequences. At the same time, I don’t want to become paralyzed waiting for some divine sign when there is a clear need to act judiciously and with expedience.