I had the pleasure of babysitting Isaiah Cooper last week. Isaiah is Benjamin and Cindy Cooper's one year old (almost two). Isaiah reminded us of what it was like having a toddler in the house again and how old we are (LOL). He sat at the table with my family and ate dinner, talking in his Isaiah language the whole time.
Isaiah is at the age were children discover what they can do and developing their motor skills. So with great concentration, Isaiah lifted spoonful after spoonful of rice to his mouth. And when he managed to get it there without dropping every grain off the spoon, I cheered "Good job!" Of course, that spurred him on to do the next one right to earn another "good job" from me.
Very cute and appropriate behavior for Isaiah, the one-year old. But how crazy would have been if I would have cheered Brian each time he ate a spoonful of rice? That would have been strange. Brian is supposed to be able to get the food in his mouth without dropping it all over the table. He's in his mid-thirties. If he can't eat by now, I'm afraid.
But unfortunately, that's what exactly what some of us expect when we do what we are supposed to do. You paid your tithes? Good job! You were polite to your co-workers? Good job! You prayed? Good job! You came to Bible study? Good job! You honored your mother and father? Good job! You forgave? Good job!
Yeah, that gets real old real fast.
Luke 17 shows us what our attitude is supposed to be. Verse 10 says,
"So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'"
No one is going to congratulate you for living right. That's your duty as a Christian. No one is going to throw a party for your obedience. It's what your supposed to do, you unworthy servant you. Do you duty whether you get kudos or not. You are not Isaiah, the one year old.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Everything is Not About Cattle
I hate when scripture is misappropriated. Drives me bananas. Mainly because when people do this, they take away the real power of the scripture.
For instance, Psalms 50:10 is often misappropriated. It reads “for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.” People often pray this prayer as God’s promise for provision, but that’s not what this scripture really means. We pray this scripture like cattle can solve our provision problems. Yeah, I’d like to see you try and pay your bills with a cow. Ridiculous.
The other thing that upsets me about the misappropriation of scripture is that it’s often very easy to figure out what the passage is talking about. This can be accomplished by doing one simple thing: reading the rest of the passage. Context is a beautiful thing.
If you go back to verse 7, it becomes clear that the Lord is rebuking Israel for their behavior concerning sacrifice, namely the right sacrifice. Basically, the Lord is saying that they perform the perfect sacrifice. But in verse 12, He says something interesting. He says “If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.” Basically I don’t need your stinking sacrifices.
So what is the Lord pointing out in this passage?
“Give Me what I really want.”
“What’s that, Lord?”
“True thanks and fulfill your vows. Specifically, gratitude and obedience.”
The children of Israel were putting so much focus on performing the rituals right that they forgot the real reason for the ritual. They forgot that all they did was to be in right relationship with Him. That’s the real power in this scripture. This scripture is not about God’s provision. And we fall into danger when we switch the polarity of this passage, making it about receiving and not giving.
When we make this about God giving us stuff instead of his giving Him what He desires, we miss out on the real promise in this passage, listed in verse 15: “…and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me." Isn’t that so much better than getting some cattle?
~Terri J. Haynes
For instance, Psalms 50:10 is often misappropriated. It reads “for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.” People often pray this prayer as God’s promise for provision, but that’s not what this scripture really means. We pray this scripture like cattle can solve our provision problems. Yeah, I’d like to see you try and pay your bills with a cow. Ridiculous.
The other thing that upsets me about the misappropriation of scripture is that it’s often very easy to figure out what the passage is talking about. This can be accomplished by doing one simple thing: reading the rest of the passage. Context is a beautiful thing.
If you go back to verse 7, it becomes clear that the Lord is rebuking Israel for their behavior concerning sacrifice, namely the right sacrifice. Basically, the Lord is saying that they perform the perfect sacrifice. But in verse 12, He says something interesting. He says “If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.” Basically I don’t need your stinking sacrifices.
So what is the Lord pointing out in this passage?
“Give Me what I really want.”
“What’s that, Lord?”
“True thanks and fulfill your vows. Specifically, gratitude and obedience.”
The children of Israel were putting so much focus on performing the rituals right that they forgot the real reason for the ritual. They forgot that all they did was to be in right relationship with Him. That’s the real power in this scripture. This scripture is not about God’s provision. And we fall into danger when we switch the polarity of this passage, making it about receiving and not giving.
When we make this about God giving us stuff instead of his giving Him what He desires, we miss out on the real promise in this passage, listed in verse 15: “…and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me." Isn’t that so much better than getting some cattle?
~Terri J. Haynes
Son of a Prositute
Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. Judges 11:1 (TNIV)
What an introduction. Short, sweet and to the painful point. A great warrior born of a prostitute. That simple caveat seems to contradict everything before it. And in verse two, it is clear that people identify him as the son of a prostitute more than they do as great warrior.
Gilead's wife [not the prostitute] also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. "You are not going to get any inheritance in our family," they said, "because you are the son of another woman." Judges 11:2 (TNIV emphasis added).
My heart went out to poor Jephthah. He was being punished for his father’s indiscretion. He had no choice in the circumstances he was born into, but alas, the deck is stacked against him at birth. He is treated like an outcast, disowned by his family, even though it is partial family. His status as a great warrior didn’t prevent him from being treated badly.
I think I’m so moved by Jephthah’s introduction because so many people have similar stories as his; born into the world with issues that we have no control over. They have gifts and abilities but no one sees that. They only see the offspring of a prostitute. Sadly, this chips away at self-worth.
Even for believers, it’s hard for people to see the greatness God has placed in us. They only see who we were before God’s saving grace found us. Especially family. And extra especially if you were a blazing heathen before. It seems we can’t rise above the box people put us in.
But just as Jephthah, God knows who we are. We are still the great people He created. Later in chapter 11, Jephthah is recognized as a great warrior and the very people who threw him out come begging him to be their commander. Jephthah agrees and defeats the Ammonites by himself. Would you be able to respond like Jephthah did? If the very people who tried to put you down come and beg for your help, will you do it? Or will you gloat?
That’s a hard pill to swallow, but it exposes the level of bitterness in your heart. When you are bitter, you want people to “get what they deserve”. And when we do that, we don’t walk in the calling God has placed on our lives. Remember, Jephthah was a great warrior. That is the first thing mentioned about him. If Jephthah had said “Let the Ammonites kill all those bamas. That’s what they get”, he would have not fulfilled the purpose for his life. But he agreed to defend the very people who hurt him.
Check the bitterness in your heart against those who see you as a son (or a daughter) of a prostitute. They may be the very people God has called you to defend.
~Terri J. Haynes
What an introduction. Short, sweet and to the painful point. A great warrior born of a prostitute. That simple caveat seems to contradict everything before it. And in verse two, it is clear that people identify him as the son of a prostitute more than they do as great warrior.
Gilead's wife [not the prostitute] also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. "You are not going to get any inheritance in our family," they said, "because you are the son of another woman." Judges 11:2 (TNIV emphasis added).
My heart went out to poor Jephthah. He was being punished for his father’s indiscretion. He had no choice in the circumstances he was born into, but alas, the deck is stacked against him at birth. He is treated like an outcast, disowned by his family, even though it is partial family. His status as a great warrior didn’t prevent him from being treated badly.
I think I’m so moved by Jephthah’s introduction because so many people have similar stories as his; born into the world with issues that we have no control over. They have gifts and abilities but no one sees that. They only see the offspring of a prostitute. Sadly, this chips away at self-worth.
Even for believers, it’s hard for people to see the greatness God has placed in us. They only see who we were before God’s saving grace found us. Especially family. And extra especially if you were a blazing heathen before. It seems we can’t rise above the box people put us in.
But just as Jephthah, God knows who we are. We are still the great people He created. Later in chapter 11, Jephthah is recognized as a great warrior and the very people who threw him out come begging him to be their commander. Jephthah agrees and defeats the Ammonites by himself. Would you be able to respond like Jephthah did? If the very people who tried to put you down come and beg for your help, will you do it? Or will you gloat?
That’s a hard pill to swallow, but it exposes the level of bitterness in your heart. When you are bitter, you want people to “get what they deserve”. And when we do that, we don’t walk in the calling God has placed on our lives. Remember, Jephthah was a great warrior. That is the first thing mentioned about him. If Jephthah had said “Let the Ammonites kill all those bamas. That’s what they get”, he would have not fulfilled the purpose for his life. But he agreed to defend the very people who hurt him.
Check the bitterness in your heart against those who see you as a son (or a daughter) of a prostitute. They may be the very people God has called you to defend.
~Terri J. Haynes
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Dead Man Walking
Luke 16:30-31
30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’ 31 “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.’”
So the rich man wants Father Abraham to send Lazarus to his equally self-absorbed brothers in order to save them from joining him. Abraham gives him a most quizzical reply that seeing Lazarus would not change their attitudes and actions. Most people would say that seeing a ghost or spiritual apparition would impact their life and they would probably change. It worked for Ebenezer Scrooge didn’t it? However, Abraham pointed out that seeing Lazarus would not change the brothers’ perspective since they’re ignoring the readily available truth they have daily access to.
People are funny, always looking for a sign or trying to make the gospel harder. We (the church) want miracles and God explosions so people will change. Yet God knows that if the everyday things we have access to like His Word doesn’t cause a change a miracle wouldn’t either.
We have daily proof of this phenomenon. Every time there is a natural disaster or a gnarly accident and the bystanders/survivors are thanking God for a miracle you can tell who is a believer and who is unredeemed. Other believers can easily see the hand of God in the situation. The non believers not so much. They easily explain the circumstances away as nature reacting or they downplay the exuberance of miraculous talk by attributing the responses to people unbalanced by an adrenaline rush or just choosing to believe like the cosmos are in charge since it makes them feel better.
Even funnier than God knowing that unbelievers wouldn’t listen to the dead is the fact that He calls believers to do just that. Be dead. Romans 6:7-11 tells us:
7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
So as believers’ we’re dead. We are to emulate Jesus in our everyday lives. Yet, sadly unbelievers probably won’t be changed though it’s our job to be dead men walking. We live dead for God’s pleasure and He is the one that brings change to the lives of the unredeemed.
Linda D. Sothern
30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’ 31 “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.’”
So the rich man wants Father Abraham to send Lazarus to his equally self-absorbed brothers in order to save them from joining him. Abraham gives him a most quizzical reply that seeing Lazarus would not change their attitudes and actions. Most people would say that seeing a ghost or spiritual apparition would impact their life and they would probably change. It worked for Ebenezer Scrooge didn’t it? However, Abraham pointed out that seeing Lazarus would not change the brothers’ perspective since they’re ignoring the readily available truth they have daily access to.
People are funny, always looking for a sign or trying to make the gospel harder. We (the church) want miracles and God explosions so people will change. Yet God knows that if the everyday things we have access to like His Word doesn’t cause a change a miracle wouldn’t either.
We have daily proof of this phenomenon. Every time there is a natural disaster or a gnarly accident and the bystanders/survivors are thanking God for a miracle you can tell who is a believer and who is unredeemed. Other believers can easily see the hand of God in the situation. The non believers not so much. They easily explain the circumstances away as nature reacting or they downplay the exuberance of miraculous talk by attributing the responses to people unbalanced by an adrenaline rush or just choosing to believe like the cosmos are in charge since it makes them feel better.
Even funnier than God knowing that unbelievers wouldn’t listen to the dead is the fact that He calls believers to do just that. Be dead. Romans 6:7-11 tells us:
7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
So as believers’ we’re dead. We are to emulate Jesus in our everyday lives. Yet, sadly unbelievers probably won’t be changed though it’s our job to be dead men walking. We live dead for God’s pleasure and He is the one that brings change to the lives of the unredeemed.
Linda D. Sothern
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