More about Jesus

Day 217: Matthew 11

Jesus is a true teacher: he gives instructions to his "pupils" (apostles) and then he goes out to teach and preach. He instructs and directs and then he goes back to his business of teaching and preaching to the masses. Jesus views both parts as important--teaching his apostles and preaching and teaching to the whole group. Food for thought.
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The following passage  is a winner in my book (11:28-20, NLT):

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Jesus wants to give us rest. He wants to take all our burdens away from us and bring peace, rest, and contentment to our lives. His words provide evidence of what an amazing man Jesus was/is. Even though his yoke wasn't going to be easy, he still is unselfishly concerned about others. He is here for us, ready to provide our souls with rest. How comforting is that!

Building the Temple through Peace

Day 78: I Chronicles 22-29

It's interesting to me that God did not allow David to build the Temple. David was a man of God, a man loved by God and a man patterned after God's own heart. And yet, David did not get to build the Temple. And this passage says that the reason he didn't get to do so is because of all the violence he did while he lived--all the death, all the killing, and all the wars.

We have been in a time of war for over eight years (since 9/11 at least). It's hard to believe it's been that long. I don't like war. I like peace. I think we all like peace, and I think we all want it. We just have different ways of going about it. Here, though, we have the example of David who fought battles and wars and thought he was doing the right thing, yet in the end he didn't get to build the Temple--or even to see it--because of all the violence he had done during his lifetime.

I hope and pray that the wars we are in today will end soon--that there will be peace on earth soon. All this violence is not good for humanity. It's not good for our souls. While we may not be able to stop the wars or end the international violence, we can all make small steps to make our lives less violent. We can turn to Jesus and see the nonviolent way that he lived. We can cut out the fighting we do with our loved ones. We can think twice before we use our fists or our words for revenge. Together, small steps can make a big impact. May we all strive for peace. If we do, one day we, like David, will be able to see the Temple of the Lord.

God's Protection of a Murderer

Day 2: Genesis 4-8

The story goes: Cain and Abel were brothers. Abel offered pleasing sacrifices to God, while Cain didn't. Cain grew jealous and killed Abel. It sounds like something right out of a Hollywood film. Cain must have been dealing with some intense emotions. Anger. Hatred. Embarrassment. Jealousy. Feelings I've had before, too.

After the murder, God confronts Cain about his sin and places a curse on him, a curse of being a wanderer for the rest of his life. Cain will never have a home. He will be nomadic. In spite of this curse, God still does something for Cain: God puts a mark on Cain so that no one can kill him. God actually protects Cain from being murdered by others. I find it a bit strange that God would do that. God could have punished Cain in so many ways. He could have struck Cain down himself right then. Or he could have done nothing for Cain and just let him go, knowing full well that someone else would kill him for what he had done to Abel. An eye for an eye, right? But no. God protected Cain. What kind of justice is that for Abel that his murderer can never be murdered? Cain murdered Abel, but Cain himself could never be murdered. What?!! God’s choice puzzles me a bit because it seems like such a strange choice. Has justice been served here? It doesn't appear so.

Perhaps this story says something to us about who should be the one to dole out justice. God is the ultimate judge, and he chose to protect Cain. Maybe we should think twice before we seek justice for something done to us or someone we love. Maybe this story teaches us to give God the control when bad things happen to us. While we might want to take out our wrath on someone because of the awful and unspeakable things that happen to people in our world, especially when they happen to people we love, perhaps we should let God do the avenging and punishing. Not because that person doesn’t deserve to be punished. And not because we don’t feel anger, hatred, jealousy, and revenge, just like Cain. By no means! We should let God be the judge. God can even take our feelings away. He wants us to be formed in ways that bring peace and purification to our souls and part of this is not seeking revenge. When we do this, we don’t have to carry around those feelings forever, and we will be formed in ways that are holy and good. And, ultimately, we will find peace.

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Genesis 6:5-8 is so powerful. The passage begins with the Lord seeing how great the wickedness on earth had become. It then moves to the Lord regretting that he had made human beings in the first place (I guess God was not viewing things so “good” after all). And it ends with “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” The contrast of Noah with the rest of humanity cannot be missed.

I like the faith of Noah. He built a huge boat because God told him to do so, and God saved him from the destruction of the earth because of Noah’s righteousness. Noah’s family was saved, too—all because of the faith and righteousness of Noah. I want to have faith like Noah. I want to be able to hear God speaking to me and to obey his commands.

Side Note: “Noah’s Ark” really is a violent story. Tell me again why Peyton's baby nursery is decked out in this stuff?!! And why is this story one of the most popular ones we teach our children?!! Maybe we should rethink this approach.