Cripes... Less than a week and I'm missing deadlines. I'm terribly sorry about the lateness of this post but I got distracted by Phil Broadbent. It's all his fault!! That and I've got my laptop back so I'm changing my routine slightly. Having the laptop back does mean though that I might be able to do a vlog as well as this blog. If you'd be interested then please comment on this or on Facebook.
Hooray for England as well being able to beat a side who beat the World Champions at this year's World Cup. Obviously the English media hate their national side so much that they didn't mention that...
Onto business then,
Today’s readings
Genesis 14:1-16:16
Matthew 5:43-6:24
Psalm 6:1-10
Genesis starts with an incredibly dry, confusing and downright complicated account of a bunch of kings of old countries kicking off with another bunch of kings. Where's the truth in this? Passages like this can really get in the way for new Christians in getting the most out of their Bible time and I do wonder if the Soul Survivor guys thought about this. Certainly Mike seems a little dismissive in his blog about the passage but I believe that it's got to be in there for a reason. To me, the fact that there are so many kings is quite interesting. You've got 9 different kings all within spitting distance of each other. All powerful men. And yet who does God pick as His representative? Who does God decide is going to be the leader of His people on earth? Abram, a guy who was in no way powerful, even physically as he was 75 when God first called him. That to me is our first real indicator that God will use you for what He knows you can achieve if you let Him and you don't need to already be an impressive sort on your own merit.
Genesis continues into chapter 15 which is a vital bit of Christianity. Here God promises that He will be Abram's God. That He will provide him with a son and a huge family from that son. Now let's remember Abram is 75, there's no viagra and he's not Des O'Connor or the bloke off Star Trek. That's a pretty tall order for God to achieve. I don't know if any of you were with me when I was at Soul Survivor just star gazing but the best thing about the countryside to me are the stars. When it's so clear that you literally can't take in all the lights. Now imagine that you're not just in the countryside but you're in the countryside before lightbulbs were invented or smoke pollution. Imagine how clear the sky was when God asked Abram to count the stars. That's a phenomenal amount of descendants! Sometimes we really do forget how much God can achieve. We try not to set ourselves up for disappointment by asking for "realistic" things. Yet God gives a 75 year old nomad who has no home country, wealth or power; a family that lasts over 4000 years. We should be trusting that God can do anything and praying for the things that we need no matter how ridiculous they seem. Whether it's a fervent and passionate desire for justice or a personal problem, we have to believe that God can do it. The proof is right here!
But Abram doesn't have this faith. He thinks that he knows better than God. In fact it's not just him but his wife evens the score in terms of getting each other to sleep with the wrong people! Sarai his wife gets Abram to sleep with her servant Hagar and Hagar has a son, Ishmael. SPOILER ALERT Ishmael does have the massive list of descendents that God promises Hagar through His angel and they turn into the Muslim nation. Now it's not fashionable to knock other religions and as a Religious Studies graduate I'm all for tolerance. But as a Christian I believe that there is only one true religion and it isn't Islam. If Abram had trusted God and left his life in God's hands, if Sarai had not tried to solve the situation herself, a whole nation of people would have had a different start. Their culture and faith would be completely different, possibly even influenced by the true religion instead of their own. Because Abram and his wife Sarai isolated Ishmael we are in the situation we are today where there are two dominant world religions, working against each other and causing pain and misery through human misunderstanding, rather than humanity working together to honour God.
Onto the New Testament then. Jesus continues his masterpiece of preaching in chapter 5. One thing that's interesting to me about this first passage is how the Message translates the first verse. It says "You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' Now I never realised that the hate your enemy bit was unwritten but isn't it sad that we as humanity see that as acceptable? Rather than trying to make peace with everyone and applying Christian love to them, we think at least we've got a get out clause and can think of them as an enemy. God must smack His head in frustration sometimes at the amount of get out clauses we try and come up with!
Jesus carries on to talk about prayer and connecting with God. I know that this can always be a challenge for folk and I'll admit it can be for me too. I think what Jesus says here is vital though. I know that praying in front of people can feel weird and like you have to say the right things but Jesus is literally telling us the opposite here. Don't feel nervous about praying, it's you and God and He knows precisely what you need from your language and more! Also, don't try and be the best Christian in the world. Don't try and show to other people how good you are or how much you are doing for God. If you really want to work for God then whose rewards and praise do you really want?
I cooked a soup tonight. Now that sounds underwhelming but it's not a tin or something. I properly peeled veg and diced an onion and everything! Now it tasted nice and I told a couple of folk I know that I'd done it and they were mildly impressed. But the praise that really meant something to me was my Mum and Dad really enjoying it and saving some for another day so they could share it with friends. Not only did I not poison them but they want to let my cooking loose on other people! If we do something amazing for God then we should be looking for praise and blessings to come from Him first. If we need the ego boost from that work then God will know that and make sure someone congratulates us for it. But leave that to Him, not you.
Jesus also talks about possessions and what we place as our priorities. Money is sadly the most vital thing to survive in today's world or so it seems. This becomes all the more apparent when no one is paying you regularly! But Jesus says that you need to realise the true value of money. There're no banks in heaven. Inheritance isn't that important, as God illustrated to Abram actually in the earlier passage. Abram moans that he won't have any sons to inherit his property even though God's just given him this fantastic promise!
It's great to have enough cash; it's ok to have a bit more than enough sometimes. But when you live your life with not just paying the bills but getting more and more cash as your number one goal? You're ignoring God. This isn't just about money though. If you have to unlock that achievement on your Xbox or couldn't possibly give as much time to God as you would to Facebook or your mobile then you're not putting the right master at the head of your life. This is especially relevant to me today considering how late this has gone up and I am well aware that I've put socialising before God. But because I'm dead chuffed I actually realised this as 6 months ago I wouldn't have had a second thought about missing a Bible study for something easier and more fun. Hopefully God's going to keep me focused on Him.
Finally our Psalm today sees David at the absolute depths of despair. I really can't emphasise how much I reckon you should all be reading these Psalms in the Message translation. In fact, http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%206&version=MSG there's a nice shiny link so you can read it there! David is so distraught and fed up with God. Now I've been there, not in the same circumstances as I've never been hunted by people wanting to kill me... yet at least. But it can be so hard when you feel like life is continually kicking you in the face and you do everything thing you can to give to God and yet you get nothing back. Well I think this Psalm is a fantastic indicator of how situations change. David is weeping and moaning for 80% of this Psalm, never blaming God but pleading for some respite. Of course the last two verses see a dramatic swing in his emotions as he recognises that despite the struggles he's had, it's God who has come to the rescue. I think this can be mirrored in our lives. What seems like a long, long period of suffering can all of a sudden be changed in a MASSIVE way by the grace of God. Hallelujah!
It's another long one. I can't seem to get my length down (no swirling Craig!). I guess in a way, God will sometimes put stuff on my heart that I get a bit more passionate about...
Comments, criticisms and questions welcomed as always.
Jon
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