Psalm 109
A couple of days ago, one of my friends posted the “Pray for President Obama, Psalm 109:8-9…” status. I am pretty sure you have seen this, it wasn’t the first time that I had. I am also sure they thought their little joke was harmless, at least I hope that they did. Just another example of trivializing scripture for a laugh. But when I read the verses listed, I had a couple of thoughts that got beyond the modern political climate. The first, obvious thought was, “wow, you really got to hate someone to wish their kids orphaned and their wife a widow.” That thought was almost immediately followed by, “wait, this is in the Bible.” This is a pretty severe curse that is being uttered here. Looking at...
How We View God
Ever notice how everyone picks up something different from the Bible? I mean, most of us agree on the basics, but I think there are certain attributes of God that different people pick up on more than others. For example, when I started reading the Bible years ago, one thing that I really picked up on was the idea of God as the “father to the fatherless” (Psalm 68:5). My dad wasn’t around when I was growing up, so the idea that God is the father I never had really gave me hope. Another thing that I immediately picked up on was the fact that Jesus’ disciples weren’t the righteous religious types who had their crap together–they were outcasts. Jesus passed by the temples of the high and mighty, and instead went to the...
The Wedding in Cana: Foreshadowing Good Friday and Easter?
If I can be honest, sometimes I get lazy about reading the Bible. I figure I’ve read the stories so many times that I already know what God’s trying to tell me, so why bother? That’s usually when God points out things I hadn’t noticed before. For example, this morning I was reading the story of the wedding in Cana. Most people remember this as Jesus performing a magic trick to keep the party going (in David Cross’ version, the disciples also ask Jesus to turn sage into pot). But as I read the passage, some things stood out to me: “On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’...
Living the Questions
In Evolving in Monkey Town, Rachel Held Evans talks about “living the questions,” which is something she picked up from a Rilke quote: “Do not now look for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a question of experiencing everything. At present you need to live the question.” For Rachel, this means learning how to ask questions, and how to be patient when the answers don’t come easy. Which is something I often struggle with. Sometimes I get tired of the whole “learning process.” I wrestle with Scripture the way Jacob wrestled with the angel; I’m pinning God to the ground with all my strength demanding Him to bless me. But lately I’m starting to realize that maybe...
Misused Bible Verses–Matthew 26:11
Whenever I hear some one quote Matthew 26:11–”You will always have the poor among you . . . “–it’s usually when some one doesn’t want to talk about fighting poverty. If Jesus said we would always have poor people among us, then why try to fight poverty? Why not just write a check to a charity? Is this what Jesus really meant? Let’s look at the text in context: “Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had leprosy. During supper, a woman came in with a beautiful jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head. The disciples were indignant when they saw this. ‘What a waste of money,’ they said. ‘She could have sold it for a fortune and given the money to the...
Something To Do While We're Waiting
I try to avoid discussing eschatology because, to be honest, the subject depresses the heck out of me. It really does. However, with all the earthquakes that have been going on lately, I can’t help but think about Matthew 24:7-8. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to be an alarmist. I hate it when Christians run around saying, “OMG, the end is near! Don’t get left behind!” They sound too much like Chicken Little. Having said that, though, there is a chance that the Second Coming will be sooner than we thought, and the Bible does tell us to be prepared. But let me explain what “being prepared” means, based on my understanding of Matthew chapters 24 and 25. First, I need to stress this point: WE DON’T...