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 the whole Psalm, it is an intense outpouring of emotions. I began looking at the Psalm and its loud and thorough cry for vengeance.

	[109:1] Be not silent, O God of my praise!
	[2] For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
	speaking against me with lying tongues.
	[3] They encircle me with words of hate,
	and attack me without cause.
	[4] In return for my love they accuse me,
	but I give myself to prayer.
	[5] So they reward me evil for good,
		and hatred for my love.

Reading the Psalm brings up a couple of questions.   This Psalm asks God to curse those who accuse.  At the beginning the Psalmist gave only love and was repayed with evil. Did the Psalmist really love? They seem to have a love that expects kindness in return.  Now, I  think this is a perfectly human reaction.  We are affected by injustice and want revenge.  But aren’t we now commanded to react differently?  Did the Psalmist love with a limit and what does that mean for us?

[12] Let there be none to extend kindness to him,
	nor any to pity his fatherless children!

Wow, that is more than just, “God, show justice.”  This is a request of revenge and human vengeance.  Not merely a cry for what the accuser may deserve under the law, but punishment beyond what is called for.  What could possibly have been done to deserve this?  We aren’t told, only that the Psalmist is surrounded by “accusers”

And my favorite part, the section that I know describes how I far too often feel about myself:

	[22] For I am poor and needy,
	and my heart is stricken within me.
	[23] I am gone like a shadow at evening;
	I am shaken off like a locust.
	[24] My knees are weak through fasting;
	my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
	[25] I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
		when they see me, they wag their heads.

So, the Psalmist is perfectly Holy, blameless and a tireless servant of the Lord.  Aren’t we all?  To me, the entire psalm is from a human perspective and as a cry to God, fails to see the nature of God.  The poor, pitiful Psalmist is beset all around by evil and merely wants to see God wipe them from the earth.  Such a Holy attitude!  I want to see this Psalm as a warning of what happens when we start to feel pity for ourselves and  the trap that we can fall into when we start to feel persecuted.  I have no doubt that the Psalmist felt justified in his cry to God, but was he?

So what do you think?  How do you react when reading something like this in the Bible?  Do you have parts of the Bible that are just hard to reconcile with your idea of God?

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 prostitutes, the tax collectors, and the poor. For a teenage goth kid who equated Jesus with the high-and-mighty self-righteous types, this was definitely a new revelation!

Lately I’ve been studying liberation theology, and one idea from the Bible that is stressed a lot is that God liberates His people from oppression. One of the most well known examples is the Exodus story* where God, through Moses, leads the Hebrews to freedom. Later on in the Gospels we see God do the same thing through Jesus, but it’s a different kind of oppression. When the Pharisees tell Jesus they’ve never been slaves, Jesus responds with, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). So God is still setting His people free, but this time it’s from an internal oppression known as sin.

When you read the Bible, what are some things about God immediately that pop out to you?

*In fact, during the days of the Underground Railroad, slaves identified themselves with the Israelites escaping to freedom. Just look at the old spirituals like “Go Down Moses.”

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’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’

‘Dear woman, why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied, ‘My time has not yet come.’

His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’

Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.’ They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, ‘Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.’”–2:1-10)

First, take a look at the first four words: “On the third day. . . .” Third day? Hmm, where have I heard that before? Second, when Mary tells Jesus that the wine is gone, He responds with, “My time has not yet come.” That’s pretty cryptic. What does He mean by that? I’ve heard commentators say He meant it wasn’t time for Him to reveal Himself on the cross yet. But what does the cross have anything to do with wine? The third thing I noticed was Jesus didn’t make wine out of any kind of water. As John points out, this is the water the Jews used to make them ceremonially clean. I also couldn’t help but remember what Jesus said during the last supper when He took the cup: “This [wine] is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

So put all these things together–the third day, the ceremonial washing water, the blood of the new covenant–and it seems like this isn’t just some magic trick Jesus did to keep the party going: Jesus was foreshadowing His own death and resurrection.

What do you think?

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 I’m approaching the Word of God the wrong way. Instead of pinning God to the ground demanding answers, maybe true faith is a journey with the Bible as my map. Maybe the point of studying the Word is to enter into the wonder and mystery of God, to explore the new places the passages lead me, to start conversations with the people I meet along the way, to ask questions when the directions aren’t clear, and to eventually arrive at my destination–revelation.

Of course it’ll probably take a while for me to reach my destination. But in the meantime, I’m learning to be content with living the questions.

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 poor.’

But Jesus replied, ‘Why berate her for doing such a good thing to me? You will always have the poor among you, but I will not be here with you much longer. She has poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial. I assure you, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be talked about in her memory.’”–Matthew 26:11

So Jesus and His followers are dining at Simon the ex-leper’s house, when out of the blue this strange woman comes up and starts pouring top-quality perfume over Jesus’ head. The disciples, once again, don’t understand what’s going on, so they say she could have sold the perfume and given that money to the poor. And that’s when Jesus says, “You will always have the poor among you, but I will not be here with you much longer.”

Jesus isn’t rebuking the disciples for wanting to help the poor, but because they didn’t understand that Jesus was about to die.

As the book of Ecclesiastes says, there is a time and place for everything. And I think this passages in Matthew 26 is trying to say there is a time to go out and serve the poor, and then there’s a time to spend it with Jesus–especially at that particular moment when He was about to be arrested.

It’s interesting to note that this isn’t the first place the Bible says we will always have poor people. According to Deuteronomy 15:11, “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.” So perhaps Jesus was referring to this verse when he told the disciples, “You will always have the poor among you.”

So there you have it: Jesus isn’t saying, “Don’t bother fighting for poverty.” He’s saying, “There’s a time for charity and social justice, but right now it’s that time.” Got it?

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 KNOW WHEN JESUS WILL RETURN. I don’t know why Christians keep trying to calculate the day and time Jesus will return, because He clearly says that only God knows that day and hour. (Matthew 24:36) So please, put your calculators down!

Second, that whole “pre-tribulation rapture” thing? Yeah, I think Tim LaHaye got that wrong:

“For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.” (Verses 38-41)

Correct me if I’m wrong, but it looks like the “two men in the field” part happens after the Son of Man returns.

Third, because we don’t know when Jesus will return, the Bible does tell us to keep watch. (V. 42) If your boss gives you a specific project while s/he is on vacation, and you don’t do it. Do you think the boss will be happy when s/he returns and finds out you didn’t even start the project? I don’t think so.

Which brings me to my fourth point, which is what we should be doing now. In chapter 25 Jesus tells us two parables. The first one, founded in verses 14 through 30, is about a man who gave his servants certain amounts of money before his journey. When he returned and found that the servant with the smallest amount buried the money, he was thrown “into the darkness.”

The second parable is found in verses 31 through 46. In this parable, Jesus describes Judgment Day as separating the goats from the sheep. The sheep are allowed into the Kingdom because they fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the prisoner, etc. “What you did for the least of these brothers of mine,” the Lord says, “you did for me.” The goats, on the other had, didn’t do anything, so they are cast off.

So, to wrap it all up, instead of focusing on when it’s going to happen, let’s just continue doing God’s work. I don’t think calculating the end of the world is going to help all the people who are suffering right now.

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

Many people interpret this as, “If you ask God to bless you, He’ll shower you with material wealth and whatever else you want.” But as I learned Sunday at my fiancee Amy’s church, that’s not the case.

Did you notice verse 9 when it says Jabez got his name because his mother “gave birth to him in pain?” As the pastor explained, the name Jabez basically means “pain.” Can you imagine being called “Pain” all your life? That’s where verse 10 comes in, where Jabez prays that he would be “free from pain.” He wasn’t asking God for a life free from trouble (which is dumb, because Jesus said in this world we’ll have trouble), but that He would be able to turn Jabez’s curse into a blessing. And He did.

Have you ever had something bad happen to you that you could not control? Did you ever ask, “God, why did this happen to me?” In the past I’ve written about being bullied, growing up without a father, and struggling with anxiety/depression. But out of all that, God gave me the chance to encourage and inspire others with my story. We can’t control what happens to us, but God can turn the worse situation into a positive one.

A few days ago I got to talking with some one, and this person said that Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize is “getting ready for the Antichrist.” She then went on about the Rapture and the seven year Tribulation and all that jazz. Now I personally don’t think the President should have won the award, or at least not yet. But the more this person talked, the more I wish I had a pamphlet with me about amillenialism. I also should note that when I told her I went to a Lutheran Church, she asked me what Lutheranism was.

Then there’s the dreaded e-word: evolution. Now since I went to a crappy public high school, we didn’t really go over evolution. But from what little bit I’ve gathered here and there, I think there’s some truth to it. Even Augustine and Calvin said that Genesis chapter 1 probably was not a literal account of the creation of the world. But if you suggest that to a fundamentalist, his or her head will explode with rage. To question the literalness (is that a word?) of the Genesis 1 is to question the literalness of the entire Bible.

But yesterday morning I got to thinking about Romans 14, where Paul writes about how one man’s faith allows him to eat anything, while another person’s faith allows him only vegetables. “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand” (verse 4). So by being snarky, am I judging God’s servants? Am I being too slow to listen and too quick to speak?

What do you think? Can snarky comments lead to judging others?

I never understood why many Christians enjoy conservative pundits like Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and Michelle Malkin. It’s not because they report things that contradict my socialist agenda or anything like that. I’m not against conservatism or conservative media in general; some of my favorite bloggers are conservatives. No, the reason why I don’t like them is because they are just so . . . nasty.

Last July on “Fox and Friends,” Beck said that he believed that President Obama was a racist with a “deep-seated hatred for white people.” Despite several advertisers boycotting his show, his popularity keeps growing. But this isn’t the first time Beck’s said something outrageous. In the past, he has stated that he wanted to kill Michael Moore, called Cindy Sheehan a “tragedy slut,” and compared Al Gore to Hitler.

While not as popular as Beck, Hannity and Malkin have definitely said some doozies. On his Fox News show “Hannity and Colmes” in 2005, Hannity once said that “every filthy Democrat in the U.S. Congress” should be tortured at Guatanamo Bay. And last year, Malkin said that Dunkin Donuts was promoting Islamic terrorism because of a certain scarf Rachel Ray wore in an advertisement.

Now, unless I’m reading it wrong, I’m pretty sure the Bible says not to let “unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:29) Further in Ephesians Paul says to get rid of all malice and slander (4:31). And then there’s Colossians 4:6, which says, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” So why would a Christian either say or listen to such vile words without blinking?

But then again, sometimes I wonder if I’m guilty of the same crime.

Recently on my blog I named Pastor Steven L. Anderson “D-Bag of the Year.” While the title might fit—Anderson is the guy who said he prayed that President Obama would die—technically I am calling him names. Also on Facebook I post a lot of links to stories about outrageous things Beck and others have said, and I usually add a condescending comment saying something like, “Look at this idiot.” But am I putting myself on their level? Are my words no longer seasoned with salt?

What do you think? How do you keep tabs on your words? Where do you draw the line?

For example, there is the “Prosperity Gospel.” According to this gospel, God is willing to give you everything you want and desire if you pray a special prayer, or think positive thoughts. It is closely related to the “Self-Help Gospel,” except that the Prosperity Gospel focuses more on material wealth, while the Self-Help Gospel is more about elevating one’s self-esteem.

A lot of my friends are into the Social Gospel, which focuses on social and political activism. According to this gospel, the political and the spiritual are one; you cannot preach salvation to the sinners without feeding the poor.

And then of course there is the good old Fire and Brimstone Gospel where God hates you so you better get your act together or suffer for all eternity.

All these gospels have nuggets of truth, but none of them tell the full story. God gives us what we need (Matthew 7:11), but not always give us what we want. The Bible says that we are more valuable than many sparrows (Matthew 10:31), but too much self-esteem can quickly lead to believing life is all about our own happiness. In a parable Jesus said that the ones who did not do anything for “the least of these” would not see paradise (Matthew 25:45), but politicizing Him too much will make Him sound like just another political revolutionary. And, yes, there is fire and brimstone, but Jesus came not to condemn the world but to save it (John 3:17).

So what’s your gospel? Is it the Prosperity Gospel? The Social Gospel? Or is it the True Gospel?