It must be with a grin the the planners of the Bible reading program set up 1 Samuel right at this time. The upcoming income tax deadline. The best part of tax time is when it is done...
So here we go.
1 Samuel 8:10-20 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.”
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.
The situation - the "King's cut" taxes, etc. and also "we want to be like everyone else." God has freed them, cared for them, protected them, chastized them and also loved them. But the grass is greener. They want a king. Okay, I am supposed to learn something from this passage. The grass is not always greener when you get to the other side. As this passage says God will let it happen, let us have what we plead for and then let us bear the consequences. Part of growing up.
I don't want to be like everyone else. I want to innovate, be on the edge and take a few risks. BUT I want ABBA FATHER to take care of me too.
What I should be looking for and striving for is to be "Uniquely HIS, uniquely God's man and leader."
In case I do not make a connection before the deadline, "Happy tax day."
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
No king
Judges 17:6 "In those days Israel had no king, everyone did as he saw fit." No king, no earthly leader... this could lead to trouble. Of course Israel had great kings and bad kings, so having an earthly king was not always trouble free. Good, moral, loving earthly leaders are usually a positive thing for the growth and good life of people.
Louise alerted me to events in our back yard this morning. A big ole turkey. I don't exactly live in the country. In a few moments we not only had a turkey, we had a parade. 14 of those big beautiful multi meal dinners. They were seeking the remnants of any grain under the bird feeder. The big Tom was just big and he was reviewing the front and back of the parade. He never spread his feathers, he did not have to. He simply lead and spoke as necessary. Two other smaller Toms were 'herding" the rest. Our yellow kitty(killer) was at the patio door in awe. She was so in awe she was not chirping and spitting at them like she does with squirrels, crows, birds and other cats. I could not see the whole but I finally figured out the the small Toms who had their tail feathers spread were warning another yellow kitty to stay away. It was hiding behind the tree in it's own awe. Louise was trying to take pictures and I was studying the process. Eventually the boss led the flock thru the back yard and on to better feeding grounds.
If every one of the turkey did what it saw fit they would be more susceptible to predators and the hit an miss of where the food is. Hopefully Tom and company knew where to find the good stuff. My King is Jesus. I do 'like to do as I see fit' and rely on myself. But I also know that God has placed leaders over me and leaders around me. For the good of the whole flock.
Thank you, God, for the parables of nature and the living lessons all around me.
Louise alerted me to events in our back yard this morning. A big ole turkey. I don't exactly live in the country. In a few moments we not only had a turkey, we had a parade. 14 of those big beautiful multi meal dinners. They were seeking the remnants of any grain under the bird feeder. The big Tom was just big and he was reviewing the front and back of the parade. He never spread his feathers, he did not have to. He simply lead and spoke as necessary. Two other smaller Toms were 'herding" the rest. Our yellow kitty(killer) was at the patio door in awe. She was so in awe she was not chirping and spitting at them like she does with squirrels, crows, birds and other cats. I could not see the whole but I finally figured out the the small Toms who had their tail feathers spread were warning another yellow kitty to stay away. It was hiding behind the tree in it's own awe. Louise was trying to take pictures and I was studying the process. Eventually the boss led the flock thru the back yard and on to better feeding grounds.
If every one of the turkey did what it saw fit they would be more susceptible to predators and the hit an miss of where the food is. Hopefully Tom and company knew where to find the good stuff. My King is Jesus. I do 'like to do as I see fit' and rely on myself. But I also know that God has placed leaders over me and leaders around me. For the good of the whole flock.
Thank you, God, for the parables of nature and the living lessons all around me.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Oh Paul , Oh Paul
1 Corinthians 16:20 - 24 "All the brothers here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. If anyone does not love the Lord —a curse be on him. Come, O Lord ! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen."
This is from the reading plan a few days ago. I love Paul. Some of my favorite Bible verses and thought provoking statements are Paul. But he does get carried away sometimes... a curse be upon ++++. Somewhere else it says, "Bless and do not curse." So that is what we teach. He snuck some fire in there. He said what we want to say sometimes. But we are people called to blessing and not cursing. We also remember that words when out are hard to take back. So we keep trying to "tame the tongue" as James would say.
I had this little book I ordered for my partner Davis in Uganda. It was thru Amazon and send by Gram Gram somebody. On the back of the mailing envelope it had these words. "Dear Book, go upon your way over mountain, plain or sea. God Bless all who speed your flight to where I wish you to be and Bless all those beneath the roof where I would bid you rest. Bless even more the one to whom this book is addressed."
I thought that was pretty good stuff. Although it could have said, "Curse the postals who abuse books and take forever to get things to where you send at too much money. Thanks for the money enjoy this purchase. Curse the weather and the things that hinder good business and competitive deliver..." But it didn't. It sent a blessing and it will go farther than it was even thought.
Blessings, Shalom, Good Health and YEE HAH!
This is from the reading plan a few days ago. I love Paul. Some of my favorite Bible verses and thought provoking statements are Paul. But he does get carried away sometimes... a curse be upon ++++. Somewhere else it says, "Bless and do not curse." So that is what we teach. He snuck some fire in there. He said what we want to say sometimes. But we are people called to blessing and not cursing. We also remember that words when out are hard to take back. So we keep trying to "tame the tongue" as James would say.
I had this little book I ordered for my partner Davis in Uganda. It was thru Amazon and send by Gram Gram somebody. On the back of the mailing envelope it had these words. "Dear Book, go upon your way over mountain, plain or sea. God Bless all who speed your flight to where I wish you to be and Bless all those beneath the roof where I would bid you rest. Bless even more the one to whom this book is addressed."
I thought that was pretty good stuff. Although it could have said, "Curse the postals who abuse books and take forever to get things to where you send at too much money. Thanks for the money enjoy this purchase. Curse the weather and the things that hinder good business and competitive deliver..." But it didn't. It sent a blessing and it will go farther than it was even thought.
Blessings, Shalom, Good Health and YEE HAH!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Ever been Gideoned
Judges 6 and 7.
You find out that you are the solution to your complaint. God being your help.
You find out that you want to make a reality check. Is this really God
communicating here? You test with a fleece - God confirms your
suspicions and you are drawn in to the battle, the solution, the
situation. You find that God delights in using the weak to confound the
strong and the small army to do a great battle with God's hand on
protection. "Anyone who is afraid ... go back.. 22,000 men left the
army and 10,000 remained." Then God thins out the ranks to 300 men who
drank from the water properly. Then they go to battle theMidianites and Amalakites who
are described in number as thick as locusts and who had camels as
numerous as the sands on the seashore. Two rather large armies... a lot
more than Gideons 300. But despite the odds God wins the victory and
the praise can only go to God.
How many times have you thought - "just too big, I cannot do it?" Have you had times when God kept pushing you forward anyway? Have you seen the powerful and amazing hand
of God do a mighty thing and been awestruck?
2 Cor. 4:15 reads "All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God."
To the glory of God. That is the goal and the aim. And by the grace of God somehow we benefit, grow, learn, something. The God factor -Gideoned.
You find out that you are the solution to your complaint. God being your help.
You find out that you want to make a reality check. Is this really God
communicating here? You test with a fleece - God confirms your
suspicions and you are drawn in to the battle, the solution, the
situation. You find that God delights in using the weak to confound the
strong and the small army to do a great battle with God's hand on
protection. "Anyone who is afraid ... go back.. 22,000 men left the
army and 10,000 remained." Then God thins out the ranks to 300 men who
drank from the water properly. Then they go to battle theMidianites and Amalakites who
are described in number as thick as locusts and who had camels as
numerous as the sands on the seashore. Two rather large armies... a lot
more than Gideons 300. But despite the odds God wins the victory and
the praise can only go to God.
How many times have you thought - "just too big, I cannot do it?" Have you had times when God kept pushing you forward anyway? Have you seen the powerful and amazing hand
of God do a mighty thing and been awestruck?
2 Cor. 4:15 reads "All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God."
To the glory of God. That is the goal and the aim. And by the grace of God somehow we benefit, grow, learn, something. The God factor -Gideoned.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
little things
This may be all over the place. But I have been thinking about how little things lead to other things. In the positive sense - asking, remembering and using a name can mean a lot. A positive impression and going the extra mile can make a connection for someone who has been far from Christ. I can't actually say why Brewerton UMC has been better and having more guests each week since the first of the year, but I like it. No brag here, just some joy in the ole pastor's heart. I do know one thing that is different, over 50 people are reading the Bible daily. Way cool. Some days, especially in Leviticus, that is not a 'little' thing.
For some reason Micah 6:8 drops in my head here - "Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God." Those are not necessarily big things, but their impact can be. This is "what is good and what the Lord requires of us."
We're giving away free ice, snow and cold here in Brewerton if anyone wants any!
For some reason Micah 6:8 drops in my head here - "Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God." Those are not necessarily big things, but their impact can be. This is "what is good and what the Lord requires of us."
We're giving away free ice, snow and cold here in Brewerton if anyone wants any!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Salt and Fat
Leviticus 2:13 "Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings. Add salt to all your offerings." Without salt in your food it seems to lack. Too much salt ruins it. There is the savory part of adding the salt to the grain offering. It completes it. There may be another part we miss. Salt was precious. It may have been more traded and valuable in some places than the grain. (I can see it now, some smart person will put some in Sunday's offering.) In any case it adds value to the sacrifice. IT marks the covenant promise with God.
On to another scripture - I just love this one especially in Lent - ready Leviticus 3:16 "All the fat is the Lord's." My friend, the rather large Rev. Bill Powell, often quoted it "All fat is the Lord's" he was either saying that he surely belonged to God OR that the fat on him was not his, it belonged to God. I prefer the plan that in making the sacrifices the fat was burnt up. So on to the fat burning plan. Exercise, take care of yourself and offer that fat to God!
"Going to the gym?" someone asks. "No, I am going to make an offering to the Lord." He says. ;-)
On to another scripture - I just love this one especially in Lent - ready Leviticus 3:16 "All the fat is the Lord's." My friend, the rather large Rev. Bill Powell, often quoted it "All fat is the Lord's" he was either saying that he surely belonged to God OR that the fat on him was not his, it belonged to God. I prefer the plan that in making the sacrifices the fat was burnt up. So on to the fat burning plan. Exercise, take care of yourself and offer that fat to God!
"Going to the gym?" someone asks. "No, I am going to make an offering to the Lord." He says. ;-)
Monday, February 4, 2008
Sounds you rarely hear
Today as the wind whistled in the trees I heard the sound of the swish of the ice on the branches. It is a unique and rarely(fortunately) heard sound. The ice had formed on Friday night and the temperature and rain did not melt if off entirely yet.
What is the big deal about this? For one thing it is unique and I seldom hear it. I was pleased by the unique sound and joyful in the beauty which was heard in the midst of a potentially terrible thing. Fortunately no big limbs down or power off for days at a time here.
Don't we all need to heed the good amidst the bad? Such is true in our Bible reading. We can be overwhelmed by the wars or the amount of law in the Old Testament, or we can see the purpose and deeper revelation in the passage. What is behind the most obvious in a text? What is this teaching us about God.
In the case of the whispering ice I found a rare and pleasant sound and I am blessed for it.
What is the big deal about this? For one thing it is unique and I seldom hear it. I was pleased by the unique sound and joyful in the beauty which was heard in the midst of a potentially terrible thing. Fortunately no big limbs down or power off for days at a time here.
Don't we all need to heed the good amidst the bad? Such is true in our Bible reading. We can be overwhelmed by the wars or the amount of law in the Old Testament, or we can see the purpose and deeper revelation in the passage. What is behind the most obvious in a text? What is this teaching us about God.
In the case of the whispering ice I found a rare and pleasant sound and I am blessed for it.
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