Bible in 90, Day 70: Got bread?

Matthew 16-26

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An old man took a class that used some tricks to help improve memory function.  He was telling his friend about how amazing the class was when his friend asked the name of the course.  “I forgot!” he responded.  “Well use one of your tricks to remember,” his friend encouraged him.  “Good idea!  Ok, what’s the name of that flower that has thorns, and it’s red, and you buy a dozen of them…”  “A rose?” his friend responded.  “Right!  A rose!  Hey, Rose!” he shouted to his wife, “what was the name of that class I’m taking?”

How terrible we are about remembering things.  The disciples had just seen Jesus feed the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish, and the 4,000 with a tad more food on hand.  Yet, when they got in the boat in Matthew 16 and Jesus warned them to be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, their minds jumped to worrying about having enough bread for their journey.  Jesus had just had a run-in with the Pharisees and had this on His mind.  He uses the teachable moment to warn the disciples about them.  The disciples are obviously out of sync here, and when they hear the word “yeast,” their mind jumps to their lunch bags.

Do we have enough bread?  I didn’t bring the bread, I thought you were bringing the bread!  What did Jesus say?  He must’ve realized we don’t have enough bread with us.  Great!  We’ve got nothing to eat, what are we gonna do?

Jesus is a bit disappointed, and asks them if they remember how He had provided for them and the great crowds with virtually no food on hand.  Can you hear the sarcasm implied here?

You saw me feed the 5,000, right?  And then you saw me feed the 4,000, right?  So, why are you worried about the 13 of us having enough food to eat?  We had plenty to eat from just the leftovers from those two meals.

How quickly we forget God’s provision.  God gets us through a difficult time, and we don’t even think about it when the next difficult time comes.  He restores a broken relationship, but we think the next one can’t be saved.  This is why God calls us to remember, all throughout the Bible.  God’s people constantly recount the stories of the exodus, God’s giving of the Promised Land, and His bringing them back into the land after the Exile.  In the New Testament, we are called especially to remember Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, most vividly in the Lord’s Supper.

Let’s never forget what God has done in our lives.  Let’s be intentional about remembering.  Perhaps we can write down in a journal the faithful acts of God in our lives.  We can use times like Thanksgiving and Christmas, or other special family times to remind each other of God’s provision, grace, and love.  Let’s have the faith that God will be good today, just like He was good yesterday.

originally at Words of Reason

Bible in 90, Day 69: Blessed are the peacemakers

Matthew 5-15

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The other day, my oldest son had a friend snatch a toy from him.  He was quite upset and came running to me.  I asked if he could let the other boy have a turn with the toy.  He reluctantly agreed.  Later, I told him I was proud of his handling that so well and sharing.  He told me that after I had talked with him, he had gone to the other boy and told him he shouldn’t snatch toys.  The other boy said, “Oh, can I play with it for a while?” and Corbin said, “Yeah.”  I told my son I was proud of him for being a peacemaker.

Jesus said at the beginning of His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-8), “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”  The gospel is all about peacemaking.  Ultimately, it is about Jesus making peace between God and mankind.  If we fail to understand this, we will never be able to be peacemakers.  When we refuse to make peace and be reconciled to others, we are showing we don’t understand the gospel.

God does not want us to be peace breakers – creating conflict whenever we can.  When we attack in response to sin, whether it be slander, or even violence, we are breaking peace.  We are going against God’s demands that we pray for our enemies, and bless those who curse us.

God does not want us to be peace fakers* – avoiding conflict at all costs in the name of peace.  When we dodge problems, or pretend there is nothing wrong, we are faking peace.  We are lying to ourselves, to the other person involved, and to God.  We are still failing to pursue peace because we are not acknowledging the problem.  Pursuing peace must be active, not passive (Ephesians 4:2).

God wants us to be peacemakers.  This means when we are sinned against, we recognize the sin, call it sin, and confront the one who sinned against us in love.  We do not attack, but we do not hide either.  We seek peace, and pursue it, making every effort to maintain unity.  It also means that when we sin against someone, we recognize our sin, call it sin, and ask forgiveness from the one we’ve sinned against.

Let’s be peacemakers.  Jesus promises that we will be blessed for it.  When we pursue peace, making every effort to maintain unity, even if it costs us something, we are showing that we are God’s children.  We look at lot like Him when we make peace with others.

* the terms peace fakers and peace breakers are not mine, they originate with Ken Sande & Peacemaker Ministries

originally at Words of Reason

Bible in 90, Day 68: Tithe if you love Jesus, anyone can honk!

Malachi 1 – Matthew 4

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Have you ever gotten one of these types of emails?

“If you don’t forward this message to 1,000 people, you don’t really love Jesus.”

or

“Not many will forward this because they are ashamed of Jesus.  He said, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38)

or seen a Honk if you love Jesus bumper sticker?

Let me say this – it takes absolutely no commitment to click forward on an email, and says nothing about one’s faith and trust in Jesus to honk a horn.  I saw a sign outside a church the other day that said, “Tithe if you love Jesus, anyone can honk!”

The whole book of Malachi is about Israel’s offerings and the desecration of the temple because of defiled/lame offerings. God accused the Israelites of stealing from God by bringing him unacceptable offerings.  He warns the priests that they are guilty for accepting such sacrifices.  The people had decided that serving God and bringing the sacrifices He commanded was pointless (3:14).  They only paid lip-service to God with their sacrifices.  They went through the motions, but their sacrifices had become pitiful.

God reminded the people of the blessings He promised for their obedience.  He reminded them that they can never outgive God.  God would provide for them, so long as they’re obedient.  I don’t believe this is a call to give to God so that we will prosper.

As Christians, the command to tithe (that is, to give 10% of one’s earnings to God) has taken on new meaning.  In the new covenant, we understand that all we have belongs to God.  We are merely managers of the resources God has put into our care.  I believe that using 10% as a starting point is a good rule of thumb, but not a legalistic necessity.  We do not give a particular percentage so that we can meet some religious obligation.  Rather, out of the gratitude in our hearts for all that God gives us, and out of a desire to help accomplish the mission He has given us, we give gladly.

Let’s not give lip-service to being committed to Christ.  Let’s not click forward and think we’ve done anything for the Kingdom of God.  Let’s put our money where our mouths are, and give from a cheerful heart (2 Corinthians 9:7).  Let’s be intentional in our giving, whether it be to our church, to support the needy overseas, or to help our next door neighbor. Let’s set aside a portion of what God has entrusted to us to serve His purposes and glorify Him.

originally at Words of Reason