All is Well

Before me, even as behind, God is, and all is well ~ John Greenleaf Whittier

Doctor’s and Daniel and the Lion’s Den (Sad Attempt at Alliteration)

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Well, if nothing it’s at least been an interesting day.  I went to the doctor and did not get the report that I had hoped to get.  And now, a chest cold is on it’s way.  And one more medical test later on this week.

So tonight I’ve pretty much just chilled with my crew, watching our all-time favorite movie “Spirit: Horse of the Cimmeron”.  Yep Yep Yep.  Love.  That.  Movie.  We have not watched it in a few years, but we cracked up when we realized that all 5 of us still know the words to every song in the movie–and we sang each and everyone of them, loudly.

I love my crew.  We’re all odd ducks.

As I lie here recuperating so I can go to work tomorrow, I decided to look at Daniel 6, the chapter that will be preached on this Sunday at Seaford Baptist Church.

Daniel would make a great flannel graph story, I can see it now–ferocious lions ready to tear Daniel apart

(Flat Daniel gets thrown into the Lion Den with mean looking lions)(close your eyes boys and girls)(scene change)(Open your eyes boys and girls, what do you see?)  (Pick me!!  Pick me!!) (Ok BillieBob, what do you see?)(I see the lions and Daniel standing together in the lion’s den, they don’t look mean anymore and  they didn’t eat him.  Shucks.)(Sunday School Teacher sighs exasperatedly and checks her watch and wonders when they will be bringing this class their kool-aid and cookies)

But of course, the story of Daniel can not be broken down into a simple flannel graph story.  No, there is much in this passage that bears examination and study.

The story starts out with King Darius appointing satraps over the people, and then appointing 3 high officials over the satraps.  Daniel was one of these.  However, as King Darius observed Daniel’s leadership, he elevated Daniel’s position to be one that was over the entire kingdom.

Admittedly, I know very, very little about Daniel.  Not much more than this story here, about the Lion’s Den.  So, I wonder Why?  Why was Daniel chosen to be over the entire kingdom?  Why not one of the other guys?

I think we see the answer in Verse 3:

Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

An excellent spirit was in him.  An excellent spirit was in him.  I’m not sure what that means, or what it would look like, or how it came about that it would be Daniel that would have this excellent spirit.  If something is “excellent”, it is said to be possessing outstanding quality or superior merit.  But where did this excellent spirit come from?  I’ve looked in my limited resources and did not find much help.  I would venture to say that it is the Holy Spirit, but did the Holy Spirit indwell like this before Jesus’ death and resurrection and the giving of the Holy Spirit to the believers after Jesus’ resurrection?  I don’t know.

Does it mean that his personality was excellent, that he would be granted the position based on the excellency of his leadership skills?  I don’t know.  But I do know that I want to be a good leader.

Wow, there’s a lot I don’t know tonight.  I don’t have an answer to any of this.  And honestly I hurt a bit too much tonight to give clear and careful scripture work and writing.  But I will say this.  I want an excellent spirit in me.  I want to know what that looks like.

I want to be different.

Mark 12:41-44: The Woman who Gave Two Mites

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This morning was Sacrifice Sunday at Seaford Baptist.  I wrote my thoughts about it last night, you can find those here.  But today I want to review a bit of the sermon that was preached regarding sacrifice.

Pastor Dennis preached on Mark 12:41-44, a very familiar passage if you are one who has grown up in church.  I remember it being a “Flannagraph” story, with a hunched over old woman putting one coin in (because the other flannalgraph coin always seemed to be missing)

I’ll let Scripture tell you the story:

 

Mark 12:41-44

41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

What struck me about this story this morning, is that there was no interaction between Jesus and the widowed woman.  None.  Jesus seized the opportunity, the example even, to teach his disciples a critical lesson.  A lesson that so very much went against the prevailing thought of the day during that time.  And, dare I say also a thought that tends to go against the prevailing thought for this time and age as well?

But back to the fact that there was no interaction between Jesus and this woman.  I wonder why?  I wonder why he did not approach her, did not acknowledge her, did not bless her or publicly point her out?  I wonder why he didn’t even speak to her.

I’ve pondered this off and on all day, and the conclusion I’ve come to is this:  Had Jesus approached her, acknowledged her, speak to her, than she would have been publicly exalted for the small gift that she gave.  But this woman was giving all that she could, in this two insignificant coins, out of true sacrifice—she did not expect accolades.  She did not expect for her giving to be exalted or placed in that very public arena.  I think that Jesus knew that to acknowledge and point her out, would remove the very personal and intimate sacrifice between this woman and her God, Yahweh.  Instead he wisely quietly observed, used it as a teaching moment for his disciples, and granted her significant honor without disrupting what was most important–that of her sacrifice between she and her God.  He knew her soul.

This picture of selfless giving is a tremendous challenge to us today, in this world where we fight and claw to be acknowledged, to win, to receive accolades for the “great sacrifices we make”.  But o, how much better; how much more pleasing to God as incense, is this private moment of worship that this woman participates in, as she gives her two mites.

How does that apply to us today?  How does it apply to me today?  I’m not really sure, except that it causes me to think about the importance of worshipping God through my tithes and offerings.  But beyond that, it cuts to my soul that I must have the kind of faith this widow had–faith that could lead her to give everything she’s got in an act of worship that is a beautiful exchange between she and her Heavenly Father.

When I Struggle……Praying Scripture

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May I be honest with my readers tonight?  I am struggling tonight.  Very much so.   It’s just one of those nights where it is taking more energy than usual to climb up and out of this heavy darkness that threatens to undo me at times.

I despise nights like this…nights when I am anxiety-ridden, nights when I can’t seem to settle down.  Nights when the night ahead seems eternally long, and the ironic fear is that it will be terminally short on sleep.

A friend wrote an encouraging and very interesting  blog post today about praying the gospel and how that can create two things essential to real evangelism–humility and confidence.  Both of which I have little of, but that is not the point I wish to make here tonight.  Instead, I want to capitalize upon his suggestion of praying the gospel in such a way that I hope it will settle my soul.  And maybe help yours as well.

His suggestion is that we “take a familiar passage and make it personal”, and by doing so there is a greater chance that the life-giving words will work on your soul and mind so as to produce the qualities mentioned above-humility and confidence. (an idea based on Tim Keller’s words that can be read here on J.D. Greear’s blog) But it also, I believe, can not only cultivate humility and confidence, but–I hope–I pray–will also create an awareness of peace in the midst of a storm, whether that storm is visible or hidden in the depths of your soul and mind.

This can often be done with the Psalms (though admittedly not evangelistic per se), without even having to change many of the pronouns.  For example, I need Psalm 4 to be truth for me:

1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! 2 O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah 3 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him. 4 Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah 5 Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord. 6 There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!” 7 You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. 8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep;  for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

 There is so much in this Psalm that is applicable:  I need to ponder in my own heart on my bed, and be silent.  Silence is hard for me.
Tomorrow on Sacrifice Sunday I need to “Offer right sacrifices and put my trust in the Lord”.
And tonight, well, honestly tonight I need to know verse 8 as truth:  In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
John 3:16:  For God so loved me, that He gave his only son that if I believe in Him I will not perish, but have eternal life.
Hard to believe this oft-repeated and most memorized verse is truth for me, that God loved me that much, but also so grateful that it is truth for me, for you, and for those that we pray will also believe some day.

Sacrifice Sunday: Obedience

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Tomorrow morning, my church, Seaford Baptist, will observe “Sacrifice Sunday”.  This will be a time, rather, a morning set aside for the congregation to bring a “sacrifice” to our church and symbolically place it into a chest on the altar.  The hope and prayer behind this concept is to work toward paying off our debt in order to be able to free up our budget to do ministry–to be more available and prepared to minister as God leads SBC in the future.

I have prayed and struggled over what to place into that wooden chest since it was first announced.  Tonight I am at peace over what I believe God has led me to do.  However, I am even more challenged by the words of Samuel as spoken to Saul in 1st Samuel 15:22.

A little background first:  God sent King Saul on a mission—to destroy the Amalekites.  The exact command is as such:

18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’

“Fight against them until they are consumed.  Yesterday morning on my early drive to work, I came upon a “Just Happened” accident involving 5 cars that I could tell, one of them being a mini-van that was on fire.  Not just a little one fire.  It was being consumed by fire.  It was completely engulfed.  There was going to be nothing left of that mini-van.  A disconcerting and disturbing sight.  But my point is, it was consumed.  And the Amalekites were to be consumed as well.

But King Saul, thinking on his own gave this excuse to Samuel as to why the Amalekites and all of their possessions were not completely consumed:

“But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

A good thing–at least in King Saul’s mind.  And yet it was not what the Lord had required of him.  It was not complete obedience.

Samuel goes on to say what sounds like harsh words to King Samual:

22 And Samuel said,  “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, 

as in obeying the voice of the Lord?   Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, 

and to listen than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination, 

and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.   Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, 

he has also rejected you from being king.

Wow.  But God, don’t you see that the people’s intentions were good?  Don’t you see all the spoil and riches and animals they have brought to sacrifice to you?

To obey is better than sacrifice.  To obey is better than sacrifice.  Rebellion is as the sin of divination.  Tough, tough words.

I don’t write this to be critical of Sacrifice Sunday, instead I write it in full support of the day.  As long as we remember that to obey God is what He desires.  Sometimes–no, a lot of times I think it is probably easier to sacrifice than to obey.  I know it is with me.  I can write a check, give to a cause, go without something in order to provide aid somewhere easier than I can obey my God and my Jesus.  Because rebellion is my default track.  Rebellion is what comes easy, and I am sad to say that sometimes I answer my God with “But God–I know I disobeyed you, but don’t you see how much I’ve sacrificed for good things, for good reasons?”

So part of my responsibility on Sacrifice Sunday is to commit to be more aware of obeying my God.  And to pray for my church, that God will bless the sacrifices given tomorrow so that we are freed up financially–not just to do good “things” but to be obedient to what it is God would have us to do in the future.

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