Crumbling Kingdom and the Prophets “Changing the Present”

S = Isaiah 58:6-9

“Is not this the fast that I choose:
    to loose the bonds of wickedness,
    to undo the straps of the yoke,
    to let the oppressed go free,
             and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
    and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
    and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
    the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
    you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’…”

O = We are studying the work of the prophets during the “Collapsing Kingdom” years in Israel and Judah. Their primary function was to speak God’s Word for today (challenging social and personal injustices and any form of idolatry or wickedness) not predicting the future. Their message was crucial, but not popular because they said the hard things that people didn’t want to hear. The more power and wealth a person had the less open they were to listen to God’s messenger the prophets. At the same time that the prophets warned of coming judgment because of their hardness of heart (towards both God and people), they gave hope to those who would repent and look forward to the restoration that God will bring (e.g., Jeremiah 29:11-14; Isaiah 35:8-10) after the time of exile. We see God’s tender fatherly care for his children (Hosea 11), but front and center is his concern for the just treatment of the poor and powerless. He makes it very clear that we can’t compartmentalize our lives. If we are not treating our family and neighbors with respect and love then our religious activities mean nothing.

A = I need to live an authentic spiritual life so that I am not just doing religious things to buy myself a little favor from God (which doesn't work), but that I am responding to his love for me with love for him and those he has made. That inner change works its way outward and doesn’t stop at the door of the church. I want to decorate with this kind of Christmas light this year…the light of God’s love poured out for the hopeless and helpless.

P = O Lord, may my heart be quickened by your amazing love to make a difference in those around me. Let me see what isn’t working and hear from you what I can do about it. Break down the internal walls I tend to put up to separate my life into manageable parts, instead, shape me into one consistently shining lamp of your love. Help me to make others merry this Christmas! Amen.  

The Messengers: Elijah “The Journey Is Too Great For You”

A SOAP Journal based on 1 Kings 18-19

S = 1 Kings 19:4, 7-8  But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” …And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.

O = Elijah, was a godly and miracle-working prophet faithfully brought God’s message to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, to Ahab & Jezebel the most wicked king and queen of all (1 Kings 16:30). In chapter 18, we see that Elijah had just confronted and defeated 450 wicked false prophets, prayed for rain to end a runs a marathon to beat Ahab’s chariot back to town (18:49). Then, at Jezebel’s threat Elijah fled to Beersheba (111 miles), putting the Southern Kingdom of Judah between himself and Jezebel. Finally, Elijah was utterly spent and asked that he might die. Despite all the amazing things Elijah had done, he was a man just like me, limited, flawed, no better than his fathers (19:4).

A = “The journey is too great for you” is something I realize almost every day. I wouldn’t have made it as far as Elijah that’s for sure! There are many practical lessons that I can learn from Elijah’s experience. I know that failure comes often on the heels of success and I need to keep my guard up. I need to do good self-care, eating and sleeping regularly or I will tend to doubt God and run from challenges. Yet, in Elijah’s despair there is an important lesson for me. I need to be willing to confess my need and be willing to surrender my life completely into God’s hands (v.4) not as the end of my ministry…but as the beginning step in a fuller understanding of the presence of God. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6-8). I must surrender my life into God’s hands more completely each day…before I get to the end of my rope. 

P = O Lord, I need you more than ever. You know me better than I know myself and as I make my plans, I trust you to interrupt if you need to and to determine my steps. As I seek to find my rest and strength in you, draw near to me today and always! Empower and encourage me to face the challenges which I face today and in the days to come. Let me live for your glory alone! Amen.

The Heart of the Big Story "In This Way..."

SOAP Journal based on John 3 “In this way…”

S = 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

O = This verse we considered this week is probably the best know verse in the Bible…but I think we don’t understand it as well as we think. This verse ties in as the heart of God’s Big Story from Genesis to Revelation. God has always been the same and his mission has always been to reconcile his fallen creation back to himself. The Greek word translated “so” literally means “in this way.” It is in this way that God loved the world! We need to adjust the way we look at what the Bible says about what God is like. As one affective theologian said, “God is not a Judge who loves when he can, but a Lover who judges when he has to.” Another important bit of context is that Jesus says this in a conversation with Nicodemus a Pharisee, who by training and practice would have looked around in condemnation of others. Jesus was dealing with Nicodemus’ faulty views of God, of others, and of how someone can have relationship with God. It is grace by faith, not law by works.

A = When I read this verse I have to overcome the familiarity that says I’ve read that verse a thousand times, and pause to listen for what it says about the nature of God. If God really loves (even me) and didn’t come to condemn, then the way I look at people should begin to reflect God’s love not my condemnation. If this week I can begin to look for ways that God’s love and grace are working all around me instead of focusing on the shortcomings of those I see, meet, work with, and live by, it will not only add to my joy in this season, but I will be able to encourage others more effectively. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict us of sin (so that we repent and return to Jesus) and I choose to not do his job for him this week!

P = O Lord, thank you for taking my place, for assuming my frailties and failures. Your love amazes me, heals me, and changes the way I see others. I pray that they could see your love at work in me this week. Show me Lord how you would have me participate in your great mission to reconcile the world to you and to each other! May you work your righteousness in me as I respond to your love poured out for me! Amen.