365 Reflections

Prayer gets answered. That much is true when you familiarize yourself with scripture. In fact, God is so committed to answering our prayers sometimes the scripture interrupts us with a short story to inform us just how often prayer gets answered. The story is familiar to many Christians. The name has been in the title of books and sermons. It's the one name that stands out other than David in the first 4 chapters of the genealogical record of 1 Chronicles. 1 Chronicles 4:9–10 (ESV) Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” 10 Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked. This text comes alive when you consider its context. The list of names goes on and on. The order and delivery were hugely important for Israel to f...

God is the final and righteous Judge of all.  There's an assumption that God is only interested in making peace for us. He's the problem solver that we turn to when we are in a mess. Or He's the answer-giver when we do not know what to do. But that is not the whole picture scriptures presents of the Lord. He is for peace. He is our peace. He has the answer. He is the answer.  But He is the God of judgment against sin. We see this most clearly at the end of Judah's kingdom as they are judged for years of sin and rebellion against the Lord.  2 Kings 24:2–4 (ESV) And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldeans and bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servants the prophets. 3 Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and also ...

Josiah is a king like no other before him or after him in the Old Covenant. His reforms clean house in a nation utterly corrupted. His passion to obey God was unparalleled even by David and Hezekiah. He not only brought Israel to national repentance, but he also restored the sacred meal that signified who they were.  2 Kings 23:21–23 (ESV) And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the LORD in Jerusalem. The Passover for Israel was what the Lord's Supper is for us. It is the meal that God's covenant people ate with their deliverer (Jesus for us/Moses for them). Both meals were inaugurated on the night before the death of the firstborn (of God for us/of Pharoah for the...

2 Kings 20:1 (ESV) In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’ ” The life of Hezekiah is one many Christians can relate to. He had his moments of great faith and trust in the Lord, but he also had moments of pride and selfishness. At this moment, he's on the verge of death. Now in this weakened state the prophet Isaiah comes along with the worst news possible. He's going to die. Consider being in Hezekiah's shoes. You're weak and ill and the only word you get from the prophet is impending death. Yikes.  What would you do if God's servant told you you were going to die? I imagine many of us would resign ourselves to God's diagnosis. After all, it is God's decision, and who can change it? I think we'd suppose He has reasons and that we perhaps deserved it and there's no chan...

Deuteronomy 8:2–5 (ESV) And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord . 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. The root of discipleship is discipline. A disciple is one who is disciplined by certain events SO THAT they might do more important certain events. A soldier disciplines his body to run, crawl, hike, aim, shoot and press on in challenging circumstances. A musician practices rudimentary disciplines by re...

The third piece of furniture mentioned in the Tabernacle Israel was to manufacture was the Golden Lampstand. Exodus 25:31–33 (ESV) “You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of hammered work: its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. 32 And there shall be six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it; 33 three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. The place where Israel was to meet with God was to be filled with light. Light brings information. Light illuminates. Both the scriptures and science agree that the Universe began with light. Light leads and guides.  The Israelites were to know that not only does God's pr...

Genesis 50:24–26 (ESV) And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. I think the best part about a Christian's life is how they die. If they die believing God for greater things, if they die believing God is able, if they die still trusting the sovereign nature of our God and His promises - to me, that is a great testimony for the world. A Christian is not one who throws their hands in the air in frustration at the future. No! Our God is able! A Christian is able to face death not seeking to escape the cataclysm of the world but a Christian is able to face death know God's Spirit and power will work mightily through those comi...

Genesis 45:24 (ESV) Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.” This last command of Joseph concerning his brother's travels back to get their father and come with him to Egypt has a twinge of humor. He knows these guys. He understands they have been liars and deceivers for years. He knows they tend to look out for number one. So before they leave to go get dad one little admonishment is tossed out there: "Don't fight on your way back to dad." Joseph knows they are going to have to come clean to dad. They are going to have to confess that the robe they dipped in blood out of jealousy was their doing. They are going to have to let him know that his preference for Joseph irritated them to no end. It's going to be tempting for them to go back to dad and start making excuses. Reuben would be able to tell how he wanted to save the boy. Judah will try to tell him how he stopped them from killing him and ins...

In Genesis 45, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers and immediately sheds his love upon them in full measure. Then after than, he adorns them with gifts and promises - the best of the land. Notice how Pharaoh instructs Joseph to speak to his family: Genesis 45:17–20 (ESV) And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, 18 and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’ 19 And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20 Have no concern for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’ ” I think about how Joseph was so adored by his boss (Pharaoh) that he would be instructed by him to give his family all these things! Pharaoh wants those Joseph knows and loves to be blessed and well care...

When you consider all that Joseph had been through with his brothers and time in Egypt, there's no question that his self-disclosure to them in Genesis 45 is particularly amazing. Judah's heart-felt speech to protect Benjamin at the cost of his own life has shown Joseph the change of heart evident now in those who once sought his own demise. Genesis 45:1–2 (ESV)   Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Genesis 45:14–15 (ESV) Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him. Weeping, weeping and more weeping. He is genuinely loving these brothers of his in outward and openly emotional ways. These ...

Think of all the evil Joseph suffered because of his brothers. Yet shortly after his rough conversation with them and taking Simeon into custody, Joseph rolls out the red carpet for his brothers in acts of tremendous generosity.  Genesis 43:16 (ESV) When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon.” Genesis 43:24 (ESV)  And when the man had brought the men into Joseph’s house and given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their donkeys fodder, Genesis 43:34 (ESV) Portions were taken to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry with him. Joseph does everything to be kind to these men who treated him with such hostility. I don't know if I would have done the same. But there is only one reason. He loved them. ...

Genesis 38:1 (ESV) It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. Genesis 38 is the chapter that appears to be out of place. We just started to get into the story of Joseph. He's on the way to Egypt and our minds are thinking about what may happen to him. Suddenly, we are encountered with this long narrative of sexual dalliance in Judah. Judah goes to the Canaanites and intermarries. He has children, two of which died, and after his wife passes, he ends up sleeping with his son's daughter because she thought she was a cult prostitute. The reality was she positioned herself perfectly to bait him into this action and then turned the tables on his hypocrisy when he found out she was pregnant. Meanwhile, as Judah is the slave of his own desires and deceit, Joseph's life will take the opposite track in the next chapter. Potiphar's wife will pursue Joseph and he will reject her citing such...

Genesis 37:26–28 (ESV) Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt. The patriarch from whom Jesus will come is infamously known here as Judah. Appropriately, his namesake in the New Testament is the one who sells Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Joseph sold for twenty.  Judah masks his greed with sanctimony. "he is our brother" he proclaims upon the bright idea conceived to make a little money off getting rid of Joseph. Only a truly cruel human would rather sell his brother to slavery than kill him simply for the share in a measly profit. Yet that is what Judah does.  The scriptures move...

The heading in our Bibles is incorrect. It often reads above the 22nd verse in Genesis 32, "Jacob Wrestles with God." But the text doesn't say that. It says: Genesis 32:24 (ESV)   And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. Who was looking for this fight? It certainly couldn't have been Jacob. He was a nervous wreck! He was praying and planning on how to appease his brother. He was devising his schemes to come home peacefully because Laban's home had nothing for him and God spoke to him about returning. The problem was Esau. Four hundred soldiers were coming with him. That's not a pretty piece of news.  So after praying and planning and sending everyone ahead of him, Jacob is alone and God comes and picks a fight. He wrestles with Jacob all night. Have you ever wrestled? It's exhausting. Jacob keeps the fight going for hours! I don't know how he did it. But the funny thing is, God has to do something t...

No one's life is remembered long term for that many moments. Even in the most famous of people, it's one or two key times where they did or said something that changed a lot for many people. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "I have a Dream." Ronald Reagan said, "Tear down this wall." John F. Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you..." These are what we remember them for. What will be the thing you are remembered for? Abraham's life has a lot of high points but there is one moment everyone knows about for either the sheer inhumanity of it all or the theology behind it. That moment is in Genesis 22, when God asked Abraham to sacrifice is one and only son whom he loved. Genesis 22:1–2 (ESV) After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mo...

Genesis 13:10 (ESV)   And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord , like the land of Egypt , in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) When Abram and Lot separate, Abram puts the choice in Lot's hands as where to go. Then Lot mentally compares the desirable land to Egypt and Eden. To understand this passage you have to understand how Egypt and Israel function very differently environmentally. Deuteronomy 11:10–12 (NLT)  For the land you are about to enter and take over is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you planted your seed and made irrigation ditches with your foot as in a vegetable garden. 11 Rather, the land you will soon take over is a land of hills and valleys with plenty of rain— 12 a land that the Lord your God cares for. He watches over it through each season of the year! Do you see what that’s saying? Egypt and ...

Psalm 130 is a cry for forgiveness with one word missing: "Repentance." Many times we are overwhelmed by the idea that we may not be truly forgiven because we weren't sincere enough or didn't cry enough, or didn't express our sorrow enough. It's a trap. It's a trap because to believe your forgiveness is based on your performance in sorrow is to make God's grace dependent on your emotional toil! The Psalmist states flatly... Psalm 130:3–4 (ESV)   If you, O Lord , should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. Notice, the forgiveness of God in this verse precedes the fear of God in the worshipper. We come to fear God because we come to know our sin but also realize the depth of his forgiveness was always greater than we ever first realized.  The problem with many Church goers is NOT that they have a cheap view of grace, but rather a cheap view of the law. We measure ourselves by ...

Psalm 127:1–5 (ESV)   Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.           3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord , the fruit of the womb a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. 5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. When I first read this Psalm I thought it was two different Psalms that have been forced into one. The first part is about building something - industry, work, labor. The second about family, children and rest (which often don't go together). But I was wrong. I learned that Jewish people see this Psalm as a unit because in their mind all areas of life flow togethe...

A common literary technique is the use of extremes right next to each other: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." "The more things change the more they stay the same" Here's the shortest and most profound in history: "Jesus wept." The joy of the whole Earth cried in sadness. The resurrection and the life looked on death and let the tears flow. That's powerful contrast. Here's another: Psalm 126:5–6 (NLT) Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. 6 They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest. I love this line. It's a contrasting reminder of heaven. Because while we are here on Earth - our lives are filled with tears and weeping. Frustrations in relationships, in work, in hopes and dreams and family and friends abound. We are met with our own frailties more and more the older we get. Every time we pass one test, another harder test is coming fo...

Typically when God does something special or new in our lives, the enemy is enraged and attacks. Jesus said in the parable of the soils (Matthew 13) the evil one comes in and steals the seed of the Word before it even has a chance to settle into the soil. The enemy of our souls hates the power of God's Word. It's because he (the enemy) knows the power of God's Word even more than us. It is the first thing he sought to question before the woman in the garden. The longest Psalm of the collection is dedicated to the Psalmist's love for God's Word. He commits to it and desires it... praying earnestly:  Psalm 119:18–19 (ESV)   Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. 19 I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me! He wants God's Word deep in his heart because he knows his time on Earth is strange and at times unwelcome. He needs the guidance of the God of heaven. But notice that as soon as he desires God's W...