365 Reflections

In the Lord's speech to Job, God unloads His immense job description for four chapters. And when you read it, you quickly realize, it's a job only GOD is big enough for.  Job 38:39–39:4 (ESV) “Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, 40 when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in their thicket? 41 Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, and wander about for lack of food? 1 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the does? 2 Can you number the months that they fulfill, and do you know the time when they give birth, 3 when they crouch, bring forth their offspring, and are delivered of their young? 4 Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open; they go out and do not return to them. After unpacking how the cosmos works at the direction of God, the Lord talks about the animal kingdom. In some ways, you are seeing God address creation here in the ord...

The idea that God is not interested in order and process in our worship experience ignores the record both of God's own commitment to order (see the universe and seasons) and the regular reference to order and divisions in the company of Israel's priests and musicians.  As David continues preparation for the Temple build Solomon will undertake after him in 1 Chronicles 24, we see order and division of labor come clearly into place. 1 Chronicles 24:1–4 (ESV) The divisions of the sons of Aaron were these. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2 But Nadab and Abihu died before their father and had no children, so Eleazar and Ithamar became the priests. 3 With the help of Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, David organized them according to the appointed duties in their service. 4 Since more chief men were found among the sons of Eleazar than among the sons of Ithamar, they organized them under sixteen heads of fathers’ houses of ...

The most vilified word in the Bible for 21st century Americans? Here it is... black and white, plain english, Ephesians 5:21 (ESV) submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ . Oh how we hate to submit to anybody. Hey, our country was founded on sticking it to the authorities and tossing our tea into the sea. No one's going to tell us what to do. But herein lies the American Church's greatest opportunity to shine bright. Actually submitting to one another would do two things: 1. It would be obedience to God. 2. It would stick out like a sore thumb in a culture fixated on self-actualization, not self-humiliation. Funny thing is, Paul doesn't just say "Submit to one another." No! He adds, "out of reverence for Christ." he knows first hand that harm done to a Christian is harm done to Christ. What did Jesus ask him on the road to Damascus where he was going to persecute believers? "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute ME?" Jesus qu...