Monday Morning Devotion (Remembering Your Identity)

Posted on October 29, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

10But I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you speak in unity, and that there not be divisions among you. Let yourselves become of one mind and of one opinion. 11For I’ve heard something about you, my brothers and sisters, from those of the household of Chloe. I’m told there are factions among you! 12This is what I’m saying: Each one of you says, “I’m of Paul!” or “I’m of Apollos!” or “I’m of Cephas!” or even “I’m of Christ!” 13Has Christ been divided? Surely it wasn’t Paul who was crucified for you, or into Paul’s name that you were baptized! — 1 Corinthians 1:10-13

When somebody asks who you are, what do you say? What do you think? If they asked you about your religion, what would you say? Are you a follower of Jesus, a Christian, a Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, or member of some specific non-denominational church?

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians they were having an identity crisis. They weren’t sure who they were as a group, and many different factions among them had some pretty wild ideas of precisely what their identity was. Paul called them to be of one mind and one opinion. Now this isn’t a devotional about church unity. I could write a whole bunch about church unity, defining it, defending it, talking about how you make or break it, and so forth.

But today I want to stick with a simpler question: Who are you? Who am I? What is our key identity?

Paul asked the Corinthians the question: Has Christ been divided? The reason he asked that was simply that the Corinthians were identifying themselves with lots of people and lots of factions and not specifically with Christ. There were even people who were identifying themselves as “of Christ,” but who did so to distinguish themselves from other Christians and mark themselves as special.

Who died for you? Jesus did! Into whose body were you baptized? Christ’s body! As a Christian, one who has been “buried with him by baptism,” you have died, and your primary identity is Jesus. When you meet people and introduce yourself, you are introducing them to Jesus. People ask me how they can witness. I tell them that they are witnessing. The question is whether it is a good witness or not.

If I introduce you to someone I can tell you many things about them. Those things can be good or bad. I can sound enthusiastic or not. I can suggest just by my tone of voice whether this person would make a good friend.

The temptation is to present yourself as a partisan for your church congregation, your denomination, or your tradition. In that way your church membership is just another point of reference in who you are, like your employment, your membership in civic organizations, or your political party.

But when you say, “I’m a follower of Jesus,” that’s who your are. That’s a key to your identity. You may hold up your church congregation and the various reasons why that is the particular place where you worship and serve, but Jesus is front and center.

My challenge to myself, and to you as well, is to live this week with the realization that I am constantly introducing people to Jesus whether I want to or not. What kinds of things am I telling those I meet about Jesus?

Posted in 1 Corinthians, Bible Books, Devotional | Comments Off on Monday Morning Devotion (Remembering Your Identity)

Friday Morning Devotion (Abominations)

Posted on October 26, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

16There are six things the Lord hates,
Seven that are abominations to his very being:
17Haughty eyes,
Lying tongue
Hands pouring out innocent blood.
18A mind fashioning wicked plans,
Feet running toward evil,
19Breath carrying falsehood,
False testimony,
Anyone who sends out strife between brothers. — Proverbs 6:16-19

I have a survey idea. I’d like to ask a representative sample of church goers what the things are that God hates, really hates, in fact, considers to be abominations. I’m guessing that we would get many different answers. I’m fairly sure that sexual sins would be fairly close to the top of the list. And there certainly are sexual sins that are listed as abominations in scripture.

Yet here in this list in Proverbs, the things that God hates are a bit different. Look at these items:

Haughty eyes – which we could call, with the CEV, being “too proud.” Pride goes before a fall, and pride is underlying most other sins. Paul uses the phrase “not think of yourself more highly than you ought (Romans 12:3).” I can relate this to my “other” work in computers. If I announce that I can fix something, but I actually lack the knowledge, my downfall is coming soon. What I have to do is know my capabilities.

Lying tongue – lying is almost a way of life, I think. We at least become very careless with the truth and we tolerate a great deal of lying in others. Yet it is an abomination.

Hands pouring out innocent blood – here’s where we think we’re safe, right? None of us are murderers. But wait! Jesus said that a murderous anger, murdering in your heart, was the same as murder. It certainly damages you. Oops! Maybe I’m not so safe from “abominations” after all!

A mind fashioning wicked plans – I don’t know whether this means they must be carried out or not. I would prefer to work on my tendency to fashion a revenge on someone, and then oh so righteously give it up because I’m such a good person. It seems that God doesn’t see that as all that good.

Feet running toward evil – which way are your feet pointing? If we ran away from evil more often, we’d find temptation much weaker.

Breath carrying falsehood – have you ever encountered someone who literally lived and breathed falsehood? Sometimes it seems their whole life is a lie. It’s nice to point it at someone else, isn’t it? But if we start with the lying tongue, eventually our lives become just layer after layer of falsehood, and we “breath out lies” on a constant basis.

False testimony – Wow! Did you notice how many of these deal with falsehood?

Anyone who sends out strife between brothers – this one we like to point at others. When there is conflict it is always someone else’s fault. There are times when conflict is inevitable. Then you have to ask yourself this: “Am I creating the strife, or standing up for the right?” We always want to think we’re just standing up for the right while the other guy is creating the strife. But there’s another element. This refers specifically to the person who creates a conflict between other people. It will generally lead right back to the sin of gossip, probably the most prevalent sin of the church.

How do we avoid all these abominations? Jesus summarized it: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself. That’s what this passage says in a nutshell.

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Thursday Morning Devotion (Distractions)

Posted on October 25, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

28And YHWH opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have struck me these three times?” 29And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have played a dirty trick on me! I wish I had a sword in my hand. I’d kill you with it right now!” 30But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life? Have I ever been in the habit of doing such a thing to you?” And Balaam said, “No.”

31And YHWH opened Balaam’s eyes and he saw YHWH’s angel standing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand. He bowed and worshiped on his face. — Numbers 22:28-31

I have a weakness. Well, actually, I have a number of weakness, but only one I’m going to talk about today! I can get focused on accomplishing one thing to the exclusion of everything else. I will ignore everyone and everything. If someone tries to distract me, it makes me very angry. I want to stomp on all the distractions and get on with the obviously brilliant thing I’m working on.

Now it’s always fun to find Bible characters who share your weaknesses. It’s nice to know that some hero of the faith like David, Jeremiah, or Peter share it, and thus you can say, “I’m not so bad. ____ did that in the Bible and he’s a great hero. In this case, however, the character who shares my weakness is Balaam. He didn’t get very far on what he wanted to do, and he ended up dying in a war (Numbers 31:8). He’s not remembered as one of the good guys!

Now I’m not saying that focus is a great sin, and those who commit it will end up like Balaam. Focus can also be a strength. The problem is that we need to be able to change course as necessary. Have you ever started driving somewhere that was different than usual, but let’s say you drive past your work place, or some friend’s home that you visit regularly, and by habit you drive to the place you normally go? Then you have to turn around and continue to the right place.

Sometimes when we’re on the wrong track God has to work very hard to get our attention. Consider Balaam. His donkey, apparently well behaved—or at least that’s what Balaam says—takes him off the road three times in various ways. Finally, God lets the donkey talk. Balaam, however, is so focused on where he is going and what he wants to do that he even starts arguing with the donkey without thinking about it. Finally, God opens his eyes and he sees an angel standing there with drawn sword. Oops! Have we got a problem here!

You see sometimes we go forward into hardship and we assume the devil is doing it to us and that we must plow through. No matter what happens, we go ahead planning to do the same thing. We think it’s that annoying donkey when it’s really the angel of the Lord.

At the same time the Holy Spirit can lead us into something that is very difficult and challenging. We can’t be certain that just because there are difficulties, God is not leading. Jesus followed God’s lead all the way to the cross!

What’s the answer? Seeing things. Balaam sees when God opens his eyes. He doesn’t ask God to open his eyes, however, until he’s arguing with the donkey. He could have asked God to open his eyes the first time the donkey took him off the path, but he didn’t.

When distractions and hardships come, don’t let them stop you. But do slow down long enough to ask God to open your eyes and let you know what he’s trying to accomplish through that particular event. The devil may be after you. On the other hand it may be God’s angel, directing you away from a dangerous path. Balaam insisted, and his path led to death in war with Israel.

Posted in Bible Books, Devotional, Numbers | Comments Off on Thursday Morning Devotion (Distractions)

Wednesday Morning Devotion (Spiritual Community)

Posted on October 24, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

Note: I got very pressed for time this morning, so I’m posting here a transcript of my podcast on Running Toward the Goal that deals with the rules of warfare and spiritual community.

2Now as you approach battle, the priest should step forward and speak to the people. 3He should say to them, “Hear, Israel! You are approaching battle today against your enemies. Don’t let your spirits faint from fear. Don’t be afraid, don’t panic and flee, and don’t be terrified of them. 4Because YHWH your God is the one walking among you to fight against your enemies for you and to save you. — Deuteronomy 20:2-4

I want to remind you as I continue this series that I’m taking a passage that is written to deal with literal warfare, and I’m applying it metaphorically to spiritual warfare.

In our first of this series we discussed spiritual warfare and how physical warfare is used to teach lessons about the struggle of our Christian lives. In the second, I discussed the value and the danger of fear. We’re still talking about fear in our passage for today, but I want to talk specifically about the remedy, because it’s one that I encounter frequently.

Numerous times in my ministry I’ve been asked to talk with someone or pray with them about spiritual problems. Sometimes these are people who believe they are oppressed by demons. At other times they simply don’t know what is wrong. They will often tell me about having gone to church after church, and how they have found no help, or even have been rejected.

What they hope is that I can find the prayer or the formula that will solve all of their problems in one easy session. Now note that I am not a pastor. I do not head a church. I lead an educational ministry that tries to serve a number of churches. But one of our principles is that we minister through local churches to the maximum extent possible. Why is that? It’s simply because the local church provides a family and support for Christian believers in their warfare.

You see, I’ve found one thing in common with these people who approach me for help. It is likely that one reason I find this is because I am not a pastor, and so the people who approach me are generally those who don’t have a church home. But the fact is that not one of them is in a good, healthy relationship with a local church family, and they do not have a pastor that they trust and can approach for prayer.

I know that I cannot provide them with an answer unless they will find that connection. I can pray for them. I can make suggestions, I can hope. But the key, not a key, the key to their gaining spiritual health is to find that community and live together as part of it, accountable to their brothers and sisters.

Notice how in our passage as the Israelites approach battle they call for the priest. It is not the king, the general, or their own captain who gives this speech, but the priest. They are being reminded of something more important than the words when that one man gets up to speak to them. They already know the words. But when the priest gets up and says it, he ties it with the community, and he speaks it with a spiritual authority.

If you are involved in spiritual struggles, ask yourself this: Who is my priest? Who is standing to my left and my right as I go into battle? If you can’t answer those questions readily, then you may well not be ready for battle.

I can answer those questions. I can go to my pastor, Rev. Riley Richardson of Gonzalez United Methodist Church. I’m not listing his name here to lift him up above other pastors, but rather to make the point that I know who to call on. Now don’t even think of telling me that I’m really supposed to call on Jesus. Yes, I’m supposed to do that, but my pastor is also going to call on Jesus and he’s going to support me.

As for those standing to my left and right I can name several in my own family—wife, son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, sister, mother. In my church there are too many to name. There’s a man named Russell in Kentucky whose support in prayer is beyond price and who connects with a prayer network that he has gathered.

If you’re about to go to war, ask yourself those questions. If you don’t know the answer, find out. It can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

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Tuesday Morning Devotion (Finishing)

Posted on October 23, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

6As for me, I am already being poured out on the altar, and the time of my death has come upon me. 7I have completed the great race. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. 8The crown of righteousness is now waiting for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me in that day, and not to me only, but to all who love (and value) his appearing. — 2 Timothy 4:6-8

It’s easy to read this passage with sadness, and a sense of melancholy. Paul has worked tirelessly and suffered as he worked for Jesus. He has helped so many people. Yet here he is almost alone at the end of his life waiting for the end that is coming soon. He has remained faithful to the end, finished what God called him to do, and now he awaits the crown. It’s easy to skip past that last point. While there is sorrow, there is also joy.

Those who know me may be surprised to know that I used to run fairly long distances. I never ran a marathon, but I would run between 10 and 20 miles in a week, sometimes 3 ½ miles, frequently 5, and even up to 10 miles on rare occasions. Now it will surprise nobody to know that I was never very fast. No speed records were in any danger. But what I could do was finish the course that I had set out for myself. There would be a time during any run that I might feel like turning back. I was too tired. Perhaps I should make today one of my 3 ½ mile days rather than the longer distance I had planned. In order to keep going I would give myself a certain distance to complete before I decided. Another half mile, I’d think, and then I’ll make the call.

As long as I resisted that temptation, things would settle in, and soon I would get into that groove where I was just running along and the particular distance didn’t matter so much. Toward the end I would need some particular will power again. Then I would tell myself that it would be silly to end a five mile run at 4.8 or 4.9 miles. If I intended five miles, I should complete it. Especially if it was one of those rare days, and I was going for 10 miles, I would be very anxious to truly complete every inch of those ten miles, and to make sure that my speed could still be distinguished from a walk!

There was joy and satisfaction in coming to the end of that course. Doing a little bit of running has helped me understand Paul here. Certainly there is sorrow in this passage that so few have stood by him. Yet at the same time there is that “final stretch” energy and joy that says, “I’m practically there.” Paul loved Christ’s appearing. He was anxious for it.

We all have a race of this life, and sometimes it seems long and difficult. But there are two things that can move us forward, and get us to the joy of finishing the race. First is the appearing of Jesus Christ our Savior. That is the final goal, and it is a joyful one. Second, we can remember to look for those moments of joy when we have completed a significant part of the race. “Lord, help me to keep looking up and keep moving forward until I complete my work of the day.” It may be days, weeks, or months at a time, or it may be minutes sometimes.

But in each case there is a goal that you can reach, and there is a reward that you can earn, and there is a Savior who will be right with you.

13Temptation has not grabbed you, except the common human kind. But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will make with the temptation a way out, so that you will be able to endure it. — 1 Corinthians 10:13

If you’re feeling that joy of the successful runner today, share it with someone else. Let them know who is with them in their race. If you’re having trouble yourself, look up and ask.

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Monday Morning Devotion (Trying to be the Favorite)

Posted on October 22, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

9He told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were right with God and who looked down on everyone else. 10There were two men who went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood and prayed: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people, thieves, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and I tithe everything I earn. 13But the tax collector stood a long ways off and didn’t even want to lift his eyes toward heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me. I’m a sinner. 14I tell you that he went home from there made right with God more than the other man. Because all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. — Luke 18:9-14

We human beings have a very strong urge to be special. I’m not saying this is unnatural. In fact, it is a very natural thing. We can’t occupy the same space, so we look for the best space for ourselves. Our parents have to divide their time between one child and another, so we look for the largest share of attention. An inheritance must be divided up. The whole thing can’t go to more than one person, so we jockey for first place. Only one team can win the ball game, and we want to be on that team.

In the verses preceding this passage, that I talked about last week, we heard about the unjust judge. A widow needs him to do something for her, yet he won’t do it. Finally he pesters her into doing it. Think a bit about why the unjust judge doesn’t just do it right away. In order to give the widow something, he has to take it from someone else. The unjust judge probably had friends, people who paid him, people who could help his career. He’d have to take something from them in order to give it to the widow. They wouldn’t like that. He didn’t want to do it.

Jesus contrasts his Father in heaven with that. Why shouldn’t you ask your Father in heaven for what you need? He wants to do good things for you, unlike the unjust judge.

And in case you missed the point in that parable, Luke lines up this one. Jesus was talking to some people who thought their good works were going to make them right with God. Now think about that for a moment. As soon as we start thinking we earn it, and depend on our own efforts to earn God’s love, we make his love just like human love. We treat it like it is a limited commodity and we have to compete for it.

But God’s love is not like that. His love is not limited. He can love me 24/7, and it won’t take any love from you. He can love the homeless man begging for food on the interstate off-ramp 24/7, and it doesn’t take anything away from the folks in the hospital down the street, or the nursing home, or living in Africa. God’s love isn’t a commodity. You can’t divide it up. You can’t use it up. You can’t buy it all up. You can’t sell out. God’s love just is.

So here comes the Pharisee trusting in his own works to be right with God. Surely he has paid his dues, done the work of the church, been charitable, and checked off every box. He’s going to remind God of that. “I’ve paid the price. Here I am.” The other one says, “I haven’t paid the price. I can’t pay the price.” And God doesn’t have to choose between them. He loves them both.

Now we’re not told what God did for either one. He might have done something to remove the self-sufficiency of the Pharisee. He might have encouraged the tax collector. Even though God loved them both, he’d have an easier time reaching the tax collector. Self-sufficiency makes it hard to learn, to get closer to God. You just keep on paying the price, even though God is just saying, “I love you! You’re my child.”

Will you just let him love you this week?

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Friday Morning Devotion (Father, Glorify Your Name)

Posted on October 19, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

20There were certain Greeks from those who had gone up so that they might worship at the feast. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilea and they asked him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” 22Philip came and repeated it to Andrew, and Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. 23But Jesus answered them saying, “The hour has come so that the son of man might be glorified. 24Very truly I tell you, if the grain of wheat does not fall into the ground and die, it alone remains. But if it does die, it bears much fruit. 25The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. 26If anyone wants to serve me, let him follow me. The servant will be wherever I am. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

27Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ But it was because of this that I came to this hour. 28‘Father, Glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, I have both glorified it and I will glorify it again. 29The crowd that was standing there and heard said it was thunder, but others kept on saying, “An angel spoke to him.” 30Jesus answered and said, “This voice didn’t come for my sake, but for yours. 31Now is the judgment of this world, now will the ruler of this world be thrown out. 32And as for me, if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” 33But he said this indicating what type of death he was about to die. — John 12:20-33

It’s Friday, the day we traditionally start winding down. Thank God it’s Friday! This is not the time when you want to be burdened down with new requests and new tasks. Some of them might make you work overtime tonight, or might even involve coming to work on the weekend. I certainly don’t blame you for those thoughts. It’s hard to get through that last stretch just before you get to rest.

In our passage today, Jesus is nearing the end. He’s on the final stretch, though he knows things are going to get worse before they get better. Nonetheless, people are crowding him and placing demands on his time. Here is this group of Greeks, presumably proselytes, who wanted to see Jesus.

How does Jesus react? He begins by pointing away from himself. It is time for him to be glorified. To us, those may seem to be contradictory, but they’re not. To Jesus revealing his Father’s glory was the way in which he would be glorified. That would be the greatest glory. But then he points to the hard part. If we want to reveal the Father’s glory, we’re going to have to die to ourselves, and put our lives totally in God’s hands.

For Jesus this comes down to the split between what he is about to do, and what he, as a man, might ask from the Father. Should he ask to be spared? Should he ask God to do something that will show just how high he is in his Father’s estimation? What exactly should he say and do?

Jesus comes up with a simple answer. “Father, Glorify your name.” Now there is a simple prayer. It’s also a prayer that gets an answer.

Too often on our spiritual “Fridays” we decide that we don’t have the time to pray for someone, or we don’t have the energy to witness to someone. But it’s not necessarily a high energy thing. The problem is that we feel the need to do something more spectacular. I know the temptation to pray a “teaching” prayer, showing people just how it’s done. As if I actually knew!

But we can follow the example of Jesus here and use a one liner. As you hear a question about your faith, or have an opportunity to demonstrate the presence of Jesus in your life, how about just saying, “Father, Glorify your name!” You don’t need hours of time and an order of worship to pray for someone. It can be as simple as, “Lord, bless my friend Joe.”

Your friend doesn’t need to know how great a spiritual warrior you are. My friend doesn’t need to know I’m a Bible teacher and I read Greek and Hebrew. What they, and others like them need is a glimpse of God’s glory. The less of you and me that’s present, the more of Him they will be able to see.

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Thursday Morning Devotion (Do You Enjoy Praying?)

Posted on October 18, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

1He told them a parable about how they ought to pray always and not get discouraged. 2He said, “There was a judge in a certain city who did not fear God, nor was he concerned about people. 3Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary!’ 4And he didn’t want to do it for some time. But after that, he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about people, 5yet because this woman is tiring me out, I’ll give her justice, so she doesn’t wear me out in the end!’” 6The Lord said, “Listen to what this unjust judge says. 7And will God not carry out justice for his elect who cry out to him day and night and be patient with them? 8I say to you that he will carry out justice for them quickly. Yet when the son of man comes, will he find faith (or faithfulness) on earth?” — Luke 18:1-8

Yes, that’s the same text as we used yesterday, but I think we can learn some more from it today.

Last night Jody got together with some friends to pray for some specific needs in their community of faith. She started work at 7:00 am, meaning we left here at 6:30 am, and I picked her up from work just after 5:00 pm. She arrived home and didn’t even get out of the car; she just picked up and went on to this prayer gathering. She got back to the house after 8:00 pm, which meant more than 12 hours being out, and I know she was tired, but she was happy and excited. I’ve noticed that prayer meetings do that to my wife, even when she is involved in praying about some tough things, spending that time with God and with her brothers and sisters in Christ energizes her.

I’m not telling you this to flatter my wife, but rather as a testimony to what can happen when we take joy in being in the presence of God. So often we discuss prayer solely as a means of getting things. “Prayer really works,” somebody says, and the reason they say it is that they have prayed for and received a particular blessing. I rejoice in each of those blessings and in each of those testimonies. But the important thing about prayer is not what we get out of it. It’s Who we are getting it from. And whether or not we’re getting something, it is important to spend time with that person.

Consider your marriage, or your close friendships. What if you felt that your spouse spent time with you just so that he or she could get something from you. What if every action was set up to pay for something or to encourage you to do something for that person? Your friendship wouldn’t last very long, would it?

I think in our parable that Jesus is trying to shock his audience into thinking about things. God isn’t an unjust judge. He will surely listen to you and provide for you. He isn’t someone you should have to force yourself to talk to. He’s a friend, ready to spend time with you.

I have a suggestion for expanding your prayer time with God. Whenever there’s a decision to make, something special has happened, or you face a problem during the day, take just a moment and tell God about it. You can do this silently so your coworkers won’t call for the men in white coats to haul you off. When I say something “special” don’t wait for something too special. Finishing one task and going to the next is good enough. “Well, Lord, I got that one done. Thanks for being with me.”

Chat with God about the little things. You can tell him about everything, because unlike the unjust judge, he cares!

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Wednesday Morning Devotion (Treating God like an Unjust Judge)

Posted on October 17, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

1He told them a parable about how they ought to pray always and not get discouraged. 2He said, “There was a judge in a certain city who did not fear God, nor was he concerned about people. 3Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary!’ 4And he didn’t want to do it for some time. But after that, he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about people, 5yet because this woman is tiring me out, I’ll give her justice, so she doesn’t wear me out in the end!'” 6The Lord said, “Listen to what this unjust judge says. 7And will God not carry out justice for his elect who cry out to him day and night and be patient with them? 8I say to you that he will carry out justice for them quickly. Yet when the son of man comes, will he find faith (or faithfulness) on earth?” — Luke 18:1-8

Very often when we read this parable we think of God as the unjust judge who will only decide to help us if we have checked off all the boxes, prayed enough prayers, carried out enough acts of worship, and basically gotten everything right. In this picture God doesn’t really care all that much but if you manipulate him enough with your prayers he’ll do what you ask.

As is often the case there is some truth to that, but there is also a part of it that is not so accurate. The verse does indeed teach persistence in prayer. We need to be faithful in staying in touch with our heavenly father. We shouldn’t quit talking to him or telling him about our joys, sorrows, needs, feelings, and generally anything that interests us. We should also never give up on the assumption that God really doesn’t care about a particular problem.

But the reason we should persist is not that God is like the unjust judge, requiring that he be pushed into doing the right thing. It’s precisely the opposite. Jesus tells the story of the unjust judge, and I can imagine that the audience could empathize with the helplessness of the widow. They would never imagine her strategy to be one certain of success. They would see that for many, many widows, the story would not end so well. But occasionally, just maybe, it would!

Jesus tells them that if persistence is worthwhile with an unjust judge who only might help, and only because the petitioner is an annoyance, how much more worthwhile will it be to be persistent with God, who is not unjust, and who is planning to do for you what is best. The moral of the story is that we should be persistent, not because God is like the unjust judge, but because God is totally unlike that judge.

So if God doesn’t need your persistent prayers to persuade him to provide for you, then why is persistence required in prayer? Here’s some ideas:

  • God wants to have regular conversations with you. If the only way you’re going to talk to him is to ask for something, he may give you lots of opportunities to ask. Why not try talking to him about other things as well?
  • He knows that there are things you need to do to provide for the need in question. He may be calling you to a post behind the cash register at your local McDonald’s rather than providing you with a check in the mailbox from an unknown source.
  • He may be waiting for you to figure out what you actually need, rather than what you think you need.
  • He may have already answered your prayer, but you were so busy with other things that you didn’t recognize it.

How about persistently praying this: “Lord, show me where I need to be right now and what I need to be doing?”

Posted in Bible Books, Devotional, Lectionary, Luke | Comments Off on Wednesday Morning Devotion (Treating God like an Unjust Judge)

Tuesday Morning Devotion (Accurate Teaching)

Posted on October 16, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

1In the presence of God and Christ Jesus who is soon to judge the living and the dead, I charge you by his appearance and his kingdom. 2Preach the message. Take a stand in season and out of season. Persuade, rebuke, encourage. Do it all with patient teaching. 3For a time will come when people will not receive accurate teaching, but will gather teachers together according to their own desires who will scratch where it itches. 4Their ears will not be open to the truth, but they will turn aside to fables. 5But as for you, be well-balanced in everything, patient in hardship, carrying out the work of an evangelist, accomplishing your service. — 2 Timothy 4:1-5

This passage is one of those proof texts with which I am acquainted from a target’s point of view. I’m not referring to the target of divine conviction. I’m a target of divine conviction from Genesis to Revelation. This is one of those verses that some people like to throw around at everyone with whom they have a disagreement.

You don’t like the preacher at that larger church down the way? Obviously, he’s one of those teachers gathered together by a congregation with itching ears. “Itching ears” is the metaphor Paul uses. I chose to translate with “scratch where it itches” as a modern equivalent. The idea is a group of people who gather pastors and teachers who will tell them what they want to hear, and not challenge them.

But like so many passages that are used as bullets or arrows against our enemies, this passage doesn’t tell me what sound teaching is, nor whether what I am teaching is sound. Rather, it tells me what to do with sound teaching. It also makes it clear that sound teaching is important. Notice also that it doesn’t tell me what to do or think about that more successful Christian leader down the road.

It’s interesting how we deal with such other churches. If it’s a big church, and we agree with the pastor, we will point to it as a great example of how the “true gospel” will be blessed by God and will find success. If we disagree with the pastor, on the other hand, we will point to the church as an example of how popular false doctrine is. The numbers get used either way.

I have encountered people who will point out that the United Methodist Church (of which I’m a member) is losing members every year, and this is evidence that we are not on God’s plan. Some of the same people, on seeing revival hit a church and many members leave, will notice that such opposition is evidence of God’s blessing and we should continue to go forward even if numbers are dropping. It should cause us to think! I happen to have considerable problems with the state of my denomination, but I need to be careful just what I use as evidence.

So what is Paul telling us here? I have a simple rule in Bible study. This isn’t my first rule of interpretation, but it’s an attitude we should carry to our study every time: Always look first for what applies to you. If you’re discovering arrows to fire at the other guy, you may need to spend more time letting the Holy Spirit convict you.

Here are the key points in this passage, I think, and I need to consider them every single day:

  • Jesus, who will judge everyone, is the witness. That’s the person to whom I must give an account.
  • My job is to patiently carry out my calling all the time using whatever tools I possess.
  • I need to realize that neither great numbers nor rejection will tell me whether I am presenting a faithful message. I carry out my ministry before God, not before the human audience.
  • Remain well-balanced. One could also translate “sober.” The REB translates “keep your head.” Again, this means don’t let either opposition or approval take you away from the sound message.
  • Keep going to the end.

I think there are things there we can apply no matter what our task is!

Posted in 2 Timothy, Bible Books, Devotional, Lectionary | Comments Off on Tuesday Morning Devotion (Accurate Teaching)