evil brings

160305Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Which of you desires life,
and covets many days to enjoy good?
Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
The face of the LORD is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the LORD rescues them from them all.
He keeps all their bones;
not one of them will be broken.
Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
The LORD redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
(Psalm 34:11-22, NRSV)

Evil brings death to the wicked.

So keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking any deceit.

Keep yourself doing good, and not evil, so you might seek peace and walk after it.

The eyes of the Lord see everything we do, so let us pursue His ways and not seek to do evil.

Because evil brings death, and nothing good.

where does it go…

160304In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:1-9, NRSV)

I am not, nor was I ever, an English major. My ability to read and write and punctuate things correctly did not get me through school. Now I use spell check and type words and wait for the red squiggly line. I just hope I get close enough that the dictionary knows what I meant!

But this passage like many others in the Bible had punctuation galore, and we are not completely sure if it is what was intended. You see the original texts were written or chiseled 16 characters to a line, with no punctuation.

And here we have the quote of Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.”

Do we know that was what God wanted? Or should it have been: “The voice of one crying: Out in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord make His paths straight.”

See the difference? That : could be setting the meaning of that passage to something other than what was meant, and how do we know what is the right way to read that?

Maybe we don’t know, maybe both are correct…

Just follow God and it will all be making straight paths, in the wilderness, or crying out in the wilderness.

stumbled

160303Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.  Take words with you and return to the LORD; say to him, “Take away all guilt; accept that which is good, and we will offer the fruit of our lips. Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses; we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.” I will heal their disloyalty; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.  I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily, he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon. His shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive tree, and his fragrance like that of Lebanon.  They shall again live beneath my shadow, they shall flourish as a garden; they shall blossom like the vine, their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon. (Hosea 14:1-7, NRSV)

for you have stumbled because of your sins. Take heed of what the Lord has called you to do and return to the Lord.

He will take away your guilt and the shame and cleanse you.

He will cause new life to spring up in you and get rid of the things that make you stumble.

Return to Him and stumble no more.

unfair

160302Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair? When the righteous turn away from their righteousness and commit iniquity, they shall die for it; for the iniquity that they have committed they shall die. Again, when the wicked turn away from the wickedness they have committed and do what is lawful and right, they shall save their life. Because they considered and turned away from all the transgressions that they had committed, they shall surely live; they shall not die. Yet the house of Israel says, “The way of the Lord is unfair.” O house of Israel, are my ways unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair? Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, all of you according to your ways, says the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions; otherwise iniquity will be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord GOD. Turn, then, and live. (Ezekiel 18:25b-32, NRSV)

Is it unfair that God asks us to live in His light and love?

Is it unfair that God asks us to do certain things and not others?

If you are a parent are there things you let your children do and things you don’t let them do?

That is exactly what God does for all of us, to keep us safe and to help us walk in His ways.

So is it unfair? Or is it that we just don’t understand?

What is fair?

What is fair?

According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary online Fair is:

: agreeing with what is thought to be right or acceptable
: treating people in a way that does not favor some over others
: not too harsh or critical

So what does that really mean?

Fair is when I get my way? When everything goes in my favor?

Or maybe fair is when it is equal? If we all got an equal share would that be fair?

If that is the case then this is a picture of what fair is.

fair isn't equal-aIs this picture fair?

All of the boys have the same size box and everything is equal, but the boy on the right side is still staring at the fence. He can’t see the game and enjoy the action like the other two boys can. But it is equal so it must be fair!

Fair is not equal. Fair does not mean we all get the same thing. It does not imply that everything will be best for me, or give me a hand up. The definition above is agreeing what is right and acceptable, where one does not have favor over others.

So how can we change this picture to make it fair?

fair isn't equal-bThis is fair, where all three boys can enjoy the game. It is not equal because the boy on the left does not have a box, but without the box, he is able to enjoy the game. So by giving the boy on the right his box, all three of them can now see the action and enjoy the game. It is not equal but it is fair.

As those who follow Christ, we have been given many gifts, ourselves, our time, our possessions and our talents. Everything we have is a gift from God, and He wants us to use those gifts to raise the lowly, to empower the downtrodden, to give hope to the hopeless, to not make the world equal, but to show His love.

So let us seek to live out the words of Micah 6:8 “what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

buy

160301Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:1-9, NRSV)

Have you ever gotten a free meal? Not one bought for you by a friend, but one that was free for everyone?

Doesn’t happen. We all have to pay for something some way some how. But here we hear of a time when everything will be provided by God.

All will be able to come and eat and have their fill. They will be satisfied.

You won’t have to buy anything, for God will provide for your every need.

So incline your ear and listen and go where He leads you!