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Saturday, 02 February 2008

Just keeping the site alive.

Tuesday, 15 August 2006

This verse ended up a little different that I expected after translated it. The NAU reads:

Lamentations 3:39-40 ³⁹ Why should any living mortal, or any man, Offer complaint in view of his sins? ⁴⁰ Let us examine and probe our ways, And let us return to the LORD.

From reading the NAU, it seemed like the idea was that man should not complain about anything because he is a sinner. If he gets anything less than hell it's grace. After translating it, examining other versions, and looking a some commentaries, the idea is a little different than what I originally thought. It's not that man should not complain about anything but specifically about punishment for his sins. This naturally leads us to ask the question, "Does God punish Chrisitans for their sins?" And if not, "Is this verse applicable only to unbelievers then?"

I think this is somewhat of a semantics issue. Whether you are a believer or unbeliever, there are negative consequences for sin. Or, as Galatians 6:7 says, you reap what you sow. Sometimes those consequences are natural. If you are lazy and irresponsible, you might not finish college on time or you might get fired from your job. Sometimes God causes something more unusual to happen in your life when you sin. For example, when David committed adultery with Bathsheba, God killed the child that was born between them. A New Testment example would be the case of Ananais and Sapphira. When they lied about the amount of money they gave, God struck them both dead. Thus, there are clearly negative consequences for sin, obviously for unbelievers but also for believers as well. You can call it either punishment or discipline, depending on how you view it. However, Christians really ought to view these negative consequences as discipline. Hebrews 12 talks about how God disciplines believers as a father disciplines his children. He does it for our santification and we ought to be thankful that He does it.

Father God, we complain about everything. We complain about the weather, how much money we have, when our possessions break, our jobs, how hard life is, our friends when they let us down, our family when they nag us, and the list goes on. Remind us of our sin when we complain. Remind us of where we were headed before You came into our lives. We have absolutely nothing to complain about. Our mouths should be silent. Our toungues should be stilled. What is a complaint but a rejection of Your sovereignty? Are You not the One who has placed us in our circumstances? If we are in a state of sin, where we are is our own fault. However, even in that case, it is You who has created this system where there are natural consequences for sin. Let us complain no longer. Let us instead be thankful for all the grace You have given us. You have been so good to us. If we are being disciplined for our sin, let us welcome it. It is evidence that You care for us. May we learn from Your discipline and become the holy people that You want us to be.

Saturday, 12 August 2006

Hebrews 11 nearly brings me to tears every time I read it. It might possibly be my favorite passage in all the Bible. Nothing encourages me more than to read and think about the saints of the past who remained faithful to You despite persecution and temptation by the world. Just yesterday I was talking to someone who has an internship with PricewaterhouseCoopers and we both wholeheartedly agreed that Corporate America is a scary and dangerous place for believers. On the one hand, you are exposed to so much wealth, power, and prestige. And on the other, you are surrounded by people who are chasing after such things.

But all that glitters is not gold. And indeed Your word says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. I pray that You would protect Your people from being led astray by the world. The magnetic pull is so strong! May we never let our gaurd down in our workplaces. May we remember that we are ALWAYS ON THE BATTLEFIELD and that we need to be sober and on the alert for our Adversary prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.

Help us to fix our eyes on heaven as the people in Hebrews 11 did. We do not want You to be ashamed to be called our God. May we not live half-heartedly with one foot in the world and one foot in Your church. May we desire to hear those words, "Well done, good and faithful servant," and nothing else.

Thursday, 10 August 2006

Father God, most people, unbelievers and even believers, do not like passages like this. It makes us stop and question who You are. What kind of god tells his people to kill his own? What if we lived at the time of the Exodus and we were the ones commanded to kill our own brothers? Would we obey as the sons of Levi did? Or would we question You or disobey You? Who are You?

This is one of those passages that shouts out, "BEHOLD YOUR GOD!" It wakes us up and causes us to re-evaluate our understanding of You. Often, we think of You only as a gentle loving god who only does things that humans have deemed as good. You are certainly gentle and You are by all means loving. However, You are also a Consuming Fire. You commanded Joshua and the rest of the Hebrews to wipe out the Canaanites. In other words, You ordained genocide. You were pleased when Samuel hacked King Agag into pieces before You. You will someday send Jesus to stain the earth with blood.

This is a difficult thing to accept but this is who You are. May we remember that "God does not do things because they are good," but that "things are good because God does them." You are the very definition of good. Whether we understand Your actions or not, You are good. Help us to be humble and submissive to that glorious truth.

Sunday, 06 August 2006

*Sorry about the wooden translation. It was fairly difficult so for this entry's purposes I decided it to keep it literal. I think Professor Felix likes it better this way anyway.

Father God, I am always overwhelmed by the truth found in this passage. Reading this causes me to evaluate my own faith. It makes me wonder if I will be one of those martyrs that these faithful souls are waiting for. If someone asked me if I would be willing to die for my faith, I would probably say "yes" but I can also imagine myself, when held at gunpoint, thinking twice about dying for being a Christian. Honestly, I still find death to be a pretty scary thing.

I thank You for the example that these martyrs have set for us. They faced dangers that most of us will never face. "They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, (and) ill-treated" (Heb 11:37). However, they remained faithful to You to the end. No wonder You called them "men of whom the world was not worthy" (Heb 11:38) and that You have prepared something better for them.

I pray that You would strengthen my faith to the point where I would not flinch when asked if I would die for Your name. Teach me to not idolized comfort and ease. Instead, teach me how to identify with the martyrs. When Christians are persecuted, may I stand with them and not run away. Free me from the fear of death and man so that I would give You the glory You deserve.