Words, relevance and the heart

Today: Jeremiah 14-17

There's often a fine line between trying to be relevant...and actually being authentic. The worst situations often arise when were are dishonest in how we present ourselves--or even God--to gain some popularity with people.

This has always been a challenge for God's people. In today's passage, we read about church leaders who ignored the truth of God's Word to present messages that pleased some pretty messed-up people. Let's review God's instruction here:

Use words truly and well.

Don't stoop to cheap whining.

Then, but only then, you'll speak for me.

Let your words change them.

Don't change your words to suit them.

I love this. It's a challenge for every Christian and especially for leaders to use wisdom and love--but to never lose sight of the truth of God's Word. It is possible to be both relevant and have some favor with people (see Jesus' example)--but our top priorities should not be to please others or to be trendy--our main mission is to honor God and obey what He says (also see Jesus' example).

God's message is not always in style with everyone. I've found that when people try to water down Scripture, it doesn't end up doing anything extraordinary. Feel-good messages from twisted Scriptures sound nice, but they sound just like self-help books. Is God's Word full of love, grace and mercy? Absolutely! But the Bible isn't compared to a sword for nothing--it's powerful. It pierces hearts and changes lives. The Bible doesn't cater to people--it challenges them.

Much of today's passage focused on God's assessment of the wickedness of His people--they deliberately disobeyed Him and turned their backs on His love. However, I found it refreshing to see God's words of blessing for those who honored Him:

But blessed is the man who trusts me, God,

the woman who sticks with God.

They're like trees replanted in Eden, putting down roots near the rivers—

Never a worry through the hottest of summers, never dropping a leaf,

Serene and calm through droughts,

bearing fresh fruit every season.

The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful,

a puzzle that no one can figure out.

But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind.

I get to the heart of the human.

I get to the root of things.

I treat them as they really are,

not as they pretend to be."

In this section, God characterized blessed people as those who trust in Him, stay grounded and at peace, and are continually growing and productive. I also love the end of this excerpt--God sees our hearts and not just our words. He wants people to authentically love Him, free of pretension and show. Just real, honest love and living.

Tomorrow: Jeremiah 18-22

Swords, promises and power

Today: Hebrews 1-6

It's Halloween today and I'm writing this after handing out handfuls of candy to trick-or-treaters...or as my Mom innocently referred to them today as..."Halloweeeners." :)

We saw lots of costumes tonight--princesses and bumble bees and superheroes. When it comes to dressing up, one thing I've noticed about little boys is the fact that they like to have costumes with superpower capes or weapons...swords, claws, you name it.

I thought about those costumes as I read today's passage--which compares God's Word to a sharp scalpel. It's powerful. It's filled with promises that are not empty, but potent. Here are a few highlights from our passage in Hebrews today:

God means what he says.

What he says goes.

His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel,

cutting through everything,

whether doubt or defense,

laying us open to listen and obey.

Nothing and no one is impervious to God's Word.

We can't get away from it—no matter what...

...When God made his promise to Abraham,

he backed it to the hilt, putting his own reputation on the line.

He said, "I promise that I'll bless you with everything I have—bless and bless and bless!" Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him.

When people make promises,

they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them

so that if there is any question that they'll make good on the promise,

the authority will back them up.

When God wanted to guarantee his promises,

he gave his word,

a rock-solid guarantee—

God can't break his word.

And because his word cannot change,

the promise is likewise unchangeable.

That's pretty incredible when you think about it--an all-powerful God can absolutely NOT break His word. It is that strong and that true...much better than a plastic light saber. :)

Tomorrow: Hebrews 7-10

There's nothing like...

Today: 2 Timothy

...Fill in the blank.

Some people would say there's nothing like...Baseball. Coldplay. Nintendo Wii. Family. Friends. Golf. Sex. Cake. "Better than sex" cake.

You get the point, right? :)

Today's passage said something different. In 2 Timothy, the apostle Paul tells Timothy that there's nothing like...the Word of God. Here's what it says:

There's nothing like the written Word of God

for showing you the way to salvation

through faith in Christ Jesus.

Every part of Scripture is God-breathed

and useful one way or another—

showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes,

training us to live God's way.

Through the Word we are put together

and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.

Personally, this passage solidified why I'm doing this "project" right now...there aren't many things that can provide direction and training that totally shapes us and puts us together. There's nothing like our God and His Word.

Tomorrow: Titus-Philemon

Words, light and life

Today: John 1-2

I'm a word nerd.

(Forgive me if you've read this statement before, but I don't think I've written it in this forum yet.)

Words make me laugh. Words tell stories. Words provide information. And words create.

Reading John 1-2 today was a great reminder of that last point. John 1 parallels the story of Creation in Genesis (we'll get to that later!) in this beautiful , poetic way that connects the dots of history, the power of words, and the united relationship of God the Father and Jesus--the Word come to life.

Because the Word itself is so amazing here, I'd rather highlight what it actually says than my own comments or interpretation today. Here we go:

The Word was first,
the Word present to God,
God present to the Word.
The Word was God,
in readiness for God from day one.
Everything was created through him;
nothing—not one thing!—
came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn't put it out.

...The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
true from start to finish.

Tomorrow: John 3-4