One of these things is not like the other...

Today: Deuteronomy 17-20

"Stop trying to fit in when you were born to stand out," is a quote I remember from somewhere* that ties in to today's passage.

In these verses, Moses is trying to prepare God's people to enter the Promised Land--a land where they will meet and conquer people with different religions. Let's recap what Moses said:

When you enter the land that God, your God, is giving you,

don't take on the abominable ways of life of the nations there.

Don't you dare sacrifice your son or daughter in the fire.

Don't practice divination, sorcery, fortunetelling, witchery,

casting spells, holding séances, or channeling with the dead.

People who do these things are an abomination to God.

It's because of just such abominable practices that God,

your God, is driving these nations out before you.
Be completely loyal to God, your God.

These nations that you're about to run out of the country

consort with sorcerers and witches.

But not you. God, your God, forbids it.

In this passage, Moses instructs the people to be loyal to God--to not take up the religions and wackadoo spirituality (which even included human sacrifice!) of others.

I thought this passage was interesting in light of our current culture. Many people who claim to believe in God also believe in things (psychics, New Age philosophy, nature is God, etc.) that is completely contradictory to this message and other teaching in the Bible.

Perhaps it's because they don't know what the Bible says. Maybe it's because they don't really know much about who God is and His heart for us to love Him exclusively (to be loyal, to not put other gods before Him, to love Him with all our hearts, minds and souls). I believe part of the problem, though, is that many people who claim to love God are too afraid to stand up for Him. They don't want to appear narrow-minded, ignorant or judgmental. But in the process, they water down their core beliefs. They send mixed messages about God and about faith to friends, family members and acquaintances. They become lukewarm and ineffective--it's as if they are dimmer switches carrying the light of God.

Why do we try so hard to fit in when we're born to stand out? Why would we hide the light, the love, the wisdom of knowing and serving God?

Tomorrow: Deuteronomy 21-23

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

The ringbearer and the treasure

Today: 2 Corinthians 1-4

Have you ever watched a ringbearer at a wedding?

A ringbearer is a small boy, typically under the age of five. At home, his mom doesn't let him carry a cup of juice across the family room floor. Before he arrived at the ceremony (and his mom cleaned him up), he rolled around in the mud of his backyard, let his dog lick his face clean and carried a frog in his back pocket. He's a kid!!! But one girl in a beautiful white dress has trusted him to carry her most precious gift in all the world.

I've never been a ringbearer (or a flower girl for that matter!), but I've carried around some pretty amazing treasure. So did the apostle Paul, as we learned in today's passage:

Remember, our Message is not about ourselves;

we're proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master.

All we are is messengers,

errand runners from Jesus

for you.

It started when God said,

"Light up the darkness!"

and our lives filled up with light

as we saw and understood God

in the face of Christ,

all bright and beautiful.

If you only look at us,

you might well miss the brightness.

We carry this precious Message around

in the unadorned clay pots

of our ordinary lives.

That's to prevent anyone from confusing

God's incomparable power

with us.

You and I, like a ringbearer at a wedding, are ordinary people entrusted with some extraordinary precious cargo--the treasure of God's Message, the light of His love and the truth of His story. Let's carry it well.

Tomorrow: 2 Corinthians 5-9

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