It's His house, after all...

Today: Exodus 25-27

When you own your first home, you take a special kind of pride in it. I remember when my sister and I bought our house about five years ago--it felt like such a big accomplishment! I'll be clear--we weren't rich by most North American standards...she worked at a non-profit and I was just beginning my career in marketing. We were both single women under the age of 25. We saved our money, tried to spend wisely and were able to buy our home without borrowing a dime from our parents.

I remember the first summer we were in the house. It felt different to mow the lawn because it was our lawn. It felt awesome to fix things like light fixtures in the house--because it was our house. And it felt amazing to decorate our home for Christmas for the first time--just the way we liked it. (I still feel that way about decorating...not so much about lawn mowing.) :)

When I read today's passage, it reminded me of that feeling. God gave instructions for His people to set up His house--just the way He liked it. Today's chapters also reminded me of what we learned yesterday: God is into details. He provided very specific guidelines for the design and construction of His house and all the key elements included (I kind of felt like I was reading the first edition of "Building God's house: For dummies"!).

Reading these chapters illustrated God's value for excellence. He likes it when people give their absolute best for Him--via their offerings, hearts and skills. Honestly, if anyone deserves our best, it's Him. And if any place should be a place of excellence, it should be a church--because it's His house, after all.

Tomorrow: Exodus 28-29

Signs and the wonder...of a stubborn heart

Today: Exodus 7-9

"There is a stubbornness about me

that cannot bear to be frightened by the will of others,

my courage rises with every attempt to intimidate me."
- Elizabeth Bennett, Pride and Prejudice

Stubbornness is an interesting characteristic--it's one that can be used for good or evil. Some stubborn people have this determination to beat the odds, fight for causes they believe in and stand up for themselves and others. That's admirable.

My sister has that kind of stubborn in her, I think. She has this compassionate nature and desire for justice that often puts her in a place of saying things like, "That's just not right!" The good kind of stubborn can be developed into courage, like what is described in the quote from Elizabeth Bennett above.

But stubbornness can also be problematic.

My parents tell this story about disciplining one of my sisters and I when we were little. When I misbehaved as a preschooler, all they had to do was put a frowny-faced sticker on the fridge. I would burst into tears--absolutely devastated--and admit my wrongdoing. When I was older, it morphed into conversations where words like "I'm really disappointed in you..." would do the trick (one of the worst possible things anyone could ever say to me!).

But my sister was different. Mom and Dad could threaten to spank her or ground her for life and she would look at them with sarcastic determination as if to say, "Is that all you've got?!?" When she was older, the girl debated and stood her ground...even when she was totally wrong. Luckily, as she's matured, the bad stubborn traits have dissipated (and on the flip side, I've developed more of the good kind of stubbornness, too).

In today's passage, we read about a guy with a seriously stubborn heart (in the worst possible way!)--Pharaoh. What's amazing to me is that even when the miraculous signs and wonders of God are right in front of his face, Pharaoh's heart remained stubborn. It was almost as if he was like an obnoxious little kid in the back of a minivan on a long road trip, covering his ears and shouting in an annoying, sing-song voice, "I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

Ugh.

But in all fairness, how many people are like Pharaoh? I think most of us have had moments where we've messed up--and instead of admitting we were wrong or asking for forgiveness (from God or people), we are like that obnoxious kid. We'd rather continue on in our own stupidity than listen to reason from wise people or the Word of God. Instead of opening our eyes to see the facts or even miraculous signs from God Himself, we pretend to be content in our blindness.

Many times, our stubbornness turns us into obnoxious children or cold, hard-hearted people like Pharaoh. Instead, let's be stubborn in a different way--by courageously choosing to live in child-like wonder of wisdom and miracles.

Tomorrow: Exodus 10-12

Pride and prejudice

Today: 1 Peter

"Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen is my all-time favorite book. I've read it at least once every year, since high school English class when I read it for the first time. I love the characters and the dynamics. Unlike many women, I don't really love Mr. Darcy (or Colin Firth, for that matter). What I love most is the story...and how something written hundreds of years can still ring true today.

Pride and prejudice are dynamics we all face. Have you ever thought about their impact on your life as a Christian? Their impact on your relationships with people who don't share your faith? Take a look at a portion of today's passage:

Friends, this world is not your home,

so don't make yourselves cozy in it.

Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul.

Live an exemplary life

among the natives

so that your actions

will refute their prejudices.

Then they'll be won over to God's side

and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.

Hmm...it's interesting that the ego of the Christian is mentioned in a passage that also talks about prejudice from people who don't believe in God. Why?

When we let go of our egos, our souls--and Jesus at work in them--can shine through our "exemplary lives." If our egos are in the way, people see our pride instead of Christ--it's a big turn-off that may make them prejudiced against Him. Ouch. Let's win them over by living lives of love, letting God shine through our everyday actions, attitudes and hearts.

Pride, prejudice, payment, and passing out

Today: Matthew 26

Today's passage illustrates some of the saddest parts of Jesus' story. As I read, it occurred to me that the actions taken by some of Jesus' followers are tragic not only because they happened many years ago, but because they occur every single day.

I hope that by thinking about these issues, we can make a point to avoid falling into the same paths--allowing pride, prejudice, payment or passing out--to block us from seeing God's promises fulfilled.

Pride

In this chapter, Peter's actions illustrate how pride can separate us from God and His plan for our lives. I'll highlight a few of Peter's actions here:

• He said, "Even if everyone else falls to pieces on account of you, I won't."
  
• Peter cut off the ear of the Chief Priest's servant (note that Peter's name isn't given explicitly here, but is listed in John's version of the story...which we'll see later).
  

It's interesting to me that even with this intense passion or pride, Peter succumbs to denying Jesus. I think there have been many Christians who have sadly fallen into the same boat.

Prejudice

To me, the priests really represent prejudice. They are bitter at Jesus because He called them out on their sin--they have a bias against him. Some have prejudice because He's not the kind of Messiah they expected to see and therefore, they believe He's blaspheming against God.

I think there are people today who are prejudiced against God--they don't believe in Him because He doesn't fit into their ideal boxes. Some people are also prejudiced against God because they know their lives don't line up with His Word or His will--and because He called them out on their sin, they despise Him--just like the Pharisees.

Payment

Judas shows us how a love of money can block someone from God. I never noticed before that Judas first approached the high priests with his "Let's make a deal..." speech right after a woman anointed Jesus' feet with expensive perfume. There's a quote from the passage where disciples complain:

"That's criminal!

This could have been sold for a lot

and the money handed out to the poor."

I would guess that Judas was one of the disciples appalled at the money "wasted" on Jesus' feet. It's interesting to think that may have been one of the reasons why he approached the priests. Yes, Judas was probably greedy. But I think he was also appalled at extravagant generosity toward Jesus.

It's interesting that the disciples' shock actually could have merit--most people think it's a good thing to give to the poor and it is (Jesus even taught that). However, Judas' love for money (even if it was for a good cause) was greater than his desire to see Jesus worshipped...and I believe that was part of his downfall.

There are many people who allow a love for money to separate them from God. These people could have too much or too little. Many people, like Judas, chase payment while betraying God and their own consciences. Others get indignant when asked to tithe, give offerings or when they see generosity in the House of God. But Judas' example shows us that allowing your personal view of money to trump worshipping God is wrong.

Passing out

Another thing that can block people from God's promises is what I'm calling "passing out." In this passage, it was illustrated by the disciples who fell asleep when Jesus wanted them to pray with Him.

"Passing out" can be a literal sleep or laziness that stops us from being part of God's plan. I think it could also be a clueless, zombie-like Christianity--a person who believes in God, but may be clueless about what He's doing or how to be part of it. It could be a person who is passion-less, going through the motions of "doing" Christianity instead of just being the person God wants them to be.

Living in God's plan doesn't have to be difficult--we saw a few chapters back where Jesus said it takes faith like that of a small child. However, I really believe that pride, prejudice, payment or passing out can hold us back from living in God's promises. Let's instead be humble, open with our hearts and minds toward God, generous and passionate.

Tomorrow: Matthew 27-28