A talking donkey!

Shades of Shrek (Numbers 23:21-30). But that is not what grabs me about this story of the enigmatic Balaam. He is not one of the "chosen people" but he sure does have a relationship with God. He is asked to do something for pay that is against the will of God. I'm sure this was not his first "bless or curse" rodeo. People paid him to put his hex on people; that's why the king sent money-and dignitaries (body guards?). But before Balaam took this course of action he consulted God. The point to me as a Jesus follower is that I need to do the same thing-even when what I am being asked to do (or what is simply before me) is part of how I usually spend my life for Christ's sake. Balaam checked in with God before going, and that made all the difference to him-and though I'm sure it didn't make the king happy, what a lesson for him. And what a lesson for anyone who wants to pull Jesus to the center of their living-continually invest in a relationship of love and trust with him. The one who knows what we need to be up to (which side to be on and such) is Jesus. We might avoid a lot of missteps if we would first check in with him. No matter what the donkey says.

Come on, God!

I'm fascinated by this dialogue between Moses and God in Numbers 14. God is really hacked off (and I'm sure, hurt) by the boneheadeness of the Israelites. God is ready to pull the plug. But Moses uses some psychology on the Lord; almost shames God into changing his mind. "What will the Egyptians think?" And God repents, as if God is worried that the Egyptians might thing less of God. That is hilarious to me. It makes me really, really wish I had been there. I'm so "Thomas" about stuff like that. Is that what really happened, or did Mose frame it that way? Talking about the bible stories in this manner is really threatening to some. I'm taking the viewpoint of skepticism. A whole lot of the world comes at the bible with a viewpoint of assent. They take on face value what the bible recounts as factually true. That is a valid viewpoint. The way it would be expressed in this case is that God always knew what God was going to do and was playing with Moses, and the people, to make a point about the power and soveriegnty of God. That is a valid interpretation. But it is not the only one. A perspective of skepticism is not a perspective of faithlessness. It is an attempt to find the true faith in what is being recounted. In this case it is the faith that God would not have acted that way. God is God and the will of God will by God be done. This must be a literary way of telling what happened, and how the people of Israel blew it with their faith. I take the perspective of skepticism because those who are outside the Jesus following life honestly and earnestly looking in have a low b.s. tolerance level, and because of how the bible has been used to club and shame them, they take a perspective of caution (and skepticism). It's not a perspective of pessimism, but of a deep desire to connect authentically and transparently-or not at all. I take that perspective for them. And to be authentic and transparent, it also happens to be my natural perspective. I want a real relationship with a real God; not one somebody hands me and asks me to swallow. That's why I always ask my real God-Jesus-to sit with me as I read the bible and interpret it to me through the prism of his life and teaching.

Lawbreaker?

Jesus is just alright with me! It's things like what he does in Mark 2 where he defends is followers when they eat grain on the sabbath (horrors!) that makes me remember what it was about him that first drew me in. He's got an very very low b.s.* tolerance level. The reason the religious folk were so upset with the disciples was because they were "working" on the sabbath. "they are breaking the law by harvesting the grain on the sabbath." Picking the grain qualified for them as work! Guess if you laid on the ground and waited for it to fall into your mouth that would be OK. Anyway, Jesus cuts right through their b.s. and reinterprets the truth about the purpose of the sabbath. He doesn't change what God set up the sabbath to be; he re-interprets it-gives it the original meaning. The sabbath was not set up, by God, to be a plethora of laws, as endless spigot of opportunities for others the shamey-shamey folks, but to be a source of freedom and rest and communion with God. How better to commune with God than to eat some of the bounty he has set right off the stalk? How sad that some substitute rules and regulations about God for true fellowship with God. Thank you Jesus for ever setting us straight. Resist the categories; embrace the Lord!

Attitude

Before I read Psalm 23 I asked the Lord to give me something new there. He did-right there in the first verse. "I have all that I need." That, my sisters and brothers, is an attitude. It's the absolute God's truth. As long as we have life we have all that we need. If we believe that the call of Jesus to follow him goes not only to the cross but through it into forever, we have all we need. Maybe we don't have all we desire; all we want, but, by God we do have life and at the end of the day-until there are no more days-that is all we need. That's attitude. That's not automatic. It is far too easy for me to forget I have all I need, and confuse my desires for my needs. If I am going to enjoy that truth about life, the universe and everything-specifically me-I'm going to have to cop that attitude-take it to heart-live it out. I'm guessing Paul was living out just that attitude when he called together the crew of that storm tossed ship and told them everything was going to be alright-even though they were going to shipwreck. Dear Lord, ever remind me of what I have.

Salem?

Numbers 5:29 "This is the ritual law for dealing with suspicion." This one I definitely have to put in the drawer marked "awaiting further light". This "test" of a wife's faithfulness to her husband reeks of patriarchy and sexism. Where's the test for a husband's faithfulness to his wife? What would it be? Walking and chewing gum at the same time? Of course, in that day, women (along with children) were just above slaves-really just a dear form of property-like really lovable pets. Am I wrong or does this "test" find it's way down through the centuries as the test for whether or not someone was a witch during the Salem trials. It's just like the water test where if a woman floats she is a witch, but if she sinks (and drowns) she wasn't. Oh, well. It's easy for us to condemn as hateful and evil the water witch test (isn't it?). I have no trouble seeing this awful practice as equally hateful and evil. And ascribing such a thing to God? I feel sure that was on the list of things that finally convinced God he was just going to have to come down here to straighten us out about just who God is and what God wants. Thanks be to God for Jesus. Without him I wouldn't have a prayer!

Odd God

Yes, I'm trembling a bit as I write this. Still some of the old hellfire and damnation god stirs around somewhere inside of me. Nevertheless, here goes..... I just can't buy that God would be so picky about who can and can't serve him as a priest (especially since the Jesus following faith teaches that all who follow him are priest to each other). All of the "defects" listed in Leviticus 18 as exclusionary seem so petty. Can't one just not mention the defective testicle when applying (just kidding)? But seriously, isn't this list a bit "small" in thinking for the God who died to prove that love is the most powerful force in the universe. I have to sift more than a little of the Old Testament to get the Jesus out of it. I'm willing to say that in God's understanding it makes sense and that I just don't get it. But I would rather make the mistake of thinking something just does not reflect the God I know and love as perfectly revealed in Jesus when it actually in some kind of cosmic math does than to ascribe to my dear Lord a trait that most Jesus followers would find mean spirited.

What Cristi said

I like what Cristi said about the stuff in Leviticus. I'm sure glad I'm not under all the rules and regulations they were (I do like me some BBQ & catfish), but all those things were for the purpose of guarding the health and integrity of the community of faith. Maybe after all the people had been through in Egypt (not only the abuse in several forms, but also the powerful influence of the Egyptian culture), the Lord knew they needed a lot of structure to rewire their hearts and minds and souls to their original program-the one He has installed in them at their creation. If only it had taken there might have been no need for Jesus to come. I can't imagine that, but who knows? Sorry for them, but I'm glad Jesus did come-and not only for the sake of BBQ & catfish. Can you imagine a world without him, no matter how much like paradise it had come to be?

The Spirit Of Jesus

It's quick and almost said in passing, but the implications for you and me are huge-and utterly amazing! In Acts 16:6 Luke writes about the Holy Spirit directing the journey of Paul and Silas (and who else?). In the next verse he mentions that again "the Spirit of Jesus did not allow". Ha!, there it is!! He uses interchangably the "Holy Spirit" and the "Spirit of Jesus". They are one and the same. Now, I'm not going to launch out into Trinitarian cosmology here (because I don't think human beings are capable of such a feat), but this is a wonderful revelation to those of us who have never laid eyes on Jesus, never had his voice cause our eardrums to vibrate, never felt his arms around us. What I teach is that when Jesus came he revealed through his life and teaching the will and personality of the Father. When he left the earth that same will and personality continued through the presence and experience of the Holy Spirit. What that means is that though we don't get Jesus in body, we do, by God, get him. The experience of God you and I have (or can) through our own personal relationship of love and trust is with Jesus! He is not just a character in a book, someone who we will only get to know someday in heaven. He is with us now; ours now. And this from the writing of Luke confirms it. The Holy Spirit is not some supernatural unknown entity. It is Jesus-with us! Hallelujah!!! And by the way, as for that "who else?", look again in chapter 16, verse 15. The last part of that verse says, "And she urged us until we agree. "we"? That could only have been the author. Who else was on that journey? Luke.

Jealousy and such

Lots of interesting things in this chapter. The group of men listed in verse one shows a racial generousity in the early church that has not been the case a lot of times in church history, and most recently, of course, in our country (among others). How easily our human shortcomings take the lead-fear, ignorance, jealousy. We need to be on guard about it constantly. The thing about striking the false prophet blind is not only curious, it echoes a word from the gospels. When Jesus cast out a demon those who witnessed it were amazed at his teaching! Here again, a supernatural (at least to our eyes) event happens, and it's referred to as a teaching! Either those in that world had a much broader definition of "teaching" or the Lord is trying to teach us something about the healing, exorcising and evil blocking power of this teaching. I have seen the teaching of Jesus work many a miracle. And again, after Paul's preaching the Jews are "jealous". It is still a temptation to believe that Lord wants to work through us (me) exclusively, and not through others as well (especially when they are working our area!). Or maybe it's just that I want all the glory (surely not ;>) )

Run that by me again

It always amazes me when something (especially something long) is repeated in the scripture. It took so long to write those manuscripts that I would have written something like-look back a couple of pages to see what I said there. Instead they repeat the story. They are doing it on purpose-making a big point. In this case I'm thinking about all the instructions for how to cloth the priests in Exodus 28. All that is again repeated in Exodus 39 when they actually do it. Why spell all that out twice? The only thing I can think is that it emphasizes the importance of following the instructions of the Lord to the letter-that showing both the instructions in full detail and the follow up in full detail is somehow a teaching on faithfulness. The word to me in all that is to listen to the Lord carefully for his direction in my life, and then, by God, to do it in all it's fullness, not eliminating anything I might find out of the box for me or that I might deem insignificant or unnecessary. It points me to complete trust in God for the direction of my life-both in the big picture and in what I might call the smaller things.

OK Then!

I love the story in Acts 10 & 11. It's great in so many ways. For one thing it puts this "Gentile" on a level playing field (following field) with all who have ever followed Jesus of any stripe. Without this amazing experience those such and me (and you, my friend) might have been relegated to being second class Jesus followers. For people such as us to have equal standing for Christ's sake is evidence of the Kingdom come! But I guess the part of the story that is most moving to me is the response of the folks in Jerusalem. They were livid that Peter had done what he had-until they heard the full story. Then it seems like they changed their minds-immediately! To do that they had to be steeped in "knowing" Jesus (i.e. being able to predict WWJD in a situation such as that) and they had to trust Peter (that he was telling the truth about what, by God, had happened). What a lesson for contemporary Jesus followers! We must "know" Jesus (i.e. be so familiar with his teachings and his character as revealed in the gospels) that we can recognize what he is up to on our mission fields. And when something new and revolutionary happens we will not dismiss it out of hand, but weigh it for it "Jesusness" and according to the trust we have built with the one who brings it to our attention. By the same token if we have a new word (or experience) from the Lord we will need to be trustworthy for our testimony of it to be recieved gladly by our tribe.

Get going!

Exodus 33:1 "The Lord said to Moses, 'Get going, you and the people you brought up from the land of Egypt." Timeless instructions from the Lord! All these centuries (yea millenia) later the word of the Lord to the called and sent is "get going". Yes, we don't know exactly where we are going, nor what we are to do along the way or when we get there (and my experience is that there always gets moved farther out). However we don't have to know everything to act on what we do know. All we are ever called on to give an account of and to offer to others along the way is our experience, strength and hope. We are not powerless, ignorant or lost about where to head and what to do. We are to head out on our mission field and be on the look out for those who are not yet at home with Jesus and his tribe. To wait for further instructions from the Lord is to play like he has not already given us enough to get on the mission field and see what happens then. Get going, the Lord told Moses. There was a lot more he and the people would hear from the Lord. But not unless they acted on what they had already been told.