But You're Special

Exodus 16-20

In this story of freedom from slavery, we also find a story of covenant to God. Israel was freed by God - not so that they could do whatever they wanted. They were freed in order to become God's own people on the Earth. God rescued Israel, saved them that they might be his special treasure, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. 

We don't know what kind of work God was doing in the whole world during the times of the Exodus. We do know that there were tribes of peoples all over the Earth, kingdoms, empires, cities and societies. There is scant if any word of what God was doing in those peoples. But God does make it clear through his words to Moses that God intended for Israel to have a role to play when it came to the peoples of the world.

For Israel to be a kingdom of priests, it implies that they were to be mediators between God and all the peoples and tribes of Earth. As a holy nation, they were set apart, unlike the other nations, called for a special duty and task. Recall God's word to Abraham: I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make you a blessing, and through you I will bless the whole world. It was this kind of vision that God had for the Israel that he delivered from slavery in Egypt.

The stories we read in this section are fascinating - snippets of what life was like on the way to the Promised Land. This part of the journey includes episodes of their travel to Mt. Sinai where the covenant will be made between God and Israel. Along the way the people complain bitterly about lack of food and water. They are attacked by the Amalekites. Moses is overwhelmed by his role as judge for this mass of sojourners. There are good nuggets in here for reflection on leadership and faith.

As Christians, we understand ourselves to be children of Abraham - those who put their faith in Christ. With our allegiance to Jesus as Messiah and King of Israel, we belong to the New Israel that God has brought up in the world to be his special treasure for blessing the world. Christians are the next kingdom of priests, mediators between God and the people of the world. We are the holy nation, unlike everyone else in order that we might serve them and bless them and connect them with God.

To think of ourselves as special does not give us permission to become proud and haughty towards others. We've been chosen to follow in the steps of Jesus, the way of love and sacrifice, service and compassion, wisdom and healing. Just as Israel failed to uphold the covenant, so have Christians. And yet just as God worked through Israel, so he can work through us. Jesus is the one redeeming factor of both Israel and Christians - it is he to whom we should always point. And follow.

Why Do You Stay Hidden and Silent?

Job 13-14

When you carefully and thoughtfully observe the world around you, does it ever prompt some difficult and yearning questions for God? Does your own experience with suffering, pain, fear, and oppression cause you to wonder what God is up to and why does he seem absent? It did for Job, for me, and likely for you.

This long and winding poem called Job articulates artfully the probing questions we humans have for our Creator. Does he not notice what life is like for the majority of people on planet Earth?

More than half the population lives on a few dollars a day. The wealthiest of Earthlings are dying of obesity and loneliness. It's pathetic, disgusting, revolting and unacceptable. Is God proud of how miserable humanity has become? And what is he going to do about it?

Job presses God with some pointed and painful questions. And it makes Job's religious friends nervous. They aren't comfortable with God getting accused for stuff. But Job presses them: how big is your God?

Can't he handle the frustration and venting? Job is very direct with God, to the point, boldly upfront about his observations of what is going on - not only in his confusion and wretchedness, but that of so much of humanity.

We're all adrift in the same boat:
too few days, too many troubles.

We spring up like wildflowers in the desert and then wilt,
transient as the shadow of the cloud.

Do you occupy your time with such fragile wisps?
Why even bother hauling me into court?

There's nothing much to us to start with;
how do you expect us to amount to anything?

Job goes on to reflect on the seeming pointlessness of life, the brevity and turmoil of human existence - especially in comparison to nature, to the trees that seem to endure well past our own death.

For a tree there is always hope.
Chop it down and it still has a chance -
its roots can put out fresh sprouts.

Even if its roots are old and gnarled,
its stump long dormant,
At the first whiff of water it comes to life,
buds and grows like a sapling.

But men and women? They die and stay dead.
They breathe their last, and that's it.

Like lakes and rivers that have dried up,
parched reminders of what once was,
So mortals like down and never get up,
never wake up again - never.

Job doesn't want to die. He wants to live! But his suffering, and that of so much of humanity, it makes death look attractive. The prospect of wanting death is abhorrent - but that's how bad life has become. Job is stuck - he doesn't want to die, to have life be over forever.

But he doesn't want this pain. So it leads him to this question for God: if you won't take away the pain now, will you grant me death - but only if you promise for resurrection, for life again, a better life then what we have now?

Here's how Job writes it:

Why don't you just bury me alive,
get me out of the way until the anger cools?

But don't leave me there!
Set a date when you'll see me again.

If we humans die, will we live again? That's my question.
All through these difficult days I keep hoping,
waiting for the final change - for resurrection!

Our life and suffering can resonate with that of Job's. He, however, wrote with no knowledge of Jesus. We do. And where as Job longed for resurrection but with no promises that it would be a possibility for him, it is for us.

If we, like Job, gain wisdom through our sufferings, compassion for humanity wracked by sins and pain, insistence on knowing truth and reality, resurrection can become our hope.

Jesus' story has many similarities to Job's. They both longed for resurrection - for themselves and others. And through Jesus it becomes a possibility for humanity. Longing for it, looking for it, in accordance with what Jesus has to say about God and life and humanity and the future - this changes us. It changes our perspective, our attitude, our hopes.

Much like Job, we wonder why God seems to stay hidden and silent. Yet for Job, his pining for resolution led to hopes of resurrection. If it does for you too, then what Jesus has to promise you will be good news indeed!

How To Pray: Why We Pray

How to Pray: Review
Week 1 - How Prayer Works
Prayer is collaboration between God and you – alignment of your will and desires with what God knows and is doing in the world.

This Week - Why we pray

Week 3) What To Pray For

Week 4) What To Say To God
**********

Why We Pray
* To get what we want? To get God’s help? To get God to fix my problems?

* To get God to heal a sickness, to be with me, to keep me safe, to bless our food?

OR...

* To focus on God

* To learn what we need

* To be with our Father in heaven

* To join God in his work to set the world right

* To remember our reliance upon God for everything we need to live and love

* To express gratitude

* To express concern, worry, fears, anxieties, terrors, tensions, problems, etc.

* To get help accepting forgiveness and giving it to others

* To get intervention from God in deflecting self-harm and the sin of others

* To remember and reflect on God’s greatness and goodness.

* To join God in doing what is best for the world


Our tendency is to pray for stuff. When we are in need, we ask God to intervene. But outside of our own personal suffering or concern for the welfare of others, we don't usually pray. Maybe an occasional attitude of gratitude towards God, and some complaining about how unfair life is. Too often that is the extent of our praying, and it leaves us frustrated and empty.

If we pray to pretty much only get stuff from God, we'll give up after awhile, since it seems that God rarely answers our prayers.

The solution, then, isn't to figure out how to pray so that we can get God to give us what we want. It's not as if God is folding his arms, resisting our requests because we didn't ask the proper way.

The remedy for unanswered prayers is to reflect on the purpose of prayer, to better understand why we pray.

And Jesus ought to be the first place to go on knowing why we pray.


The list above is my reflection upon the Lord's Prayer on why we pray. Below is the teaching that Jesus gives us on why we pray. Read it and then write down in your own words what Jesus teaches you about why to pray. It will help us imagine fresh and renewing ways of praying that add to our life with God and others.


Lord, Teach Us To Pray:
Here is what Jesus had to say on why we pray -

"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

"The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.

Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are. 

Set the world right; 

Do what's best— as above, so below. 

Keep us alive with three square meals. 

Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. 

Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil. 

You're in charge! 
You can do anything you want! 

You're ablaze in beauty! Yes. Yes. Yes.

"In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part.

Based on this teaching of Jesus on why to pray, what conclusions could you draw?

*

*

*

*

*

What else do you want to know about how to pray?

Do You Finally Believe?

John 16-18

For whatever reason, the disciples were having a difficult time understanding Jesus. His explanations about his life, his work, his upcoming death - well it just made everything more confusing. It was difficult to grasp back then, and so it still is today.

Patiently Jesus answers their questions about his identity, his mission, his future. Jesus explains to them about the coming Holy Spirit, the upcoming crucifixion, and God's will for everything. Finally, the disciples cry out that they get it, the grasp what Jesus is saying. Jesus shocks them with this question: Do you finally believe?

At this point Jesus goes on to tell the disciples how they will abandon him. But then Jesus prays for them. And so it is with us today - we struggle to understand who Jesus is and what he has done and is doing in the world. When we get close to grasping it, we still get challenged by Jesus himself: do you finally believe? 

Jesus challenges us like he did his disciples then - reminding us that we can't believe in Him apart from His Spirit. We need Jesus to pray for us, to help us keep believing - and obeying. And that's what Jesus' prayer is all about - spelling out the relationship between the Father and the Son, the Son and the Disciples, the Disciple and Disciples, and the Disciples and the Father. Love. Unity. Mission.

It was one thing for the disciples to declare their faith and trust in Jesus while praying in the Garden. It was severely tested there in Gethsemane when the soldiers and priests showed up with clubs and swords.  The light had seemed to dawn for the disciples earlier, only to have it chased away in the dark of night. And so it goes for us still - we have moments where we finally get it... and then it's overwhelmed by the forces at work in the world.

The religious leaders did not believe Jesus. Some did, and more would after the resurrection. The Roman bureaucrats and soldiers did not believe Jesus. A few did, but not enough to intervene and stop the condemnation to torture. Crowds of people had been fed by Jesus, healed by Jesus, loved by Jesus, taught by Jesus - but they did not believe Jesus. They were willing to let him be silenced.

Where are you at with Jesus? Do you struggle to hear and obey his words? Do you have a hard time making sense of his life and teachings? Is it difficult for you to believe? Can you see in your own life where you've denied or even betrayed Jesus? When we come to Jesus and let him know that we finally believe, he's probably going to push back a bit. Not to be mean, but but because he wants to give us the truth in love.

Jesus wants us to believe him. He prays for the Spirit to help us believe him. But we should be aware that our declarations of belief may get challenged by Jesus himself. That's his gift to us. Belief shouldn't be easy. Which is why faith is a gift of God to us. And we must rely on Jesus' Spirit to help us keep trusting him. We don't have to do it all by ourselves.


Do you finally believe?

But We Don't See It Yet

Hebrews 1-2

We want to see what is right prevail. What want to see good overcome evil. We want there to be a connection between justice and mercy. More than karma, we want grace to have the last word on our lives.

For Christians, our story includes the command of God to have dominion over the Earth, to steward it for his glory and our joy. Unfortunately, in the past few hundred years, with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, we've increased our pollution of the land and famines for the poorest of the world. Christians are struggling with how to exert power and authority such that everyone on earth gets enough to eat and drink. We strive for a solution, but we don't see it yet.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews was a witness to the life and way of Jesus. For him, in the midst of the mighty Roman Empire, he still didn't see yet the blessed dominion of man over the earth. Instead, he saw crucifixion beams and besieged, bloodied cities. But he did see Jesus. And he was compelled to come to terms with the words and works of Jesus. How to make sense of them - either Jesus was a liar, a lunatic, or Lord.

We want Jesus to return soon, to make things right on the earth. We want Jesus to lead us so that the righteous prosper and the wicked are disciplined. We want Jesus to bring healing and restoration to broken peoples and polluted lands. But we don't see it yet. Not completed, at least. But the work has begun, if you have eyes to see it.

Where does wickedness come from? Where does the desire to hurt people and desecrate the land come from? The religious term for it is sin. Evil. And if only someone could break the corruptible power of sin, it's expressions of lust and greed, pride and envy.

Ah - but there is someone who claimed to overcome the reign of evil. It's what Jesus did on the cross and through the resurrection. And the rewards of that sacrifice are available to us. To those that believe it is possible. Even if we don't see it completed yet.

Unlike the author of Hebrews, we did not witness the life of Jesus, his crucifixion and resurrection. We did not hear his words, did not watch him at work. But the influence of Jesus is still here. Jesus is still at work, breaking the power of sin in our lives, subverting the power of evil in society. 

He knows what it is like to be one of us, to be crushed by opposition, to be hated for being right and truth-full. Jesus is our example for how to live in this darkened world. But he is also our Savior - the one who rescued us from the power of darkness and grants us light to see and love and follow Him.

Why Are We Doing This?

Exodus 11-15

If you were God, and about three thousand years ago you wanted to free some two million people from a powerful empire, how would you do it? Let's call that empire Egypt, and the enslaved people Israel. Egypt is militarily powerful, the Israelites weakened from decades of forced labor. Everyone is religious, believing in dozens of gods and goddesses. And God has not talked to anyone in over four-hundred years.

God has decided to work in and through people. He works through Pharaoh - who has been raised to believe in his own divinity, exceedingly cruel and violent. He works through Moses who is an Israelite, raised as an Egyptian prince, exiled to the desert, existed as a scraggly shepherd, and now returns with a stutter. If the Israelites are released to the desert, the economy grinds to a halt for a few days. Or, as the Pharaoh fears, forever. God of Israel or Pharaoh-god of Egypt - who's will shall prevail?

All of this apparently got confusing for the children. When God gives the instructions to Moses on how to be prepared to be rescued, it assumes that the kids will have questions. God has words for the parents on what to say when asked: why are we doing this?

As the wheels of freedom began to grind, the noise of wailing from the Egyptians and scared bleating of the sheep and goats rang throughout the night. It would have been scary for a child to sit through the turmoil of the Passover.

When God brought about the final plague, the Death of the Firstborn, instructions were given on how to survive the night. Those that believed God through Moses obeyed. They took a lamb, slaughtered it, spread the blood over the doorposts of their home, and then roasted the meat over a flickering fire.

 The family was to eat in haste, sandals on, staff in hand, belongings packed up. This was a meal unlike any other - it even had a name: the Pass-over meal. Of course the children are going to wonder: why are we doing this?

Screams of terrified mothers and rage-full fathers tore through the darkness when they discovered their firstborn son breathless. Trembling Israelite parents clung to their kids, thankful for life, ready for the morning to arrive.

When notice was given to flee the land, they found their grieving Egyptian neighbors flinging gold and jewelry and other valuables out the window at them - a departing gift. The confusion prompted the kids to whisper: why are we doing this?

When the Israelites arrived at the shore of the Red Sea, the fresh breeze was a blessing. But when they heard the thundering approach of Pharaoh's deadly chariots, they felt cursed and betrayed.

Suddenly the crowd starts moving, you get swept up in the shuffle forward, and amidst the roars of fear and the wild neighing of war-horses you find yourself in water. Well, not in the water, but on dry ground with walls of water to your left and right. What child wouldn't ask: why are we doing this?

God wanted the Israelites to be able to tell the story of their deliverance. God wanted the children of Israel to know who they are, where they came from, and why they feast and worship as they do. God understood the inquisitive nature of children, the mystery of worship, and the complexity of historical remembrance.

When we observe Passover, the Lord's Supper, fasting, praying, giving alms, caring for the least of these - they prompt questions: why are we doing this? What would you tell your kids? 

Parents fail their children when there are shallow answers to normal questions. Especially when it comes to our faith and life with God. If parents don't know what they are doing - why do we go to church, etc - or if they don't give a good answer, they'll lose the interest of their kids.

Thoughtlessness and lack of appreciation from parents will get passed on to their kids. But so will reflection, intentionality, understanding, patient explanation in response to curiosity.

Israel would fail in future generations - like within two or three - because parents didn't give good enough answers when the kids asked: why are we doing this? It's been the curse of Israel and Christianity - parents often fail to pass on faith in God to their kids.

Why? Because the parents often fail to invest enough honest reflection into their own life to answer their own questions: why are we doing this? Many times the question of a child is God's prompt for you to do some contemplation.

Why are we doing this?

Have It Your Way

Exodus 6-10

Why do we get so stubborn? What makes us dig in our heels at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons? How do you get through to someone who is unable to break free from their enslaving desires?

Moses pleads with Pharaoh to let the Israelites venture into the desert for a few days to worship YHWH. Pharaoh's denial of their request prompts plagues from God. Each plague prompts Pharaoh to relent - but then as the calamity subsides, the stubbornness returns in force. The increasing destructiveness of the curses  increases the tension of the story - how can Pharaoh keep changing his mind and allow another day of disaster to come upon himself and his people?

Pharaoh's empire-economy was expanding in glory and might on the back of Israelite slaves. To let the men and their families enjoy a few days off would bring the "shovel-ready" projects to a halt. Worse, it would give the enslaved people a few days rest to talk amongst themselves and possibly plot insurrection. The idea that they would find respite in the desert to worship a "foreign" god was also an unwelcome thought to the Pharaoh. It's not just that Pharaoh is stubborn, he's also afraid of what will happen. 

There is often a link between our stubbornness and our fears. We get into a situation that is harming others, even ourselves - and when the opportunity is given us to change, we get stubborn and afraid. We're afraid of the future, afraid of uncertainty, afraid of being shamed, afraid of losing what we have - even if it is rotten and filthy. Stubbornness is less about wisdom then it is about power and control, familiarity and advantage. Pharaoh faces a great disadvantage in letting the Israelites go worship in the desert. What's in it for him?

What Pharaoh didn't fully comprehend was that his slave-labor would be leaving him soon no matter what. He was given the opportunity to act honorably and in obedience to YHWH. After any one of the plagues, Pharaoh could have had a change of heart, fully repented and granted freedom to Israel. But he didn't, and he wouldn't. And thus he lost his honor and his empire. And his life.

God will come to us at times, giving us an opportunity to change, to break away from addictions, from bondage to ideas and beliefs, to be freed from dangerous relationships and circumstances. He comes to help us change, that we might cease from harming others.

And when God comes to initiate those changes, we can know that the change will come - either with our cooperation and honorable participation, or without it. If we stubbornly resist God's work, we will experience ongoing disaster and destruction. God doesn't get involved in trifle matters - what he does is of grand importance.

When we are given the opportunity to change, God will speak to us through a myriad of people. We may not always recognize God in it, but we will hear the word of change that is being presented to us.

We can have it our way, or we can do it God's way. God was going to free Israel with or without Pharaoh's participation. And God will free others under your influence that you are harming, with or without your participation. 

You can have it your way,
and face a series of curses and separation from God.
Or you can have it God's way, 
where you face loss, but also a new beginning. 

Does This Look Like Rescue To You?

Exodus 1-5

This is the story of God and Moses and the rescue of Israel from Egypt. God is the main character, Moses is his supporting actor, and Pharaoh is the antagonist. Exodus is the primary story of Israel - its the story that Genesis was pointing to, preparing for. And in the story of Exodus is the clash of God and gods, Deliverance and Empire, Freedom and Slavery, Worship and Work. 

Moses was born during a ban, he was to be immediately executed for being a boy. His mother defied the Pharaoh. Ironically, the Pharaoh's daughter discovers the baby Moses floating in the Nile and takes him home! We learn that Moses grows up in a royal household, the best of education and opportunity. One thing, however, that persisted was a speech impediment. Despite forty years of Egyptian privilege, Moses still stuttered. 

As Moses discovers his true heritage, he flails in executing justice. His flight to the wilderness, however, becomes preparation for survival. He has been trained in royal leadership, now he's being trained in desert shepherding. God will meet up with Moses for the first time at just the right time. Almost eighty years of preparation, of no interaction with God, of only living one day at a time on his own. God works on his own timetable, in his own way.

When God begins to reveal his plans to Moses, things get worse for almost everyone. Jethro loses his daughter and best shepherd, and grandkids. On the way there, Zipporah saves Moses from being killed by God! Upon arrival in Egypt, the request from Aaron and Moses to Pharaoh results in more violent oppression, beatings, and cruel injustice. Moses cries out to God: Does this look like rescue to you?

What do we think rescue ought to look like in our world? When God moves us toward some kind of intervention, service, sacrifice, mission - should everything turn out roses immediately? Should we be able to see how every hardship and downturn contributes to the future victory? For Moses, it didn't. And for us, it often doesn't. We often cannot see how God's plan is going to work out. Sometimes God's involvement makes things worse. 

God is fine with Moses' questions. He is fine with your bewilderment. Will we be fine with what God wants us to do next? 
Or will we give up?

Moses: "Does this look like rescue?"
God: "No, actually it doesn't. But it is."

Scorn on the Strugglers

Job 9-12

The tension continues to rise in this poem between Job and his grieving companions. Job unrelentingly insists on his innocence, on the disconnect between his behavior and these consequences. Any wrongdoing Job may have done still didn't deserve this kind of punishment, this kind of hardship, this kind of disaster.

Those who observe and hear Job, though, continue to push-back. They cast doubt on Job's assertions. The more that Job lays out his lack of wrongdoing and contrasts it with God's extreme dosage of suffering - the tension only increases. His friends side with God and insist that Job is in the wrong. Ironically, much of what they have to say lacks knowledge of the true situation, and it lacks compassion.

We ought to avoid saying too much to those that struggle. If we find ourselves scorning those who are suffering, we need to look around at our own situation. Are we scorning from a position of health, security, advantage, blessing?

Are we fully informed as to why the others are struggling? Is the best we can do marked by scorn and putting people in their place? Is there value in listening - really listening? Is their value in letting their struggle stir up uncertainty and introspection in your own life?

Beware those who scorn the strugglers.

How To Read The Bible: Lesson Five - The Letters

How To Read the Bible – And Get Something Out of It

Lesson One – Get To Know Your Bible

What Are You Reading - Understanding What You Are Reading

Lesson Two –  First Testament

How to Read the Torah

Lesson Three – First Testament

How to Read the Writings & Prophets (Hebrew Poetry)

Lesson Four – New Testament

How to Read the Gospels

Lesson Five – New Testament

How to Read the Letters (of Paul, Peter, James, Jude, John)

Lesson Five –  New Testament

How to Read the Letters

The Letters of Paul to the Church in:  Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, Thessalonica; to Timothy, Titus, Philemon

The Letters of Peter to: God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia

The Letter of James: To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations

[see also the Letter to the Hebrews - an anonymous epistle]

The Letter of Jude: To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

The Letters of John: To the lady chosen by God and to her children // To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth //  To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Originally there were no chapters and verses in the Scriptures.

Some letters were written while the author was imprisoned.

The audiences are varied – geographically, culturally, religiously, maturity.

Understanding What You Are Reading

The Flow of the Story: The Letters and the Acts of the Apostles

…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. [Acts 1:8]

The Story of God as told through Five Sections of the Bible

Torah: God Will Bless the World Through Israel

Prophets: God’s Call To Israel to Repent That

He Might Bless The World Through Them

Writings: God’s Involvement With Israel and the World

 As He Works To Bless The World Through Them

Gospels: God Through Jesus Calling Israel to Repent

That He Might Bless The World Through Them

Letters: God’s Involvement With Israel & the Church

In the World As He Works To Bless The World

Through Them in Jesus’ Name

* Jesus comes as God to initiate a New Exodus God with Israel to save them from slavery and destruction, making a new covenant with them for blessing the world through him. (He reinterprets Torah for them as a Prophet)

* Whoever would believe and follow Jesus – whether Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free, civilized or barbarian – would become part of the New Israel, or the Ekklesia (assembly or church) of Jesus.

* This New Israel/Church would be God’s instrument for blessing the world in the name of Jesus.

* The Letters of the Apostles and Disciples are selected writings of the expansion of the New Israel/church through the proclamation of the Gospels from Jerusalem to the end of the earth within the Roman Empire.

* The Letters inform of us of how the early church blossomed in its culture in as it entered into the Story of God through the proclamation of the Gospel.

* The Letters give us insights into how our church can blossom in our culture as part of God’s ongoing story through the proclamation of the Gospel. 

How To Pray: How Prayer Works

How To Pray

This Week - How prayer works

Week 2 - Why We Pray

Week 3 - What To Pray For

Week 4 - What To Say To God
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How Prayer Works
According to Jesus' Teaching on Prayer:

Prayer is always initiated by God.

Prayer is communication between God and you.

Prayer is more than just words: 
attitude, actions, ideas,
thoughts, feelings,
body language,
choices,
lifestyle

What is your understanding of what is prayer and how it works?



Prayer is influenced by our image of God as Father – and our relationship with him (and our father) at the time of our praying...

Prayers are always heard by God.

Prayers are not needed in order for God to know what you need.


Prayer is collaboration between God and you – alignment of your will and desires with what God knows and is doing in the world.

Prayer works in connection to the work you put into helping answer your own prayers.

Prayer is as much hearing from God as it is talking to Him.


We tend to think of prayer as either thanking God or making requests to God. We need to think about prayer as communication within a relationship to God.


Prayer is way more than just words, way more than just asking God to do stuff for us or others.


Prayer works - not according to whether our eyes are open or closed, whether we are on our knees or in a pew - but in accordance to our heart and God's will.


Prayer becomes less about getting what we want from God and more about learning what God wants for us.


When the disciples asked Jesus how prayer works, here is what he taught them:

Lord, Teach Us To Pray
"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

"The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.

Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what's best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge! 
You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty! Yes. Yes. Yes.

"In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part."

Based on this teaching of Jesus on how to pray, what conclusions could you draw?

*

*

*

*


What else do you want to know about how prayer works?

How To Read The Bible: Lesson Four - The Gospels

How To Read the Bible – And Get Something Out of It

Lesson One – Get To Know Your Bible

What Are You Reading - Understanding What You Are Reading

Lesson Two –  First Testament

How to Read the Torah

Lesson Three – First Testament

How to Read the Writings & Prophets (Hebrew Poetry)

Lesson Four – New Testament

How to Read the Gospels

Lesson Five – New Testament

How to Read the Letters (of Paul, Peter, James, John, Jude)

Lesson Four –  New Testament

How to Read the Gospels

Who were the Gospels originally written to? Knowing who the audience was helps aid in our understanding of what is in the Gospels. The four Gospels all had different authors and different audiences.

Matthew: written to a Jewish community

Mark: written to a Roman community

Luke & Acts: written to Theophilus

John: written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

The Synoptic Gospels

Matthew, Mark, Luke – many similarities: stories & teachings

Possible use of a common source – “Q”

You'll notice as you read the four gospels that the first four have a lot of similarities. Hence the name: Synoptic Gospels (synoptic meaning similar). Lots of studies and theories try to explain it all. The most common understanding is that there was a common source called "Q" that Mark used to write his Gospel. Then it is thought that Matthew and Luke each separately used Q and Mark to write their Gospels to their respective audiences.

The Passion of Jesus

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John – about 1/3 of each book is spent on the Passion week of Jesus. Each author sets up the events of Jesus’ life leading up to the Passion in a unique way. And each author has their own accounting of what happens after the Passion.

What Are You Reading?

Genre of literatures in the Bible:

Myth                Poetry             Biography

Narratives        Genealogy        Letters

Lawcodes         Wisdom            Apocalyptic

Songs              Prophecy          History

Understanding What You Are Reading

So what is the Gospel? It's a unique kind of literature - it has some similarities to other ancient writings, but it sets its own agenda and form. 

Gospel as History: recounting of events that led up to the Passion of Jesus

We think of history in very modern terms. To the ancients, however, recounting history was always in the context of political, religious, or cultural realities. We must understand how history was used back then to make sense of it now. It is important to note that while there is historical information in the Gospels, they were not written to be a pure history of Jesus.

Gospel as Biography: retelling of the life of Jesus

Whatever we think a biography ought to be, the Gospels fall short. While we can read the Gospels to learn something about the origins, childhood and adult life of Jesus, it is only bits and pieces. It is very difficult to reconstruct the life of Jesus of Nazareth from the Gospels. There are biographical elements in the Gospels, but the purpose of them lie elsewhere.

Gospel as Narrative: reconstructed story of Jesus in the light of the story of Israel as part of God’s Story.

All the Gospel writers are telling the story of Jesus as a retelling of the story of Israel. They understand Jesus to be the King of Israel, the Messiah who will deliver them from evil. To understand the story being told about Jesus, it is crucial to understand the story that had been told about Israel and their relationship with God. To get something out of the Gospels of Jesus for our life today, it will be helpful to understand what the Gospels met to those Israelites who lived then.

As you read the Gospels, here are some key chapters and stories you'll want to be familiar with and appreciate.

Matthew: King Jesus & Kingdom of Heaven

Birth Story (Chapters 1-2)

Sermon on the Mount (Chapters 5-7)

Healings & Miracles (Chapters 8 & 9, 14 & 15)

Parables & Wisdom Teachings (Chapters 13, 18-20)

The Passion (Chapters 21-28)

Mark: Jesus Christ is Son of God & Kingdom of God is Gospel

Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.

Immediately…

Healings & Miracles

Parables & Wisdom Teachings

The Passion (Chapters 11-16)

Luke & Acts: Jesus as King of Israel & the Kingdom Coming Through an Ekklesia of Believers

Introductions (Luke 1:1-4 & Acts 1:1-5)

Origins of Jesus (Luke 1-4)

Origins of Disciples & Apostles (Luke 5 & 6, 9 & 10)

Jesus & the Pharisees  (Luke 11-18)

Jesus & Jerusalem (13, 19, 21)

Passion of Jesus (Luke 19-24)

Passion of Paul (Acts 21-28)

The Beginning of the Church (Acts 1-5)

The Gentiles Entering the Church (Acts 6-8)

Introduction to Paul (8-9)

The Leadership of Peter (9-12)

The Ministry of Paul (13—20)

John: Jesus is the Logos, Life Unto the Ages

Introductions to Jesus (Chapter 1)

The Eight Signs (2:11, 4:54, 5:15, 6:14, 6:20, 9:7, 11:41-42, 20:9)

The Passion (12-20)

The Conclusions (20:30-31, 21:24-25)

Love One Another

John 13-15

The story that's being retold in the Gospel of John has shifted its focus - it's moving toward the betrayal and arrest, the crucifixion of the main character: Jesus. This section begins with the Passover Meal - an event rich in stories, theology, culture and history. Jesus takes this event and adds even richer significance to it - he will be come the lamb that is slain by his own people, atoning for their sins and delivering them from death. It will come through betrayal. And yet Jesus will insist that the disciples love one another. 

To demonstrate Jesus' love for his disciples, he washes their smelly, dirty, crusty feet before dinner. And then Jesus insists that they must do this for others. It's one of the ways that the disciples as leaders can express love to their community and family.

I wonder: what would be the equivalent of washing feet today? What would be something that pastors and leaders could do that equates with the humility and gentleness, the tenderness and love of washing the feet of others?

Following dinner Jesus talks for awhile - making sure his disciples understand what is going on. To underscore his main message, he goes over the basics again: love one another. The command is: love one another. Obeying the commands that Jesus gives us reveals our love for Jesus.

How do we know if we love Jesus? When we are working to love one another. How do we love one another? In the same ways that Jesus loved us. This will require meditation on the way of Jesus. And it will require courage when it comes to those in our life who are difficult to love. Even when you have a Judas in your life. Or a Peter.

It's a daunting challenge that Jesus gives his disciples. Maybe he can see the shock in their eyes. To comfort them he promises that the Holy Spirit will always be with them to help them. Where will the power and insight come from to love others as Jesus loved us? 

It will come from the Spirit of God in us. Our love for God opens us up to His Spirit, which empowers us to love others. He can't make us choose to love, but he can influence us in that direction - and once we make the choice, he gives us the capability.

So often we find that our hearts are too small or too tired for all the love that seems to be required of us. We will always need the help of God to love others like Jesus loved us. And the more we yield to the influence of God, the more people he will bring in our path to love.

This is the challenge, 
but this is also a gift 
- to love and be loved, 
this is the greatest thing 
in all the world!

Bring Judgment Against Them

Jude & Obadiah

Jude is a brother both to James the Bishop of Jerusalem and Jesus the King of Israel. We're not sure what his role was in the early church. By the letter he wrote it would seem that maybe he was an overseer of some churches.

He also seemed to be a busy man, but when he heard about what was going on in some of the congregations, he felt compelled to write a emotional and vivid letter. It's a real short one - compact, full of Old Testament stories and allusions - very impactful to that first audience.

It seems that this group of believers were known for their love of God, exuding the grace of Jesus, praying in the Spirit. But for whatever reason there were people joining their group who were more interested in challenging the norms, insisting on self-serving practices, and bringing in filthy attitudes and actions. Rather then being people who wanted to change and grow in the faith, they were wanting the benefit of the church while staying rooted in the ways of the world.

Jude insists that God will bring judgment against them. Not because God is a big mean old man up in the sky waiting to smite sinners. Evil is like cancer, sin is like a virus, selfishness and greed spread and infect and wreck and distract and ruin and taint and suck the life out of a community.


Judgment is God's gift to a community - to point out the obvious, the truth, the reality of the situation and intervene. God will let things go for awhile, giving the people opportunities to repent and change their ways. But if it goes on for too long, then God will bring an end to it.

This is what we find in the prophecy from Obadiah in the Old Testament. He is writing to the Edomites, descendants of Esau who was the twin brother of Jacob (also known as Israel, the father of the Twelve Tribes). Esau and Jacob had a difficult, competitive, edgy relationship - and so did their descendants.

There would be much tension and many skirmishes between them in the centuries to follow. When the Northern Tribes and Southern Tribes of Israel were conquered by the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires, Edom gloated and harrassed. And God was not happy about it.

There is so much in the world that is not right - between tribes and nations, empires and superpowers. God lets so much go on and on and on. Finally, after one too many times, God spoke a word of judgment to Edom through Obadiah. You reap what you sow. What goes around comes around. God promised to bring justice to Edom for their sins against their brother Israel, for mocking and abandoning him.

But at the very end of Obadiah's letter, he notes that someday Israel will return and bring justice to Edom. Another way to look at it: Israel will break the cycle of violence and revenge and hatred. When God brings Israel back, they will be part of God's plan to bring shalom - even to their enemies. 

It's this same attitude that Jude wants Christians to take towards those that are infecting their community with sin: "Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin. The sin itself stinks to high heaven." God is the one who brings judgment on sinners. And he is also the one who initiates grace. We do no favors when we overlook sin, but we also ought not to overlook sinners.

Just as God brought justice to Edom, so God will bring it to each sinner. But God also promised a new life on the other side of judgment. Judgment is a gift - it brings an end to wickedness, abuse, hate.


Judgment is often hard and harsh - since it often comes at the hands of other humans, and it is often the real consequences from the long culmination of our choices and desires. If we are willing to see our fall as a gift from God, we'll be ready for Him when he picks us up and stands us on our feet.

And now to him who can keep you on your feet, standing tall in his bright presence, fresh and celebrating - to our one God, our only Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Master, be glory, majesty, strength, and rule before all time, and now, to the end of all time. Yes.

Don't You See?

Genesis 46-50

A shocking ending to a story! Joseph, who was once a slave, and is now the second in command of Egypt, reduces the whole nation to slavery! Reuben the first born of Jacob is cast down as the firstborn for his wickedness against his father's maidservant. Jacob brings down curses on his oldest three sons, but praises Judah with promises of royalty. And then Joseph sees God at work in all the evil that was planned against him, how good was brought out of it. 

Can we see how complicated our lives are? How complicated our world is? Do we see the complicated mess God inserts himself into? We see bits and parts, small threads of the story, chunks that make sense, but then pieces that confuse. But can we see where the complicated story is headed?

Depending on how you look at it, God enmeshes himself in evil human systems of slavery, family abuse, and corrupt Pharaoh power to keep the story of Israel going forward. Is God complicit for the wickedness that happens? Or can we see the miracle of good coming out of the despicable actions that humanity insists on repeating? 

Joseph's brothers were afraid that following the death of their father, Joseph would exact revenge upon them for their evil thoughts and actions. But Joseph responded in grace: "Don't be afraid. Do I act for God? Don't you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now - life for many people. Easy now, you have nothing to fear; I'll take care of you and your children."

For you who have endured trauma and abuse and suffering: look for how God can bring good out of the evil that others perpetrated against you. The ways that others have wrecked your life bring sorrow - but God is capable of using those pains to bring good and life to others through you.

Rage and revenge will not undo the past. Looking to see how God has been at work to help others through your pain will bring healing to you and hope to others. In this complicated world of suffering and injustice, we must persistently choose to see where God is at work for good. 

To You Arrogant Rich

James 5

If you're going to write a short letter, and instruct about only the most important issues, what would those be? For the Christians reading the letter of their Bishop James the Just, they get a clear message about the abuse of wealth. Back then, and now, the abuse of wealth is still a cancer on our society. 

Whether it is a bartering system, agricultural system, an empire economy, a socialist society, a communist dictatorship, or a free-market system - wealthy people will emerge, and too many of them will add to the corruption of the system for their own gain. And it will be at the expense of the workers. And the Earth.

It is evident that wealth is NOT a sign of God's blessing. God's blessing comes from what you do with your money - whether much or meager. God will be harsher on the wealthy who exploit people and places, who loot and live it up, who destroy lives and livelihoods. 


"All the workers you've exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of the Master Avenger." Whether it is America or Malaysia, China or Mexico, whatever the economic system, God is against those who build wealth for themselves.

So James has a few words for the workers though: life is hard - be patient for the return of Jesus without complaining about your neighbor or your life. Don't let oppression provide an excuse for you to dishonor God with your words and ways.

Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God even in the midst of gross inequality, corporate injustices, and financial mismanagement. If you're going to help make things right, do not become like the ones who made it wrong. 

For the hard life of the workers, continue to pray for one another, and for justice. When you get sinned against: forgive. When you sin against others: confess and work for reconciliation and healing. Don't let the hard times that have been inflicted on you result in drifting away from God and community. 


When your friends fall away from God - go after them! Don't let the corporate empires and billionaire tyrants corrupt your church community. Resist the evil. Rescue the wandering. Restore the broken. Reach out and care for those who have been left behind or trampled.

God Was Behind It

Genesis 41-45

What can one person accomplish? A lot, actually. God sets Joseph up for the deliverance of Egypt and the surrounding nations from a terrible and prolonged famine. Pharaoh of Egypt appoints Joseph to oversee the collection of crops in the seven years of plenty so that there will be enough sustenance in the seven years of blight. God prepared Joseph over many years, through many difficulties. God was behind what Joseph accomplished.

We are reading about Israel's story, of how they ended up in Egypt. The Exodus story defines their identity - so the backstory is compelling and crucial. Joseph is the reason the tribe of Israel came to live in Egypt, in the region of Goshen. A famine forced Jacob and his family to trek out of southern Canaan to set up tents in the northeastern Nile region. Even though Canaan was the promised land, God had already told Abraham that his people would be in Egypt for a few hundred years. The promise would come true, but there were lots of preparations that God had to work on yet.

If we were in Joseph's shoes, wouldn't we have given up a lot sooner in the journey? Would we have despaired when thrown in the pit? Would we have sulked when sold to Potiphar? Would we have become embittered when thrown in jail? Would we have seeped hatred when we were forgotten in that dungeon? Would we have railed against the unfairness of God? Would we have perceived that God was behind it? And would we have raged against him? 

When it comes to God working in our world, he is bound by time and us. In order for God to work in us and through us, as brilliant and capable as he is, there are still the limitations that come with humanity. But oh the possibilities? We wonder why God doesn't accomplish more in the world? Maybe he is trying, but all the men and women he chooses to prepare (without their consent and without indication that it is for a really really big problem in the future) keep bailing on him. Maybe God is at work, but he takes hundreds of years to get things where they need to be, so the person he has prepared is ready.

Maybe we can't always tell whether God is behind what is going on in our life? How will we know if he was? The best evidence is when we keep on trusting, continue to do the next right thing in his eyes, and focus on overcoming. Joseph just didn't give up. And once he found himself prepared to help solve a really big problem, then he realized that God was behind it all. And that maybe when we realize it too.

Bitter, But Honest

Job 5-8

The tension in the story continues to increase. We, the reader, know the backstory between God and Satan. Job, the one "covered with maggots and scabs" continues rage and question God. His friends are appalled. They ask: "Does God mess up?" Implying that Job is getting what he deserves. But that's not the case. And without them knowing why this is happening, we get to read their struggle with a new reality.

Not only is Job bitter towards God, he's bitter towards his friends. Not only does it seem that God has abandoned him, his friends have as well. Though they sit with him in his misery, they accuse him and attack him. Rather then believe Job in his protest of innocence, they question him. "How can you keep on talking like this? You're talking nonsense, and noisy nonsense at that." But Job had already said: "When desperate people give up on God Almighty, their friends, at least, should stick with them."

We learn from Job that there are times when you or your friends may give up on God. Your words to him may be bitter, but honest. And in those dark nights of the soul, you'll want friends who will sit and listen.

God doesn't need you to defend him or speak for him. But he does want you to be loyal to your friends while they walk through the valley of the shadow of death. To be honest with God in bitterness is better then protect God's reputation out of fear.

And God does know what is going on, and his next move might make us miserable. And he'll understand if we don't like it.