Quit casting stones

From the Gospel of John, chapter 8, verses 2-8, is the famous story of Jesus and the woman accused of adultery.  In verse 7, Jesus said to the teachers of the law standing nearby, when they stated the laws of the land demanded that the woman be stoned, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." (NIV)

Judgement.  It is something we all do, everyday, even when we may not know it.  It is also something I wrestle with from time to time, even though I believe I have a decent handle on it--but I fail at too very miserably when I do.

The passage from John sticks out in my mind whenever I pass judgement on someone else, even without knowing all of the facts.  But God reminds me of His teachings in the book of John.

Let's take a person who reads about an executive at a company who embezzled millions of dollars and was being sent to prison for decades.  This same person, while judging the executive, is also stealing albeit a smaller scale, let's say pens or envelopes.  Stealing is stealing, no matter the size.

Whenever you find yourself judging someone else, tell yourself to quit casting stones.  You are no better than the next person when it comes to sin.  Pray to the Lord to help you, if needed.

Complaining to God? Seriously?

Psalm 44 starts by laying out all that God had done for His People, displacing them, scattering them, and then bringing them victory by His hand.

Then, on verse 9, whomever wrote the Psalm goes on a bit of a rant, telling God that He rejected us.  Humiliated us.  Let people mock us and causing us to be the laughingstock of everyone's jokes.

Near the end of the Psalm, we remain our resolve and still love Him, he do not turn our backs to Him, regardless of what troubles fell on us.

Muscle twitch? Or a touch by God and the Holy Spirit?

I grew up attending a Lutheran church in a small northwestern Minnesota town.

At the front of the nave was a giant wooden cross that covered much of the wall.  As a kid, I watched a lot of what I called "Jesus movies."  Just to give a context, I was born in the early 1970's and throughout grade school there was a lot of Biblical movies, many of which were on TV.  The crucifixion of Jesus always fascinated me as a kid--honestly, it still does--and of course it wasn't until I was older that the ramifications of Jesus's death on the cross became apparent.  My wild imagination even visualized Jesus being crucified on the very cross at the front of the nave.

That being said, there was an event at church once that, to this day, I still feel . . . both blessed and bizarre that it happened.  To me.  Yes, to me, of all people.  Mr. Nobody Important.

As hard as I may try, I don't know when this occurred, but I'm leaning toward my last year or two of high school . . . or perhaps my first year or two of college.  The reason for this is because after my second year or so of college, I didn't go home very much.

Then again, I could be completely wrong.

The church service went about as usual--as usual as a normal Minnesotan Lutheran service could be.  I was a bit tired.  That much I do remember.  I yawned.  Then, I stared up at the cross.

In an instant, I felt what could best be described as a light muscle twitch on my left shoulder.  Or, even more so, someone behind me touching me ever-so lightly on the shoulder.  I turned around.  Whomever was behind me didn't touch me.  But I will tell you this: as soon as it happened, I was filled with an energy I had never felt before.

To this day, I truly believe it was God, working through the Holy Spirit, touching me.  All I needed was a light touch, just to remind me that He was there.

Unbelievers will just deny this happened and tell me it was a simple muscle twitch.  Go ahead and believe what you want.  I know what it felt like--the pure energy.

Take bites of Scripture daily

Ever have a big task that needed to be done?  What is the best way to tackle it?

By bits and pieces.  Small bites.  Chipping away at the iceberg.

What is your big task is reading the Bible?

At my local church, they've had programs over the years about reading the Bible in a year and such forth.  Now, this may be fine, great, and dandy for you.  But how much of it will you absorb?  It's like cramming for a big test the night before.

Reading the Bible and living your life by His Holy Word, my suggestion is to read a little bit everyday.  Even if it's a devotional book, you're still reading His Word.  While writing posts for this blog, there are times when I'll take part of a chapter and read it over and over again.  I'll sit in the bedroom, with the lamp on, alone (except God is with me) and read.  I'll ponder what I read.

At work, during breaks and lunches, I'll read a few devotionals.  In each devotional is a Bible passage.  Undoubtedly, I'll read something that resonates with something I'm dealing with--God works very mysterious that way.

Try this to get you started.  Chances are, the more you read, and the longer you do this, your life will start making a more positive turn.

Prayer of rescue

Psalm 43 may be short--only five verses in length--it still packs a punch.

It is known as the prayer of rescue.

It starts with a plea to God, to both judge and vindicate me, rescuing me from those who are deceitful.  God is our strength, a mighty stronghold.

Our soul may be in despair, restless, and with a feeling of dread.  But hope in the Lord will lift you up against all transgressions.

Other versions of this same Psalm is set up like one is on trial against ungodly people.  God defends us, declaring us innocent of the wrongs that have been said about us through lies.

David's covenant

Continuing on in the book of 1 Chronicles, chapter 10, the men of Israel fled from the Philistines.  This was in the days of Saul and David (in David's pre-king days).  Saul was eventually killed, his armor stripped from his body, and his decapitated head was displayed for all to see.

In the last few verses of the chapter, we are told that Saul died because he failed to keep the Lord's Word.  Instead of consulting with the Lord, he consulted with mediums and was deceived accordingly.

Then, in chapter 11, David makes a covenant with the Lord and he became a greater and greater leader as he lived according to God's Word.  He defeated the Philistines with his grand army.  He also put his people before his own.  In verses 17-19, David asked if someone would give him a drink from a well in Bethlehem, where a horde of Philistine soldiers were.  Three did, and when he was offered it he poured it out as an offering to the Lord.  He would not drink while his men's lives were at risk.

One's duty, one's purpose

In the 9th chapter of 1 Chronicles, the genealogies of those exiled from Israel because of their lack of faith in God, was laid out.

As the people returned to God's land of Israel, each was given duties.  Each duty could be large, from a gatekeeper of a city or a doorkeeper to a Tent, to those in charge of eating utensils.

The Levites seemed to be in charge of great responsibilities, as in the treasures in the Lord's Temple.  They were also in charge of music.  This latter service gave them the freedom to not be assigned other services, as their duty could be held day or night.

Reflect on your own duties in this way.  Each and every one of us has strengths and weaknesses, abilities one may have a natural aptitude for when compared to skills one can't seem to grasp.  Do you know anyone who has a "green thumb"?  No matter what, this person can plant anything under any condition.  Others without this skill can't make anything grow, even in the most ideal conditions.

What do you seem to be good at, something that you're motivated to do?  Or, it could be, something that comes natural and you don't even know it.

Be thirsty for the Lord

Psalm 42 is an interesting psalm.  It starts with a picture of a deer longing for water in much the same way our soul longs for the Lord.

Then it quickly turns to one with despair in their soul, in their hearts.  How does one heal this despair?  By hoping for AND waiting for His praise.  No matter how much our soul is disturbed, restless, and under severe burden, the Lord heals all.

Even when we come across people who cry out to us, urging us to question where our God is, our hope in the Lord fills us up with His divine goodness.

Tragedy and numbers for war

In the book of 1 Chronicles, chapters 7-8, many families are noted in sheer numbers.  And the numbers are named in troops.  22,600 here and 36,000 there.

In chapter 7, verse 20, the sons of Ephraim are named.  Unfortunately, they are killed by natives of the land.  Their father mourned, and relatives came to comfort him.  His wife then conceived of another son named Beriah, whose name means misfortune.  His birth came about by tragedy.  But tragedy was not what his life led.  Beriah had a daughter, who built three great cities: lower and upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah.