Psalm 111

This psalm begins with a call to praise God and a declaration of intent to praise God by the psalmist. What follows after is the very praise already discussed.

The debatable nature of God

Slightly misleading title. One thing that I keep coming back to is the problem of evil. Now, here we have a logic puzzle that seems to invalidate the Christian perception of God using its own terminology. How can God be omnipotent, omniscient, and completely good (omnigood?) at the same time and yet still create and allow to exist a world as flawed and full of evil as this. An all good God would eradicate the evil, given the ability and knowledge of it. So taking the omnis as given, poof there goes God in, as Douglas Adams says, a puff of logic.

Except, consider the following. Perhaps God set us up to fall. The world certainly seems rigged against us. Let's say he did, he set up the world in such a way as to deliberately predispose man to fall into evil and sin. And then, He took that fall for us. We still sin, we are still evil, but we are required to pay none of the long term consequences of that. Changes the equation a bit. Here I was thinking I'd never have even a hint of a crack of a solution to this thorny little chestnut, and I expect the average atheist will brush that off as so much religion (which I suppose it is), but I haven't been one of those for some time now and pop this little thought appears in my brain. God is good.

Edit: Oh that's hardly a complete solution, nor by any means airtight I'm sure. But, it's a start. It's a crack in the wall. And one that I'd never have found alone.

Edit 2: Coming back to this some time later, I think a little clarification is necessary. He paid our sins, and by that act cleansed the world of evil. Evil is still in the world doing it's best to wreak havoc, but every evil act was paid before it even gets commited, it is no longer evil; God doesn't permit evil in His world, He only permits humanity to suffer trials in order to give Himself a chance to help us. Interesting ramifications.

Matthew 5

Yeah, so, I could blame the delay in writing this on the fact that it's a very meaty chapter and my brain kept glazing over and reading on without stopping to think about it. But that would only be part of the truth. The rest is that I'm just a recovering world-addict with a serious relapse problem. Obviously. Moving on to the important part.

5
Ahh, the sermon on the mount. Starting with The Beatitudes, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." I think it reads more clearly as blessed in spirit are the poor. Surely those that are poor in spirit, or spiritually weak, aren't particularly blessed? Unless I'm reading something wrong. So, the poor are blessed (or happy) in the spirit. Simple enough, and more true than your average American is willing to admit. Logically, their kingdom is heaven, they are less attached to this world by their belongings and can look forward more clearly to the day the Lord comes. Or perhaps, can see more clearly because they aren't hiding behind a pile of stuff, which is wonderful imagery that I'm going to have to try to remember for later use.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." The last part suggests to me more than just human symathy. Which is where the blessing comes in, of course, but it further suggests that one should bring one's mourning before God to receive His comfort. Which only makees sense, but it's the sort of thing you forget when you need it most. Which is probably one reason why Jesus makes it the second thing he says in this very important sermon.

"Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth." Pretty straightforward. Though one assumes that 'gentle' is more of a path than a destination, given humanity. At least, I sincerely pray so since gentle isn't exactly what I'm known for. My wife is much better at that.

I think I need to move swiftly through some of these. Any words which Jesus spoke recorded in the Bible are undoubtedly packed down and overflowing with meaning and valuable insight. But if I sit here and write a great long paragraph for each and every sentence... well I know me a little bit. I'll never get out of this chapter and this will never get posted because I'll get discouraged by my own lack of 'progress.' It's silly and incorrect, but true. So, moving past the Beatitudes let me touch breifly on verse 13. "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men." Wow. So, my study bible has one short line for this. Salt preserves, creates thirst, and cleanses. All true. And if we Christians aren't doing these things then the only thing we're good for is... could that be a reference to martyrdom? Getting ourselves persecuted for the cause? Or is that a simple and straighforward "I will spit you out of My mouth" (REV 3:16) sort of statement? (And I just noticed an interesting numeric coincidence to JNO 3:16.) Hard to say, but based on the 'how can it be made salty again' the throwing out may be an answer to His own question. Suffering has a way of bringing us face to face with God, and that would be sort of a prerequisite to being properly salty. Moving on...

Verse 19 implicitly states that there will be a heirarchy in heaven by comparing those who offer false teachings of the Law ('called least in the kingdom of heaven') with those who keep and teach the commandements ('called great in the kingdom of heaven'). I've thought about this before, simply because we are forgiven doesn't mean that (as an example) not keeping the proper Sabbath isn't a sin. In other words, sin is the same A.D. as it was B.C. So, should we all be keeping the Law as best we can because it is sin to do otherwise? That would require a careful study of Jewish history, culture, tradition, etc to determine how much of that religion is based on God's word and how much is built up from the religious organization and social tradition. In short, how much is God's and how much is man's. But to do that would be mind bogglingly difficult and the mere thought paralyzes me with uncertainty and fear. So, perhaps Jesus will call me sinfully lazy when I stand before Him, but I think he'll understand just the same. I must accept that I will inadvertently (and in some cases knowingly, since the Jewish Sabbath is Saturday as I recall) sin over and over again, but being human and knowing that Jesus counts even the thought as sin it's plain that sin is purely unavoidable anyway and if I can't accept Jesus' absolute forgiveness at face value and get on with it then the whole gift might as well have been in vain for me.

So now that I've pounded out I-don't-know-how-many words on that one verse... I think I'm just going to have to split chapter 5 over 2 posts. I'm about 6 verses short of half way through, but it's after 1AM right now and if I don't post this and go to bed it's liable to languish for another week. I've got to develop a habit here, and not posting simply because I can't absorb the material fast enough is simply not acceptable. So, a-posting I will go, and I've got to try and finish tomorrow.

Psalm 110

Short and to the point. The first verse indicates in no uncertain terms, even for the OT, one member of the Trinity talking to another. That or it presumes that God talks to Himself, which is technically I suppose the same thing, but without the Trinity you'd have a pretty bizarre image of God having a little fireside chat with a hand mirror. Which makes me wonder what the Israelites make of this one, then and now.

Moving on, it's basically the Father telling His Son, very breifly, about the content of Revelation, essentially. Jesus (not named) sits at God's right hand, will have no shortage of warriors in His coming dawn, will rule as priest and king (Melchizedek) and so forth. There's a bit of imagery, but for the most part it seems fairly straighforward.

Matthew 4

4
After God's affirmation, Jesus is led into the wilderness to fast and be tested. An interesting point, Jesus fasts for forty days and nights, and then is tempted. I need to bear that in mind and see if there's more correlation between fasting and temptation elsewhere.

Moving on, He is tempted by Satan with bread first. Jesus refuses on the grounds that He would not act outside of the Father's word, using a quote from Deuteronomy. Indeed none of us has the power to feed himself, Jesus could have, but man must rely on the power of God to provide the bread. This highlights His resolve and indentification to humanity.

Second, he is tempted to test the OT words written about Him. Jesus declines quoting another scripture from Deuteronomy, like the first, "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test" DEU 6:16. Going all the way back to Exodus 17:2 (referenced in the full DEU quote, "Massah") we see Israel grumbling against Moses (it seems Moses felt threatened as well) because they were thirsty after escaping Egypt. So it looks like the thread here is not to question God when He leads you. Jesus is constantly led by God, even to this temptation, so trying to test whether God was with Him or not would be essentially the same as Massah, and contrary to the DEU command. Also of note, if He had carried out Satan's suggestion then it's likely that all Israel would have proclaimed Him Messiah and there goes the Plan right off the pinnacle with Him.

Third, and simplest, Satan demands worship in exchange for, essentially, the world. Simple to describe and refute (that's like the First Commandment right there EXO 20:3) yet probably the hardest to decline. My study bible suggests that, had Jesus accepted, He would not have had to proceed with the rest of the plan. I'm not entirely certain of that, but it's a valid thought. If Jesus controlled the world, earlier than intended anyway, there's no doubt that a great many things would have been straightened out. However, being that it's Satan we're dealing with, I'm also certain that things would at some point have gone horribly awry. Nevermind that we wouldn't have the permanent, irrevocable intercession that we currently enjoy, if Jesus had taken a worldly approach to salvation by taking up the devil on his offer, well, we all know how well prohibition worked and how the 'war on drugs' is going. But on the face of it, the offer seems quite nice. A bit of kneeling and you get to fix everything directly without all that suffering nonsense. Hard to resist, and I most likely couldn't have. But Jesus did, and then the Father sent angels to 'minister' to Him, prseumably with some bread and rest.

Of interest is that Jesus takes all three quotes from Deuteronomy, the restating of the Law. Why, when certainly those themes are exposed elsewhere? I'm not sure, but possibly because it *is* a restatement of the Law, He is highlighting the fact that He has not, and will not sin.

Then Jesus proceeded to Capernaum and began preaching there. At this point He begins to call disciples to Him. An interesting point in verse 22, James and John left their father Zebedee directly. Nothing more is said of the father here, but it reinforces that love of Jesus should come before even family.


And that's taken longer than I thought it would. Next time I'll try to gloss the temptations and give the rest of it more though. If I remember. Chapter 5 tomorrow.

Psalm 109

Whoops. Lazy. Must do better than this. Anyway, psalm 109.

An imprecatory psalm, intended to bring judgement down on false accusers. I'm not quite sure how to square this off against Christianity. It doesn't really fit with Jesus' "turn the other cheek" attitude. Basically, this starts out with a claim against false accusers. It goes on to level a very heavy curse against a particular accuser (never named, but it's attributed to David so someone has probably figured it out with a bit of effort). This curse runs the gamut, from cutting off the man's inheritance, killing him and leaving his wife widowed and his children starving and begging in foreign lands, all the way through bringing his ancestors' sins up before God to accuse them as well. At least, that's how I read it. The last third or so is a request for kindness and leniency on behalf of the psalmist, and a promise to praise God before the masses. And even buried in that sweet last third, there's a verse of contention asking that his accusers be "clothed in dishonor" and covered in their own shame.

This is one of those OT chapters that isn't really a fit for Christianity. How does that square off against Christ's forgiveness? Well, it doesn't. As far as I can see. I suspect it's kept around because at the time that the church decided on the canon this must have been an old favorite. Things were quite different then, or anyway different from the way they are in modern industrialized democracies. I know there is a coming judgement and the unbeliever will be lost, but somehow I find it hard to fathom that God might rain down punishment in this life on one of his own at the behest of another of his own. It just doesn't feel right. So to cut this short, I'll leave it at that. I need to get on to Matthew or it's liable not to get done. Again. I'll get back around to this again eventually.

Psalm 108

So I slipped. Sorry, at least I'm standing back up.

Anyway. I had quite the deep thought on the way home from work last night (this morning, actually). Unfortunately, it drifted away about the same time my head hit the pillow. I was too tired to mark it down so it's gone. That happens often enough to be quite aggravating. Well, if it was important God will bring it back to me. Or to someone else, it hardly matters.

On to the bread.

Psalm 108 makes me think of military marching chants. It starts with a call to sing and play instruments in praise of God. Then it praises a selection of the tribes of Israel (possibly just the tribes in Judah during the separation, but I haven't confirmed that) and denegrates some enemy nations. Finally it calls on God to assist in overcoming those enemies.

So, I see some real parrallels to "Sound off!" etc. I can imagine David's armies chanting this at the top of their lungs on the march to Edom, or wherever. I'm probably wrong, that's just the impression I get.

Now, I think I'll have to make Matthew wait until the kids are napping. I had enough trouble carving some peace out just to consider this small psalm, nevermind something substantial from the NT.

Psalm 107

A litany of horrible circumstances which God releived when man called out to Him. Ending with a call to be mindful of God's mercy and love. Beginning with a call to thank and glorify Him.

"Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary
And gathered from the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south." PSA 107:2-3

Matthew 1-3

1-
Primarily a recount of the genealogy of Jesus. Some of the interesting points:
~Bathsheba figures prominently (David's great sin).
~The way Matthew counts out the generations, 14 from Abraham to David, 14 from David to Babylon, and 14 from Babylon to Messiah. I'd draw a parallel to the Trinity here, but my meager knowledge isn't capable of backing it up.
~Joseph didn't consummate his marriage to Mary until after Jesus' birth.

2-
The visit of the magi, and Herod's conniving. Funny that Herod attempts to use the worship of Jesus against Him and fails. Ending with Joseph settling his family down in Nazareth.

3-
John the Baptist was baptising people to the Lord when, apparently, a pack of Pharisees and Sadducees show up. John seems to tell them that being of Abraham's line (Jewish by birth, in other words) is not enough to save them. That they must "bear fruit in keeping with repentance;" and carrying the fruit analogy further, informs them that "The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." MAT 3:8 & 10. John mentions that "from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham." (9) which I find hard to translate but which may mean:
1 The line of Abaraham numbers greater than the stars in the sky (as promised), if God needs one of that line to do His work there is an abundance of material to choose from.
2 God can/will choose who is worthy of Abraham's inheritance and will raise to that status any who truly repent (the corollary would seem to be that if you don't repent then you won't be raised or perhaps might fall)
3 God can, if he chose, make a child of Abraham from the very stones of the ground, as in Genesis, so what benefit is it to claim that line?

The 3rd seems rather tenuous, and the 2nd seems to contravene some of what I've already been taught. However the first doesn't seem to fit with the context, so I'm at a loss. Carrying on then...

Jesus comes to be baptized by John, who initially refuses, apparently on the grounds that "I am not fit to remove His sandals;" (11) though Jesus insists and John accedes (who wouldn't?). As well as being the opening to the traditional affirmation by God of His Son, my Bible (a Ryrie study Bible) points out in the notes that the baptism of Christ identifies Him with the sinners who were baptized before him (presumably those after as well, though there's the added context of following in the Lord's steps there).


Enough for one day. Hopefully chapter 4 tomorrow. Make that prayerfully.

Psalm 106

The psalmist recounts the history of Israel, from Moses to the Judges(?). In this condensed form it's easy to see how closely the tribe of Israel resembles the life of a man. God has forever shown mercy on Israel, just as he continues to show mercy on me each and every time I've fallen. Some of his reminders have been less than gentle, but I certainly deserve worse.

Then He gave them into the hand of the nations,
And those who hated them ruled over them. PSA 106:41

Nevertheless He looked upon their distress
When He heard their cry;
And He remembered His covenant for their sake,
And relented according to the greatness of His lovingkindness. PSA 106:44-45

Amen

Semi-Random thoughts

Something that popped into my brain during yesterday's AM service. Sin is exceedingly patient. It consistently creeps up on me, and it doesn't mind feeling defeated. It knows it will eventually impose the same sentiments on me if it just waits patiently.

Fortunately Jesus is also patient, always standing by waiting to help. Always, and perhaps more importantly, willing to patiently forgive and suffer on my behalf.

It also struck me just now that support groups, self-help, accountability regimes, and peer groups may, in fact, be counterproductive. Consider, the only help and support we should need is Jesus. The only one to whom we should be accountable (for spiritual things anyway, worldly accountability is an entirely different and complex topic) is Jesus. There is a danger of leaning too much on man and not enough on Him. At the same time, of course, being a member of such a group reinforces the familial bonds and fellowship which is one of the hallmarks (and commands, if I recall) of a healthy church. Life is just too blindingly complicated, isn't it?

Psalm 105

A recounting of God's dealings with Abraham and Israel, beginning with exhortations to thank, praise, seek, and remember Him.

Whoops!

This theory just got blown out of the water.

http://catdelveworld.blogspot.com/2008/09/thoughts-on-nature-of-god.html

Sin

Something JD just mentioned on KLOVE struck a chord.
Roughly quoted, if you've strayed so far off the path and you're thinking you can't walk all the way back, you don't have to. All you have to do is turn around.

To God, the tiniest little sin is the same as the lifetime of sin of a serial rapist. But Jesus has already paid for it all. You're not racking up a debt; you don't have a sin credit card that you have to pay off. There's no bill due at the end of the day. Jesus has already paid for it all. You just have to trust Him.

God has no shades of grey, it is either a sin or it is God's own truth. Humans introduce shades of grey, and we try to dispense punishments commensurate to the crime. But the difference betwen crime and sin is more than mere semantics. Crime is a human thing, a piece of the world that is a symptom of its brokenness. You can sin and commit no human crime, and vice versa. A judge tallys up your crimes and punishes you with a sentence he or she deems suitable to the transgression. Jesus paid for all your sin, past present and future, 2000 years ago in a single stroke and opened your way to heaven. All you have to do is take His hand and trust Him.