Posts By Dteb
“Robbing God of the Blessing of Blessing Us”
Our pastor spoke to us a while back on the topic of tithing. He acknowledged how difficult it was to talk about money in a church setting, and I agree: I used to be a pastor myself, and I always dreaded preaching about money. However, it is an important topic, and it is also something the Bible talks about a lot. The passage that our pastor based his comments on were from Malachi 3.
“Mal. 3:6 “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts.
Mal. 3:13 “Your words have been hard against me, says the LORD. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts? 15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”
The Book of Remembrance
Mal. 3:16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.” (Malachi 3:6-13, English Standard Version)
Pastor said many helpful things, but one of the most intriguing (at least, to me) was the idea that God doesn’t really need our money, so we can’t really rob him of that. Rather, when we refuse to acknowledge God with our pocketbooks, we rob God of the opportunity to bless us.
Whoa! Never thought of it that way before. I suspect that the number one way in which we experience God’s blessing is to serve God with our time, our treasure, and our talents. And the number one way in which God experiences delight in us is to bless us. Blessing means giving us what we need to be deeply happy and fulfilled in our lives. Good parents always get a kick out of giving to their children. So does the best Parent of all.
Of course, we also ought to remember that the word “tithe” simply means “a tenth.” When we tithe, it means that we are giving God back a tenth of what he has given us. As many have pointed out, this means that we get to keep nine-tenths of what God has given us. That sounds pretty reasonable to me. How about you?
DTEB, “Things I Wish I Hadn’t Said”
“And so’s your mother!” I said rather loudly as I walked to my car after shopping at Kroger. I had intentionally parked my car far from the store in order to make myself walk a little bit. This part of the lot had almost no vehicles in it. But “almost no” means that there were some vehicles parked there. I didn’t realize that there was a large gentleman sitting in his pickup truck very close to me when I said what I said. Naturally, he had the window down. I figured that I had better explain. What did I know? He might be packing heat.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I was talking to that crow that just flew over and cawed at me.” And then I added, “I probably shouldn’t have said that. I don’t even know that crow!”
Even when we think no one’s listening, we should be careful what we say, and even being unkind to God’s avian critters is not a good idea. I remember a story about a dad whose little guy (about four or five, I think) came out with the “f” bomb.
“Where did you learn that word?!” the dad demanded.
“From you, daddy,” said the little guy. His dad didn’t normally use bad language, but when he was working on his car, the adjustable wrench had slipped, and the dad’s tongue had slipped as well. He didn’t realize that his son was listening, but he was.
The worst part is that I had recommitted—just this morning—to memorizing Proverbs 10:19. Here is the Hebrew and my rather wooden translation.
בְּרֹ֣ב דְּ֭בָרִים לֹ֣א יֶחְדַּל־פָּ֑שַׁע וְחֹשֵׂ֖ךְ שְׂפָתָ֣יו מַשְׂכִּֽיל׃
“In the multitude of words, rebellion is not lacking,
And he who restrains his words is skillful.”
There are lots of words that need I need to restrain. I am very fond of words and tend to chatter a lot. I have an addictive personality, which means that I tend to overdo everything, especially things that I love.
So, here is a partial list of some words that I could cut back on a great deal:
- Putting myself down.
- Speaking unkindly to or about others.
- Explaining things that I don’t understand.
- Trying to prove that I am right, and you are wrong.
- Complaining.
- Telling the same stories over and over.
- Saying unkind things to crows.
“You’ve Got What You Need! Get Busy!”
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
(2 Peter 1:3–11 The Holy Bible, English Standard Version)
Sometimes, I don’t think I’ve got what I need, in order to do what I need to do.
Take, for example, writing a blog post. I am much better at being creative early in the day. But the day got away from me today. I wasn’t frittering my time away. Still, my brain shut down before my day did. So, if this post seems a bit thin, please have mercy. I am like Cinderella’s coach: I turn into a pumpkin. And I don’t even wait for the clock to strike midnight. And if you think the post is good, . . . well, God is a God of miracles. And maybe the post is an example of the very thing Peter is saying to his original readers, and to us.
Peter tells the people to whom he is writing—and, indeed, all of us—that God has given us everything we need to do what we really need to do.
And what do they, what do I, need to do? We need life and godliness. Life without godliness is only half a life. And godliness without life is like a body without breath—in other words, a corpse.
There are a couple of interesting things about verse 3 in the original Greek. First, the phrase “all things” leads off the verse after a connecting word. Greek word order is flexible, so the words “all things” may be placed first because Peter wants to emphasize those words.
Second, the verb translated “has granted” is in the perfect tense. So what, you say? So, the perfect tense in Greek usually contains two ideas. The perfect tense usually connotes an action that has been completed in the past. In other words, Peter is telling the believers that they already have been given everything they need for life and godliness.
The other idea that the perfect tense expresses is that this action that has been completed in the past has ongoing consequences. So Peter is telling the believers that they have already been given everything they need for life and godliness, and that this gift has ongoing consequences in their lives.
But apparently, this already-given and on-going gift does not automatically make our lives rich and meaningful. There is something we must do as well.
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
In the Greek, to “. . . make every effort . . .” has a number of possible nuances. It can mean “hurry, haste, speed, zeal, pursuit, and exertion. It can even mean “study.”
The grace and gifts of God do not put us on easy street, just on the right road. And, of course, roads (like Nancy Sinatra’s boots) are made for walkin’.
“Betty’s Song”
There is a wonderful lady at our church named Betty. She was one of the first people to make us feel welcomed to the church when my wife and I were very much outsiders. She, along with the pastor’s good sermons, is one of the main reasons we are attending this church.
Betty also invited us to her home group. Often at our home group meetings, she leads us in a song that I had never heard before I heard her sing it. It is a lovely song. Of course, it does not hurt that Betty has an excellent singing voice.
Here are the lyrics:
“In the morning, I thank You for the breath that I have
The new strength, the good hope, Your light on my path
In the morning, I thank You for the life that I have
The blessing, the family, the roof on my head
In the morning, I thank You for everything that I have
Thank You, Lord, thank You
You are kind and good to me
Thank You, Lord, thank You
Thank You for everything that I have
In the evening, I thank You for all the things of this day
The sunshine, the moonshine, they shine on my path
In the evening, I thank You for the love that I have
The blessing is so amazing, it covers my heart
In the evening, I thank You for everything that I have
Thank You, Lord, thank You
You are kind and good to me
Thank You, Lord, thank You
Thank You for everything that I have
Thank You, Lord, thank You
You are kind and good to me
Thank You, Lord, thank You
Thank You for everything that I have
Thank You…”
It is a simple song, as most really good songs are. Giving thanks for the every-day blessings and for the obviously (??) special blessings is a very important thing to do. The two question marks after the word “obviously” are because blessings are not always so obvious. At least, they are not always obvious to me.
A roof over my head is not to be taken for granted. One estimate is that about half-a-million people are homeless in the richest country in the world. I will leave it to you to guess which country this might be. And, of course, there are many countries which have a much higher population of homeless. I say it again: A roof over my head is not to be taken for granted.
Then, there is sunshine and moonshine (not the beverage). This morning, when I took the dog out, there was a cold half-moon gracing the morning. It was so beautiful that it made my heart ache with joy.
God’s love, kindness, and goodness are an eternal source of gratitude. At least, they should be. Family, also, is not to be taken for granted—no matter how irritating or evil they may be at times. (Naturally, I myself am never irritating or evil.)
One final thought is this: I think that the reason Betty is able to be such a welcoming person is that she is so thankful. Gratitude has many wonderful benefits. One of them is that it makes us more welcoming to outsiders. Who knows? Gratitude might even help us to welcome the outsider that is ourselves.
“Being the Kind of Person I’d Like to be Around”
My sponsee in one of my 12-step groups often invites me into some of my best thinking and living. Here is a quote from him in his report from last night: “I’m the kind of person I’d like to be around.” What wonderful statement! What a wonderful reality!
Of course, there are people who like to be around really bad people. You can see the first verse of Psalm 1 for the kind of people who are not so good to be around. There is some truth in the old saying that “a man is known by the company he keeps.”
However, I suspect most people want to hang out with kind, loving, thoughtful people. However, to be like that ourselves is a lot trickier and more difficult. It sounds like sacrifice and hard work. It sounds like that because it is.
We had four children, and they were just fine. But one of the first words that each one of them learned was not “mamma” or “daddy,” but “MINE!” Some of us are not just born “miners”. We live and die as “miners”.
So, here is an affirmation and prayer for this or any day: “Today, by God’s grace, I am and am becoming the kind of good person I’d like to be around.”
“Doing What I Ought and What I like?”
The following quote is from C.S. Lewis, in his book The Screwtape Letters, a fictional collection of letters between a senior tempter (Screwtape) and his student/understudy (Wormwood). While fictional, I suspect that the book is filled with truth. Their “patient” is a Christian man who is dimly aware that his spiritual state is not what it ought to be, but he doesn’t want to face that reality. Here, Screwtape is giving advice to the junior tempter.
As the uneasiness and his reluctance to face it cut him off more and more from all real happiness, and as habit renders the pleasures of vanity and excitement and flippancy at once less pleasant and harder to forgo (for that is what habit fortunately does to a pleasure) you will find that anything or nothing is sufficient to attract his wandering attention. You no longer need a good book, which he really likes, to keep him from his prayers or his work or his sleep; a column of advertisements in yesterday’s paper will do. You can make him waste his time not only in conversation he enjoys with people whom he likes but also in conversations with those he cares nothing about, on subjects that bore him. You can make him do nothing at all for long periods. You can keep him up late at night, not roistering, but staring at a dead fire in a cold room. All the healthy and outgoing activities which we want him to avoid can be inhibited and nothing given in return, so that at last he may say, as one of my own patients said on his arrival down here, “I now see that I spent most of my life in doing neither what I ought nor what I liked.”
Lewis’ unspoken thesis is that, ultimately what a person truly, deeply likes is also what he ought to be doing. As exhibit A, I would bring forth my wife. She truly and deeply likes many things. I am one of those things, but just one. She also likes the following, most of which also benefits me greatly:
- Cooking and baking.
- Getting nice, thoughtful gifts for others.
- Working with ladies who are pregnant and in need of some help.
- Growing beautiful flowers.
This is only a partial list, but it gives you some insight into why I love her more every day. Even if (God forbid!) she should suddenly cease to be able to do all or any of these things, I would cherish the memory of her doing them. I believe that God would remember them and cherish them infinitely more.
Exhibit B: My Ph. D. advisor, Dr. David Firth. I connected with him at the annual Society of Biblical Literature meeting in Denver this week, and I asked me how he had accomplished so much as a scholar. I can scarcely think of an Old Testament book that he hasn’t reviewed. The first thing that he said was something to the effect that a Bible scholar and teacher is something that he is, not simply something that he does. God has called him to be and to do this work. He enjoys his work for the most part, and he puts in from 50-55 hours a week in his studies and teaching.
All of us have something that God has called us to be and to do. It will probably be what we like to do, at least most of the time. Originally, the title of this post was “Doing What We Like or What We Ought.” But ul timately, in a well-lived life, what we are is what we will do, and we will do what we like.
“The Empowering Presence”
“11Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 And the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 15 And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” (Judges 6:11-16, English Standard Version)
Sometimes I like to have a soak in the tub. It feels good to my back and various other parts of my anatomy. We were staying in a Comfort Inn last night. They do have a handrail in the tub/shower, but it is not low enough for me to grab hold of. So there I was. I enjoy a soak in the tub now and then, but I don’t really want to spend the rest of my life there.
So, I did whatever any non-self-respecting man would do: I called my wife to come and help. She walked in the bathroom and moved my smartphone. I immediately got up on my own and got out of the tub. My wife’s mere presence wasn’t so mere. Her presence empowered me to do what I couldn’t seem to do seconds earlier. I was stunned.
At a time when the Israelites were being severely oppressed by the Midianites, Gideon was called to deliver the Israelites. To say that Gideon was not filled with self-confidence would be quite the understatement. Gideon asked “. . . how can I . . . ?”
And God answered, “. . . But I will be with you . . . .” The presence of God would be enough. The presence of others in our life is very empowering. How much more the presence of God?
“Domination or Steady Steps?”
“Keep steady my steps according to your promise,
and let no iniquity get dominion over me.” (Psalm 119:133, English Standard Version)
I am free to sin, but when I sin, I am no longer free. The Bible often speaks of sin as a form of bondage. In Psalm 119:133, the psalmist does not use the common word for “to rule.” Instead, it is a word used for exercising absolute authority over someone. Sin doesn’t just “get dominion over me.” Sin dominates. I don’t like being dominated.
How do I avoid being dominated by my own not-so-free choices? The psalmist hints—or more than hints—that prayer is one aspect of how to avoid being dominated. Notice that verse 133, like much of Psalm 119 (and much of the entire book of Psalms), is prayer. I can get captivated and dominated by all kinds of sins on my own, but I can only escape from such slavery by calling on God. But here is the problem: I don’t like asking for help, not even from God, but I need to do that on an incredibly regular basis.
Another other way to be free from domination is by establishing or keeping my steps in accordance with God’s promise. The life of faith is not a life of avoidance, not even of avoiding sin. The life of faith is a journey in which we put one foot in front of the other in the direction of God and love. And even here, especially here, we also need God to establish our steps.
Or, as my sponsor often reminds me, JKDTNRT: Just Keep Doing The Next Right Thing.
My prayers for me and for you is that we would live free, with God-ordered steps, just for today.
“From Thanksgiving to Thanks-Living”
“As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should!” (Psalm 119:7, New Living Translation)
A friend gave me a wonderful phrase the other day. He spoke of “. . . moving from thanksgiving to thanks-living.”
I immediately thought of Psalm 119:7. (It took me a while to find the exact reference and the translation, but I’m nothing if not dogged about certain things.)
Unfortunately, the New Living Translation is more of a loose paraphrase than a strict translation at times. The English Standard Version translates more strictly,
“I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous rules.”
Still, considering the context of Psalm 119 and the sweep of the rest of the Bible, it is true enough to say that praise is—or ought to be—connected with how we live our lives. As for learning God’s righteous rules, the Bible indicates that learning is never for the sake of learning. Rather, we learn in order to do.
In other words, it is not enough to give thanks. We need to learn to live thanks. How do we, how do I, learn to do that? I am still learning, but here is the current state of my pilgrimage.
First, I try to remember (and increasingly, I do remember) that I have received, am receiving, and will continue to receive so many wonderful things. I am grateful for them, but I also realize that part of being thankful is being generous with others. This generosity is part of doing a better job of thanks-living. God didn’t give me so many blessings, materially, relationally, spiritually, for me to be a hoarder of them.
Second, I remember that, while even God appreciates the words “Thank you,” God also appreciates and deserves my down-and-dirty daily obedience. God not only makes the rules; God is the ruler! And a good one, God is! His rules are infinitely good as the Ruler is.
I’ve used a lot of words in this post in order to simply echo what Jesus said, when he said that the most important command is to love God and to love others. That’s how to consistently move from thanksgiving to thanksliving.
“Loving Discipline Is Not Torture”
“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but he who hates reproof is stupid.” (Proverbs 12:1, English Standard Version)
“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11, English Standard Version)
We usually think of “loving discipline” as discipline that is motivated by love and done in love. Our take on this phrase emphasizes the source and intentions of the one doing the disciplining. However, Proverbs 12:1 flips the script, and emphasizes that the one who is receiving the discipline needs to love it if that person wants to expand his/her knowledge.
However, I do not love discipline. I think that this is because I often take discipline as criticism and correction as a summary statement about my character. That is not the best way to use such gifts.
Derek Kidner, in his usual terse way, comments, “If you think yourself above criticism, you are not worth it. Cf. verse 15.” I want to be worthy of criticism and discipline, even if they are not exactly the same thing.
I am trying to learn to love discipline. At least, I am trying to learn to love its results. The author of Hebrews, in the second quote that leads off this post, acknowledges that God’s discipline is a pain. Sometimes, it even feels as if God is a pain. However, God’s discipline leads to good results. I try to remember that. God’s discipline is done because God loves us, not to torture us.
When my oldest son was in the second grade, it seemed as if he got in trouble at school or on the school bus every day. The principal and I were on a first-name basis. At the end of the year, my son’s report card came in the mail. It was really good . . . except for behavior.
So, my son and I had a little chat. I was determined to start off positively, so I noted how good almost all of his grades were. “But then, there is behavior,” I said. “What do you think we should do to improve that?” I asked.
When he saw that I was really interested in a response from him, he said, “Well, maybe we could try some loving discipline.”
“Well, that might work I replied.” After all, what we were presently doing was not working. But I wanted to know what “loving discipline” might look like to my son.
His reply was as follows: “We could talk about it, and if there is really something to it, you could say, ‘Don’t do that again.’”
“Do you think that would work?” I responded.
“Well, maybe,” said my son. And then he added, “And we can always go back to torture.”
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
- “Witnessing Versus Being Witnesses” September 19, 2024“Acts 1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, Acts 1:2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them after […]
- “A Bathroom Prayer for Hurting Hands” September 11, 2024A week ago Sunday, my hands were hurting so badly at church that I went to the bathroom to run hot water over my hands. Arthritis perhaps, or carpal tunnel, or general orneriness—I don’t know why my hands hurt, but they do. They have for years. So, while I was running hot water over my […]
- “Waiting and Seeking” September 10, 2024“Lam. 3:19 ¶ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! Lam. 3:20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. Lam. 3:21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Lam. 3:22 ¶ The steadfast love of the LORD […]
- “A Pastor or a Teacher?” September 8, 2024I went to the Asbury University President’s Brunch yesterday morning with Sharon. It was billed as a non-fundraiser. I have learned to be skeptical of such claims. However, it really wasn’t a fundraiser! It was a wonderful time. The university paid for everything, including valet parking. It was good to meet new people, all of […]
- “Even When We Mess Up” September 8, 2024One of my students in the Luke-Acts course I’m teaching right now online made a very perceptive comment in a post to another student’s work. She and the other student, Mackenzie, agreed on an excellent point: God can even use our mess-ups for his purposes and glory. Here is Victoria’s comment: “Mackenzie, your perspective on […]
- “On Playing Chimes and Being Jesus” September 6, 2024“John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. John 13:35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (English Standard Version) One of my students did […]
- “A Confrontation in a Kroger Parking Lot” September 4, 2024My wife was waiting for a lady to pull out from a parking spot in a Kroger parking lot. She had waited for quite a while, but when the lady finally pulled out, another “lady” who had just come around the corner from the other direction whipped into the parking space. My wife is not […]
- “The Crushing Debt I Owe to God” September 3, 2024“A Sinful Woman Forgiven Luke 7:36 ¶ One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. Luke 7:37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought […]
- “Only Two Kinds of People?” September 1, 2024“Psa. 5:1 ¶ Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. Psa. 5:2 Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. Psa. 5:3 O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning […]
- “On Being a Good Ad” September 1, 2024I was buying candy corn for a friend at Ollie’s the other day when I eavesdropped on an interesting conversation. The lady behind me said to the cashier, “This is a really good store with good prices, but I didn’t even know it was here. You should advertise more!” The young cashier replied, “If we […]
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