It is not what goes into a person that defiles them, it is what comes out of a person. Well, what just came out of me, defiled not only myself, but the whole bathroom! Unclean!!!! (Too easy)
Quick take - it's not about reading the Bible, going to church, doing the Harder 75, volunteering, giving to Compassion. Sure, all that is good, but what matters is how I treat people, how I react in every situation, and what I do once I leave this computer.
They came back and reported all they had done. That sounds kind of cool.
First, they are all going out as a team. They have their partners and other groups of partners are ministering to different places. They have this group that is all focused on building the kingdom - everyone with the same purpose encouraging one another, holding one another accountable, doing stuff for God!
That would be cool - to have a group like that.
Then, they are reporting what they had done. They actually did stuff! They were healing people and teaching people about God. They were seeing people coming into the Kingdom and realizing how much God loves them. There were miracles and struggles, and they got to tell and listen to all the stories from their friends.
That would be cool too - to actually be doing stuff that built the Kingdom.
I don't really have that. Most people don't. Even when I was going to church, I didn't have a group like that, and you could definitely count the things that were worth sharing on one hand. It starts with the group - notice Jesus never sent out one person. OK, he did actually do that, but it's cooler in a group.
Wait, maybe I am more John the Baptist than Peter. Maybe I'm more Elijah than Big James. Maybe I am one of the one personers. Hmmmmmmm!
Even though I found it extremely interesting how much time Mark spent on the beheading of John the Baptist even though he does not spend more than one paragraph on anything Jesus does, I want to talk about prayer.
Every day, before I start reading the Bible, I pray the Lord's prayer. When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, that's what You said, so I figure that's a good way to do it. And really, I guess You knew what You were talking about because it really does cover everything.....FOR EVERYONE!
Today, I stopped when I finished "on earth as it is in heaven" and said the names of people I really care about. Then, I noticed how many times I used "us" and "our" the rest of the way. There's no need to mention specific people - this prayer is for all of us! At no point does the Our Father focus on me - the whole thing is us! Love that!
Now, I am reading Francis Chan's book and he said yesterday that he would ask every pastor if they are praying an hour a day, and if they weren't, he would find another pastor. One, shouldn't they be praying 24 hours a day (or at least as long as they are awake)? It seems like that's what they Bible says. That's kind of why I like to walk everywhere - it helps me to focus on God's presence. And I hope when pastor's (and I should do this too) are talking to people they have one ear to God.
But, here's my other thought - isn't the Our Father enough? What else do we need to pray for? That covers everything.....FOR EVERYONE! Do we really have to sit in a chair for an hour?
Those are just my thoughts - what do you think? (I know no one reads this, but it just sounded like the right thing to say!)
Was God just having a little fun? Was He just seeing how many crazy rules He could come up with to see if they would follow? Or was His plan all along - I am going to give them all these rules so they can see that following rules will never get it done?
Naming exact birds and insects that they can and can't eat. Chewing from the cud and divided hoof, but not one or the other. What's wrong with pigs? How come they couldn't eat them?
All of the rules had to be for something. He spends an awful lot of time coming up with them, and I can't even imagine the people who had to make sure they followed every one! But, why?
He does say at the end of Leviticus 11 - He wants us to be holy! He wants us to do everything He asks. Now, that kind of makes sense - not from a chew the cud kind of way, but from a becoming like Him kind of way. Pretty sure it's not so much about what we eat or don't eat, it's more about our willingness and trust to follow Him.
Today Jesus tells the parable about the Kingdom of God. It is like seed that is spread all over the ground. Then, the seed spreader goes to bed. Night after night, he (or she) sleeps and somehow the seed sprouts into a plant. He (or she) doesn't have to do anything. He (or she) has no clue how it happens, but it just does.
All we have to do is throw the seed out there! That's it! Then we're done - God does the rest. It's kind of freeing, honestly. Anyone can talk about God or The Kingdom. Anyone can ask a person a question or two. Anyone can share their faith by how they act and how they treat people.
God does the rest! Sounds easy (he says right before he actually walks out the door and tries to live it out!)
So, why does Jesus start throwing tables and bringing out the whip (maybe only in The Chosen)? He talks about how the people in the temple are turning God's house into a den of thieves because they are charging people. But, in Leviticus, it says that people have to pay the priests for sin offerings. (Wow, it kind of makes you rethink the old Catholic thing of selling off indulgences!)
It was the way, back then. You sinned, you had to give the priests money for forgiveness. Now, maybe the thing Jesus didn't like was how much the people were charging or the fact that they were trying to make money on something that was supposed to be for God. But, it just struck me that you could "buy forgiveness', and that God would require money!
Funny thing is, it never moved me when it mentions a goat or a lamb or a dove. Those things actually seem weirder. But, money - how could God ask the people to give their money?
Maybe it says something about the over importance I've placed on cash!
A lot of different offerings were explained today - the grain offering, the meat offering, a whole bunch of offerings. Each one gave specific instructions, but the one thing that kept being repeated was "of the finest quality." The grain, the lamb, the oil - whatever you brought had to be of the finest quality.
At first, I got that weird religion feeling. Does God really need us to make an offering? Does He really need the sweet aroma? Isn't that just doing stuff that doesn't really matter?
Kind of! Once I got over how good the grain offering must have smelled, it hit me. Bigger picture - whatever we do for the Lord should be "of the finest quality." There's some Bible verse that says that. Work, how we interact with people, how we talk to our family, what we do with our free time - those are all of our offerings. And guess what they should be...."of the finest quality."
