Back to the Future

This is heavy ~

Marty McFly

The week started with learning about being a lawyer (priest) in prayer. A new thought for me. The idea that I am expected to bring the case of my friends and relatives to the Heavenly Bench.

And I listened to a sermon about the hebrew word "kavod" which originally meant "heavy, or important". The idea impressed me, and then yesterday I had a heaviness I have had before, but did not recognize as "kavod".

Coupled with intercessory prayer, I found myself praying very earnestly for those in my orbit who were having to deal with a disruption in their life. It wasn't a sadness or sorrow, just a heaviness, a seriousness, that I was grateful to experience.

I am grateful for the fact that I did not assume what my friends "kavod" was, but realized that they will have it in different areas from me, but they will still have it. I found myself asking the Aaronic Blessing for them over and over:

May the Lord bless you

    and keep you.

²⁵ 

May the Lord smile down on you^[a]

    and show you his kindness.

Numbers 6:24-25

Amen.

Legal Prayer

Then Abraham approached him and said

Genesis 18:23

The thought of intercessory prayer had never occurred to me until listening to a sermon by Timothy Keller about priesthood. Of course my main problem was that I didn't realize that intercessory prayer is basically acting like a lawyer for someone. That makes more sense to me.

You gather your evidence, and present it to the Judge.

Now I know that Jesus is doing this for every believer, that is what the book of Hebrews is all about. But I had not thought about that being my job as a believer. And yet, right there in Revelations 1 I read God "made us a kingdom of priests".

The job of a priest is to present a legal case for the accused.

So I took this idea, and I practiced it, with a friend whom I am mad with. I presented the case to God, in a way I had not before, asking that wrath would not descend on him (not God's primarily, but mine). I have never had an experience like that before. I not only felt the presence of God as I prayed, I felt closer, more understanding, about my friends experience.

Amen.

Ending the Beginning

The end of a matter is better than its beginning

Ecclesiastes 7:8

I read this and balked at first. My mind then went to friendships, or loves. Mostly because I think one is ending, and I find myself strangely content, or settled about it.

I think it is because I know what it was, and that it is over, or close to it. At the beginning of the friendship I was full of questions: What will it be? How long will it last? When will we do something?

Ambiguity is really hard for me, I want to know and I am learning that knowing is only something you get after it is all over.

Amen.

I love....

Whoever loves money never has enough

Ecclesiastes 5:10

I have been listening to a podcast about the 7 deadly sins. And today I listened to greed. This was one of the teaching texts, and it made me think about greed in my life.

The word apparently comes from the latin word for coveting. When I looked at my life, I can see that I covet things that are strictly material: things like attention. It made me stop and think about the greed in my life that isn't so obvious since I typically don't run after material things.

Amen.

Testing...Testing

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves

2 Corinthians 13:5

At bible study we had been working our way through 2 Corinthians, and neared the end. The facilitator, Jim, told us that most commentators felt chapters 10-13 were a repetition of the first chapters, so we skimmed them.

But our discussion did land on this particular verse (among others) about testing yourself. Although I could not have said is so clearly in the past, I like the fact that the main focus of the New Testament seems to be about the transformation of the individual.

That is acknowledges that "we" are the ones that need to change, or repent. I know I am more than willing to request, or require, the change of those around me. Its easy to do that. It is harder, and much more satisfying for me in the long run, to realize, and to participate in, that change in me.

Then I wondered well, what is the test, how do I examine myself, how do I know if Christ is in me? The previous session Jim had handed out this bible verse:

the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23

Now I just have remember fruit doesn't grow overnight, may I be righteously patient.

Amen.

Knock Knock

 Listen! My beloved is knocking: Open to me

Song of Solomon 5:2

This whole chapter is about a lover and the beloved. Someone reaching out to another person, and the other person, at least initially, not really wanting to make the connection. The beloved doesn't want to get out of bed, doesn't want to get dressed, and doesn't want to walk on a cold floor to meet the loved.

WOW, talk about love.

Over the weekend I was reading some material about co-dependency. A term originally applied to the families of alcoholics, but has since been applied more liberally. I like the casual definition I found on the WebMD site: It's kind of a weird phrase, and it doesn't sound like it means a one-sided relationship. But that's what it is. It means you're trying to make the relationship work with someone else who's not.

Solomon's story seems to hit on that to a degree.

And of course I think this happens in every relationship. Because of illness or life events, often one person is required to give more, for the moment, than the other.

For me, the wisdom is in learning when something is temporary or "permanent" and having the grace to avoid one sided relationships, something I am not very good at.

Amen.

Confession

 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

As a non catholic believer, I have had very little use for confession. Any kind really, even out loud to God. This is due in no small part to the absolute guilt I was encouraged to feel at every failure. Especially the failures that my particular Christian sect (Adventist) had decided were the worst (Sabbath Breaking, Eating Meat, Being Human).

And I think that is the problem with SIN!!! As Christians we have spent so much time demonizing sin (is that even possible) to the point where I know I am afraid to confess it.

And yet, if I don't confess it: name it, call it out; as failure to do what I know we ought to, am I not just strengthening my propensity to do it even further? I think so.

Call it what it is, and no doubt eventually it will seem repugnant. Holiness is a life time venture.

Amen.