The Better part, week #7

 

Here are this week's FB posts.  May you be richly blessed by seeing what I had to learn this week.

The Better part, Day #42:

Job 37:11 Yea, he ladeth the thick cloud with moisture; He spreadeth abroad the cloud of his lightning:

Job 37:12 And it is turned round about by his guidance, That they may do whatsoever he commandeth them Upon the face of the habitable world,

Job 37:13 Whether it be for correction, or for his land, Or for lovingkindness, that he cause it to come. 

 

I've been listening to sermons lately that speak to the impossibility of anything without God. And once again that came up last night, as I felt called to respond to another Twitter atheist trolling Franklin Graham- although this one went straight to insult mode ("Grow up", "leaning on your big magic daddy in the sky"). One of those sermons showed why I might have been called- mentioning Job 31:29 and forward where he lists not lifting up his enemies as a possible sin. But what, I thought, is the purpose? Again, we can go to Job's book, but Elihu's speech. See, the sower of the seed scatters seed- not controlling where it lands. Maybe this guy hadn't been warned of judgment yet. Maybe there was a crack in his hard packed ground where a seed might squeeze in. Maybe God just wanted to show him the mercy of interacting with someone who would pray for him afterwards. But somewhere along the line, God will bring an increase from it.

 

 

The Better part, Day #43:

Exo 16:4 Then said Jehovah unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or not. 

 

David Jeremiah pointed out today that among the many characteristics of God's provision in the desert was that He provided for ONE day, each day. And that is one of the reasons I am doing Better Parts- that I may share what I am getting fed, just enough for each day, every day.

 

 

The Better part, Day #44:

Mar 12:16 And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's.

Mar 12:17 And Jesus said unto them, Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. And they marvelled greatly at him. 

 

In the mood for positive reinforcement from Christian radio, and having been interrupted by work's disasters through much of what I usually listen to, I turned it on this afternoon only to hear the 'semi-religious political show' discussing the acknowledged evils the current administration supports. Following that up, they stressed that it was "time to get our country back". Which is all well and good, but you make it sound like a political agenda is our Christian calling. I believe that Jesus never showed any caring about the political situations- the worst thing He even did about Herod was calling him "that old fox"- but put ALL the focus on saving people from the judgment. You want to save this nation with politics? If the horse is even hitched to the cart, the cart is way too far ahead to go anywhere.

 

 

The Better part, Day #45:

1Sa 13:7 Now some of the Hebrews had gone over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead; but as for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

1Sa 13:8 And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.

1Sa 13:9 And Saul said, Bring hither the burnt-offering to me, and the peace-offerings. And he offered the burnt-offering. 

 

So here I was, after a very annoying day, wanting to get started on Time Machine, having to start a Norton check, and I said- at first- "Oh, yeah, Better part. Well, I'll get it later." And then: "Yeah, with the day that has passed bringing God first, I can imagine how not stopping to have God come into my evening will go." Saul didn't wait, and the pressure he THOUGHT was on got a LOT worse. And as I finished finding the verse I wanted, and bringing up my FB page to type it- imagine that, the Norton scan is already done! Lord, keep me mindful of not 'putting you later'.

 

 

The Better Part, Day#46:

No verse today, just a story. What possible use was it for them to be there: Two punk kids on a temp job. They worked two half-days, left a lighter in the men's stall for their "smoking breaks", and left with a pop, belonging to a certain OTHER person, that they stole from the break room refrigerator. What possible use? Well, that other, pop-less person, realizing this was a test of forgiveness, and after a good deal of anger management, prayed for them. Prayed that somehow, someway, God would lead them into another direction in life. One where smoke and music and whatever I can take was no longer a priority. And truth be told, that person prayed for them the first day, too, in an effort to have God teach him not to judge a book by its cover- at least, not the whole book. Whether they might someday find that time useful, God knows.

 

 

The Better Part, day #47:

Today I want to talk about Ravi Zacharias. If you don't know the story- too bad, this isn't a gossip column. What brings him up is that last night, Lee Strobel announced he would be cutting ties with the late apologist's resources and removing an interview with Ravi from one of his books.

 

My first thought was, some people's thorns in the flesh are bigger than others. Ravi was in a LOT of pain for a long time. And the kind of thing he did, while reprehensible, is a powerful opiate. But I realized on praying it out that the sin wasn't his thorn- that was the pain. What his sin was, was trying to remove that thorn by man's means instead of God's strength. Does this invalidate his works? I don't know, but I remember Paul saying in Philippians 1:18, "But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. " Does it invalidate HIM? Again, God knows the heart; but in my mind, if every ministry was invalidated by the sins of the minister, no ministry- including this one- would ever be valid.

 

 

The Better part, day #48:

John 20:19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews,[a] Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 

 

As I opened my FB feed this Sunday morning I was greeted by cardinals heralding visits from dead relatives, proud proclamations of how many fact-checkers have been blocked, memes for Trump, shirts against Biden, and a handful of lovely Valentine Day wishes.

Nothing about Jesus coming in, sharing the Lord's Day with anyone.

You want to have the peaceful day, you have to invite Him in. He doesn't pop in and say, "Hey, remember me?" anymore.