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Mark 1:9-15 - Lectionary for Lent 1B

2/15/2018

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2/15/18
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

Immediately after Jesus was introduced to people by John the Baptizer, Mark 1:9-15 tells of his temptation in the wilderness. There’s a tremendous contrast in play in this passage. At his baptism, Jesus was commended by the Father and by the Holy Spirit. God’s favor was proclaimed audibly. This is truly the Son of God. We might assume that the baptism of Jesus is a genuine high point in his earthly life and ministry.

What happened immediately afteward? Jesus was compelled by the Spirit to go into the wilderness, where he fasted for forty days. He was tempted by Satan and was also living in danger from the wild animals. I think it’s safe to assume that Mark wasn’t talking about Jesus being with wild animals like butterflies. He was talking about venomous snakes, carnivorous wild dogs, big cats, and any sort of other animal that might think Jesus would be worth pursuit.

Very often we face our greatest temptations immediately after a time of blessing and approval. One author I read some years ago spoke about the difficulty of a pastor. While preaching the sermon, everything is good and fine. Then he has to face the congregation at the door of the church building, where people are suffering, where they are sick or dying, where they are confronting him with problems that defy a straightforward theological answer.

The temptation of Satan was real. It tortured Jesus in every way imaginable. Yet, as we read in the other Gospel accounts, Jesus countered Satan’s attack by relying on God’s Word. The truth was clear, even in a time of temptation. Jesus could depend on what God had spoken in Scripture. There was not need for a new revelation, a special blessing of God, or a supernatural sign. God’s Word was sufficient.

After the time of temptation, Jesus continued his work of proclaiming God’s Word. Here we find ourselves, after a tussle with the sinful nature, coming back to the promises of God. We can trust that the Lord has revealed all we need to know about life and godliness. He has great promises in the Scripture. His Word is trustworthy. So, as Jesus did, we go on from a time of hope in God’s promises, through a season of temptation, and back to a time of reliance on God’s Word.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

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James 1:12-18 - Lectionary for Lent 1B

2/14/2018

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2/14/18
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

I frequently find myself talking with people who are enduring trials. Sometimes they are suffering, and suffering very badly. Life is tough. Often we wonder why we are suffering, why life is so rough on us, why it could be possible for a good and loving God to allow such hardship.  Our reading from James 1:12-18 gives us a very helpful commentary.

First, we notice that the harships of our life serve to prepare us for our eternal reward in Christ. Through hardship we develop a longing for that which is good. Through facing our failure, the sin of others, and the generally difficult conditions of this world, we find ourselves less and less willing to submit to a life under the curse of sin.

Second, we realize that our hardship, our temptation, is not from God, but is from our own sinful desires. Why is it so hard for me to avoid entering into sin? It’s not because God likes sin, but because I like sin. I become familiar with my own nature and realize that I am not to be trusted. I can then look at God’s nature and realize that he is the only one any reasonable person would ever trust.

Finally, we recognize that the good things we desire are ultimately a gift of God. By his nature God is good. All his gifts are good. Are we ready to recognize those good gifts of God as what they are? Or are we going to continue to be entrapped by our own evil desire? When we consider God’s love and mercy shown to this world in Christ, who gave his own life to suffer the penalty for sin which we deserved, then we are ready to look for the Lord’s coming in grace. The hardships of this life point us to the grace and mercy of God.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

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Genesis 22:1-18 - Lectionary for Lent 1B

2/13/2018

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2/13/18
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

Abraham was an old man, a very old man. By the time Isaac, the child of promise, was born, he was a hundred years old. By the time of the events in Genesis 22, he is considerably older. God had shown himself to be the God of promise Isaac was born to an old man and his old wife. The child of promise showed that God’s promise was valid. But what was Abraham to do when, some years later, God told him to take his son and burn him as an offering?

This is the dilemma Abraham faced. How could the God of promise,  the one who values life, the one who has made a child to Abraham bring the promise to life, command his servant to sacrifice the child of promise?

Notice that we don’t have any record of Abraham’s debate. We have no mention of his doubt or fear. There’s no indication that he questioned God. Rather, he received the word from God and set himself to obey that word. The closest we come to a commentary about Abraham’s attitude is that he says God will raise up a sacrifice for them when they reach the place of sacrifice. What did Abraham think Was he expecting a different sacrifice to show up? Maybe he expected the Lord to resurrect Isaac. We have no idea. All we see is that Abraham believed God and took Him at His word.

We learn also that Isaac was willing to be an obedient child to his father, no matter what. There’s record of a question, but not of any sort of conflict, even when it became clear to Isaac that he was to be the sacrifice. Isaac was also trusting God.

Even when it looked impossible, the Lord did raise up a substitute. He stopped the actions which would naturally lead to death and destruction. He brought a substitute, a ram who would die in the place of Isaac. He showed that He was able to fulfill his promise and yet show the importance of laying down one’s life for God. This all foreshadows the work of Jesus, the lamb of the tribe of Judah, who came and gave his life in death as a substitute for the promised people, Israel. God’s mercy could not be stopped. Regardless of all appearances of hopelessness and failure, God raised up an offering to die in the place of his people. He will always do whatever it takes to provide satisfaction for his righteous anger, showing the riches of his mercy and grace.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

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Psalm 25:1-10 - Lectionary for Lent 1B

2/12/2018

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2/12/18
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

Our Psalm for this week is based on the idea of God showing his people the way they should go. What are the paths of righteousness? What will we do to guide our lives rightly? Falling away leads to a life of rejection and failure.

Our Western culture surrounds us with claims of a sort of moral superiority. We’re told to develop mindfulness. We are urged to pursue a healthy lifestyle, one which includes eating right, exercising with the right attitude, and becoming involved in just the right social causes. Where I sit writing this post, I am surrounded by those messages. We’re to “eat mindfully.” A person near me has a big equals sign sticker on a computer, signifying endorsement of same-sex marriage. People are ready to call for all manner of social causes, some of which do advance justice in the world. How do we stand up against hatred and abuse? We do it together.

The Bible doesn’t discount the idea of taking a stand for righteousness together as a group, as a society. However, the Scripture boldly addresses something our culture is afraid to touch. Where do you develop an idea of what is right? Where do we form opinions about what is wrong? Most of us will say that some things are definitively right or wrong. But how are we going to identify them?

The Psalmist says that we will know right and wrong, that we will understand justice and righteousness, as we dwell on God’s Word. It is as we consider His claims and His character that we will rightly see how to understand our world.

This may seem kind of premodern and suspicious. After all, our world has told us of all sorts of crimes perpetrated in history in the name of religious purity. This is absolutely true. However, a central claim of Christianity is that we all sin, we all fail, none of us consistently does what is right. Do we blame God for that? Not at all, rather, we dwell on the Word of God and seek to be changed into His image for the good of our world. There we will find truth and grace.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

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    About Throwing Inkwells

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