Plainfield Ponderings - Scripture Meditations

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Ponder with me about how we deal with shame and guilt.  We all have it, though we may not have dealt with it as honestly as we should.  That we all have it, is evidenced by the story of "the fall" in Genesis 3.  That story is not just history.  We are missing so much wisdom if we read it as just history.  It is how sin works TODAY, and the fallout is the same too.  The first thing they dealt with after sin, was shame.  They tried to deal with it themselves, by themselves...and so do we.  We need God to help us deal with it though.  To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me about how quickly and rashly we make life decisions at times.  This episode is a bit of a contrast between the presumption that we studied about in the last episode vs. taking an unassuming approach to life.  What does God want me to do?  This disciplined approach was seen several times throughout king David's life, but it's perfectly seen in Jesus.  David "inquired of God" -- that becomes a refrain throughout his life (though he wasn't perfect in it) and every time he does, his decisions are blessed!  Ours will be too, if we'll live in this disciplined way.  To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me about presuming what God wants, when something hasn't been communicated clearly.  This can lead to quite a mess!  Join with me in looking at a couple of instances where it led to spiritual disaster.  What God has always wanted is a listening ear and a heart for obedience.  That can take quite a bit of discipline though, especially when we might excuse things with, "I'm doing it for the Lord"...or..."it just makes so much sense".  But is that what God truly wants?  Has He communicated that?  To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me about how we are addicted to big, flashy, impressive things.  Let's contrast that with how Jesus told us the kingdom of heaven would begin.  Today is election day.  I'm very grateful for the opportunity to vote and to live in a place where we have freedom.  However, with all the political ads I have been forced to watch over the past several months I am stunned by all the large-scale promises made.  Some of them are just outright silly, but that's how Americans generally think.  We want large-scale, flashy stuff, but unfortunately that has crept into how American's seek God and "do religion" too.  Jesus compared the beginnings of the kingdom to something much more modest though -- the smallest of seeds.  Let's think through this contrast together.  To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me about the most popular passage about Christ's ascension in the Old Testament - Daniel 7.  It's a bit of a follow up from the last podcast episode about Jesus being more than David's son...He's the Son of God.  However, interestingly, Daniel 7 refers to him as "one like the son of man" when speaking about His ascension and His kingdom starting.  But before we look at that, consider the context of Daniel 7 with me.  Lots of world chaos going on!  What is God going to do about it all?  King Jesus is of course the answer, beginning with ascension in a cloud.  To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me about the lineage of Christ.  Jesus once asked the Pharisee's - what do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?  All the Jews knew the Christ needed to be descended from David, but Jesus pushes them a bit - is that all He is?  Will the Christ be more than that?  Jesus challenges them to think deeper about a Messianic Psalm (110).  And finally, and just as important -- is that who Jesus is?  We know the Christ is being discussed in Psalm 110, but is Jesus the one sitting at God's right hand?  To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me about reading the letters of Scripture as one, complete unit.  The way we read Scripture today is so compartmentalized, and much different from how they were intended to be read.  We read a few verses from this book, a few verses over here, a few verses over there...and that's not a bad thing but it's definitely not how they were read in the early church.  They digested them as a full, complete letter and probably heard them dozens and even hundreds of times as they were read in their public assembly.  There's an advantage to reading them that way.  We can notice themes and connections better.  Finally, let's practice with one of the letters from Paul together as one complete unit.  To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me about why Peter says we are saved in baptism.  Baptism has been one of the most controversial and hotly debated topics of the last few centuries and yet Peter says in the clearest language possible, baptism now saves you (I Peter 3:21).  What was Peter thinking and why do so many people reject that?  What are some objections to baptism?  Let's think through this I Peter 3 passage together and open our hearts to what the Holy Spirit wants us to see.  To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me about the end of Job!  The longest continuous speech in Job is by a mysterious character named Elihu.  He pops up at the end of Job, although he makes it clear he's been listening to Job and his friends while they were arguing the whole time.  His theme is simple - regardless of the suffering we experience, God is good through it all!  He is the right and just through it all.  Then, God comes into the picture and peppers Job with dozens and dozens of questions...but what's weird is that none of the questions have anything to do with suffering.  All the questions are about the created world.  Let's think about why that is, and what point God is so powerfully making.  To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me about how the leadership in the New Testament morphed into something different than when the church began.  At the beginning, you see a heavy focus on the apostles' leadership.  Then, at the end of Acts 11, you start seeing a different leadership group introduced - elders.  From then on you start seeing elders becoming more and more prominent as leaders in the church.  This dynamic of passing the torch of leadership is exactly what the meeting between Paul and the elders in Ephesus was all about (Acts 20).  Let's think about what Paul wanted those elders to hear and how Paul thought about leadership.  To God be the glory!

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