Hearing His words in memory

at 03/08/10 11:43PM
At this they covered their ears
and, yelling at the top of their voices,
they all rushed at him,
dragged him out of the city
and began to stone him.
Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet
of a young man named Saul.

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed,
"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
Then he fell on his knees and cried out,
"Lord, do not hold this sin against them."
When he had said this, he fell asleep.

And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.

On that day a great persecution broke out
against the church at Jerusalem...
Saul began to destroy the church.
Going from house to house,
he dragged off men and women
and put them in prison.

When I listened to this passage last week (before the sermon Sunday night, honest!) and then Saul's conversion but a few chapters later, one of my thoughts was that Saul must have remembered Stephen's words: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." Stephen meant this broadly, I imagine, but later on, I suspect Saul heard the words in memory more personally: "Lord, do not hold this sin against Saul." Consider how deeply that would have hurt, how sharp the regret Saul would have had -- knowing that at the moment of his death, Stephen prayed to God on behalf of those who were killing him.

Maybe we ought likewise to be hearing in memory the words of Christ more personally....
  • cyber_space_cadet
    How very right you are. Very moving and convicting thoughts. Thank you.
    by cyber_space_cadet at 03/09/10 1:20AM
  • jabberwock
    My thought about that has always been that Stephen's prayer was answered through Saul. It also ties back very nicely to the turn-the-other-cheek section of the Sermon on the Mount.
    by jabberwock at 03/09/10 7:52AM
  • preachermon
    I think about Saul spending 3 days... fasting and praying... after learning that Jesus was the Messiah. How he must have been a broken man, replaying all that he had done against Jesus and his disciples after 3 days of in-depth meditation. No wonder Paul saw himself as... the chief of sinners!
    by preachermon at 03/09/10 11:05AM
  • tryphena
    Excellent thoughts, Sarah. How deeply we should all feel our sins, each one which caused the death of an innocent man.
    by tryphena at 03/10/10 9:55AM

Whose ghost did they see?

at 03/01/10 11:37PM
When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea,
and He was alone on the land.
Seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them,
at about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea;
and He intended to pass by them.
But when they saw Him walking on the sea,
they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out;
for they all saw Him and were terrified.
But immediately He spoke with them and said to them,
"Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid."
Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped;
and they were utterly astonished[.]
-- Mark 6:47-51


I listened to about half of the book of Mark this morning on the way to work. When it came to this passage, I heard something I had not really heard before. The disciples saw Jesus walking on the water past them; they thought what they saw was a ghost; and that terrified them. I suppose "merely" seeing a ghost would be frightening enough, but when I heard this today I got the impression thedisciples thought this might be the ghost of Jesus. (Not claiming this is a proper impression, by the way.)


Imagine for just a moment how you would feel if you had left your friend alone somewhere and shortly thereafter you were confronted with evidence of his death. You hadn't been able to protect him; for all you knew leaving him alone led to his death. The plans you'd made and the expectations you'd had concerning him were for naught.


I don't know the disciples felt this way while they were in a boat being tossed about by the ferocious waves and wind of Galilee. But I can't help but wonder if they had thoughts like this upon the death of Jesus ... when they'd all fled ... when their king was in a tomb instead of on a throne ... when all was frightening and uncertain.


The response of the living God is still the same: "Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid."
  • cyber_space_cadet
    Amen.
    by cyber_space_cadet at 03/01/10 11:39PM
  • trevaesa
    Great thoughts. I'd never thought of it this way before, either. Thank you for sharing :)
    by trevaesa at 03/02/10 10:24AM
  • sjean
    Comforting.
    by sjean at 03/02/10 1:55PM
  • tryphena
    I have thought it odd that they would think of a "ghost," too. It was strange times back then, so perhaps it wasn't out of the realm of possibility to see a ghost? Interesting.
    by tryphena at 03/03/10 8:34AM
  • mayflower
    I'm liking these updates. :)
    by mayflower at 03/03/10 3:29PM

Serving the King: A lesson from Haman and other evil men

at 02/07/10 11:59PM
So Haman got the robe and the horse.
He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets,
proclaiming before him, "This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!"--Esther 6:11


I have been listening to an audio Bible on my way to and from work for a number of weeks now. The other day, I was in the mood for something which didn't particularly, uhm, demand a lot from me. So I chose the Esther/Daniel CD. Of course, God made a point to draw my attention to the above passage. I subsequently listened to Ezra and Nehemiah, paying particular attention to the relationship between the key players and their respective kings. I was actually impressed at how both God's people and the enemies of God's people served their kings.

Take Haman, for example. He hated Mordecai. Haman plotted to destroy both Mordecai and his people. In fact, he was loitering in the king's court that day because he was going to ask the king to let him (Haman) hang him (Mordecai).

Nonetheless, when the king told Haman to "go at once",
and dress Mordecai in the king's robe
and put Mordecai on the king's horse
and run before Mordecai throughout the whole city shouting his proclamation,
Haman did.

Here are two other passages touching on the same theme -- obedience to the king's commands. Note that Daniel is not an evil man but served the king faithfully. Nehemiah -- the cupbearer -- did the same, if the king's requirement that he return at a date certain is any indication.

Then, because of the decree King Darius had sent,
Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates
carried it out with diligence.
--Ezra 6:13

Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. --Daniel 6:3-4
  • tryphena
    Excellent thoughts, Sarah! Are you thinking of a particular application to us? In the physical world, honoring our "king"/president? In the Spiritual world, obeying our King?
    by tryphena at 02/08/10 7:10AM
  • sjean
    I always thought that had to be particularly humbling to Haman considering everything. You almost feel sorry for him, but not quite.
    by sjean at 02/08/10 8:18AM

"God has visited His people!"

at 01/24/10 7:59PM
Luke 7:11-17 is the account of Jesus raising from the dead the widow of Nain's son. The part which caught my eye was actually verse 16 -- "Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" and, "God has visited His people!" " Part of Zacharias' prophesy at John's birth also mentions this idea of God "visiting" His people and ties it to redemption -- "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemptionfor His people." (Luke 1:68)

These verses actually led me back to Psalm 65. The psalm talks about the awesome deeds of God such as hearing prayers, forgiving sin, and answering our cries in righteousness, and the physical bounty He provides through the rains and the harvest. Verse 9 states: "You visit the earth and cause it to overflow; You greatly enrich it[.]" I found it interesting that when God visits something, He causes it to overflow with goodness. Although the psalm is specifically talking about the physical provision God provides, I think we can make the application to the spiritual as well. When God visits us with salvation and redemption, He causes us to overflow with goodness, watering our hearts and blessing our growth, until the bounty He has lavished upon us causes us to overflow with joy and thanksgiving so that we "shout for joy, yes, [and] sing."

Psalm 65
There will be silence before You,
and praise in Zion, O God,
and to You the vow will be performed.

O You Who hear prayer, to You all men come.

Iniquities prevail against me;
As for our transgressions, You forgive them.
How blessed is the one whom You choose
and bring near to You to dwell in Your courts.
We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple.

By awesome deeds
You answer us in righteousness,
O God of our salvation, You
Who are the trust of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest sea;
Who establishes the mountains by His strength,
being girded with might;
Who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the tumult of the peoples.

They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;
You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.

You visit the earth and cause it to overflow;
You greatly enrich it;
The stream of God is full of water;
You prepare their grain, for thus You prepare the earth.

You water its furrows abundantly,
You settle its ridges,
You soften it with showers,
You bless its growth.
You have crowned the year with Your bounty,
And Your paths drip with fatness.
The pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the hills gird themselves with rejoicing.
The meadows are clothed with flocks
And the valleys are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, yes, they sing.
  • sjean
    A reason for great joy!
    by sjean at 01/24/10 8:15PM
  • mayflower
    Immanuel - God with us.
    by mayflower at 01/24/10 9:45PM

Did I mention...

at 01/10/10 8:59PM
... I bought a microwave? I did.

I (heart) my microwave. Especially since I had to pay only about $4 of my own money for it; the rest was courtesy of a gift card. I'm teaching Mom about microwaveable meals; much better than her not eating because she doesn't want to cook. :-O


What else is new? I'm trying to be more engaged with the study of Luke. One of the things I am noticing in the first two chapters are the contrasts and the ironies. I am also trying to be open-minded about the text, that is, trying not to assume the "usual" interpretation of things but to see where it comes from. Here are some observations about the text thus far.

Luke 1
Gabriel was sent to speak to Zacharias but, because of Zacharias' unbelief, Zacharias was unable to speak until Gabriel's words were fulfilled. (1:19-20) Zacharias was unable to speak of the coming blessing; his first words were of praise for those blessings.

John's birth was a sign given to both Zacharias and Mary. His birth was a confirmation. This certainly implies that Mary was present at John's birth.

Both Mary and Zacharias spoke of the great things God has done for His people, of deliverance.

Luke 2
A "babe in the manger" was a sign for the shepherds (2:7, 12, 16, 20). The shepherds hurried straight to Bethlehem to verify this sign. When they had, they revealed the sign given to them -- which caused wonderment among all who heard what they said. My question: Who else heard what they said? We know Mary did, of course. But I'm thinking she and Joseph were not the only ones who didn't have a place to stay; could others have been staying in the stable as well? Could they have heard and seen these things, and been amazed?

Do we do a disservice to the word of God to look at these events as being completely isolated from the ebb and flow of humanity?

It's easy to leave Jesus in the manger, a baby all can adore. Although He was Lord even at His birth, we often forget that and merely see the Babe -- easy to love. When Jesus manifests Himself as Lord in our lives -- demanding obedience as well as simple adoration -- He becomes "less easy" to love. In other words, we must love Jesus the Lord and not just Jesus the Babe.

Why do we assume Simeon was an old man? We are told Anna was "advanced in years" but no such notation appears with respect to Simeon.

Luke 3
The physical preparation for a king's visit includes fixing the road on which he will travel. The spiritual preparation is similar, except we are preparing our hearts for a King. Anyone else thinking of the parable of the soils?

Three types of people asked John what the fruits of repentance would look like for them -- the crowds, the tax collectors, the soldiers. The Jews would have been familiar with tax collectors and soldiers -- but so would the Greeks to whom Luke was writing (Theophilus). The examples, therefore, were relevant to Greeks as well as Jews -- and also to us.
  • mayflower
    Good observations! Maybe we think Simeon was old because al the pictures of him we see as kids show him with grey hair??

    Microwave sounds good! Brian and I need to get one when get married, too. (His broke, and mine wouldn't fit into the over-the-range spot his is in.) I think not having one is hampering his bachelor cooking style right now!
    by mayflower at 01/11/10 10:15AM
  • preachermon
    I thought about the whole caravan thing traveling during the census... I can't imagine Mary was alone, she probably had a lot of help in that delivery with the ladies in the caravan knowing she was ready to give birth. It probably was no small stir with a concerned audience, howbeit His birth took place in a stable. People were everywhere trying to find shelter, so why think Mary was alone... because of Catholic tradition being permeated in our cerebral cortex!
    by preachermon at 01/11/10 11:22AM
  • lady_loveshercats
    Great additional thoughts. I am really enjoying this study of Luke in bible class.
    by lady_loveshercats at 01/11/10 1:38PM