with devotion

The OT Tradition of Tithing

These past days I have been having a wonderful conversation with my blogging friend Mike about giving and whether Christians are commanded to tithe. Here is my latest comment:

My issue with the tithe is really much more than the percentage. In the Old Testament it was established as a way to feed the priests and Levites enabling them to minister at the temple. The tithe was never monetary but given in the form of grain and animals. When it is taught this baggage comes with it:

The clergy are now the NT priests and Levites;
Money is substituted for food;
The storehouse is now a church instead of the temple.

In my view this is simply not the way to challenge people to be generous but a way to keep the clergy employed and church buildings maintained.

Why not simply teach people to be generous and then trust the Lord to meet the needs of the clergy? Why revert to Old Testament methodology to feed them?

The other aspect is how clergy is often very poor stewards of the tithe. Pastors ask people to give sacrificially to support their own salaries then treat this giving as if there was no sacrifice involved at all.

Instead, why not tell people to support the poor? As we are all priests, why not call pastors to be bi-vocational and reduce the need for tithes that support Levitical/Clerical salaries. Why embrace an Old Testament style of worship when there is a New Testament model (of fishermen and tentmakers) that we can follow? Why follow the traditions of Judaism or Catholicism when we do not have to?

Loving God

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40 (NLT)

I have heard it said that the Ten Commandments can be summed up in one word - love. Jesus seems to echo that sentiment here when he tells us that the whole of the Old Testament is about loving God and the people who he has made. In a sense the Lord is giving us a measuring stick to evaluate everything that Moses, the law giver, and the prophets spoke in ancient times. He knew that even these great men were not perfect in all they said.

These words of Christ cause me to think about the religious things that often divert our attention away from these most important commandments - sometimes we really miss it when we our motive is not love. Even so, I think that love can be our guiding precept in all things religious and secular. If a word that we hear in church, on TV or at work lines up with love then it may be a sign that God is speaking to us - even when it is communicated by an imperfect vessel.

All that said, I think that we all have a tendency to discount love as just one of the ways that God works in us and our culture. Sometimes when read the scriptures we can imagine God as wrathful and not loving. I think that we err when we do. In my view, Jesus tells us in these verses that we are most like God when we love with everything we have. God is manifest when love overflows from us to those around us. When we are loving God everything is different.

Knowing God

I think that the topic of a personal relationship with God is fairly misunderstood because it is very different than earthly ones. In my view this relationship begins when one is introduced to Him by being born of the Spirit of God - it is all about having God living in us. Yet the idea that God "talks to us" in this relationship (as we talk to our friends) is one that can be confusing because it means so many things to so many people.

In the scriptures we see this relational communication in many ways. It is sometimes described as a still small voice or simply a sense in our innermost being of what the Holy Spirit is communicating to us. I have sensed God's voice both in prayer and not in prayer. I have heard Him speak to my innermost being with questions that have changed the course of my life. That said, I think that it is unique with each of us because we are all so different.

All that considered I think that the word 'personal' is a dangerous one when used in this context. A relationship with God is never personal in the sense that loving God always involves loving people. One really cannot love God in isolation. Reading through the bible one can readily see how this divine relationship can affect others.

Not sure that I am making sense here - guess it is difficult to tell someone else 'how' to have a relationship with God as words like love, faith and trust (things essential to relationship) mean something different to each of us. Yet those words do help us to understand what it means to know God. Perhaps I will write a bit more about this?

Courage of the Heart

Courage is a quality that is so admired and I think so misunderstood. We all easily understand the word when we hear of soldiers risking and giving theirs live for others. Consider these verses from the book of Psalms:

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! (27:14)

Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord! (31:24)

I guess in a sense all courage emanates from the heart.. courage comes when a person's heart is stronger than their flesh. I think that it is interesting how these verses speak to the idea of waiting for the Lord.. courage of the heart is definitely needed when life is hard and God seems absent.. and we find ourselves waiting for Him to help us. In times when life seems darkest and God does not seem present we are faced with the need to take courage. In dark times I am often reminded of these verses from the book of Hebrews:

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (4:14-16)

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, "Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. (10:35-39)

Here is what I glean from those verses about our need for courage:

God is compassionate.. He is not the cause of our weaknesses and sufferings;
Prayer is the response of a courageous heart.. it takes courage to say "not my will but yours be done";
Faith is an exercise in courage.. faith and courage are both characteristics of a strong heart;
Courage is needed to persevere.. it is needed to do God's will;
Like a pleasing aroma, so is courage in the nostrils of God.

I wonder how many times courage and faith are intermixed.. in a sense faith is always needed for courage to manifest in our lives. We are on the front lines of a great spiritual battle and, like soldiers in battle, courage of the heart is so needed.

Who is not My Neighbor?

This image reminds me of the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus told the story in response to a Jewish lawyer's question concerning who was the neighbor that he should love as himself. Jesus sensed the duplicity of the question and confronted the man, and many in his audience, with the idea that the Jews did not love their neighboring Samaritans.

In the parable the religious Jews are showed as uncaring and the Samaritan is shown as the one filled with mercy. Martin Luther King, Jr framed the bottom line issue this way:

The first question that the priest asked, the first question that the Levite asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But then the Good Samaritan came by, and he reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"

I wonder who Jesus would use today as an example to us of people we call neighbors but do not love or show mercy to. Perhaps this list might be a place to start? Maybe loving our neighbor is really not all that easy? Perchance we need a few more Samaritans in our lives?

The Insanity of Prayer

A recent article, titled “The definition of insanity” is the most overused cliché of all time, begins by saying:

"It’s often said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

I can relate to that! I recently told a few friends that my prayer life often resembles this definition of insanity. I keep praying the same things and expecting a different result - or maybe just any result. One of my friends replied asking me why I even pray. I responded by saying that praying is like breathing for me.

When I speak of prayer as spiritual breathing I am reminded of how, in my twenties, I never prayed even though my wife Ellen was blind for 3 of those years. Then she was healed and I became aware of God. Eventually I prayed my first real prayer and it has become like breathing in the sense of I do it without thinking to do it. It comes naturally just like breathing. Yet some of the prayers are versions of insanity as I ask for the same things over and over and do not see answers. Even so, I find peace in knowing that God has heard me - and perhaps that it a good enough "answer".

Real life example of my insane prayer life: As many of you know my wife Ann has been disabled for six years now and I watch her struggle every day to do basic things as she gets in and out of her wheelchair. I pray all of the time for her and I sometimes express my frustrations to the Lord. I sometimes feel a bit insane as I pray and do not see improvements in Ann's health. So I wonder if the real challenge is to be content (through prayer) with the challenges and pain that she and I experience. Being content with pain? Now that sounds insane!! What do you think?

What is prayer?

Recently had a conversation where the topic and nature of prayer came up. Looking at the Lord's prayer I thought that I might take a shot at answering the question posed in the title. I think that prayer is:

relationship - "Our father who art in heaven" speaks to me of the nature of the one to whom we pray. We do not speak to a Zeus like being sitting on a mountain but a parent who cares for us and wants the best for us.
worship - "hallowed be thy name" tells me that there is a difference between God and my earthly father. When I speak to God I do so with reverence acknowledging that He is not only greater than I am but that He is different and worthy of my praise and obedience.
desire - "thy kingdom come, thy will be done" reveals the heart of every believer. Things can be difficult in our lives. Yet in the midst of the pain there is something that cries out from our very souls that God would come to earth - that His will would be done and His kingdom be manifested.
need - "gives us this day our daily bread" acknowledges that God is our source and, whether we understand it or not, He is the one who provides for the most basic of our needs.
forgiveness - "forgive us our trespasses" is a phrase that should break us and ruin us. It is both an acknowledgement of the problem and a confession of the answer. When prayed from the heart it is a transformative sentence and one that can bring healing to us.
responsibility - "as we forgive" engages our hearts in a way that brings peace to our hearts and reconciliation to our relationships. Apart from this prayer simply becomes the airing of grievances and a petition of wishes.
discipleship - "lead us" identifies us as followers of God longing for His direction. It reminds us not only that He is with us always but wants to be our counselor teaching us the way to live.
protection - "deliver us from evil" is both an acknowledgment of the sinister and a proclamation of divine saving power. Sometimes our need so obvious and in other times it is more subtle. Yet in all cases our need for protection is so much greater than we can imagine.
humility - "thine is the kingdom ... the power ... the glory" reminds us that He is God and we are not. In the end life is all about the kingdom of God. When all is said and done the power of God sustains us. It is why we must seek to glorify Him in everything that we do.
hope - "forever" is one of the most powerful words in the English language. It is a word that compels me to believe that there is more to this life than what we experience on earth. It challenges me to live in such a way that embraces eternity in my heart.

These ten words challenge me and remind me that prayer is so much more than petitioning a Santa Clause in heaven with the things that I think that I need. These ten thoughts instruct me concerning what Christ taught about prayer.

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