21 Days of Listening: Day 4 - Footsteps

This Week's Reading: Matthew Ch 5

During my quiet time this morning the Holy Spirit showed me a lot about feet.

Sounds kinda weird but it'll make sense when you get to the end.

First He reminded me of the story of Moses and the burning bush. What he highlighted to me was that God told Moses to take off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground.

Then He said the following things to me (in bold below) while at the same time showing me some of the scriptures from the Bible in my memory. After I finished my quiet time I was surprised to find that every single thing was supported by Scripture, even the parts that I could not at first recall.

In short everywhere we step is Holy Ground because the Holy Spirit is within those who believe. When we walk in obedience we literally gain ground for God.

So walk boldly out into the world knowing that you will be victorious in your well doing.

Here is my journey.

Moses at the burning bush... Holy ground

And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, "I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned." When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3:2-6 ESV)

The disciples sent out... Where they were received they blessed

And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!' And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.' I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. (Luke 10:2-12 ESV)

Feet covered with the gospel of peace... We bring peace everywhere we go.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. (Ephesians 6:13-15 ESV)

Everywhere you step the land is yours

For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him, then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be from the wilderness to the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea. No one shall be able to stand against you. The Lord your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread, as he promised you. (Deuteronomy 11:22-25 ESV)

"Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. (Joshua 1:2, 3 ESV)

We claim victory over all the land. Since God abides in us through the Holy Spirit then everywhere we go is holy land.

We must walk in authority when we walk in the fullness of the spirit. We are sons of God... The king of kings, the lord of lords. We are spiritual royalty

Every step must be taken in obedience to His will. We must walk in the spirit through obedience. Faith is radical obedience.

Under the Knife

Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses."

God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are." Acts 15: 5, 8-11

Today’s Reading: Job 34-35; Acts 15:1-21

A few thoughts here…

I’m lightweight feeling the ex Pharisees here. It’s pretty funny to me actually. They’re like, “wait a minute… I had to go under the knife and these jokers don’t have to?? oh no… that is NOT the business!”

Hahahaha

Ok, I’m kinda mean to laugh but that’s what I see here. Sure I know they are riding for Moses, but I think that most of all they are salty that they had to get circumcised and the gentiles don’t. I mean really, who would volunteer for that?

But all joking aside, Peter’s response is a key point. You remember the laws of Moses. It is impossible to follow them perfectly. That was the whole point of Jesus coming right; to free us from the laws, to provide a way of connecting to God even though we cannot measure up on our own.

I had a conversation with a friend about this recently. We were talking about marriage and fidelity and he asked me if I thought it was possible in a lifetime of marriage. And I responded to him by saying that that was one of the interesting philosophical points of Christianity. Whether you believe it in it or not, it is quite interesting to understand what Peter is saying here. We are not capable of a perfect standard on our own. But with God’s help we can do all things that He has set out for us to do.

We are not alone in this difficult and perilous journey that life can be at times. We have help when we struggle. We will be lifted up when we stumble.

What is our responsibility? To believe and try our best so that everyday we get closer to being who we are capable of being.

Choice vs. Destiny Part 3: Son of a Preacher Man

The sons of Amram:
Aaron and Moses.
Aaron was set apart, he and his descendants forever, to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the LORD, to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in his name forever. 14 The sons of Moses the man of God were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.

Today’s Reading: 1 Chronicles 22-24; John 8:28-59

Umm…. So I have a question here.

What if Aaron’s great great grandson didn’t want to do this? What if he wanted to be soldier? Fly kites? Mack the ladies? Be a carpenter?

It’s things like this in the Bible that I have a hard time with. It’s so interesting how clearly and concisely the future of an entire family line is spoken of. Aaron was set apart so all of his sons were too?

That seems ridiculous to me.

But if I were to suspend my judgment for a minute here… what if it is true?

*GASP*

What do you mean what if it is true Clarence? You know that’s just some oldfangled tomfoolery don’t you?

Well, let’s assume that it’s not for a second. What would that mean? If God determined that everyone in Aaron’s line would have this specific task what would He do to make that happen?

He’d have to give them the desire to do it.

Have you gotten to the point of figuring out what you are supposed to do with your life? How did it feel? How does it feel actually doing it? It must feel so incredibly amazing. You wake up every single day with a smile on your face, knowing that your work and your pleasure are the same thing.

That’s pretty amazing.

Maybe God puts these desires on our hearts to help guide us to our purpose. So, discovering what we most love to do would at the same time be discovering the specific reason why God put us on this earth.

I know that’s pretty romantic and all but I’m starting to believe it. We are all uniquely equipped with certain desires, talents and abilities and I see a purpose in that.

In the end we do have a choice of course. We can choose to follow the path that our deepest desires have laid out for us, or we could not. After all there is no guarantee that this most fulfilling path is the easiest one.

But the easiest paths tend not to lead us to lasting joy… instead they lead to fleeting moments of happiness sprinkled in to an unfulfilled life.

So maybe Aaron’s great great grand son thought he would have rather flown kites or been a carpenter… or maybe that was him taking the easy way out.

Perhaps if he had dug deep and searched his soul he would have realized that true fulfillment for his life would be found in working in the temple.

That sounds good for now.

Charles in Charge?

When Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri's clan was chosen. Finally Saul son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. So they inquired further of the LORD, "Has the man come here yet?"
And the LORD said, "Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage." 1 Samuel 10: 20-22

Come on man…

But you know what, much like Gideon, I feel him. He didn’t ask for this. He didn’t put his name in the hat for the “Who Wants to be the First King of Israel Sweepstakes.” So what that he is a foot taller than everyone in Israel and that the ladies like him. Are those the necessary qualifications to be King?

Not likely.

It is really interesting to see the subtle juxtaposition here. Up to this point Israel followed God through devout people of God. Whether it was Moses, Deborah, and Gideon; the people who led Israel always lead through divine inspiration.

There was a problem, God told them out to fix it, they did what God said, and the problem was fixed. So in this way God remained the focal point, the true King

But now Israel wants to be led by a man. And the man that is chosen runs and hides from the responsibility.

What I see here is a continuation of the recurring question… who’s in charge? Is God in charge? Are you in charge? Or is some other person in charge of your life.

I know that some of us might feel that they are perfectly happy being the ones in charge of their own lives. But as for me… ehhh… Not sure about all of that.

When I think about all of the dreams that I have and the things I want to accomplish I have no idea where to start. I have no idea how to open the doors or even where to look to find them. I’m not even sure I truly know what is best for my life.

So I trust God.

What trusting God does for me is relieve a whole lot of stress. It allows me to stay in the present. I can focus way more of my energy on the next step that I need to take rather than devoting some of that energy to an undetermined future.

And last time I checked, staying in the present was never a bad move.

Of course I’m no fool… I do look at the future for some things. I have a budget, I schedule my life to death, I have outlined certain plans and goals that I’d like to accomplish in the next five years.

But ultimately I focus on what I can control. And what I can control are the actions I take right now. The only way I can feel comfortable doing this is by having faith that God will lead me into tomorrow so that I can handle it as today.

Today’s Reading: 1 Samuel 10-12; Luke 9:37-62

Easter

So, what’s so great about Easter?

For Christians Easter celebrates the ultimate expression of love through the most powerful gift ever given; the ability to directly connect with God.

Under the laws of Moses a person had to follow rules in order to be in good standing with God. They range from proper conduct, eating habits, to even the proper sacrifices to atone for violations of the rules.

The rules set up a pretty incredible government; the only problem is that no one is capable of living a life without messing up at least once. And the sacrifices only covered the flaws. If you messed up again you had to sacrifice again.

But why isn’t that good enough?

It’s not good enough because of the concept with God that we are working with here. God is a perfect, all powerful being. Given that God is all powerful, what happens when something that is imperfect comes into contact with something that is perfect?

Perfect wins, imperfect loses.

This is why a rope was tied to the leg of the high priest when he entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement. If he entered God’s presence and had not properly prepared the sacrifices he’d drop dead immediately. I imagine the first time going something like this.

High Priest: (Exhale) Ok… I’m going in.

Not So High Priests: ok cool. Good luck.

*THUD*

Not So High Priest #1: Ummm… so… what now?

Not So High Priest #2: You should go get him.

Not So High Priest #1: Yeah right! You go get him! I ain’t going out like that!

Not So High Priest #3: Drats… we’ll have to bring a rope next time.

Super rough game

In the creation story Adam and Eve were able to chill in the garden and hang out with God. But then they ate the fruit and it was game over for all of that. With that choice they became flawed. God made them clothing of animal skins to cover them and then they were expelled from the garden.

Those skins represent the first sacrifice. And since then a sacrifice was required to cover our mistakes.

But Jesus represents the ultimate sacrifice. The idea of Jesus is essentially this. God comes to the world in human form, lives perfectly by the law and allows himself to become the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. Whereas an animal without blemish would only cover a person’s imperfection, Jesus’ sacrifice covered every single blemish for every single person from the beginning of time to the end.

Pretty powerful dude.

For Christians who believe this, this fundamentally changes the way that people interact with God. The way to God ceased to be through one’s actions. Faith became the way to God.

And it is this faith in who Jesus was and what He did that works inside the believer to transform them into the best person they can be.

So Easter is not only a celebration of Jesus rising on the third day. For Christians it is a day to celebrate the fact that through faith in Jesus they can connect directly to God.

Perfection is no longer required, only faith.

I'm BAD!

“And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone…

Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. – Excerpt from Deuteronomy 34: 5-12

Moses was a BAD man.

Not bad meaning bad but bad meaning good.

Let’s think about this for a minute. He was the most humble man on earth while being one of a kind in the miracles that he did. And to top that off God presided over his funeral and buried him Himself!

That’s pretty ill.

But the key to everything that Moses did in these last four books of the Bible is the first thing that I mentioned.

His humility…

It was his humility that allowed him to follow God’s instructions so faithfully, it was his humility that allowed him to view his power as something to be used to serve others, it was his humility that gave him the patience to deal with Israel’s constant gripes and complaints.

Humility is what allowed him to be an instrument of God.

When you think about the people who have done great, positive change in the world they all have this most important characteristic. They are humble almost beyond reason.

Let’s see… here’s a quick list that comes to mind:

Gandhi…check

Martin Luther King Jr… check

Mother Theresa… check

The thing that these three great people had in common is that they lived to serve others, and in so doing they were able to wield great power for good.

Ok… so if you don’t like the whole vow of poverty idea remember that there are many different ways to serve. I have talked about Warren Buffett several times but he is a great example here. He and his wife agreed, before they got married, that the huge wealth they would amass would be given back to humanity. Bill and Melinda Gates too are doing this as well as many other fantastically rich folks.

The most important question of leadership is what is in your heart, not what is in your wallet.

Spiderman’s uncle told him that with great power comes great responsibility. Whether your power is in the form of money, talent, charisma, or vision, we should ask ourselves what our responsibility is. How can I use this power to help others? How can I be an instrument of good in the world?

It may seem sometimes like there is so much bad in the world that it is pointless to fight. But history has shown that the organized efforts of a few good people are more than a match for any evil that the world has to offer.

So let’s try to be like Moses… each and every day do the best that we can with what we have.

I’m willing to bet that you’ll still feel like the guy below by focusing on others before yourself.

Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 32-34; Mark 15: 26-47

Smack!

Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God. There it will remain as a witness against you. For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you have been rebellious against the LORD while I am still alive and with you, how much more will you rebel after I die! – Deuteronomy 31: 26-27

I was a hard headed kid.

Ok maybe that’s not fair. After all I did turn out ok. But I was definitely one of those kids that must have been pretty hard to deal with. I was never rude or blatantly disobedient. I like to think that I was a charming young lad. But, when I wanted to do things my way, that’s how it went down.

I was riding in the car with my mom recently and we were talking about my childhood. She was telling me how challenging I was to deal with. Here’s one story.

When I was around ten years old I got an allowance from my Mom. My allowance was five dollars a week; but to get all of the five dollars I had to do all of my chores. So my mom made a contract with me. I got a certain amount for brushing my teeth everyday, taking a bath and all of the basic stuff. But the lion’s share of the allowance was dependent upon other chores like making my bed, taking out the trash, and washing dishes.

This arrangement went well at first; but somewhere down the line I determined that the five dollars wasn’t worth all of this hard work. Of course I brushed my teeth and took baths but this whole making my bed business… eh… it wasn’t for me.

So I looked at the breakdown and said hey… I can go without the dollar I’d get for this or that chore.

My mom knew that pure financial motivation wasn’t going to work with me when I happily accepted eighty cents one week.

Hahahaha…

Our happy arrangement ended pretty quickly. After that week I had to do the chores regardless.

Drats.

It’s pretty funny looking back on it now but it was instructive for me. I bet God looks at us sometimes with the same frustration that my mom had. After all, the things she was telling me to do would help prepare me to be a responsible adult some day.

Of course I didn’t see that at the time…

More often than not we know when we are living right and when we are living wrong. Are we doing what we can to spread love in the world? Are we following our calling in life? Is our labor bearing good fruit in the world?

I know one thing for sure… The blessings that come with a life dedicated to living right far out weigh the flashes of pleasure we get from living wrong.

After all, those things do have a way of coming back to bite us eventually.

So let’s all take a lesson from my hardheaded ten year old self. Decide now to do your best to be your best. Otherwise, life will smack you until you act right.

Cooold Blooooooded!

Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 30-31; Mark 15: 1-25

The Blessing of Abraham

If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:

You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out… - Except from Deuteronomy 28: 1-14

When I was a kid I never liked Gospel music.

Gospel music was for old people. And I was not old. I liked Hip Hop, R&B and old Soul Music. I was even growing to love all that Luther that my mom made me listen to.

But Gospel? Nope.

It was just the opposite of cool ya know? They were always talking about the same things and all of the songs sounded the same.

Love God, praise God, thank God, God is wonderful, God is special.

Okaaaay… I get it.

Or so I thought.

It wasn’t until I became a semi-adult a few years back that I started to get the point. I was reading through the Bible for the first time in over ten years and discovering all of these new things about it and myself.

Even then I was reluctant to give Gospel music a chance.

Then I heard this song “Blessings of Abraham”. It was saying all these uplifting things about achieving your dreams and following your passions. It was so encouraging! Get your inheritance was the message.

And by inheritance they mean your dreams.

That’s such a cool way of looking at it. It’s already yours, and with faith you can go get it.

But what the heck is the Blessing of Abraham?

And then it clicked...

This song was about one of my favorite passages in the Bible! Deuteronomy 28: 1-14 talks about the blessing of obedience. This is essentially the extension of the promise that God made to Abraham. Stay on the right path and I got your back.

Pretty good deal.

This is the moment that I realized that Gospel music at its best is the Bible’s soundtrack.

So if you’re like me and frown upon Gospel music… give it a chance. You might find one day that it will help you get to where you want to be.

Peep this as you listen to the joint below. Enjoy.

Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 28-29; Mark 14: 54-72

More Legal Hilarity

In this next installment of commentary by Clarence Mitchell Bible Attorney at Law I have some things that made me think and some things that made me laugh. I’m sure you will do the same.

No one born of a forbidden marriage nor any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even down to the tenth generation. – Deuteronomy 23: 2

Makes sense. Gotta keep the Promised Land in the family.

Do not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not abhor an Egyptian, because you lived as an alien in his country. The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD. Deuteronomy 23: 7-8

I like this a lot… especially the bit about Egypt. Yes, when the time came for Israel to leave Egypt they had been enslaved, but we must not forget the kindness that the earlier pharaoh showed to Joseph and his family. He gave them prime real estate to start a new life during the famine.

Respect given.

When you are encamped against your enemies, keep away from everything impure. If one of your men is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he is to go outside the camp and stay there. But as evening approaches he is to wash himself, and at sunset he may return to the camp. – Deuteronomy 23: 9-11

The penalty for a wet dream is a full day outside of the camp. Not to mention the embarrassment of the entire nation knowing you had one.

Hahaha rough game.

Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement. – Deuteronomy 23: 12-13

I remember having to do this in cub scouts. Yes… I was a cub scout. Webelos Scouts stand up! Unfortunately I was not gangsta enough to be a boy scout. Nope. Not me.

If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand him over to his master. Let him live among you wherever he likes and in whatever town he chooses. Do not oppress him. – Deuteronomy 23: 15

I love this. Do unto others… yes you know the rest.

Do not charge your brother interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest. – Deuteronomy 23: 19

Interest can easily become slavery… and clearly God already delivered them from that. Great great great!

If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin .But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth.

Word is Bond son!

Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.- Deuteronomy 24: 14-15

I love that God is a champion of the poor and needy.

When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. Deuteronomy 24: 19

Here’s another one for the poor. I really like this consistent message of charity and generosity. It is clear that God wants a portion of what we earn and create to be given to those who need it. It is also clear that God says that the more generous we are, the more we will have, because God can trust us to do His work by helping others.

Food for thought. Listen up Glenn Beck!

Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain. Deuteronomy 25: 4

Here’s another one about generosity but this time for an animal doing labor. How well do we treat animals? What is our responsibility toward animals? It seems here that we are to respect and honor the blessings and sacrifice that they provide for us.

Now I leave you with some high comedy…

And the runner up goes to…

If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity. Deuteronomy 25: 11-12

How ridiculous is this? Of with her hand!!! Haha! hilarious…

Drumroll… and here’s the winner.

If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband's brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.

However, if a man does not want to marry his brother's wife, she shall go to the elders at the town gate and say, "My husband's brother refuses to carry on his brother's name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me." Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, "I do not want to marry her," his brother's widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, "This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother's family line." That man's line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled. Deuteronomy 25: 5-10

I was reading this at a fine dining establishment near my spot that has Wi-Fi. As I reached the end of this passage I laughed out loud so loudly and for so long that I interrupted everyone’s meal.

Spit in his face!!! Hahaha

Awesome.

Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 23-25: Mark 14: 1-26

More Fun with the Laws

Ok… I’m reading entirely too many hilarious and thought provoking laws so… it’s time for another installment of legal commentary by Clarence Mitchell Bible Attorney at Law.

Enjoy.

“When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you…” – Deuteronomy 20:1

This is fresh. So at the beginning of my copy of the Art of War by Sun Tzu I will write “bring my faith in God to battle with me”. I like this.

“However, in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them… Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the LORD your God. – Deuteronomy 20: 16-18

Good gracious!!! Games are NOT being played not one bit.

Ok Here’s how we can flip it. There are many adversaries on the path of purpose; fear, doubt, insecurity… they must be eradicated when they surface otherwise they will cause us to stumble and fall.

“When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees of the field people, that you should besiege them?” Deuteronomy 20: 19

Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. You know those people who “find God” or, all of the sudden, are super passionate about some dream or goal and totally cut all of the old people out of their lives?

That’s no bueno. We have all arrived at the present for good and bad reasons. Leave the bad but keep the good.

“When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives, if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife. Bring her into your home and have her shave her head, trim her nails and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her. – Deuteronomy 21: 10-14

You KNOW homie is not feelin her after all of that. You’ve killed all the men in her life, taken her from her home and removed all the stuff that made her fly…

I’m sure her sparkling personality won’t shine through in a month’s time… but aside from this here’s my take:

When it comes to marrying anything in your life, person or purpose, strip away the decoration and look at what’s inside. Crap wrapped up in a pretty box with a pretty bow is still crap. It’s like fast food. It may taste good going down, but once it gets inside it will poison you.

And don’t blame anyone else for your mistake. You are responsible. Take your lumps as they may come.

“They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard." Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.” Deuteronomy 21: 20-21

And y’all feel bad for that bad kid who got spanked in the grocery store. Little man got off easy.

“A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this.” – Deuteronomy 22: 5

Hilarious! Isn’t “detest” just entirely too strong a word here? God must be FURIOUS during Halloween. But how does the Good Book go from that verse straight into this next one?

If you come across a bird's nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young. You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life. – Deuteronomy 21: 6-7

This is profound. If you take the mother then the whole family dies. If you just take the eggs the mother can lay more eggs. This is a metaphor for life. Living things must perish for us to live. We need to take the time to respect and honor that sacrifice and be smart about it.

If we continue to recklessly destroy the world to satisfy our every whim we will be left with a world not fit for life. There will be no air to breathe or food to eat. The world will be here for a good long while. But will we be here to enjoy it? It is up to us to determine our fate.

Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 20-22: Mark 13: 21-37

Ancient Advice for the World's Economic Woes

At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD's time for canceling debts has been proclaimed…

If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. – Excerpt from Deuteronomy 15: 1-11

What would the world would be like if we followed this policy?

Yes I know, there are some details to work out, but it is an interesting concept. If lenders knew that their loans would have a maximum term of seven years, after which the loan would be dissolved, how would that change lending practices?

It seems to me that folks would lend smaller amounts and there would be less money in the system. But that’s not really a bad thing is it? Money created by credit isn’t “real” money anyway. It is value created by trust in the borrower. And we saw in September of 2008 what happens when that trust goes away.

That fake credit money disappears.

One thing is certain here. We would be forced to live closer to our means. And on the flip side, there would be less incentive for the hustlers to get over on borrowers.

The other interesting part is the focus on helping the poor. It says “be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs.”

Counterintuitive right?

Not necessarily. Muhammad Yunus and his bank won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Economics for his lending to the poor. He created micro loans that helped millions of Bangladeshis (mostly women) buy phones, cows, and the little things that they needed to get their small businesses started. One phone lending program had a 98% payback rate!

Often times the poor around us don’t need handouts, but just a little helping hand. However, it seems like we have a tendency to lend with so many strings attached that the borrower becomes a slave to the debt.

And before we pass too much judgment on banks let us not forget that we sometimes do this in our daily lives. Do you know someone who only gives when they know that they will get the same or more in return? This could be money but also time, favors, energy, help, or love…

Odds are that you do, and if you don’t, maybe that person is you… I know I have done this once or thrice.

But what’s the point of all of this? Why bring up this old scripture. Clearly it doesn’t fit today’s world right?

Maybe it does. The message of generosity, forgiveness, and redemption is a powerful one. If one banker in Bangladesh can improve the lives of six million people with an average loan of $200, what more can be done?

It looks like that old line about the mustard seed is true…

"I assure you, if you had faith as small as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, 'move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible." – Mark 17: 20-21

More prosperity from more generosity…who’d have imagined…



Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 14-16; Mark 12: 28-44