Sunday, August 25, 2013

Dethatching


Sunday 8/25/2013 5:32 AM
This year my lawn frustrates me.  I have fertilized it regularly but watering has been somewhat irregular.  Lately I have been trying to be more consistent in watering but the lawn is not turning its normal lush green, it has dead, brown spots that never seem to green up.  Friday I finally lost patience with it and scalped it by mowing it with the lowest level on my mower.  It is now completely brown but I did notice there were a number of bugs that were dislodged from their homes in the process.  I think the thickness of the thatch was keeping the water from reaching the roots and also providing sanctuary for bugs that were keeping the lawn unhealthy.  I will see if this results in a healthier, lush green lawn.
My devotional theme this week has been meditation.  The writings for the week encourage me to take time to be quiet before God, to listen and to patiently wait to see what God will say.  This kind of patient listening is something that is difficult to do in our modern, fast-paced world.  However, sometimes I think I spend too much time reading my Bible and meditating without actually doing what it is that God is telling me.  There is a sense in which I am like my lawn, overgrown with a thatch of God-knowledge so deep that the pain of the world doesn’t penetrate to my heart.  Perhaps God needs to do some scalping, dislodging the sin that lies hidden deep within the façade I show the world so his love can penetrate my heart to make me more loving toward those who need to experience it the most.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Sins of Commission and Omission


Saturday 8/17/2013 7:56 AM
Here it is, Saturday, and this is the first time I have had my devotional time this week.  Jaci and I went on a short vacation and my Bible pretty much stayed in my backpack.  I turned to my new week in my devotional book to discover the theme for the week is time management.  This does not surprise me at all since it seems that whatever the topic for the week is it is always relevant to my life in some way.
My assigned reading for today includes James 4:13-17, a warning about boasting about the future plans I have.  James gives a stern reminder that I don’t know what will happen tomorrow so I should live in the present and speak of the future only when acknowledging the fact that it will come only if God wills it to be.  The section ends with verse 17, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”  The church tradition in which I grew up taught there were two types of sin, sins of commission and sins of omission, doing something I shouldn’t do and not doing something I should.  The teaching of the church stressed that both were bad but, when push came to shove, in practice, the sin of commission was viewed more severely than that of omission.
An action that I take is open for all to see so if I do something I shouldn’t the community of which I am a part is well aware of it.  However if I do nothing when prompted by God to do something, then God and I are the only ones who are aware.  It seems like I get off scot-free.  The Bible warns against hindering the Spirit’s work in my life.  I imagine a sin of omission might fit into that category.  If the Spirit of God prompts me to act and I fail to do so then I hinder the working of God in the world.  His kingdom will be established my some means but my disobedience to his call forces him to use other means.  I do not want to be a hindrance to God but there are times when I am.  Lord, give me the ears to hear your Spirit and the courage to obey.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Prayer and Forgiveness


Thursday 8/1/2013 6:01 AM
I did not listen to music this morning during my run.  Normally I do but this morning I decided to spend some time praying.  I prayed for the Verkaiks in Minnesota as they prepare for Ryan’s bone marrow transplant and for others that came to mind.  Praying for those in severe need, like the Verkaiks, comes easily and naturally.  The need is glaringly evident and my heart goes out to them as I pray.  Praying for those whose life seems to be moving along fairly well is somewhat more difficult and I find that I often pray for God to “bless” those people.  I have a vague sense of what I mean by bless but it lacks specificity and direction.  I fail to pray for those people I either dislike or who have hurt me.  I guess it is a passive aggressive way of hoping that God will give them what I consider to be their just desserts.
This morning I am convicted by the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book Life Together.  He writes, “A Christian fellowship lives and exists by the intercession of its members for one another, or it collapses.  I can no longer condemn or hate a brother for whom I prayer, no matter how much trouble he causes me.  His face, that hitherto may have been strange and intolerable to me, is transformed in intercession into the countenance of a brother for whom Christ died, the face of a forgiven sinner.  This is a happy discovery for the Christian who begins to pray for others.  There is no dislike, no personal tension, no estrangement that cannot be overcome by intercession as far as our side of it is concerned.”  I need to spend more time praying for people that I find troublesome.  God needs to change my heart and my attitude toward them.  Maybe my prayer can be the avenue he uses to accomplish that.