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Emails to God – Eye for an Eye (Matthew 5:38-48)

26 Nov

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Dear God, like the previous passage with oaths and marriage, I am going to link the two parts of “eye for an eye” and “love for enemies” together since they seem to go hand-in-hand.

I have not had too many enemies in my life. I will always remember what my dad went through when I was in high school with a lawsuit from an attorney who put together over 2,000 plaintiffs and sued my dad’s company for $50 million. I can’t imagine the stress that this event plus the economic crash that coincided it in the late 80’s put on my dad. I could see it on him, but he also masked it pretty well for us. I learned a lot of things from him through this.

  1. He taught me that it is okay for your family to see you stressed and vulnerable, but, at the same time, you need to hide some of it from them for their own sake. Those who are being led need to feel the confidence of their leader. You CAN be TOO vulnerable.
  2. He taught me that you can forgive your enemies and reconcile. I think there was a lot of hatred for the attorney at the time, but within a couple of years of the lawsuit’s resolution my dad and the attorney became friends.
  3. He taught me to try to objectively find fault in yourself. It didn’t happen immediately, but he ultimately decided that they did have some amount of responsibility in the lawsuit and it wasn’t totally groundless, eventually settling out of court.
  4. He taught me to share my failures with others. I have heard my dad talk about this time in his professional career and he owns the mistakes that his company made during this time. The response I see from that in the people he tells isn’t judgment, but respect, appreciation, and even a little relief as they then feel free to share their failures with them.

Father, thank you for giving me a father who gave me a good example of how to follow you, how to be a faithful husband, how to be a forgiver, and how to be vulnerable. I know he wasn’t perfect. I am not perfect as a father either. I just hope that one day my kids will be able to get past the judgments they feel towards me now (as all teenagers feel towards their parents), and feel like I gave them at least a little of what my dad gave me.

 

 
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Posted by on November 26, 2011 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Marriage and Oaths (and a little Thanksgiving) (Matthew 5:31-37)

24 Nov

31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Dear God, I want to take the part on divorce and the part on oaths and put them together. First, I have to say that I am a product of adultery since my father married a divorced woman. I know there was physical abuse involved in my mom’s divorce. I can’t remember if there was sexual immorality on her husband’s part or not. But I know that it is something that, after my dad became a discipling Christian, really kind of stuck with him. Where did he stand in this area? Was this something for which he needed to repent? What about the person who gets an “inappropriate” divorce? Is Jesus simply making the point that they need to be more humble about it and ask your forgiveness?

Anyway, I think it is interesting that Jesus follows the marriage paragraph with the oath paragraph since probably the biggest oath we take as Christians, beyond our oath to follow you, is our oath to our spouses. We even put, “So help me God.” At the end of it. Now, we aren’t going, “I swear by God that I will…,” but we are taking our “vows”. Are we doing something wrong there?

I guess I have always treated the passage on oaths to be that I need to be a person of integrity whose word is not doubted by others. I need to be known as a handshake kind of person. I need to be known as someone who is true to his “yes” and his “no”.

Father, it is Thanksgiving Day, and I thank you for more blessings than I can count. My tendency is to look at the frustrations in my life and dwell on how my life can be better, but the truth is that I don’t deserve a better life. I deserve less than what you have already given me. I heard Rich Mullins say once that we all have it better than we deserve. That is true. So I thank you on this Thanksgiving Day. I thank you for my wife, my children, my job, my parents, and all of the normal things. But I also want to thank you for peace. Thank you for joy. Thank you for patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control (Galatians 5:17). I appreciate that you care enough to develop fruit in us as we pursue you. So help me to be faithful to my wife, be a man of truth, and to bear the fruit of your love for me.

 
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Posted by on November 24, 2011 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Repentance (Matthew 5:27-30)

22 Nov

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Dear God, you know the sad thing about this passage is that I committed adultery long before I ever met my wife. Most of us men probably have (and not a small number of women either). This is an awfully high standard, not only in remaining sinless in this area, but also how we should remedy it if we do sin in this area. I know I have been disobedient on the first one, and I have obviously been disobedient on the second part since my eyes and hands are still intact.

When I read this passage it almost makes me think that you are simply showing the people in the crowd that they cannot live up to your standard, regardless of how self-righteous they are. Do they hate? Guilty! Lust? Guilty! Divorce? Guilty! Swear oaths? Guilty! Avenge wrongs? Guilty! This isn’t just, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is near.” This is, “You might not think you have to repent, but you do! So repent, for the kingdom of God is near.”

I guess one question I have is, How often do I repent? How often do I examine myself and truly beg for your mercy? How often do I find my faults and tell you that I will never do it again? I have been learning more lately about Catholic confession to a priest, and I think, frankly, there might be something to it as a discipline. I don’t believe that it gives us any more absolution from our sin than just straight confession to you, but there is probably something healthy about getting in front of a priest and consciously going through my sin.

Father, help me to examine my heart and repent. Help me to find the areas where I am harsh with my children, negligent of my wife, lustful, vengeful, dishonest, etc. I can think of examples of all of these and more even as I sit here and roll them around in my head. So forgive me. Forgive me for failing you. Forgive me for failing my family. Forgive me for failing my friends. And again, forgive me for failing you.

 
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Posted by on November 22, 2011 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Modeling Reconciliation (Matthew 5:21-26)

21 Nov

21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Dear God, these are some very high standards. I can understand the part about hating someone being the same as murder, but being angry with them and not having it resolved? Wow, that seems pretty harsh.

Reconciling with people can sometimes be hard. Our lives have so many relationships. There are relationships with our family of origin, our spouses and children, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and just people we know about around town or on the news. Within each of these relationships is the potential of anger. Frankly, as a father I experience anger a couple of times a week. I wish it weren’t true, but it is. And sometimes it is difficult to reconcile because you have a kid who is just as angry. On the other side of it, however, is my responsibility to model reconciliation to the child so that when they grow up they can know how to handle the relationships in their own home.

Father, I think one of the most important parts of reconciliation within families is the aspect of modeling. We need to model for them. We need to help them to know how to reconcile with their spouses and their children. The results if we don’t model that for them can be catastrophic for their future relationships. So help me to model it for them, and help them to learn from my mistakes when I don’t model it from them. Make this a lesson that I live as I really do earnestly try to be the man you need me to be.

 
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Posted by on November 21, 2011 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Practicing and Teaching the Law (Matthew 5:17-20)

20 Nov

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Dear God, there is a part of verse 19 that caught my eye: “…whoever practices and teaches these commands…” It could just be a matter of translation, but the idea that “practices” is listed here before “teaches” reminds me that I can speak with the tongues of angels, but have not love then I am nothing (paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13). I can talk, and talk, and talk, but my example is so much more important than my words. James would later call it “faith without works”.

The problem I can run into sometimes is that I can be tempted to focus on the works. I can try to make sure that the works are there for others to see, but what is my motivation? Is my motivation to pursue you, or is my motivation to impress others?

I went to a wedding and a funeral yesterday. Why did I got to them? For the wedding, the motivation was purely to show love to the bride because there was nothing in my attendance for me. Perhaps some standing is the eyes of some of my staff who saw me there, but I would say that they are not why I went. I went to show love. The funeral, on the other hand, did have some political motives. The funeral was for a dear man who used to volunteer where I work. I would have gone to his funeral regardless, but I have to admit that there were some political benefits to people seeing me at the funeral. I was also grateful that the family designated our Center as a beneficiary of memorial donations on his behalf, and I wanted to show them that I didn’t take his loss for granted.

Father, I guess my point is that I will always have a mixture of motivations for every “good deed” that I do, but I want the core of every motivation to be my love for you and my decision to submit my entire life to you, regardless of what the submission costs me. There is a part of the play I saw last night where a one girl is manipulating another, and ultimately gets her to swear an oath of servitude. It is chilling and awful, but that is the kind of relationship I have freely and willingly entered into with you. And I do it because I believe that your plans are greater than my life. Your will is more important than my success. In short, you are God and I am not.

 

 
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Posted by on November 20, 2011 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Being Salt and Light to Your Children (Matthew 5:13-16)

18 Nov

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Dear God, I read something recently where someone was asking what a church that is prepared to be your bride looks like. When I think of the answer to that question I think about something like this. Is a church salty? Does a church shine a light in its area?

What about me in my personal life? Am I salty? Does light shine through me? What does a salty person look like? What does me being the light of the world look like?

Questions like this were so much easier to answer before I had children. I am amazed at how much parenting has humbled me and broken me down. Now, I start to not only see the light that I shine through my personal life, but also through the reflection of my children. Am I your light to them? Am I salty to them? I interact with them so much more than I interact with people outside of the house, so I think they get to see and experience so many more of my mistakes than others do. I can conceal my mistakes from others outside of the home easier than I can conceal them from my family. Comparing my life to a piece of currency like a $1 bill, the world sees me like we all see a $1 bill. Perhaps new and crisp. Perhaps old and wrinkled. Perhaps a little abused. But that is just the birds-eye view. What happens when we look at the $1 bill through a microscope? We see a lot of germs, microbes, and disease that will disgust you. I think that’s how my family sees me compared with others outside of the home. They get to see me up close.

Father, help me to be salt in every area of my life. Help me to be a beacon for you in every area of my life. When my children and wife see my failures, help me to use that as an opportunity to talk about your grace. Help me to represent you in a way that is authentic and draws others into you. Help me to parent my children. Help me to husband my wife. Be glorified in me.

 
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Posted by on November 18, 2011 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Examining Your Theology (Matthew 5:1-12)

17 Nov

Matthew 5:1-12

1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.

 

He said:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Dear God, this is where Jesus starts to veer from the script. I was surprised that he started out mimicking John’s message of repentance. It is almost as if he starts to get a feel for what he wants to communicate to people when he starts with this sermon. As I recall, there is nothing about repentance in this whole thing. There is a lot about being meek, be truthful, salt and light, the standard for considering yourself sin-free being a lot higher than they realized, giving to the needy, prayer and fasting, worrying, treasures in heaven, judging others, evaluating prophets, etc. In essence, this sermon seems to be about retraining their thought processes and helping them to reevaluate some of their long-held beliefs.

I am going through a process of evaluation right now. My wife is considering converting to the Catholic Church, so I am attending RCIA classes with her. Frankly, I went into it with an open mind about possibly converting if I felt you were leading me to do that. I consider the process to be kicking the tires and evaluating Catholicism in a thorough way. Well, after nearly three months of classes I am surprised at how many differences there are with most Protestant faiths. I knew there would be some, but there are more than I thought, and the ones that I knew about are actually a little bigger than I thought. The thing I have liked about it is that the classes and teachings have made me critically examine my own theology on several different issues and really think about what I believe.

The other thing that I have had to think through is how important are some of these issues to me. Do I have to agree with them to worship with them? Do I have to agree with them in order to convert? One thing I have found is that I am probably more willing to overlook our differences in opinion than they are.

Father, I want to be able to allow my faith to be challenged. I don’t want to be afraid of examining my theology because I believe it is in these times, if I do it prayerfully, that you can continue to mold me into the person you need me to be. All I ask of you is that you speak to me, hold me close to you, and help me to find your path for me at any given moment. I want to major in the majors and let someone else major in the minors. I don’t want to be distracted by details and miss the substance of who you are and what you have for me.

 
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Posted by on November 17, 2011 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Do You Believe in Miracles? (Matthew 4:23-25)

15 Nov

23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.

Dear God, the healing part of Jesus’ ministry was interesting. A lot of prophets had come along before preaching repentance, and a few had healed here and there in special circumstances, but Jesus’ mass healing ministry was certainly something different. In a time when the doctors were very limited in what they could do, I can see how this would have caused people to seek him out in a way that we might not have today.

Healing is one of those interesting things that we say we believe in as Christians (to a point), but then, on the other hand, I think mainstream Christendom rejects the idea of the miraculous healing such as the crippled hand straightening, the lame walking, etc. We pray for people with colds or even cancer, hoping for a good report, but anything that would be obviously you acting on the person’s behalf is often rejected and put alongside the idea of speaking in tongues and other miraculous manifestations of the Spirit.

At the same time, there are charismatic churches that very much believe in these gifts. They seek these gifts and even exhibit these gifts. I have attended churches like this in the past. It is exciting to see someone miraculously healed. My problem is that my faith seems to not be strong enough to really believe it can happen before it happens.

Father, there are a lot of times when I can relate to the man who wants his child healed when he says, “I believe. Help my unbelief.” Father, I believe you can do all of these things—pretty much. I believe you can miraculously heal those with dramatic illnesses—pretty much. I believe you can turn water into wine, confuse an opposing army, and part the Red Sea—pretty much. What I need you to do is help my unbelief. Help me to really believe these things and not just “pretty much” believe in these things. Help me to pray in faith and work in faith. Help me to husband in faith and parent in faith. Be glorified in my life and eventually exhibit your power to others through me so that they might be drawn to you.

 
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Posted by on November 15, 2011 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Calling of Peter, Andrew, James, & John (Matthew 4:18-22)

12 Nov

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Dear God, it is interesting that Peter is among the first disciples called. I am currently in an RCIA class at the Catholic church, and they consider Peter to be the first Pope, so he is a big deal. I double checked the other Gospels, and they are pretty consistent about how Peter and Andrew were recruited. Luke adds the story about the fish and the nets breaking, but even that is still consistent with these others.

I like that this passage includes the calling of James and John because in my mind I always link Peter and John together. I don’t think about Andrew and James that much. I wonder what it was like for them to be the brothers of Peter and John. I don’t think James felt slighted during Jesus’ life, but I wonder how he was treated as the church evolved. I think I need to read some more history about how lives of the apostles played out between Jesus’ death and their own. As I remember, James was killed pretty early (perhaps even the first one killed for his faith).

I have always loved Peter because he is so front-lobed. I swear he must have been A.D.D. He was constantly acting impulsively for good and for ill. While those traits can frustrate the friends of A.D.D. people, I also have a strong feeling that those who get the most done have a little bit of that impulse. I wish I had a little more of that in me. But I am more cautious—like John. I don’t know that John accomplished that much, but he was much more pastoral and there is a role for people like him too.

Father, help me to be at peace with the role you have given me to play in the world. Help me to only long to add those things to my personality that you want me to add. Refine me and mold me. Live through me and accomplish your plans through me. Thank you for wanting me. I want you.

 
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Posted by on November 12, 2011 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Jesus Figuring Out His Ministry (Matthew 4:12-17)

11 Nov

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles—

16 the people living in darkness

have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of the shadow of death

a light has dawned.”

17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Dear God, I wonder how much of the plan for the rest of his earthly life Jesus understood at this point. Did he know he was three years away from the cross, or did he just know what the next step was? It is interesting that at the beginning of his ministry his message is strikingly similar to John the Baptists: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” In fact, according to this translation, Matthew put the same words in both of their mouths.

My guess is that Jesus was figuring this out as he went. Perhaps he started to get a clearer vision during the 40-day fast. I am sure there was a lot of prayer time with you out there. I am also sure that the angels ministered more than food and water to him at the end of the fast. They probably gave him some encouragement since he was possibly bothered by the revelations he was getting.

What I have learned for my own life is that it is better if you keep me in the dark regarding the future. It is not good for me to know the long-range plan because if I do, and the path will be difficult, I am less likely to walk down it. It is good for me to focus only on today and not tomorrow. Kind of like coaches of all types tell their teams: “We just have to take it one game at a time.

Father, help me to be at peace with the day you have given to me. This day, in particular, has the potential to be a great day because I am going to spend it on vacation with my mom and her family. So I ask that you help me to be a blessing to my mom. Help me to be a blessing to my uncle, aunt, grandmother, and cousins. Help me to decrease as you increase. Be glorified through me as I simply seek to submit myself to you today without thinking too much about tomorrow.

 
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Posted by on November 11, 2011 in Matthew

 

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