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Job 19:1-6

29 Apr

19 Then Job spoke again:

2 “How long will you torture me?
    How long will you try to crush me with your words?
3 You have already insulted me ten times.
    You should be ashamed of treating me so badly.
4 Even if I have sinned,
    that is my concern, not yours.
5 You think you’re better than I am,
    using my humiliation as evidence of my sin.
6 But it is God who has wronged me,
    capturing me in his net.

Job 19:1-6

Dear God, it can be hard to be a friend and know when to speak and when to remain silent. When to give a solution, when to give an admonition, or when to say, “That sucks,” and just give the other person a hug.

In this situation, Job was wrong, but he was also right. He was wrong that you had wronged him. But he was right in that he hadn’t done anything to incur your wrath so his friends were wrong to keep accusing him of such. Everyone was looking for someone else to blame when there was simply no one to blame. Job’s friends blamed him. He blamed you. None of them were right.

If I had been Job’s friend, what should I have done to help him? If I have a friend now, what is my role in their life. Where do I draw the line between helping them find a solution, perhaps pointing out an area where they are possibly at fault, and then just holding them and telling them, “That sucks”?

I heard a story recently about a father whose daughter intentionally threw a youth league game in a tournament so they wouldn’t have to go into overtime because she was too nervous about overtime. The father then sent out an email to the coach and possibly others saying his daughter was so anxious over two girls on the team who are not as good as she thinks they should be that she intentionally threw the game. In my mind, the father was so horrified he looked for someone else to blame so he put his daughter’s anxiety on these two young girls who are likely not part of the problem at all. But his blinders caused him to lose perspective.

Father, I’ve been too close to things and lost perspective before. I am sure there are things going on in my life that I can’t see as well. I am a fool, and I need to be careful in my own life to prayerfully consider situations before I speak. Before I act. To take a beat. Whenever I speak or act impulsively, I am almost always wrong. And I almost always cause more damage than I resolve. So continue to teach me. Forgive me for my foolishness. And I do want to say thank you for everything. For the food I am about to eat today. For the home I live in. For my health. For my wife’s health. For my wife and who she is. For our friends. Thank you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 29, 2025 in Job

 

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Collect for Mass of the Day – April 14, 2025

14 Apr

Grant, we pray, Almighty God
That, though in our
Weakness we fail,
We may be revived through
The passion of your only
Begotten son.

Collect for Mass of the Day – April 14, 2025

Dear God, revive us again. That’s the verb I get from this phrase highlighted in Sister Miriam’s book Restored: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation. “Revive.”

I was reading a blog post this morning by Molly Wilcox, someone who “reconstructed” her faith through difficult times. Of course, I immediately thought about the phrase “deconstructing faith” that has become a lightning rod over the last few years. Some will tell you it’s dangerous. Some will tell you it’s essential. For my part, I like the idea of “reconstruction.” I built my faith when I was young and immature–both emotionally and spiritually. I’m still trying to mature even at the age of 55. Why wouldn’t I be consistently examining my beliefs and theology before you, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit?

The biblical example I thought of this morning was Job. He entered the narrative of Job as a mature man with what he thought was a mature faith. You seemingly found no blame in him, although you did still have lessons for him to learn. And by the end of the book he went from a faith that saw you as a rewarder of good and punisher of bad to a faith that saw his life as a complete submission to whatever your plan was, regardless of what it cost him personally. Some would call what Job did “deconstruction.” I like the word “reconstruction” better.

Father, all of this links to the verb “revive” because reconstruction done right does lead to revival. Life in you is full of new insights and realizations. Never let my heart grow so old or cold that it is defensive and unwilling to be examined for errancy, pride, and inflexibility. I want to know you. Teach me. Revive me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 14, 2025 in Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation

 

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Wisdom 11:21-26

05 Mar

21 For it is always in your power to show great strength,
and who can withstand the might of your arm?
22 Because the whole world before you is like a speck that tips the scales
and like a drop of morning dew that falls on the ground.
23 But you are merciful to all, for you can do all things,
and you overlook people’s sins, so that they may repent.
24 For you love all things that exist
and detest none of the things that you have made,
for you would not have formed anything if you had hated it.
25 How would anything have endured if you had not willed it?
Or how would anything not called forth by you have been preserved?
26 You spare all things, for they are yours, O Lord, you who love the living.

Wisdom 11:21-26

Dear God, my wife and I have decided to use a Lenten devotional book together called Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation that a friend gave her. Since she’s Catholic and her friend is Catholic the books is Catholic as well. I’m actually interested to see what kinds of things might be outside of my experience. What scriptures from the Catholic Bible will be new. In this case, we are starting off with something from Wisdom. Okay. I’m in. What do you have for me this morning from Wisdom?

When I read this, I think about your restrained power. I saw a YouTube video yesterday of actors being asked, “If there is a heaven, what do you hope God says to you when you arrive?” In it, Dustin Hoffman leads off by quoting Robert DeNiro in saying, “If there is a God, he’s got a lot of explaining to do.”

My thoughts immediately went to Job and your words to him starting in chapter 38. Who are we to question you. You owe me no explanation. You owe me nothing.

But then I also thought about kind of my age-old questions when people complain about how you work: “How would you prefer God act?” Do we want you to smite and kill evildoers? Well, what if my sins put me on the wrong side of that line? Do we expect you to stop all natural disasters and question why you didn’t make the earth completely stable and safe for us? That doesn’t seem reasonable. Do we want you to eliminate all illness? I don’t think we want to never die. That doesn’t make sense. Do we want you to eliminate all injustice and harm we do to each other like human trafficking, war, etc.? Maybe that should be our responsibility. I guess I would ask Mr. Hoffman and Mrs. DeNiro what you have to answer for and how they would prefer you handle it.

Father, there is a lot of anger in people out there, and I’m sorry it gets misdirected at you. I know that is Satan’s plan, and it’s a good plan. And I know I’ve blamed you for things. There have been times when I haven’t liked how you get things done. I haven’t liked your plan. But you are my God. I am your creation. You owe me nothing. I owe you everything. And yet, as Wisdom puts it here, you show such restraint! You overlook my sins so I have a chance to repent. You could smite the whole lot of us, but you don’t. Thank you, Father. And thank you for the reconciliation you gave to all of us through the journey of Jesus. The entire journey of a piece of you. From before creation to this moment, you made a way for all of us. You made a way for me. You have done more than I could ever have asked you to. I love you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

P.S. I forgot to read the commentary for this passage from the book. The first paragraph is important: “Here we begin, dear friends. Ash Wednesday. Our foreheads are marked with the blackness of death while the words ‘Repent and believe in the gospel’ or ‘Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return’ are spoken over us.” That’s a nice humble reminder of our place in this world and your creation as well. Why do any of us think we deserve your goodness. We don’t. You freely give it. You freely love us. But it’s not something that you owe us. So here I am to worship you with nothing to offer but the life you gave me.

 
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Posted by on March 5, 2025 in Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation, Wisdom

 

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Job 38:1-21, 40:1-5

04 Oct

38 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

2 “Who is this that questions my wisdom
    with such ignorant words?
3 Brace yourself like a man,
    because I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know so much.
5 Who determined its dimensions
    and stretched out the surveying line?
6 What supports its foundations,
    and who laid its cornerstone
7 as the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?

8 “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
    as it burst from the womb,
9 and as I clothed it with clouds
    and wrapped it in thick darkness?
10 For I locked it behind barred gates,
    limiting its shores.
11 I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
    Here your proud waves must stop!’

12 “Have you ever commanded the morning to appear
    and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
13 Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,
    to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?
14 As the light approaches,
    the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal;
    it is robed in brilliant colors.
15 The light disturbs the wicked
    and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

16 “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?
    Have you explored their depths?
17 Do you know where the gates of death are located?
    Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
18 Do you realize the extent of the earth?
    Tell me about it if you know!

19 “Where does light come from,
    and where does darkness go?
20 Can you take each to its home?
    Do you know how to get there?
21 But of course you know all this!
For you were born before it was all created,
    and you are so very experienced!

40 Then the Lord said to Job,

2 “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?
    You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”

Job Responds to the Lord

3 Then Job replied to the Lord,

4 “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers?
    I will cover my mouth with my hand.
5 I have said too much already.
    I have nothing more to say.”

Job 38:1-21, 40:1-5

Dear God, this might be one of my favorite things in the whole Bible. I remember the first time I tried to read Job on my own I had a really hard time because some of the things Job, his wife, and his friends were saying seemed so reasonable. Why had things gone so poorly for him? Didn’t he deserve better? The whole thing is like a petulant child throwing a fit and then you coming in and setting the child straight. And Job was really suffering, so I’m not trying to make light of that or his complaining. I get it. I’m a complainer too. I can get roughed up a little and then feel sorry for myself. But we rarely see you deal with someone one-on-one like this in real time. We don’t see you bluntly correct an individual like this. We’ve seen you speak through the prophets and warn groups of people. We’ve seen you correct Moses for an act of disobedience. But to see you just let Job have it for three chapters is really quite something.

The thing that helped me turn the corner on this was the Introduction of a commentary on Job by David McKenna from the Mastering the Hold Testament series (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, General Editor). In it, he listed the six levels of faith as developed by James Fowler and his book The Stages of Faith. Quoting McKenna:

  • Intuitive-projective faith is associated with a child’s faith, based upon fantasy.
  • Mythical-literal faith is the family faith of the early school years, which is sustained by moral rules and either/or thinking.
  • Synthetic-conventional faith is an adolescent faith that conforms to the tradition of the community and creates the “kind” of person of faith whom it models or rejects.
  • Individuative-reflective faith is the faith of the young adult who is capable of critical thinking, independent reflection, and dialectical reasoning.
  • Conjunctive faith is a mid-life and old-age faith that integrates self-identity with a comprehensive world view to see the order, coherence, and meaning of life in order to serve and be served.
  • Universalizing faith is the rare faith of a world citizen who incarnates a transcendent vision into a disciplined, active, and self-giving life.

According the McKenna, Job opens with him and his friends at the synthetic-conventional level of faith. They all believe the same thing about you and part of that belief is the idea that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. Frankly, it is probably where the disciples are when they first meet Jesus. It is evident by this story from John 9:1-2: 9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” Jesus told them that neither is true: “3It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” So Job and his friends start here, but the road of suffering take Job all of the way to universalizing faith.

I’ve gone deeper down the rabbit hole on this than I intended, but I just love it so much. A book that totally confused me and eluded me was brought to life by McKenna and his application of Fowler’s work. One thing I notice about Paul is that he seems to get to this level of faith very quickly. In Acts 20:24 he says that his life is worth nothing to him. He only lives to complete the task you have given him. Then he goes on to suffer and see the opportunity in it without complaining. And there was amazing opportunity in Paul’s suffering. I am probably sitting here this morning because of Paul’s suffering.

Father, first, I don’t know what suffering is. I have sorrows. I have things that bring me to tears. But I have not truly suffered. So I want to just start by acknowledging that I mainly speak of this out of ignorance and from an academic standpoint. Watching Job go through real suffering and then be so chastened by you is also very sobering. And I don’t want to invite suffering. I’m not stupid. But I do, right here, right now, submit my life to you. It is worth nothing to me. If only I may finish the race and complete the tasks you give me. Help me to know exactly what those tasks are.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 4, 2024 in Job

 

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Psalm 27:7-8A, 8B-9ABC, 13-14 (Catholic Daily Reading for October 3, 2024)

03 Oct

R. (13) I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.

Psalm 27:7-8A, 8B-9ABC, 13-14

Dear God, this is the psalm that the Catholic church paired with this passage from Job 19:21-27:

21 “Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,
    for the hand of God has struck me.
22 Must you also persecute me, like God does?
    Haven’t you chewed me up enough?

23 “Oh, that my words could be recorded.
    Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,
24 carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead,
    engraved forever in the rock.

25 “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and he will stand upon the earth at last.
26 And after my body has decayed,
    yet in my body I will see God!
27 I will see him for myself.
    Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.
    I am overwhelmed at the thought!

It seems to apply to me today because I spontaneously had a good cry this morning. I talk often to you about the constant sorrow in my life. Well, I was listening to a secular song from P!NK this morning called “Who Knew?” The final verse says, “That last kiss I’ll cherish until we meet again. But time makes it harder. I wish I could remember. But I keep your memory. You visit me in my sleep. My darling, who knew?” The song can be interpreted in many ways. The obvious interpretation is that it is sung by a lover who was abandoned. But she wrote it for a friend who died by suicide. For me, it is about my sorrow over broken relationships over which I simply have zero power. So as I shaved this morning, I played this phrase of the song about five times and just cried. I feel the tears coming up even now.

Then I sat down to look at scripture this morning, and I saw Job’s sorrow. Then I saw this psalm from David. There are sorrows in this life. There are things I cannot understand. You use my life in ways I cannot understand. You use sorrows in my life and in the lives of others to form me. I’m not saying you cause the sorrow, but I do pray that you help me to not waste the sorrow. Use it for the good of your world and for me. Not my personal wealth or anything like that. Just my formation into the man you need me to be. The man you are calling me to be. And do the same for those who are in these broken relationships with me. Don’t let this be wasted on them either. Love them. Heal them. And bring your glory into this earth through these things. I come to you as Job did at the end of the book. My life is worth nothing. Use me as you see fit.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 3, 2024 in Job, Psalms

 

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Acts 20:35

26 Apr

Acts 20:35
35 And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Dear God, this is another Fred Smith-inspired blog today. Fred talked about acts of charity as being “penance for trivial sins.” His premise left me uneasy so I started to examine my heart and try to figure out why. I thought I’d spend some time with you about it this morning.

As I thought about it, I came back to this supposed quote from Jesus (I say supposed because it doesn’t appear in the Gospels, but must have come from another source that Paul used). Why? Why is it more blessed to give than to receive? What is it about giving that blesses us? Is it this notion that it helps to absolve us from our sin? Does it put some lipstick on the “pig” that is the fruit of our human flesh and make us feel better about it? Frankly, I don’t think that is it.

One of the things I learned about faith in studying Job is that the ultimate goal of faith is to get to where I literally do not see my own desires or goals as worth anything, but I get to a point that I can truly give thanks in all things, even suffering. My fortune or my suffering is not necessarily tied to my behavior, but what you happen to need of me and the role I have to play in your kingdom.

Working from that philosophy, I believe there is a blessing of peace that you impart when we die to ourselves and turn loose. I think that learning to give of our time and resources gets us one step closer to that ultimate level of faith. I think that the balm we feel on our souls from performing charity isn’t as much penance and absolution as much as it is that one step we just took into living out the kind of faith you call us to.

In studying Job, one thing that occurred to me is that Paul got to that level of faith remarkably quickly. He was able to suffer greatly and never portray to others any semblance of self-pity. He said in Acts 20:24 that he considered his life worth nothing to him, and then he backed it up with the attitude he took in all of those years of prison.

Father, I’ll be honest and say that I tend to have a little bit of pride in the fact that I live a life that is sacrificial when I compare it to my neighbor. But the truth is that it is not nearly sacrificial enough. I know that because there are time when I still feel very sorry for myself and even greedy. The best way to combat that is to be sensitive to needs and then give generously. That is what will move me one step closer to the perspective on my life that you want me to have. Help me to get there.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 26, 2019 in Acts

 

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The Prison Epistles – Ephesians, Philippians & Colossians

02 Dec

Ephesians

  • Ephesians 1:3,11-12 – Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ…In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
  • Ephesians 6:19-20 – Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly. Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.

Philippians

  • Philippians 1:7, 12-14, 18b-26 – It is right for me to feel this way about all o you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me…Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly…Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live in Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you gain your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.
  • Philippians 4:10-13 – I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Colossians

  • Colossians 1:22-29 – No I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.
  • Colossians 4:2-4, 10-11 – Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim it clearly, as I should…My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me.

Dear God, I had a bit of a revelation a few weeks ago. This might sound silly to some, but I saw it in a new way: Paul had a very mature faith.

In my study of Job, I came across commentary that discussed The Stages of Faith by James Fowler. Here they are as described by him:

  1. Intuitive – Projective Faith: Associated with the child’s faith, based upon fantasy and imagination.
  2. Mythical-Literal Faith: The family faith of the early school years, which is sustained by moral rules and either/or thinking.
  3. Synthetic-Conventional Faith: Adolescent phase that conforms to the tradition of the community and creates the “kind” of person of faith it models or rejects.
  4. Individuative-Reflective Faith: The faith of the young adult who is capable of critical thinking, independent reflection, and comparative reasoning.
  5. Conjunctive Faith: A mid-life and old-age faith that integrates self-identity with a comprehensive world view to see the order, coherence, and meaning of life in order to serve and be served.
  6. Universalizing Faith: The rare faith of the world citizen who incarnates a transcendent vision into a disciplined, active, and self-giving life.
    (source: James W. Fowler, The Stages of Faith (New York: Harper and Row, 1976), chap. 14.)

He talked about how Job grew through his experience to the ultimate faith–Universalizing Faith. As I looked into it and thought about other biblical characters who had reached this faith, I came up with a few New Testament examples. Jesus was obviously one. But Paul was one of the others.

The passages above actually start with Acts 20:24 when Paul is on his way to certain arrest in Jerusalem and people warning him to not go. Paul’s answer is, “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the goal and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given to me. The task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” The remarkable thing is that these are not just words. While Peter only thought he knew what he was getting into when he told Jesus at the Last Supper that he would follow him to death, Paul actually lived up to his boldness recorded in Acts. How do I know this? Because of what he wrote while he was in prison.

That’s what I’ve recorded from three of the four letters he wrote while in prison (the fourth was a personal letter to Philemon about a slave). He doesn’t complain. He doesn’t try to figure out a way out of incarceration. He has enough perspective to use the incarceration to finish the goal and complete the task the Lord Jesus gave to him.

Imagine if he sat around and complained. Imagine if his letters had started out, “You people need to be grateful you aren’t where I am and you need to be getting about spreading the gospel because I can’t.” Or, “Why is God doing this to me? I was just trying to follow Him and do what is right, and now look where I am. Where is God is all of this?” That would have left us all a completely different example.

But Paul had “the rare faith of the world citizen who incarnates a transcendent vision into a disciplined, active, and self-giving life.” And he applied that faith to everyone else around him. He didn’t look at them and judge them by their outward circumstances. He evaluated them based on their motivations. He is quick to both praise and criticize in his letters, but he judges motivations and actions only.

Father, I am about to teach all of this to a Sunday school class this morning. Most are seniors who have lived lives longer than mine. They have seen more than I have, and goodness knows I am still learning these lessons. I still evaluate relationships based on what I am getting out of the instead of looking at what the other person needs that I can provide. That doesn’t mean I should allow myself to just be abused and have one-way, co-dependent relationships, but I can conduct myself in a way that considers my life worth nothing to me, if only I can finish the goal and complete the task you have given me. The task of testifying to the gospel of your grace.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 2, 2018 in Acts, Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians

 

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The 6 Stages of Faith – Learning from Job

27 Oct
  1. Intuitive – Projective Faith: Associated with the child’s faith, based upon fantasy and imagination.
  2. Mythical-Literal Faith: The family faith of the early school years, which is sustained by moral rules and either/or thinking.
  3. Synthetic-Conventional Faith: Adolescent phase that conforms to the tradition of the community and creates the “kind” of person of faith it models or rejects.
  4. Individuative-Reflective Faith: The faith of the young adult who is capable of critical thinking, independent reflection, and comparative reasoning.
  5. Conjunctive Faith: A mid-life and old-age faith that integrates self-identity with a comprehensive world view to see the order, coherence, and meaning of life in order to serve and be served.
  6. Universalizing Faith: The rare faith of the world citizen who incarnates a transcendent vision into a disciplined, active, and self-giving life.

(source: James W. Fowler, The Stages of Faith (New York: Harper and Row, 1976), chap. 14.)

Dear God, some time back, I was trying to journal through the book of Job and I was lost. So many people were talking, and some of them seemed to be making good sense. Then I’d read on a little and see that they were wrong. I finally gave up, but it became a bit of a white whale for me. I was going through a personal struggle unlike anything I had known before, and I wanted to learn was you had to teach me through Job’s story.

I remembered that I have a complete set of biblical commentaries that was done by Word back in the 80s. The Old Testament commentaries are called Mastering the Old Testament, and Lloyd Ogilvie was the general editor for all of them (he is a Presbyterian pastor who was chaplain for the U.S. Senate at one point). The commentary for Job was written by David L. McKenna (there’s a bio of him on the Asbury Theological Seminary website here), who was president of Asbury Theological Seminary at the time he wrote it. I think the most useful part of the commentary for me was the Introduction. That’s where I found a reference that McKenna made to Fowler’s Six Stages of Faith. I wrote them down in my notes, and they stuck with me.

So now I’m at a point where I’m going to be preaching about this tomorrow and I want to make sure that 1.) I’m getting this theologically correct 2.) I am giving these people (and myself) the truth you want us to know.

One of the big dangers for tomorrow is to try to answer the why question. Why did God take away my loved one? Why does God allow bad things to happen? I’m not even totally sure that Job gets at the whole truth of this. I don’t think the author was a witness to God and Satan conversing so I don’t want to push the idea one way or another that God set Satan loose on Job. But he or she did want to communicate the fallacy that our blaming God for the bad things that happen is foolishness. As Rich Mullins once said, “We all have it better than we deserve.”

When you look at Job, chapter 38 just scares the heck out of me. It’s when all of my theology and philosophy burns up and I am face to face with you, hearing your words for me. It is easy to sit here and pontificate in my own wisdom and try to lift up my complaints about my life, but to hear you say to me, “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations? Tell me if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?…” It goes on and on for four chapters.

Job has a short reply in chapter 40, but his real reply is in chapter 42: “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears have heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

Satan’s thesis in Job 1 is, God, “stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” Job, in his limited knowledge of you is ultimately driven to that place of bitterness and desperation, but then he comes face with you in chapters 38-42 and he realizes just how small and foolish he is. His faith goes to the ultimate level of seeing a world bigger than himself and deciding that your role for him is to simply serve in whatever way you call him to serve, without complaint.

Father, I want to ask you to teach me this lesson, but I’m afraid to. I know you love me, but the truth is, I’m afraid of you. If a prophet knocked on my door right now (a real, verifiable prophet), I would be terrified of what you might have to tell me. I’m sorry for how I’ve complained. I’m sorry for how I’ve doubted. I’m sorry for my selfishness and my lethargy. Help me to see what you see and know what you want me to know.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 27, 2018 in Job

 

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Job 1:1,6-12

23 Oct

Job 1:1,6-12 NIV
[1] In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. [6] One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. [7] The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” [8] Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” [9] “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. [10] “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. [11] But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” [12] The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Dear God, I don’t want to get into whether or not this is a literal story of what happened to someone or a fairytale, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is the author’s thesis for this book—if you allow bad things into our lives, we will walk away and give up on you. The idea is that we don’t get it. In the story, Satan knows that we are small minded. Even some of our national theological leaders make stupid statements about you sending punishments to entire cities with hurricanes and wildfires because they are in sin. Now, they might be able to convince me that some of these areas might have lost a hedge of protection from you with their disobedience, but I also know that there were plenty of faithful people in those situations who suffered. We can be so myopic!

This Sunday, I’m going to be talking about the faith that grows beyond this carrot and stick view of you. We are not donkeys. We are sheep. Our lives are not our own any more than a lamb’s is. We are here for your worship and to be your tangible source of love on earth.

Father, help me to articulate all of the thoughts that you are putting on my heart this week. Help me to have just the right message for this weekend. In an election season, help me to also speak your peace to this group. Help us to all do away with fear and embrace you and your individual call on our lives.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 23, 2018 in Job

 

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Emails to God – 6 Levels of Faith (Mastering the New Testament: Job)

30 Jan

Mastering the Old Testament – Job (written by David McKenna)

Dear God, okay, I am going to do things a little differently for a while. I am on vacation and I feel compelled to spend some time really digging into the book of Job. Frankly, it has always daunted me a little because its structure is too complicated to just journal through like I normally do. This is literature, and it is to be contemplated and studied as such.

So, much like I did in high school when I had to read something that I feared would overwhelm me, I am using a commentary to help me. It is from Word’s Communicator’s Commentary Series, and all I have read so far is the Introduction, but it is great. There was one part of the Introduction that I want to pray through this morning because I think it will lay the groundwork for the rest of the book.

I am just going to shamelessly quote about half of a page here:

Obviously, faith is not static. Compatible with other theories of human development, a person either grows, plateaus, or regresses in faith as the circumstances of age, experience, and events change. [James] Fowler [from his book The Stages of Faith] has also devised a helpful scale of faith development with six sequential stages:

  1. Intuitive-projective faith is associated with a child’s faith, based upon fantasy and imagination.
  2. Mythical-literal faith is the family faith of the early school years, which is sustained by moral rules and either/or thinking.
  3. Synthetic-conventional faith is an adolescent faith that conforms to the tradition of the community and creates the “kind” of person of faith whom it models or rejects.
  4. Individuative-reflective faith is the faith of the young adult who is capable of critical thinking, independent reflection, and dialectical reasoning.
  5. Conjunctive faith is a mid-life and old-age faith that integrates self-identity with a comprehensive world view to see the order, coherence, and meaning of life in order to serve and be served.
  6. Universalizing faith is the rare faith of a world citizen who incarnates a transcendent vision into a disciplined, active, and self-giving life.

Wow, there is a lot of meat here, and I feel like I need to dig into each one and be able to understand and recall each one frontwards and backwards in order to move through the rest of this book. So let me at least try to start by writing a definition for each one in my own words.

  1. Intuitive-projective faith is something that you believe without facts or knowledge. Your intuition tells you it is true, whether it is nor not. Santa Claus is an example of this. So are the Bible stories like the burning bush, the walls ofJericho, etc. You hear it and no real explanation is necessary because you aren’t in to thinking about things critically yet.
  2. Mythical-literal faith is what you pick up from your family’s structure. It includes your family’s values (what foods you eat, how much TV and what kinds of TV you watch. It’s pretty black and white. There is little room for grey area. There is always a right and a wrong answer, and your family structure helps to define those right and wrong answers.
  3. Synthetic-conventional faith is a little more mature than Mythical-literal in that it takes into account the social norms of the surrounding community, but there still isn’t an independent interpretation of beliefs the group has. For example, is homosexuality a sin or not? One can let their community form this opinion for them instead of studying, contemplating, and putting together their own opinions and beliefs on the issue.
  4. Individuative-reflective faith is the beginning of independent thought—hence, “individuative”. This person is starting to critically analyze some of their own long-held beliefs. For example, “Is scripture truly inerrant, or are there inconsistencies with which I must deal?”
  5. Conjunctive faith involves having to know yourself and then adding life experience and knowledge of the world to that so that it can inform your faith. Individuative-reflective faith can still be idealistic because it is often ignorant of experience. Conjunctive faith is the coming together of all aspects of the human experience.
  6. Universalizing faith is where it all comes together into a life that is, on the one had, at peace, and, on the other hand, driven by faith in God and hearing His call regardless of the personal circumstances.

So knowing those levels of faith, I will hopefully be a little more prepared to experience Job’s faith walk along with the faith walks of his wife and friends. Where are each of them at any given time? Where am I in my life right now? Have I reached #6. Am I still at #3? I guess that’s what the writer of Job wanted me to figure out.

 
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Posted by on January 30, 2012 in Job

 

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