it's mine it's mine it's all mine...

My wife recently turned me on to a blog that is written by an author who is originally from India. In one of her recent posts, she wrote about an ancient king of India named Bharat. Bharat had 8 sons and as a king, he had to determine who would be his heir. But contrary to tradition, Bharat chose a man who was not one of his sons. Understandably, his family and sons were not happy with this decision because it deprived them of their perceived birthright. Bharat's explanation was that ability and competence trumped birthright. He loved his country too much to leave it in the hands of people he knew to be incompetent (even if they were his own people).

The story fascinated me because it instantly reminded me of Jonathan and David from the old testament. As you probably remember, Jonathan was the son of King Saul. He was also best friends with David. After David's success with Goliath and as a military commander, Saul felt threatened and tried to kill David on numerous occasions. However, Jonathan worked behind the scenes to thwart his fathers murderous attempts and he goes out of his way to encourage his friend David. 1 Samuel 23:15-18 documents one of these accounts - While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. "Don't be afraid," he said. "My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this." The two of them made a covenant before the LORD. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.

It's amazing what all is packed in these couple verses. Remember, Jonathan is Saul's son. That means he is in line for the throne. Yet he is saying David will be king and he will be second to David. He is willfully giving up his birthright. It's hard to wrap my brain around that. From what the bible records about Jonathan, I would assume he would have been a good king. Yet he seems to recognize the greater potential of his friend. Talk about selflessness. I think about this account with respect to my own life. Am I selfless enough to step aside when one more gifted by God comes along? Would I give up a ministry… a job… etc.? Or would I cling to it because it's mine… Would my pride get in the way of what God has planned? Any thoughts? Sometimes the enemy of 'greatness' is 'good enough'.

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob

Ghosts

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! Luke 11:13

Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:17

When I was a kid, I occasionally went to church. Most of the time it was with my grandma and grandpa. I remember we used to say the Lord's prayer at every one of those services in my grandparent's church. That's where I first heard about that mysterious character called the Holy Spirit. Back then, in my grandparent's church, it was referred to as the Holy Ghost. The term 'Ghost' made it even more mysterious. I wish I could say the mystery was all cleared up as soon as I was saved but the reality is, that 'Holy Spirit' part of the trinity continued to be kind of spooky to me. It took a couple years and the counsel of good friends to de-mystify the whole thing. But in the end, it opened me up to accepting the help and guidance that comes from that still small voice.

I think the Holy Spirit is mysterious for many believers. This week, pray for your own understanding and the understanding of your fellow believers. Pray for the filling of the spirit. Pray that we all learn to listen to the guidance that comes from the spirit.

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob

Temptation

There is an older man I know who acted as a mentor to me when I first got saved. He was a married man with 4 children and he had a personal rule that he wouldn't allow himself to be alone in a car with a female. He shared with me that he set up this boundary to simply protect himself from himself. But he also shared that more importantly, this was his own personal rule. He was always careful to not impose this rule on others. He said you always need to err on the side of grace and not presume that all others struggle with the same temptations that you struggle with. Since then, I've met Christian men who will not go to the beach because they know the limitations of their own thought life. Yet they recognize this restriction doesn't apply to all. I've met married women who will not engage in a friendship with a man. Yet they recognize this restriction doesn't apply to all. Overall, the message here is that we need to understand our own temptations and yet, at the same time, not presume all others struggle with the same temptations. As a Christian brother or sister, it's OK and loving to warn others of potential temptations. But at the same time, don't presume all others will fall into sin. We need to recognize that some others can ride in a car with someone from the opposite sex… others can go to the beach… others can be friends with the opposite sex… If we presume that everyone will fall to the same temptations we struggle with, we pass too quickly from a loving warning to presumptive judgement.

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob

forests and trees

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Genesis 2:15-17

I have read the Genesis creation account many times. Recently, this forbidden fruit has been giving me fits. It's such a strange name for a tree… 'the tree of the knowledge of good and evil'… I kept having this nagging thought - 'what's so bad about having knowledge of good and evil?' After all, isn't it good to know what you should stay away from? So why is the knowledge of good and evil a bad thing? Furthermore, why have I never stopped to think about the name of this tree in the past? Scripture can be such a strange and wonderful thing when you dig into it.

I started thinking about this tree from the perspective that we all have the capacity to engage in great evil. Yet we also have a sense of how good we could be. And perhaps the answer to the mystery of this forbidden fruit lies in that gap between the "good" we want to be and the reality of who we are. I would say this gap is the source of guilt, frustration, discontentment, yearning, etc. Who we are is not who we think we should be. Said another way, real is not ideal. Yet this comparison and frustration could not exist without the knowledge of good and evil. Prior to eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve were free. They were more free than we have ever been. The introduction of the knowledge of good and evil was the death of this freedom. Look at the shame and guilt that immediately followed. Adam and Eve were ashamed of their nakedness. They made clothes and hid from God. Maybe there is a lot of truth to the old saying "ignorance is bliss". It seems there are certain things God never intended us to know.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject.

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob