and jabez prayed

1 Chronicles 3-5
Jabez prayed.  A lot of people know they because they read the book.  I have to admit–never have.  I think I’ve even had it on my shelf–a gift–but I never read it.  No reason why, just based on what I knew and heard about it, I never felt like picking it up.  I’m sure some day I will.

But as I came across the passage of Jabez (1Chron 4.9-10) I decided … if I wrote a best-selling, quick-read inspirational book about Jabez, what would I cover?  What would the chapters be?

Chapter one: Or how I ended up being the only good apple.
It’s not that we know much about Jabez’s family, just that he was more honorable than his brothers.  I’d probably envision writing this chapter for that one person, raised in a family that has fallen out of the habit–or else never got in the habit–of going to church, or synagogue, or mosques–to encourage that person to stick it out, even if they get opposition for home or family.  To be the type of person who might just set the example, without pressuring or guilting the rest of their family.  I might recommend the book that LeBron James wrote recently, about he and his group of friends, growing up in a rough neighborhood, who decided to stick it out, not fall in the trouble others around them were finding, but focusing on goals and dreams and pursuing them.

Chapter two: Keeping your past behind you.
Jabez was saddled with a name that reminded him of his past–”Born in great sorrow.”  I’m guessing his mother must’ve died in childbirth, much like Rachel who first named Benjamin, Ben-oni (child of my sorrow).  We dont know, but Jabez didnt let his past hold him back.  I’d write this chapter for those people who want to blame their present situations on the fact that their mother died when they were young, or their father didnt pay them enough attention.  Maybe it’s over done, but I’d probably talk about Michael Oher, subject of The Blind Side and point out how based on his past he couldve just as well ended up still on the streets, but he had people in his life and he kept his past behind him and is now living a dream he couldnt have dared dream back then. 

Chapter three: Blessing
The first thing Jabez prayed for was God’s blessing, for where else, how else are people blessed except from God.  Praying for blessing means opening your eyes to count blessings that come along throughout yr day. 

Chapter four: Prosperity
The second thing Jabez prayed for was rooted in the promise made to Abraham, of land and progeny.  At this point, I’m afraid in other books on the subject, the “prosperity gospel” kicks in and some author or speaker might tell you that you too can be a millionaire and have the life of yr dreams if you just pray hard enough: “Just look at Jabez.”  But in this chapter I would challenge us all to re-envision what prosperity looks like.  Sure, a million dollars would be nice, but that isnt the only way we prosper.  We prosper even when our bank accounts dont show it; we prosper even when our paychecks dont reflect it; we prosper, even in a minimum wage job–at least, we can.

Chapter five: Hand in hand
Checking the time, I better make this my last chapter … and it will cover the idea of walking hand in hand with God.  In our lives we cant just expect God to do everything for us.  The life of faith is not a passive activity.  We dont get saved and just sit back waiting for God to pour on the blessings.  It’s not so much we work for them, but we work with God and find the blessings along the way.  Sure, there are sometimes God carries us, but most times we are to live our lives walking hand in hand over the mountains and through the valleys.

For now I’ll shelve the book, because it’s already been written, and one day I’ll read it.

blue leaves

(1 Chronicles 1-2)
Continuing the story of David, we turn over to 1 Chronicles, another version of the story told in 1&2 Samuel, and today we get a lengthy, two chapter geneology, starting with Adam, including David, seventh son of Jesse, great-grandson of Ruth.

In the Bible, both the First and Second parts of the Story, there are very few dates. And the way the authors both viewed and recounted history was in the naming of significant individuals. And the history of a person was always placed within the context of their family histories. We see the same in the Gospels when we read about Jesus’ family history.

Such geneologies in the Bible are meant to show where a person came from, what inheritance they received, give the reader a sense of who they are by who their family was (for good and for bad).

In the electronic age in which we live, it seems geneologies have had a resurgence. Decades ago family trees were cultivated by those dedicated few willing to spend hours in the library, scrolling through microfilms and dusty books, but today, one only has to plug in a few names and they can find out all sorts of things.

Like learning about the “moon people.”

Our people came from eastern Kentucky, where there was a legend of moon people: babies who were born blue, most growing out of it, but some keeping the blue tint their entire lives. There are all sorts of legends and tales told about the powers these moon people were said to have, where they truly descended from (talk about the idea that we’re all made of stardust), but truth be told it’s just a circulatory disorder. But either way, there was only one family in eastern Kentucky where babies were born blue—and they share the maiden name of my grandmother.

I’m a novice, so I’ve never been able to trace a direct lineage—but in Kentucky, people with the same last name somehow tend to be related, which means that somewhere on my family tree, the leaves are blue–and somehow I’m slightly descended from the moon.

But there’s more to that in my family tree. Like a great uncle whom we remember in four days, having died at Pearl Harbor. Heroes, preachers, and tragic figures–rosey-faced Irish immigrants, and blue-skinned moon people. And somehow they’re a part of why I am here because they are where I came from—for better or for worse.

During this Advent Season as you gather for big family reunions like the ones we used to have in an Ohio farmhouse, look around you; ask to hear some stories about your ancestors. You may just learn a little about yourself.

See you on the moon!

where God is

(Psalms 6, 8-10, 14, 16, 19, 21)
The death of Ish-Bosheth, though David didnt approve, signified the official public reign of David.  And it traditionally it seems that he takes the time to look back on his life, take inventory, and see how he got this far.  And all the credit, as these Psalms that he is credited with as writing at this time, he gives to God.

He looks back, and he remembers all those people who asked him, in the darkest and most desperate times, “Where is God?”  And though he may have wavered at the question as all of us do at times, he always knew–God was where God always is–on the side of the innocent, on the side of those who try to do the right thing, on those who stick it out and cling to faith whatever come what may.

It was David’s faith in God that no matter what the situation–a Shaq-sized Philistine, a bi-polar King who threw spears at him, constantly outmatched–no matter what the situation, God was there.  When the odds were against him, when the way was blocked, always on the run, God was there and was already (somehow) sorting things out.

Same goes for us.  On a morning like this, when you may be facing unemployment, redeployment, foreclosure, downsizing–a group at school that teases you, a test on a subject you just arent getting–confrontations with a boss, criticism from peers, a critically ill family member–on a morning like this, you may ask yourself “Where is God?”

But these Psalms remind us that God is there, in the chair or couch where you sit and read this blog.  God is there, where you stand checking this post on your Blackberry.  God is there in the mess that life can become, sorting things out.

Peterson puts it this way.  Wherever you find yourself, whatever you face, wherever you must go “God sees and sets the world’s mess right”(from Psalm 9.7-8, the Message).

Know that.  As I always remind people at the end of every service, “Wherever you are, God is, and all will be well!”

promises kept

(2 Samuel 1-4)
In the field after Jonathan shot the arrows to confirm David’s suspicions that Saul was out to get him; outside the cave where David had almost taken Saul’s life–in both of these situations, to Jonathan and then to Saul, David promises to look out for their family, and in today’s passage we see him follow through on that promise.

First, to begin part two of Samuel, an Amalekite comes to David and lies about killing Saul.  If we take a narrative approach to the story, we know that 1 Samuel ended with Saul falling on his own sword, but here the Amalekite says that he was the one killed Saul.  He lies because he thinks it will please David, knowing that he has killed David’s long-time enemy and that he would be well rewared. 

Instead, the Amalekite’s plan backfires and David kills him–not the best of examples, but still keeping with promises he had made, in this case taking care of Saul’s family but avenging his murder.

Later in today’s passage, it is Joab–one of the captains of the Israelite army–who comes to tell him that he has killed Ish-Bosheth, Saul’s son, thus ending Saul’s reign forever and paving the way for David’s legitimate kingship.  And like the Amalekite before him, Joab expects to be rewarded but is punished by death instead as David’s way of keeping the promise he made to Jonathan first, then Saul.

Okay … so we dont need to go around avenging people’s deaths to keep our promises to others, but what we do need to keep the promises we make.  This is a lesson that comes up various times in the Bible, no clearer than in the sermon of James, who tells us to mean what we say by doing what we say (James 2.14-26).  Just as I wrote about “sticking to our sorries,” so too does God’s Word tell us to stick to our promises.

In our lives, we’ve been on the one side–where we’ve grown up with people promising us they’ll do something and then never follow through with it.  And we’ve felt that sting, that hurt, after looking forward to that promise being fulfilled and then slowly realizing it’s not going to happen.  Consequently, we’ve also been on the other side, where we say we’re going to do something, but then factors both within and beyond our control come up that we find we cannot follow-through with what we said.  Then we find ourselves always apologizing, trying to explain, trying to make it up to that person.

As I’ve grown, I’ve tried to learn not to make promises I cannot keep.  There are lots of things I want to do in life, some that I try to do, but too often there are a lot I just cannot get to.  So I try (and note the key word try) not to promise to do everything I want to do but only what I know I can.

A promise is something that should be thought-through before it is made.  It is a precious thing, a promise, and ideally it should always be kept.  And to do so it requires forethought and follow-through.  It’s always better to let someone down upfront than to try and make up for it in the end.

The Advent Season reminds us that there is always one person who keeps their promises.  God has promised to love us, God has promised to forgive us, God has promised to save us, God has promised us a life like no other.  In Jesus Christ, God is keeping all of those promises, now as God has and will always do.

So let us live by God’s promise today by taking the promises we make seriously–thinking them though and then following through with them.

strengthened by trust

(1Samuel 18-21; Psalm 18)
David was serving in the Philistine army.  What better place when the leader of your own country was hunting you down?  Yet as the Philistine army was marching to war against Israel, God stepped in to prevent David from having to fight his own people.

Though seemingly committed to follow through and fight with the Philistines against his own people, committed either because he felt he’d never go back or because he needed the protection of the foreign army, the Philistine commanders were doubtful whether or David would actually fight or not.  They considered him a liability, so they dismissed him.  And David willingly left.

But when he returned to his current “home away from home,” he found that it had been raided, everything taken–included his two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail.  His anger alone wasnt enough to have him set off against the raiding army.  Considering the odds, how much distance they might have already put between them, David needed motivation.

So he turned to God.  Through prayer he plugged into God’s strength and encouragement.  “Can I do it?” David asked.  “Of course you can,” God answered.

Can I do it?  How often do we ask ourselves that question, but at those times the answer we most often give ourselves is, Of course not.  You’re not good enough.  You dont have the resources.  You dont have what it takes.  It’s that ugly voice in our head that creeps in when we’re tired, frustrated–when life piles up like two feet of slushy winter snow and all we have is a garden spade.

That’s when we have to go to God with it.  The only voice that drowns out the other is God’s gentle yet firm one.  “Can I do it?”  Of course you can!

That strength … that strength that we recognize near the end of a long trial, when we sigh, “I didnt know I had it in me.”  That strength comes from God.  When the snow is just about cleared from the drive.  When the credit card balance is finally three digits.  When exam week is just about through.  The last round of treatment.  The morning you wake up close to a year after a loss and you realize that it is getting a little better.  What got you to that point?  God’s strength, the strength that came because you trusted God with it.

Can you do it?  Is the next year the one when you turn it all around?  After a long weekend that only delayed the inevitable challenges of the week to come, do you have what it takes to face them with confidence and strength?  Of course you do, because God is already waiting there to face them with you.

 

sticking to your sorries

(1 Samuel 25-27)
How many times do we say we’re sorry, but how many times do we actually mean it?

Throughout the story, Saul says he’s sorry, but actions that follow dont back his words.  His son, Jonathan, once confronted him, telling him that he was acting foolish in the way he was treating David.  Then, in a moment of sobriety it seems, Saul looks at his son and says, “You know what?  You’re right.  And I’m sorry.”

But does he stop trying to kill David?  Is he really sorry for sticking to his personal vendetta, fueled by selfish jealousy and insecurity?  No.

Later he’s just exited the cave where David could’ve killed him, but didnt, shearing just the corner of his robe instead.  Then it’s David who confronts him at a distance, asking Saul, “Why?  Why are you acting this way?  What have I done?!”  And Saul again, for just that moment, says “I’m sorry.”

Now again in today’s passage–another opportunity for David to kill Saul, sneaking into the camp seemingly to do just that but leaving with only Saul’s spear and water jug.  Again, it’s David who asks Saul why.  And again, Saul admits to being wrong.

But by the end of my reading today, Saul’s back at it, pursuing his selfish vendetta against a servant who has only been faithful, even when he had every reason not to be.

Saul might have said he was sorry, but he didnt stick with it.  It may have sounded good; it was certainly genuine–that moment of clarity perhaps–but without follow-through, the words were empty as a bag of coffee when the last pot’s been brewed.

We have to stick to our sorries, or sorry is just a word.

Our apologies are only genuine if actively practiced.

Repentance is a lifestyle, not a printed confession in some church bulletin that’s run week in and week out.

We must live the words I’m sorry, not by thinking that we are somehow making up for what we have done, but by trying to go and surely sin no more.

In life we get stuck in ruts, and we come to God and loved ones saying we’re sorry, but it often tends to be the same thing we’re apologizing for; subsequently, there comes a point–I believe even with God–that the words just dont cut it anymore, not without actions.

Saul said he was sorry and he meant it, but he didnt follow through with it.  We must go out and, yes, say we’re sorry, but then we need to stick with it–to break that pattern, to pave a detour around that road that has become a rut, to start living in a way where the words “I’m sorry” appear in our vocabulary less and less.

No matter how hard we try, there will always be occasions for apologies–it’s just how we’re put together, beastly beauties that we can be.  But by Grace, each day, we can begin anew, just like every player gets to skate out of the penalty box.

I’ve heard of ships …

… but here’s a cat in a bottle.

Cat in the bottle

if you’re feeling frustrated and that nothing’s going your way

(Psalm 7, 27,31, 34, 52)
Hiding out in caves and hollers (as we call them in Southern Indiana) David had a lot of time to think.

How had it all come to this?  Successful in every battle he faced, with a wife who adored him, agreat friend who supported him in everything he did, faithful in his service to the king–everything seemed to be going his way.

He didnt understand it.  What happened?  One minute he was at the king’s right hand, playing his songs–the next, he was dodging spears.  Every command, he more than obeyed.  Everything he was asked, he answered with a resounding Yes in word and action.  Yet still, the King wanted him dead.

Why?  He had tried his best.  He did everything that was asked of him.  He poured his blood, sweat, tears into his work and this was what he got?  On the run, hiding out in caves, far from his wife, having to cut a deal with the King of Moab so he knew his family was safe–it wasnt fair.

With all these thoughts racing through his head, trying to figure out a why for which there was no answer, tradition tells us that David opened up his journal and wrote–volumes of raw emotions in poetic form that we call the Psalms.  And for those who are felling a lot like David, here’s what he wrote.  It certainly helped David get through frustrating times when nothing was going his way–hope they help you too.

Stay with God.
Take heart.
Dont quit.
I’ll say it again:
Stay with God.

Be brave.
Be strong.
Dont give up.
Expect God to get here soon.

If yr heart is broken, you’ll find God right there;
if you’re kicked in the gut, God’ll help you catch yr breath.

I thank you always that you went into action.
And I’ll stay right here;
yr good name my hope
in company with yr faithful friends.

____________________________________________________
quotations: Psalm 27.14; 31.24; 34.18; 52.9
translation: The Message, by Eugene Peterson

making enemies

(1 Samuel 23-24)
If you’ve been following along, you’ve noticed I’ve taken a huge leap forward in my chronological reading of the Bible.  This is because I’ve been leading a Bible study on my favorite Old Testament book and we have (in several months) made our way through the first 22 chapters.  (For those who are nearby, we meet every Tuesday at 10:30 to read and discuss at least a chapter.)  So having become once again really familiar with the story, I’ve decided to start at the point we left off in my Study Group and read from there.

And what a great story to continue on with, one that teaches us about the inevitably of making enemies in our life.  Keith Kent, the author of the “Paradoxical Commandments”–a list of commandments that as a pastor I turn to again and again–says that “If you are successful you will win false friends and true enemies.  Succeed anyway.“

This is what happened to David.  With all his successes he won a true enemy in Saul.  Up to this point in the story we have seen Saul slowly deteriorate because of his inability to control his emotions–jealous, insecure, tormented by some mental demon that best resembles a bi-polar personality disorder, Saul has seen David as a threat and a bitter enemy, even going so far on several occasions to kill him–by spear, in his bed, by sending him into battle situations where he thought he’d be killed.  But as we have seen, and especially in today’s reading, the enemy-thing was a one-sided affair.

Unfairly seen as an enemy by Saul, David refuses to return the favor and make an enemy of Saul.  In the cave, when Saul is relieving himself, David had the opportunity to kill him, but instead snips just the corner of his robe.  And though we think this is completely justified, saying “Good for David,” the future king is filled with remorse at even doing that, for he refuses to see Saul as an enemy but as the king of Israel, albeit with several major flaws. 

I learned somewhere along the line, even before coming across the “Commandment” above, that just because someone wants to make an enemy of you doesnt mean you have to make an enemy of them.  It’s a good way to avoid conflict.  It’s an even better way to function as a person, saving you from being drawn into heated conflicts that are unbased.

When someone sees you as an enemy, rarely is it based in truth.  It’s either something someone thought you did, or thought you said, and most always because of a distorted view that they have of you, and of themselves. 

People need enemies to make themselves feel better.  I dont know why this is, but it’s true.  And so they’ll pick up on something you’ve done, misrepresent even the best of intentions, and make you their enemy.  Suddenly you’re in a fight that almost every single time you wont even be aware of.

But the lesson?  Be like David.  Dont take the bait.  Dont take up the sword of your tongue or fists.  Just let it go and look at them, not with hate or anger–but with the love that Jesus tells us to have, even for our enemies.  Look for what might be going on in that person’s life.  Try to understand that person.  Apologize if you need to.  But no matter what dont take it personally.

You’ll save yourself a lot of needless hassles.

———————————————-
Postscript:  Note to self.  I think you just came up with a new personal beatitude with that last one.  #6 (borrowed from somewhere; I think it’s one of the Four Agreements) Dont take it personally.  I’ll be adding that to the left of this page, where you can see my other five personal beatitudes.

getting in position

(The Book of Ruth)
After the book of Judges, the book of Ruth comes as a relief before plunging into the history of the Kings.  A short easy read, it’s a love story and casts a little light in what had become a dark, dark time.  A widow, her daughter-in-law, and a kind farmer.  These are unlikely heroes who get caught up in the universal story of salvation because of love.  No wonder David turned out so well.

What Ruth teaches us, though, is that we are not passive participants in God’s plan.  We must learn to put ourselves in positions for possibilities.  At times, certain favors may fall into our laps; doors might opened while we’re sitting around waiting.  But for the most part, we must seek out positions to put ourselves in to be there when the door opens.  We may have to move; we may have to change jobs; we all have to take a leap of faith–take that risk–in order for the future to open up for us.  And we have to be patient.

Ruth took huge risks to put herself in a position to become a vital part of God’s plan.  She moved away from home, to a foreign land.  Then she spent long hours in the field, waiting for the right fella to come along.  And when Boaz did, she then took her greatest risk to sneak into his bed chamber and literally beg him to marry her.  He could’ve killed her.  He could’ve banished her.  But instead, he helped her sneak out (to protect them both from shame) and then went to great lengths to concoct a scheme so that he could legally marry her.  And in the end, the two of them began the great line from which Jesus Christ himself would come.

But none of it would’ve happened if it wasnt for Ruth being willing to take a risk–to step out and put herself in positions for divine possibilities.

And so I say to you, take a risk.  Dont just sit back and wait for God to open your front door, for the phone to ring, for your future to fall out of the sky.  Go and find it.  And dont stick to the comfortable places; definitely dont roll over in the morning and pull the covers over your head.  But get up and put yourself out there.

Your wildest dreams will never be realized by hitting the snooze.

The doors that open are often just around the corner, though it can be a dark one.

Life is full of possibilities, sometimes you just have to go out and look for them.

To take that leap.

To risk a little.

But trust as Ruth did–trust that feeling deep, deep down inside that something’s gonna happen.  When it comes to God, something always is and always will.