But God

I've lacked blogging inspiration in my surroundings lately, so I'm turning to the scatterbrained musings of this 20-odd-years head to maintain what little momentum I can muster. As I'm writing on the last half of my lunch break and am short on time as well as inspiration, it works out pretty well.

There is a phrase in the Bible that always gives me chills when I read it. (Hint: it's in the title of this post.) It's like a light that bursts on in a place crowded in darkness; a small smile given to someone who's too weak to press on, as if to say, "Watch this."

I know a lot of people who have "life verses". Yeah, I tried doing that. The verse changes depending on the stage of life I'm in. Years ago when I first tried this, the verse of choice was Romans 5:8. It's still a favorite. Here's the context:

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. - Rom. 5:6-8

There we were, wallowing in the mire of sin without a light or a hand to help us out. We had intentionally turned from God. We were without hope, utterly lost and blind. Man couldn't save man. No man is that good, that righteous, that powerful. Man would barely surrender his life for a good man, let alone the whole stinking mess of the human race.

But God

See? Chills.

While we wandered that darkness, unable to carry ourselves away from it, God stepped in. He found us worthy of His love. He deemed us deserving of His blood. Man couldn't fix the mess, but God could.

When I'm wandering around in a daze wondering how I'm going to do something with my life that counts, I'm reminded that I am not. I don't have that strength. I don't have that wisdom. And I don't need to. God can use anyone, with any education, from any walk of life. We don't bring anything to the table but our hearts and our faith. Isn't it easier to hand it over to Him? He gave us all the talents we possess. It seems He would know best how they can be used.

For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God had chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are. - I Cor. 1:26-28

The enemy is waving his fist crying, "See what I've done? Fix that if you can." To which we can calmly reply, "Yeah, that's nice. But God."

Here's one more for today because my half hour is winding down:

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation in time past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) - Eph. 2:2-5

In Paul's fashion, the sentence runs on for a while longer, but this is the focus here. (Also, "quickened" makes a nice word study.) We used to be like the world, wandering in that darkness. We didn't have anything to live for but fulfilling our fleshly desires, working out the disease of sin in our lives. But then God stepped on the scene. He offered light to any and all, and by His grace and mercy welcomed all who took His hand. He has given us a purpose, empowered us to live for something more, shown us hope.

It was nothing we did. I know from 20 years of experience that I'm far better at making messes than fixing them. But God.

(How's that for a lunchtime musing? Also for your perusal, a few other verses: I Cor. 10:13; 12;24; Phil. 4:9)

Preparing for an Adventure

So, you know.... We're halfway through July. It's been crazy. I've had stuff to write about but just haven't had the motivation. Fireworks fundraising is over, Independence Day is obviously over, and in honor of my parents' wedding anniversary we just had a vow renewal ceremony. I was an emotional wreck. (You know, because any extreme emotion moves me to uncontrollable tears. It was horrible.)

Next up (in a week) is our Peru missions trip.

Can you say "Freak out"?

Airplanes.

I'm uber excited for everything else, but...airplanes. *shudder*

I was telling some friends that I'm nervous about that part. (I feel rather like this when I think about it.) One of my friends asked if it was because I was scared of the possibility of dying in a plane crash, nervous of the heights, or nervous because of new experiences. New experiences can make me nervous but, on the whole, I'm usually open to them. I can handle the thrill of adventure. And, as a writer, I try to seek out new experiences when the opportunities arise. (Though I'm not really the best at trying new things, my curiosity can overrule my caution.) It might just be the unknown that bothers me when it comes to planes.
One of my friends asked if it was because I was scared of dying in a crash, afraid of heights, or nervous by new experiences. I'll admit new experiences
(*in a deep, mysterious voice* THE GREAT UNKOWN)

My youth pastor's wife was telling me I had nothing to worry about. I laughed (and swallowed those stupid nervous tears that always well up) and told her more people die by donkey attacks than airplane crashes every year.

She gave me a weird look and said, "Okay...so avoid donkeys!"

I wonder what the danger rating is on llamas?

A couple Sundays ago (and yes, it has taken me that long to get around to writing this), one of the young men in church did the afternoon service. (Afternoon instead of evening because it was supposed to follow the annual church picnic, which got rained out.) As ever, he did a wonderful job, and what he talked about was something I needed, particularly in light of our impending journey.

The text was Joshua 1:1&2:

1) Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,

2) Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

The key is in verse 2: "arise, go over this Jordan"

He described "arise" as a call to action. Then he pointed out how it said "this Jordan", as in the river right in front of them and at hand. They were called to get up and get moving, because they were standing on the bank of the river they needed to cross. They were right there, standing around (or even sitting), and they needed to get moving.

The idea was about being proactive.

Proactive: tending to initiate change rather than reacting to events.

We're urged to act, but by fear of failing or being rejected by people we're trying to serve, we don't move at all. We satisfy ourselves with not doing anything outright bad and don't worry that we aren't doing anything good, either. The only action we take is preventative. Over time we develop a routine of passive living, and we simply react to the world around us. We don't do anything to impact it.

Meanwhile, we ought to be stepping out and demanding change. We ought to be performing the actions that stir others to react. And we have to keep going, keep growing. In my mind, it isn't the first step toward productivity that's the hardest; it's the second. It's the building of momentum.

That was only a portion of his message, but it's what stood out most to me. And in light of the coming Peru trip, I realized I had been anything but proactive: my Spanish rots because I haven't practiced; I had no idea what I was going to pack; I wasn't emotionally, mentally, or spiritually preparing myself so I can get as much as possible out of this trip. All I was doing was dreading the airplane ride, when there was a whole adventure beyond that waiting for me to accept it.

Since that message, I have made some progress on my Peru prep. Most of my packing is planned and I purchased most of the items I needed. I was going to have to buy a suitcase (for a family who travels around so much, you'd think we'd have more) but some co-workers offered to let me borrow theirs. I'm still not mentally ready, but I'm working myself up to that.

I'm planning on keeping a journal. Whether or not I'll have much time for sitting down and writing in it remains to be seen. I hope I'll have enough to share on here when I get back.

So that's my life right now. I'm still freaking out about Peru, but I'm trying to get in the mindset that this is a great opportunity and I need to be open to it so I can make the most of it. And so I can do as much as possible while I'm there.

"I'm going on an adventure!"



Though hopefully not of the same kind as Bilbo's.

A Ramble about the Weather and Books, Mostly

It's days like today that make me resent the resposibilities of adulthood.

It was a beautiful day. Temperatures hit the high 60's. Sunshine, a nice breeze...and I was stuck inside most of the day.

Last year, I would have been outside, breathing in the fresh air and plotting my garden. (Okay, so I might have spent the day curled up in the sunlight with a book.) It's a little maddening to know what a nice day it is but not to be able to enjoy it as I please. Ah, well. I drove with the windows down and didn't put on a coat until just now when I took Sasha out.

Oh, and that thing about blogging late at night? Yup, still doing it. It's hard when I'm gone most of the day. I rarely find decent blogging material in the morning.

So the flood waters have receeded and the temperatures are rising. We still don't have any leaves in the trees, and there's still a chance of light snow one or two nights this week. I'm ready for the cleaner part of spring to get here. I've had enough of mud and gray days and chilly nights. I'm sure I won't be saying that in July, but I'm saying it now.

We have other things to look forward to around here than just warmer weather. Our missions revival at church is coming up. Actually, our youth pastor has been making an effort to get everyone's mind on that track over the last couple of days. That's what Bible study was about tonight.

Missions Revival is always one of the highlight weeks of the church calendar. I'm excited for this year, because I actually have a job and an opportunity to give a little more, or at least in a different way, than in past years. It's a week full of challenges and encouragement and a healthy dose of reality. I'm really looking forward to it.

Stink. If you couldn't tell, I don't really have anything to blog about tonight. I need to work on that part about taking the little things in life and writing about them.

Um...I'm reading Big Red right now. Dad gave it to me years ago to read and I remembered really enjoying it. Then I foudn it at the library and decided to revisit it. I'm glad I did. It's a very simple book, but still solid and good. And smaller than I remember. And I don't usually enjoy reading severely accented dialogue, but it doesn't really bug me in this book.

One of my sister's guy friends is a huge dog person. I found him tonight at Bible study (he comes with his sister to the singles' study after teens') when he was playing with our youth pastor's dog and told him he needed to read this book. He gave me a skeptical look and asked, "Does it end like Where the Red Fern Grows?" I quickly assured him that it didn't.

That's one thing I really like about reading good books: sharing them with other people.

Ok. I give up. I'm going to bed. I'll try this again tomorrow.

The Glory of the Cross

Note: I started writing this post a couple weeks ago. My days had been mixed up and I was thinking it was the Wednesday between Palm Sunday and Easter, when in reality it was the Wesneday before Palm Sunday. So I set it aside and promised to post it at the appropriate time. And then I forgot and blogged about chickens instead.
I came back to it today, wanting to finish my "Easter post". Due to the time difference from when I originally wrote it until now, I thought some of it might have to be adjusted. I only changed a couple tenses, so I'm sorry if it reads a little out of whack. And then I added more today. Not that this is really important to most of you.  :)  I just wanted to apologize if my thoughts seem all over the place...or moreso than usual.

From last week

For me, it's always been easier to relate to historical events, to really grasp them and appreciate them, when I can think, "So many years ago today this or that happened." (Perhaps that's why half of history class is all about the dates of events?) History can begin to feel like any other story if we're just told, "This happened."

I always love watching Preacher craft a timeline. It helps to put things into perspective, even if it isn't to scale (because it never is). And you know what happened this week, 2,000+ years ago.

Christ's last week on earth. For the time being.

He'd had His last supper. He'd prayed in the garden. He'd been taken prisoner, tried and declared guilty, beaten and mocked. And then He headed for a death on a cross, to be executed. Not for Himself, the perfect God Incarnate, but for the very creation that scorned and hated and spit on Him; we who reject and deny and curse His name.

Crucifixion was one of the worst and most disgraceful forms of execution. And Christ submitted Himself to it for us.

In my last post (or the one before that) I mentioned a recent Sunday morning sermon. The text was Mark 9:1-9, Matt 17:1-9, and Luke 9:27. (Yes, the account of the Mount of Transfiguration.) The subject: the glory of Christ's cross.

Glory (dictionary.com):

2. Something that is a source of honor, fame, or admiration; a distinguished ornament or an object of pride.

4. Resplendent beauty or magnificence.

No one before the cross saw it as in any way glorious. They didn't get it (Matt. 16:21, Mark 8:31). Those who followed Christ believed His glory would be in conquering Rome and ruling as King. Only a few days before, they were singing in the streets, looking for God to save them. But today we call the day of His death "good". It certainly wasn't good for Him. The mockery, the abjection, and ultimately the giving of His life after hours hanging in agony on a tree. But it represents hope and grace and love poured out for us.

On the Mount of Transfiguration, Christ prays and then talks with Moses and Elijah. They don't discuss His victory and reign. They discuss His approaching death.

They discuss "his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem." (Luke 9:31)

Accomplish.

The word connotes, at least nowadays, the achievement of something good, praiseworthy, and proud. People boast about winning a race, completing college, or getting their driver's license. Who considers brutal execution while being publicly humiliated to be their greatest achievement? Not only that, but it is human nature to try to maintain life for as long as possible.

Accomplish:

1. To bring to its goal or conclusion; to carry out; perform; finish.

When Christ declared "It is finished" and surrendered Himself to death, Satan saw it as his greatest accomplishment. He'd killed God! He'd prevented God from saving the world. The human race had rejected Him, tortured Him, and killed Him.

The angels didn't understand it. Why was the Creator doing this for people who didn't even care? Why didn't He call them to lift Him from that cross and wipe out His wicked creation?

Christ's disciples, His earthly family, those who followed Him and looked to Him as their Messiah, didn't get it. Why did it end this way? How could it? Where was their kingdom, their glory, with Him on the throne? When they saw Him raised on that cross, I believe their hearts were sinking. The weight of their sorrow, their hopelessness, made it difficult to breathe. They felt lost when the body of their Savior was laid in a tomb. What now?

The Devil certainly didn't get it. I wonder if he thought it was too easy? If it even crossed his mind.

Three days later, he had to be saying that.

Christ didn't just die. That's only the beginning of the story. No rock in front of a borrowed tomb could hold Him; no soldiers could stop Him; death couldn't keep Him. He claimed the keys of Death itself. His life was the ransom, His perfect blood the great price none of us could ever achieve.

That's the glory of the cross. That's the great accomplishment of God, even though people still can't understand. That's love, the likes of which no temporal thing in this finite world could ever hope to mimic. The Devil tries, but all his copies are like the crayon scribblings of an infant compared to the Mona Lisa. Not only crude and short of any kind of imitation, but also worthless.

A couple thousand years ago, as they watched their king, their Messiah, their friend, the Son of God, struggle under the weight of the ugly wooden cross, torn and bleeding and scorned on all sides, they didn't understand. Their hope seemed to die with Jesus, and then it was buried in a cold, sunless tomb. They didn't see the whole picture.

We have the whole picture. We see the pain and the hatred and the blood, we see the tomb and darkness. But we also see the victory! That's the glory of the cross! That's what we claim, what we hope in. “It is finished” is our victory cry.

 

Today

I’m subbing the teaching part of our Wednesday night class tomorrow. Dad gave me the verse a couple weeks ago so I could prepare. (He tends to fly by the seat of his pants when he teaches, which works for him, but I like notes.) I’ve slowly been adding thoughts and comparison verses to it since then. I don’t know how I’ll get to hit on all the points during class, but I wanted to share the gist of it here.

The verse is John 15:13, a supporting verse for Romans 5:1, which the kids memorized while working on the Romans Road a while ago.

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. – Romans 5:1 

Greater love hath no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends. – John 15:13

Whenever Dad starts to work with the kids on memorizing a verse, he has them point out words they don’t know. Then he breaks down the verse so they understand the meaning of what they’re memorizing, not just the words.

I’m sure the kids will understand what all of those words mean, but I went through the dictionary and got definitions anyway. (Do you have any idea how hard it is to determine which form of “that” is being used? There are a good dozen or more forms listed in the dictionary.) While I was working on that, a few words/phrases stuck out to me; namely, “lay down”.

What’s cool is that Pastor’s sermon Easter Sunday tied in with this really well and gave me some extra material. I love it when that happens.

To lay down one’s life is a sacrifice, usually for the sake of a loved one.

 

Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. - John 13:37

Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. - I John 3:16

Christ wasn’t forced onto that cross. He wasn’t beaten into such a state that he couldn’t resist. He didn’t “surrender his life” or “give up his life” as if there had been a struggle and He was finally relinquishing control. He laid it down. No fight; no resistance.

Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. - John 10:17&18

Usually the king’s life is more important than anyone else’s. People give their lives for the king, promise to protect the king with their lives, pay any ransom for the king. But this King gave His own life for our ransom, and we didn’t even care about Him. The glory of the cross is that the King of creation laid down His life for the sake of people who didn't even acknowledge Who He was, who were so lost in their sinful darkness that they couldn't understand this Light that burst in. He reached down and paved a path out of the darkness, the stones His love and the mortar His blood; a road that starts at the foot of His cross. Our cross.

Peace, be still.

There's a word in the Bible that's been on my mind all week. It's significance was pointed out to me a while ago by my dad. The word is "Selah".

It appears most often in the Psalms, though I spotted it in Habakkuk on Sunday. (That's when I started thinking about it.) Somehow or other, Dad and I got to talking about it, and Dad said that it meant "rest". That's how I've been defining it in my head for a while. However, I looked it up on dictionary.com in preparation for this post, and this is what I found:

 

• an expression occurring requently in the Psalms, thought to be a liturgical or musical direction, probably a direction by the leader to raise the voice or perhaps an indication of a pause.
• a Hebrew word of unknown meaning occuring in the Old Testament psalms, and thought to be a musical direction.
• 1530, Hebrew word occurring frequently at the end of verse in Psalter. Supposed to be a liturgical direction, perhaps meaning "pause," or perhaps a musical direction to raise the voice (cf. Heb. base s-l-l "to raise, life").
•  a word frequently found in the Book of Psalms, and also in Hab. 3:9, 13, about seventy-four times in all in Scripture. Its meaning is doubtful. Some interpret it as meaning "silence" or "pause;" others, "end," "a louder strain," "piano," etc. The LXX. render the word by daplasma i.e., "a division"

 

Not exactly clear or definitive, though it's a decent starting point. So I went to google.

I kind of like how this article explores the various possible definitions, as well as the writer's conclusion. Another suggested meaning is "this being so, give heed to what is now to be said", which is also along the same lines as I've been thinking.

Selah. It has the idea of stopping, of pausing, to reflect; most often, to reflect on God and what He is doing. For Christians, we can be at rest when we stop and consider that God is in control and knows what He is doing.
Lately, I've been feeling weighed down by life. It's so many little things compounded, overwhelming me, so I almost feel suffocated at times. Like a ship lost at see, whose sailor is straining against the darkness and the rain for a glimmer of light from the lighthouse, all while struggling just to keep the ship from capsizing.
In the middle of life's storms, it's against instinct to stop what we're doing and just reflect, or even not think at all. How can we possibly be still, even for a moment? It feels like if we slow down long enough to catch our breath, we'll be overrun.

After Sunday school, which was when I saw "selah" in Habakkuk, the choir sang what I thought of as a "comfort medley". I can't even remember the songs they sang, but each was about finding comfort and peace in God. It was like God was putting it all in my face, drawing up a little theme for the day. I had to smile. Talk about a heart lifter.
I actually started this post days ago, but got distracted when I went in search of some verses. I ended up doing a word study on "selah". I believe there are 72 or 73 instances of the word in the Bible. All but 2 or 3 are in the Psalms; the others are in Habakkuk.

Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about. Airse, O Lord; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.
- Psalm 3

Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
- Psalm 4:4

Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
-Psalm 32:7

Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee; verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee. Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not to reproach of the foolish.
- Psalm 39:4-8

Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
-Psalm 66:1-4

Whether it's during a prayer of repentance or a song of praise, "selah" is added like a call to reflect on the goodness and power of God. For His people, we can rejoice in His greatness and His love.
It'll be a longer word study to do the word "rest", which was another part of this little theme.

There's a song that was stuck in my head a while ago. Well, a certain portion of a song. "Hold on my child, joy comes in the morning. Weeping only lasts for the night. Hold on my child, joy comes in the morning. The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight."
Despite the troubles that surround us, we can find refuge in God and the knowledge that He is always in control, always at our side, and will always love us.
I don't know if I wrote about it before (I almost think I did), but a while ago Pastor did a study in Philippians 4. What he said about verses 5-7 often come to mind when I start to feel like that ship tossed about on a stormy sea:

Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The first part, about our "moderation", refers to how we deal with the ups and downs of life. We need to be steady and consistent, not tossed about by what life throws at us. A thermostat, which adjusts the temperature, and not a thermometer, which adjusts according to outside influences. We aren't overflowing with cheer and laughter one minute and drowning in our sorrows the next, as the mood takes us. We're confident and collected. Yes, we're still human, but we don't get carried away and overwhelmed by life. "The Lord is at hand" reminds us that God is always near. To "be careful for nothing" is to not get worked up and worrisome about life. You know, that sick-to-your-stomach kind of worry that can debilitate you.
To a lot of people, the concept of prayer can be confusing and even ridiculous. What's the point of praying to God and asking Him to deal with your problems, or telling Him about something bad that's going on, when He already knows? What I've come to learn about prayer is that it isn't like a Christmas list, where you write up your every whim and desire and pass it on to people with money enough to satisfy; neither is it like a visit to the shrink, where you spend an hour venting about all your problems and get nothing but affirmation and maybe some gentle instruction. Prayer is bringing your troubles and burdens to God and asking Him for strength to bear the load. Prayer is going to a shelter, a haven, from the troubles of this world, where there is quiet and rest, relief and encouragement. Sure, God, already knows what's on our heart, but He still wants to hear it from us. He is ready and waiting to lift us up and carry us for a while, to soothe our aches and refresh us with His love. It's communion. Prayer isn't a time to mutter a half-hearted "bless this food" or "help him get better" or to throw out a series of "why, God?'s". Like going to church, it's a time to recover and be refreshed. Selah. Stop and consider how good God is. Take comfort in His love, courage in His strength, hope in His wisdom. Forget the world and be still.

 

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
- Romans 8:18

And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
- Mark 4:39

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. (...) Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
- Psalm 46:1-5, 10&11

"Whereas I was blind, now I see."

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, there was more than one thing I got out of church last Sunday. However, I didn't want to detract from the main point of yesterday's post, so here's the sequel, if you will.

Part Two isn't directly related to any of the messages I heard on Sunday. Not techinically. It comes from a moment during morning service where my brain got a bit distracted.

I'm counting on the fact that I'm not the only one who has done this before, and hope at least one of you out there knows what I'm talking about: that moment when you're following along in your Bible, and while the preacher moves on to his next point you keep reading, because whatever passage you were in contains something that caught your attention. Anyone else ever done that? By a show of hands?

Pastor was in John 9:1-3, where Jesus and His disciples come upon a man who's been blind from birth. The disciples want to know who sinned, the man or his parents, to make him blind. Jesus replies: "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."

Pastor has been taking us through Mark, and the most recent lesson was in 7:31-37, with the healing of the deaf man. The message was about physical - and, by extension, spiritual - "deformities and disabilities", and how none of those are mistakes or accidents or faults, but the will of God. No one who is blind, or lacking an arm, or unable to speak is any less of a human being than the world's definition a whole and healthy person, and neither are they any less capable of being used by God. (Check out Exodus 4:11, Isaiah 34:4-6, and Psalm 139:13-16 if you want to get an idea of where some of this study took us.)

However, when we came to John 9, I got a bit distracted. Pastor had paused in his reading to expound an a certain point, but my eyes continued down the page. I don't know if I've ever read John 9, at least not in its entirety. I'd definitely suggest reading it, because I'm only going to summarize, and that doesn't begin to do it justice.

What really intrigued me was the whole style of the narrative. The entire chapter is one story, in which a blind man is healed. When the man's neighbors and acquaintances see him walking around, they all marvel and question, some doubting it's even that man, but rather a look-alike. Of course, the Pharisees are summoned, and they have a hissy fit. Their basis for this is that Jesus healed on the Sabbath day. They question the man thoroughly, wondering how had the audacity to heal on the Sabbath day, and how such a sinner could perform such a deed. They question what sort of man Jesus seemed to the former blind man, and that man replies that he was a prophet. 

Then the pharisees all but call him a liar and demand to see his parents, thinking the whole thing is an act. They interrogate the parents, who acknowledge that the man is their son and had been born blind, but that's all they'll say out of fear. 

This is the part I like:

24 Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man (Jesus) is a sinner.

25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.

26 Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?

27 He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?

Verse 27 is my favorite. I imagine the former blind man replying with a little mockery, maybe even a smirk. Either that or he's so caught up in the miracle worked in him that he doesn't understand the Pharisees' thick-headedness.

A few years ago I came across a verse somewhere in the gospels where the Pharisees are chewing Jesus out about something or other. (Big surprise.) In the midst of their lecture, Jesus kneels down and starts drawing or writing in the dirt. I don't remember much else from that story. I'm not even sure where to look for it, and I don't know a good key word to use for my Strong's Concordance. (Read: my dad's Strong's Concordance which I borrowed a couple years ago and still have in my room.) If anyone has a clue to which verse I'm making reference, I'd love to know.

It's passages like this which make me love the Bible that much more: it's the greatest story ever told, full of the truth and love and wisdom of God, with the message of grace and salvation for all mankind, and right in the middle of parables and sermons and commandments, God throws in a little narrative where the characters are shown as normal human beings. How cool is that?
If you're reading this hoping for some deep revelation, this is all I can offer: some people refuse to see the truth, even when it's staring them in the face and there's isn't any other explination, reasonable or otherwise. They're so stuck in their ideas, their tradtions, that anyone or anything which doesn't adhere to those guidelines isn't worthy of consideration. That's no way to live. Our own mental blindness might keep us from witnessing a miracle. What good is physical sight, physical soundness, if your heart is cold and hard?

(As a side note before I close: I have to wonder if perhaps John Newton took inspiration from verse 25 when he wrote "Amazing Grace"?)