Only Resurrection Will Satisfy

March 30, 2024Todd R 2 Comments

Dear fellow travelers,

When the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:11-12 – “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” – he was referring to the story of Israel’s 40 years of wandering in the wilderness between Egypt and the Promised Land. In verse 5, Paul wrote “with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.” Paul assures us that “these things” help keep us from temptation and strengthen our faith in these last days.

But what are these lessons? One of them can be found in the only Psalm written by Moses – Psalm 90. A key verse in that Psalm is verse 12, which says:

“So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

And what is wisdom? One way I describe it is: the ability to choose paths that lead to life, over paths that lead to death, paths that Moses unfortunately was very, very familiar with. He may have understood the consequences of neglecting God in our daily lives better than anyone for three reasons.

First, in recording the events of Genesis, Moses knew that ever since Adam and Eve, mankind has been facing, and mourning, the consequences of sin. The repetition of “and he died” in the genealogy of Genesis 5 and elsewhere reminded Moses of the result of missing the mark of God’s righteousness. Centuries before Paul, Moses knew that “sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”[1]

Second, Moses also saw the consequences of sin very clearly in the shortening of lifespans. In Psalm 90:10, he wrote:

“The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.”

This same Moses wrote about early patriarchs who were said to live hundreds of years[2], but by Moses’ day 80 years was considered a long life.

And also, Moses is known as author of the book of Numbers, which as the 4^th book in the Pentateuch, lines up with Psalm 90, the first Psalm in book 4 of the Psalms. Numbers tells of the consequences of Israel’s disobedience and grumbling on their journey to the Promised Land, and why it took 40 years and the entire generation that left Egypt (except Joshua and Caleb) died. Psalm 90 is almost a summary of what Moses learned from that experience:

“So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

What does this have to do with the resurrection? Psalm 90 starts with these 2 verses:

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place
            in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
            or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
            from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

Moses, who led Israel out of Egypt, through the wilderness for decades, and to the threshold of the Promised Land, says the only dwelling place of God’s people is not a specific place, but it is the Lord Himself. When we are with Him, we are home.

Moses concluded Psalm 90 with verses 16 and 17:

“Let your work be shown to your servants,
            and your glorious power to their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
            and establish the work of our hands upon us;
            yes, establish the work of our hands!”

While Moses’ understanding of a resurrection and an afterlife was likely very minimal and vague, he was able to conclude that the best way to spend our short lives here is to do work that matters in eternity, which God has laid out for us to do[3]. We should let Him “establish the work of our hands.” All through the Pentateuch, Moses recorded the choices between life and death made by Israel, and one of his conclusions is: life is short; live for God!

However, a life truly dedicated to God only makes sense if there is a life to come. Only resurrection will satisfy because Paul wrote: “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”[4] However, since there was an Easter resurrection and there is a resurrection to come, we may look forward to our Promised Land of a new heaven and a new earth. Moses knew our only other option is a long, purposeless meandering on this earth ending in death.

Therefore, let us pray as Moses wrote in Psalm 90:14 –

“Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.”

May we – in wisdom – choose the paths that lead to life everlasting! Amen.

[1] Romans 5:12
[2] Genesis 5:27 and 9:29, for example
[3] Ephesians 2:10
[4] 1 Corinthians 15:19

God Overcomes the Green-Eyed Monster

February 7, 2024February 4, 2024Todd R 1 Comment

In Shakespeare’s play Othello, the evil Iago says the line: “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! / It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock / The meat it feeds on.”[1]

Jealousy can be a monster that takes control of us if we aren’t careful, so since at least 1603, people have been describing this powerful emotion as being taken over by the “green-eyed monster.” What is this emotion? Merriam-Webster says we are jealous when we feel “hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage.”[2] Even though jealousy is a hostile emotion, “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,”[3] so He must be able to work through the green-eyed monster.

The first mention of jealousy in the Bible comes from Genesis 37:11, which begins with: “And [Joseph’s] brothers were jealous of him.” This jealousy came from the favoritism Joseph’s father Jacob showed toward Joseph over his 11 brothers, but also the dreams Joseph shared where his family was bowing to him. So, in Genesis 37:19-20, the brothers “said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.’” But Joseph was rescued and ended up in charge of Egypt’s food supply during a famine, enabling him, through God’s providence, to feed and save the rest of his family. Therefore, what started as jealousy resulted in Israel’s deliverance from famine. Joseph tells his brothers: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20)

Later, in the New Testament, jealousy was a cause of the persecution of the early Christian church. Acts 13:44-45 says “The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him” and Acts 17:4-5 says “And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.” (Emphases added)

The apostle Paul was quite aware of this fierce jealousy, but instead of getting upset and annoyed about it, he knew that God would use it for the good of His people. In fact, while Paul knew his ministry to the Gentiles provoked jealous feelings among Jews, he also hoped jealousy would bring some Jews to faith in Christ: “Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them.” (Romans 11:13-14)

But the biggest example of God working through jealousy and its relative, envy, can be found at the cross. Pharisees and other religious leaders of Jesus’ day were jealous of the crowds that followed Him, of the authority He wielded, and of the miracles He performed. Therefore, they plotted against Jesus to silence Him, and when they finally seized Him and turned Him over to Pilate, the Roman governor of the region, Matthew 27:18 records that Pilate “knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.” What began as jealousy led to the cross and the only way our sins could be paid for was fulfilled!

Jealousy remains a harmful emotion, and God never creates evil in us, but jealous feelings not only resulted in the temporal salvation of Israel from famine and eternal salvation for some Jews in the New Testament, but jealousy also contributed to the crucifixion of Jesus, which made all salvation possible. When Paul wrote “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,” it included God overcoming “all things.” Even jealousy, the green-eyed monster.

[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/top-10-phrases-from-shakespeare
[2] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jealous
[3] Romans 8:28

The Economic Solution?

January 23, 2024January 21, 2024Todd R 2 Comments

What if only one verse from the Bible could solve all of the world’s economic problems? If one could, it would probably be Ephesians 4:28, where Paul wrote:

“Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”

What if everyone followed the three rules suggested by this one verse?

^{A fig tree. Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash}

First, imagine if there was no crime. “Let the thief no longer steal.” The Bible tells us that in a perfect world, God’s people “shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid”[1] Every person will reap the rewards of their effort – their own wine and figs – with no concern for it being taken away from them.

Next, imagine if everyone’s job was productive and meaningful; that each person did “honest work with his own hands.” What if everyone approached their job as an act of worship, offered to God who sees and knows all? No dishonesty, no scandal, no nasty office politics, no slacking.

Last, imagine if everyone’s needs were taken care of from the surplus of others. Imagine if we had the mindset that working in order to have more to share is better than working in order to accumulate for ourselves.

What a world that would be! So, let’s make these rules into law, enforce them strictly, and we will have a perfect society, right? Wrong, because rules and laws are not the solution to the world’s problems. People don’t consistently follow rules, especially when they require that we abandon our selfish ways. At the root of Adam and Eve’s sin – the sin that taints us all – is that they wanted to do things their own way, making their own choices between good and evil, rather than trusting God to know it for them. When rebellion is the problem, more or better rules can’t solve it. Rebellion against God can’t be solved from the outside of us, only from the inside.

However, while sin will always taint us in this world, we are called to, and able to, live differently. Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” The principles of Ephesians 4:28 apply to God’s people now.

Christians are called not to follow this world’s economic models and incentives, but to “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”[2] Because in heaven the thief will “no longer steal” and we should desire that God’s “will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” we should no longer steal now. We should know that in any job we should “work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men”[3] and we should share with those in need because Jesus told us “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”[4]

Is this possible? Yes, and Paul modeled some of this for us in his own life. In Acts 20:34 he said, “You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me.” While as an apostle he could have asked each church he founded to fully support his ministry and cover his costs, instead he worked as a tentmaker to show us the principles of Ephesians 4:28 at work.

Maybe one verse can solve all of our economic problems, but only when everyone lives like God knows best. Our Savior Jesus offers us a world just like that. All good things are possible.

“Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”

[1] Micah 4:4
[2] Matthew 6:20
[3] Colossians 3:23
[4] Matthew 25:40

No Confidence in the Flesh

November 10, 2023November 5, 2023Todd R 3 Comments

Today is the last post in a 5-part series on the first Beatitude from Matthew 5:3 – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Today’s thought begins with how the Apostle Paul, who met Jesus on the road to Damascus^[1], emphasized how being “poor in spirit” is universal across all demographic characteristics:

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” – Galatians 3:28
“Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.” – Colossians 3:11

Paul wrote two different lists, meaning they are not comprehensive. He simply couldn’t include every possible example of the ways Christ eliminates barriers, but provided examples of the main point, which is “all.” Prior to these verses, he writes that “in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith” (Galatians 3:27) and that we “have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” (Colossians 3:10) This “new self” is the new identity, which is the only one that matters, that we are “sons of God”.

What does this have to do with “Blessed are the poor in spirit”?

Paul knows that Jesus provides – in full – the only way for salvation, on the cross and through His resurrection. What we think are accomplishments “in the flesh” do not make us “rich” in spirit, and in fact may make us worse off. Paul expands on this in Philippians 3:4-7, discarding any confidence he has in the flesh as “loss”:

“Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

In other words, Paul is saying that his obedience to the ceremonial law of the Old Testament, his genealogy, his denomination, his nationality, and his recognition as a religious expert provided no value, in fact negative value (“loss”), toward his salvation in Christ. From the earlier verses we can add gender and economic status to the list. His identity in earthly terms is a negative whenever it gets in the way of his identity in Christ. When he counted on these things for salvation, they only clouded his view of what was really needed and were in the way of accepting it. They were a distraction, a waste of time. This applies not just to Paul, but to anyone: religious pedigree, ethnicity, nationality, or any other accomplishment is a negative contribution if it causes us to refuse His free offer of His righteousness.

It also affects how we present Christ to others. If our own definition of “poor in spirit” includes a complete lack of faith in our “flesh”, it becomes easier to offer the gospel to “all” others, to approach them in love, and therefore to reflect the kingdom of heaven. To love our neighbor includes not limiting who our neighbor is. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the person beaten and abandoned on the side of the road is only identified as “a man.”^[2] If we know that our identity also did not matter in our salvation, that it may have made us even poorer in spirit, the identity of our neighbor will not matter either. The unity and outreach of the church depend on the idea that all are equally “poor in spirit.”

Pray for Christ to enable you to embrace your new identity, your new spirit, and provide new motivation to be a more faithful subject in His kingdom.

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” – Matthew 6:14-15
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:3

[1] Acts 9:3-9
[2] Luke 10:30

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Tag Paul

Only Resurrection Will Satisfy

God Overcomes the Green-Eyed Monster

The Economic Solution?

No Confidence in the Flesh