One of my first assigned translation passages for my Hebrew class was Genesis 22.  Genesis 22 had previously always been the passage that I was most embarrassed about when I talked to skeptics about the Bible.  I mean...why in the world would a loving God tell a man of faith to sacrifice his own son?  It seemed so cruel and so pagan, I always wished it weren't in the Bible.  But perhaps that is precisely why it has become one of the most significant passages in the Bible for me.  In my heart of hearts, I just can't picture a deeper anguish than a parent having to offer up their child -- and as I'm caught up in this heartaching empathy, I realize that whereas God provided a ram in Isaac's place so that Abraham didn't end up having to lose Isaac, God did not provide a substitution when His own son was up on the chopping block.  For our sakes, this Parent gave up His son.  What love is this -- I will never understand.

When I was translating this passage for the first time last quarter, I was very struck by Gen 22:8.  The phrase that is usually translated "God will provide" in English comes from the Hebrew word "yereh-lo."   This word comes from the root word "raah", which means "sees".  The phrase could be translated "God will see to it".  In other words, God sees.  He will see to it, because He sees Abraham.  He will see to it, because He *sees* you and He *sees* me.  In a world where we often feel very much so on our own, often as if we are always fighting as hard as we can in order to simply make it; it is truly breathtaking and heartstopping to me to have such an immense truth break through -- a devoted Father and friend, who happens to be the King of the universe, right by our sides, seeing, knowing and fighting for us.  [selah]

The other night when we were in the car with some friends, a cop pulled us over after making a right turn. He had set up cones and was literally waiting for us and all others who would make that right turn on red, so that he could slap us with a ticket.  I was really annoyed that he would just sit there laying in wait, eager to catch people doing wrong.  After the incident, as I thought about it more, I realized that this is pretty much how many people see God.  God is the cop who is just sitting there waiting for you to do something wrong, so that He could catch you and slap you with a penalty.  I'm so glad that this is so far from the truth.  Easter reminds us that God already slapped the penalty on Jesus, so for us, all He has is open arms, waiting for us to come home.  Luke 15 reminds us that God is the lady who rejoices over finding her lost coin, the shepherd who scoops up the missing sheep and puts it on his shoulders near His heart, and the prodigal father who has arms outstretched and a party waiting for the return of his lost child.  May we never be afraid to run home into the Father's arms.

Click here, to see lyrics to this song by Shane & Shane.

When I first learned about "Good Friday" (for I didn't know Jesus 'til I was 16), I thought it was such a misnomer.  How could it be "good" when the Savior of the world was dying a cruel death?  Shouldn't it be "Sad Friday" or "Bad Friday"? 

On this "Good Friday" 2009, it is a dark and gloomy day -- just like it was that first "Sad Friday".  Darkness seemed to reign that day - as the skies clouded over from noon until 3 in the afternoon, and as Jesus hung on the cross crying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?"  ("My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?")  (Mt 27:46) -- which is perhaps the most painful and pitiful cry the world has ever heard. 

As I close my eyes and imagine the scene and hear His voice cry out, experiencing the earth quaking and the rocks splitting (Mt 27:51), feeling the cold wind slap my face and seeing my Jesus hanging forlorn on that cross, all I can feel is that this truly is a Sad Friday.  Where are the crowds who shouted Hosanna -- and the ones who were so eager to touch Jesus so that they could be healed or to come in close in order to see Jesus perform miracles?  Where are His disciples who said they'd follow Him wherever He went, even to death (Jn 11:16)?  ("You do not want to leave me too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.  Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life" Jn 6:67-68).  They have all run away (except for the few faithful female disciples and the one male disciple "whom He loved" Jn 19:25).  Even the sun has run away and hidden itself -- for the scene is too unbearable to witness.  It is dark and it is cold, and it seems as if the world has come to an end as the King of kings hangs dying.

Jesus, Jesus, thank you for taking upon your shoulders the condemnation of the world.  Thank you for experiencing the pain -- the lashes, the mockery, the abandonment and the shameful death -- that should have been mine because of my sins, my selfishness, and my inability to completely meet your holy standard of perfection.  Thank you, Jesus, that it was through this death - through your dying and your coming back to life again - that allowed "the curtain of the temple (to be) torn in two from top to bottom" (Mt 27:51), so that we may now enter into the Holy of Holies and speak with you face to face, as a person would with their friend -- and which also allowed the tombs to break open (Mt 27:52) so that "Death has been swallowed up in victory" (and we may taunt, "Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?") (1 Cor 15:54-55) -- so that anyone who believes in you will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in you will never die (Jn 11:25-26) -- so that this dark, sad, bad, seemingly hopeless Friday is really and truly a Good Friday, after all.  Thank you, Jesus.

I used to refuse to believe that God punished people for their sins.  I think I was just too afraid to include that attribute to my definition of God.  It  just didn't fit in with the beautiful picture I had of Him as loving Father and gracious Savior.  There was no room for a wrathful God in my little box.  But God's wrath is not unrestrained and unjust as human wrath.  He has righteous wrath.  And if it were true that He never punished sinners for their sins, then He would not truly be a just God; there wouldn't be a need for Jesus (for truly, we need Jesus); and Jesus wouldn't have had to be punished on the cross for our sins.  No, God is a God of wrath and He does punish!

But those who believe in Jesus don't have to worry about punishment, for He has already taken our punishment.  We have already been punished because He has already been punished in our place.

It reminds me of the story of the "whipping boy" by Sid Fleischman.  There once was a naughty prince.  He was a very naughty little boy, and as with all naughty little boys, he needed to be punished for all of his naughtiness.  But because he was the prince - the royal heir - he was not to be touched.  Therefore, his family provided a whipping boy for him.  Every time the prince was naughty and did something bad, the whipping boy got punished in his place -- though of course the whipping boy was innocent and inculpable of any wrong. 

Jesus is our whipping boy -- except that He took the Ultimate Punishment -- He was crucified and died once for all and doesn't ever need to be punished again.  And this is a true story.  "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring you to God.  He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit."  1 Ptr 3:18  Thank you, Jesus, for taking on my punishment for me.

If someone is pursuing you to attack you, you hide.  You find the best place to hide, and if you are successful in making yourself hidden, then you will be saved.  The key is finding a good hiding place.  The psalmist in Psalm 143 found it.  V.9, "Rescue me from my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in you."  If I am hidden in God -- if God is my shield, my protector, and my cover -- then my Enemy (satan) cannot find me -- cannot touch me!! -- and thus I am saved (I am safe from his attacks).  He won't be able to pursue me, "crush me to the ground", force me to "dwell in darkness like those long dead" nor destroy me (Ps 143:3).  Hallelujah!   

"For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."  Col 3:3

As a result of a slow and arduous reading of Leviticus this past week, I woke up the other morning thinking about what a privilege/honor/blessing it is that we don't have to follow all these rituals just to have relationship with God.  When we want to pray, we don't have to go to all the trouble of actually, physically going to the place of the tabernacle or temple.  We don't have to offer the best of our bull, goat or sheep.  We don't have to slit its throat and collect the blood nor skin it (how messy, bloody and gross was it to have to make a sacrifice!).  I can just wake up in the morning and pray -- right there in my PJs in my bed, with messy hair and morning breath and all!  Amazing.  And perhaps the ease of it has led me to taking it for granted at times.  Perhaps I forget sometimes to stand in awe of God.  Perhaps that's why it's important to read Leviticus and the gospels and remember what it cost God in order to provide me with this ease.  And in the remembering, I better respond with awe and amazement, gratitude and thankfulness.  In remembering the cost, may I come before the Lord in great humility.

"The Lord said, 'I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt.  I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.  So  I have come down to rescue them...and bring them...into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.... I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.  So now, go.  I am sending you...'"  Exodus 3:7-10

God sees and hears and is concerned about those who are suffering.  He came down to rescue and to bring the Israelites to a land of milk and honey.  Not only does He deliver His people from harm, but He delivers them to GOOD.  God's heart is really for His people.  He sees and hears their cries (He does not turn a blind eye or a deaf ear), and He is concerned about suffering.  He does not want His people to experience suffering.

I think this should be something on the top of our list of the "purpose and mission" of our family.  God is concerned about those who suffer, so we should also be concerned and do what we can to help alleviate their suffering.

He called Moses who himself says, "Who am I that I should go?"  All of us can relate in some way to where Moses is coming from.  We come from weird, imperfect family dynamics or have odd childhood histories, and we've somehow overcome that and found our way in this world somewhat -- with our jobs, our routines, our friends, and our families.  That's Moses' story.  He had a complicated childhood (being left in the Nile, being adopted, being nursed by his biological mother; his adopted grandfather never accepted him and tried to kill him after he accidentally killed someone, etc), he got married, had a child, had a job (shepherding), knew God vaguely but certainly not deeply nor intimately, and God called him out (an ordinary guy with a somewhat complicated history - not one a politician would want, mind you) and said, "I care about these people who are suffering.  Go do something about it for me, and I will be by your side." 

It doesn't matter where we are or what we're doing now, (our plans, agendas or priorities), God wants us to help those who suffer.  Whether Sam and I are "busy" in seminary, working secular jobs or missionaries, we need to help those who suffer -- whether it's foster babies or people with broken hearts.  This is what's on God's heart.  Hearts were not made to be broken.

In Ex 3, we read of Moses' first encounter with the Lord:  "Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God."  He hid because he understood that he was on holy ground and that he was a sinner (guilty of murder and having had to run from home).  What a contrast to the prophet of God later in Ex 33:1 (and Nu 12:8) who would speak to God face to face as a person would to a friend.  I love this picture -- because that is what Jesus has done for us -- that though we were sinners and should hide from the presence of a holy God, He has made it possible for us instead to speak intimately with Him as friends would.  That is His passion.

I just dug up this devotional I wrote in 2002.  May it be a blessing to you today. 

“God is
Better and Best”  Genesis 22         

Some things to Ponder: 

1.  Have you ever had to wait to get something
you were promised?  How would you feel
if the wait was long and you didn’t know when it was coming?
2.  What feelings would you have once you got
it?
3.  How would you then feel about the object
that had been promised to you? 

For
over twenty years, Abraham waited for a son. 
This son was the key to an incredible inheritance that God had
promised.  Years after the son was born,
God told Abraham to sacrifice this very son. 
What would you have done? Read Gen 22:1-19 to see what Abraham
did.

            Abraham did not withhold his son
from God – even though we know that Abraham loved this child like nothing else
– we know this because he had waited so long before he got this son.  But he obeyed God.  Why? 

            It says in v. 12 that Abraham feared
God, and fearing God means that you do not withhold anything from
Him.  Abraham must’ve known a
secret.  The only time someone
would be willing to give up something good is when there’s something better to
be gained to replace that.  So what was the secret? 

God is better and
best! 

As he gave up the thing he loved most,
Abraham was saying, “Lord, as much as I love my son, I love You more than
him.  You are better than
anything else in this world.  You are
the best thing in this world!”  After Abraham
made this choice, he was not disappointed. 
He found out in inexpressible ways how incredibly “better and best” God
actually was!   

Today
God is presenting this choice to you as well. 
What is it that you love more than anything?  Would you be willing to give this up for God
in order to find what is better and best? 
In the act of surrendering to God, you would get a chance to say, “Lord,
you are totally more satisfying, fulfilling and interesting than this other
thing.”  As you declare this in your heart, you will find out how incredibly true this is!  God wants to replace the good things you now have with something
even better:  Himself.

Pause & reflect:

            As you begin to think about things
that you are holding onto, think about this final thought:  God calls you to not withhold anything from
Him, and what He promises you is that He will not
withhold anything good from
you (Psalm 84:11, Rom 8:32)!  Consider
this before God as you consider offering the things that are important to you
in order to be wholly devoted to Him. 
Pray that He would show you that He is better and best.

            John 3:16, Romans 5:6-8

That was the question that popped into my head today during worship service, as I sat in front of the old wooden baptismal 'pool' which was underneath a rough, 'rugged' cross.  Traditions to me are not things you follow, but things you create (and after created, can be changed over and over again depending on the changing climate and circumstances).  But aren't there old and established traditions that I like?

When I first became a Christian, I loved the traditions.  I suppose it was because it was something I could hang my hat on.  The cross means this.  Communion means this and you do it in this and this order.  Worship service has a time of singing when you engage in a verbal and corporate act of honoring God and giving Him your life and a time of preaching that will grab ahold of your heart and lift you upward and outward.  There is comfort in traditions - something that you can always depend on occurring the same as always before.  It made it easy and formulaic too.  "So this is how you be a Christian."

But I started disliking traditions when, in the midst of my sincere desire to follow where God was moving, I was stopped in my tracks.  "You can't do that.  You can't change that!  That's never been done before."  "If you want to do that, then you have to follow the following steps, jump through the following hoops..."  While I could usually understand why certain rules and traditions were set into place, I could also see the unfortunate tendency to stick to those old rules to the death without truly consulting the Holy Spirit for a possible change in trajectory. 

Like today, for example, when we were taking communion (a tradition that I do love).  The deacon almost passed us up, just as Sam reached his hand out to accept the bread basket.  As a result, the deacon leaned in, before allowing Sam to take one, and asked as if doubtful, "Have you been baptized?"  I thought it was a little bit strange.  The pastor had already stated very clearly that if you have not accepted Christ and have not yet been baptized, then you shouldn't observe communion.  Fortunately, Sam qualified; he loves Jesus and has been dunked before.  But what if he hadn't been submersed?  The fact that Sam sincerely wanted to participate in remembering Christ's atoning sacrifice should've been reason enough.  This felt, to me, like what Jesus meant when He rebuked the pharisess and teachers of the law for holding onto the tradition and law so much that they ended up shutting the Kingdom of heaven in people's faces.  Why do we slam the door on those who actually want to enter? 

What's the line between upholding beautiful, appropriate traditions and being misguided pharisees and teachers of the law?  You don't have to have all the traditions to have true spirituality.  Perhaps, maybe, you don't have to have any... ?

What Christian traditions do you like?  Why do you like them?