This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.
Don’t Explain; Pray
Eliphaz claimed to know exactly where Job was, and Bildad claims the same thing. Job was hurt, and these men tried to heal him with platitudes. The place for the comforter is not that of one who preaches, but of the comrade who says nothing, but prays to God about the matter. The biggest thing you can do for those who are suffering is not to talk platitudes, not to ask questions, but to get into contact with God…. Job’s friends never once prayed for him; all they did was to try and make coin for the enrichment of their own creed out of his sufferings.
From Baffled To Fight Better
Great reminder: The biggest thing you can do for those who are suffering is…get into contact with God on their behalf.
Although originally published 20 years ago, The Church In Exile by James W. Thompson is even more on-target today.
Taking its title from a phrase in the book of 1 Peter in the Bible (aliens and strangers in the world), Dr. Thompson makes the Apostle Peter’s counsel readily applicable for today. Christians don’t belong to this world, we are simply exiles living here temporarily until we reach our true home in heaven. Peter addresses how we as exiles are to conduct ourselves in foreign—often hostile—territory.
Dr. Thompson brings in just enough cultural background from the first century to set the stage, but then quickly shows the reader the parallels to the twenty-first century. He also uses just enough of his extensive knowledge Greek to pull out the deeper definition of words, but not so much as to make this a dry read. On the contrary, I was almost instantly hooked, and learned so much from every chapter.
I found this quote near the beginning of the book which set the stage for me:
“The changes that have taken place within the last generation will not make exiles of those whose Christian commitment demands little of them. Nor will it make exiles of churches that speak only to echo what others are already saying. Indeed, religion may remain popular in our culture as long as it exists only to bless the popular values. However, those who are willing to say that God has decisively revealed Himself only in Jesus Christ, and that our response to Him is a matter of ultimate importance, will be exiles in a culture that believes that all commitments are equally valid.”
The Church In Exile could easily be used as a personal Bible study tool, as a companion to reading through 1 Peter. However, the discussion questions at the end of each chapter would also make this book an excellent study guide for a small group Bible study.
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Things seem to be going very, very well for Israel! Check out what Isaiah wrote:
Their land is fullof silver and gold; there is no end to their treasures. Their land is full of horses; there is no end to their chariots.
Sounds like a success story to me!
But wait: the next verse sounds a bit ominous:
Their land is full of idols; the people worship things they have made with their own hands.
Money? Yes.
Influence? Lots.
Prosperity? For everyone.
Idolatry? Widespread.
They were no longer looking to God, but they were looking to what they had made with their own hands. In other words, they made Money their god.
Money can save us!
Money can fix all our problems!
Without Money we are lost!
Only those with Money can be saved!
Sadly, I believe what was said of Israel 2500 years ago could be said of the United States of America today. In God We Trust is printed on all our currency, but it really has become In Money We Trust. We have made Money our god.
Don’t believe me? How do you think most people would answer these fill-in-the-blanks:
I need _____________ to get clothes.
Without _____________ I cannot feed my family.
If I lost _____________ today I would be devastated.
I frequently think about how more _____________ in my life would make my life better.
What should go in the blank: Money or God? Again, let’s let Jesus have the final word: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Luke 16:13).
After nearly 21 years of marriage, I thought I had my wife pretty well figured out, but Shaunti & Jeff Feldhahn made me second-guess that belief in For Men Only.
This book is the compilation of surveys, focus group discussions, and lots of highly revealing emails and letters from women all over the country. Then Jeff & Shaunti dig through all of the data to help us guys figure out what’s really going on inside the hearts and minds of the special women in our lives.
Although there were a lot of statistics and bar charts throughout the book, For Men Only is not a dry academic book. On the contrary, the Feldhahns make these results so “livable” for all of us clueless men. The bottom line: when we guys try to understand and communication with the women in our lives the same way we understand and communicate with other guys, we’re setting ourselves up for a lot of frustration.
In the famous “love chapter” in the Bible (1 Corinthians 13), the Apostle Paul implies that love should always be maturing. And when the Apostle Peter says that men should live considerately with our wives, he is really saying that we should live with ever increasing knowledge of them. For Men Only is really helping me do this, and I believe it will help any other men who are serious about continuing to understand their wives better so they can love them more deeply.
Never say anything that isn’t true. Have nothing to do with lies and misleading words. (Proverbs 4:24)
Most decent people don’t have an issue with this one. We would never dream of whispering to someone we care about things like…
…you’re a loser.
…you can’t seem to do anything right.
…hey, stupid, nice job. Not!
But the verse just before says this:
Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. (v. 23)
I wonder how many times we whisper words like loser, failure, or stupid to ourselves. The things we’d never say to someone else, we seem all too ready to say to ourselves!
What are you whispering to yourself? Listen closely. Are you whispering things to yourself that you would never whisper to someone else? Then it’s time to start whispering something new.
Solomon preceded this with these words of affection that seem to come right from our Heavenly Father’s mouth:
My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen to my words. Never let them get away from you. Remember them and keep them in your heart. (vv. 20-21)
God’s Spirit will never, ever, EVER speak cutting, hurtful, unkind, or untrue words to you. God loves you as if you were the only person on earth to love! He loves you so much that He sent His Son to rescue you.
Listen closely because He’s saying it right now, “I love you!”
A Collection Of Wednesdays is written by Amy Gaither Hayes, who describes herself as, “I am not One Who Must Write; I am One Who Can Write When She Must.” The One Who Can Write When She Must has delivered a book that is part memoir, part observation, and part poetry.
Arranged into fourteen distinct sections, Amy sometimes tell a story about her life, and sometimes shares with the reader what she is observing around her each week. Then each section is wrapped up with a couple of poems she has written about that particular subject. Her writings are an honest, fresh look at how we process the people and events in our lives who have gone into shaping who we have become (and are becoming).
The title of the book comes from Amy’s weekly writing time, which I think would be an appropriate way to read this book: one section each week, giving yourself time to reflect on not only Amy’s insights, but your thoughts about your own past, present, and future.
There was no more terrible death than death by crucifixion. Even the Romans themselves regarded it with a shudder of horror. Cicero declared that it was “the most cruel and horrifying death.” Tacitus said that it was a “despicable death.” It was originally a Persian method of execution. It may have been used because, to the Persians, the earth was sacred, and they wished to avoid defiling it with the body of an evil-doer. So they nailed him to a cross and left him to die there, looking to the vultures and the carrion crows to complete the work. The Carthaginians took over crucifixion from the Persians; and the Romans learned it from the Carthaginians.
Crucifixion was never used as a method of execution in the homeland, but only in the provinces, and there only in the case of slaves. It was unthinkable that a Roman citizen should die such a death. Cicero says: “It is a crime for a Roman citizen to be bound; it is a worse crime for him to be beaten; it is well nigh parricide for him to be killed; what am I to say if he be killed on a cross? A nefarious action such as that is incapable of description by any word, for there is none fit to describe it.” It was that death, the most dreaded in the ancient world, the death of slaves and criminals, that Jesus died.
The routine of crucifixion was always the same. When the case had been heard and the criminal condemned, the judge uttered the fateful sentence: Ibis ad crucem, “You will go to the cross.” The verdict was carried out there and then. The condemned man was placed in the centre of a quaternion, a company of four Roman soldiers. His own cross was placed upon his shoulders. Scourging always preceded crucifixion and it is to be remembered how terrible scourging was. Often the criminal had to be lashed and goaded along the road, to keep him on his feet, as he staggered to the place of crucifixion. Before him walked an officer with a placard on which was written the crime for which he was to die and he was led through as many streets as possible on the way to execution. There was a double reason for that. There was the grim reason that as many as possible should see and take warning from his fate. But there was a merciful reason. The placard was carried before the condemned man and the long route was chosen, so that if anyone could still bear witness in his favor, he might come forward and do so. In such a case, the procession was halted and the case retried. —William Barclay, Commentary on John
They said she’s not worthy
with words so unkind.
They said she’s not respectable;
God said, “She’s Mine.”
I hear the voice of Jesus,
I hear the voice of my Lord,
I hear the voice of my Savior
saying, “My child, I adore you.
I hear you call My name in desperation.
I hear you call My name in praise.
I hear you call My name in worship.
I hear each time that you pray.
I know that you love Me.
I know that on Me you depend.
It’s for you My Son I did send.”
So lift your hands and heart toward heaven
when life seems unable to bear.
There’s a wooden Cross on Calvary
proving Someone cares.
Listen to the voice of Jesus.
Listen to the voice of the Lord.
Listen to the voice of the Savior.
A home in heaven will be your reward.
—Betty Ann King, I Hear Him
I pray that today you can hear Jesus calling your name and saying, “You are mine; I paid an incredibly high price to show you how much I love you!”
Don’t Explain; Pray
Craig T. Owens 