Feeling Far From Father God (Psalm 77)

When You Feel Far From God: "I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me" (Ps 77:1). "Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?" (Ps 77:7-9)

• Have you ever faced something so difficult and so heartbreaking that it's caused you to question God's goodness, presence and love (Ps 77:7-9; 22:1)?

What Hatred and Love Does to You by MLK

"Love is the greatest force in the universe. It is the heartbeat of the moral cosmos. He who loves is a participant in the being of God."

Repay Evil for Evil

"In the old days, people demanded 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,' and to repay evil for evil. Patience was not yet on the earth, because faith was not on the earth either. Of course, impatience made full use of the opportunities the Law gave it. That was easy when the Lord and Master of patience was not here. But now that he has come and put the grace of faith together with patience, we are no longer allowed to attack someone even with a word—not even to call someone a fool without facing the danger of judgment. The Law found more than it lost when Christ said, 'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven' (Matthew 5:44-45). This most important commandment summarizes in a word the universal discipline of patience, since it does not allow us to do evil even to people who deserve it."—Tertullian

Right Away was not right now, but Stretched out for a Long Time. Augustine.

"I was sure that it was better for me to give myself up to your love than to give in to my own desires. However, although the one way appealed to me and was gaining mastery, the other still afforded me pleasure and kept me victim. I had no answer to give to you when you said to me, 'Rise, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you.' When on all sides you showed me that your words were true, and I was overcome by your truth, I had no answer whatsoever to make, but only those slow and drowsy words, 'Right away. Yes, right away.' 'Let me be for a little while.' But 'Right away—right away' was never right now, and 'Let me be for a little while' stretched out for a long time."—St. Augustine. On delaying repentance more fully/procrastination.

A Mother's Prayer and Tears: "And Thou sent Thine hand from above, and drew my soul out of that profound darkness, my mother, Thy faithful one, weeping to Thee for me, more than mothers weep the bodily deaths of their children. For she, by that faith and spirit which she had from Thee, discerned the death wherein I lay, and Thou heard her, O Lord; Thou heard her, and despised not her tears, when streaming down, they watered the ground under her eyes in every place where she prayed; yea Thou heard her."–St. Augustine in The Confessions.

"O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams."–St. Augustine. “There are two loves, the love of God and the love of the world. If the love of the world takes possession of you, there is no way for the love of God to enter into you. Let the love of the world take the second place, and let the love of God dwell in you. Let the better love take over.”—St. Augustine.

 

The Way to Love, Anthony de Mello

• “If you look carefully you will see that there is one thing and only one thing that causes unhappiness. The name of that thing is attachment. What is an attachment? An emotional state of clinging caused by the belief that without some particular thing or some person you cannot be happy.”

3 Excellent Quotes about Love

Murdoch's view of love is knowledge of the other person, or seeing them as they really are –- it involves understanding them as a person, both their positive and negative qualities. Iris Murdoch was known for her writing on morality, good and evil and human relationships. 

• "Love is the imaginative recognition of … otherness"; and 
• "Love is the extremely difficult realization that something other than oneself is real. Love … is the discovery of reality."

The First Hour of Every Day

Imperatives, Indicatives and Ironies in Exodus 1-2

IRONIES (Read Exodus 1-2)

• The more Pharaoh tried to reduce the number of Israelites (Exo 1:9-11, 13-14), the more they increased in number (Exo 1:12, 7).

• Pharaoh wanted to drown the Hebrew males (Exo 1:22) but he and his army were drowned (Exo 14:28).

• Pharaoh feared the Hebrew men (Exo 1:16, 22) but it was the women who thwarted him (Exo 1:15; 2:1,4,9-10).

• Pharaoh tried to destroy Hebrew men, but he fully educated, trained, equipped and raised 1 Hebrew man Moses in his very own palace, who later delivered all the Hebrew slaves.

* Is God mentioned in the above? Is God involved? What do you learn? (Gen 3:5; 50:20; Ps 14:1; Prov 16:9)

• It was as though Moses belonged nowhere in this world. “Moses named him Gershom, saying, 'I have become a foreigner in a foreign land'” (Exo 2:22b). Moses was never at home anywhere...

1. ...not with his family and his own people though he was born a Hebrew.
2. ...not as an Egyptian, though he grew up in an Egyptian palace.
3. ...not with his Midianite family in the wilderness.
4. ...not in the promised land, for he wasn't allowed entrance.

• The Creator is not accepted or received by his creation. "He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him" (Jn 1:10-11).

• Jesus' birth. He was born in a manger, while Caesar ruled the entire Roman world (Lk 2:1,7). Yet Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Tim 6:15; Rev 17:14; 19:16).

• Jesus' death. "You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish" (Jn 11:50; 2 Cor 5:21).

• "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God" (Mt 19:24).
  

IMPERATIVES and INDICATIVES [Imperatives (commands) = what you should do {Law}. Indicatives = what God has done {Grace}. Christendom and evangelicalism often do not clearly distinguish Law / Grace, and misunderstands or confuses imperatives / indicatives, which confuses the church.]

• You don't repent and obey (and believe) [imperative] to be saved, but because you are saved (by grace) [indicative] you repent and obey [and believe] (Mk 1:15).

• The imperatives are based on the indicatives and the order is not reversible. [Law is based on Grace.]

• "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery [indicative]. You shall have no other gods before me [imperative]" (Exo 20:2-3; Dt 5:6-7).

• "For God so loved the world [indicative] that he gave his one and only Son [indicative], that whoever believes in him [imperative] shall not perish but have eternal life" (Jn 3:16).

• "The time has come," he said, "The kingdom of God has come near [indicative]. Repent and believe the good news [imperative]!" (Mk 1:15).

• "We love [imperative] because he first loved us [indicative]" (1 Jn 4:19).

• "...work out your salvation with fear and trembling [imperative], for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose [indicative]" (Phil 2:12-13).

• "...he saved us [indicative], not because of righteous things we had done [imperative], but because of his mercy [indicative]..." (Tit 3:5).

• For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Rom 1:17, NIV)

• For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith, just as it is written, "The righteous by faith will live." (Rom 1:17, NET)

𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙉𝙤 𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝘽𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣

Do you want: 

• All your desires to be known?
• All your secrets exposed? Or remain hidden?
• To sit through a video of every detail of your personal life?

None of this would be a revelation to God "to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid." 

The Life Jesus Wants for His People (Eberhard Arnold)

• "Outdo one another in showing honor (Rom 12:10) 
• Live in harmony with one another (Rom 12:16) 
• Admonish one another (Rom 15:14) 
• Greet one another with a holy kiss (Rom 16:16) 
• Wait for one another (1 Cor 11:33) 
• Have the same care for one another (1 Cor 12:25) 
• Be servants of one another (Gal 5:13) 
• Bear one another's burdens (Gal 6:2) 
• Comfort one another (1 Th 5:11) 
• Build one another up (1 Th 5:11) 
• Be at peace with one another (1 Th 5:13) 
• Do good to one another (1 Th 5:15) 
• Put up with one another in love (Eph 4:2) 
• Be kind and compassionate to one another (Eph 4:32) 
• Submit to one another (Eph 5:21) 
• Forgive one another (Col 3:13) 
• Confess your sins to one another (Jas 5:16) 
• Pray for one another (Jas 5:16) 
• Love one another from the heart (1 Pet 1:22) 
• Be hospitable to one another (1 Pet 4:9) 
• Meet one another with humility (1 Pet 5:5)"

― Eberhard Arnold, Called to Community: The Life Jesus Wants for His People.

Never Force Men - John Wesley

Be Perfect in Showing Mercy (Matthew 18:21-35)

"When we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with Christ, it will be possible to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced (absolute) without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft and true witnesses without being manipulative." Henri Nouwen.

Lectionary text [5/10/2020]: Psalm 31:1-16; John 14:1-14

Jesus as Teacher. Matthew incorporates almost all of Mark's Gospel, but in 5 places he inserts extensive blocks of teaching (5:1-7:27; 10:5-42; 13:1-52; 18:1-35; 23:1-25:46). The end of each of these 5 sections says, "When Jesus had finished [etelesen] these words..." This accentuates Jesus' role as authoritative teacher. At the conclusion of TSOM "the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes/teachers of the law" (Mt 7:28-29).

• Why were people not moved [disinterested, turned off] by the way the religious leaders taught the Bible?

• How does Matthew end his Gospel (Mt 28:18-20)? What is the mandate of the "great commission"? 

• How does this ground the life and mission of the church (Mt 7:24-25)? 
• Why is training necessary if we want to follow Jesus (Mt 13:52; 1 Tim 4:7; 2 Cor 7:1; 2 Pet 1:5-8)?

• Is there a system to discipleship? What is the goal of discipleship?

• Is the community of the church necessary for one to follow Jesus? Can one follow Jesus without being trained in the community of the church?  

Jesus' Hard Teaching:

• "Be perfect" (Mt 5:48). Christians don't make excuses: "I'm only human." "I'm still a sinner." "No one's perfect."

• "...unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 5:20).

• "...teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Mt 28:20). No way around teaching obedience. Teaching must be exemplified.

• "...every teacher...who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven..brings out...new treasures as well as old" (Mt 13:52). Am I a one trick pony?

• "...love your enemies" (Mt 5:44). Seriously?

• "Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them" (Mt 6:1). Why do we like to show off our righteousness?

• "I desire mercy, not sacrifice" (Mt 9:13; 12:7; Hos 6:6).

• "But you have neglected the more important [weightier] matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness" (Mt 23:23).

• "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private" (Mt 18:15, NASB). Why is this straight forward instruction hard to do?

• "...forgive...from your heart" (Mt 18:35).

Gospel and Christology [The Moral Vision of the NT, Richard Hays]:

• Taking Up the Cross [Crucified Messiah] (Mark)

• Training for the Kingdom of Heaven [Teacher] (Matthew)

• Liberation through the Power of the Spirit [The Spirit of the Lord is upon me] (Luke-Acts)

• Loving One Another [Man from heaven] (John and Epistles)

Some thoughts & reflections:

• The problem is NOT the problem.

• Obedience [keeping the Law] {being right} and disobedience [breaking the Law] {being wrong} are NOT "gospel categories," since EVERYONE disobeys [breaks the Law] {is wrong}. Thus...

• Pointing out that someone is sleeping around or not sleeping around is NOT what helps anyone to change or repent.

• Watching porn or not watching porn is NOT the change that should be sought.

• Being great(er) or having no ambition whatever is not the problem. [Hard working or lazy. Accomplished or underachieving.]

Love God

"The command to love God is a command that presumes God's love of Israel. Such a love is no vague generality, but rather is manifest in the concrete and daily care of God for his people. We know what it means to love God only because of God's love for us through the law and the prophets. This love can be harsh and dreadful, because to be loved by God is to be forced to know ourselves truthfully." Stanley Hauerwas, Matthew.

The beginning of love - Thomas Merton

"Love is the extremely difficult realisation that something other than oneself is real." Iris Murdoch.

Love is thankfulness for the existence of the beloved

"Love is gratitude: it is thankfulness for the existence of the beloved; it is the happy acceptance of everything that he gives without jealous feeling that the self ought to be able to do as much; it is a gratitude that does not seek equality; it is wonder over the other's gift of himself in companionship. Love is reverence; it keeps its distance even as it draws near; it does not seek to absorb the other; it desires the beloved to be what he is and does not seek to refashion him into a replica of the self or to make him a means to the self's advancement. As reverence love is and seeks knowledge of the other not by way of curiosity nor for the sake of gaining power, but in rejoicing and wonder. Love is loyalty it is the willingness to let the self be destroyed rather than the other cease to be."  H. Richard Niebuhr

Love, Joy, Sin

"Love is the extremely difficult realization that something other than oneself is real." ― Iris Murdoch.

"Love is the nonviolent apprehension of the other as other." Iris Murdoch as quoted by Stanley Hauerwas.

"Christians are obligated to love one another...even if they're married. Love does not create marriage, but marriage creates loves." Stanley Hauerwas.

"If you are a Christian you should be joyful in a way that other people find attractive. It should make people wonder, 'Gee, what makes them tick?'"  Stanley Hauerwas.

"The idea that you need to be convinced you're a sinner in order to come to salvation is getting it backwards. By being saved in Christ you then are able to have some information as to what it means to be a sinner. That's the school of discipleship. The tents (modern evangelism) made sins too interesting. And it's exactly that Christians are saved from the narcissistic fascination with our sins." Stanley Hauerwas.

The Alliteration of Love (1 Corinthians 13)

Love (1 Corinthians 13) for God, each other and others:

1. The preeminence of love (1 Cor 13:1-3).
2. The practice of love (1 Cor 13:4-7).
3. The perfection of love (1 Cor 13:8-10).
4. The progression of love (1 Cor 13:11-12).
5. The permanence of love (1 Cor 13:13).

Love must always be present, predominant and persistent. May our love for God, each other and others be:

Love (Dt 6:5)

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (The Shema)

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

1. What love is
2. Why we love
3. How to love

I. What love is

• God is love (1 Jn 4:8, 16).
• Not words or feelings, but a practical demonstration (Rom 5:8; Jn 3:16).
  

II. Why we love

• God first loved us (1 Jn 4:19).
• God redeemed us from slavery (Dt 5:15; 15:15).

The Search for One True Love (Gen 29:15-35)

"...the Lord saw that Leah was not loved..." (Gen 29:31).

Each of us has a desire that seemingly cannot be quenched. It is the desire for one true love.

Theme: Those who have an inner vacuum and emptiness give themselves to a hope---a hope for one true love.

Many movies portray dramatically the desire for one true love (Forest Gump, The English Patient, etc). Famous one-liners are "You had me at 'hello.'" (Jerry Maguire, 1996), or "Here's looking at you, kid." (Casablanca, 1942.), "Titanic" was a mega hit in 1997 partly because every girl in the world wishes to have "her very own" Leonardo DiCaprio, who sacrificed himself to the freezing ocean out of his undying love for his 1 true love. She wishes that her "heart will go on" forever because of a true love that never dies. As a result, Titanic made $1.8 billion with James Cameron, the director earning $100 million. We agree with the Beatles that "All you need is love."

God's Heart of Love (Zeph 1:1-3:20)

“He will take great delight in you;  in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (Zeph 3:17b).

We love romantic photos/stories because we love to be adored by one we adore. This longing never diminishes throughout life. Why? It is because we were made to love God and to be loved by him. But because of sin, we look for love in all the wrong places, only to be unfulfilled and unsatisfied. God loved his people Israel. But they spurned his love for idols and suffered the consequences of their idolatry. Despite this, God still longs to delight in his people.