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Communion – January 4, 2026

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Moving from betrayal to blessing.

Communion through Mark’s perspective. 

Mark’s gospel describes Jesus meeting with his disciples for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Eating the yeast-less for seven days gives us a glimpse of both the speed and of a spiritual purification of how the Jewish people left Egypt. 

All four gospels mention Judas betrayal, Matthew, Mark & John mentions it right away. Of course, John goes on to give us the foot washing with no mention of the communion moment. Luke puts the betrayal after the Lord’s blessing. 

Mark writes, 

“In the evening Jesus arrived with the Twelve. As they were at the table eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me here will betray me.” Mark‬ ‭14‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This all happened in this close, intimate meal, celebrating the oldest celebrations Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, with family and friends. 

It’s like sitting down for the family Christmas meal and announcing the worse possible news involving someone at the table – before the blessing! 

This timing emphasizes the contrast between Judas’ treachery and the love and community celebrated during the meal.

This abruptness lets us know two things about communion:

1. We live in a world filled with conflict between light and darkness, loyalty and betrayal.

2. By placing the betrayal before the blessings, we see the contrast; first Judas’ then Jesus’ behavior. Jesus comes with themes of love, sacrifice, and even unity within communion. 

Family and friend betrayal is the worst, but it doesn’t have to be the final word, leaving years of bitterness, anger and resentment. We can follow Jesus’ lead to get over and beyond betrayal to reconcile, love and stick together. You’ll notice that Judas was the only one who left the room to do the deed. The rest stayed and experienced Jesus’ promise to gather in the future newness of the Kingdom of God!

“As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is my body.” And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And he said to them, “This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many. I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.” Mark‬ ‭14‬:‭22‬-‭25‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Can we move from betrayal to blessing as we take communion together in this new year? Will you join me in forgiving those who hurt us. Will you join me in reconciling, even to bless those who have betrayed us?

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God goes for the rejected.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

“When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Luke gives us the story we were all so curious about. What happens when a kid comes back home, as an adult? Wow! Themes of familiarity, knowing someone when they were little, but now they are all grown up. Mothers who speak of feeding, burping and changing your diapers. Fathers who use phrases like, “knee high to a grasshopper.” Older friends talking about very stale stories when you were a child or teen, laughing about your “awkward” stage. Jesus went home, but he had changed even though Nazareth had not! It’s gets me.

I’m guilty of and surrounded by the stories of “back in the day.” Unfortunately, it’s one of the things you have to face when you’ve kept life-long friendships and relatives that are more sentimental than ever. Jesus went home and home only had memories of his past and a few stories of what had happened since he left. What a moment to capture! Thank you Dr. Luke for giving us such a dramatic, transitional moment in Jesus’ life, but also an amazing insight into how we tend to keep people locked in our memories, not allowing them to grow into God’s design.

To get the best possible picture of what these short moments in the local Nazareth synagogue looked like, you have to watch The Chosen, Season 3, Episode 3, called, “Physician, Heal Yourself.” To summarize: At the synagogue, Jesus reads a scroll from the Prophet Isaiah and declares its fulfillment on that day. Jesus uses the examples of Elijah with the widow of Zarephath and Elisha with Naaman to prove His pronouncement of salvation in the Year of Jubilee. Jesus then proclaims Himself as the Messiah, enraging and upsetting the hearers. The people of Nazareth reject and condemn Jesus for His proclamation as the Law of Moses, driving Him out of the town to throw Him down a cliff, but Jesus passes through their midst.

Wow! Jesus, comes home and literally causes a violent riot, with the local religious activists fully intending to kill him. Luke tells us, “When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious,” Luke‬ ‭4‬:‭28‬. What exactly were they furious about? Because right after Jesus said the prophetic promise was fulfilled that day. Luke tells us they spoke well of him and they were even amazed by his grace with authority. It was most likely the next thing Jesus told his own community leaders that ruffled their defensive feathers.

Jesus, led by the Spirit and reading the room, simply spoke what they were all thinking. What were they thinking? They were thinking about an ancient proverb that says, “Physician, heal yourself”— meaning, “Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.” Then Jesus presents the pharisaical elephant in the synagogue. “Your legalistic, religious zeal has blinded you because that same selfish spirit is what killed the prophets that brought God’s truth!” Jesus said, “no prophet is accepted in his own hometown,” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭4‬:‭24‬.

Bringing light and salt to their fake facades Jesus quickly summarizes two stories about two of the most favored, famous prophets; Elijah and Elisha. Elijah with the widow and Elisha with the Syrian general. Instead of God sending these two prophets to their own people, the Jews, God sent them to Gentiles – despised foreigners! Hard truth: God has passed you by because you’ve rejected truth, and God has moved on to invite all people – namely, the Gentiles, the Samaritans, the rejected and lost. This is what caused them to pick up their proverbial pitch forks and torches! They didn’t like what Jesus inferred, so they dealt with it exactly how our modern mobs deal with truth – let’s just kill the truth teller! Of course it was not Jesus’ time, it would come later. But, we all know you can’t kill truth, it will endure beyond individuals.

God still goes after the rejected. Paul even says God goes after His enemies – even while we were yet sinners… Christ died for us. Apparently that really makes self righteous folks really mad. The good news for the poor is the understanding that we know we’re broken, but God comes not to condemn us but to save us. If we can’t figure out how broken we are, then when we see God’s mercy given to someone not so good, it makes us angry not grateful.

Prayer

​Dad,
Sinners, know thyself! I know who I was and who I am now. I was not just lost, I was miserable. I knew without you, I would not have anything, no life, no future. You changed my life and I must see others through the same eyes that recognized just how broken I was. Thank you.

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Future-casting.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Paul, in writing to the churches in Corinth, lays down the most vulnerable, transparent teachings ever. His second letter, likely out of three of them, just gets so real.

In this portion of the letter is one of the most powerfully encouraging truths about life as a believer – even more so as one who is sold out to Jesus. Paul admits, bad stuff happens! “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed” ‭‭2 Cor.‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬-‭9‬.

Paul does not ignore present circumstances coming at us all-the-time, yet he always reframes these events as temporary, but inevitable, expected but completely conquerable! God will raise us just as he did Christ, a benefit package for believers. Plus, all this means that God’s grace reaches more and more people! And, God will receive more and more glory (‭‭2 Cor.‬ ‭4‬:‭15‬). In Christ, there is no way to lose!

With all this confident conviction Paul can say, “that’s why we never give up!” I don’t know what the secret “spiritual” mix is, but I wonder if it’s not 10% faith and 90% gritty-grace. I have found that determination, or stubbornness submitted to the Holy Spirit works wonders in helping us have the life that Paul lived. He doesn’t deny the reality of “thlipsis” – high pressured affliction (the word picture is being trapped, constricted in a narrow place). Paul just says, it won’t last long. And, the momentary “light” squeeze produces an excessive amount of what Paul called “weighted glory.”

Is this how and why he can speak to us about our focus? Are we staring too long at the pinch of pressure overlooking the overwhelming power of God’s glory in eternity? Yes, we are still temporally fixated beings, but with faith we can lift our eyes to see what God sees. Future casting is not making so much out of these seasonal, even transient moments of struggle, but looking up and forward to what God is doing and will continue to do in us and through us.

Paul didn’t just theoretically know about these brief blips of being bound, he experienced them. Through the power of the Holy Spirit he gives us this wisdom, his own experienced knowledge to help us when we face our own very real and present troubles. Jesus said it like this, “these things I have told you, in the world you will have tribulation, but take courage because I have overcome the world” John 16:33.

Prayer

​Dad,
I cannot say that I like being squeezed or trapped by situations that completely overwhelm me! In fact, more often than not, I freeze in those moments, getting stuck! I feel such a loss of control. Yet, I also admit those times were are far more temporary than I realized. And, I am learning to not resist, react or freeze up as much as I used to. Your wisdom through Paul’s experiences has helped me realize that I too quickly, and far too often, focus on only what I see instead of what you are up to. Thank you for your patience and gritty-grace to get me to lift my eyes and see where my help really comes from.

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Seeing what seems impossible.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Instead, you will see Zion as a place of holy festivals. You will see Jerusalem, a city quiet and secure. It will be like a tent whose ropes are taut and whose stakes are firmly fixed. The Lord will be our Mighty One. He will be like a wide river of protection that no enemy can cross, that no enemy ship can sail upon. For the Lord is our judge, our lawgiver, and our king. He will care for us and save us.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭33‬:‭20‬-‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Our eyes may not deceive us when we look around and see chaos and its cousins mayhem and misery. Yet, our eyes do not have the ability to see what is beyond their physical realties. How do we see what seems to be impossible? How do we direct our soul, mind and strength towards a future that currently projects itself as futile? This is faith which becomes reality, solid and secure enough to exchange a hellish existence for hope.

Faith believes, hope follows.

Earlier in this passage, Isaiah recorded the precision of which the Assyrians gained and gloated in their plunderous victories. The Assyrian officers took the time to record how many towers they destroyed and their bookkeepers followed up with scrooge-like glee recording each item in their piles of plunder!

Isaiah reminds the leaders and the people of God how far they have strayed that God would discipline them with these “fierce, violent people with their strange, unknown language.” He promises that the people of God would remember that “time of terror!” Isaiah tells them the truth of the days ahead before the truth was even a reality. Is God’s Word truth even before it’s experienced or even believed? Clearly that’s what history teaches us.

One of Isaiah’s famous phrases is “lift your eyes.” And, he’s not talking about physically looking up, but through faith, he encourages us to see with eyes of faith (Isaiah 40:26, 51:6, 60:4). Seeing the truth before us, means that we can, we must, see and understand what is happening around us. Discerning whether it is something of our own doing (sin and disordered desires), an attack from a very real enemy, who actively pursues our destruction, or from God as he lovingly corrects us, leading us to repent and move towards him rather than away from him. Then, the eyes of faith can look beyond current circumstances to see that God is faithful and forgiving.

Isaiah wrote that they “will see Zion,” in a completely new future. Jerusalem filled once again with feasts and festivals. To see it filled with peace and quiet because of the security with its gates, walls and towers!

This passage crescendos with, “The Lord will be our Mighty One” – Our “Yahweh addir.” Where Yahweh is our lawgiver, judge and King! He will “yasha” save us (where the name Joshua/Jesus comes from).

Within the context of what is happening in and around our life, we may only physically see that everything looks like it’s going wrong. My hope is that Isaiah’s words to Israel are a confrontational comfort to us – that things will not always be this way. For us to “lift our eyes,” to Yahweh with faith, like in Psalm 121:1; from where our help comes from!

Prayer

Dad,
So often I only see what is happening around me or to me, forgetting to lift my eyes to you! It always seems to be a challenge to pause and look up FIRST, before fear and anxiety sets in to steal faith, peace and even joy. Help me to prioritize my pause, remember your faithfulness and yield to your ways rather than my own.

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Small but significant.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.” He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭13‬:‭18‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus, in speaking of the Kingdom of God, uses two words in his object lesson illustrations – tiny and little. Well, really he says it’s like a “kokkos” a grain and “zumé” yeast. The New Living Translation inserts the word “little,” but it’s not in the original language. Apparently yeast is so powerfully pervasive that it needs no modifier word.

Is Jesus saying that the Kingdom starts out small, but grows and expands to something much bigger and more powerful? That’s what it looks like. I don’t want to read too much into Jesus’ word-play here, but it’s interesting to think of God’s plans or His ways being anything but gigantic!

Are God’s ways subtle? I can see how they would be hidden, mysterious, even secretive in the way that would peek our curiosity. It’s hard for my brain to understand words like omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent by descriptions like a mustard seed or a smallest smidgen of yeast!

God does love to start small; creating humans from dust, choosing one unknown nomadic (Abram) to become a nation, a people that would become more populous than the sands of the sea or stars in the sky. And the most famous small to significant example, a chromosome supernaturally implanted into Mary’s ovum, where God takes on flesh and becomes a man. Yeah, this is how God has always approached us and world in which we experience life.

God comes like a grain, a smidgen of greatness, so small, so understated, that it can be easily dismissed or even entirely missed. But it does not remain small, nor nearly invisible. It grows exponentially larger than we can even imagine. Yeah, that sounds exactly like God, like Jesus’ birth, life and death, like what the Kingdom of God will become. It starts small, but hardly insignificant. To find it, to discover it, to live it, we must look for it, like a young child, so curious to touch everything, to exploring their environment constantly. God is not hidden, and neither is His Kingdom. He’s just waiting for us to find Him.

Prayer

​Dad,
It is an absolute wonder to know that, in all your magnanimity, you are still subtle when it comes to us! You still whisper to us. You still want us to come, taking a second look. You still wait to be big in our life and still patiently approach everything that exists in our world and beyond. Small enough, gentle enough for a child to see you and know you. Yet, big enough to be just, right and true above and beyond all other gods. You are enough.

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Global Justice Justified.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. He devastates the surface of the earth and scatters the people. Priests and laypeople, servants and masters, maids and mistresses, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, bankers and debtors—none will be spared. The earth will be completely emptied and looted. The Lord has spoken!” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭24‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Isaiah writes that things were not looking to good for the planet and its inhabitants. God was about to devastate and scatter. Wipe out the surface of the earth and scatter the people. Sounds apocalyptic and final doesn’t it!

What is Isaiah writing about?
Did it happen?
Is it still yet to happen?

Most scholars agree, this is a future evert known as the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21-22). This chapter is known as the “Isaiah Apocalypse.” Isaiah writes this in the 8th Century BC, almost 3000 years ago!

It is interesting that so many predictions by a man named Nostradamus pop up every so often, but virtually nothing is mentioned about the prophetic promises all through the Old Testament. Nostradamus, a 16th-century French astrologer and physician, is famous for his cryptic predictions, many of which have made their way into mainstream media. It’s estimated that hundreds of references exist across various media platforms. While Nostradamus wrote around 942 prophecies, the interpretations of these predictions are highly subjective, and few if any became a reality.

If we tracked Isaiah’s prophecies, around 20-30 percent of Isaiah’s prophecies are cited as having been clearly fulfilled historically. The remainder, roughly 70-80 percent, is seen as potential future fulfillments, especially regarding eschatological themes. Isaiah’s end-of-planet, is a massive doom-n-gloom prophecy, yet there are virtually no stories, no mad-max style scripts, no CGI/A.I. effects making to the theaters. The promise of the end of all ends, and there’s barely a peep about it out of Hollywood. There have been hundreds of apocalyptic films released in theaters since the dawn of cinema. Only four of them draw from the Isaiah style theme, The Book of Eli (2010), Knowing (2009), The Omega Code (1999) and the Left Behind Series (2000).

The point is this, God’s track record to fulfill His will, His way, His promises is flawlessly perfect, yet many still don’t take it seriously. Paul in the Book of Romans, uses the phrase, “without excuse” in Romans 1:20. Paul writes about how the invisible attributes of God are evident in creation, making humanity accountable for their disbelief. This implies that the evidence of God’s existence is clear in the world around us, leaving no justification for rejection of Him. So, just as clearly of creation leaving evidence for every human being to see and ask, we also have these prophesies tell of past events that have already happened and that yet unfulfilled ones that will absolutely take place. God’s mercy and love is absolutely long suffering and future events hold the finality of His justice which is also 100% love – evil cannot run rampant forever.

Prayer

​Dad,
I did not come to faith through the loud proclamation of creation nor the proof of promises fulfilled. I came to Jesus through the crushing reality of how my parents lived, knowing it would become my own life if I did not have help and make completely different choices. I came through faith! But, through Your Word, I learned about Your prophetic promises and the perfection of Your plans. I have come to believe there are no excuses, and there will be no excuses, as Paul said. Thank you for your patience and grace towards us.

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The huge life do-over.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Then God said to Noah, “Leave the boat, all of you—you and your wife, and your sons and their wives. Release all the animals—the birds, the livestock, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—so they can be fruitful and multiply throughout the earth.” So Noah, his wife, and his sons and their wives left the boat. And all of the large and small animals and birds came out of the boat, pair by pair. Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose.” Genesis‬ ‭8‬:‭15‬-‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

From the time the first rain fell to the earth to the time the waters receded enough to have dry ground, took a year. Noah began the journey at 600 years old and now he was 601 years old. Human evil had exponentially exploded over the 1,600+ years since creation.

After Noah had left the boat, he sacrificed some designated animals to the Lord. Had the family gone an entire year without an acknowledgment of their own sin? When Noah prepared and offered that sacrifice, it signaled that he understood the cost and consequences of sin. This pleased God. After a complete re-start of human history, God gives a chilling reality. “The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done,” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭8‬:‭21‬. Every inclination, every thought and imagination is bent towards sin – since childhood!

Anyone that can’t see that we are still in a battle, does not understand the depth of our depravity. God constantly gets blamed for both being cruel and overbearing and, at the same time, blamed for not eradicating evil. Like we could have it both ways! What evil, whose evil should God start with? What’s the measurement of too much evil and who is qualified to judge it?

God told us, our choices came with consequences! It’s not just the first couple in the garden. It’s every couple, every person that was banished from the garden today. Noah’s sacrifice was critical to acknowledge that he understood this. God’s people were taught and respected the idea of temporary animal sacrifices as a means of obediently understanding the cost of their own sin. When Jesus became the final and perfect sacrifice for all humankind, it allows us to place our trust, our hope, that He is enough. Not just to cover our sin, but forever eliminate the judgment and justice due for us to pay. The escape from our sin, the guarantee of the biggest life do-over ever, is found, not just in believing in Jesus, but living in Jesus.

Prayer

​Dad,
I often think about what so many people seem to believe about you. Some want to just deny any and every idea of a creator, or a God to answer to. Others, want to pretend they are a god themselves, attempting to get the good life through a plurality of religious-like activities. And still others have declared themselves as your enemy, believing the lie that they can overtake your throne, side with the accuser and win. All of this is an impossible illusion of being in control of our sin and of our own destiny. I am so very thankful for your gracious life do-over found in Jesus. You alone have saved my life here on earth as well as my eternal life yet to come.

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Community Concerns Matter

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“So you may eat any meat that is sold in the marketplace without raising questions of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” If someone who isn’t a believer asks you home for dinner, accept the invitation if you want to. Eat whatever is offered to you without raising questions of conscience. (But suppose someone tells you, “This meat was offered to an idol.” Don’t eat it, out of consideration for the conscience of the one who told you. It might not be a matter of conscience for you, but it is for the other person.) For why should my freedom be limited by what someone else thinks? If I can thank God for the food and enjoy it, why should I be condemned for eating it?”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭25‬-‭30‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The Apostle Paul, in writing to the wildly mixed cultural community of Corinth, spends quite a bit of time discussing social, ethical, moral and even spiritual concerns of others. Paul digs deep into the those who are strict adherents to the Old Testament Law as well as those who live in the freedom of Christ and the New Testament fulfillment of those laws. Jesus himself said, he did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.

This concern about the Law was a major contention among the Jewish congregations intermingled with their Gentile brothers and sisters. Corinth was certainly the perfect city to watch the gospel work in both a Jewish tradition as well as a heathen one! Paul boldly pushes the idea that freedom, because of the grace of Christ, does not mean it should be exercised when it offends the conscience of another believer. Paul uses the “meat offering,” as an example of this dilemma. We know today there are many areas that believers may be free to participate in, but not free to offend and hurt other believers in the process.

We see a number of community issues brought to light in the Corinthian letters. Paul even used an example of abusing the sacrament of Communion to highlight the importance of guarding each other in love. Yet, in vs 29, Paul asks a seemingly contradictory question. “Why should my freedom be limited by what someone else thinks?” Great question – great dilemma! Why prefer someone’s conscience, OR exercise your freedom? Isn’t it just a question of momentary sacrifice on behalf of another’s sensitivity? Is this more about Christian maturity than it is about flaunting freedoms? Yes & yes. Although we are truly free in this example, there are also many other situations where the principle applies.

Are we willing to limit out of love?
Are we willing to pause on pushing the point when it might actually harm someone else? – Paul says, “causing them to stumble.”

I have heard several arguments about rights and freedoms, but very few arguments about humbling themselves, submitting to the love of Christ on behalf of another. Which attitude, which position, honors both Christ and a brother or sister. In those moments it is not the time to lecture, trying to help a weaker soul understand the true depth of freedom they should have in Christ. It’s a time to pause and remember how it was when we were once the young believer trying to figure out our faith under real world circumstances.

Not everything has to be argued or positioned.

When Jesus was asked about punishing the woman caught in adultery, he did not take the opportunity to lecture the Pharisees about mercy, which they sorely lacked! He simply reminded everyone watching and waiting for him to choose sides, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone.” He put each one of them on the spot to risk playing the role of God who is both just and merciful. But they would have to do so by admitting they were perfect.

As much as I write about this, I am absolutely convinced that God wants us to take our theology, our knowledge and understanding of who God is and what God wants to do in our life, and practice it on each other. And, until we do – until we learn how to apply God’s work in us to the place where it goes out in others, we will just continue to struggle with the legalistic traps of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Prayer

Dad,
The hardest and the most beautiful parts of the gospel working in me is actually the gospel working through me. That’s where real change happens. That’s where real humility happens. That’s where discipleship makes the most sense. Even though I seriously value “my time,” along with my ways, I know that it also can stunt my growth in becoming like Jesus. Thank you for your grace and long suffering in getting me to look more like Christ.

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Job drops the “L” Word.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman. For what has God above chosen for us? What is our inheritance from the Almighty on high? Isn’t it calamity for the wicked and misfortune for those who do evil? Doesn’t he see everything I do and every step I take?” ‭‭Job‬ ‭31‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In Job’s autobiographical style, he’s still sifting through the possibilities of where he has sinned, or where he has been unaware of such awful offenses against a holy God that it would warrant a personal plague upon his life. Have you ever felt cursed by God? Like every time you turn around, something is breaking, something is going terribly wrong? It feels difficult to just catch your breath or dig out of financial trouble when some new drama or debt comes along. Again, the Bible Project guys summarize it like this, Job 31 is “where Job makes a final defense of his integrity and righteousness.” He’s listing off his righteous responses, declaring his innocence.

But in this chapter we find Job touching a chromosomal nerve, specifically the “Y” kind. Job says he has made a holy contract with his own eyes. Job made a “berith,” a “barah” a contractural cutting, a promise backed by cutting the flesh, proving by blood. A contract, a promise is only as good as the bond, the word of the keeper.

Job metaphorically describes this promise his heart made with his own eyes. “I will not look…” I will not look at what Job? A virgin. A young woman. Well, that seems a little impossible, even impractical! For one, they are everywhere. Two, how would he know who is a young virgin and who isn’t? One specific note in 2 Samuel 13:18, describes Tamar, the daughter of King David, as wearing a “robe of many colors,” which was a garment typically worn by the king’s virgin daughters. “Now she was wearing a robe of many colors, for this is how the virgin daughters of the king dressed in earlier times,” Indicating that their clothing was not only a mark of virginity but also of royal lineage and privilege.

In the Hebrew, this verse does not have the word, “lust.” This was inserted to help the reader understand the meaning of “looking” at a “virgin,” and it wasn’t to imply someone checking out her swanky apparel choices. Job, declaring his innocence, his high regard for righteousness, sets the moral bar at its highest point- whether the young woman was modest with her wares or not – he wouldn’t gaze-n-gawk!

Just to be absolutely clear about what he’s advocating, Job uncomfortably digs deeper in verse 9 writing, “If my heart has been seduced by a woman, or if I have lusted for my neighbor’s wife…” He’s confessing both his methods and standards of moral purity by which he has lived his life. I have friends that put the Job 31:1 verse in obvious places to remind themselves of what it takes in a very un-modest society, to remind our male brain to make a contract with our own eyes. Looking may be one thing, but pausing to ponder is disrespectful and dangerous for all us “Y’s.” Job reminds us that God sees every glance that gazes longer than it should. It is out of love for God, love for our own wives and a true godly love for God creating women, that we should be on guard with the “L” word.

Years ago, my wife and I went to dinner with two other couples in Balboa Beach, California. It was a beautiful summer evening, so we went to an incredible spot called “little Corona Beach.” It’s quite a walk down to this secluded area that has a stunning view of the ocean. We had no idea there was a photoshoot happening just down the beach with the black rocks in the background. It only took a second to realize the model being photographed was completely naked! Right there on a public beach with the shooter just snapping away without shame. Believe me – we all looked because it’s just that shockingly unexpected. I instantly knew that more than a glance would mean trouble. My two friends gave a few more moments than I did. All six of us did a 180° and headed back up the cliff trail. As we said our goodbyes, our friend’s wives laid into their husbands. “Why did you keep staring?” they asked. Then, they just had to point out the fact that I turned instead of lingering. Boy, did I get the dude-glares then. I just knew better! I knew it was not a good choice for me to look even that little extra moment. My husband friends were so mad at me for making them look bad! I told them, “look, you were the dummies that knew better and didn’t do the right thing, did you want me to join you in the dog-house?” I didn’t even know Job’s meme for doing what is right at the time! Now I do. And, so do you!

Prayer

​Dad,
Job may have been proving his innocence or justifying his righteousness, but that one verse has been so helpful for me and many of my “Y” friends. Thank you, not only for your Word being a light and truth in my life, but also for being ways of protecting me from myself and proclivities of my own disordered desires.

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Rememberance Quiz

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Think about this eighteenth day of December, the day when the foundation of the Lord’s Temple was laid. Think carefully. I am giving you a promise now while the seed is still in the barn. You have not yet harvested your grain, and your grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not yet produced their crops. But from this day onward I will bless you.” Haggai‬ ‭2‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I have spent about zero amount of time trying to understand Haggai. So little that I had to go to my favorite Bible summary guys – The Bible Project. Haggai’s book is a short read, but plays a critical role in understanding Israel’s response (and ours today) after coming out a massive 70 year timeout from God. The exiles returned to a devastated city, laid waste by the mighty Babylonian armies, raiders and opportunists. The small amount of people who stayed in Jerusalem must have lived in constant terror that their land, crops and homes would regularly, randomly be attacked. But the main attraction, the grand and glorious Solomon Temple had been stripped and leveled. The prophets that wrote about rebuilding Jerusalem, mainly focused on the temple, the wall, then the community.

Haggai points out that the people began by focusing on their own homes first. He words likely shifted their priorities correctly – to put God first. Build God’s house, then yours. However, in the process there was a different problem. After all they had been through, they were still playing religious games with God by practicing idolatry even while rebuilding the second temple. The generational conflict of memories was also noted. The older survivors of the captivity remembered the grand splendor of their beloved temple and mourned at the reduced size and quality of materials in the new temple. But those who were young, had no knowledge or experience with the original temple and they rejoiced at building this new one.

Haggai pointed out the glaring reality of the condition of the people’s hearts. Why would it matter? Why would it matter if funders, planners, building managers and laborers had clean hearts? It’s just another building project, isn’t it? No, it wasn’t. Haggai challenged the priests with a little Defilement Quiz. “If one of you is carrying some meat from a holy sacrifice in his robes and his robe happens to brush against some bread or stew, wine or olive oil, or any other kind of food, will it also become holy?’” The priests replied, “No.” Then Haggai asked, “If someone becomes ceremonially unclean by touching a dead person and then touches any of these foods, will the food be defiled?” And the priests answered, “Yes.” Ding-ding-ding, they were correct!

Haggai brings the object lesson/quiz home. If you are unclean, it makes everything you touch unclean. If your hearts aren’t right, you’re just building a dirty temple, a defiled house of God. His challenge was this. Our choices matter! The matters of the heart become important when doing or working with the things of God, especially the people of God. Obedience is always priority in and over any spiritual responsibilities. All actions, behaviors and practices should lead with humility, not arrogance, not grumbling, not comparison, and certainly not division. This makes Haggai’s book of extreme importance, both then and still today.

Prayer

​Dad,
I am reminded, challenged and convicted by these ancient words given to ancient people long ago. Too often I have done what you asked, working on the things of God, or pastoring the people of God, only to do it with a bad attitude, a grumbling rather than a grateful heart. Haggai’s words are still true today! You want more than just the physical effort, you want my heart to be right and completely, cleanly, invested in the work you have asked me to do. My motives may not have been mixed with idolatry, but they were certainly mixed with dirty discontentment. Forgive me and help me to move forward in obedience, in humility and a pure heart,