Seeds For Thinking

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Step Forward
* Scripture: "And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap." (Joshua 3:13, NKJV

The crossing through the Jordan river into the land that was to become Israel has to rank as one of the greatest walks of faith in an Exodus filled with faith and miracles.
Yes, they had crossed through the midst of the sea when they left Egypt. Note, however, that Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground. (Exodus 14:21-22)
A mighty miracle, to be sure, but the path of dry ground through the midst of the sea was there when they started forward in the morning.
The Jordan river was in full flood as the Israelites camped near it. The Bible explains that the Jordan river overflows its banks all during harvest season. The river remained in full flood as the priests carrying the ark of the covenant approached it; they actually waded into the water while it overflowed onto the banks of the river.
A rapidly moving river of water is an awesome sight! There is power at work within the flow, and it is expressed with a rumbling, grumbling, burbling sound. The very ground vibrates. You enter such a flood stream at the peril of your life!
Yet, enter it they did! Walked right into that river. That is what I call a real walk of faith.
"And the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam." (vs. 16; possibly 20 miles upstream from Jericho) The priests remained standing in the middle of the Jordan river bed until all the people had passed over.
A miracle? To be sure! They set up a memorial of stones to commemorate the event, "that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever." (Joshua 4:24)
Why, then, do we so often treat God as a sort of kindly, distant 'Grandpa' figure? Put yourself in the place of those priests who walked into that full-flooded river. No question of faith, no lack of belief, no doubt of the might of the hand of the Lord.
We have our own 'rivers' to cross. Things we dread, truths we do not want to accept, perhaps a future we do not want to venture into.
Take hold of the mighty hand of God, and step forward boldly.
October 8, 2006

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Pointers
* Scripture: Jesus said, "The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do . . . "
(Mt. 23:2, 3a, NKJV)

A man walking his Pointer, a hunting dog, responded to an inquiry about the dog's ability to point at game, "Yes, he does well in the field," he replied, and added that he was also a friendly dog. "
"It must be great to have a good, friendly hunting dog," commented the admirer. "Well, yes, for hunting, maybe, but when a thief robbed our house, the dog welcomed him in, and pointed to all of our valuables."
Ahh! The fine line between good and bad from the same thing.
Get the idea? Many things are good if used for their intended "good" purpose, yet bad when out of place. After all, God looked at the whole of His creation, and called it good. Never-the-less, we sometimes wonder about the bad that results even from good things.
For example, what is your first thought when you hear the word "fire?" You might think of a fire burning down the house, or a fire in the grill to cook food. Quite a difference, but still fire, both good and bad.
Ready for another? Pharisee . . .
If you are familiar with the New Testament accounts concerning the Pharisees you likely have an image of 'hypocrites,' and 'blind guides, those harsh words coming from Jesus, no less. (cf. Mt. Chapter 23)
. It is important to understand the forces at work in the Jewish world during the centuries between the Old and New Testament periods to better understand the issues here.
The armies of, and successors to, Alexander the Great promoted Greek culture in all the lands they conquered, including Palestine. Among the influential groups that emerged from this time period when observance of God's laws was endangered by pagan influence were the Sadducees (a priestly party favoring the Greek views) and the Pharisees.
"Pharisee" means "separated" because they separated themselves from the secular and ungodly ways of the world of that day.
Read Jesus' words carefully and thoroughly. Jesus commended the Pharisees for pointing to God, because they interpreted the laws governing daily life in accordance with Mosaic tradition, i.e., the "Laws and the Prophets" (See Mt. 23:2-3.) Jesus came to fulfill those Laws. Basically, the Pharisees made very positive contributions to religious observance at a critical period in Jewish history.
Some, however, crossed that line from good to bad. They were welcoming in practices that "shut up the kingdom against men" (vs. 13) and were pointing people toward the wrong things, sometimes placing too much emphasis on minor details while ignoring the weightier matters of the law, such as justice, mercy and faith. (Mt. 23:23)
In truth, our beliefs and religious practices as Christians are much closer to those of the Pharisees than to any other sect of Jesus' time.
As Christians, our lives should display love of God, faithfully pointing toward Him. However, we must be careful that we do not welcome beliefs and practices that rob us, and others, of God's promise.
September 17, 2006

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Up Close
* Scripture: Isaiah wrote, “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10, NKJV

We had been there before, my wife and I, but our children had never seen the mountains. All the way across the plains and hills of Missouri and Kansas each new rise in the landscape elicited the query, “Is that a mountain?” “No,” we would say, “Not yet. When you have to stick your heads out the car windows to see the top, that’s a mountain.”
Finally, as we navigated the foothills of eastern Colorado, we could point ahead to the west and say, “Those are the mountains.” Big! Impressive, massive, beyond belief for a flatlander. Seen from the distance they appear as a great unbroken mass rising to the clouds, and capped with a topping of white, even late in the month of June. The real wonder and awe is not seen, though, until one is enveloped in the midst of a mountain range. Up close and personal, it is the small things, the varied detail, that creates an aura of anticipation for what lies around the next bend.
The road ahead turns out to be more than just up and more up. Cresting a long rise may bring a sudden vista of a valley reaching off into the distance, perhaps cradling a shimmering lake. A closer inspection may reveal that the stream has been blocked by a beaver dam, just like in the picture books, and the lucky observer may even spot one of the industrious builders in their native habitat. Plants, flowers, and wildlife unlike anything seen at lower elevations make each rest stop or pull-off point an invitation to exploration.
Seen up close, even the rocks themselves turn out to be so much more than just one big blob of stone. Layered, tipped, and tumbled, with coloration to challenge any box of crayons, the little details fill many a geology book. What at a distance appears to be solid, everlasting, unbreakable, and impermeable reveals that the forces of time and nature produce cracks, crumbling, and erosion. What rises up eventually comes down, a thought that might give pause to even the most ‘hard-boiled’ of us mortals.
There is a scale in the mountains that dwarfs us. We are reminded of forces beyond our capabilities or comprehension. To have risen a thousand, two thousand feet, only to look up and see sheer cliffs and towering heights yet far above is humbling. To round a bend in the road only to see it ever higher, clinging to the side of the mountain in the distance, we realize that we must trust in not only the builders that carved out the road we travel upon, but also share the faith of those who have safely traveled this way before us.
So, too, as we travel the road of life, we see God off in the distance, omnipotent, infinite, unreachable, beyond our limited comprehension. By moving closer to Him, we enter a relationship that is filled with the splendor of things otherwise unseen. Things like joy, love, and peace, just our size. Trust The Builder, and join in faith with those who have traveled this way before us.
August 28, 2005

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Comparisons
* Scripture: Jesus said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”, Mt. 17:20b, NKJV - See also Lk. 17:6)

Hot pursuit! I’ve seen it often, yet each time I’m intrigued by the fervor with which they carry out their mission. It would seem to be an unequal contest, reminding me of David and Goliath, yet an obvious size differential doesn’t seem to be a factor. My bird reference guide gives a typical length of eight and one-half inches for the blackbirds to the crow’s seventeen inches.
To put that into perspective, assuming that he didn’t go swat and you go splat, how far down the street would you chase a guy who measured in at eleven or twelve feet tall? Yet these little feather-weights buzz the much larger bird like fighter planes after a big bomber until the intruder is well beyond their territory. Protective, yes indeed!
As I ponder the scenario taking place over my head, I wonder if I am more blackbird or more crow. Certainly I can admire the zeal with which the smaller birds defend their territory, even though the odds are heavily stacked against them. Would that I could defend my beliefs and my faith with such fervor. I am reminded of the many times that a problem seems just too large and daunting to even start resolving it.
Then again, can the smaller birds really do much harm to the crow? I don’t know for sure, but I seldom see falling feathers, or the crow battling back. So let’s just say that the crow perceives it as more of an annoyance than a life shattering event. So maybe there are times that we should just put more things into perspective, and not make what are truly annoyances into life shattering events, and play the part of the crow to their “blackbirds.”
I got to thinking about how many times we turn it around the other way - small problems send us packing. Little things get to us, irritate and annoy us. We make molehills into mountains. Little problems seem to be big problems, and we get squeezed in the middle. Ever feel like that?
Now that’s what Jesus was talking about. Why would anyone want to drown mountains? (Mt. 21:21) He is really making a size comparison. Big, big problem, big as a mountain? Suppose you say, “Just look at that mountain sized thing that I am facing, and I feel as small as a mustard seed in comparison.” Then think, “Big doesn’t matter, to a mustard seed, a blackbird - or me!”
Little things flitting around till you feel like the crow? Just say, “Hey! They can annoy me, but they can’t put me down.”
“Mountain, go jump in the lake.”
June 12, 2005

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Let Go
* Scripture: Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." Matthew 19:21-22, NKJV

We are counseled, (and probably have counseled) to “Let go, and let God.” It’s hard, very hard in practice. It’s just not in our common nature to let go of things, including problems that God could handle for us. We refuse to change our habits, even if our well-being is at stake. Something has to grab us, and shake us, until reality sets in.
Since we search for examples to inspire us, I thought maybe this fable from India, “The Farmer and the Money Lender,” might give you something to think about.
The story concerns a poor farmer, who, having lost everything to a money lender, sought the secret to becoming rich. He set out on his quest with three griddlecakes to last him on his journey. A Brahman and a Yogi accepted his offering of a griddlecake, and gave nothing in return. (Compare to the religious men in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:31-32.)
He shared his last cake with a poor man, who gave him a magic conch shell in response to his kindness, with the secret of how to use it to have wishes filled.
The money lender quickly surmised that the farmer’s good fortune was related to the conch shell, so he stole it. He had the shell, but found he lacked the secret of how to blow the horn to gain his wishes. If the money lender kept it, neither would benefit, so he offered the farmer a deal; he would return the magic shell to the farmer, with the agreement that whatever the farmer got from it, the money lender would get double. This arrangement went on for a time, and it preyed upon the farmer’s mind that the money lender always got double. Then, during a very dry season, the farmer wished for a water well, and, lo! there was the well - but the money lender had two new water wells! The farmer brooded and brooded over this, until he had an idea. He blew the conch shell, and wished to be blind in one eye. In a twinkling, the money lender was blind in both of his eyes, and in trying to steer his way between the two wells, fell into one and was drowned. So that is how the farmer got the better of the money lender - but only by losing one of his eyes.
Jesus reminds us that we have to give up some things in order to gain other things, more important things, like eternal life. He also counseled,”If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24) Since we are prone to never let go of one thing until we have a firm grip on something else (which may be good advice for daredevil wing walkers) we cling to what we have, rather than let go and step out in faith for the heavenly walk.
This week, think about what you would be willing to give up to assure eternal life.
March 13, 2005

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Now the LORD had said to Abram: Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. (Genesis 12:1, KJV)

We are all - by nature - pilgrims. We are at times, from the moment of conception until our last breath, a traveler, crusader; worshiper, devotee, or believer; We journey from what we are at the moment to what we shall become, a wayfarer; perhaps as one who is driven and tossed by the wind as a wave of the sea (see James 1:6) but hopefully as one who quests for the righteousness of God.
Hebrews chapter 11, vss. 8-10, recounts how Abraham went out from his family and homeland, not knowing where he was going, and by faith dwelt in the land of promise. Abraham’s quest involved not only traversing the fertile crescent route from Ur and Haran in Mesopotamia to Canaan land, but also a spiritual journey that took him and his descendants from the gods of his former homeland to a covenant relationship with the Creator God.
Although Abraham was to receive personal honor and blessings, it seems to me that the most important result of his quest for God is that others would be blessed through him and his descendants, one of whom is the Messiah, The Christ.
We all make a physical journey through life. Our educational path may lead us through several possible choices, perhaps focusing on the appropriate match with our interests and capabilities. Often times an unexpected encounter will lead us to make a life change seemingly as great as that of Abraham, or of Moses and the Hebrews during the Exodus. Keep in mind that they were not on a quest for wealth, power, or fame, but to find and follow the will of God. That we can also do.
Saul’s encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus totally changed his life, and, as Paul, changed the world. For most of us, though, changes in our life journey may be rather modest compared to the ‘giants’ of history, but we do not know the certainty of that.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” (1 Corinthians 13:11) The search for understanding and knowledge is a pilgrimage. It is a journey that should never end with ‘graduation’ from school. Most schools refer to the completion of their course of study not as an ending, but as a ‘commencement’ of life in a broader learning environment.
While many people will work at the same job most of their lives, others will change jobs and employers several times, not always at their own choosing. We, too, may be called to work or serve in a new community, state, or country. That may bring to mind thoughts of a missionary, one who brings the Christian message to those in far places: an evangelist, apostle, preacher, minister or priest.
In truth, we are all missionaries. Our relationship to God, for better or for worse, is noted by someone. We may be the inspiration for blessings, or not. People also note, and sometimes are attracted to, the “storm tossed life,” thus led astray. James further states that such a life, drawn away by their own desires “gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:15)
A quest, in medieval romance, was an expedition made by a knight to accomplish a prescribed task. The knight could only achieve success by ridding his life of all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, just as James advises. The person who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, who becomes not just a hearer of the Word, but a doer of the Word - this one will be blessed in what he does. (vs. 25)
Keep in mind that we are called, not to just believe, but to be fruitful believers. Fruitful for the Lord. Abraham was justified by faithfully doing the will of God. And remember, the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much. Seek to be, or to bring, a blessing to someone.

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Scripture: Paul wrote, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances . . . “ Philippians 4:11b, NIV
I must admit that I have difficulty associating Paul with a lackadaisical attitude toward anything. His writings, and those of Luke in the Book of Acts, seem to describe a man of action in both word and deed. As Saul the student, he reacted strongly and decisively toward what he perceived to be a corruption of God’s laws and customs. He was not only “breathing out murderous threats” against those who were following The Way, but took action by going to the high priest to obtain authority to take both men and women prisoner, and bring them to trial for their perceived apostasy. (Acts 9:1-2)
Paul and Barnabas had such a “sharp disagreement” concerning John Mark that they parted company, Paul taking Silas, and Barnabas taking Mark to Cyprus. (Acts 15:36-41.
No, Paul did not laze back in matters of faith, practice, or belief and let what ever condition he saw slide by without concern. He spoke out, and put his concerns into actions.
What, then, is Paul talking about when he says, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” in Philippians 4:11?
This is another instance where we can not take the word out of context. Paul is explaining that he is willing to accept the situation in which he finds himself as an opportunity to serve God, without consideration of payment or physical amenities. He was not giving priority to things that would merely contribute to his comfort, convenience, or enjoyment. In fact, the Living Bible translates Paul’s words here as, “I have learned to get along happily whether I have much or little.” Take time to read the full passage of Philippians 4:10-20. He is thanking the church at Philippi for their previous aid and gifts, and is explaining that he had not written them seeking monetary support, but to share the Word with them, and bolster their faith in what ever way he could.
We need to examine our own lives and thoughts and see if we can relate to Paul’s words. It is sometimes difficult to accept the cross we have been given to carry, to endure the thorns to reach the fruit. We seek things that would merely contribute to comfort, convenience, or enjoyment. The irritations of life take our focus from the vision of serving the One who gave His all for us.
Consider that we may have been placed where we are because God has a task for us there. Look at what we have an opportunity to accomplish, not at what we have not. It may be possible - just possible - that we have been placed with that irritating associate, the demanding boss, the fractionous situation not to bristle, but to bloom, not to be comfortable, but to be Christlike.
December 7, 2003