September 30

Psalms of a Nation Restored (Continued) - Psalms 107, 116, 118, 125

I love the LORD, for He heard my voice;

He heard my cry for mercy.

Because He turned His ear to me,

I will call on Him as long as I live.

Psalms 116:1-2

I want to know this completely and undoubtably and assuredly that the Lord has heard me. And so many in my family do too. Why so silent Lord?

Lord knows.

September 29

Psalms of a Nation Restored - Psalms 78

Yet He gave a command to the skies above

and opened the doors of the heavens;

He rained down manna for the people to eat,

He gave them the grain of heaven.

Men ate the bread of angels....

Psalms 78:23-25

The bread of angels, manna, what if we had it today? I imagine it was and is the perfect food to sustain a 40-year wandering. Would our athletes run faster and farther with it? Better than any anabolic steriod or blood doping scheme. Would manna be a banned substance?

I'd love just a taste. It makes me think of J.R.R. Tolkien's lembas that appears in The Lord of the Rings, the elven made bread that sustains Frodo on his journey to destroy the evil one.

There may be those who are offended when the Bible conjures [pardon the verb] thoughts of fantasy for me and comparisons to The Lord of the Rings. Because the Bible is true and not a fantasy. But compared to the lives we live and what we imagine reality to be, I think there is more truth in fantasy than our philosophy.

The thing to remember about manna, the bread of angels made from the grain of heaven and sent to the people by the hand of God, is the people got tired of it. Imagine that.

September 28

The Meaning of Restoration - Zechariah 7:1-14, 8:1-23; Ezra 6:14; Completion of the Temple - Ezra 6:14-22

"When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?" Zechariah 7:5-6

Our religious observances mean nothing to God if they mean nothing to us. We ask all the time what does God mean. But the real question is what do we mean?

Haggai and Zechariah - we call them minor prophets. But is there really any such thing? It's like being a part-time farmer. It's not possible. Show me a part-time farmer and I'll show you a man with two full-time jobs.

There's absolutely nothing minor about speaking for God. Lord knows.

September 27

Zechariah's Visions - Zechariah 1:7-21, 2:1-13, 3:1-10, 4:1-14, 5:1-11, 6:1-15

"I am very angry with the nations that feel secure." God to Zechariah, Zechariah 1:15

For such a long time, we have felt secure in our ability and economy and good-old-American can-do and ingenuity and creativity and might. And now we realize that security was a matter of faith, misplaced faith in ourselves rather than the source of all our ability and economy and ingenuity and creativity and might. The LORD God Almighty is His name.

Learned a new name for Christ in this reading: Branch. A name for the Lord I hadn't noted before. I like it. He sounds like a film noir detective sporting a black fedora on a rakish slant. "Boys, this is my muscle, my enforcer, my right-hand man. Meet Branch."

September 26

Preaching of Haggai and Zechariah - Haggai 1:1-15, 2:1-9; Zechariah 1:1-6; Haggai 2:10-23

A giant cedar

"Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored," says the LORD. Haggai 1:8

Haggai...I like this quaintly named, brief little two-chapter book. God speaks several times through Haggai in relatively quick succession. Like most "men," God takes great interest in the building of his home and so comments. Note: God longs to have a place with us.

Imagine being able to point to the place where God resides. Wouldn't it make you more conscious of his reality and presence and place among us? When I want to point to the place where God resides for me, I point to the mountains.

"The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house," says the LORD Almighty. Haggai 2:9

The second temple will be smaller and less ornate than the first. But perhaps the price paid by the people in its coming make it even more special in the eyes of God. Lord knows.

September 25

Opposition to the Temple's Construction - Ezra 4:6-24, 5:1-17, 6:1-13

A back and forth here on rebuilding the temple. The Babylonian King goes to the archives to confirm the Jews are a rebellious people and stops the building of the temple. Then a Babylonian King searches the archive to confirm that King Cyrus had ordered the temple to be rebuilt. If the people had been wondering if the Lord was involved in the temple's rebuilding, they know now.

Lord knows.

September 24

Daniel's Last Vision - Daniel 10:1-21, 11:1-45, 12:1-13

Stumbling Bear - My pick for my Indian name.

Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end.... Daniel 11:35

From this scripture, I draw the title of my life's work: Stumbling into Heaven. I'd like to say I'm walking the path, marching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful, Zion; running the good race. But I think Stumbling into Heaven is more accurate. I'm just glad grace will allow me to stumble in and the Lord will refine, purify and make me spotless in the end.

I saw an article in The Tennessean the other day where a Seventh-day Adventist was lecturing in Nashville and pointing to the recent foreclosures, economic meltdown, political turmoil and terrorism as signs of the coming apocalypse. Throughout history when bad times engulfed us someone has always announced the end is near. The Civil War, the great quake that sent the Mississippi running backwards, the Great Depression, every cataclysmic event seems to inspire people to become prophets. This particular prophet pointed to the prophecy of Daniel in his explanation of how our times fulfill the signs.

Wonder how God sees it? Glad that we're, at least, trying to interpret His word? Amused that we keep jumping the gun? Wishing the time was right to take us home? Long-suffering and letting things spin on a little while longer, giving everyone the chance in this life to know Him in preparation for the next life?

Me, I think it's more likely we'll miss the signs. Or very few will catch the twist of prophecy, like we did the birth of Christ and what His kingdom was suppose to be. We're not good on interpreting prophecy. Because only rare few ever get a glimpse of the mind of God and fathom life's meaning.

Lord knows.

September 23

Period of Restoration - First Return to Jerusalem - Ezra 1:1-11, 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 2:1-70, 3:1-13, 4:1-5

Lots of lists in today's reading. The list of temple articles returned to Jerusalem by Cyrus the Great. One thousand silver dishes? We have a list of the returning exiles. Of Senaah 3,630? A list of the temple gatekeepers and temple servants and singers and descendants of the servants of Solomon. Why? It's as if the Bible is some divine scrapbook with bits and pieces of laws and accounting and stories and songs and four accounts of the same scene, even a sex guide. Why, the mosaic of information of God? The puzzle pieces set together but not fitting entirely from our human perspective. Is it because of our ever-shortening attention span, our need for variety? Or is it the only way the story can be told to help a human being understand the depth and complexity and masterpiece that is the love of God for us?

Lord knows.

September 22

Daniel in the Lion's Den - Daniel 6:1-27, 1:21, 6:28

"For He is the living God

and He endures forever;

His kingdom will not be destroyed,

His dominion will never end."

King Darius about "the God of Daniel," Daniel 6:26

Perhaps I should explain and perhaps I already have elsewhere - the capitalization of pronouns referencing the Lord are my own. You won't find it that way in the NIV. Except here in my version. With every age we seem to be losing our ability to revere. Everything is equal and common. There was a time when a scribe destroyed his pen after writing the name of the Lord. There was a time when the name of the Lord would not be spoken aloud. So I hold on to the capitalization. God deserves at least that.

Ironic that the nation that destroyed Jerusalem and the Kingdom of God on earth proclaim that His kingdom will never be destroyed nor end. Perhaps Darius had a better idea of what the Kingdom of God was than the Lord's people did.

Lord knows.

September 21

The Writing on the Wall - Daniel 5:1-31, The Seventy "Sevens" - Daniel 9:1-27

The angel Gabriel from the movie Constantine.

"As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed."

The Angel Gabriel to Daniel, Daniel 9:23

So I read Gabriel's explanation to Daniel and, well, I frankly can't figure it out. But then, I suppose Daniel, the man with "the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems," [Dan. 5:12] had no problem figuring it out. I just wonder why he didn't offer an explanation to God's explanation?

I wonder why God isn't more straightforward? Why the need for prophets and problem-solvers and interpreters of dreams? Why all the mystery when we regularly misinterpret even the most obvious of directions? Is it so we have to work at it? Is it because God is so beyond us that He can't possibly put it in ways we can understand? I don't think so.

I believe its so we rely on him and not ourselves. If we could figure it out, we'd think ourselves on par with the Lord. We do, even in our ignorance.

Lord knows.

September 20

Daniel's Apocalyptic Visions - Daniel 7:1-28, 8:1-27

Daniel is appalled by his apocalyptic vision. Good reason. Some of the most dark and depressing movies ever mad are the post-apocalyptic films.

Sometimes I'm sick and appalled by what I see in scripture. The unfairness, the use of people almost as pawns (see Hosea and Gomer), the injustice (see Dinah), the hypocrites chosen and elevated (see David), I confess I don't understand what God is doing. I don't see the same way He sees things. Sometimes I'm sick and appalled but then so was Daniel at the divine visions he witnessed. He was appalled but still he believed.

Lord knows.

September 19

Psalms of a People in Exile (Continued) - Psalms 102, 106, 123, 137

So He said He would destroy them -

had not Moses, His chosen one,

stood in the breach before Him

to keep His wrath from destroying them."

Psalms 106:23

Truly awesome. A man, Moses, stands in the breach - between God and His people - and saves them from destruction. Who do I stand in the breach for, lifting prayers in their behalf, standing before God to save another? My family? My friends? My children when they're out late and driving? My mom or dad when she or he are going in to the doctor for a test? Those without work? The widows? The poor? The aliens?

To think I can stand between God and the people and affect their eternity. It's possible. But who wants that responsibility?

Lord knows.

September 18

Psalms of a People in Exile - Psalms 44, 74, 79, 80, 85, 89

"Will You be angry with us forever?

Will You prolong Your anger through all generations?

Will You not revive us again,

that Your people may rejoice in You?

Show us Your unfailing love, O Lord,

and grant us Your salvation."

Psalm 85:5-7

I question hell. Not that punishment exists. Not that man will be judged and punished. Not that hell and its punishment is forever. But that God will punish a soul forever.

Will He be angry forever? Lord knows.

September 17

Job and the Problem of Suffering (Continued) - Job 38:1-41, 39:1-30, 40:1-24, 41:1-34, 42:1-17

"My ears had heard of You

but now my eyes have seen You."

Job 42:5

God responds to Job. I love this. Job questions God and God responds. He doesn't answer all of Jobs questions. He just reveals the real purpose of everything in this life: to come in contact with the Lord. Not to understand. But to acknowledge. Not to hear. But to see and know.

Some might suggest you don't question God or call into question His justice. But I don't think that's the point of Job or Doubting Thomas. They questioned and through their questions they came into greater contact with the Lord. Job sees and confesses and repents before the Lord and Doubting Thomas places his hand on Jesus' wounds. Would they have had such a personal experience without question?

I do find it hard to believe that replacement family would make Job forget his first children. No matter how beautiful is new daughters. I don't understand it.

I question God's justice. And hope He will chose to speak to me. Lord knows.

September 16

Job and the Problem of Suffering (Continued) - Job 32:1-22, 33:1-33, 34:1-37, 35:1-16, 36:1-33, 37:1-24

Compassion, it's the lifeblood of pleasing God and no one does it better than He does.

"But not one of you has proved Job wrong;

none of you has answered his arguments."

Elihu to Job and the rest of his friends, Job 32:12

Young Elihu has waited but his words reveal in my reading that his idea of wisdom is actually "correctness." He is more worried about being correct than being compassionate. He wants someone to put Job in his place rather than providing Job a place of comfort. Are any of us guilty of trying to assign blame or meaning in the midst of a tragedy rather than to afford kindness and comfort and grace?

Lord knows.

September 15

Job and the Problem of Suffering (Continued) - Job 25:1-6, 26:1-14, 27:1-23, 28:1-28, 29:1-25, 30:1-31, 31:1-40

What came up when I googled the Average American

"Does He not see my ways

and count my ever step?"

Job 31:4

If you live to be 75, you'll take about 192 million steps in your life. The average American sleeps about 194, 821 hours of their 649, 401 hours of life. The average person will spend two to six weeks of their life tying their shoes...provided they don't spend their whole life in slip-ons or velcro-fastened footwear. The average American spends 3.5 minutes a week in meaningful conversation with their child but 6 hours a day watching television.

I wonder what stats God is keeping tabs on? What is the true measure of our lives? Any suggestions? The hours spent saying encouraging things? The moments spent in prayer or truly loving another? Our time spent in service to Him or others or are they the very same thing.

Lord knows.

September 14

Job and the Problem of Suffering (Continued) Job 22:1-30, 23:1-17, 24:1-25

"Is not your wickedness great?

Are not your sins endless?"

Eliphaz to Job, Job 22:5

C'mon, admit it. Those of us who follow the Lord, don't we somehow secretly think in the deepest core of our being that our blessings are deserved from God? Or, maybe, we just act that way. And the poor, the dirty and embarrassingly smelly, disheveled people we see hanging out at the downtown McDonald's with a single order of coffee spiked with heaps and heaps of sugar, don't we somehow secretly think in the deepest core of our being that they somehow deserve their lack of blessings? Or, at least, act like we do.

Because if that isn't true. Why do we cling so tightly to what we have and share so little? Do we believe God gives resources to people or makes people the conduit of resource?

This isn't meant as a guilt trip for anyone...but me.

Lord knows. And Lord forgive me.

September 13

Job and the Problem of Suffering (Continued) - Job 18:1-21, 19:1-29, 20:1-29, 21:1-34

"I know that my Redeemer lives,

and that in the end He will stand upon the earth.

And after my skin has been destroyed,

yet in my flesh I will see God;

I myself will see Him

with my own eyes -- I, and not another.

How my heart yearns within me!"

Job 19:25-27

While he suffers, Job praises. He doesn't wait to see suffering through to praise. He is confident of the outcome. He knows what we still questions: that the Lord will take care of him even though the events of the moment would suggest otherwise. He even seeks a deeper relationship with the being that is ultimately responsible for his situation. Would I? Do we seek God even in our blessing?

Again here is story of suffering in the Bible written as poetry. Why? I'm sure there are some cultural/ancient literary reasons. Perhaps in the artifice of poetry, we carefully consider the emotions of the moment. We bring meaning and purpose and insight to life in poetry. It is not really what was said - for I doubt even the best of friends in even the most important of gatherings speak in in verse - but what the meaning of what was said.

Lord knows.

September 12

Job and the Problem of Suffering (Continued) - Job 15:1-35, 16:1-22, 17:1-16

"I have heard many things like these;

miserable comforters are you all!

I also could speak like you,

if you were in my place;

I could make fine speeches against you

and shake my head at you.

But my mouth would encourage you;

comfort from my lips would bring you relief."

Job to his friends, Job 16:2, 4-5

Do we really need to know why? When the better question is how? How can I help and be God for people looking for Him?

Lord knows.

September 11

Job and the Problem of Suffering (Continued) - Job 11:1-20, 12:1-15, 13:1-28, 14:1-22

"To Him belong strength and victory;

both deceived and deceiver are His....

He makes nations great, and destroys them;

He enlarges nations, and disperses them."

Job 12:16, 23

"Man's days are determined;

You have decreed the number of his months

and have set limits he cannot exceed."

Job 14:5

Today marks the 8th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York. I will never forget the stunned feeling of that day, the almost surreal vision of the two airplanes disappearing into the sides of the buildings, the immediate almost unanimous turning to God with churches opening for people to come and set and ponder and pray.

It was an amazing time to be alive and feel the soul of this country and what the best of its people were all about. The saviors that helped us find meaning and purpose in the wake of all the suffering.

There is no more appropriate book to be reading on this day than the book of Job.

Lord knows.

September 10

Job and the Problem of Suffering (Continued) - Job 8:1-22, 9:1-35, 10:1-22

Why doesn't God do something when we're suffering? Oh...He has.

"Surely God does not reject a blameless man

or strengthen the hands of evildoers."

Bildad to Job, Job 8:20

It's hard not to ascribe the good things that happen to us to God and the bad things that happen to us to Satan or our own sin. But in truth, ultimately, God is in charge of all that happens good and bad. He allows Satan to test Job. So while He is not the instrument of Job's suffering, He is open to it.

That is a hard teaching and I don't pretend to understand it. All I know is I must trust Him and not my own understanding.

I do believe that we suffer for a reason but, again, I don't pretend for a moment to be able to explain that reason in any given situation. With Him, we walk through suffering with something. Without Him, we come through suffering with nothing.

I pray my faith will endure the test that will come. Lord knows.

September 9

Job and the Problem of Suffering (Continued) - Job 4:3-21, 5:1-27, 6:1-30, 7:1-21

"Oh that I might have my request

that God would grant what I hope for,

that God would be willing to crush me,

to let loose His hand and cut me off!

Then I would still have this consolation --

my joy in unrelenting pain --

that I had not denied the words of the Holy One."

Job in Job 6:8-10

I wonder what words Job had received from the Lord? It would, of course, depend on when it was written and by whom. And, of course, there is disagreement on that. Some say it was written by Moses. So what words from God would Job be referring to? Written words, dreams, or words the Lord spoke to him? What law did Job live by? What scripture strengthened his faith and resolve to follow this God? I see the effect of God's word in Job's life but I'd like to know the scriptures that Job looked to, the words that breathed life into his faith. What did Job read or know of God?

I know we have all we need, but don't you want to know what Job read or heard or saw to inspire such faith to stand in the face of such unjust and seemingly (as I read it) frivolously imposed suffering? I want to know Job's favorite passage, his memory verse, his words to live by.

Lord knows.

September 8

Job and the Problem of Suffering - Job 1:1-22, 2:1-13, 3:1-26

And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited Me against him without any reason.

Job 2:3

There's suffering. And then there's Job. What happens to Job strikes me as obsessive. And even the word "obsessive" seems understatement. It seems unusually cruel, even criminal. How could I think otherwise? But I trust God and have hopes in the next life He will put it right for me.

In a matter of just a few verses four tragedies strike in quick succession, so quick that if it weren't so horrific it would be comic. First the Sabeans take oxen and donkeys and kill the servants. Then fire from heaven consumes Job's sheep and servants. Then the Chaldeans take the camels and kill the servants. Then a mighty wind collapse the house and kill Job's sons and daughters. The horrible events go back and forth between manmade and divine-made disasters so there can be no doubt where the punishment has come from.

And Job worships God. How does he do that? I'd like to think this story is a fable, a myth, a drama created for our learning and not historic happening that challenges my faith and my concept of God and unconditional love and fairness. But it does.

And how is it the devil has such unchallenged access to God?

Lord knows.

September 7

End of Ezekiel's Ministry - Ezekiel 29:17-21; Nebuchadnezzar's Temporary Insanity - Daniel 4:1-37; End of Jeremiah's Ministry - Jeremiah 52:31-34; 2 Kings 25:27-30

Poet William Blake's illustration of Nebuchadnezzar...obviously during his period of insanity.

King Nebuchadnezzar,

To the peoples, nations and men of every language, who live in all the world:

May you prosper greatly!

It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.

Daniel 4:1-2

Ahhh, the curious case of Nebuchadnezzar. I am fascinated by him.

Somehow I've always had the idea that Babylon was an evil empire. Seem to get that impression in scripture. But Nebuchadnezzar is a believer - or, at least, he is in the passages given here. And he gives his testimony about God. The story he relates is scripture. I'm inspired to find out more about the man.

Here are a few facts found in Wikipedia:

• A bottle of champagne filled with the volume equivalent of 20 standard bottles (15 litres) is called a Nebuchadnezzar.
• In The Matrix film trilogy, the hovercraft captained by Morpheus is named the Nebuchadnezzar.
• Saddam Hussein named one of his Republican Guards divisions after Nebuchadnezzar.
• ^{Saddam Hussein considered himself to be the reincarnation of Nebuchadnezzar and had the inscription "To King Nebuchadnezzar in the reign of Saddam Hussein" inscribed onto numerous bricks that were inserted into the walls of the ancient city of Babylon during a reconstruction project that he initiated.}

There are even historical references to Nebuchadnezzar's insanity described in Daniel. Again, from Wikipedia:

A clay tablet in the British Museum (BM34113) describes Nebuchadnezzar's behavior during his insanity: "His life appeared of no value to him... then he gives an entirely different order... he does not show love to son or daughter... family and clan does not exist." There is no record of acts or decrees by the king during 582 to 575 BC.

Nebuchadnezzar is another of the many voices who didn't come from the Jewish tradition yet had a relationship with God. In terms of eternity, we are all His chosen. Also note that perhaps those rulers of distant powers who we generally consider enemies to our way of life...maybe agents of God and believers.

Lord knows.

September 6

Ezekiel's Great Temple Vision - Ezekiel 44:4-31, 45:1-25, 46:1-24, 47:1-23, 48:1-35

The special portion you are to offer to the Lord will be 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. This will be the sacred portion for the priests. It will be 25,000 cubits long on the north side, 10,000 cubits wide on the west side, 10,000 cubits wide on the east side and 25,000 cubits long on the south side. In the center of it will be the sanctuary of the Lord. Ezekiel 48:9-10

God not only has a place for His presence in the Temple - the Most Holy of Holies; He also has property in the Promised Land - the sanctuary of the Lord. So what was that like? What happened on that piece of property? Was it like the Garden? Did God walk there in the cool of the evening? I imagine God liking the world He made so much there were times when He just walked through nature, considering and enjoying it. Is that what He did with the land He claimed for Himself. And what would I do if on my next hiking trip on the mountain, I happened upon God. In fact, most times I do.

Lord knows.

September 5

Ezekiel's Great Temple Vision - Ezekiel 40:1-49, 41:1-26, 42:1-20, 43:1-27, 44:1-3

An impressive Dutch Home Depot project. Creationish Johnan Hubers built this half-size ark in the town of Schagen. It too him two years with most of the work done by himself.

Ezekiel hasn't had any recorded word from the Lord for 12 long years. So when God speaks to him, I imagine there was some anticipation about what He would say. I imagine there was some relief that God wasn't ignoring him. Did Ezekiel miss hearing from the Lord? Or was it such a terrible, awe-inspiring thing that it was more dreaded than embraced. And then there was always the consequences of hearing from the Lord. The knowledge of destruction and death, the loss of a wife and the command not to mourn. Did Ezekiel miss not hearing from God? Or was the word of the Lord, the presence of the Lord so filled with power and love that nothing else matter? Was the rush so great that Ezekiel would long for it all of his days?

So now the Lord finally speaks after 12 years and what does He chose to talk about? Some intimate word? Some powerful commandment? Some great display of His incredible love? He gives a lengthy and tedious plan for the new temple, complete with exact measurements. Is this what we want to hear from the Creator of the Universe?

Why?

I'm sure the temple was more important to a captive people than to us. I'm sure it was a symbol of the freedom and triumph and a nation chosen by God. But why such a cold and elaborate object lesson? Sure it tells us how exacting is the nature of God and that He really like palm trees for decorations. But I wonder what it all means. When I look for something left brain and intimate He comes with something right brain, a treatises instead of a love letter. But sometimes I suppose He just needs to tell us exactly what to do.

Lord knows.