I guess at this point some of the things Jeremiah has prophecied have come true: Some people have gone into exile, some have stayed in Judah. God reiterates, through Jeremiah, that those who stayed in Judah will be in dire straights, but tells those in exile to basically settle down there and make a life for themselves for the next 70 years, until the time comes that He restores them back to Judah. Then comes one of those passages we hear all the time, and that sounds so good to our ears, and that we want to apply to ourselves as well as to this long-ago situation:
10 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. [b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."
Alongside this comforting promise, the Lord also uses Jeremiah to again chastise and foretell doom to false prophets. Ahab, Zedekiah, and Shamaiah are all three made aware of the punishment in store for them because they have claimed to proclaim God's words falsly.
Back to the healing thing and possible parrallels between healing gifts and gifts of prophecy and whether they are part of the way God is working today: I think I feel safe sticking to the Bible and its words, which I am convinced are from the Lord, rather than looking around for anything more spectacular today. Certainly anything that happens needs to be measured against the Bible. Lord, if you choose to heal someone you certainly can and will, and we can certainly pray for it. However, to say that it is your will that someone we pray for be healed seems really presumptuous to me.
I wonder what Peter V is thinking these days about the seminar?
Now, back to those wonderful words in verses 10-14, about God's plans to prosper his people. I need to especially pay attention to verse 13: "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Lord, help my heart to be wholly drawn to you, wholly seeking you.
Another thought to note: Kurt talked about predestination on Sunday, and one thing he said was that the election of believers was set before the world began. This led me in a somewhat roundabout way to some additional thoughts about the whole abortion issue and trying to understand how predestination fits into the picture of all these many babies that never see the light of day on earth. God's will is so funny and clever -- because at the same time that a horrible sin is being perpetrated on these babies, and the perpetators of that sin ( not only the abortionists but our culture and society) will reap the just punishment for their actions, God is also delighting in every little human that comes into existence for even a split second. And the baby that is miscarried or aborted escapes the suffering of this life and goes directly home to his Father in heaven to delight him and bring him joy without having to suffer the struggles of the battle against sin or embrace the joys of life. Does that sound boring to us? Going to be with God without ever living? Well, Kurt said that whatever we like to do the very most is just a shadow of the enjoyment of living with God -- so these babies are most fortunate of all, while those who act against them are least fortunate and destined for the terrible wrath of God unless they repent of their sins. But the babies? We don't have to worry about them -- God is fully caring for them, his plan is to prosper and not harm them, they have entered a future that we here on earth long for every day.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Jeremiah 27-28
27:
Every nation gets handed over to Babylon. If the nations go along with this, then they get to stay on their own land during the occupancy. If not, they get removed. Then, at a later time, Babylon gets its comeuppance and becomes subjugated to the other nations. Also, the holy things from the temple will be taken from Jerusalem, but God is already planning for their eventual restoration.
How can Udo Middelman say that God doesn't determine/control the flow of history in view of this passage, I wonder?
28:
Claiming that God says something that he really doesn't is a big deal to God. Enough to kill Hananiah after he made these false prophecies. I've heard people occasionally say something about having a word of prophecy, although I can't think of a specific instance and I have not taken them seriously anyway. But God certainly takes Hananiah seriously here. What Hananiah has done is an affront to God as well as a disservice to God's people, and God acts.
Lord, this whole area of supernatural gifts such as healing or prophecy has me confused and wondering. How do you work in the world today? Do you do spectacular healings? Do you send prophets? Some say we should rule these things out because the era of such things has past. Is that correct, or is that placing limitations on you? What am I to make of the claims of Cynthia Harris, that she clearly believes and says she approached with a critical eye? And Phyllis saying she has her sense of smell back? I am a doubting Thomas, and you had the chance to convince me a few weekends ago but didn't... Is generalizing from healing gifts to prophetic gifts and visa versa even legitimate? Should I expect anything that appoies to one to apply to the other, or am I just mushing everything together.
Maybe Vic can recommend a book on the subject.
Every nation gets handed over to Babylon. If the nations go along with this, then they get to stay on their own land during the occupancy. If not, they get removed. Then, at a later time, Babylon gets its comeuppance and becomes subjugated to the other nations. Also, the holy things from the temple will be taken from Jerusalem, but God is already planning for their eventual restoration.
How can Udo Middelman say that God doesn't determine/control the flow of history in view of this passage, I wonder?
28:
Claiming that God says something that he really doesn't is a big deal to God. Enough to kill Hananiah after he made these false prophecies. I've heard people occasionally say something about having a word of prophecy, although I can't think of a specific instance and I have not taken them seriously anyway. But God certainly takes Hananiah seriously here. What Hananiah has done is an affront to God as well as a disservice to God's people, and God acts.
Lord, this whole area of supernatural gifts such as healing or prophecy has me confused and wondering. How do you work in the world today? Do you do spectacular healings? Do you send prophets? Some say we should rule these things out because the era of such things has past. Is that correct, or is that placing limitations on you? What am I to make of the claims of Cynthia Harris, that she clearly believes and says she approached with a critical eye? And Phyllis saying she has her sense of smell back? I am a doubting Thomas, and you had the chance to convince me a few weekends ago but didn't... Is generalizing from healing gifts to prophetic gifts and visa versa even legitimate? Should I expect anything that appoies to one to apply to the other, or am I just mushing everything together.
Maybe Vic can recommend a book on the subject.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
All Mixed Up - Jeremiah 26
ONE WOULD THINK it would be the priests and prophets that would have enough discernment to see that Jeremiah was from God and/or enough humility to engage in reform and repentance in order to avoid destruction. We expect our religious leaders to be more spiritually attuned to God, to be discerning, to understand what is in our best interests. And, at this point, Jeremiah was even still offering a way out of the doom he was predicting:
"Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way. Then I will relent and not bring on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done."
Nevertheless, getting rid of him seemed to the prophets and priests to be in their best interest. It also was according to the precedent they had set with the prophet Uriah, whom they had killed. Letting Jeremiah continue would mean that they had erred with Uriah, which was perhaps an error they did not wish to admit. Unfortunately for them, both Uriah and Jeremiah were speaking the true words of the Lord.
Thankfully the officials and people respond to Jeremiah's defense of himself and prevent him from being killed:
12 Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people: "The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the things you have heard. 13 Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the LORD your God. Then the LORD will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you. 14 As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right. 15 Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing."
So we have prophets and priests versus officials and people. In this case, the officials and people are the ones who are able to think back to Micah and the relenting of the Lord after the people repented, a more relevent precedent than the self-serving precedent of the prophets' and priests' own wicked actions against Uriah.
How, Lord, can we know what our own motives are? How can we know when we are listening to you and when we are not? How can we know when our religious leaders are listening to you and when they are not? I struggle to know whether I am being honest with myself and about myself. Are my worst thoughts/fears about myself always the truest ones?
"Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way. Then I will relent and not bring on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done."
Nevertheless, getting rid of him seemed to the prophets and priests to be in their best interest. It also was according to the precedent they had set with the prophet Uriah, whom they had killed. Letting Jeremiah continue would mean that they had erred with Uriah, which was perhaps an error they did not wish to admit. Unfortunately for them, both Uriah and Jeremiah were speaking the true words of the Lord.
Thankfully the officials and people respond to Jeremiah's defense of himself and prevent him from being killed:
12 Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people: "The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the things you have heard. 13 Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the LORD your God. Then the LORD will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you. 14 As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right. 15 Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing."
So we have prophets and priests versus officials and people. In this case, the officials and people are the ones who are able to think back to Micah and the relenting of the Lord after the people repented, a more relevent precedent than the self-serving precedent of the prophets' and priests' own wicked actions against Uriah.
How, Lord, can we know what our own motives are? How can we know when we are listening to you and when we are not? How can we know when our religious leaders are listening to you and when they are not? I struggle to know whether I am being honest with myself and about myself. Are my worst thoughts/fears about myself always the truest ones?
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Jeremiah 25
On and on it goes -- 23 years worth of prophesying to Judah without their repentance -- and Jeremiah announces the cup of destruction to all the nations, to take place after the 70 years of exile that Judah will experience.
I guess this is all history that has happened already.
Is it fair to look at today's worldwide crises, and also see the Lord's judgement in them? To notice that today's people and cultures commit the same sins of idolotry and the slaughter of children, and to expect an outcome that is similarly an irrevocable judgement of God? Why pray against the outcome -- rather, we should pray and work against the sin that is the cause of this outcome. I don't claim that this prophecy is in any way specifically directed to 21st century US and world, but it does tell us and remind us of what God cares about. He wants our hearts to belong to him, He wants our worship to be directed toward him and him only, He wants us to live righteous and just lives, and he wants us to care for our children.
I guess this is all history that has happened already.
Is it fair to look at today's worldwide crises, and also see the Lord's judgement in them? To notice that today's people and cultures commit the same sins of idolotry and the slaughter of children, and to expect an outcome that is similarly an irrevocable judgement of God? Why pray against the outcome -- rather, we should pray and work against the sin that is the cause of this outcome. I don't claim that this prophecy is in any way specifically directed to 21st century US and world, but it does tell us and remind us of what God cares about. He wants our hearts to belong to him, He wants our worship to be directed toward him and him only, He wants us to live righteous and just lives, and he wants us to care for our children.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Jeremiah 23
Well, finally I get to some of the 'nuggets' people mention from Jeremiah...
5 "The days are coming," declares the LORD,
"when I will raise up to David [a] a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The LORD Our Righteousness.
A prediction of the coming Messiah, again from the line of David -- and God shows his tenderness to Israel again, confirming that the relationship is still in place despite all the discipline and consequences that the leaders and people must bear for their unfaithfulness to God.
29 "Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
And this is a verse we used in Son Dance the first year -- one of the verses of "It's God's Word" is based on the idea of God's word being like a hammer, and Kurt has used the illustration at other times as well. God's word purifies. God's word breaks lies into pieces. This verse comes in the context of the Lord chastising and condemning prophets who lie and make false claims about his word:
36 But you must not mention 'the oracle of the LORD ' again, because every man's own word becomes his oracle and so you distort the words of the living God, the LORD Almighty, our God.
The Lord will defend his word.
This brings me to an opportunity to think about the Prayer for Healing conference last weekend. It is a puzzler to me, and I really don't want to do what these false prophets did (take words of men and claim that they are the word of God). I don't wnat to see more than was really there in the events of the weekend and the stories Cynthia told about healing in India and USA that she has witnessed. But I don't want to discount or dismiss anything that might be your work, Lord. I guess that's the question I am asking: Are you doing something important here that we should pay attention to and receive as your work consistent with your word, or is this an instance of getting more excited about the gift than the giver, an out-of-focus view of what you are really doing in our lives, and a path that will just lead us away from the work you have called us to at Grace & Peace, making us tend to focus on ourselves, our wants/'gimmes', and feel discourageda about our unhealed ills rather than asking "Lord, how are you using this circumstance in my life to help me love you and others? How are you 'working all things togehter for good'?"
Points about the conference:
1. Cynthia is convinced. Cynthia seems to have scrutinized a number of healings carefully, participated in them, and come away believing that they are authentic. Her experiences with her mom and her self, coupled with things she's seen in her travels, have firmly convinced her that spectacular miraculous healings still happen today.
2. Cynthia presented anecdotes, not evidence. There were no 'before-and-after' pictures of significant healings -- spinal cords straightened, eyeballs changed, tumors gone. No doctor's reports and documentation. We did not see evidence ourselves, we simply heard Cynthia's story.
3. Nothing convincing happened at the conference to demonstrate this phenomenon. We prayed a lot, and there is the possibility that the one boy and Phyllis had some positive effect, but no clear proof as of yet. And numerous people were prayed for with no discernable healing, which is not to say the prayers went unanswered or unheard but that God has other things in mind for us.
I feel very cautious about the whole thing. My fears are enlightened a bit by this little exerpt from an article posted by Evelyn Tomlinson on her facebook page:
"Even good things can unbalance our loyalties, especially good causes. We can get so caught up in, say, pro-life activities that our loyalty shifts from Christ to the cause. Or we can put our hope in a political party or ideology and loyalty to that overrides our loyalty to Christ. We can even convince ourselves that they are one and the same."
I'm not saying that Cynthia or anyone else has shifted their loyalty -- but I think that it is a danger I want to be aware of as the interest in healing prayer continues to simmer at church, and as I continue to consider these things. It would be so easy to get the cart before the horse. Some people's misery runs so deep and their hope for healing is so fearfully gained.
5 "The days are coming," declares the LORD,
"when I will raise up to David [a] a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The LORD Our Righteousness.
A prediction of the coming Messiah, again from the line of David -- and God shows his tenderness to Israel again, confirming that the relationship is still in place despite all the discipline and consequences that the leaders and people must bear for their unfaithfulness to God.
29 "Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
And this is a verse we used in Son Dance the first year -- one of the verses of "It's God's Word" is based on the idea of God's word being like a hammer, and Kurt has used the illustration at other times as well. God's word purifies. God's word breaks lies into pieces. This verse comes in the context of the Lord chastising and condemning prophets who lie and make false claims about his word:
36 But you must not mention 'the oracle of the LORD ' again, because every man's own word becomes his oracle and so you distort the words of the living God, the LORD Almighty, our God.
The Lord will defend his word.
This brings me to an opportunity to think about the Prayer for Healing conference last weekend. It is a puzzler to me, and I really don't want to do what these false prophets did (take words of men and claim that they are the word of God). I don't wnat to see more than was really there in the events of the weekend and the stories Cynthia told about healing in India and USA that she has witnessed. But I don't want to discount or dismiss anything that might be your work, Lord. I guess that's the question I am asking: Are you doing something important here that we should pay attention to and receive as your work consistent with your word, or is this an instance of getting more excited about the gift than the giver, an out-of-focus view of what you are really doing in our lives, and a path that will just lead us away from the work you have called us to at Grace & Peace, making us tend to focus on ourselves, our wants/'gimmes', and feel discourageda about our unhealed ills rather than asking "Lord, how are you using this circumstance in my life to help me love you and others? How are you 'working all things togehter for good'?"
Points about the conference:
1. Cynthia is convinced. Cynthia seems to have scrutinized a number of healings carefully, participated in them, and come away believing that they are authentic. Her experiences with her mom and her self, coupled with things she's seen in her travels, have firmly convinced her that spectacular miraculous healings still happen today.
2. Cynthia presented anecdotes, not evidence. There were no 'before-and-after' pictures of significant healings -- spinal cords straightened, eyeballs changed, tumors gone. No doctor's reports and documentation. We did not see evidence ourselves, we simply heard Cynthia's story.
3. Nothing convincing happened at the conference to demonstrate this phenomenon. We prayed a lot, and there is the possibility that the one boy and Phyllis had some positive effect, but no clear proof as of yet. And numerous people were prayed for with no discernable healing, which is not to say the prayers went unanswered or unheard but that God has other things in mind for us.
I feel very cautious about the whole thing. My fears are enlightened a bit by this little exerpt from an article posted by Evelyn Tomlinson on her facebook page:
"Even good things can unbalance our loyalties, especially good causes. We can get so caught up in, say, pro-life activities that our loyalty shifts from Christ to the cause. Or we can put our hope in a political party or ideology and loyalty to that overrides our loyalty to Christ. We can even convince ourselves that they are one and the same."
I'm not saying that Cynthia or anyone else has shifted their loyalty -- but I think that it is a danger I want to be aware of as the interest in healing prayer continues to simmer at church, and as I continue to consider these things. It would be so easy to get the cart before the horse. Some people's misery runs so deep and their hope for healing is so fearfully gained.
Monday, March 2, 2009
No relenting -- Jeremiah 22
God is relentless here in his expressions of judgement. Of course, Jehoakin has been relentless in his injustice and lack of mercy, his wrongful use of people for his own gain, his worship of false Gods. God will not let up on the one who does not turn to him or obey.
It is 'him who is exiled' that has God's sympathy, because they will die there and will not return to the land.
10 Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss;
rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled,
because he will never return
nor see his native land again.
29 O land, land, land,
hear the word of the LORD!
This is a strange verse. I don't understand quite whether this particular land is significant in and of itself, or whether it is the best/most fruitful land around, or whether its significance to God is purely the result of the covenantal connection between God, Israel, and this particualar place. But there's no doubting that everybody over there wants this land, and seems to 'get' the fact that it is very significant.
It is 'him who is exiled' that has God's sympathy, because they will die there and will not return to the land.
10 Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss;
rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled,
because he will never return
nor see his native land again.
29 O land, land, land,
hear the word of the LORD!
This is a strange verse. I don't understand quite whether this particular land is significant in and of itself, or whether it is the best/most fruitful land around, or whether its significance to God is purely the result of the covenantal connection between God, Israel, and this particualar place. But there's no doubting that everybody over there wants this land, and seems to 'get' the fact that it is very significant.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Jeremiah 21
Funny how easily I can relate to Zedekiah and the prophets he sent to inquire of Jeremiah. They don't want to change. They just want to be spared the consequences of their actions. They want God to come to their defense and perform wonders for them, but they don't want to follow him day-to-day, changing their ways and administering justice.
I also would like God to act on my behalf without having to change any of my ways.
They must have gulped in shock at the words Jeremiah spoke back to them, telling them that God was not going to relent and let them off the hook:
"I have determined to do this city harm and not good"
"I am against you, Jerusalem"
"I will punish you as your deeds deserve"
Still, God provides an 'out', a way of life: go out of the city and surrender. In their case, they must surrender to their enemies in order to live. They must humble themselves to the events that God has proclaimed and is bringing about -- the conquest of Judah at the hands of Babylon, a result of their own sin -- and in doing so they will save their lives and still be the people of God, although they will be in exile from their land.
What is my way out and how is it similar to theirs? It is Jesus, the lamb of God sacrificed for my sins. He comes as an enemy of the world of sin and death in which I live. I must surrender -- surrender to Jesus, humble myself to receive his forgiveness. I then receive a new home, and this present home becomes my exile. I live in this world of sin as an exile waiting to go home to the new Jerusalem, my true home.
I also would like God to act on my behalf without having to change any of my ways.
They must have gulped in shock at the words Jeremiah spoke back to them, telling them that God was not going to relent and let them off the hook:
"I have determined to do this city harm and not good"
"I am against you, Jerusalem"
"I will punish you as your deeds deserve"
Still, God provides an 'out', a way of life: go out of the city and surrender. In their case, they must surrender to their enemies in order to live. They must humble themselves to the events that God has proclaimed and is bringing about -- the conquest of Judah at the hands of Babylon, a result of their own sin -- and in doing so they will save their lives and still be the people of God, although they will be in exile from their land.
What is my way out and how is it similar to theirs? It is Jesus, the lamb of God sacrificed for my sins. He comes as an enemy of the world of sin and death in which I live. I must surrender -- surrender to Jesus, humble myself to receive his forgiveness. I then receive a new home, and this present home becomes my exile. I live in this world of sin as an exile waiting to go home to the new Jerusalem, my true home.
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