Lamentations 2:7-3:39
“Let him sit alone in silence for the LORD has laid it on him.” Hmm. There are loads of aspects to the discipline of the Lord that I think are marginalised in my life. I get that God disciplines those he loves. I get that bad choices have consequences. But I fear that there is a richness to the discipline of God that I neither draw on myself not encourage others to draw on either. When some around me is ‘bearing the yoke’ do I encourage them to sit alone in silence? Why would I ever do that? And yet that is the counsel of the word. Love does not always quickly embrace people in cuddles or smother them with kind words. Compassion does not always give presents and offer the comfort of companionship. Love for someone sometimes encourages them to journey into the depth of their soul and to chart some new ground. It pushes people into silence before their God, in recognition of his greatness and their... well, non-greatness. Sometimes the best thing for someone is to ponder upon their place of discipline and to benefit from the full extent of it (is that possibly what turn the other cheek is about??). I need to spend more time sitting alone in silence. Not rushing back to wannabe ‘joyfulness’ or pelting headlong into acknowledging my forgiveness but understanding the depth of my own waywardness, and seeing how God wants to walk me from that place.
Philemon 1:1-25
The slave-thing gets the headlines in Philemon. But there is some other stuff here that is so groovy that you could put a bass beat behind it and call it a funk. I particularly like Paul’s prayer for Philemon that he may be active in sharing his faith so that he will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. When was the last time I prayed that someone else would be active in sharing their faith? I don’t think I do it often enough. And the reason it is such a fantastic thing to pray for people is because it is a win-win result. When people hear about Jesus they have the chance to have light consume their darkness and hope overcome their despair. When people hear about Jesus they can have their loneliness adopted out of them and their rage nailed to the cross. When people hear about Jesus they can have their addictions broken and their maladies healed. They can have their identity transformed and their futures made secure. In short they can win. When people hear about Jesus they can win. But we also see here that when people share their faith with others that they win also. When people speak about the gospel they gain a fuller understanding of what Jesus has done. When people share their testimony they are reminded again of the good things they have in Jesus. When people talk about Jesus it is like they expand their minds to soak up more wisdom and more revelation. They win. This is what is means to have grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. There is good stuff for all. There is grace for all and peace for all. We speak about Jesus and we grow, we hear about Jesus and are saved. No wonder it prompts Philemon to embrace his runaway slave. No wonder Paul calls it refreshing.
Psalm 119:121-128
“My eyes fail, looking for your salvation.” Wow - he really was super keen. Or maybe he just knew how badly off he was.
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